You are (Not) the Heroes IC

The truck makes the drive alright, but age, exposure, and multiple rodent infestations have rendered a lot of Ol' Trigger's gadgets and devices inoperable. None of the truck's sensors and scanning systems work anymore. The police radio still picks up transmissions, but the reception's spotty at best and the speaker can only manage a garbled whisper.

So Trapshot exits the truck and uses her own eyes and ears to survey the area. (Perception: 8+13=21) Her shotgun hovers next to her, loaded and ready for the first sign of trouble.

As they hurry to the bank, Daff looks at Crimson, impressed. "You're really smart!" He looks thoughtful, tapping his chin with a forehoof. A lot of those names sound familiar. He religiously reads any newspaper articles about hero ponies and their adventures - well, mostly the Power Ponies, because nopony else has been doing anything recently. Maybe something will come to him.

"Gizmo helps heroes," he states. Then, he frowns as a possibility makes its way into his head. "You think a hero might do this if they don't like the Power Ponies doing everything? A not-hero hero?"

The somewhat bouncy trip on the beat up pickup truck doesn't give him too much time to think about such things, in part because between pulling out from in front of the hideout to parking in front of the bank, Trapshot seems to use the brakes zero times.

"Do you see anything, Rousseau?" He lets the squirrel onto the ground. While the squirrel scampers off to climb up a tall tree and look around, one paw shielding his eyes from the sun, Daff jumps out of the vehicle and begins scanning the area.

Rolls:

The search goes on for perhaps another half hour, although all that results of it is odd looks from civilians only used to seeing the Power Ponies out and about. For all intents and purposes, it would seem that there would be no strange weather happening - there wasn’t even a pegasus on the street.

However, Dove Colt and the Crimson Chef are the first to notice the strange tremor in the ground. Growing stronger by the moment, and seemingly moving towards the nearest manhole cover, they are able to duck and brace themselves as a blastwave rockets out from the manhole, sending the cover sky high and knocking the other heroes to the ground.

From the opening, a sudden blast of crimson flame fills the air, the heat evident even from their position a few dozen feet away. Moments later, a swarm of black… somethings roar out of the sewers in force, roiling and humming angrily like a chitinous wave of fury. They swirl around the sewer opening for a second before turning to home in on the nearest pony, a civilian unicorn, ready to bear down on him.

~LOCUST~ A deep, rumbling roar fills the air, and leaping out of the sewer is a massive quadruped with wings spread wide. It barrels into the swarm, claws flashing, fangs gnashing, before being thrown clear and rolling to a stop a short distance away from the group. Easily twice the size of a pony, the creature roars again from the short maned lion head at its front, before spitting a bolt of flame from the goat head sprouting out beside the lion head. Once again it spreads out its feathery black wings, and it pounces, feline front-claws bared, while its reptilian hindquarters flex mightily to throw itself once more into the swarm. ~THIS ENDS NOW~
Those who recognize animal languages can tell that the beast is in fact a female.

Daff has been energetically looking for any sign of trouble for the last half hour. Rousseau went back to napping on his head after the first 5 minutes. Finally, the pony sighs.

"I think they might have been wrong. Nothing's happening here," he says - right before a nearby sewer plate explodes into the air right next to him. As the blast explodes from the manhole, Daff automatically grabs Rousseau, clutching the squirrel to his chest to shield him before he's blown off his hooves and send flying backwards as heat washes over him.

He cracks his eyes open, checking first on the squirrel, then turning with alarm as a swarm of buzzing black explodes out of the manhole. Followed by a massive, creature clashing with the swarm. The stallion scrambles to his hooves, then charges towards the unicorn in an attempt to get the civilian out of the way before turning to face the cloud of insects.

"Haha! Finally! Hey you... all! Pick on someone even... more... not your size..." Despite confusing himself just a little. He nevertheless still yells it loudly and enthusiastically. Rousseau, meanwhile, hops back onto Daff's head.

Skill Rolls:

Combat Actions:

Current Status:

Trapshot's telekinesis pulls two Colt Peacemaker revolvers from their concealed holsters and snaps one of them around to aim at the creature that just exploded out of the ground, then holds the weapon steady as its wielder fires a rubber bullet at the most obvious target's butt as a warning shot.

NUMBERS:

Dove Colt flips backwards, away from the swarm, his ears flayed back in surprise. Locusts and magical monsters? Not what he expected today.

~Who are you?~ Dove Colt tries to call out, even as he mentally gathers his flock. There has to be some reason for a creature as clearly unique as this to be randomly in the middle of the city. ~Alright, hold on - It's SHOWTIME!~

A massive flock of doves and pigeons from all across the city converge on a single location, each unloading their bowels at the swarm of Locusts with pinpoint accuracy, commanded mentally by Dove Colt to avoid the strange creature. ~ANSWER THE CALL OF NATURE, AW YEAH!~

Actions:

Breathing in, the Chimera feels the roar of nature's fury in her ears, and -

WHOOOOOOSH.

In a roar of wildfire, an explosion of heat erupts from the lion maw, blistering heat washing over the swarm, burning chunks of it away.

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The wait was... interesting to say the least. It was strange that civilian ponies were so surprised by the sight of a superhero team that wasn't the Power Ponies. It also hurt a little; Did the public truly forget about them so quickly?

Of course, this didn't stop Crimson from remaining ever vigilant in the slightest. This was there first chance to work as a team and establish the idea in ponies minds that they could be counted on to deal with issues as they reared their ugly heads as professionally and effectively as the Power Ponies themselves and he wasn't about to let a slip in concentration by the weak link that ruined everything. So when the ground started to rumble, alarm bells ran through Crimson's head as he tried to call out "Brace yourselves!" before something exploded out of the nearby manhole and a battle that was raging in the sewers found itself pouring into the street.  

Two combatants appeared to be fighting; One appeared to be a swarm of locusts while the other was a creature that he had never seen before. Both seemed pretty content to fight each other, but the swarm of locusts started to make a move towards one of the random civilians in the area and that COULD NOT BE ALLOWED! Reaching into one of his pockets for one of his spice balls, Crimson throw it into the swarm to explode in a cloud of burning spice!

Dice Rolls and Actions!:

Status:

As soon as Zellbriq and Inu see the Locusts make amove towards a civilian, the two timberwolfs charge at it. just before they reach it, Zellbriq summons a Timberwolf puppy spirit to mark the swarm as prey and let's out a loud howl, that others who understand animals can make out to mean something like:Inu don't mess this up. Shortly after that, the first Timberwolf reaches his target and, with the help of the puppy, asssults the swarm. Zellbriuq then Growls at Inu before she to reaches the Battle. as soon as she reaches the swarm, she begins to Slash around hoping to hit as much insects as possible.

used stuff:

Status:

Madame Mask, after picking herself up from the ground, notices the commotion happening. Seeing that everyone else is going after the bugs, she goes for the unicorn. Shooting a minor blast and spawning a decoy between the swarm and the unicorn, she then moves next to the unicorn (in a way so she's between the unicorn and her decoy/swarm) and instructs him with "Exit stage right monsieur," and gentle pushing and moving along with him...

(Quickshot (Free Action) (7 Damage to Swarm))
(Signature Spectacle)

HP: 100
Energy: 6 + 2
Status: All Good

As the onslaught of attacks hit it, the swarm swerves, splits up, and dives out of the way to minimize damage - as the bombardment of bird droppings hit it, the swarm separates, fanning out so only a quarter is struck by the goop. Gunked down by droppings, the portion of the swarm that was bombarded is easy prey for the others, and Madame Mask easily blasts them into smatterings of droppings and chitin. The flames from the chimera make short work of the rest of the gunked locusts - though the targetted magical blast and focused flames seems to have less effect than is ideal. Meamwhile, Crimson Chef’s fire bomb and the wolves have marginally less effect, though still taking chunks out of the swarm. The unicorn is ushered to safety, just in the nick of time, as a veritable tendril of dark chitin swipes through the air where he stood, crashing through a storefront and snapping a lamp post in half.

Buzzing angrily, the bulk of the swarm reform, and surge towards the heroes, the torrent of clicking mandibles and buzzing wings. Like a gleaming tide of black, the insects crash into the group, each individual impact adding to the overwhelming pressure of the massive swarm pressing against them. Anyone in the vicinity has fled now - it’s only the heroes, the swarm, and the Chimera.

A hissing surrounds the group, and those who understand animal speak can hear the barest hints of a harsh whisper: ~yessss… at lassssst, freedom…~

(Everyone make an Endurance saving throw. Mask may make an additional Reflex saving throw.)

(Endurance Check: 17 (Roll) + 8 (Skill) = 25)
(Reflex Check: 17 (Roll) + 3 (Skill) = 20)

As the counter attack by the creature began, Crimson Chef stood his ground before he raised his voice so that the whole team could hear him. "Stand your ground and do not falter! You will not embarrass yourselves today by falling to a swarm of bugs!" Hoping that his speech would rally the team to fight hard and endure whatever onslaught was unleashed upon them, Crimson faced down his own attacker with the intent of proving his words true and withstanding such a creature.

Actions:

Dice rolls:

The Chimera gnashes its teeth angrily, fighting against the tide of locusts. Glancing between the various individuals fighting against the tide, it roars ~KEEP IT BUSY~ before its short lion mane begins to charge itself with blueish energy.

Endurance Check:
15 + (5 + 3 + 10) = 33

~Wait, what?~ Dove Colt barely has a moment's respite before he's slammed into by a wall of dark chittering insects -

"grossgrossgrossgross," Dove Colt narrows his eyes, anger flaring in his little form, "that's ENOUGH!"

A burst of pure white feathers, a surge of doves, erupt from his location, blasting the insects back-

"I HATE BUGS!"

Endurance: 6 + (4 + 3) + 10 = 23

Actions:

As the Insects swarm around them Zellbriq and Inu try to brace themselves as good as they can.

rolls:

Seeing the swarm turn on the group, Trapshot mutters "Aw, heck" and shields her face with her hat.

As she weathers the bugs' attack, she takes mental inventory of her options. Most of them go sailing right out the window; she doesn't have any ace for an insect swarm.

Except she's wearing the Calamity Bandit's costume, driving the Calamity Bandit's truck, and using the Calamity Bandit's guns. And didn't she say herself earlier that she kinda looked like the Bandit with that hat and mask on? And didn't she just pull a Bandit by shooting a potential ally in the backside?

If this swarm's the villain she and her friends were sent to intercept...maybe there's an ace in Trapshot's deck, after all.

She cracks a smirk behind her hat, and mutters, "Calamity Bandit's kid, redsider. Keep the fight convincin' 'til the Power Ponies show up, then throw it and give us the win. We steal their thunder, you help make 'em look bad for the press. Win-win. Sound good?"

Actions:

The heroes stand firm, even against the merciless tide of bizarrely carapaced locusts, and after a few moments they hear the cry of frustration from Dove Colt which seems to blast all the locusts back, forcing the insects into a scattered mess for a moment. Still, the sharp shell and snapping mandibles have done a number on most of the heroes - except Mask, who expertly dodged out of the way of the worst of the wave, while her illusory self distracted the locusts.

(Everyone saved successfully! Everyone except Madame Mask take 24 damage. Madame Mask takes 12 damage instead.)

The surge of locusts peter off, and they reform back into a swirling, vaguely multi-limbed swarm-form, the shiny chitinous locusts swarming together into almost a solid form. The heroes managed to regroup, and at this point they can tell that the chimeric creature is at the very least not hostile to them - despite Trapshot shooting it in the behind. The swarm almost glows with power, the buzzing intensifying as Locust bears down on the group.

~Why… wait…~ The grating hiss returns, emanating from deep within the swarm, formed from the voices of countless palm-sized locusts. ~When I want… them… here…?~

Of course Trapshot doesn't understand this statement, but the chitinous tendril swiping at her - and Daff and Dove Colt - answers her hushed statement well enough.

(Trapshot, Daff, Dove Colt, take 23 damage.)

Trapshot winces at the blow.

"Typical villain stupidity," she hisses. "Alright, then. We'll play this your way."

The shotgun and revolvers swing around, focus on the swarm, and fire in unison, shattering the air with a resounding thunderclap. As that happens, Trapshot herself rears up and pitches three small metal darts at her target, each dart crackling with electricity as it hits it mark.

"PASS MY REGARDS ON TO DADDY, YA OVERGROWN HUNK O' FISH BAIT!"

Actions:

Status:

The swarm recoils back from the darts, and handfuls of locusts fall to the ground with electricity soaking into their carapaces. Screeching in anger, the swarm expands, extending more tendrils that begin lashing at the heroes and at the ground, creating claw-like score marks on the tarmac roads. Multiple tendrils sweep around randomly, smashing fire hydrants and wrecking storefronts.

~This is your final warning, Chimera… Call off your attack dogs… Before I take more… drastic… measures…~

Daff grunts as the wave of locusts blast into him with enough force to push him back, stinging and biting the whole way. It takes him off guard. Their second attack does not.

He gallops forward, maneuvering himself in the way of the tendrils of locusts reaching out towards Dove Colt and Trapshot and rams right through the attacks like an out of control bulldozer. Rousseau buries himself in Daff's mane, covering his head with his arms.

"Come on, Rousseau! I'll hold them down! You finish them off! GAAAAAAAHAHA!" Daff's battle cry shifts into an almost joyous laugh as he continues barreling through the insects. It's cut abruptly short when he accidentally swallows a bug. When he reaches the dense cloud of them in the center, many twitching from the electricity and emitting an acrid stench, he leaps forward, ramming his body into them and wrapping his hooves around the densest parts of the cloud, trying to hold them in place.

Actions:

Current Status:

Madame Mask, glad that she avoided the majority of the swarm for the time being, be is starting to be increasing concerned about the current state of the stage. She flies up to the air and launches a debilitating mental blast at the swarm...

(Quickdraw)
(Devouring Blade: Swarm Suffers Weakness 9)
(Devouring Blade: Swarm Suffers Weakness 9)
(Devouring Blade: Swarm Suffers Weakness 9 (27 Total))
(Quickshot: Swarm takes 34 Damage (7 + 9 + 9 + 9))

HP: 88
Energy: 3
Status: Slightly Less Good

~Believe me, I would like to~ Chimera growls, the halo of light in its mane growing brighter. ~No one else needs to get hurt because of you~ It punctuates the growl by rearing up and giving its wings a powerful flap that looses a hail of arrow-like feathers, slicing through the swarm, trying to thin its numbers.

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