Empowered IC

[daxtinator396]

Dax jumps to the side as the bullet whizzes past,"Shit! Why are you firing at me!? I`m a good guy god dammit!" He cried angrily and then gets up answering his question,"I am The Raider`s BANE! I kill any who seek to hurt others or do bad deeds. specially Raider camps. The fact that people have degraded so much makes me lose faith for the world if the X are ever defeated and gone. I cleanse the filth this apocalypse has created with Anarchy." He says tapping the gun at his side,"Now explain who YOU are and why you are firing at ME!" He says with more anger still pretty pissed that he just got shot at after trying to help these people. A slight breeze ruffles his cape by his own doing. He always had a slight love of theatrics and having his own personal fan all the time let him make himself look more intimidating as the wind swirls about him liek a cowboy at high noon getting ready to face the gang leader.

[Lady Foxy]

And so, that feeling of being watched disappeared as that mystical or non-existent force went away. Smart choice, he thought. He had to fight an entire group of X's throughout the last city he had been through, even though it would have gone -real- bad pretty soon if the city didn't offer so much short-cuts or turns as well as hideouts.

Troy's form would look tensed up and ready to jump into a brawl or fight, but it was already used to being so actually. His well-formed bulky muscles and physique was kept fit with his everyday survival, remembering that to keep living he had to keep getting stronger. The view of the city of Wausau was something of a relief for him. It meant a couple of things, some of them food or water, weapons or ammunition and the possibility of finding her.

Feeling a little anxious, he began to jog as quietly as he could across the land. To any nearby being, he would look like a ground-shaking giant running across the place, his heavy foot steps somewhat muffled by his boots.

[RavenLord]

Richard's eyes widen, and then he quickly turns, his assault rifle ready and aimed, right at his ambusher. It isnt Richard mving, not conciously, it's his instincts, honed by time spent on endless deserts combined with military training and experience. Still Richard is able to prevent himself from pulling the trigger, and he is now awake. Sudden rush of adraneline, and flaring survival instincts overrides his exhaustion. Richard feels truly awake, feeling he missed so much. Stop right there! he orders, ready to pull the trigger, his assault rifle aimed on the guy who was trying to sneak on him.

[KnightVanilla]

Frozen in place with a gun facing him he musters up a little conversation. "Well looks like you're not just stupid but trained. Now if you don't want my friend to shoot you, tell me are there more of you?" A bluff, but still as far as this guy knows there could be a group of bandits here. The blade on Lyle's arm dissolves away moving around his body to catch any possible bullets that might hit him. Ready to use his ability if the man had chose to shoot him. "Besides all this what made sense in walking towards a whole group of possibly mutated animals?" He asked still wondering just how stupid he had to be to walk towards danger.

[RavenLord]

Richard, letting himself relax a bit shrugs. It's better than dying in the middle of a desert thanks to dehydration and sunburn, not to mention frakkin aliens. For your earlier question, no, i am alone. Richard says. His finger though lax still on the trigger, in case the friends of this guy, if it isn't a bluff, decide to get trigger happy. And what are the odds of that. Finding more than one person in same place.

[napsii]

Ilia didn't spare a glance in the X's direction as it was cut down by a bullet; the helmeted man seemed a proficient marksman...with powers over electricity, it looked. The sword-wielding man didn't give the impression he possessed a similar ability, but her instinct knew from his razor sharp look that he hid a strong gift up his sleeve. As well, though it seemed like the group was but few in numbers, at the instant Mikal decided to relax, a number more appeared over the horizon. Ilia looked up: unfamiliar people, each rather curious.

It was crude how the helmeted man opened fire -- for no substantial reason, at that -- but she didn't make a move to intervene. It was clear enough that he had a hair trigger for violence; she opined that he was one to keep on the look out for.

Thinking it wise to dismiss the argument -- after all, they would either kill each other in the end, or sort it out -- she looked back to Mikal, who offered her a spot of food. She slowly pinched her nose to decline; the scent of X meat reeked of bad karma even when it had been cooked. Reaching into somewhere on her person, she withdrew a small, flat green rectangular container with white labeling on it: it was a sealed military ration. It was more appetizing than ever in this ruined world, be it to a soldier or survivor.

She glanced to the sword-wielding man, and then back to Mikal, judging the girl to be the more workable one.

"My name is Ilia." she said, tersely. Her voice was not truly emotionless as her expression would suggest, but there was a depravity to it. As if, after so much disuse, it had fallen from good health. She didn't wonder if Mikal would know who she was or not as it seemed Mikal herself was the more famous one as far as tall tales came.

"I have not... had a drink in two days." she said, withdrawing a tall water bottle from her person. Only a few droplets coating the dead bottom remained.

[Reaver]

Emile doesn't respond and moves his scope, aiming at the Dax's head this time. "My name is Emile important and as long as you're not going to harm Mikal I got no problem with you. I just wanted to make sure you weren't some higher raider that kills lesser raiders. Besides you look too funny to waste a bullet on, Cape boy." He chuckles at the fluttering cape which reminds him of a old cartoon his parents used to tell him about. He lowers his sniper rifle and turns to Ilia with his waterskin out in one hand and his sniper rifle in the other. "You can have some of mine miss. It's full and you can keep it until your's get filled. I can just drink from my smaller flask full of rum."

[MiscChaos]

Troy and Anari

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

While jogging the rest of the distance does bring Wausau up quicker, the sheer size of your body causes a fair amount of noise as you move. You arrive, but you hear a fair number of X hunting around for the source of the footprints they heard. You can either face them head on which isn’t a good idea since you don’t know how many X are in this city or try to sneak through. Your large body gives you somewhat of a disadvantage in the sneaking department, but you can use your brains to make up for that! Your move.

---

You, Anari, are a ways behind the giant hulk of a man, being the one who was following him earlier and backing off as he became more and more aware of your presence. In the end, it looks like it worked since he relaxed his stance a bit. You only started following him in the first place because you know there’s strength in numbers and wandering around alone is generally a bad idea.

Speaking of bad ideas, maybe it wasn’t such a hot one to scout this far away from Mikal’s group. You’d been contracted by the US Government, or what’s left of them, to watch over the girl as she made her way across the land healing it. Only Mikal hadn’t been very receptive to the idea of needing a bodyguard and you took to watching her in the shadows since you don’t get paid if she dies. Either she hasn’t noticed you or doesn’t care since she hasn’t talked to you since.

But back to the problem at hand: With your Ability, you can see 5 X in the city on full alert because of the big man ahead of you. Of course, you’re much better than sneaking than he is and, combined with your Ability to see where they are, you should easily be able to escape the X if you leave this man behind. What’s the plan?

Emile, Ilia, Rick, Dax, & Mikal/Roderick

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Rod nods at Dax’s introduction, but keeps his hand on his sword. “I’d advise you not to be so rude next time. I just wanted to know if you were a threat to this group.” He says, an undercurrent of annoyance in his voice. Looks like you’re not making many friends here, Dax. Actually, it seems Rod’s so annoyed with you he doesn’t even reprimand Emile for shooting at you other than to say, “Try not to waste any more bullets.” With that said, he turns to head to Mikal.

Mikal, but virtue of being right next to Ilia when she asks for water, hands Ilia her canteen before Emile gets there, saying “Take as large a drink as you need. There’s a lake nearby we can stop in at to refill your bottle and mine before we move on.” When you state your name, Mikal thinks on it for a while because it sounds semi-familiar.
“If I remember right, you cause a lot of problems for the X. At least from what I’ve heard from strangers. That automatically makes you OK in my book!” She says around a smile.

Normally she’d admonish Emile for pulling out the rum, but drink is drink nowadays. As long as he doesn’t get hammered, she’s got no problem… well, that’s a lie. But it’s not big enough of a deal to bring it up. With her piece said, she turns back to her X meat and takes a bite. Most everyone’s gathered around Mikal now, with the exceptions of Rick and Dax since they haven’t moved yet.

**For future reference, if I post and you’re not in it, you’re either in conversation and don’t need me at the moment or I forgot and please send me a PM or a post in the OOC to remind me. Decide which is which based on your current situation.

[daxtinator396]

Dax joins the group grumping about being shot at,"People are so ungrateful..." He mumbles and sits down next to Mikal as she eats,"Miss Mikal? Was it you who made that paradise back there? Becuase you may have just saved my life in doing so. I`ve heard rumours about you all over the Wasteland. People revere you. They think you are to save this earth. ai think they are right in doing so." He said with a smile and began to munch on a piece of beef jerky he pulled from one of the pouches he kept by his side,"You have good people around you if abit voilent with itchy trigger fingers,"He shoots a glare at Emile,"May I join you?" He asks seriously.

[MiscChaos]

Dax
"I wouldn't call it a paradise, but yes, I'm the one who revived that piece of land." Mikal says around a shrug. She'd been hearing about her apparent celebrity status a lot lately and still wasn't sure what to make of it. She takes a big bite out of her X in order to give herself a moment of thought. "I'm not sure I like the idea of people revering me for it though. That leads to stalkers and shit. We've already had a couple people who were convinced that if they 'mated with the savior of the planet', then the kid would be the Messiah or something and they'd be the 3rd most powerful person on the planet once I got done healing it. And they have a nasty habit of becoming forceful with it once I tell them to fuck off." She says darkly. You can guess what happened to those creepers based on how Emile and Rod handle themselves.

"I don't think Emile would fire unless he had a reason that made sense in his mind, so I'd like to ask you not to badmouth my people. And it's up to them whether you come with it. Group dynamics and all that. I myself have no problem, but if they do, then that's that." Rod's unavailable for comment at the moment as he's gathering up the various X corpses of the battle and cutting them up so that they can be stored and carried later, so Emile gets first say.

[daxtinator396]

Dax didn`t want to think about what could have happened to those who thought they could "mate" with her. It couldn`t have been pretty and might have made even he cringe. He the virtue of Corrupted Kindness. The wasteland does things to good folks and he was no exception. He did many things out of kindness for others but was it always the best or right thing? He tried not to dwell on it. Dax sighed realizing she was right about Emile. He did have a good reason from his point of view and he shouldn`t be so upset about it. Even if he did make fun of his cape,"Your right. He misheard what I had said and thought me a raider and he had every reason to shoot. I`m sorry for getting angry like I did." He nods to both Emile and Rod in apolgy.

[Reaver]

Emile puts his waterskin away and sneaks a little drink from his rum flask before addresseing Dax. "Honestly I think more people is going to attract more Xs and if we get overwhelmed then our last hope will die." He glances towards Mikal before continuing. "Our group needs to be small, fast and light and more people means more time filling up. Plus sometimes we might go days without food and have to ration it between us and one more person means we all don't get as much and we'll all be weaker during an attack. So I'm saying no, sorry Raider Bane." He slings his sniper rifle over his back and starts munching on some preztels.

[daxtinator396]

"I... I see. Than what would you have me do? Continue on my merry way then?" He said with a frown. He was used to traveling alone anyway but it wasn`t often you find a group like this one especially Miss Mikal. He was slightly put out by the rejection but he understood what he was saying even if he could pull his own weight. He got up with a sigh and returns to Rick,"Looks like we aren`t welcome. You can come with me if you like. Two lone wolves joined together against the world." He said with a smirk.

[KnightVanilla]

Getting a better understanding about the man in front of him from his stance, reaction to Lyle trying to sneak up on him. Lyle could definitely say he was once apart of the military. Maybe he had some information on his sister either way it was still good to see another human being that wasn't a bandit even if this one had to be pointing a gun at him. "We'll I'm sure if you put you're gun down my friend won't shoot. I mean it's not every day you meet a military man, well ex-military considering the way the world is." Lyle pulls out some dogtags. "But you're not the only one that had time with the military, soldier." Lyle says smiling.

[MiscChaos]

"Well, if Emile thinks that it's too dangerous to be part of the main group, why don't you follow behind us as a subgroup?" Mikal suggests, seeing Emile's point but also knowing the numbers can make all the difference in a prolonged battle. "We won't share all that much because, as he said, every bit is precious, but we'll help you out in combat and we'd expect the same and we'd share water with you when I revive a chunk of land. As a token of this alliance, I'd be willing to give up two X for you to eat. It should keep you fed for quite a while as long as you're not stupid with it. Is this acceptable to you?" She asks

[daxtinator396]

"Yes Ma`am. That sounds very reasonable. I can see why so many respect and seek you. My faith in humanity has been restored by a just a little maybe there`s hope for our race after all." He said nodding his head. His spirits brightened abit at the thought of maybe he wouldn`t have to claw and fight for everything he had anymore by himself. Maybe it would get easier for him and he would become more of the kind person he was before. NEfore all of this. He smiled a nice warm smile at the thought and asked,"Which X will we be provided with? You guys get first pick obviously. Your kill, your pick."

[MiscChaos]

"Yo, Rod! Which ones are the good ones!?" Mikal calls to Roderick.

"I'd go with the one with the snapped neck and two good arms and the one you cut the head off of. The one with the broken arm will be a bitch to pick the bones out of."

"Well, there ya go. Pick up the one with the broken arm and the one with the bullet in it's neck." she says with a flourish of her hand.

[daxtinator396]

Dax moves over to the kill he almost had claim to anyway and drags it over to Rick,"Here start cleaning and preparing this for travel while i get the other one. Miss Mikal, our Lightbringer as some call her, was kind enough to gift us with these. She has graciously allowed us to travel behind her so were technically not apart of her group but we still get benefits call it an alliance." Dax said with a wave of his hands as he goes and drags the other carcass back over to Rick and drew one of his knives forming his wind enhanced blade once again. It was much easier to enhance a blade`s edge than to create one from cratch and so he didn`t have to concentrate as hard and could still talk,"Miss Mikal where are you guys headed?" He asks as he begins the cut off the broken arm and strip the flesh from it.

[Lady Foxy]

Those screeches, those signs of being alerted. They had been warned. However, his survivor instinct held him back and told him to play it safe. He wouldn't forget himself if he didn't find her before dying.

His height had it's pros and cons in the world, whether it scared off potential human attackers or bandits, the X's were more on the lookout of a certain 'X' killer. It wouldn't be quite the coincidence, would it? Besides, he had better things to do at hand, like finding that group of people and see if she was there. With a quiet set of footsteps and ducking down low behind a couple of large rocks, he began to peek from the top as if he were a small child.

Their voices all sounded like some horror fantasy. One that he relieved every day, thanks to them. But he wouldn't let them get the best of him, not at all. Maybe.. Maybe that presence.. Had alerted them. Oh, somebody was going to be in big trouble if it turned out true -- and it wouldn't be him.

Troy began to move from cover to cover, hiding when possible and peeking from the sides to see if any X's were nearby. He had to better find this group and fast.

[Rooiehaan #2]

Anari paused for only a second, her mind racing to think of the best course of action. after getting slightly... misdirected when she lost mikal out of sight for only a second, she had found this man running about like he owned the place and, seeing his muscly nature and his outfit, figured he'd at least take her to a settlement. and what do you know, he brought her to Wausau. But now the stupid ox was busy alerting a whole bunch of those creeper X's, and her guilt was playing up. She had followed him safely, sneaking about behind the man who led her to ex-civilization, but if she didn't help him out he'd get decimated. Just look at him, and his futile attempts to sneak around! He was crushing more glass beneath his shoes then a bull in a china shop. She sighed, there's no helping it then.
Anari ducked low, and ran towards him as fast as she could. if only she could reach him in time before those things jumped the poor fool!