The Ruins of Venezuela - Recently Fixed

(I'm so gonna Taskmaster my way through them btches).

@sideslash: ( go for it, but the leader aint weak )

(I was referring more to the thing Taskie did when he infiltrated SHIELD. Keep in mind Felix has the weapons/abilities of his enemies (post-Cleaning House). So...yeah...)

The leader looked down as the woman cried out in an apparent pain, He shook his head angrily before pointing the gun forwards as a light switched on underneath the barrel illuminating a passage, he heard the explosion before which had caused a type of landslide and locked them both inside. He knew this was bad, he knew that their was only one escape on the other side of the tunnel and at this rate...they would run out of oxygen beacuse of the lack of ventilation in about an hour. He carried on pointing his gun ahead as he looked down and spoke to the woman angrily "Get up, that tunnel collapse from the explosion has locked as in with little air...We need to get out, and fighting to the death will only impede us..The toxic chemicals in the air in such a confided space will prove lethal, not get to your f*ucking feet" He waited until she got up before carrying on.

@anthony_stark: Post hearing the explosion outside, she was thoroughly surprised he didn't falter. That would've likely presented her with the best chance of escape, but even then it would be a long shot. Arms bound behind her back, she sighed, eyeing him wearily, visibly vexed by his yelling. "That's going to be a little difficult in my current state. A little help would be appreciated." And she waited for him to help her up, or not, before the inevitable resumption of the shoving down the tunnel.

@arquitenens:

He helped her up with his free hand as he put her arm round his shoulder as a support, speaking quickly "And I thought you were faking" He grunted as he began to shuffle forward through the cafe using his guns light to show the way through, as they continued down the long tunnel he remembered it split off into 3 parts at one point...1 led to the exit and the other two led to unused mines, virtually tombs for dead explorers. He honestly could not remember the way, as they continued on he suddenly stopped as they came across at the 3-way split. He looked at her "Well...one of these is the way through.." He shone his light through all three confused. He then looked at her as he took her bow off his back, "Take this" He handed her the bow. "I don't have to effort to carry it, I don't think its got any arrows but you can use it as a attacking weapon possibly...if we get attacked, I have heard rumors that some natives have taken this place as refuge" Shaking his head as he leaned her against a wall and put his hands on his hips contemplating the way, he turned back around and spoke "We have three ways, one leads to the exit two lead to starvation, or will get you lost long enough to run out of air...I am lost" He folded his arms in thought as he turned his head back towards the passage.

@anthony_stark:

The East

Relative to the other quarters of the country, this was the least effected, but still no-better than a third world country, day-to-day business was almost no existent, this section actually had food-banks and other shelter for the population. But it was still ridden with disease and crime, again international aid was cut off and so was the internet, in fact nobody in the whole country had the internet beacuse of the disruptions of the communication lines since the Pyro Crow bombings that had still not been repaired and had no plans to repair them.

Black bulldozers mobile in the area, moving in groups of five by the order of an anonymous. Seemingly arriving two days ago they began to move with precision as they scoop several bodies, nobody seemed to mind as they are merely background activities. Black tents are assembled where additional aid is given to the victims of the event, several refugees live there as their old homes are gone. In here there is an 'unusual' aid that carried two alphabets with it, with the appearance of this group it seems that people are getting healthier although numerous signs of mass disappearances have also been recorded. Recently spiking compared to the last ten weeks.

"Such a shame..."

The living shadow remarked from his vantage point in the upper levels of a towering ruin that was once a luxury hotel.

"For a place that once held such beauty to be reduced to a wasteland such as this truly saddens me... reminds me of my home...

His Slavic heritage barely discernible due to the mask he wore. In the distance, gunshots echoed through the ruined city-scape, the rhythm of battle slowly intensifying.

"One would think these people would have had enough of war at this point..."

@anthony_stark: Even as he aided her standing in an apparent show of hospitality, Abby remembered not to get to trusting the man. He was, after all, capable of any number of heinous acts as those taking place all over the country, and still would likely kill her without a second thought. This in mind, she made sure to carefully keep up the illusion that she had hurt herself, limping as she reclaimed her bow. And yet still no arrows. Perfect, she thought sarcastically. Those eleven arrows were all she had in the entire country, since the incident at HALO left her without the resources to get more. But she knew she was in no condition to argue for his leaving her quiver. Reclaiming it from the compound would be next to impossible anyway; nothing left but to move on. "If there are natives, you'd better let me deal with them. They're probably scared, and wouldn't take well to your uniform. Maybe you should take that off too. Like you said, we can't afford a conflict." A number of benefits sprang to mind, thinking about running into the natives, and she spoke with absolute confidence, as if she knew exactly what she was doing, when in fact her communication remained spotty at best due to the language barrier. Hopefully one would know English, and could possibly tell them which way was out.

In her lifetime, Abigail had come to hate her mutation, due to the status she knew it would give if anyone found out, and the fact that she was resigned to such secrecy and insecurity. Because of this, instances where she willingly uses her power are rare, and thus she isn't entirely sure how they work, or how to call on them to do what she needs. But in that moment, unsure of what to do or where to go, she knelt down and focussed. Trying, perhaps, to affect her luck in such a way that the probability of the random guess she was about to take would lead to the best result. "There," she called, pointing at the central path. "No reason that wouldn't be the correct path. I'm guessing mines are typically made as simple as possible, for the workers' sake, and instinct usually says take the centre. No reason that shouldn't be right."

@arquitenens: He grunted annoyed at the truth she was speaking about his uniform as they stopped at the split passage "You're right" He grabbed his chest and pulled off the VRS logo that was situated on it then did the same to his shoulders and knee "There...I look like a rebel" He shook his head annoyed. He watched at the woman knelt in thought about the passage, he himself was completely lost however. Continuing to point the light in the direction as he looked ahead before the woman spoke "Maybe" He shoved past her not giving her a lift up as he walked forward with his gun pointing in the central direction as he cautiously followed the path, It was so long his light could not even see the end. He turned his head and spoke quickly in a whisper "Hurry up".

The tunnel was dark and rats where scurrying along the floor, this led him to think that maybe their was actually a way out..or maybe the rats had come in through the exploded entrance, he knelt down as his foot kicked a knife that was on the floor. Picking it up he turned around and spoke to Abby "I wonder WHO-" Seemingly out of the shadows he was forcefully grabbed by somebody who had appeared from nowhere, in reality they had been hiding in a crevice in the ceiling. The attacker had put a rope around the Officers neck as he attempted to strangle him, another attacked jumped down from behind and attacked to perform the same move against Abby....

The Officer jolted backwards as he smashed the man into a rock hoping to break some bones, not caring that Abby was under attack as he punched backwards hitting the man square in the nose breaking it instantly, Spinning around he delivered a swift and fatal blow towards the mans rib-cage shattering most of his ribs, then casually smashed the natives head on a wall.

He then spun his head towards Abby to see if she was still alive...

@anthony_stark: Yeah. Not particularly, she thought, somewhat annoyed, in response to his claim of passing for a rebel. It was, in her eyes, pretty audacious, the sheer simplicity with which he regarded himself and his actions. And furthermore, his rude shove served as added insult, when she already had a mind to bash him over the head with the bow. Instead, she simply rolled her eyes. "Hell-looo. Not in optimal cond—"

Before she could finish her sarcastic chiding, however, the attackers sprung forth, pouncing down behind him as well as her. Just barely tracking her assailant before he could catch her by complete surprise, a forearm was placed between the rope and her neck, thwarting the choking attempt. With her free arm, she swung up and backwards, wrapping it around the neck of the man attacking her, using the hold to drag him around to her frontal view. This time he charged her directly, and while far from the greatest among fighters, she could handle herself against a single man such as this. A spinning dodge let him collide freely with the rock wall, and from there she took him behind in a rear naked choke, though purposefully, she did not squeeze tight, allowing him his breath and blood flow to his brain, for the moment. Next came the hard part.

"No...soy..." she searched frantically for the words in her mind, really regretting not taking the chance to learn Spanish when she could've. "Enemigo!" Once finding the word, she blurted it out immediately, almost overjoyed to be able to find it, and she repeated it. "No soy enemigo! Please. Just stop." When he had settled, she passed a glance to see what the officer had been doing; a glance which quickly turned to a glaring mix of shock and disdain.

"Watch what the hell you're doing, you dumbass!" she shouted, reflexively letting go of the man she'd been engaging and rushing over to the other two. "What the hell is wrong with you!? We could use their help, remember!?" And from there she continued grumbling to herself before suddenly, reluctantly turning back to him. "How's your Spanish?"

In the days following her escape of the VRS, Abigail had become extremely careful in how she tread. There was nary a moment when she wasn't checking over her shoulder. Paranoia, brought on by the fact that now that she'd been captured and escaped, there might be a watch for her, her cover as "a simple trapped girl" surely blown.

Since then, she'd spent most waking hours trying to acquire more resources, tools for defence and food. Luckily, they hadn't checked for the athame in her boot, so she still had that, but her knife had been confiscated, her bow lost in her escape. At the moment she resided in a small clearing outside Puerto Ayacucho, spending her rest in a rather large ditch half-filled with water, thinking. Nothing profound, no big plans, simply lost in her own mind.

@arquitenens:

Shirzad had been moving fast. An on-off road motorcycle she had built herself carried her across the wastelands. Each hour ate up the miles. Fuel was running low. She had underestimated the degree of devastation; supplies were sparse.

Up ahead she saw a ditch. Maybe a vehicle had crashed in it, there would be fuel she could salvage.

She rolled to a stop and climbed off the bike.

@arquitenens: ( I will post in the past capture thing today/tomorrow as a past event ) @shirzad: ( Good luck! This will be fun to read, interesting to see what you two got planned! )

@anthony_stark: (Planned? Who plans? We just do! But don't watch >.>)

@shirzad: (Dain? Now that is just too obvious! I feel nostalgic)

In her hyper paranoid state, her every perception seemed on edge, heightened to a degree. The hum of the motorcycle didn't escape her and she immediately prepared for some kind of attack. Even if not VRS, the area was a frequent target for scavengers and the type of scum the current state invited. Taking a deep breath, she took the athame from her boot, holding it in a reverse grip, waiting for the entity to get closer before pouncing, intent to wound, but not to kill.

@arquitenens: ( Ok >.> )

@anthony_stark: I get nervous V_V

@arquitenens: Still gona watch :P

@arquitenens: [ Prime doesn't count :-P ]

Crimson boots strode through the brown sands of the desecrated land. An ebony cape dragged over the dirt. She felt the vibrations of the archer's leap and 'saw' the sonar pattern of her form in the air.

Time stopped. She stood in the midst of a step as the archer hung frozen in the sky. Not literally but Shirzad's instant cognition enabled her to perform an transfinite number of tasks per pinto-second. An ideogramic thought-language capable of near infinite cognition enable Shirzad to think so fast it seemed as if the world stood still.

She mapped the girls somatic system by its electromagnetic field. The type of fabric her cloths were made from, her hydration levels and body mass index from minor variations in her sonar signature.

At last she reduced her process frequency and begin mental maintenance tasks. Life snapped back into motion- Without turning her head to look Shirzad arched a crimson gauntlet through the air deflecting the athame and attempting to twist it from the archers grasp by pinning it between the blades on her gauntlet.

@shirzad: (Yes it does. Not for actuality, but for sentimentality, it does)

As she was, something of a panic taking hold, finesse was completely absent in her movements. She did notice the odd outfit and skin, but all that meant was the woman wasn’t a native. In an instant, the small blade was ripped from her grasp, and Abby made no attempt to hold on, instead lunging forward to close the remaining space between them, hoping to pin her arms to the ground and immobilize her.

@arquitenens: [ Well that's true I guess. ]

Abby managed to tackle Shirzad. Her momentum carried them both to the ground with enough force to knock the air from Shirzad's lungs. She snaps one hand free and it blurs into a series of fingertip jabs; Kratesis's Vespa style in action. If successful they would paralyze Arquitenens from the neck down.

@shirzad: Her takedown attempt successful, Abigail immediately pinned the masked adversary, but in that same instant, her hold was broken by a vastly superior strength which made her feel absolutely powerless; and then she was. All of her strength failed her as she fell headfirst, forward into the ground before she even knew what happened.

Damn.

@arquitenens:

Rolling over Shirzad stands above the paralyzed Abigail. Resting her hands upon her utility belt as she speaks through a device on said belt. <I trust you have a good reason for attacking me?>

@shirzad: Though cursing her predicament, the fact that she wasn't being murdered or carted off to some facility provided small comfort for the moment. Staring at the ground, she spoke hurriedly. "O-okay, I'm sorry. I thought you might've been...hostile."

@arquitenens:

Kneeling beside Abigail Shirzad's electronic voice echos through the ditch as she rolls her over onto her back. <Mm. It is a hostile country. How long have you been here?>

@shirzad: Rendered helpless in a single, simple move, rolled about like a patty on a grill, out of all the indignities she'd suffered in her time, the humiliation from this was among the worst. How daddy must've been so disappointed. But she didn't express her annoyance, save for a sigh before replying. "I don't know. I lost track of time a few days ago. Since before things got like this."

@arquitenens:

Shirzad pressed a couple of points in Arquitenens's neck releasing her from the paralysis. <Ah. Do you need medical attention? I have some food too.>

@shirzad: The feeling gradually returning to her body, Abby slowly sat up, then stood, reclaiming the athame and placing it back in her boot. "No, thank you. I'm not injured. Just a bit tired, and I haven't eaten in some time." The truth was that she was exhausted, and she hadn't eaten in days, unable to afford food or a place to stay since she had nothing but what she wore.

@arquitenens:

Opening a canister Shirzad removes a ration bar. Tasteless, but filling and nutritious. She tosses it to Abigail. <There is water stored in my bike.> As she returns to the bike. <Have you seen anywhere that might have fuel?>

@shirzad: Letting the food bar fall into her hands, Abby took a single bite and, after a single chew, reflexively spit the contents onto the ground. "...Sorry." Feeling a bit disrespectful, she apologized and went back to eating, bitterly swallowing a tasteless portion before answering. "There's a city, Puerto...something, about a half a mile that way," pointing off in the distance. "Someone there might be able to help you. But you'd better make sure you've got something to trade."

@arquitenens:

Tosses her a bottle of water from her bikes supplies. <A few things. Are you headed that way?>

@shirzad: Catching the bottle in her hand, she immediately opened it and turned it upside down, swallowing the contents in but a few seconds. She hadn't planned on it, since Puerto Ayacucho happened to be the town she was captured in and she hadn't had a reason to. Even still, she saw the possibility of a new acquaintance, and hadn't yet forgotten what the woman had done to paralyze her. "I was, actually."

@arquitenens:

Waving toward the now empty bottle of water. <Amazing filters. You can't even tell its recycled urine.>Her half paralyzed face allowing her to deadpan without even a twitch.Tossing a leg over the crimson and ebony cycle. <Climb on. I have enough fuel to get us there.>

@shirzad: (Bitchy McWhat)

With the revelation, Abby's eyes went wide and she threw up in her mouth a little, spitting to the side before mounting the cycle with a grimace.

@arquitenens:

Her body shakes with silent laughter as she starts the bike. <Its not really.>They pull back onto the road and are soon accelerating toward Puerto.

@shirzad: Having lost her composure yet again in just a few short moments, Abby's cheeks went bright red, though she'd been glad to hear she hadn't been drinking urine of any kind like a starved dog. She wrapped her arms weakly around the woman's waist, offering a low "Thank you," before going silent for the duration of the ride, slumping forward on her back with her head resting on her shoulder.

@arquitenens: [ Tired, I'll pick this up again tomorrow ]

@shirzad: (Okay. Good night! ^_^)

Victor stood in the ashes of Northern Venezuela. His boots sunk three inches into the ground. Snow piled upon his regally armored shoulders. Thickly muscled arms crossed over a broad chest. A scowl upon his face as he surveyed the wasteland.

"A man of iron has burned this land to ash. But a man of steel shall rebuild her."

@beast_of_brass: (I'll get trained, then come and beat you in a monthly montage, and you'll get me that bow.

It snows in Venezuela?)

@arquitenens: [ The picture has some kind of nuclear winter thing going on. ]

@beast_of_brass: (I didn't know nuclear winter meant actual winter. Wow)

@arquitenens: [ Reduced sunlight because of all the ash and so forth. Kinda hypothetical, no one has ever set off that many nukes before but its become part of the post apocalyptic genre now. ]

@beast_of_brass: (So is it ash or snow?)

@arquitenens: [ In theory you'd have both. A lot of the lighter and finer ash would become clouds while heavier ash would cover the ground. Then you'd have evaporated water that became snow instead of rain due to the lower temperatures. ]

@beast_of_brass: (Makes sense. That's the radiated part, right? North?)

@arquitenens: [ Yeppers. ]

Leon landed in the ruins of this once great city all now reduced to rubble. "man...this place was completely leveled...now i feel the impact"

@anthony_stark: "Bloody...fecking...Hell..." Puzzler's head became just a bit heavier as he almost nodded off. Blood dripped from his nose and mouth as he sat, bound, in a steel chair. The VRS has arrested him for suspicious activity in the ruins of some buildings. The activity? Sending a nasty demon that eats soldiers corpses back to hell. The VRS of course didn't buy what he was putting down, so they beat the sh!t out of him and placed him in a dingy interrogation room.

"I need a cigarette.." He barely managed to say while eyes his jacket that was hung up over by the door, his pack of Export A's hanging out of the inside pocket.

Victor stood in the center of an abandoned city. The people had fled. Fled or died as the radiation crawled through the north. The livestock, the plants. All dead or irradiated. Who could survive in such a land?

Only the strong.

This was no longer a land for weaklings. No longer a land for frail human bodies. The endless sea of humanity could not wash upon these radioactive shores. The vast armies of weaklings could not trample down the mighty here.

Here Victor would build his kingdom. Not upon the gravel of humanity but with the blocks of powerful mutants. He would lead no vast army of frailties. Instead there would be a collection of the mighty.

Over weakness, strength. Over the many, few.