Cross Effects 3.0 - June 23, 2016—April 02, 2018

[SINIB]

Noel Vermillion

The short blond woman wasn't pleased that she'd been assigned to interrogate the man she'd saved. The first problem was a very simple one. She sucked at interrogating people. She was probably among the worst on the entire force. And as such, she hated doing it. It was no fun at all trying to be the mean cop and drag information out of people.

In her opinion, they should just hire some professional interrogators.

Secondly, she honestly didn't want to be reminded of what she felt was a complete failure on her part by seeing the civilian who was now probably in the ICU again.

Noel scrunched up as she floated out of the room, following about a foot behind Tar, floating above everyone as to not crowd the building even further.

Henry Barthow

Where did the people in charge get off ordering him to go interrogate a half-dead victim at the hospital anyways? It might've called for a gentler hand than his, whose gruffiness would be testified on by everyone who knew him. But his partner - he still had to make an effort to tell that to himself - had brought him in to begin with after saving his life. Henry would be dishonest to say he wasn't expecting it, but it didn't seem like it was going to help. The man was there, and Noel was there, and the former had, by Henry's reckoning, gotten massacred in view of the latter. What else did the brass hope to hear?

Granted -though dubiously-, Vermillion had perhaps not the most acute mind or reliable account in the block, but she wasn't incompetent, and the alternative wasn't in the best of shapes. So that was their quarry, annoying quest that required them to drive back and forth like factory pumps. It was what he had a car for, but he really didn't like driving so much as he was good at it, and being well-embedded in his muscle memory it had that mysterious effect of casually anchoring the conscious effects of his stress while he was engaged in it (without a cybernetic nightmare chasing his cell or the hounding of similar incidents).

And being busy meant things were worse than they could have been. That they weren't as bad as they had the potential to be yet, he thought as they closed in on their location, was a minor consolation.

The demon didn't see the sterile order and sorting of hospitals with welcoming eyes; the immaculate halls in the depths of his mechanical mind were empty of care, and the methodical operations that came with the white coats detached of any sentiment, human faces working with the systems of humanity to harvest it, bereft of heart. Beyond that, hospitals were vulnerable places to be. It was all too easy to be caught defenseless or held up in the system, for someone to take advantage of the busy minds of the staff and the complicated structure of the practice to get rid of inconveniences.

Henry appreciated the hospitals of the Nexus for their lax registration and record-keeping bar the specification of patients. Almost as much as he appreciated that the sargeant had taken care of talking to the hospital about their coming, and they didn't face many obstacles on the way to the man. Time was a different matter, but at least it wasn't waiting for a consultation. He found he got hungry during those occasions. He was starting to need to bite into something now, actually. Something with actual nutrients.

After the nurse left them with the typical warnings, he opened the door to the intensive care room where they'd find the person they wanted. "Ladies first," he said to Noel.

Noel Vermillion

Noel dejectedly followed Henry into the hospital, and clearly wasn't paying attention to the nurses as they gave their annoying spiel to them. She was busy fretting about this meeting in her head, thank you very much. She didn't want or need to be told about how she needed to wash her hands and other such nonsense. She wanted to go home, take a long bath, and play shooter games until she passed out from exhaustion.

"Ahhhh..." She murmered to herself, complaining about how awful this situation was.

"Thanks..." she replied to Henry as she got on the elevator, and looked around at the buttons until she realized something important.

She had no idea where they were going.

"Ummmm..." Noel said, staring at the array of buttons.

Her partner walked in and quietly queued up the elevator, talking them to the third floor. It seemed like he was similarly glum about this task.

As they entered the room, Noel tried to smile at him, but couldn't. The sapphire-eyed woman simply floated behind Henry silently, unable or unwilling to greet Malcolm.

[SINIB]

HospitNoel

A less experienced person might have reacted in some manner to the grotesque appearance of the monster. Instead, Noel quickly cast an ars on the two of them protecting them from the effects of poison gas, and then once it finished gathering, set up a barrier trapping it in the small room with them.

"Get behind me." She told Gadreel.

She began wildly firing, large glowing orbs appearing all over the room in ever increasing numbers where she fired at. After she created about ten of them, she slammed her guns together, creating an immense explosion in the room. She shielded them behind a barrier she threw up.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Malcolm

Malcolm groaned as he dozed under the effects of the morphine. It wasn't much, but the medicine and magic had long since brought him back to near consciousness. Whoever wrote his name in, it sure was nice to have the VIP treatment. He got a lollipop at least, so he wasn't going to complain. As long as he didn't move and resisted his urge to stretch, he shouldn't be yelling his lungs out any time soon.

Suddenly, he heard the door creak open. Good grief, a visit already? Just as he was about to doze off, talk about timing. Grinning, the poor Malcolm resigned himself and sighed. This was going to be a long day.

"Well butter my butt and call me biscuit, mister officer here's bringing me a flower. Didn't have to, but thanks anyway." He said sarcastically, despite pretty much his entire lower body going please let me die. At least he could still talk and had enough oxygen in his brain to try to be witty.

With a friendly look he moved his hand slightly, the most he could manage at the moment, and waved at the girl from earlier.

"Yo. Sorry about the mess, I make a pitiful looking patient, don't I? Good grief, being so pathetic in front of a charming darling like you, I've really done it now." Suddenly, almost as if he changed entirely, his tone turned much more serious.

"I take you're not here just to give me your condolences, right?"

[Kat]

Rikuyo

Something's not right, Rikuyo's insticts told her the moment something wasn't right with sounds of her steps. This is what probably saved Rikuyo's head from getting severed off as she moved sideways. She sacrificed her left arm and all that was left now was bleeding stump.

Gritting her teeth, she closed her bleeding, but didn't regenerate her arm just yet. Gotta save energy for that form to pay back Medaka for her wound.

Even those born blind to the chi could feel the tension in the air as Rikuyo powered up, her now visible aura cracking with electricity. Her skin morphed into greenish fish like with a yellow belly, her tail disappeared and her hair turned white, glowing and charged with static electricity. Everything that survived Medaka's attack and depended on electricity just exploded from the overload.

Rikuyo overcharged her nervous system with electricity, elevating herself to a peak that out of all her forms only her transient ultimate form surpassed. A cruel smile formed on her face as she moved in a flash in an attempt to remove Medaka's left arm. This would be sufficient. An arm for an arm.

[Kat]

Minato

The purple haired woman left. There should have been nothing suspicious about it, right? Or maybe not, the woman couldn't hide completely that she had possibly something to do with the state of the neighborhood. Katase unfortunately too acted quite suspicious. Amateurs, both of them.

"Farewell, then!" She waved back friendly to Sakura, with a natural smile on her face.

[Kat]

Mordred

Oh, yeah, if she did it too fast, maybe she would lose prematurely? She should calm down, and stall a little for time. "Oh, right, maybe I should drink my tea first, then." Her stomach won't burst open if some of food gets already through by the time she finishes the drink.

[yinsukin]

Medaka Kurokami

The lizard girl seemed to notice something was wrong at the last second.  She moved to the left the moment she shot foreword, causing her to cut through her arm instead of delivering the full force of the attack to her center as planned.  She stopped moving a few feet away from Rikuyo, her bones broken as usual.  She stood there for a moment gathering herself before a strange chill was sent down her spine.

When she turned around, Rikuyo was in front of her wearing an almost sadistic smile.  Her body had changed, it was in the form of a fish charged with electricity.  With one quick movement, she grabbed hold of Medaka's left arm and ripped it off.

A loud yelp of pain echoed through the streets complimenting the sharp pain that coursed through her body.

[Kat]

Rikuyo

Wow, when she didn't use this technique, it was no challenge at all. But at least she sent her message across.

"We're even now. Recover and use that thing on me again, I'll wait." The whitehead tossed Medaka's arm in her direction, giving it back so to speak. Then, she let her arm finally grow back. That would drop her power somewhat, but maybe would make things more interesting.

[yinsukin]

Medaka Kurokami

Medaka caught her arm with her other arm and reattached it.  Her regeneration secured it to her body.  The broken bones began rebuilding themselves.  While all of this was going on, she tilted her head as she faced Rikuyo.

"You want me to do that agian?  Im not sure I feel comfortable with that.  I realize now I was being a bit irresponsible.  That could have killed you if you didn't see it coming."  She said, looking down with a bit of regret.

[Kat]

Rikuyo

"Nah, it's fine. I'd just reincarnate. That's my second lifetime. I used to be a god thousand years ago, though I don't really remember well how I ended up like this. My memories are blurry 'bout that. Besides..." Rikuyo's aura spiked up in when she got her arm back, ready for another attack. "... I'm still more faster than before."

[Aiden]

Muramasa Katase

The puppet frowned for a moment, but nodded to the purple-haired woman as she got up to leave. "Farewell then, Matou-san."

That wasn't too bad for an effort at a casual conversation, was it? Katase certainly thought she did well enough. Of course, she would concede that she was hardly a fair judge in that regard. Her true form didn't even have a face.

She turned to her current wielder. "Well, I suppose the children will appreciate having others their age around."

[Kotomine_Rin]

? ? ?

The insect was persistent, engaging further would result in his defeat. Luckily, the moment he defended against the hands, the hero could not commit and the demon used this split second opening to escape, leaping away and unfolding his wings in an attempt to take flight to zone his opponent.

"Foolish, even God will not save you. In this place, in this world, I am God!" He roared as purple light burst from his wounds. Slowly but surely, despite his screaming pain and weakened state, his body began to heal. No, this wasn't right. This was no regeneration, it was as if his body was being refilled, growing back without restraint.

"Let me show you, the true meaning of hell!!" He howled, partially in pain and partially in anger, but all in all overtaken by a mad resolve. In response to his determination the light shone brighter like a star and covered his whole body in terrifying incandescence.

Like an indigo sun, a flame that would never be extinguished, the demon caused the world to tremble. Space seemed to twist and bend, and a ghastly burst of air came from his body, winds and pressure growing into a visible orb of pure pressure that kept growing like a wall, intent on smashing all that opposed it and crush it against the wall.

[Aiden]

Ron

"Not askin' you to like me." Ron was pretty sure he liked Shinobu a bit though, or at least the taste of her. He could tell by the way he was nipping and pulling on her skin with his teeth, and feeling everywhere he could without dropping her. Or the way he pulled her up higher, pushed his hairy face against her's and pressed their bloody mouths together. He able to taste his own staining her lips and tongue.

He ignored the racket going on outside, the way the lights flickered and died. He noted it, but the werewolf didn't care. It wasn't a threat to him, or the vampire he was trying to figure out the best position to push into. Maybe the counter? Doing this from behind felt like the natural way to approach it...

[Aiden]

Auspicious Breeze

Breeze was just past halfway through the bowl and most of the way through her bread by the time Sakura finished. It was all about pacing! By eating at a quick but steady rate the Solar could keep her body from registering that she'd had too much food and keep enjoying more of it. Not that half a bowl was enough to fill this big girl up!

Mordred looked like she was doing pretty good too! She was curious what'd happen if they all won. She'd owe Sakura a favor, those two would have to feed her dessert, and ... bleh, she wouldn't be able to flirt with cute girls the rest of the day if Mordred won! Breeze picked up the pace a bit.

[Aiden]

Liam

He angled things so he was between the three with the guns and Petra. If they shot it'd be him who got him, not her. He could take a couple dozen bullets without much problem, but he didn't fancy her chances of getting away safe from that.

The man with the flashlight and gun scowled. "I don't have to answer to you, boy. You and your lady best just turn around now-"

Another of the robbers interrupted. "Waitaminute, what if they go an' tell someone about this place? What happens then? We lose the score before we can make trips two and three? I ain't losing this one, Mikey." The third gunman let out a 'hn' of agreement. "Let's just shoot 'em and see what they got."

The vampire took a deep, unnecessary breath. "You might wanna start runnin'," he murmured to Petra. Without her there he could just control them and make them fight each other instead. Or break their knees. Or both. He wouldn't have to hold back.