Description: Slam Masters Arena - once home to a wrestling franchise, now home to a series of diabolical experiments upon the citizens of Metro City. How far will Aranha go to stop the mad scientist Dr. Tessitore's dark ambitions?
Last week, the Slam Masters Arena was full of people -- a second refuge for many of the citizens and commuting workers of Metro City, those who opted not to partake in the militant violence being undertaken at the impregnable Il Paradiso Opera House. It was a nice place. A safe place, where people could relax... and succumb to the insidious nerve agent that a one Miss Tessitore had deployed within the famed wrestling arena.
And then THEY appeared. The Princess of Outworld and her devoted servant found untold potential within the supposed safe haven, and began a merciless killing spree -- all in the hopes of attracting the attention of more appetizing prey. Under the sheltering attention of the US Special Forces, the nerve agent's nefarious intent was discovered, and the people were ushered outside to the (relatively) fresh Majigen air.
And yet... one by one, the affected people soon found their way back to the Arena. Their reasons varied, their compromised mental states giving differing reasons for the return, but for whatever purpose, they had an unabiding need to return. The people were too numerous to be stopped, without resorting to inhumane and/or oppressive means of course.
But in their absence, the Arena has been transformed. Now, tubes filled with some sickly green compound are arrayed around the inner circumference of the arena floor, lit from below by the eerie lights of ill-defined technology. And within some of the tubes... are people.
In a manner of speaking, anyway. Some of them -were- people, a week ago. Some of them are, still. And as lab techs induct new arrivals into the latest experimental protocols, it seems something terrible is going on.
People are being transformed into darkstalkers. In some cases, it's genetic alteration, aided by the tubes. In others, hideous alterations are simply grafted on, with straps used to secure the patients to allow the immunosuppressant chemicals to take effect and prevent rejection.
But none of that would be visible from the entry halls. In the lobby, it looks totally above board, much like any sporting event taking place in the Arena. A woman with a lab coat walks out to meet one of the newest arrivals -- she does not have the same look as the others. She's -not- here because of the psychotropic drug -- she's here on a mission.
Miss Tessitore tilts her head to one side at the query she's been given, looking down at her clipboard. "Hmm... no, I'm sorry, I've seen... /a/ Keith, but not by -that- description. But... I'd be delighted to ask around! Would you mind sitting..."
Tessitore frowns for a moment, and then jerks a seat away from one of her assistants, pushing it in front of the new arrival. "Here? I'll just ask inside for a moment, I'm sure someone knows the answer!" And as she turns, it might be obvious that she's got some kind of black... growth stuck to the back of her lab coat.
Aranha had his ear to the street. He visited the various safe havens in an attempt to find something... Anything concerning his sister Kelly Mason. Unfortunately no one had seen her but there was hope. He began to hear rumors of people returning to the Slam Masters Arena as if under a compulsion. It didn't set right with him.
He decided he was going to hang back at first to get a general idea of the situation. Scout it out in order to help make his decision on how to approach the situation. That all changes when he sees a familiar figure heading towards the Slam Masters Arena while watching from a far with binoculars. Too far to stop her from going in, he throws all caution to the wind. bounding and leaping as he makes his way back down to the streets and then to the Arena.
It's when he hits the crowd that he's slowed down and then it's a bit of time before even he can make into the building proper.
Tessitore is not a doctor. But she's got the detached attitude of one, the casual condescension of someone who really and truly knows what's best for her patients. That, and everyone in this arena -- now advertised plainly as a sort of clinic for the numerous injured within Metro City -- seems to be calling her 'Doctor'. So that helps lend some credibility to the impossibly young "doctor" as she reemerges from the arena doors.
"Good news!" rings out her voice. "He's one of our newest arrivals, though I really have to say, he's... not been feeling well. I'd be happy to take you to him though!"
Tessitore pauses for a moment, biting her lip as Kelly shows some apprehension at this... invitation. "H-he's fine! Here, I'll... I'll bring you to him!" she stammers -- she's much more comfortable dealing with books than with people. Probably why she prefers nerve agents so much.
Tessitore pauses, her eyes scanning the room sharply. She didn't recall seeing anyone who -wasn't- already affected by her neurotoxin.
Which means the moment to strike is nigh. For while Tessitore steps closer, she takes advantage of both the suddenly-forced proximity, and the docile nature of the observers in the lobby.
And her four spider legs lash out, pressing against Kelly's shoulders and the back of her legs. The invasion of her personal space is probably unwelcome, but considering the sharpness of the insect appendages, it's probably in her best interest to go along with things.
"... Oh, my! I'm sorry. Sometimes I can't... exactly control myself," she lies, lamely offering a smile with the bedside manner of someone who'd accidentally stepped onto a patient's IV tube.
COMBATSYS: Dr. Tessitore has started a fight here.
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Dr. Tessitore 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Aranha has joined the fight here.
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Dr. Tessitore
Aranha isn't trying to stop the other people flowing into the arena. Oddly enough it works to his advantage since he sort of costs along with others which once he figures out how to move with them, he seems to make his approach faster. He can see his sister. Who is that in the lab coat with her?
He's looking at the staff in an attempt to see who he might need to deal with besides the 'Doctor.' And in his attempt to get an overview of everyone around, he notices that doctor looking for someone. More than likely someone who doesn't seem almost zombie-like in their behavior. He already knows he doesn't belong and so he has to act fast.
The crowd has pushed him close. He can see those spider limbs poking her. He can see his sister's slight wince of pain. He gets a flash back to when they were younger when he watched his parents at work on her. To the moment when he decided that he would take on as many of her punishments as he could. Patience is at least for the moment thrown to the wayside.
He leaps onto the shoulders of those docile 'patients' and runs on their shoulders before leaping off and then kicking off of a column to deliver a kick to Tessitore's shoulder. "What are you doing to my sister!?"
COMBATSYS: Aranha successfully hits Dr. Tessitore with Sky's the Limit.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Dr. Tessitore
"Doctor" Tessitore -really- isn't used to talking to people. But she is, however, used to forcing people to do things against their will! "Oh, come now, Miss Mason... it won't hurt if you just do what I -ask!- And look on the bright side, you'll be pretty like -me!- It'll be a sweet surprise when you meet this Kei-"
The sounds do not escape her notice. In fact, she's turning towards them, using the spider legs to pull Kelly away from her, lest the young woman get any bright ideas about taking advantage of the moment.
But Aranha is fast. Too fast. And while she's perfectly aware of what Aranha's -intending- to do to her, she's powerless to actually stop it, her shoulder dislocating from the sudden impact. Kelly is released in the gesture, a bit more roughly -- though that's probably preferable to being accidentally impaled, of course!
Tessitore crumples to the floor, even skidding down the nicely-polished floor, knocking dazed patients-to-be over like bowling pins.
"Ugh, ugh! God! What the hell is your problem! I was ... look, okay, these... these legs are new to me! I can't always control--"
She pushes herself up from the floor, using her spider legs as assistance, while the crowd parts to give her and Aranha some space. "Hey, I'm new here, when you -ask- a question while kicking someone, do you really -want- an answer?"
She, of course, asks this question while flinging test tubes from her sleeves. Each of them contains a volatile chemical agent which will explode on contact. She does not, in fact, expect a response.
COMBATSYS: Aranha fails to slow Phenomenon Crash from Dr. Tessitore with Web Shot.
- Power fail! -
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Dr. Tessitore
There's nothing like hearing the satisfying pop of a shoulder dislocating when it's your handiwork. Especially if this person is inflicting pain on a loved one. As she skids away from him, the Dancing Spider brings up his guard.
Even if delivered to a location that wouldn't cause unconsciousness, he knew that it was the type of kick that would knock the will to fight out of a lesser combatant. Clearly this 'doctor' was cut from a different cloth. Though considering the legs she was sporting, more like spun from a different web.
Clearly hurt she was willing to keep going.
"I'm not stupid. There's the condition of these people, the way you were aggressively touching my sister and the way you held her closer to you when you saw..."
He's cut off when he sees those vials flying at him. He works fast trying to quickly gather chi manifesting into blue mist. He lashes out with it his hand but never quite gets the chance to shape it into the form of a blue chi spider web before the vials explode on his arm with mist and fumes threatening to overwhelm him.
Aranha goes into a coughing fit, just barely gasping the words, "Jesus! What the fuck did you put in this shit!?"
Delight dances across Tessitore's features as she rises back to her full not-very-tall height. "Mmm... it's an interesting mix, actually!" she boasts, lab coat parting slightly: she'd be -flirting- with Aranha if not for him kicking her in the shoulder, after all! "I'd hate to spoil the surprise, though, it's not -patented- or anything, but I'm... about to send in an application!"
She squints slightly at Aranha. She can tell the explosions hurt -- and she can also tell that there seems to be some burn damage. Excellent! "Let's just say it's a taste of what's to come!" And with no further ado, she flicks her wrist at Aranha. Her middle and ring fingers are pinched to her palm, while the other fingers splay out -- why mess with an awesome gesture, right? Especially if she's got the /actual/ ability to sling spiderwebs outward from her sleeves.
But she's not targeting Aranha. She's targeting things -behind- him, like the lamps hanging from the ceiling. And she's aiming to propel herself forward sharply, using her spider legs to grab hold of him while she drives a knee into his solar plexus, and then transferring her momentum into bodyslamming the traceur into the far wall!
COMBATSYS: Aranha blocks Dr. Tessitore's Combo Throw.
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Aranha 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Dr. Tessitore
%But unfortunately for Aranha, his webs are only chi based and not the real thing. That being said, he never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that he would end up fighting someone with spider legs and who could legitimately fling web.
Speaking of webs, those webs are flying right by him. Based on her hand positions, he's able to figure out that she's about to pull herself in his general direction. As a result he covers up and lowers his shoulder pushing against it and slowing the slam before it could smash him too hard into the wall. Still he finds there's a bit of an ache in his shoulder as well as his leg from resisting the push.
If not for the fact that she was about to use unethical science practices on his sister, he'd smile at the combination of tactics and body positioning that put him in a bit of a predicament. Instead, he grits his teeth and then uses a front kick to push her away, and ideally off of her feet and then flipping over as he delivers a heel kick down upon her abdomen.
COMBATSYS: Dr. Tessitore counters Kick Combo from Aranha with Quantum Entanglement.
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Aranha 1/-------/=======|=======\=====--\1 Dr. Tessitore
The thing about the webs Dr. Tessitore shot out is, they're -still- connected to her in some form. She'd shot at the hanging lamps, she'd shot at the wall, so even though she'd failed to land her attacks in optimal fashion, she's able to glean some satisfaction in the expressions of pain flickering across Aranha's face -- as well as knowing that she has the advantage of placement.
Still with that flirtatious look on her face, she asks while close to Aranha: "So she's your sister, is she? It'll be adorable, I'll enhance -both- of you in the same way. Would you prefer--"
She doesn't get to finish her question before Aranha kicks at her. At this point though, he might not have noticed that she seems to be hopelessly intertwined in her -own- webbing. And thus, a perfect target...
Or maybe she'd -planned- it that way, as becomes evident as she hops back and away, tugging the webbing in opposite directions and neatly ensnaring the traceur in her webs. "Oooooooh, almost haaaad me..." she teases, cutting a tight pirouette and pulling the webs along with her. The webs flare with a green light as they spin him around, and then abruptly deposit him onto the floor. Her spider legs fold around her protectively as she steeples her fingers before her. "Anyway. Genesplicing hurts less! Maybe you'd like the spider legs like I got grafted on. You might need to talk to the big guy for those though!"
He knew exactly what she was going for. He knew the intertwining was an illusion. He knew the webbing was all a set up. And in he went in hard and fast with the front kick in an attempt to stop this from happening. He just wasn't fast enough. He gets snatched up and swung around like a flail and smashed down upon ground
He can feel his rage building. He lets the rage keep him focused. He takes deep breaths as he rips the webbing and rises back up to his feet. He rolls his neck. And just stares. He doesn't respond. The mentioning of his sister is just adding fuel to the fire.
He suddenly goes into motion as he leans backwards as he reaches down to the ground. When his hand touches the ground, his foot whips upward. The kick flips him up and over as he tries to connect with the 'Doctor's' chin.
COMBATSYS: Dr. Tessitore dodges Aranha's Change-Up Kick.
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Aranha 1/--=====/=======|=======\=====--\1 Dr. Tessitore
Dr. Tessitore's lips turn into a pouty expression as Aranha doesn't really give her a satisfying answer to her musing aloud. "Aww. You're really no fun with th--" But his sudden shift of motion forces a response! She considers the tactical viability of pressing an advantage, weighing them against the merits of living for another day, and...
Well. Survival wins out. Her webs detached, she snaps her wrist to the left, webs firing from her sleeve and securing themselves upon the exposed substructure of the arena. Hoisting herself out of safe reach of those fearsome kicks, she peers back at Aranha. And now has a better look. "Keith! I get it now. You're the champion of the Majigen Series!" Beat. "Technically. But only because that one guy conceded to you in the most ridiculous way possible, right?!" She smiles, proud of herself for piecing the puzzle together. "So you'd be gifted with a transformation from the big guy -anyway!-"
As she stares back at Aranha, her body is transported around the upper rafters by the four legs projecting from her back, apparently moving of their own volition. "Mmm. You -really- don't need to go through all this trouble! What do you want for your prize? Would you like your precious sister to remain weak and unmodified? Would -that- make you happy?"
The spider woman smiles as she analyzes Aranha's face intently, looking for any sign of what might be going through that head of his.
COMBATSYS: Dr. Tessitore calculates her next move.
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Aranha 1/--=====/=======|=======\=====--\1 Dr. Tessitore
He was certain that he could get up there in the rafters. His eyes quickly went over every possible route up there and then she speaks and for a moment he stops. It's clear he was missing something. When he woke up it was at a close by human haven and no one mentioned him being champion of the Majigen Series. And quite frankly he didn't give a damn about that anyway. At least not until the prize was mentioned.
"What? I never agreed to a transformation!"
The Dancing Spider was clearly confused as he was also being informed about how his opponent conceded and that he was winner on technicality since most of that also happened while he was out. He walks around not sure what to do at this point.
"I only came here... I only joined the Series to make sure my sister was safe. I don't care about the prize and now I've found my sister. I'm out."
He stands next to his sister and begins guiding her out as he pulls a small mirror from a hip pouch and walks towards the exit using the mirror to watch his back as the two make progress.
"Unless you intend on stopping me."
COMBATSYS: Aranha studies the situation for a moment.
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Aranha 1/--=====/=======|=======\=====--\1 Dr. Tessitore
"You... did agree to fight! You agreed to recieve power, and you shall! You agreed to receive compensation, and..." Tessitore pokes herself in the cheek, thinking for a moment.
And then Aranha says he's... /out?/ "H-hey, you can't just..." She frowns, looking over at the sister. Unharmed, mostly. And now the champion is walking off, without allowing the lord and master of this domain the opportunity to present the world with his new champion?
"Y-you know, I never really looked into it that much. It's all a blur, haha!" She speaks as if she's vapid, as if she's ditzy, but the fact of the matter is...
Dr. Tessitore cannot allow Aranha to simply -leave-.
"I do, in fact, plan to stop you!" And if Lord Dohma can't get his way... then maybe Aranha won't get -his-." Because when Dr. Tessitore swings down from the rafters, extending her long, pointed spider legs for maximum reach... she isn't just attacking Aranha.
She's attacking the person standing next to him.
COMBATSYS: Dr. Tessitore successfully hit Aranha with Critical Mass.
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Aranha 1/=======/=======|=------\-------\0 Dr. Tessitore
Dr. Tessitore had figured that Aranha would try to just walk on out of here. As soon as she'd heard that his -only- goal for the tournament was to walk out with his sister, well... that presented an issue! See, Jedah had some grand goal in mind for the fighters. Tessitore didn't know what that was all about -- it wasn't really her place to ask the strange man who gave her his blessing some months ago.
But any mess she's made up till now, she's been able to fix. And letting Aranha walk away, scot-free... that'd be no different than standing by and watching -other- students get the cushy teachers' assistant jobs. Or watching -other- friends get the hunky guys. Or watching someone -else- take credit for her brilliant thesis concepts.
No, this is the time for her to strike. To make good on things from her -own- skills. So when she swings close, she flashes a wink back at Aranha, as her sharpened spider legs stretch out, the spurts of blood heralding the puncturing of abdominal flesh in both Aranha and his sister. Not gonna lie... it looks bad -- it could even be fatal.
Especially since both of the two are thrown backwards against the wall of the arena lobby. And Tessitore leans her face so close to Aranha's, as she pins the two there with her sticky webs.
"Lord Dohma will be so pleased you've decided to stay... Once you understand that the -best- doctor in all of Metro City..."
She winks back at Aranha, thumping herself on the chest with her very human hand. "Is. Right. Here."
Aranha and Kelly simultaneously let out glass rattling screams. Aranha was tough he had to be. His ability to endure to pain was built up through years of child abuse including taking beatings meant for the sister who is now collapsed in a puddle of blood right next to him.
Tears of rage and fear for his sister's well being roll from his eyes. But in spite of the pain, he refuses to give the doctor the satisfaction of seeing him drop to his knees in front of her. He grits his teeth as he pulls a lighter from his pocket and then hisses in pain as he shifts his bag around reaches for the last can of his makeshift smokebomb that he crafted from his rescue of Juri. He lights the nickle sized slash in the can setting the tightly packed paper inside on fire. Smoke quickly begins filling the area with the last visible image being Aranha holding up a middle finger towards Tessitore.
With the smoke in the room one would be hard pressed see Aranha chi enhanced kick after spinning chi kick from assorted angles all delivered with the intent of bombarding her with kicks.
COMBATSYS: Dr. Tessitore fails to counter Royal Flush from Aranha with Neural Net.
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Dr. Tessitore
And then after all the kicks are delivered, he quietly moves away from Tessitore to pick up his sister and perform a fireman's carry as he tries to maneuver around the neurotoxin addled humans as he moves out the doors of the arena.
He hated being dependent on others. He hated asking for others to get involved in his family matters but he had to swallow his pride. He pulled out the feather from a pouch and whispers into it...
"Nightwolf"
When anyone checks to see where the two went, they are no longer there.
Suspended above Aranha courtesy of her webbing, Dr. Tessitore is no fool. She may resemble a spider now, but she's been through a few years of college: she knows damn well what a lighter is. And considering the chemical explosives she has on her person, she knows what can happen when a canister is exposed to open flame. Flame is an enemy to both spiders -and- people. "No. No, you'll kill -everyone!-" she insists, "Th...the science of it all! We have so much left to do!"
But it seems that she completely misinterprets the intention of the canister in Aranha's hand -- a fact reflected in the shrewd smirk she flashes back at him. In response to the vindictive middle finger: "... Really?"
Then the room is completely filled with smoke. The battle had convinced the other people to give the two combatants room, but proximity won't stop tears from coming to their eyes, or their lungs to stop feeling the need to cough at the smoke from Aranha's distraction. Tessitore frowns, but she believes she can tell what's going on. It's one of two things -- either he is planning to use the opportunity to flee, or he will use it to attack. Luckily, she has a means to deal with both of them -- spreading her webs every direction. She flicks webs out to the left, to the right, above, below, behind her, around... suffice to say, there's nowhere that Keith Mason could hide that she wouldn't be able to feel the slight tug of a web upon her sleeve.
Unfortunately, that means that she's able to sense each and every kick mere milliseconds before they hammer into her. Knowing the future does not equate to being able to do something about it -- though damn if she doesn't -try- to make use of the knowledge and manipulate the webs to her advantage. In the end, she's unable to manage even the slightest grip, her webs fraying and splitting from the sheer intensity of Aranha's onslaught. The grad student's body has been reinforced by the strength of the spider, but even still it is not built for the rigors of combat in the same way as others -- she shrieks in pain as bones crack, doubles over as internal organs are forcibly rearranged for mere moments.
When the smoke clears, Dr. Tessitore is crumpled on the floor, panting for breath. Tears stain her face, as her more resilent spider legs elevate her human frame from the floor, her unbroken left hand reaching to her face to wipe the blood and spittle from her lip.
"The master... will not be pleased..." she mumbles to herself, casting hurt look to her nearest assistant.
And then she realizes that -- even in their toxin-addled state -- people have turned to stare. "... What are you people all looking at? You s-saw that, he tried to attack me! I-I had every right to defend myself..." As her words fall upon deaf ears, the click-clack of her spider legs across the floor is the only sound in the otherwise silent arena lobby as she maneuvers back to the cavernous lab within.
Log created on 19:34:10 04/26/2015 by Dr. Tessitore, and last modified on 17:37:56 04/27/2015.