Match of the Millennium

Description: Arriving at DOATEC HQ to find out the true extent of DOATEC and Ultratech's involvement in the corporate wars currently embroiling and threatening even G-Corporation they find a headquarters in shambles. The remnants of machines and downed corporate assassins of every color and stripe lay everywhere. Black soot and exposed metal is everywhere. And in the center, one last machine, half-mad with the truth, and the programming to capture all intruders. DOATEC's tower is doomed, with the final impact due in minutes. Will the machine overide all sense, or will the man prevail one last time?

[RAE]
Everything, has gone to hell.
Hong Kong is burning. Great plumes of roiling black smoke rise in the wake of the crumbling fortress that is even now falling from the sky, great chunks falling away and plummeting to earth with devastating velocity. The earth shakes and trembles, buildings swaying, shedding loose material like stony droplets of sweat that shower the streets below. And at the heart of it all, both the cause and the destination, DOATEC HQ stands partially aflame. A hateful microcosm of the chaos it has brought upon the world.
The ground level gapes like a toothy maw, its grand sweep of mirrored windows shattered inward to litter the floor of a scorched, bullet-pocked lobby. Blood streaks the walls and floor, once living bodies tangled amidst the sparking husks of robots. Men and women in dark suits, Shinobi garbed in every color and style of dress. Hulking mechanical monstrosities and sleek, lethally engineered kill droids. But nothing useful. No information to be gained beyond the obvious.
With the building lit only by strobing red emergency lights, the way forward is clear. Through the empty hole that once housed a heavy security door. Down several flights of stairs into the protected depths of the facility. Spent casings litter the path, the odd body found sprawled in a tacky puddle of partially dried blood. Above, further up in the doomed building, the battle still rages. But down here, things begin to grow quiet.
A last turn through a mangled steel blast door reveals a long, squared hallway where the fighting must have reached a head. Mounds of machines lie in a lopsided line perhaps three fourths of the way along, torn and mangled by bullets, explosions, and other more personal methods of destruction. Closer to the entrance an equally large pile of bodies lies shredded and leaking, a few dotting the no mans land between, mounded piles of meat that lie still beneath the ghoulish red strobe of the emergency lighting.
Beyond all that, down the hall and through a destroyed security checkpoint, the final destination has been breached. A pair of meter-thick doors rest on their tracks, three meters of space between them. And behind them, lit by flashing red and their own whitish blue glow, are the true prize of this expedition. Row upon row of gently humming servers, cool mist slithering between their bases and leaking out to spread across the ruined corridor beyond. Banks of data that hum and rattle, stacked one atop the other until they touch the ceiling some 12 feet overhead.
Even here there are signs of damage. One stack toppled and partially melted, one armored arm poking from the wreckage.
A red-clad ninja lying broken upon the ground, body bound in spiked wire that seems to have squeezed her out of shape.
The corpse of a man in a black suit and sunglasses impaled through the chest with a katana, upper torso hanging some 6 feet off the ground while his lower body lies beneath him, connected only by a long rope of something purplish and unpleasant.
"Intruders detected." comes a low, electronic growl, words emerging from deeper within the stacks.
"The Primary Directive is clear. Surrender, or be detained. Lethal force is authorized. Your survival is not required."
The solid clonk of a metal boot announces the approach of the voice's owner, its hulking form shifting through the mist. Twin dots of blazing, hateful orange burn through the throbbing red illumination as it approaches, a figure of twisted steel armor and jutting black spikes, finer details impossible to gauge through the poor visibility.

COMBATSYS: Rae has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rae              0/-------/------=|

COMBATSYS: Rae has joined the fight here on the top side.

                 [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae              0|-------|------=

[LUCKY CHLOE]
*****EARLIER*****

Lucky Chloe is dressed in a catsuit. Not her normal attire with its tail, neko ears and pastel pink paws. Her current ensemble is of the slinky black variety, though it's designed more for sporty pursuits than sex appeal. The latter is just a bonus. It's made of a blend of seamelss nylon and spandex and has full length legs and sleeves. A black zipper runs down the front bodice and it's zipped up high enough that only a glimpse of her decolletage is visible.

On her feet are a pair of ankle-length black lace up canvas boots that like the catsuit are tailored for fitness and function. Her change of look extends to her hair too. Her usual ultra-long blonde tresses are disguised by a poker straight black glossy wig, that reaches down to her mid back and has blunt cut bangs. Her aquamarine eyes peer out from above this curtain, but instead of being enhanced by the usual pretty pink shades she favours on stage, they are smothered in smouldering and smokey shades of grey and black. The look is completed by a couple of coats of black mascara and perfectly applied ebony eyeliner that kicks out to form feline flicks. It seems that the perky popstar doesn't want to be recognised.

Since her last mission with fellow Raiden's angel, Raiza, the inquisitive idol has been awaiting the call to action. Now it has finally come and she's primed herself for performance, not expecting a smooth situation if the last encounter with a sprightly boy and a staff is anything to go by. Not to mention his killer robot

The lineup for this new challenge has been switched up somewhat and the teenager finds herself dabbling in a duet with a complete stranger. Always a risk when you aren't aware of their skills. Still, hopefully they will be both singing from the same sheet and their combat can be carefully coordinated.

Stealthily slinking up to the mysterious male, she holds out a soft skinned hand for him to shake, announcing herself as "Cleo."

*****NOW*****

The singer steps over the corpses, seeking the source of the robotic tones that seem to vibrate somewhere deep within her.

"Well, we're not going to surrender" she calls out, electing to speak for them both.

The tone of her voice is deeper than her usual sound, perhaps it's the lack of pep present in her delivery.

"I've no plans to be locked up either, so I guess we're gonna have to fight to the death and my money is on me."

Her words may be confident, but her current feeling is one of fear, which only grows as they are faced with their foe in front of them. All the details of his form may not be apparent, but his imposing size and structure are not in question.

"Please tell me you can kick some serious ass" she murmurs to Brandon.

COMBATSYS: Lucky Chloe has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

                 [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae              0|-------|------=
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                  |-------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

[BRANDON]
*****EARLIER*****

The white fedora, white vest, black dress shirt, white tie, white dress pants, and white dress shoe clad brawler walks into the chaotic building with assassin bodies of multiple varieties strewn about the floor. Fire, smashed sheet rock, and mangled steel is everywhere. Headache inducing alarms pulse in the private investigator's head. He can quickly identify various G-Corp private military uniforms here and there and due to his previous problems with Lee Chaolan, there's no love lost there.

In the private detective's mind, there is no way any evidence having to do with Fame Douglas' murder is likely to survive in this mayhem. His overall assessment is that coming here was a waste of his time.

Instead of turning around, no matter how much he wishes that he stayed in bed, he continued further. Something about a sunk cost. Eventually he comes across a stranger with a familiar face though he couldn't quite place exactly why. Her introduction gave the detective the suspicion that they might be here for different reasons but at least for now they weren't enemies and when he had first arrived he was planning to use his name to conduct interviews and there was no point to hiding his identity now. He just had the terrible misfortune to show up when all hell was breaking lose.

"Brandon Malone."

He then extends his hand to shake 'Cleo's' in turn.

*****NOW*****

After a few moments, he hears the robotic sound of a machine declaring ultimatums. He raises an eyebrow. He doesn't say anything at first. Surrender and detainment, not an option, death was a even less appealing option. He might have been willing to entertain the option of walking away if it didn't mean that 'Cleo' would be endangered by it. And judging by what comes out of her mouth, peace was never an option.

Brandon takes out his tarot deck and gives it one last shuffle before sliding it into his hip pouch and falling into his modified Philly Shell fighting stance.

"Neither of those options are in the cards."

COMBATSYS: Brandon has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

                 [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae              0|-------|------=
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Brandon          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

COMBATSYS: Rae subordinates will to master control.

                 [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          0|-------|------=
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Brandon          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

[RAE]
"This is a restricted area." The creature informs the intruders, the electronic growl of its voice managing to pack a surprising amount of blunt hostility into 5 little words. Metallic boot landing upon something with a sickeningly organic crunch, the monster continues its approach through the throbbing pulse of light and sirens, emerging from the mist to become fully visible to them both.
Perhaps it was once a man, though that is difficult to believe. Covered from head to foot in blackened metal plating, the techno-organic unit is squat and heavy, each step vibrating softly through the pavement as it closes the distance between them. Its head is completely encased in a rounded helmet set with what appears to be 4 railroad spikes, 2 each at temples and forehead, the pentagonal heads clanking quietly as they ratchet slowly in their sockets, burning orange liquid leaking from the back of his helmet where the tips protrude through the battered metal. How the thing could be alive with spikes constantly scrambling its brain is impossible to say, but it is. Face concealed behind a crude skull mask of black iron, the eyes that peer out literally blaze with hate and agony, likely insane, yet living still.
A much larger but otherwise identical spike has been rammed through the left side of the monster's armored chest, lava-like blood dripping from the barbed head that protrudes from his armored back. This too rotates slowly, ratcheting ever onward by some mechanism concealed beneath the heavy outer shell.
Scaly red flesh can be seen at joints where the plates don't quite meet, bulging with muscle and shot through with raised lines of black organic iron. Iron that has began to force its way through the plating in places, warping it outward before bursting through in twisted branch-like spikes at shoulders, crown, and joints, tearing through the tips of boots and gauntlets to give him wickedly hooked claws. Whatever he is, trapped within the suit, he is beginning to grow free of it. A tangled mass of the branching barbs jut through the armor of his spine, continuing along the top of a long, lizard-like tail that drags behind him, its end a knotted mace of twisted spikes.
"Your refusal is noted. Your cooperation, is not required."
Drips of burning blood splatter the ground behind the Hellbreaker unit, falling through the fog to sizzle invisibly against the cement. A faint tilt of its head takes in Brandon in his white suit, then Cleo in her black. The spikes throughout its body rotate, and steam vents from mangled holes in its back, clouding the air around it with heat. Even at some 5 meters off the heat coming off of it can be felt.
"Resist," it states, the faintest note of satisfied pleasure leaking through the restrained hate of its growl, "And I will enjoy it."
And with that the monstrosity lurches forward, clawed boots pounding the cement in a thunderous pounding of metal on cement. Looming ever closer, it becomes suddenly clear how big the thing actually is, roughly 7 feet tall and broad as two men, containing the compacted mass of a small car.
Baring down on them both, the Hellbreaker unit shifts at the last moment, sweeping its arms out wide and low in an attempt to plough full tilt into Brandon and drive him sideways into the edge of the meter-thick steel door. To crush him briefly between the spiked bulk of its shoulder and the unyielding entrance, before rebounding back and sweeping both hands in, grabbing at the PI's right shoulder and left thigh. If it can secure that grip it will heft him clear of the ground and high overhead, before bringing him sweeping forward to batter his ribs once, twice against the corner of the door before hurling him off to the side to tumble through the blessedly cool mist outside of the monster's personal heat bubble.

COMBATSYS: Brandon blocks Rae's Omnislam.

                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          0|-------|-----==
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Brandon          0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

[BRANDON]
The detective simply observes the mass of not quite humanity charging the two temporary allies down before the bulky Hellbreaker unit veers off towards him. He's hopeless when it comes preventing the monstrosity from securing the grip. He still manages to mitigate it somewhat by wrapping his arms around the Hellbreaker's neck in a clinch preventing it from getting full extension on swinging him into the door as kicking out with his free right leg to absorb the impact with his legs instead of his ribs. He does lose his grip once it tosses him aside like ragdoll sending him into a roll.

When Brandon rises back to his feet, he notes that he has a tweaked ankle. He can move around on it but it does not feel good. Instead of moving around, he uses sleight of hand to make the Magician Tarot card appear. For a moment, the card glows with a pale yellow light before a ball of energy is launched from the card.

With the energy from the card spent, he flicks his wrist making the card disappear.

[LUCKY CHLOE]
"I'm used to access all areas" the (currently) black haired beauty fires back.

She's being brazen and brave, but when she realises the full extent of what they are facing, she too is tempted to flee. This had all started as a game after all. A way to keep her amused between the endless rehearsals, studio sessions and stadium shows. When her backing dancer, Raiza had let slip her secret to the singing star, she'd been intrigued and gone along with their plans and plots for pleasure. Even in the last act of their adventure, the girls had got to dress up as nurses and despite the violence that ensued, it hadn't seemed as intense as this. It truly felt like all hell was breaking loose and right in front of them was their own personal monster to fight.

She swallows hard, as she feels sweat starting to form on the back of her neck beneath the wig. "What exactly are you?" she wonders of Rae, before she seeks out Brandon with a sideways glance to check he isn't running away.

What she sees is the sharply dressed man being assaulted. She can't help but cry out as he's knocked down, but thankfully he manages to find his feet and continue to fight, and what a fascinating style of fighting he has. As the chi infused card appears and dissapears, she allows herself a moment to observe the spectacle, before going on the attack!

The teen twists around, before twirling rapidly forwards, throwing herself on the rampaging robot creature and attempting to deliver a series of ultra rapid fire chops to his carapace. Each strike she attempts is followed by curses, as her delicate hands make contact with the metal.

COMBATSYS: Brandon successfully hits Rae with I - The Magician.

                 [  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          0|-------|----===
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Brandon          0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

COMBATSYS: Rae barely endures Lucky Chloe's Happy Swing.

                 [    |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          0|-------|---====
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Brandon          0/-------/---====|>------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

[RAE]
A blast of scalding steam vents from the Hellbreaker's ruined back as it finishes tossing Brandon aside, skull mask tilting slowly downward to glare into Cleo's pretty face. To look into the creature's eyes is to know hate in its purist form. Hate, and madness distilled into an element. Harvested for fuel to power the construct's smoldering shell.
"This unit is designated KSU-667, Hellbreaker." it replies, Turning slightly to loom over the teen with undisguised menace. "Be advised that the being housed within this unit is extremely volatile with a high likelihood of collateral damage. Ultratech takes no responsibility for--" Left arm lifting in an attempt to intercept the detective's retaliatory strike, the unit is too slow to prevent the ball of golden light from slipping past and hammering home against its armored ribs. The brilliant golden detonation forces the monster's weight to sway gently onto it's other foot, a shallow dent left smoldering in the heavy steel plating.
And then, of all things, the girl twirls herself forward and begins chopping her hands rapidly into the armored expanse of its chest and gut, the steady CLANG of flesh on metal almost loud enough to drown out the rather unladylike curses they provoke.
A great gust of steam vents from the monster's back, wafting over Brandon as the Hellbreaker prepares to move on his sassy ally. It is the only warning either of them get before the air begins to shimmer around the unit, what had been a slightly oppressive heat throttling up into a near physical wave of blistering intensity that threatens to scorch any skin that gets too close to its armored carapace. At the same moment a port clatters open in its right palm, releasing a flood of crimson and black energy that slithers forth to coil against the ground, thick fingers closing around the length to cut it short at perhaps 12 feet of oddly glowing chi.
The wave of heat continuing to press against both fighters, Hellbreaker brings its energy whip lashing up in a lightning-fast diagonal swing from floor to ceiling, threatening to cleave Cleo from hip to shoulder if she doesn't manage to defend herself. But rather than stopping there, the machine continues the upward swing, whip carving a sparking path of destruction through banks of servers before completing the arc by cracking itself across the ruined surface of its back, tangling the energy whip amidst the spiky protrusions that warp the partially melted armor there.
Staggering a single step forward, the monster bares down upon Cleo as a jerky spasm twitches through the organics in its body, almost seeming to struggle against itself before a vicious jerk of its arm tears the whip free, taking several of the twisted black spikes with it. New additions still spitting forth droplets of sizzling hellfire, the Hellbreaker brings the lash cracking down once, twice more toward the black-clad girl, aiming to herd her away from her companion and keep them both on the run. Perhaps not a good tactic to insure that its always surrounded, but it really doesn't seem to care, motions holding an added edge of slowly rising fury.

COMBATSYS: Rae successfully hits Lucky Chloe with Darkness Lash.

                 [     ||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          0|-------|=======
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Brandon          0/-------/---====|>>>>>>-\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

[LUCKY CHLOE]
Lucky Chloe, or as she's known tonight, Cleo has dished out her fair share of hate. Notoriously tough to work for, she pushes herself to be the best pussycat popstar possible and she demands nothing less than perfection from those she pays. She's got a pretty mean stare that tells those aware of her volatile nature to beware, but this look on Rae's vile visage is something altogether different.

The bubblegum babe blinks rapidly, forcing herself to stay focused on his less than pretty face. Relieved to have done some damage to the damned robot, she takes only a split second to appreciate it, before springing away from the steam on the cushioned soles of her black boots. Beads of sweat are now forming on her forehead beneath the blunt bangs, as the temperature hots up to baking.

When the palm port appears, followed by the crimson and black energy, she watches in wonder as it forms into the whip. She makes a desperate bid to stop what she expects is coming, but her heroic attempt to shield her body by creating a barrier with her arms is thwarted by her fear. It throws her timing off, allowing the man monster to cleave at the cat girl.

As the weapon strikes once, then twice more she bears the brunt of the damage, her clinging catsuit shredding in the spots that Rae strikes. She stumbles backwards, struggling to stay upright as he pushes her into the position she favours. When she finally fixes her feet firmly on the floor, she uses it as a platform to push upwards!

Gathering purple chi as she moves, she starts to sparkle with the energy, spinning in the air before dropping down with the plan to smash her foot into Hellbreaker's head.

[BRANDON]
The private eye was silently grateful that he had decided to slightly augment the power from his card with a little bit of extra energy directly from himself. He probably wouldn't have been able to dent the plating with the card's energy by itself.

He can't help but cringe when he sees 'Cleo' whipped. It didn't look pleasant in the least. The surprising part however is that the cyber monster is trying to keep the two separated. It seemed like a tactical blunder but he would not stand in the way of an enemy making a mistake.

He closes the gap between himself and his enemy with a new card appearing in his hand a moment before he delivers a palm strike with the energy from the card bursting from it.

COMBATSYS: Rae blocks Lucky Chloe's Lucky Corkscrew.

                 [       ||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          1|-------|=======
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Brandon          0/-------/---====|>------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

COMBATSYS: Rae dodges Brandon's VIII - Strength.

                 [       ||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          1|-------|=======
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Brandon          0/-------/---====|>------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

[RAE]
Metal boot crunching down upon a shard of shattered electronics , The Hellbreaker brings his energy scourge around for a fourth slash that whistles beneath Cleo's boots as she takes to the sky, parting the trailing purple sparkles of her wake to slam into the wall with its own shower of flickering orange sparks. Iron spikes lodging in the reinforced cement of the server bunker, the monster releases its hold on the flickering whip, the hellfire construct falling apart into a mess of near liquid droplets that splatter to earth with an angry hiss.
Off in the distance, beyond the throbbing red of the emergency lights and the echoing huff of fighters' exhales, the world continues to fall apart. Walls shuddering from some distant impact of unimaginable force, a barely audible boom echoes down from above, muted by the mist that swirls around the combatants' thighs.
Another heavy step brings the now unarmed monster lumbering beneath Cleo's spinning form, great bulk shifting forward as it hunches armored shoulders. Head tilting just in time to send the descending kick glancing along the curved back of its helm, it jerks faintly as her heel catches the tip of a protruding spike and sheers it away, sending the fragment pinging off of its shoulder before bouncing across the floor with a tinkling clatter.
"HRRRRRRRRGH..."
Robotic tone reduced to a low rumble, Cleo has just enough time to vault clear before an armored fist comes whistling up to pass through the spot she occupied but moments before, the robotic menace pivoting to track her escape and catching a glimpse of Brandon from the corner of one burning eye.
Rumble transitioning into a growl that grinds its way forth from deep within the monster's ravaged biology, Hellbreaker pushes off from the ground and hurls itself straight into the air, a wave of fog rolling out from the launch point to exposed the scarred cement beneath.
Passing over Brandon's charging palm in a high arc, the unit rotates in a graceless 180, skull-faced helmet tilting down to glare toward the back of the PI's head. Right fist still raised from the missed attempt on Cleo, it leans itself forward, a great gout of flame erupting from the holes in its back to send it rocketing down upon the man, fist dropping like a hammer toward the back of his skull. Upon a wave of heat and hatred it falls, left knee thrusting out to try and arrest its drop with a shuttering impact against the earth. And all the while, its electronic growl rises into a furious roar, two words echoing back off of the walls with ear-rupturing volume.
"FUCK OFF!!!"

COMBATSYS: Rae successfully hits Brandon with Jet Killer.

                 [       ||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          1|-----==|=======
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Brandon          0/-------/=======|>------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

[BRANDON]
Graceless or not, the Hellbreaker Unit's speed is enough that Brandon doesn't even have enough time to spin around to respond. The PI wasn't exactly in the upper echelons of speed in the fight circuit but he wasn't what one would call slow either. Either way, he turns around just in time to get smashed into the ground.

After a few moments, the PI climbs back to his feet, takes a few moments to get himself together enough that he's no longer seeing double and then with a flick of his wrist, replaces the Strength tarot card with a minor arcana card, slashing diagonally with the card itself, the energy within the card reinforcing it as well providing some bite of its own.

[LUCKY CHLOE]
The dance diva watches in dismay, as her not so lucky corkscrew fails to pierce the demonic machine's defences. As the building breaks amidst their bloody battle, the bruised babe bends double, the fighting proving wearing for even one so fit as the fake feline.

When she narrowly avoids her foe's fearsome fist, the disguised idol thanks her lucky stars and stays on the move. As her teammate becomes his target, the teen adds to his arcane assault with some fancy footwork. Rhythmically working her way towards Rae, she strikes out as soon as she's close enough, aiming a dancing kick to what counts as his shin.

It causes the pussycat popstar considerable pain, but she ploughs through, crying out the call of "One two" and then swiftly spinning in the air, seeking to smash her left fist into him, before following with a straight punch with her right hand.

Should she find her target, she will continue her flurry with a spinning horizontal knife-hand chop to the robot's chassis with each of her paws in turn.

COMBATSYS: Brandon successfully hits Rae with Quick Strike.

                 [        |||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          1|----===|=======
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Brandon          0/-------/=======|>------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

COMBATSYS: Rae blocks Lucky Chloe's C Uprock.

                 [         ||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          1|----===|=======
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Brandon          0/-------/=======|>------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

[RAE]
Ground quivering beneath the impact of his armored bulk, Hellbreaker takes a moment to tear his spiked knuckles free of the cement, little bits of stone bouncing away as he lumbers slowly to standing. Deep, rasping breaths crackle through his throat, echoing back of the walls with every fall of his hulking shoulders, while a new, manic light burns within the hateful depths of his eyes. Glaring down at Brandon's still recovering form, it seems as if he might continue his focused assault and take advantage of the man's dazed state, but the tappy tap of rhythmic steps draws his attention away and he begins to turn...
CLANG
Soft boot meets armored shin with enough force it's surprising the pop star hasn't broken a toe, the monster barely seeming to notice as he completes the turn. Leaning forward into the follow up strikes, he takes a spinning punch to the chest before his left hand snaps up, fingers closing around her comparatively tiny fist with an ominous FWAP.
"HEHGH." comes the short, hacking grunt of amusement, fingers tightening like a vice as the unit leers down at the captured kitty. "Heh, Heh, Heh, Heh, Heh."
The noise that rasps forth from the monster's throat could almost be a laugh, half buried beneath electronic distortion and ugly down to the core. There is no mirth in it, only a rough sort of eagerness that hints at the sadist's thoughts boiling beneath.
"Well hell," the monster rumbles, its heavy southern accent new and altogether unpleasant. "Look at the legs on you. Ya come all the way down here fer me?"
Right hand coming up, he reaches to try and grab a hand full of the unfortunate fighter's hair, gauntleted fingers making to tangle through the dark locks and give them a brutal tug. A tug that, unless stopped, is pretty likely to end in the starlet being very abruptly wigless, the bit of disguise hanging loosely from his clinched fist. Not ideal, but just enough of a distraction to keep him occupied while Brandon finishes regaining his vision and lashes out from behind, the edge of the energy-enhanced card catching the monster's right shoulder and cleaving a noisy line along the armor until it hits the exposed flesh of his back, hot blood splirting out to sizzle and steam across the detective's sleeve.
"Mother FUCKER!"
Casting the wig aside, Hellbreaker brings his fist lashing around in a brutal haymaker aimed square for Cloe's left cheek, spiked knuckles primed to leave 4 identical punctures in the otherwise flawless skin if her bell is rung. Left hand maintaining a grip on her captured hand he drags her back upright casting a baleful glare back over his shoulder toward Brandon as he does.
"Ya ready ta watch, prick? 'Cause this one's all fer you!"
and with that, the brute gives a violent twist of the young girl's wrist, stepping forward into the motion to drive her arm up behind her back as he does. And, unless she can somehow dance her way free, he will apply enough pressure to either dislocate her shoulder or force her to her knees, free hand lifting to grab hold of the damaged bolt still rotating away in his skull.
"HRRRGH...GRRRGHGRAAAAAAH!"
Agonized roar echoing back off of the smoky walls, the monster tears the spike free of its head, boiling blood and bits of flaming brain matter cascading forth to steam against the filthy ground. Gore slick and radiating red heat, the brute holds one of the four spikes that had been used to control him in his hand, the hole in his skull leaking blood and lava as he glares forward with barely contained insanity.
"Fuck, FUCK! Fuck you fuckers, I'm gonna fuckin' kill every last one of ya!"
Ranting and raging, the Rae Briggs, the Hellbreaker, lifts the spike high, then brings it plunging down for the top of Cloe's spine, attempting to impale her clean through. A sensation that, on top of the spiking pain and burn, will bring with it a wave of hate and rage that the human mind was never meant to experience, emotion setting her blood alight as, for as long as the spike remains within her, she feels a fraction of the uncontrolled power of the Wrath Demon, and gains a portion of his recuperative powers.

COMBATSYS: Rae successfully hits Lucky Chloe with Uplink Master Bondage.

                 [      |||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          0|-------|---<<<<
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Brandon          0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1      Lucky Chloe

[LUCKY CHLOE]
The bopping babe's toes aren't broken but they are definitely throbbing plenty. Years of intense training to perfect her carefully choreographed routines have left her with tough tootsies, capable of withstanding the wear and tear of her dual careers in dancing and fighting.

Her fingers, currently without fur or other feline attributes, wiggle widly in Hellbreakers hateful grip and she stares up at him, trying to match the intensity of his gaze.

"I came to stop the chaos and corruption that corporate evil is bringing to our world" the starlet spouts. She's basically talking crap, since if anyone is a corporate puppet, it's Chloe. She's taken more than her fair share of riches from 'the man.'

As the massive machine tugs at her hair and find that the black banged wig comes loose in his hand, she murmurs "Oops", realising that with her ankle-length blonde tresses now on show, her identity is a lot more obvious.

She gets a brief respite from the Raging Rae but he's soon on the warpath again, whacking her in the face with his agonisingly painful punch.

Four trails of bright red begin to pour down her face, resembling bloody tears. Her free hand fumbles to feel for the damage done, leaving her totally distracted and defenceless to her foe's follow up.

Her shoulder is twisted into an unnatural angle, giving her the appearance of a broken doll as she slumps down, blinking her eyes to stop salt mixing with the blood.

There's none of the teasing or cruel cat calling Chloe usually sends her opponents way. This is real life, rather than some Saturday night set up and she's feeling dangerously out of her depth.

As the spike swings down to strike her spine, a scream escapes the singer's often smartass mouth. She's never felt so vulnerable and yet...

"You fucking freak" she spits at her torturer.

"How dare you try and destroy me? You're an ugly hateful piece of shit, good for nothing but scrap metal. Do you really think you can treat us this way? DO YOU KNOW WHO I FUCKING AM?"

She somehow scrambles to her feet, still with the spike stuck in her spine. Turning around sharply she calls out the three little words familiar to her fans "Here We Go!"

Dropping down on her hands, the dance diva starts to rapidly breakdance at breathtaking speed. How the hell she's managing to do so in her current state is anyone's guess, but the battling blonde is obviously not willing to give up.

As she dances, her legs kick out at Rae, aiming to poke at him over and over, before attempting to hit him so hard he will fly into the air! Should she pull this off, she will be ready for him as he comes down to land, greeting him by leaping into the air with a victoriously violent sounding cry of "Oh yeah!" as she thrusts her right arm up triumphantly, just in time to smack into the monster man.

[BRANDON]
The moment that 'Cleo' becomes Lucky Chloe by way of wig snatching only serves as a precursor to the vicious levels of violence visited upon her. The PI even managed cringe so hard that it took him out of his modified Philly Shell fighting stance. For a few moments he could only watch in a nauseating combination of awe and terror. Or at least, until Chloe roars in defiance shaking him back into the here and now.

The PI prepares himself to loosen the metaphorical chains on his energy since he knows he's going to need to go all out. As he watches the performer proceed to perform her breakdancing assault, he waits for the ideal moment to strike. The Emperor appears in his hand just as she attempts to launch the Hellbreaker into the air. He attempts to time the formation of his energy shield to be almost simultaneous with her right arm thrusting upwards so the both hit him at the same time.

His own energy comes close to the surface but doesn't come out just yet.

COMBATSYS: Rae endures Brandon's III - The Empress.

                 [         ||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          0|-------|--<<<<<
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Brandon          1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

COMBATSYS: Rae blocks Lucky Chloe's Here We Go!.

                 [          |||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          0|-------|-<<<<<<
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Brandon          1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

[RAE]
'DO YOU KNOW WHO I FUCKING AM?'
Looming above the kneeling diva, heat radiating from his hellish bulk, the monstrosity that was Rae pants out a breath of noxious steam. Liquid hellfire drips down the cheek of his metal mask to splatter across his chest. The hole in his skull is already beginning to pucker and close, scar tissue crystallizing into another of those twisted black spikes.
Well. Does he?
"Reckon," he grunts, speaking to her back as she scrambles up to announce her rebellion, a gear deep within his mangled chest ratcheting with a mechanical 'CHNK' "Yer Victim One."
Neither the fastest, nor the most adaptive of fighters, the Hellbreaker Unit has no creative defense in place to deal with Cloe...Cleo...Chloe's suddenly inverted series of kicks. But what it lacks in flexibility it more than makes up in durability, the monster hunching forward and bringing its forearms up as whirling feet hammer into bracers and grieves, bounce off of armor plated thighs. Shutters and vibrations rock through his...its armored bulk, but it does not budge, holding position until the girl twirls herself into the final rising kick.
'THUNK!'
Forearm meets shins with a meaty sound that all three of the fighters can feel, the Hellbreaker shunting her kick off to the side even as he turns away from the flipping girl. Far from going airborne, he uses the momentum of the blow to spin himself around, charging away from the following uppercut that swooshes past his spiky back. Away from the uppercut, and face-first into Brandon's wall of energy, meeting the raw force with his armored forehead as if he meant to barrel right through.
And that is exactly what he does.
Impacting the shield like a runaway bus, the Hellbreaker's outer armor accepts the energy, channeling the blazing light across its surface like a metal rod catching lightning. It isn't an efficient enough system to deny the strike entirely, smoke rising from where Brandon's power rages across the surface of the metal, but it shunts enough of the impact across his body to allow the monster's helmeted head to become the wedge he drives through what should have been a solid wall of magic.
"Smug Little PRICK!"
Electronic roar echoing through the chamber, Rae reaches for the PI with hands that smolder, hellfire escaping the seal of his armor to glow around the joints. Maddened with pain and insanity, he grabs toward the card holding wrist with one hand and a hand full of jacket with the other, attempting to heft the man up and drive him backward off his feet until they both slam hard into the far wall, setting a nearby impaled corpse to swaying.
"Yer both gonna die down here. Victims, Squealers. Broken bags of sludge and guts. And when the shit clears it'll be me laughin' in the crater!"
Rebounding off of the wall with a stagger, Rae attempts to drag Brandon along by the grip on his jacket, other fist releasing his wrist to pull back, then come driving in like a flaming piston toward the smaller man's ribs, spiked knuckles lashing out once, twice, three times in rapid succession.
"I'll break yer arms and legs, leave ya lyin' on the floor ta watch!"
Breath hissing in and out in a foaming gasp, the Hellbreaker releases Brandon's coat to swing the hand up and around in a heavy haymaker toward the ear on that side, though the flames that trail from his joints seem dimmer than before.
"This shit cain't kill me. Nothin', can kill me..."
Lashing out with a final, sloppy hammer fist toward whatever part of Brandon might still be in reach, the monstrosity stumbles forward to collapse against the wall, breaths coming in great, heaving gasps. All across his body the flames seem to be dying out, oppressive heat fading to a crackling warmth. Where once his many wounds bled raw hellfire they now drip a thick black liquid like tar, mechanical implants ratcheting along with implacable rhythm.
"...gghrkh..."
Words trailing off into a gargling grunt, the monster spasms as whatever force was compelling him is viciously repressed, voice modulating back down to that low, throbbing rumble full of inhuman menace.
"Specimen outbreak contained. Hellbreaker AI online. Regeneration at acceptable levels."
Head turning, it glances back over one hulking shoulder, eyes still blazing with barely restrained madness. "Mission parameters, unchanged."

COMBATSYS: Rae successfully hits Brandon with Harmageddon.
- Power hit! -

                 [          |||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          0|-------|=======
[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Brandon          2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

[BRANDON]
Of all the things that the PI expected to his shield of light that also happened to be crackling with electric energy due to some unplanned energy instability to do. Giving way to the Hellbreaker unit was not one of them. In a bit of desperation, Brandon tries to reinforce it just enough that he can soften the impact and give himself some space to operate. That is when another bout of energy instability hits him. Lightning strikes his body making his arm twitch out of position to intercept the incoming attack and leaving him completely open to being slammed into a wall. The haymaker at that point is a foregone conclusion. And when he's released, he collapses to the ground with a dull thud.

There's a few moments of silence before Brandon slowly makes his way back to his feet. He's only up on his feet through sheer will and between the self-inflicted damage from direct access to his energy and the beat down at the hands of the Hellbreaker, will can only do so much.

He raises his hand to the ceiling as swords of light form above him though in a deviation from how he normally perform this attack, lightning chi surrounds this attack as well. When he brings the hand down each of the swords rain down upon the enemy. Upon each impact, be it the Hellbreaker unit or the ground, it is quickly followed up with lightning striking the point of impact with roars of thunder filling the room.

When the last sword comes down, the PI collapses, his body unable to give any more.

COMBATSYS: Brandon can no longer fight.

                 [          |||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          0|-------|=======
                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                  |=====--\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

[LUCKY CHLOE]
Sometimes it's just not your night. There was that time back in Athens when Chloe had numerous technical difficulties during her show. To add insult to injury, she'd also slipped during one of her dance routines and then torn the seam on her trademark dress. This was starting to feel like one of those nights.

As she looks up into the hideous face of the horror from hell that looms over her, she closes her aquamarine eyes, almost willing for this brutal battle to be over. Almost...

As her most spectacular showstopping move is batted away by the brute, she is very tempted to surrender, but she didn't get to become an international pop star at the tender age of seventeen by giving up easily. She's no stranger to fighting, both literally and figuratively and so fight on she will do.

She ignores the threats of the wrathful creature, (it's no worse than she's been told on Hitter, Instaslam or the Fight Tube comments section) but soon his actions speak for themselves as he proceeds to pummel her ailing ally.

Padding painfully towards the private investigator, she tries to reach Brandon in time to help out, but alas he is already out for the count.

That leaves the broken blonde with a one on one to deal with and the odds are truly not in her favour. The beating she has taken has left her barely standing, but somehow her muscle memory kicks in and she is able to attempt a dance move.

Calling out "One, two, three!" she then spins around at speed, before kicking out at Rae with the heel of her right foot. She would then drop forward into a handstand, hopefully kicking her opponent up into the air with both feet and then back down to the ground again with the toes of her boots.

If the singing superstar can prove successful, she will celebrate by striking a pose, spinning skillfully and then smashing the back of her elbow into her fiendish foe, with the intention of knocking him away.

COMBATSYS: Rae endures Brandon's #Astral Blades of Death# but gets knocked away!

                 [                  |||||||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          1|-----==|=======
                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                  |=------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

COMBATSYS: Lucky Chloe successfully hits Rae with One! Two! Three!.
-**- LUNATIC HIT!! -**-

                 [                       ||||||| ]
                 Rae [E]          1|--=====|=======
                                  >  ///////////                   ]
                                  |=------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

COMBATSYS: Rae unequips Mnemonic Enslavement Chip.

                 [                       ||||||| ]
                 Rae              1|--=====|=======
                                  >  ///////////                   ]
                                  |=------\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

[RAE]
Mechanical implants hiss within the Hell breaker as it pushes upright from the wall, sludgy liquid splatting wetly around its boots. Lumbering about in a slow half turn, it sweeps a maddened glance from Chloe to Brandon, watching with simmering impassivity as the latter struggles to his feet.
"Anomaly detected." The unit growls, seeming barely to register the growing illumination of lightning-wreathed blades manifesting in the air above it. "Physical expression of energy exceeds all projected models."
Lumbering one heavy step forward, the steaming heap of steel-clad muscle and hatred bares down upon the detective with the unhurried menace of a living nightmare. If it reaches him, if this final strike doesn't stick, then in all likelihood he's a dead man.
"An extreme response is," and here the machine pauses in its rumbling recital to add just the faintest hint of relish to an otherwise inflectionless growl, "Encouraged."
Two more crunching steps mark the monster's unrelenting progress before the first of the swords fall, flashing down from the heavens to explode against the cyborg's skull with a resounding BOOM. While the roar of the thunder echo's back off of the walls, the blinding light of unleashed power concentrates around the Unit's form, automated counter measures shunting chi and lightning alike across the channels of its insolated shell.
It takes another step.
BOOM!
The next sword catches a glancing blow off of the Hellbreaker's left shoulder, swaying it to the side while sparks dance across the still glowing lines of energy that crackle across its form.
BOOM!
Catching it mid step, the third sword drives down hard into its broad back, piercing flesh and staggering it forward while the molten light of its chi veins reach blinding intensity.
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM....
Like angelic hellfire the blades rain down upon the Cyber Demon's frame, turning the stagger into a fall, armored knees grinding heavily into the cement. Merely a darker shape within the nimbus of power that cocoons it, the beast drops onto all fours, lightning forking toward him from yet more impacts with the ground, the whole of the detectives unleashed might funneling in toward the being that's trying to kill him.
"GRAAA-AA-A-A-A-A-AAAAAA!"
The electronic howl of rage and agony swells until it fills the room, stuttering, reversing, and stretching as, impossibly, the unit begins to rise, lightning forking off of it to scorch whip crack lines across the floor. Bit by bit the power is drawn in, veins a network of pulsing light as the mechanical menace's systems struggle to absorb it, shunt it, do anything with the power circulating through its relays.
And then, Chloe.
How a girl so young could have the courage to persist in the face of such madness is anyone's guess, but the pop starlet's opening kick passes through the storm to strike the unsteady monster a devastating blow to the side of the head. Rocked, unsteady, the nightmare is slow to turn, unprepared to defend. Small feet catch it mid turn, the strength of the dancer's legs heaving the construct skyward before spiking him back down to earth, back crashing down hard as the chi direction technology begins to slag...
Perhaps it's the elbow that does it. A final knock to some critical system housed in the monster's chest. Or perhaps Brandon's will somehow lingers within his power, forcing a path through the systems set against it. Maybe it's a little of both. Either way, as the elbow lands a jarring blow to its chest, the Hellbreaker loses all control of the elemental forces threatening to consume it. Wiring flash melts away to toxic fumes and slag, and the fury of the maelstrom comes rushing inward toward the core like the crushing fist of a giant, blazing paths of death through the monster's already poisoned body.
Bits of metal plating explode off of the creature, pinging off of the walls while its muscular form spasms violently, bloody smears sizzling away into char. Superheated gas vents through ruptures in its body, followed by streams of liquid steel from its chest, the holes in its head. The shaped skull of its mask runs down its smoldering face to hiss against the cement in a spreading pool about its head.
And then, the beast is still.
Dead still.
Smoke rises from the charred, disfigured corpse of what had been a larger than life terror. The organic heart of a creature that should not have existed, veins pumped full of 'medication' meant to limit his supernatural ability to heal. Poison that, it seems, made a liar out of him. Made him just as killable as anything else.
And yet, within the rents and tears in its flesh, the faintest flicker of light can be seen. A hellish glow that, over the course of slow seconds, grows until it flickers from within as if his corpse were some sort of gory jack-o-lantern. Flickers, then beams. Heat radiates off of the body in blistering waves, then burst forth in a towering column of flame that rages upward and out, raging across the room in an all consuming wave of raw, flaming hatred. And at the center of it, barely visible at the heart of the hellish conflagration, the man-shaped corpse stands up, rising to its feet as the wave expands ever outward, spending itself against the walls and ceiling in a superheated rush.
"HAAAAAGH, HAAGH, HAAH HAH HAH!"
The rasping, raucous laughter of a mad man.

COMBATSYS: Rae successfully hits Lucky Chloe with Hellraiser.
! VENGEANCE !

                 [                       ||||||| ]
                 Rae              0|-------|<<<<<<<
                                  >  /                             ]
                                  |===----\-------\0      Lucky Chloe

[LUCKY CHLOE]
The bubblegum pop blonde is bashed, bruised and broken but she is somehow still standing. When her acrobatic attack aims accurately, she lets out a whoop of joy, punching the air as she would should she be wearing her pussycat paws. Instead her human hand is hoisted upwards in a display of the dancer's defiance.

When the time for celebration is over, she risks a look at Rae to survey the damage she's inflicted upon the demonic creature. With horror she realises that despite the devastation he's been dealt, there's still some signs of sentiency.

How can it be that the hellraiser lives on? To make matters worse, he's making murmurings of maniacal mirth. She doesn't want to admit it, but she's terrified.

This is the moment in the movie where the heroine should run, escape, flee the scene, but as the fiend flickers in front of her, she tries to fend off the flames that burst forth.

Chloe is consumed. She brings up her arms to protect her face and famous pigtails from the fearsome fire. She lets out an earsplitting scream, one that seems to come from her soul.

Whilst the flames lick at her long locks, Lucky Chloe does what she knows best and puts on a peformance. The show must go on for the singing superstar!

Executing an aerial cartwheel, she tries to kick Rae with both feet in turn as her legs spin down on him. Should it work out, she will repeat the move and shout 'Double!'before dropping to the ground.

COMBATSYS: Lucky Chloe can no longer fight.

                 [                       ||||||| ]
                 Rae              0|-------|<<<<<<<

COMBATSYS: Lucky Chloe successfully hits Rae with Double Axe Aerial EX.

                 [                          |||| ]
                 Rae              1|------<|<<<<<<<

[RAE]
Though upright, the charred husk of horror is but a shadow of the monstrosity that the young heroes have fought up to now. Little more than a shell of twisted flesh and smoking bones animated by a core of hellfire, the creature staggers forth from the heart of the blaze like a zombie. Body heaving with the wheezing, hacking coughs of insane laughter, it swings one arm up in an attempt to stop the cart wheeling pop star, to grip her descending leg and apply the nightmarish strength to break, rend, and ruin.
Brittle bones cracking, the arm is battered aside and the opening blow drives the wreck back, toppling it heavily to its back only for the second kick to descend from above and land squarely upon its wheezing chest, driving the flames from its mouth in a final spasm of mindless hate.
And there the creature lies, smoking and still, as far above an out of control sky ship collides with the building in one, final Fuck You to all involved. All around them support pillars flex and sway while slabs of cement break away from the ceiling and slam to earth like deadly rain. There is a noise like the end of the world, a roaring that consumes everything, and a wave of hot air and choking dust blasts through the open doors as the complex collapses, leaving the two of them trapped in the basement with the charred remains of a monster, rubble piled around them and the weight of an entire building collapsed atop their gory sanctuary.
But at least they're alive.

COMBATSYS: Rae takes no action.


COMBATSYS: Rae can no longer fight.

Log created on 15:43:21 07/21/2022 by Rae, and last modified on 05:16:58 03/10/2023.