Description: Evil Robot turns sheriff's deputy when Soma and Jaeger face off against the young Bernstein. (Winners: Soma and Jaeger)
The Wild West. It's an oft romanticized period of time. A time where men were men, and women were women, and the dust blowing around the ponderosa was as sure as the fact that the hero would ride off into the sunset by the end of the day. It's a time were the lawless were truly scoundrels, the lawmen were noble and shinging as the brass stars on their chests, and ever lovely hooker had a heart of gold. Truly golden age in the eyes of Hollywood.
However, when Jaeger accesses his information database, what he finds is very different than the glitz and glamour of the silver screen. Just a cursory glance at the data there frames the Wild West as one of the most disgusting eras in human development. Rampant racism, the genocide of Native Americans, crawling disease, illiteracy. It's one of the few times that Jaeger compares period peices to their source, and really wishes they got it right. You just don't get a good unwashed posse of miscreants out to lynch someone for a crime they didn't commit anymore. Not outside certain areas in the Southeast, anyhow.
Cross referencing his unique situation with the genre, he finds barely anything outside the movie 'Westworld', a charming comedy in which rich tourists go to act out their fantasies, roleplaying cowboys with automatons. That is, until the automatons go mad and start killing all the tourists.
Well, it's a comedy to Jaeger, anyhow.
Since his arrival, he's done nothing but sit and watch the proceedings, resisting any attempts that the SNF staff make at trying to truss him up in any costume. All profferings of vests, chaps, jackets, and the like have all been met with blank stares. There's also a cowboy hat not too far away from him with the top blown off by shotgun pellets that displays his overall disposition towards that particular item of clothing.
Jaeger doesn't like to play party time dress up. It's just not who he is. What he can do, however, is stand in the middle of a faux avenue of faux buildings and wait for the other faux 'gunslingers' to make this interesting as he prepares his real weaponry. All of this showmanship is clearly not his style. The idea of pretending to be something you're not is more than just a little alien to him, especially when combat is concerned.
Nevertheless, he's here, the dust blwoing across the street, touseling tumbleweeds by as he gleams, the fine blued steel shining just as bright as any sherrif's star in the midday sun as he waits.
Cowboys and Indians. You could say that, considering he's only this side of being a nighttime costumed vigilante hero in some ways, Soma Travedi is *always* playing Cowboys and Indians... just in his case the Indians are slightly different than the type you'd see on 'Bonanza'. Of course, Soma doesn't have any more illusions about the Wild West than Jaeger does, and finds the entire concept of the wacky SNF theme fight a little... strange. But with leads on the Burn case drying up and little else coming across his desk at the moment, the undercover detective felt getting back into the world of organized fighting -- one from which he has been somewhat absent of late -- would be good for him. Limber up the muscles, as it were... and potentially give him some new leads to follow on other angles.
'Reading up' on the two fighters involved with this match was his task on the plane here... which is to say, he sat down with his laptop and watched footage from their various official fights. Adelheid was easy to read in that respect, since he's had plenty of public fights so far. Jaeger, on the other hand... the only match he could find was buried in disc 5 of a box set from the Neo League's first season, against blowhard showboat Domino. What he sees, however, is disturbing... and this man is his *teammate*. The armor plating, the wacky weaponry, the clearly military style... something about it raises Soma's hackles.
Unlike Jaeger, Travedi knows the value of a little showmanship and let the SNF people do their work with costuming... to an extent. His black and silver motif remains with a black buttondown and black corduroys with silver 'Native American'-style embroidery down the leg, and a pair of dark grey cowboy low-heeled cowboy boots. There's even a black flat-topped hat with silver embroidery hanging on his upper back by a string around his neck. He even brought the hip holsters of his own design; rather than guns, each one holds one of his unique daggers. He jingles a little bit as he walks onto the scene and throws his eyes on his teammate for the first time...
The real thing isn't any better than the image on the DVD. Violet eyes squint, almost as if he were looking up into the sun. There is something *wrong* with him. Many people have called Psycho Power 'psychic powers', and to an extent they are right... but the truth is a little deeper than that. Soma himself is reminded unpleasantly of his meeting with Marise on the deck of the Black Noah... it's like staring at a photograph that's *just* out of focus. You know something is there, you can sort of see it... but detail eludes you.
For someone who relies on his sixth sense to function in everyday life, it's a little worrying.
"I can see you're in the spirit of things already," he offers.
History and media, two of the world's most subjective yet important fields. While at first glance this particular SNF booking looks to be one designed to bring out the good down-home pride and hero worship envisioned by the filmmakers, similarly to the realities of Hollywood that may be simply gloss over a rather gritty truth. In this case? Well, operatives of two of the world's largest crime syndicates brushing elbows both proverbially and quite probably literally with a usually-undercover, hush hush INTERPOL agent. It's a literal triad of uncomfortable truths, and if any of the three knew both of the others in that strange trinity, they might wonder just what Howard and co. might be hinting at. ... or wanting to see unfold through battle.
For his part, the Bernstein heir is also not a fan of cosplay. All attempts at making him out to be the 'sheriff' in this little production fail utterly. He's turned down costume after costume after costume in these fights, and.... wait. Alright. The boots apparently catch his eye, a LITTLE, because he's keeping that part. Just what you'd expect from a wild west lawman, in glossy, perfect black leather, accented by those greyed accents the platinum blonde is oh so fond of. As evidenced by the fact that they match the rest of his wardrobe. Black leather, silver trim, a basic and sleek affair of all too modern special ops dropped into the old west. Tumbleweed bounces haphazardly, trundling across the dusty expanse of the wide fake street in the moments before Adelheid steps out from the saloon, the set doors creaking and cracking as they swing in the wake of his passing, crimson eyes scanning down the street for his opponents.
What he sees is a cowboy... and Robocop? Hey, the cowboy's sense of fashion also rings rather strangely close to his own. To onlookers, one might conclude that the riot-gear clad soldier was the real threat, but while Jaeger's strength reverberates as odd in Adelheid's senses as well, Soma's inner power is similarly askew from what is 'natural' and 'normal'. Two foes that set the hair on his neck on end, two foes he could find out little about. The Bernstein heir smiles, and flexes black-gloved hands, tugging his jacket tight about his shoulders, "This should be interesting." He murmurs, to himself more than anything.
COMBATSYS: Adelheid has started a fight here on the right meter side.
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|-------\-------\0 Adelheid
COMBATSYS: Jaeger has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Jaeger 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Adelheid
COMBATSYS: Soma has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Soma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Adelheid
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Jaeger 0/-------/-------|
"Perhaps moreso than it would appear, Mr. Travedi," comes the hollow, metallic voice from somewhere inside the metal brick that is Jaeger. "While I don't quite grasp the intricate subtilities of the window dressing, rest assured there are certain things that are always universal to combat that I understand with a particular familiarity." The tone is pleasant and reassuring in nature, but the words carry a bit of foreboding, rather like someone's nice Uncle Joe just stated he's going to take a moment to go outside to wring the necks of small furry woodland creatures.
And in a sense, it's not too far from the case. Just because you're a Mobile Organism Designed Only for Killing doesn't mean you have to be an unpleasant boor about it, does it? Of course not. There's never a call to be impolite.
But the fact of the matter is that both of them are there to defeat Adelheid. Jaeger has no illusions of his own capabilities, and certainly has none about Soma. This fight isn't going to be easy. Nevertheless, whatever's being planned in that titanium brainpan of his is going to have to play things to the wire in order for any kind of victory to occur.
The machine checks his weapon loadout. What best to use against the heir of an unstoppable tyrant? He may as well be asking himself what flavor of coton candy to use to stop a charging, angry bear. He checks, then checks again. Systems get optimized, and the machine bends down, as if getting ready to sprint.
"I suggest," the cyborg says politely, "That you back up a few meters, Mr. Travedi. I wouldn't want you to suffer any shrapnel wounds. I would also suggest, that you fire a projectile in my mark."
And with that, the ground beneath Jaeger's feet cracks, shattering in place as he suddenly disappears in a blast of dust and metallic debris as the machine immediately sheds it's heavy armor plates for the sleeker, faster form underneath. The machine hurtles towards Adelheid, blued steel giving way to bright silver chrome as a clawed hand reaches out.
The move is a simple pass by. A hand out to snatch Adel by the shoulder and send him to the ground with the flick of the wrist as he tries to position himself behind Adel. "Mark!"
Something in the back of Soma's head is rattling like the bell on the cat as Jaeger actually *speaks*. EVERYTHING is wrong with this situation, and thankfully the arrival of Adelheid gives the detective a reason to reply merely with, "Oh, good." There is nothing good here. And in fact, as he turns to face the handsome blond who just entered the ring -- oh god, they both wore the same dress! that bitch! -- Soma gets another jolt, though this one is a little easier to handle. Something about that guy... there's something FAMILIAR about that guy.
tIf he could just place it. "Interesting... yes, that's one way to put it." Something is screaming, now; policeman's instincts, perhaps? Part of Soma isn't sure everyone here is going to leave in one piece.
However, there's not much time to reflect on exactly what's going down, *especially* since his attention only swings back to Jaeger with the word 'shrapnel', which causes both of his dark black eyebrows to go up. He isn't exactly stunned by that fact -- he saw Jaeger on camera whipping Drake with a buzzsaw, or something to that effect -- but still, it's jarring to hear. He actually opens his mouth to speak... and then Jaeger's jacket armor is in the dirt and the cyborg's presence at his side is a distant memory.
"Projectile, huh..."
With a smirk, he reaches into his pocket and produces... a tin sherrif's star. He didn't wear it, at first, feeling the irony was a little too great... but now, it's useful. A hazy silver and black glow suffuses the item as Soma charges it with Psycho Power and, dutifully enough, hurls it at Adelheid when he hears 'mark'. The actual physical object is pretty damned irrelevant in this case; it's the explosion of psychic energy when it hits something that's important.
COMBATSYS: Adelheid blocks Soma's Nova.
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Soma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Adelheid
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Jaeger 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Jaeger successfully hits Adelheid with Quick Throw.
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Soma 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Adelheid
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Jaeger 0/-------/-------|
Something wrong indeed. But when one is in this for the unpredictable lessons such field experience provides, and not for whatever hierarchies and spin the 'coordinators' might decide to offer as incentive, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Some might fret, some might hesitate... Adelheid Bernstein has been raised to do neither. The lithe blonde's eyes narrow as both opponents explode towards him. Jaeger quite literally, and Soma, well... the INTERPOL officer seems to be taking the idea of throwing stars to brave new places. The explosion is met by a squared forearm, shielding Adelheid's face and chest from the brunt of the blast as he slides backwards, bootheels digging deeply into the dusty earth. His dark eyes narrow, considering Soma through the aftermath of the blast for the half-instant it takes the hurtling commando to rush past, and fling him to the dirt. He hits the ground in a spectacular cloud of dust, which whooshes outwards as he skids and rolls to his knees, teeth gritting.
His answer to the assault is simple, and abrupt. Both legs tense, and he leaps forward at Jaeger. His arm swings out, seeking to clasp one gloved hand over the operative's helmet-clad features. From there? Well, with a powerful heave, Adel would thrust him rather sharply forward and release an appropriately impressive explosion of silver-grey windshear in a sudden, violent blast from the gripping hand. The potent power is intended for delivery point blank, into Jaeger's well-shielded face. With any luck, it will blow him back a fair measure, as well.
COMBATSYS: Jaeger blocks Adelheid's Scorpion Deathlock.
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Soma 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Adelheid
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Jaeger 0/-------/-----==|
As yes. Chi. Jaeger's getting used to the stuff, and therefore is learnign rapidly how to counter it's effects. For the moment, the machine is grabbed by the head. However, before the punishment can take place, Jaeger disengages the locks on his helmet. As a result, the robot skips back just in time to take the shearing chi blast in a non-vital area. Warning lights flare on his HUD, but it's not critical damage. Not yet, anyway.
Then, with all the politeness of someone that's dopped his bowler, Jaeger's hand shoots out, and pulls his lid from the Bernstein heir's hand. "Dreadfully sorry," he says with his usual pleasant tones. "But I need this." The helmet is snapped back into place as he does a backflip. once, twice, three times as he backs up towards one of the artificial storefronts.
"Take heed, Mr. Travedi!" Is the call as Jaeger begins to run along the film set porches, one armed raised as if to aim. "Three o'clock! Six o'clock! Nine o'clock!" And with that, his arm erupts into several bursts of smoke as he rolls in and out of the covered provided by the set. A series of barrels. A haycart. A wooden indian. All of these provide cover for the combat robot as silvery spheres arc through the air, bouncing and rolling to a halt by Adelheid's feet. If the blond fighter isn't swift, the concussion grenades are going to send him to the ground again.
Somewhat usefully, Soma not only has the time to watch the other two combatants at work, but to do so at a safe distance. Sadly, it doesn't help him much; all it tells him is that the robot is still weird and that Adel is a highly skilled combatant who wields a powerful energy. There's no challenge that's insurmountable, however, with the right application of effort. It's just going to take some clever thinking.
And it's about the time that he hears the warnings, and then sees *grenades* skip by from, you guessed it: 3, 6, and 9 o'clock. "Thanks for the warning," the detective mutters, hand going to his hip as he ducks into a crouch. The man's fast... but then, so is Soma. Planting his foot like a sprinter, the Indian drives off to the side in a dead run, moving at a fast clip. The plan, of course, seems to be to hit Adel from all sides, which is smart enough... provided that it actually has the intended distracting effect on the young Bernstein.
Praying he's either not seen or simply ignored, Soma attempts to move around to Adel's back... and then rather than charging, he LEAPS at the blond, snapping one dagger out in midair and slashing downward with it at Adel's shoulder. It's a slow, telegraphed attack... but perhaps that's the point. There's four corners here to deal with, after all.
COMBATSYS: Adelheid parries Jaeger's Defender!
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Soma 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Adelheid
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Jaeger 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Soma successfully hits Adelheid with Fierce Strike.
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Soma 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Adelheid
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Jaeger 0/-------/-----==|
It's a sure bet that the cowboys of olde, be they ever so heroic or ever so horrific, would have appreciated today's weaponry far more than the six-shooters they were afforded. Adelheid and Soma blast energy from their hands, and this Jaeger, well. He blasts rather intense explosives. Adelheid's teeth grit as he blasts only Jaeger's helmet away, and the dangerous commando tumbles away. He lands in a ready stance, legs slightly bent. That sixth sense we talked about? Well, as Jaeger leaps behind the barrels, sending that first grenade arcing in at Adel, the Western thing to do would be to play some slow, intensely suspenseful tune while panning up to show Soma's charge over the young Bernstein's shoulder.
There's no time to think, only time to move. The lithe 'R' heir sprints forward a step, two. Jaeger drops behind his cover, and the first grenade is intercepted mid-flight, a leaping Adelheid deflecting it high with a swinging, intercepting forearm. The grenade rockets high, exploding with enough force to help his drop back to the ground. Adelheid lands with a grunt, the air knocked half from his lungs as Soma is free to plow blade-firest into his back. The INTERPOL operative was undeterred, and it pays off: leather is torn, and flesh is cut deeply as the blade bites into the platinum blonde's shoulder, sending him staggering forward. Eyes narrow, fingers clench... this was the direction he wanted to go in in the first place! His footfalls come under his own control in short order, staggering those steps as Jaeger undoubtedly adjusts his aim for the change in position.....
Behind the haycart. The automaton's potent void in the ebb and flow of natural chi energies is almost as telling as the sailing grenade, but Adelheid's already inside the intended arc, and only rushing forward. It's Soma who might have to retreat, or rush on as the second explosive careens in. Adelheid throws his weight right, gliding low and coming up in a final, breakneck sprint straight at the wooden indian. And the Jaeger behind it. He's gone to great pains to pace the evasive assault at each instant, and why? Because Adelheid HATES wooden indians, that's why.
It's a political correctness nightmare as a swinging, cowboy-booted foot reaves massive, splintering shrapnel out of the native american effigy, Adel's rising kick rippling with wildly luminescent, silver chi that cleaves the path of his arcing boot. What sort of statement it makes that the real target is a violent, self-possessed robot is an exercise left up to the oh-so-capable viewing public. Adelheid just seeks to catch both synthetic commando and synthetic indian in one legendary, cleaving strike.
COMBATSYS: Adelheid successfully hits Jaeger with Genocide Cutter EX.
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Soma 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Adelheid
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Jaeger 1/-----==/=======|
And things go quickly downhill for the NESTS employed robot. The swinging foot chears not just the indian, but a lot of vital internal components necessary for Jaeger's continued function. If Jaeger can't manage to evade a hit, then there's some question as to whether or not there's a chance of success at all. Nevertheless, the machine takes a system check even while he's slamming against the wooden wall and thudding to the ground, the chi burst having shot straight through him, smashing the facade of the building behind him.
There's a drop in hydraulic fluid pressure that's at a critical level. Even sealing off the chambers aren't going to save him. There's several conduits that are hampering his ability to move his leg. Additionally, there's some kind of cross-connection that's failing him altogether, making his HUD jump like a broken camera.
5rOverall, he's not going to be able to make it through on his own like this.
The machine rolls up slowly to one foot, and crouches as his systems attempt to patch up the tattered remains of his internal workings. Still, it doesn't mean he can't go on the offensive still. An arm is raised, and it seems to just unfold. Weapon pods sprout from the limb as he focuses his concentration at Adelheid carefully. "Mr. Travedi. Back up, please." And with that, his arm launches a veritable hailstorm of those grenades. If Adelheid was able to get away from getting hurt by three, how about thirty? The silvery spheres arc trough the air, rattling and hurling about at a considerable clip as the machine tries to catch Adelheid in at least one of the attack's blasts.
There's some satisfaction in knowing that his strike hit true, but there's absolutely no time for Soma to revel in it. Why? Because exactly what he feared has come to pass: he lands just in time to throw Adel forward out of the path of a grenade and puts himself INTO it. Violet eyes widen as he realizes what's going on and that he has only one chance to not get exploded himself: do not stop moving under any circumstances.
Even as Adelheid sets off in one direction, Soma's foot touches the ground where the Bernstein heir was milliseconds ago and is *instantly* putting him back in the air, the black-clad body swirling overhead in a ninja-like moonsault just as the second grenade explodes in a cloud of dust where he was a second ago. In fact, he has just landed from this little acrobatic maneuver when he hears Jaeger's warning... and sees him effectively pull a Robocop on their opponent.
Right then.
He's not running into that storm of fire, no he is not... but at the same time he can't just stand there like an idiot. So he does the only thing he can think of: he watches carefully in a match that has become, quite to his consternation, about Adel and Jaeger. Somewhat stupidily, he does this careful observation out in the open rather than behind cover, but perhaps that's just in the spirit of the Westerns. Both daggers are back where they belong, in those hip holsters... and rather unintentionally, Soma's hands hover over them, fingers curling absently.
COMBATSYS: Soma focuses on his next action.
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Soma 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Adelheid
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Jaeger 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Jaeger successfully hits Adelheid with Veritech - Beta.
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Soma 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Adelheid
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Jaeger 0/-------/------=|
Three was a nice challenge. Thirty? Thirty takes Adelheid totally by surprise. He pulls up short as the pods spring out, and has about enough time to shift his charge to the side, trying to evade rather than follow up on the robotic commando. It's a classic shootdodge, without the shooting, and in this case, it lacks the dodging too. Adelheid leaps sidelong, but the volleys of grenades catch him in midair, and the shockwaves send him hurtling heels over head away, crashing to the dust hard, unable to find any shelter until the onslaught ebbs, the exploding spheres leaving Adelheid rather addled, and quite a distance down the street from where he started. He pushes up against the wall of the 'bank' and draws a deep, steadying breath. That hurt...
But if they think they've got him dead to rights, well, they've got another thing coming! The dagger-readying fighter gets his first taste of direct conflict with their quarry as Adelheid whips his foot around, the fine cowboy boot slamming down hard into the dusty earth as the ground between Soma and Adelheid suddenly surges with a massive, coalescent lance of violent energy, the set's 100% authentic dirt exploding this way and that, as if it hadn't suffered enough abuse under Jaeger's onslaught. The amount of power focused is impressive whether you're sensing it in any spectrum, or just tuning in at home: A wave of silvery-chi, easily chest height, and aimed directly at the INTERPOL agent's conveniently exposed observation spot.
Well, the explosions seem to have earned Jaeger a slight respite from the relentles death machine that is Adelheid. Or is it 'Addled-heid' now?
Robots aren't good at jokes.
The 80's built Detroit-steel tough machine stands as redundant systems kick into gear, allowing the use of his legs and arms again as smoke pours from his system. Heating coils shunt excess heat from his repair systems as he watches Adelheid bear down on the poor Interpol agent like a five ton dump truck on a deer.
While Jaeger's not necessarily fond of deer, he's fond of being able to function a whole lot more. It's not because of any silly thing like self preservation: he's more interested in seeing Adelheid fight. The young man is a perfectly destructive killing machine, and Jaeger can only dream of what he could do with that kind of ability.
He fights the urge to clap as Adelheid bears down on his partner, heaving to his feet once more. Though the machine is fast, it's unlikely he'll reach Soma in time to tackle down the oncoming Bernstien. Still, he can try to add soem insult to injury. The machine turns, putting torque on his deadened foot as he leaps up to whirl a foot about. The leg crashes towards Adel's hip just after Soma either lives or dies at the hand of Adelheid. Oh well. Only heroic sherriffs come in witht he last second saves. Murderbots always arrive a second late. It's the rules.
COMBATSYS: Adelheid successfully hits Soma with Reppukyaku.
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Soma 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Adelheid
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Jaeger 0/-------/------=|
Well, it was inevitable that Adelheid would eventually attack him... and sadly for Soma, he can sense the power behind that chi attack and can't do a damn thing about it. He's crouched to spring out of the way but his inability to *track* the blast of energy means he gets the timing entirely wrong; the mobile windshear slams him back and through the air, depositing him -- humorously enough -- through the swinging doors of a fake saloon.
However, it's mere seconds before Soma emerges again, dashing through the doors. The delay might hurt him in assaulting his opponent, with a longer distance to run, but he can't just sit idly by and let Jaeger do all the work. He doesn't reach for his real daggers; rather the opposite. As he continues to charge Adel in a low run, there's a flicker of silver-black in his palms as his trademark energy daggers make an appearance, one for each.
"Not bad," he grinds out as he comes in from a slightly different angle than Jaeger, daggers making silver crescents of light in the air as the undercover detective slashes through the air at Adelheid twice, lashing out with focused Psycho Power. "Better than not bad, actually... but now I think I know why you seem so damn familiar."
COMBATSYS: Soma successfully hits Adelheid with Gemini.
- Power hit! -
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Soma 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Adelheid
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Jaeger 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Adelheid fails to interrupt Light Kick from Jaeger with Crown Prince.
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Soma 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Adelheid
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Jaeger 0/-------/-----==|
It's always a tenuous thing, the final showdown. Nine times out of ten, it ends with the fugitive face-down in the dust, doesn't it? Adelheid certainly makes a show of it, though, blasting into Soma despite the ringing still filling the platinum blonde's ears in the aftermath of Jaeger's mechanized explosive onslaught. He's regained his will to fight, but not all of his bearings... not enough to cope with the well orchestrated teamwork, at least. Soma's renewed charge comes in quicker than the Bernstein heir had anticipated, and it shows in the surprise registering momentarily in his crimson eyes as he shifts a moment too late, the projected psycho power ripping into him and drawing a pained shout from his lips as he staggers backwards, twists.... and comes about just in time to eat the mechanized warrior's heavy foot. Damaged internals or no, Jaeger still packs enough whallop to stall Adelheid's reprisal, knocking him back the opposite direction, resilient ribs resisting breaking, but the strike quite thoroughly rattled nonetheless. He might need that choir of angels sooner rather than later, or perhaps the Robot Devil, if Jaeger is going to keep making puns.
For the moment it's all he can do to keep his consciousness, try to evade that final shot once and for all. He may not have been quick enough on this draw... but there's still a round chambered. Comments are suitably, stoically forestalled in favor a single, succinct expectoration of dusty, bloody spittle, boots digging into the road as Adelheid shoves back to his feet somewhat unsteadily off to the side, glancing to what little cover is offered by the adjacent, quaint little western storefront.
The droid steps back to survey the damage heaped on Adelheid, and considers his next course of action. Carnage is always somethign to reflect on, and thanks to the fact that Jaeger's memory is literally photographic (and digital at that), he can take a snapshot and mull over it later.
But right now it's not time to be sitting back on mechanical laurels. Adelheids are most dangerous when they're wounded, and Jaeger's not about to get stung if he doesn't have to. There is one slight concession to all of this, though. A hand goes to the machine's head, and he snaps off a quick salute. "Your skills are enviable. I can only hope to some day be as feared and as powerful as you." The statement is meant with every congenial note the droid can muster. He doesn't have a heart, but it's as heartfelt a statement Jaeger can muster.
Reaching down with his hand, he tries to grab Adelheid by the neck, and quickly fling the child of a warlord behind him. "I believe the expression, Mr. Travedi, is: "PULL!"" The machine announces as he tries to launch Adel into the air so Soma can nail him with another Psi laced blast.
For a brief moment, there's a link between Adel and Soma, forged by the blades of Psycho Power that slash through his body... and 'through' is the word for sure. They have no physical substance, and the visual is actually somewhat unnerving to watch for some, the blades literally piercing right through flesh. The ferocity of it momentarily puts him off, sending him stumbling back; Adel has a forceful personality, and it's only Soma's great personal control that keeps him from being overwhelmed by it.
Grimacing, he puts a hand to his forehead, fingers trailing silver energy. "Agh..." Was that worth it? Perhaps. But there's not any more time to wait around for things to get better; Adel is *powerful*, and he's got to be taken out now before he can bring that power to bear.
Nodding silently at Jaeger's command, he doesn't move back out of range. Instead he snaps one dagger out of his holster and flicks his wrist, barely perceptibly. He has enough time to see if Jaeger's throw will work; if it does, he suddenly throws out the dagger blade on its long concealed wire, effectively slingshotting Adel out of the air like a whip. If it *doesn't* work, he still makes an attempt to lasso Adel around the neck... but rather than drag him from the air, he attempts to simply hurl the blond away.
COMBATSYS: Soma successfully hits Adelheid with Wishing Star.
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Soma 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Adelheid
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Jaeger 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Adelheid interrupts Quick Throw from Jaeger with Genocide Cutter.
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Soma 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Adelheid
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Jaeger 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Adelheid can no longer fight.
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Soma 1/-------/=======|
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Jaeger 1/------=/=======|
The long arm of the law has Adelheid by the throat. Or more literally accurate, the long arm of the nefarious criminal cartel. The robotic vice crushes the Bernstein heir's windpipe as he's lofted off the ground, but he keeps the wherewithall to focus past the pain, concentrate the last of his energy.... Jaeger drags the platinum blonde up, prepares to heave him away....
But the lithe Bernstein is already heading upwards of his own accord. He may not be able to one-up the pair of enforcers, but high noon is high noon. A cowboy boot cleaves the air, the brilliant silver edge of chi once more reaving through the NESTS automaton, the proximity afforded by his helpful grapple only adding to the effect of being at ground zero as Adelheid's swinging kick frees him from the grip, and sends him hurtling skyward.
It would be nice to say he had the awareness and centered control of his own chi to then subtly and gracefully evade Soma's leaping charge. But the fairer, younger image of Rugal Bernstein is indeed still just a boy: and the INTERPOL agent's accomplished hangman's noose is delivered courtesy of perfectly-hurled dagger.... dragging the platinum blonde rather harshly from the air, his ascent lending itself to an extremely abrupt, jerking stop... and crashing reunion with the dirty ground. Looks like another one for the history books, or preferably, movies. Adelheid doesn't make any swift attempts to move again. Not just yet. But he does find breath shortly after smacking into the road that harsh, final time. Luckily, in this setting there's no need for a coroner. ... but some rest is definitely appropriate.
And Jaeger takes the damage like a already beaten toaster. The foot lances out, taking him by surprise with a tremensous amount of force. Sparks and metal fly as the slicing cutter tears into him like a firehose through bathroom tissue. The clang of metal rings through the air and the machine hits the ground hard, causing the ground to crack beneath him.
When the dust settles, the damage the Berstein heir has wrought is obvious: Jaeger has been subsequently disarmed by the man's final burst of energy quite literally. the twitching, shuddering limb lying not too far away from the NESTS trooper.
Jaeger lay motionless for a moment, red lensed eyes dark for a second as his backups sputter to life, sparking and failing once. Twice. Third time's a charm, and the eyes fliker to 'life', or unlife as it may be. The amber hue indicates that he's on backup power. Enough to get him moving, but not enough to keep him fighting.
"Pardon me, Mr. Travedi. Might I request some professional courtesy in assistance? The young man seems to have dismembered, and it's rather disconcerting. I also beleive my left hip joint's gyroscopic stabilizer's been rather damaged. A hand up would be appreciated."
COMBATSYS: Jaeger has left the fight here.
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Soma 1/-------/=======|
With a high-pitched whine-like sound, Soma snaps his hand around, back turned to Adel as he falls. The silver blade of the wire-dagger whirls through the air as the wire itself retracts; with a flick of the wrist, he snaps the blade back in place. He didn't *intend* it that way, but the ICPO detective has made an impressively cinematic final shot for the cameras that are pointed at him, if any. However, they might also see him taking deep breaths, a combination of relief of his anxiety when he feels Adel's fighting spirit lessen, and simple relief of physical fatigue.
He half-turns at the sound of his name being spoken and... cannot help but stare, even if he regains his composure fairly quickly. So he's... not exactly human. In fact 'human' barely even applies in this situation. He doesn't move, not immediately; it takes a second to process this, and the violet eyes flicker for a moment over to Adel's either unconscious or barely-conscious form. He's injured -- as to be expected -- but appears to not be too terribly injured. Jaeger, on the other hand...
Stepping over slowly, dagger still in his hand, Soma looks down at the ground-bound teammate for a moment, and then in one swift motion spins the dagger blade backward and then into a holster, before offering his hand. "I had some sort of pithy comment about shootouts, but I think I'll save it," the undercover detective says in an even tone. "You're a... man... of many layers, Mr. Jaeger. Some of which happen to be on the ground to my left."
"Cyborgs are like onions, Mr. Travedi," Jaeger replies conversationally, the steel hand grasping Soma's and pulling with no considerable amount of weight. 325 pounds of battle ceramics and chromed plating will do that.
"We smell odd and tend to make people cry."
"The droid pick shis arm off the ground, andpresses it to the socket. "Don't worry. My systems incorporate breakway locks so that I incur less damage when subjected to sudden impact. In a sense, it's an ablative limb. I can survive perfectly well dismembered. Remember, Mr. Travedi: American know how is insurmountable when properly applied."
If the machine has a tone or inflection of tired, it doesn't appear that way. The droid cheerfully goes on mending himself. "Quite the combatant, that Mr. Bernstein. I'd say that such a capacity for carnage only comes along once a generation in the human species. Quite a specimin, really. Biology truly is red in tooth and claw sometimes."
Soma's not known for his physical strength, though he's no slouch; the strain of playing counterweight shows a bit on his face as Jaeger yanks himself standing. Cyborg, huh... he has no intention of helping the man get his arm back, either. Let him do that on his own damn time. The other question, of course, is: who the hell has this sort of technology? He can think of a few names...
Leads, huh? Well, that was a success.
Folding his arms over his chest, the undercover agent simply watches Jaeger. The man's clearly not telling him anything that he doesn't consider a matter of public record; he's too competent a fighter for that. More to the point, Jaeger knows *tactics*. Actual military field tactics. There are plenty of fighters who get along fine without them. Those who know them... know them for a reason.
"Once in a generation?" Soma says carefully, wearing his best poker face. He's not an interrogator, but he's trained... of course, it depends on what kind of sensors Jaeger has. Soma's not worried... but he is troubled. "I guess it depends on your definition of 'generation'. He's powerful... but he's not one of a kind." Yes... the fighting style, it fits. But who exactly is Adelheid Bernstein? Is 'R' related to this cyborg man? Too many questions, not enough answers. "Thanks for the tips. If I ever run into another cyborg, I guess I'll have the leg up." He pauses, then smirks. "Or maybe an arm. See you around."
He then takes his leave, and decides to take the chance on doing so with his back turned to Jaeger. Now, if only there were a sunset to walk into...
COMBATSYS: Soma has ended the fight here.
Log created on 19:20:47 01/19/2008 by Adelheid, and last modified on 19:20:14 01/22/2008.