Rain in Rio

Rio - Southern Downtown

Southern downtown Rio is a busy place indeed. Full of expensive restaurants of countless cuisines and styles of cooking, with a multitude of parks and zoos, this is primarily a tourist trap sort of place for those who come to Rio on vacation. Nearby the coast and the beach, it's one of the busiest places in all of Rio, the neverending flood of noise and sound from hover cars and pedestrians, their honking and shouting and talking like a long melodical song.

Cloud Man [Normal] [RM] Catastrophe [Calamity] [MH]

South <S> leads to Teleportation Area--Rio.

East <E> leads to Rio - Southern Beach.

North <N> leads to Rio - Downtown Mall District.

West <W> leads to Rio - Commercial District.

Shade Man arrives from the Teleportation Area--Rio.

Shade Man has arrived.

Shade Man is nowhere to be seen. It is a dark and stormy night. Both of these things are just the way he wants it.

Rio. Lovely city, rich in culture, large, and the perfect harvest grounds. The city never sleeps, and festivities and celebration are in full swing round the clock. Everyone's a little on edge because of political turmoil, but this is Rio... how bad could things get?

A reploid walks home from a party. He never makes it there. He is grabbed into an alley on a deserted street.

The first scream is heard.

The Ride of the Valkyries played, as the darkness began to creep over the horizon, drawn in from all directions even though most would consider it impossible. The shadows swept in, rain falling in a light drizzle from each portion of the cumulous blobs. Those below had the pleasure of witnessing a few lightning strikes occur, each one crackling out a blast of thunder that rolled over Rio itself, the oncoming assault of a potent storm. And within it was Cloud Man. Listening to his music. Sexy.

Catastrophe had actually been out in Rio to pick up a gift for someone from one of the 'tourist trap' spots in the downtown of Rio; she's already picked up whatever it is, and is walking toward the teleporters with a small bag. She ignores the temperature, generally, but she looks somewhat distraught at the sudden rain...she elects to jog the last dozen blocks or so. She hasn't noticed anyone vanishing near her...wrong area.

Dark and stormy? How hindering. Storm Owl is soaring low over the tops of the buildings here in the tourist trap section of Rio. Thick and relentless raindrops splatter against his orange-golden wings as the wind furiously pushes him in all directions. The crash of thunder deafens the Fortress V Commander's enhanced audio sensors, the thick, never-ending rain limits his superior sight. The owl is an expert at flying in terrible weather, but this is something else. For some strange, strange reason, the war bird's own wind generators are having a limited effect at blazing a trail through the skies for him. A certain weather manipulator might be able to detect the attempted changes, though. Storm Owl is here in Rio for a meeting with various suppliers for his ship. Down below is a thick gridlock full of beeping cars and pissed off pedestrians, all trying to get somewhere through this rainstorm. If you're not partying, you're stuck in traffic. And if you're not stuck in traffic, you're partying.

A very festive party appears to be going on around the boardwalk, and several revellers walk away drunkenly. A single glinting reflective is seen in a nearby alley by a paticular reploid, who staggers towards the object offering a libation to the shadows.

The last thing he glimpsed was a monocle. His scream, the second scream, rang out, alerting the party nearby.

It could be that the perpetrator remained in the area to feast upon the revellers, or perhaps headed towards the calmer upscale district, or perhaps to the business district. But as the screams grew the general fear would increase.

"Such a wonderful sound," Cloud Man commented, as the music continued to play for him, his body lowering steadily from out of the depths of the clouds and toward the bottom of them all, his optics adjusting as they glared down at Rio. One hand lifted up, yet nothing seemed to happen, for instead of acting Cloud Man was merely preparing. He was, of course, no fool...and as the clouds continued to gather and mix and grow thicker above the area of Rio that Shade Man was harrassing the rain came down harder and harder. "Not much longer at this rate. A pity, truly, to waste this much water on innocent Reploids."

Catastrophe gets lost at the drop of a hat, really. It's almost a straight line to the teleporters and she /still/ manages to take the wrong direction at the one turn she has to make. And now she's running into the worst of the storm, by the feel of it; the rain comes down harder here. Fortunately, her clothes are somewhat water resistant, but she's not all that fond of the water; she makes another couple turns to try to find a building she can take shelter in, at least under an overhang. Her ears perk, though, as she switches blocks. Thunder? Wrong time of year for a thunderstorm, she'd have thought.

Storm Owl scowls as he touches down on the ground near one of the oh so trendy cafes where his meeting is scheduled. The war bird is mildly annoyed at his wind generators seem unable to put a dent in this furious weather. Ah well, Storm Owl chalks it up to the weather patterns simply being too strong for him. Despite his enhanced hearing, Storm Owl does not detect the scream of the drunken Reploid, for the sound is lost in the pitter-patter of raindrops. Unaware of the trouble brewing both above and in the alleys, Storm Owl marches towards his destination, ignoring the stares he gets from plastered pedestrians. The war bird deftly side-steps a certain Reploid with a feline's tail that's running down the sidewalk in search of shelter.

The third scream rings out from an alley in the business district, fairly close to a trendy cafe. At first the local constabulary thought these were isolated incidents, but now rumors are beginning to fly. Quickly, too.

A howl rings out from the middle of the city. A wolf's howl... and for a brief moment the usual revelry of Rio quiets down in uncertainty.

A flash of lightning illuminates a tall winged figure silhoutted on the top of a building, seen only by the extraordinarily perceptive.

The music started to die down, as Cloud Man himself settled down slightly above the ground, not a single drop of rain ever even touching him. "Now let's see here, the temperatures all are good, yes...especially here, perfect! But...yes, the moisture will do fine, maybe with a few more minutes of concentrated rain, yes...and they don't seem to have any sort of rain catching systems," Cloud Man said, as he looked at a spiffy little electronic display, mumbling to himself continually while the people of Rio wandered by, attempting to hide from the torrential downpour.

Catastrophe is already wet enough. Getting splashed by Storm Owl - however accidentally - doesn't even make her blink. She's used to things like that happening to her; it always seems to. She finally finds an overhang to hide under, pulling her wet hair off her back and wringing it out. "Ugh." Her ears twitch at the wolf's howl; she looks up, still holding her hair, but fails to really place where it's coming from. "Strange."

Storm Owl is just about to turn into this trendy cafe that Shade Man speaks off when he suddenly halts, tilting his head slightly. His audio sensors have detected something, and his brilliant mind has deciphered that it is unnatural to the city. The war bird begins processing the sound and comparing it with a huge database all contained in Storm Owl's brain. This process takes about five seconds total, and Storm Owl has concluded that there are two separate sounds: The scream of a Reploid, and... Something else. Storm Owl immediately puts his planned meeting on the backburner and calculates the approximate location of the scream. The silhouette in the lightning is lost as Storm Owl was busy processing the information from the sounds. Rising up into the air slightly, the Fortress V Commander flies towards where the scream came from. The abrupt quietness of the area is detected, and the tension of the population begins to rise. Thankfully, Storm Owl is not one to fall prone to nervousness. Cloud Man, for better or for worse, is apparently not within his line of sight, and thus is not seen. And if Storm Owl accidently splashed the Reploid running past, he does not care.

The rooftop figure grins unseen. Which is really too bad, in the rain and thunder and dark-stormy-cloudness, the grinning silhouette looks fairly dramatic.

He grins mostly because this hunt just became interesting due to the presence of Storm Owl, an old rival of his. But moreso because he's found the perfect next target. Lost, Clueless, Reploid. /Perfect/.

From the rooftop above, Shade Man swoops down on an unsuspecting target, hoping to take it out in one shot.

Shade Man strikes Catastrophe with his Axe Kick attack.

"Hey! Yeah, you!" Cloud Man shouted, as he pointed with his free hand toward a person who was merely walking along, the drenched Human not even bothering to stop one moment, and barely even waste time glancing, before he trudged on further. Sighing, since Cloud Man had of course anticipated that and probably would see it all too often, the Robot Master returned to studying his little display. "Mm...yes..of course there's a slight bit of alterations...easily dealt with."

Catastrophe staggers under the force of the kick; she hadn't seen it coming at /all/, and the force was nearly enough to knock her to the ground. She screams, high and piercing, as she rights herself, hand to the back of her head where the foot smashed her. That really hurt! The area around her stinks of ozone for a moment before her body appears to erupt in tiny lightning bolts, arcing toward anything even remotely metallic in the area - a reflexive defense, not anything she'd really meant to do.

Catastrophe misses Shade Man with her Shocker attack.

Renfield has arrived.

Shade Man drops Renfield.

Storm Owl is starting to become alarmed. With the sudden quiet from the people partying in Rio, Storm Owl only needs to fight with the downpour for his hearing to function properly. And that, at least, is doable. While on course for the source of the scream, Storm Owl detects the flash of tiny little bolts of electricity from below. The war bird is not aware of any natural storm that can do that. The Repliforce Commander immediately alters course, taking him towards where Catastrophe just attempted to kick her attacker with an electrical burst. Alas, this means we will never discover how cute Storm Owl thinks this dog really is. Cloud Man, still not causing trouble (is this a Robot Master record?), goes undetected. Storm Owl is approaching the two battling it out, and is visible through the rain for anyone how happens to glance in his direction.

Shade Man expected that kick to take out the innocent reploid, but no such luck. In fact, it fired back! Shade Man quickly ducked behind a nearby dumpster, which alleys are just full of. He steps out from behind the dumpster. It's Shade Man alright, wearing a peculiar monocle with LEDs on it.

He grins! He bows... and flees into a maze of alleys!

A few blocks away, screams four and five are heard from an area Storm Owl just left. Authorities will later find two reploids with their throats ripped out and claw marks all over them.

Shade Man retreats from the area swiftly, leaving him open to pursuit or parting shots from Cloud Man and Storm Owl.

"AH! That would be a horrid mistake!" Cloud Man exclaimed, pointing at the small bit of information on the display...and of course being ignored by the citizens of Rio some more. Woe for he who is large in tummy and cloudy in rear. "The temperature would drop dramatically in the upper area and therein generate potential for frozen rain or anything else which might add up to an ice-based build up...must correct that."

Catastrophe actually tries to chase Shade Man - she can just about get a decent look at him, but manages to slip on some wet pavement and slam into a wall when she tries to follow, rebounding and landing on her rear with a startled yelp. "Hey!" She gets back up, ignoring her now mud-stained pants, and trots after him, careful with her feet. Storm Owl should be able to see her easily now as she works her way out of the alleys...which takes some time. She makes several wrong turns.

Storm Owl begins assimilating the news and radio chatter about the discovered bodies. Wonderful... where is Interpol when you need them? The war bird catches a glimpse of /something/ streak up and into one of the alleys. The owl is certain he detected little LED lights on part of it. The war bird has no suitable weapons prepared for such a quick moment. His air blasters have been dampened in usefulness due to this storm, his missiles would be unwise in an urban area, and neither of his two feather daggers are at the ready. The war bird's attention is drawn towards the fallen femme, and Storm Owl peers down at her, still hovering slightly in the air. "I suggest seeking medical aid, citizen. The police and ambulance have been contacted." Storm saw to that. But of course, Catastrophe has already rushed off towards the alleys, and Storm Owl zips back upwards into the wet and windy sky, hoping to spot the attacker from high above.

Shade Man emits a loud, deep voiced echoing cackle, which follows him through the alleys. He has been discovered, naturally, by no less than two combat capable reploids. /Good/. He has unfinished business with the feline.

With a powerful leap and a little bit of flight he jumps on top of a 4 story apartment complex and looks down on the innocents below. The time for stealth has passed.

He soars down, grabs an unassuming local reploid and carries him several stories in the air, rips out his jugular and sucks the life out of him, and throws his lifeless corpse at a car. He's now clearly visible, and cackling madly amidst the thunder.

"Yes...yes, that's working wonderfully," Cloud Man said, as he watched the information output and the data on temperatures met up with exactly what he had wanted, moisture itself, the humidity, being correct and the rainfall appearing to be on schedule. The random bolts of lightning where a tad tedious, although Cloud Man was making certain that the charges about his body didn't result in a bolt that would cut him in two. However...the cackling of Shade Man drew Cloud's attention away from the display, and the optics narrowed as they stared through the downpour. "Shade? My, he appears to be having fun today."

Catastrophe actually, amazingly, /astoundingly/ did not get lost this time. She made it /all the way out/ without making a wrong turn or sliding into another wall, which is likely some sort of record for her. Her head's still a little sore, but that's not going to stop her; she looks up at Shade Man, flinching when the Reploid slams against the car. Eew. Somewhat weakly, she calls to him, "Get down from there! Go on!" What she's /doing/, though, is checking the fallen Reploid, and not attacking...he looks dead, but she has to be sure.

Storm Owl detects Shade Man below and, after running the hazy, dark image through an internal database, identifies the robot as Shade Man. He watches as Shade leaps up to a building and soars down to make his attack on one of the civilians. "Attention Shade Man of the Robot Masters!" Storm Owl says. While normally the owl's voice is at a perfect level, now it is booming in order to be heard over the thunderstorm, "This is Commander Storm Owl of Repliforce." His words can be heard for quite some distance away. The war bird sees the assaulted Reploid fall and smash against a car, and is just about to fly down there when he spots the Reploid from before already seeing to him. And so, Storm Owl concerns himself with Shade Man. As the act of attempted murder requires no more threats from him (Storm is unaware of whether the robot is alive or not), the Aerial Fortress Commander draws out one of his forearm length feather blades, brandishing the weapon in the downpour. The rain causes the blade to glisten. In one fluid motion, the dagger is flung towards Shade Man in an attempt to slow him down here. Storm Owl has authorized himself to use lethal force based on what Shade has done.

You strike Shade Man with a solid hit from your Feather Missile attack.

Ahh, the feline! Unfinished business indeed, and ripe for the picking. He grins to the figure below.

"Your wish is my command!" He slowly flutters down, and drops the last 10 feet, landing dramatically. But she wasn't too specific about what to do after that, so Shade improvises. Secrecy lost, his sonic engines start to hum and whirr. They stop briefly as a feather strikes him in the shoulder, cutting deeply. But they soon begin to charge again.

"Ahh, associates new and old. Good to see you again, Storm Owl. However, I refuse to cease and desist for known reasons. And your interference shall not stop me. Indeed... you shall rather be my audience!" The monocle whirrs and blinks a few times and Shade Man gestures... as a wave of dischord and sonic doom washes over his assailants and several reploids and humans!

Shade Man strikes you with a glancing hit from his Devil's Dirge attack for 3 units of damage.

Storm Owl is temporarily disoriented by Shade Man's Devil's Dirge attack.

Shade Man strikes Catastrophe with his Devil's Dirge attack.

Catastrophe is temporarily disoriented by Shade Man's Devil's Dirge attack.

Cloud Man floated ever so slightly up, even as he watched on from a distance the brawl betwixt his commanding officer and the two alleged heroes. Whether or not Shade would stand long enough to win was beyond him, although Cloud Man was quite certain that if Shade Man wanted to he could rip apart at least the feline...except if the feline was really something like Vile in disguise. "That would be hilarious," Cloud Man commented to himself, even as he smiled at the thought. Vile just magically pulling himself up out of a faux kitty outfit and pointing his cannon at Shade.

Catastrophe looks up from the fallen Reploid, finally. "He's dead," she says, flatly, loud enough to carry - hopefully Storm Owl can hear her. That was the plan, anyway. "That's murder! I might not be able to - "

Rather abruptly, Catastrophe is interrupted by a sonic wave washing over her. Her internal generator stutters and stalls; she goes absolutely still and crashes to the muddy ground in a messy heap, as if all her limbs abruptly decided to stop working at once. If anyone got very close to her, they would be able to hear a faint clicking as the system tried to reactivate itself.

The flash of metal is seen near Storm Owl, and already his second blade is up into his hand, ready to sling it towards Shade Man. The war bird's weaponry is limited given the urban setting and the rainstorm pouring down all around them. Storm Owl, no expert in weather movements, has no idea what Cloud Man is saying. None of the police reports he's been receiving mentions him either, and so Storm Owl is working on the theory that the winged Robot Master is here alone. "The last time you made that decision it nearly resulted in your destruction, Shade Man. Perhaps you should learn from the past." Storm Owl begins charging the angel of music, planning to slash at the mech with his remaining dagger. Half way through, however, the disabling music of destruction collides with him, interfering with his internal circuitry. Storm Owl falters in mid-charge, and abruptly begins to fall from the sky - his wings momentarily immobile. Storm Owl sees the ground rushing towards him, hears Catastrophe report on the Reploid's condition, and then makes a very ungraceful landing, bowling over a trio of garbage cans.

Shade Man laughs, loud enough to be heard for several hundred feet. "Yes, you will bear witness to the feast." He bows, and it's clear to him this is performance art. He is simply fulfilling a role on a stage. Tonight's late night horror? Dracula.

Shade Man walks over to one of the captured reploids and chomps down on it's shoulder. It falls, dead, moments later. He smiles to his audience. He walks to another, and proceeds to rip it's head off. He cackles madly and tosses the head to the ground. He glances at the audience... a pity. Neither of them bore witness. Ah well. The other reploids and humans are running for the hills now, and Rio is quickly becoming deserted around them.

In the distance, another howl and more screams ring out. Shade Man folds his arms and watches his two assailants, chuckling to himself.

A slight shake of the head...although that ends up shaking the whole body since Cloud Man was poorly designed to be free moving, and the Robot Master demonstrated just how idiotic he thought everyone was being. His eyes focused on a slight stream that seemed to be inching down the street toward the fight...a slight stream that might be nothing more than the beginning of a true onslaught of aquatic proportions.

You are now unstunned.

*click* *click* *click*

Catastrophe's system finally reactivates itself; in fact, it activates almost explosively, surrounding her in a corona of sparks for a few moments. When she gets to her feet, it's with twitchy, jerky motions, becoming more smooth and natural as the power flow becomes a bit more stable. She's missing time, again...and now there's a /head/ on the ground. Catastrophe pales, as much as her very dark skin will allow, and backs up slightly. Shade Man is freaking her out. As the corona of electricity fades, she points with tail and left hand, a bolt arcing from her tale to her palm and then out in a blue-white bolt of electricity. Maybe she can at least stop him from killing somebody else. She hasn't even /noticed/ Cloud Man, and water on the ground means little to her. It's raining. That's where you expect water to be.

[OOC] Catastrophe uses +shake to unstun herself.

Catastrophe misses Shade Man with her Lightning Bolt attack.

Storm Owl rolls over onto his hands and knees and becomes aware that he appears to be in a large puddle which is growing rapidly. The war bird glances upstream, seeing the trickle flowing to the puddle begining to grow. He does not need to use his great mind to know that it's more than just the downpour that's causing this sudden build-up of water. Still... Storm Owl has more pressing concerns to worry about. Storm Owl quickly fires off a transmission to his Interpol Allies for an investigation... and promptly receives static in return. Well now. Knocking one of the garbage cans that had been resting against him away, Storm Owl rises to his feet even as the water rises to his ankles. Up in the sky he can see the electricity arching upwards into the sky and quickly flies up to join it. The war bird's optics narrow as he searches for where Shade Man is, and with his tracking skills it does not take him long. Storm Owl peers down and sees Shade Man and his two latest victims. Well, Cloud Man has been having fun with the thunder and lightning. However the Commander of the Fortress V Battlestation is no slouch in that category himself. Hovering about three stories above Shade and his victims, Storm Owl stands at attention and brings his hand to his forehead in a perfect salute, rain or no rain. Just as he does so, there's a loud *BOOM* of a thunderclap by Shade Man, hopefully stunning the mech long enough for Storm and his Reploid ally to put a stop to his rampage.

You strike Shade Man with a glancing hit from your Thunderous Salute attack.

Shade Man is temporarily disoriented by Storm Owl's Thunderous Salute attack.

Shade Man stands there in his dramatic pose... when the elements themselves conspire against him! That's the problem with weather manipulation... once it gets going anyone can start taking advantage of it. Thankfully, Shade's no slouch when it comes to sonics and it is but a momentary distraction, briefly held. His monocle appears to be insulated, as it's lights continue shining and whirring. Unusual device, that.

"Hmmm! Check! And what shall your next move /be/?" He strains a grin.

The day itself had trudged along for the people of Rio as though it was nothing new or amazing. Even while Shade Man had arrived, his body hidden within alleys and by the darkness of an already present storm, there had been another plan in the creating. Cloud Man had opted to choose are more unusual means by which to kill the Reploids, perhaps allowing some of them to survive if they were of a hardier breed than the average Reploid citizen, and so he drew upon the moist air, the water vapor nearby Rio and called it to one spot. To the already present storm.

That had not been the end of the plot, for as the clouds came upon Rio the dark shadows above grew and unleashed a torrent of never ending rain. Those who knew anything at all would inherently know that the water itself would fall, the temperatures being such that no frozen state ended up existing wherein it would be able to pool quite readily when it reached the warm ground. The pooling was slow to start, for as most knew it required depressions to create an actual puddle.

The flattest looking terrain, however, could gain a good deal of water if enough fell, and it would retain that water until the point wherein the water itself would flow easily to another section of the surrounding terrain. All cities have declines, often being so miniscule or seemingly unimportant that most would fail to notice them, and all cities had drainage systems. Soon though, the downpour filled the sewers, the pipes themselves overflowing and puddles gathering in size and volume.

The natural occurance to an increase in water is for the water to move, for as the water hits the ground it is already heading toward the direction of least resistance, which would often prove to be downhill. The water became more numerous, the volume itself seeming staggering to most, and the sounds of people screaming rang out as they all realized what was happening. Flash flood.

Yet in the end the flood was not as effective as most, for as it stretched out across the city there was a good deal of forewarning. Hovervehicles easily bypassed the disgusting depths of scummy looking water, water that had mixed with the refuse often found in the drainage systems of major cities, and of course the garbage that had been located in simple and cheap garbage baskets for the citizens to use. The water sweltered, flowing throughout the city, and as it came upon the area where Cloud Man was he was already well above the waterline. The water pushed along, sweeping across the street and heading toward where Storm Owl, Catastrophe and Shade Man were, carrying along with it vehicles that had been parked, people and even random wild animals that had filtered into the city.

An act of Wily to be sure.

Catastrophe's hand steams after the bolt leaves it, the water on it having been vaporized from the heat of the bolt. She looks as angry as she ever does as she takes half a step toward Shade Man. "I'll grab you and throw you in a j - " Her ears turn slightly, followed by her head. Water...she hears more water, and the sewers gurgling and filling underfoot, the water starting to rise above her ankles.

And then, fully turned, she sees the flash flood streaming down the street. Her eyes widen, and she actually runs toward the closest building, having been intending to literally run or climb up the side of it. With all this junk underfoot, though, footing is more treacherous than normal...she slips on something small - she has no idea what - and goes flailingg before she lands in the waters of the street, face-first.

Storm Owl lost his second dagger back when he made his crash-landing, and so will have to rely on other means of taking Shade Man down for now. Thankfully, he has Catastrophe to aid him. The war bird climbs slightly up into the sky, ignoring Slash Man's idiotic chess metaphors. Finally he halts his accent and turns, clearly planning to smash into the Robot Master in retaliation for the murders he's caused. The monocle is detected, and a part of Storm Owl's calculating brain begins processing what it might be, scanning it for any information as to its function. But as nothing conclusive is quickly returned, the war bird decides he cannot change his tactics based on what might simply be nothing. The sound of rushing water is also noted and added to the queue of things to process. The war bird plummets down towards the prone Shade Man, planning for this to be checkmate in this vicious little game. Storm Owl clips Shade Man with his sharp wings and pulls upwards, noting that, indeed, the water continues to rise. Another radio message is sent out. More static is returned.

You strike Shade Man with a solid hit from your Glancing Strike attack.

And verily didst the heavens rain for 40 days and 40 nights... or 40 seconds. Shade Man took a quick flight before coming to rest on a building.

Well /Crap/. The monocle's busted, apparently not waterproof enough. Shade sighs in disgust as he pulls the object off his face and crushes it. Useless anyway, this flood has ruined the moment. Double Crap. The feline has gotten away, and there's little chance of him finishing the job.

Triple Crap. Another feather, another shoulder. His arms are getting kind of Stiff and this is getting kind of tiresome.

Quadruple Crap. Renfield's still down there. Damnit Cloud. Drown your own dog next time...

Well, this is sort of a loss. "You'll have to forgive me Storm Owl, but I'm afraid our dance has come to it's conclusion." He grins and begins slowly ascending in height. "But I am sure we will meet again. Until that time... let us hope it is a little less of a mess." He chuckles and attempts to soar off!

Shade Man retreats from the area swiftly, leaving him open to pursuit or parting shots from Cloud Man and Storm Owl.

Cloud Man's attentions finally drifted away from studying the current pressure, temperature, humidity and other such simplistic sounding parts of the current environment that related to meteorology. "Excellent, just excellent!" Cloud Man said, as he smiled(As best he could with basically no real mouth), and stowed away the display within his posterier cloud. His optics moved about, studying the area, and he noticed not Catastrophe as she was submerged, but easily witnessed Shade Man's withdrawl from the area along with Storm Turkey harrassing him. "Perhaps...I should lend assistance..?"

Catastrophe really /can't/ swim, just like she told the Hunters before. When she finally struggles upright again, she looks - well, a lot like a drowned cat, hair plastered to her back in ragged strips. She manages to drag herself between buildings and clambering up to a second floor window's balcony, using it as a place to rest as she twitches oddly - her power system does not appreciate additional water, and she's still trying to burn it off. Catastrophe tries to send a message to Storm...even if she can't get /out/, she might be able to get it that far.

[Radio] Tightbeam transmission: Catastrophe transmits mostly static, but also her location. There was more message but it got eaten by the storm.

You post your note about 'Merry Performance Reviews!' in group 'Repliforce' as message #39

[Radio: (A) Chat] Krieger Wolf hms.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Krieger Wolf begins to cackle.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Hailstorm Eagle transmits, "...."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Hailstorm Eagle transmits, "Cute, Major."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Krieger Wolf transmits, "I'm going to frame this, Major."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Hailstorm Eagle transmits, "What did you get?"

[Radio: (A) Chat] Krieger Wolf transmits, "I don't play well with others."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "PANSY."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Krieger Wolf transmits, "And that's all."

Storm Owl swoops back up into the sky after his impact with Shade Man, splashing against the water even as he does so. The war bird is useless against a flood, and can only hope that the authorities know what's going on more than him. In the middle of all the static he's receiving, the war bird is able to decipher what appears to be location coordinates, although he does not know who it's from and what else is contained in the message. From another victim in desperate need of help, Storm Owl muses? The Commander watches as Shade Man continues his flight, but he is unwilling to let the Robot Master flee. "No." He states over the noise of the rushing water, rain, and thunder. "I do not plan to allow you to leave after your murders, Shade Man. You are under arrest." Storm likely doesn't know how silly he sounds saying that, but the speed and power with which he chases after Shade Man is one hundred percent serious. The Repliforce trooper still dares not use his explosive feather missiles in an urban setting like this, and so has no choice but to rely on what's likely going to be a weakened blast of air. The war bird's wind generators hum as he soars after Shade, aiming one of his fists in order to release a cyclone. That should hopefully slow him down... at least, it would in normal weather conditions. Cloud Man, still not done anything, yadda yadda.

You strike Shade Man with a minor hit from your Generic Ranged attack.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Marine Lieutenant Assault Kangaroo transmits, "Commander Owl. I'll be reviewing these reports."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Storm Owl does not reply.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Marine Lieutenant Assault Kangaroo transmits, "OOC: Not said in an offensive tone. ;p"

[Radio: (A) Chat] Storm Owl still doesn't reply :-) He's not one to be silent and pouty anyway.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Marine Lieutenant Assault Kangaroo transmits, "That way, I can learn from everything I've been involved in."

Shade Man grins as he gets away scott free... until he stops getting away and starts Spinning for a while, crashing into a building below.

Well, he's glad the monocle's already gone. This really isn't his night. There's going to be some definite talking to Cloud Man after this, the whole thing's gone overboard.

"Ok! You're Tenacious! I can respect that! But this is over. We will meet again in more favorable climes!" And he means it. This weather is ridiculous. Fleeing for the hills, take 2.

Shade Man retreats from the area swiftly, leaving him open to pursuit or parting shots from Cloud Man and Storm Owl.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard taps his chin quietly.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard hms.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "...YOUFORGOTHOWMUCHISTEALBEEROUTOFTHETENFORWARDBRIDGE."

"Halt with your disgusting transgression against my brother!" Cloud Man suddenly called out, one hand lifting away from his body and pointing in the direction of Storm Owl. The noise of thunder rolled over the city again, as though a multitude of lightning bolts had lanced into the watery depths of the flooded streets at the same time. The water vapor in the air gathered quickly, a small yet thick cloud crafting itself from seemingly nothing.

[Radio] Tightbeam transmission: Assault Kangaroo says, "Although you dislike Christmas, this is still a good gift. These will be very useful to me."

Cloud Man misses you with his Fog Cloud attack.

Catastrophe stays up on the balcony. She can't fly, and she can't swim; she's essentially trapped here for the moment. What she /can/ do, though, is watch; she leans far out, trying her best to see what's going on. She's also trying to raise emergency services on the radio...not that they wouldn't have noticed or anything.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard can be heard cracking open a can.

Long distance to Assault Kangaroo: Storm Owl is in the middle of rainstorm, and cannot be reached. So... static you get!

Storm Owl fully prepares to keep shooting Shade Man until he is dead. To do otherwise would be illogical, no? "You cannot escape, Shade Man. I am fully trained to fly in this weather, and my propulsion output greatly exceeds your own." The war bird is already preparing another blast of wind to keep Shade Man right where he is when the thunder roars once more, and mother nature (aka Cloud Man) turns to attack the Repliforce Commander. Storm Owl knows now he won't be able to stop Shade Man with the fog suddenly all around him. Shade's location is quickly lost, and the war bird has no choice but to fly down below the fog. While this lets Shade Man escape, it doesn't help Cloud Man! Yes, Storm has finally realized the Robot Master is here. "Ah, an accessory to murder." He notes in his monotone voice. Missiles are no, thunderous explosion needs recharge, wind probably useless against weather master... well that just leaves the up close and personal touch, doesn't it? Using Cloud Man's voice to target his maneuvers, Storm Owl attempts to ram into the mech with his heavily armoured wings. Civilians down below? Alas, Storm is far too busy.

You strike Cloud Man with a major hit from your Divebomb attack.

The blow rained upon Cloud Man, his body hurtled away from Storm Turkey, and cast down into the depths of the flooded streets. The splash was audible, water gushing upward, while Cloud Man remained below...perhaps already down for the count. Yet unbeknowest to Storm Owl, Cloud Man was moving away, attempting to swim(Pitifully) through the shallow water to an area away, where he could easily reemerge and head off to home. Alas, he is so slow it would take a miracle to not be caught by Storm Owl.

Cloud Man retreats from the area swiftly, leaving him open to pursuit or parting shots from Storm Owl.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "MYSTRENGTHSIMPLYREACHESOUTBEYONDYOURGRASPOFMIND,STORM."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Krieger Wolf facepalms.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Marine Lieutenant Assault Kangaroo transmits, "Mr. Hyena. Please respect Commander Owl."

Storm Owl pauses long enough to scan for Shade Man. Not surprisingly, the Robot Master is long gone by now. Hopefully with the damage dealt to him, he'll have no choice but to return to Skull... whatever the base is called nowadays. The war bird does, however, detect the sound of Cloud Man splashing into the water and trying to swim away. The war bird hovers about four stories up into the air and adjusts his aim for Cloud Man's back. The war bird has had a serious power drain due to all of his maneuvers in the terrible weather. Using wind in such an environment is tough, and flying even more so. As a result, he has no choice afterwards but to turn back and find a place to land. What a happy stroke of luck for the splish-splashing weather manipulating Robot Master.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Storm Owl, THANK GOD, is in the middle of a rainstorm and cannot be reached.

You strike Cloud Man with a minor hit from your Generic Ranged attack.

And away Cloud goes! Gold medal here he comes!

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "..OKAYWAIT.IFHEDIDNTRESPONDTOTHAT..WHATSGOINGONOUTTHERE?"

[Radio: (A) Chat] Marine Lieutenant Assault Kangaroo transmits, "He must be busy."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Hailstorm Eagle transmits, "... his signal's offline..."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Krieger Wolf transmits, "Not a clue. Oh well, he's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "LOOK.ASSAULT.IJUSTINSULTEDHISMINDSCAPABILITY.HEWOULDNOTICE.ANDALOSTOFFICERISNOTSOMETHINGTOBRUSHOFF."

Catastrophe is - yup, still up in the balcony. She's gotten her radio working properly again, and she's good enough to send close-range messages at least; she sends one to Storm Owl, now that she can see him coming back.

[Radio] Tightbeam transmission: Catastrophe transmits static, then more clearly, "-lo? Hello? This is Catastrophe - I'm a Maverick Hunter. Are they gone?"

[Radio: (A) Chat] Krieger Wolf transmits, "You bounce from ambivalent to concerned at the drop of a hat, don't you?"

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "IFSTORMOWLHADAEMOTIONALBREAKDOWN..IWOULDNTCARE."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "HEIS,HOWEVER,ESSENTIALTOTHEREPLIFORCE.NOMATTERHOWMUCHHEMIGHTSMELLLIKEBADONIONS."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Blaster Saurian tries to say something, but just ends up facepalming instead.

Ah, and here Storm Owl had thought the Reploid fighting Shade Man previously was just a civilian. Storm stopped being surprised by civilians with high powered weaponry a long time ago, you see. His radio perks up just as the war bird had been about to touch down on a roof for a rest. Storm Owl pushes his propulsion systems just a bit longer and is now heading in Catastrophe's direction slowly but surely. He can see her by now.

[Radio] Tightbeam transmission to Catastrophe: You say, "Confirmed. This is Storm Owl of Repliforce. I am en route."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Hailstorm Eagle transmits, "I don't know if I feel like -that-..."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "NOW.SOTHATICANSTOPBEINGSONICE..WHATWASHERESPONDINGTOLAST?"

Catastrophe is still on the balcony, leaning over the edge - and waving, now that she can see Storm Owl coming back. They're gone - floor or not, she's thrilled to be alive. "Hello!" she calls, making room for him on the balcony. "I'm down here! I'm sorry - I can't get out from here myself, with the flood..." It really /does/ look pretty high down there.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Krieger Wolf transmits, "No clue. I think he tuned out sometime after we got our 'gifts'."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Storm Owl's signal comes back online as the Master-made rainstorm rapidly clears up. Sadly (or thankfully), he is unaware of Flame Hyenard's touching concern for him. "Cloud Man and Shade Man have been causing a disruption in Rio. There have been several murders, however both Robot Masters are heavily damaged and have fled."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Blaster Saurian transmits, "well done sir."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Marine Lieutenant Assault Kangaroo transmits, "Welcome back, Commander Owl."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "GOOD.ICANGETBACKTODRINKING."

Storm Owl settles down on the balcony in much need of rest. He gives a curt military nod to her and says in his monotone, "I understand." He peers over the side of the balcony. Already rescue workers are out, trying to deal with the flood. Hopefully the loss of Cloud Man will slow down the storm and make things easier on the hard working police and firefighters. He pauses to reestablish contact with the rest of Repliforce and then asks, "Are you harmed?"

[Radio: (A) Chat] Storm Owl transmits, "Are you causing a disturbance, Flame Hyenard?"

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "WHATEVERFLOATSYOURBOAT,CAPTAIN."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Storm Owl shakes his head and mentally adds another line for whenever Flame has his next performance review.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "OH.YOURPERFORMANCEREVIEW.IHAVETOTHANKYOUFORIT."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "WITHOUTIT,IWOULDNTHAVEBEENABLETOMAKETHISTASTEFULORIGAMIBUNNY."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Marine Lieutenant Assault Kangaroo sends Storm Owl a recording of Hyenard being concerned for Storm Owl while he was in a rainstorm.

[Radio: (A) Chat] Storm Owl transmits, "I would urge that you read the review and adjust your performance to correct the flaws in your behavior. *pauses as he receives the recording. Then* That will all, Lieutenant."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "OKAYWAIT."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard flips..folds..flips..folds..

[Radio: (A) Chat] Marine Lieutenant Assault Kangaroo transmits, "I will, I will. These reports will be useful for me to review."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard snips.. flips..folds..snips..

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard flips..flips..flips.

Catastrophe shakes her head. "Not really. He kicked me, but I'll heal...and the sonic wave disabled my systems for a while, but they feel okay now. I'll get a quick look-over but I think I'm okay. Mostly I'm just wet." She looks worse than she is, with her clothes covered in mud and plastered to her and her hair in much the same situation. "I think I just got the radio to the Hunters working, by the way. They should know what went on...er...what all /did/ happen?"

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard ahems. "LET'SSEE..."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Storm Owl had been speaking to Flame, but hey, great that /someone/ will use their gift properly!

[Radio: (A) Chat] Marine Lieutenant Assault Kangaroo OOCly realizes that. :p

[Radio: (A) Chat] Storm Owl transmits, "Good, Lt. Assault. *Two Lieutenants. Gotta remember that*"

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "FLAMEHYENARDAPPEARSTOENJOYCHATTERWITHFELLOWOFFICERS.."

[Radio: (A) Chat] Flame Hyenard transmits, "WHYYES..YESIDO."

Storm Owl remains standing so he'll have the energy needed to carry Catastrophe off this balcony into the sunset. Or to dry land. Whichever is closer. "I'm in the same condition." Storm doesn't wear clothes, though, so doesn't have that particular problem. "Regarding what occurred, Catastrophe, it would appear Cloud Man and Shade Man conspired together in order to kill Reploids. No doubt this is a part of Bass's quota." Storm might not be right about the Masters working together, per se, but he doesn't know that. As the war bird is now ready to leave, he hovers into the air and, if Cat allows it, will carry her to either dry land or a rescue worker's boat. Or the sunset.

Catastrophe accepts the ride back without much of a complaint. She /does/ need to get to where she can head back to base, after all. "All right. I'll let them know that...I think you're probably right, although I don't know why he picked /me/ to hit."

============================ BB Post in Progress =============================

Group: Repliforce

Title: AAR: Shade & Cloud in Rio

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*** TEXT ONLY ***

There was an incident while I was on assignment in Rio. During a heavy rainstorm, police radio chatter and my own patrols detected the murders of several Reploids. <see attached file victims_profiles>. One such attempted victim was Catastrophe of the Maverick Hunters, who resisted against the attacker. The assailant was then identified as Shade Man. He continued to assault and kill Reploid civilians, and I gave chase to his attempts to leave the area. Meanwhile, the rainstorm had intensified, flooding had begun, and I lost radio contact with Catastrophe and the Fortress V.

Shade Man was unable to escape my pursuit, and he should be considered severely damaged. The Robot Master would have been destroyed had it not been for the intervention of Cloud Man. Evidence suggests he was behind the storm and the flooding. Rescue workers responded. Cloud Man has been heavily damaged, however he escaped. Catastrophe suffered minor damage. I am undamaged. I shall be returning to the ship once the clean-up effort no longer requires my presence.

Major Storm Owl, Commanding Fortress V, African Rainforest

==============================================================================

================================== IC News ===================================

Message: 18/90 Posted Author

Carnage in Rio! Tue Dec 21 Global News Network

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"...and naturally passersby were alarmed by the large amounts of blood."

"If you're just joining us, this is Bill Jacobs with the latest on the tragic events occuring today in Rio."

"A night of the usual festivities and culture of Rio was tragically interrupted by a series of murders around the city, caused by an unknown assailant now believed to be Shade Man. The murders continued for some time, although it seems only Reploids were targetted, perhaps as part of the latest Robot Master ultimatum."

"Even more disturbing is a video released publically on international networks that appears to be footage of the murders from the points of view of Shade Man and what appears to be some kind of wolf. Officials are trying to stop the spread of this video footage with mostly success, but distribution continues among unpoliced areas. The footage is too gruesome to be described but ends abruptly after what appears to be an unresolved confrontation between Shade Man, Repliforce Commander Storm Owl, and another reploid (footage of Catastrophe)."

"The unfortunate events only continued when Rio suffered a flash flood, covering the city in 3-20 feet of water at certain points, costing hundreds of thousands in property damage and injuring or killing an as of yet undetermined number of people. Undetermined reports indicate Robot Master Cloud Man may have been responsible for the flooding."

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the brave citizens of Rio for their loss."

"Also found amidst the preliminary salvage operations was a deactivated drone of wolflike make that appears to be of Wily origin, possibly linked to the killings."

"In other news today..."

==============================================================================

============================== Maverick Hunter ===============================

Message: 13/60 Posted Author

Rio Events Tue Dec 21 Catastrophe

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Video! It's Catastrophe. She looks a mess - she's absolutely covered in mud and dripping wet. Her hair is plastered to her shoulders and back, and her clothes have seen better days.

"I was in Rio picking up something today when there was a bit of a rainstorm. I went to seek cover, because I didn't want to get my clothes wet, but I got a little lost and went down the wrong alley. That's when I ran into the worse part of the storm. While hiding in a little nook between two buildings, I was attacked by Shade Man himself - he just dropped out of the sky and kicked me."

She shakes her head, sighing. "I'm sorry I didn't do very well. He got away from me when I slipped. I know Storm Owl caught him later, and I did briefly, but I couldn't stop him from killing people. Then when the floodwaters came I had to climb onto a balcony and hide there. I'm very sorry."

The image goes off.

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