My Past Reads Like A Fall Out Boy Song Title [OPEN]

[exuviiated]

[The fields have ears.]

[Of corn, that is, but it's trampled and a mess by the time anyone might come across it-- this is Aaron's fault. He's been pacing for a solid hour as the wound on his side slowly clots.]

[He knows that he should put something over it; pressure, a cloth, even his hand, but he can't. His hands are shaking and his head hurts and all he can think of is Riddler.]

[Or, rather, what Riddler did to him. And vice versa.]

[By the time he's worked off enough nervous energy to stop pacing around, he's not alone anymore. A shallow well of shadow forms almost unconsciously behind him (they could be one of Lux's, now that people must know that he has stronger magic) and he turns towards where he thinks his visitor is.

Who's there?

Comments

rifp daniel and aaron

[exuviiated]

I'll assume whatever I want.

[His voice goes hard(er), and he nearly takes a step forwards-- before making the cat do so instead. His side hurts, and moving will only aggravate it further. It looks like he's quarantined to making the shadows do his bidding for now.]

[The cat splits the distance with feline grace, fairly oozing into place. With both master and shadow, though, barely-leashed aggression was obviously present. In Aaron, the overt tenseness in his shoulders. In the cat, a malevolent gleam in it's white eyes.]

Leave.

This appears to be escalating towards a fight... Oh well :D

[mechanacet]

So you will, But everyone does, so don't worry about it too much. [It's something Daniel banks on after all. He wouldn't be able to get away with so much back on his homeworld if people didn't assume rather than investigate after all.

Daniel closes his eyes, trusting in Cam to keep watch while he sends his mind out in search of technology he can effect. It's difficult, and so far he's only really used it to build things, like his cane, and the lightning cannon that's currently sitting in his workshop space because it's too damn bulky to carry around on a day to day basis.

Reaching out, Daniel finds... A tractor. He spends a moment rooting around inside it's workings with his mind to find what he's looking for before holding what he wants to do with it at the forefront of his mind and opening his eyes once more. The strain has given him a small headache, but considering that this is probably going to get ugly, he can deal with it.] Unfortunately, I can't leave yet, I've got a couple things I need to do in the area first.

[Cam jumps down off Daniel's shoulder and takes a screening position between Daniel and the shadow-cat and Daniel begins to limp in the direction of the tractor. Both of them keeping an eye on Aaron and his cat as they do so.]

*middle schoolers chanting* FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

[exuviiated]

I'm not giving you options.

[Vaguely, he recognizes his voice doing what Riddler's had done when he was--

This is not the time to think about that. Instead, he focuses his attentions-- the frustration, steadily rising anger-- towards the cripple.]

Get out, now, or I'll make you.

[Big words from the guy with a hole in his abdomen. A still-bleeding hole, at that.

The cat bounds forwards with inky, razor-sharp claws bared, and Aaron focuses even harder to pull a vaguely bird-like shape out of the well of shadows behind him. His newest creation flies over Cam and towards Daniel. He can't keep that one in a solid shape, but it's flying and has claws, so it'll have to do.]

Re: *middle schoolers chanting* FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

[mechanacet]

They never bloody do. [Daniel mutters to himself. Well, that blew up fast. And he was only out here for some spare parts from one of the tractors that he'd already paid for as well.

Grimacing from the spikes of pain in his foot and his head, Daniel's about halfway to the tractor when Aaron throws a shadow-bird at him. Bringing the cane up as if to hit the bird, the three thick power cables that Daniel made the stick of the cane from seem to come alive, lashing at the monster with whip-like quickness.

Somehow keeping his feet, Daniel tries to take a better look at the bird-monster, vision going red as he is reminded very heavily of those hellish days in the Tokyo Infected Zone, fighting The Filth at the apparent source of it's corruption, and Losing.

Cam anticipates the shadow-cat's movement, rushing forward to meet it with a crackle of electricity and all of the considerable strength that the small robot can bring to bear.]

Just come and try me, Boy. I've fought worse. [Daniel is now standing next to the tractor, waiting on Aaron's next move and looking entirely different from the friendly scientist of a couple of minutes ago.]

don't kill aaron or break his bones pls. anything else is fair game tho

[exuviiated]

[Alas, the bird is quite goopy already; it smacks into one of the sticks and starts to ooze down. Aaron didn't expect that, but presses the advantage, and it loses form completely to come rushing down like a tidal wave.]

This is mine!

[The cat slides effortlessly under the robot, liquefying and searching for a chink where it can invade and gum up Cam's workings. Aaron's eyes are wild, black around the edges, and black spittle flecks on his lips when he screams.]

GO AWAY!

Wouldn't dream of it, please don't kill or maim Daniel either please :D

[mechanacet]

Yeah? [Daniel had anticipated this sort of thing, popping the hood of the tractor, Daniel flips the mental switch he'd forged earlier, starting the vehicle. Reaching into one of his pockets with his free hand, Daniel pulls out a pair of jumper cables. The cables practically leap from his hand, connecting the top of Daniel's cane, which is apparently a shaped battery, and the tractor's battery.

Lightning arcs around the goopy remains of the shadow-bird and along the rest of the cables as it rushes towards Daniel's hand, but he doesn't even bother letting go, eyes fixed on Aaron's challenging him.] Not a chance.

[The shadow-cat is going to be a long time searching. Cam's chassis has been in development for around ten years. Plenty of time for Daniel to fix up any cracks, chinks and other things. Swinging their greatsword with skill and speed, Cam continues to attempt to hit the damn thing. And hits that they score will be somewhat shocking, so say the least.]

noooo problem!

[exuviiated]

[The former-cat sizzles and split into two on a successful hit, with additional shadows flooding in to build the mini-cats back to full-size or maybe a little larger. They circle around Cam, fencing it in.

Aaron bares his teeth and glares, watching as some of the goop flickers away into nothing-- and still more keeps flooding down. If it touches Daniel, he may notice that it's frightfully cold and almost painful, gripping, devouring.]

GO! GO AWAY!

[His tone is increasingly frantic and angry, like he's switched from wanting to firmly trounce Daniel to merely wanting to drive him out.]

[mechanacet]

[Cam is now fighting more defensively. On the back foot now that the numbers assaulting them have doubled. Their attacks are mainly counters now, only going on the offensive if either of their opponents makes a move towards Daniel.

Speaking of, Daniel is concentrating through the mother of all headaches right now. A grinding can be heard from in the inside of the tractor's engine compartment, like something were trying to rip itself free. Lightning is still coursing through and around his cane, the two uncorrupted cables striking repeatedly at the cable still covered in the shadowy goop, causing sparks to fly as they burn the sticky darkness away.

Daniel hasn't broken eye contact with Aaron yet either, he seems to be attempting to stare him down.] Make me. [Daniel's voice is stern, powerful with the stray electrical energy in the air crackling around him. Any nearby lights are likely to go haywire/start exploding due to the stress Daniel's put himself under as he overuses his abilities.]

[exuviiated]

[He shouldn't even be able to use his magic if he's putting that much strain on them! Maybe it was different for other types, though- Aaron remembers his healing magic sputtering and dying once he was too strained and tired to continue, or maybe he just wasn't good enough.

But he's good enough to use the magic he has now, and so he lets the cats melt into shadow and instead sends a torrent of shadows towards his tiny robot and him. They stick near the ground instead of rising up like he's tried before, and he looks even more frantic.]

I will!

[It's going for his ankles; now-- too much for Cam to hold of on their lonesome.]

[mechanacet]

[Daniel's been dealing with headaches like this since he was around four years old. He's used to it, but Aaron's right, he won't be able to hold on much longer. But he doesn't have to, as the engine of the tractor pretty much tears itself from it's compartment, metal shrieking as it bends and breaks, disconnected pipes and wires acting as legs and arms, reaching out to grab Daniel and Cam, who has fallen back before Aaron's latest onslaught.

Having gotten what he came for, Daniel directs the engine-automaton, which consists of much of the internal parts of the tractor, back towards the observatory, time to retreat, regroup and recover. As he's falling back, however, Daniel has a few parting words for Aaron.] I've gotten what I came for. Any further fighting would be pointless. [Daniel smiles, a bit of the friendly scientist shining back through.] I'm looking for answers to the puzzle of this world. If you find you need them too, come to where the stars shift nightly. [It's a bad attempt at being cryptic, but Daniel means his workshop at the observatory.]

[exuviiated]

[He knows well enough that the only reason Daniel is leaving is because he's got what he wants, but it doesn't stop him from chasing him out with whiplike tendrils of shadow to his ankles, snappy enough to be cutting if they hit bare skin.]

STAY OUT!

[Rest assured he will not be going to the observatory any time soon. OR ever, really.]

[mechanacet]

[Daniel makes sure to leave deliberately slowly, he's not in any danger from the ground shadows as he is still being lifted by his bizarre walking engine, which is infused with his magic. At this point, it's more about making a statement than anything else.

He is quite confident in the curiosity he's instilled in Aaron, it's something about human nature he tends to bank on, that humans are too curious not to seek out potential answers to any questions that they find important to them. It tends to eat at them. Even if they don't notice it at first. And so he and Cam go, without fuss, but without hurrying either, especially if it'll make their encounter with Aaron more memorable to the boy.]