Other Worlds: V 2.0

[initiates]

Date & Time: May 21st, beginning at 0900.
Location: The Initiative Hold and all throughout Elmer's world
Characters: Anyone participating in the fighting, anyone staying behind.
Summary: Elmer's world is fought for and lost.
Warnings: Violence, death.

They reopen the portal at 0900, May 21st. The first scientist who stepped through was killed within thirty seconds; the rest who followed made it back through to Exsilium, albeit not unscathed. The portal was shut again by a panicked operator, although a second operator knew to keep the coordinates locked.

Within ten minutes, the alert had been sent out. There's no time to wait for the Transports to gather en masse; as soon as they have a sizable enough force to stand a chance at fighting through and clearing their gateway's location, the door is opened again.

Immediately inside the door is a desolate, grim scene. What had previously been the coast of Japan is now scorched earth, blasted sand, and little else. As the first point of contact for this world, it has undoubtedly suffered the worst. Here, the UE didn't stop at governments, financial centers, and capitols — the UE destroyed everything in sight. There are enough UE soldiers remaining in the broken country to give the Transports a difficult battle, although by now the bulk of their forces have moved on.

The Initiative will soon realize the necessity of opening more gateways, just as the UE had done. Transports will be deployed to London, Berlin, Paris, DC Washington, Moscow, Beijing, New York City, Hong Kong, Madrid. Through each of these windows, the destruction is staggering. Buildings are more husks than structures, everything that can burn is alight, and the death toll is off the charts. Blackened bodies seem to line every street, while pieces litter the ground among the rubble. There's no doubt that the UE has no need of the people of this world. They're after resources only, and anything and anyone already here is to be removed.

You can find UE soldiers everywhere. They move in coordinated squadrons of 20, and each of them carries a small arsenal. Even without their incredibly advanced and destructive weaponry, they're fearfully formidable. Each soldier, while still only human, is a genetically perfect clone, further enhanced by technological implants. They're all highly trained in physical combat. Even if you can disarm one of them, don't count on close-range attacks being any easier to handle. They've brought along cannons, small flying craft, and lightweight tanks. Each of these is the top of the line in terms of technology, geared toward destroying as much as it can, as quickly as it can. The United Earth is here to destroy, and they won't stop to wonder why their targets go from being civilians and scrambling, off-guard, comparatively primitive militaries, to trained and powered Transports.

For anyone staying at home, they'll find that any Initiative presence has withdrawn fully to the Hold. All Initiative employees are needed, and most of them in the med bays. The majority of the Initiative focus is on recalling and resurrecting fallen Transports, but attention is still needed for the living-but-wounded. Any Transports who stay in Exsilium and offer their help will have it immediately accepted; they'll be put to work in the medical wings, runnings supplies, or simply set at a machine and told to keep an eye on the numbers: Transport vitals, UE movements, and maps upon maps of changing statistics and colors.

At 1500, the Initiative will recall all Transport soldiers back to Exsilium and seal shut the gateway. The UE numbers are too great, their soldiers too powerful, and Elmer's world is lost.

Comments

[chore_boy]

Yes. Unfortunately, I've tried having other people drink it. This only seems to work for me. [That much wasn't a lie. It was an ordinary can of soda to anyone else but himself. It would regenerate with time and he could drink it again, but that stamina-return would only work in his case. As far as he understood, it was likely made to only work for the person who chose it from the armory.

As Toph would find, his wounds were shut. As they were all from shrapnel and he removed the bigger bits, he didn't worry about her putting her fingers on them. Though, like any reasonable person, he should have been concerned about infection on both their parts.]

I'll wait a minute or so more for it to work before I find you a way out of here, Miss Toph.

[taijiya]

You're welcome, it's just... can I ask why?

[pixieboots]

[ It's true, what she's saying. He knows it is, and he hates that feeling, creeping up treacherously underneath the weight of everything else. This is a war that they're fighting. Shouldn't the rules be different somehow?

Except they can't be. No exceptions, not ever. ]

Maybe it won't. [ He's eying the sword she's holding, worrying his lip while he thinks. ]

But maybe a few people will get out of here alive and then it'll be worth it.

[pixieboots]

No, just... come on, let me think for a minute. [ There's no training he has that covers this. There's no policeman to take them away, no bat cuffs in the world that would hold them even if there were.

And they're destroying a world, piece by piece. What is he doing, trying to save their lives?

He huffs out a ragged breath and. just forces himself to let that awful panicky feeling ebb away. Pretend the Titans are here. But who he'd be for them. ]

Okay, listen. Even you taking out twenty at a time isn't going to make a dent in what they have here, right? We need to go after their equipment if we want them to play fair.

[pixieboots]

The trick with the bat.

[ He's still watching her, eyes a little wide behind the mask. ]

[pixieboots]

[ It's on the tip of his tongue to tell her to leave them behind, but... he's hardly one to talk about impractical attachments to certain pieces of equipment. ]

Yeah... just. Keep thinking that. [ He tries lifting her up from the uninjured side. ]

...Wow. You're lighter than I thought.

[limitstorm]

[ a raised eyebrow. ]

She's my fighting partner. There's no real trick. She does what she wants.

[pabulously]

.........not really. No.

[limitstorm]

[ stellaluna gives a light screech of acceptance, as riku silently sits down on an abandoned crate. he'll need a bit of time to calm himself down before he launches back into action. ]

Good luck out there.

[ladyofrivendell]

I don't doubt it. I've only ever know you as you are though. And you could be frightening in temper when I was young.

[The young little elfling that would ruin dresses when trying to learn to ride a horse.]

[barefootbender]

[well damn. This feels like a shock, considering how panicked and shocked she was about him getting hurt just a few minutes ago. The stress shows on her face, and she takes a seat herself on the concrete. While she'd normally get defensive at what normally sounded like someone babying her, she didn't seem to have the energy to deny Coby's help at the moment.

Instead, she kicks a piece of rubble away with her a bare foot.]

...This is awful. All of this.

[barefootbender]

Y-... Yeah.

[Toph isn't so sure about that. These soldiers... they're not human. They're like monsters, and they have the most bizarre and terrifying projectiles she's ever come across. They're loud and terrifying and there is nothing she could do to stop that kind of attack.

She presses her face against his side gently.]

...I am, but...

[anklets]

[ blinking in stereo ]

Mm, that's fine.

[velveteened]

( he makes a sound of agreement and acknowledgment - it's the sort of thing he understands and may have even felt but will never admit to - at the admission, dropping his eyes and remaining otherwise quiet. after watching a world die, really, it's all the easier to imagine and feel the what ifs - warring feelings of homesickness and horror that acting on it could lead to a result like this. )

[wilder]

[SO PRETENDING LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED AND JUST WORKING BUSILY ON BANDAGING YOU GUYS UP AND NOT MAKING EYE CONTACT.]

[Ugh, just ugh- way to get too comfortable and slip there]

[gamora]

They'll all die. We can't bring anything living back with us, or did you forget about that part of the deal?

[ Gamora's seen planets die before - she knows when it's happening and when they're having no effect at all. They're not fighting a guerrilla war here and they're certainly not doing special ops missions. Instead they're just throwing themselves at an enemy and hoping to make a dent before they're all hauled back to the Initiative to bemoan the state of the world. ]

[taggeda0]

[Nic makes a face at Ashraf--you really need to stop doing that--but obeys easily enough. He moves to pull the young woman to her feet; no point in trying to stop the blood when they'll be on the move. He wraps her arm over his shoulder again and adjusts so most of her weight falls on him.]

WaalK.

[But as habit, he doesn't wait for her to respond before he starts moving.]

[taggeda0]

[Right kid. Tell him another one.

There's a moment where Nic just looks at the kid, expression halfway between impassive and assessing, before he makes a disbelieving sound and begins shoving him toward a bed again. He doesn't have time for your bullshit today, Shinji.]

[imusntrunaway]

I think... I understand.

[He doesn't raise his head, but his eyes flicker up. He hadn't been looking--really looking earlier--but his expression is one of someone finally noticing something before them.] I had to fight back home, too, but... I can't fight here.

[His shoulders tense.] I don't feel like I'm supposed to be here. Living here doesn't feel right at all.

[chittybang]

[It's a little difficult to improvise footwork with Blue's attempts at floating. After stumbling forward a bit with a firm grip around his waist once her feet hit the ground, Asami looks behind them with a huff and bites her lip.]

What's easier for you, running or— [What's the word? No idea, just pick one!] —levitating? Don't overexert yourself trying both.

[Of course, her words come out jumbled and sometimes inaudible in that panicked run.]

[chittybang]

[Asami comes to a jerked halt with Coby's gesture. And there's no questioning, but the question of what if I hadn't comes to mind after that pause between stopping and the raining bullets. It's hard not to watch, but the sight makes her want to stop. Stop and freeze and wait it out.

The battle for Republic City was dangerous but never so cruel or brutal.

Her attention veers back to Coby maybe mid-sentence. She can't tell. But she nods. Something about finding another space. Her eyes flicker about until she spots a building still in-tact. There's a question of how long it's going to remain that way, but by the looks of it, it's going ignored as soldiers pass by. It provides a decent window and it looks like it can accommodate her weapon's range.]

How about up there?

[She nods upwards, careful not to point in case they're being watched. They did draw attention to themselves earlier, after all.]

[khajidont]

Whoa! [Jaime jumps at the sound and skitters away from the building as quickly as he can, though he spares a good half of his attention to make sure nobody else is going to be caught in the avalanche.

Clearing the area isn't a problem, not really. With the ample warning given, it's a fairly simple task, whether you're on four legs or two, but something like a collapsing building has the side effect of attracting unwanted attention. There are likely many excellent traits that Collette and Jaime have combined, but unfortunately, the power of being inconspicuous is not one they currently possess.

The soldiers all look more or less the same to Jaime with their uniforms and rigid expressions, but he has to admit that it does make them look mighty intimidating when the full force of their gaze is focused on you.]

Uh oh. Thaaaaat's not a good thing. [What sounds really good right now is running away. Without any innocents or any Transports in the area, he doesn't see much of a point in sticking around to get banged up, or worse. His wings spring out of the oversized scarab on his back and he holds out his hands, ready to carry Collette, though he can't say he has an abundance of experience in carrying large animals comfortably.] Let's fly!

[khajidont]

All right. Sounds good. Now it's just a question of finding them. [It's a daunting prospect. He hovers a little higher, hoping for some sort of epiphany.]

UE forces collected in squadrons of twenty. Deviations from the pattern: civilians.

Yeah. Yeah, okay, I guess that's a start. I guess the Transports will be the guys running towards the squadrons. [He looks down at Nate, then explains,] I'm gonna get a little more altitude. I can use infrared to see where the guys that aren't in squadrons are hiding.

[khajidont]

Got it. I'll see who I can get from a little further in. [He hops off the building and hovers in mid-air in front of Batwoman, quietly thankful that he had finally mastered the skill. It comes in handy.] If we can, let's meet back here. Well, on the ground in front of here.

[khajidont]

Jaime had been fully prepared to simply leave Blue in the more than capable hands of the medics, but he wasn't the sort to ignore someone grabbing at his arm, no matter how feeble his grasp. All that time, and he had saved one person, but every person was worth it.

It was impossible to ignore how many more were dying out there, however, and he was determined to go out there and see if it was even possible for him to do any more good. "I don't know what city you're talking about," he said, gently extracting Blue's fingers from his wrist. "I've been to a few. I'm Blue Beetle, if that helps you remember. But you're not looking so hot, so you should just try and rest for now. These guys'll take care of you."