File: 4bdbab76921c4266953a28a25(...).jpg (146 KB, 748x1135)

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This…this was bad.

“Fuck! I can’t hit him!”

You effortlessly weaved between plasma bolts, occasionally using your webs or your flame cloak to change your direction in mid-air. You didn’t know how Cindy was managing on her own without your trusty tools, but she was relatively unscathed as well. She flawlessly transitioned between gliding, diving and swinging in order to keep the enemy guessing. And together, the two of you cleaned up the streets, one block at a time.

“Maybe instead of worrying about the Doombots, you should invest in an aimbot. Just a suggestion.”

You and your young friend descended on the Pixel Punks without mercy, tearing through their forces and brutally executing their avatars. In some way, fighting against these guys was a bit refreshing for you. Whoever was controlling them didn’t get hurt, and you didn’t have to hold back as you beat them into the ground.

But, still…

Doom was here. Doctor Doom. Ruler of Latveria. Nemesis of the Fantastic Four. One of the greatest minds in the world; maybe the universe. And he was here! Or…at least a solid chunk of his forces were. You couldn’t be sure yet.

Maybe he sent them to do his dirty work, or someone else hacked them.

Hmm. No, that last one was a bit too far fetched. Gotta face the facts.

You and Cindy moved onto the next hot zone. Neither of you had a solid plan yet, so you settled on taking out as many of these geeks as you could before they hurt more people with their stupid game.

—-------

“This guy is such a troll!”

One of them shouted as they tried, and failed to lob a grenade at you. You caught it and threw it right back. He and his friends exploded into a burst of colorful pixels.

“And here I thought I was a spider. Maybe I’m wearing the wrong skin.”

You shot back. When you turned to check on Cindy, you were pleasantly surprised to learn that she’d already managed to clear out the rest with a pair of lethal-looking sai with a guard shaped like an upturned crescent moon. All that training with Matt and Marc really did wonders for her. She was deadlier than ever.

She nodded, stashed her weapons back into her belt and pulled out her grapnel.

“Clear.”

Onto the next area, then.

—-------

A lone Pixel Punk engaged you in melee combat, but his attacks hadn’t found purchase. He desperately swung at thin air in an attempt to slice at your flesh, but he was far too slow to even have a chance at getting you on his own.

You could’ve taken him out normally, but you were in the mood to show him up a bit. You whipped out both of your daggers, using one to parry the incoming attack and disarm him, and the other to slash at his throat. A waterfall of pixels flowed from the open wound, and the avatar fell to his knees as his form began to break down.

“GG…”

He said with a groan. You walked past him without looking back.

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

(Cont.)

File: 1623968-spider_woman2.jpg (73 KB, 330x627)

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As soon as his form collapsed and Cindy finished up on her end, the Avatar of Khonshu approached you from behind, looking frustrated.

“We’re getting nowhere. There are too many of them, and some of them keep spawning up out of nowhere. We need a plan.”

You stared back up at the Helicarrier, hoping that they could somehow resolve this issue. But they were still locked in battle, trapped in their own base.

“I know. Let me call Julia. She’ll have a better idea of what’s going on.”

She nodded and gave you room to do your thing. You dialed the redheaded hacker, and she picked up almost immediately.

“Benji? Are you back already?”

She asked, sounding frantic.

“Yeah. The city’s an absolute mess right now.”

Julia breathed a sigh of relief.

“You have no idea. I’m just glad that you’re back in action.”

“I kind of never left the action. Or maybe it’d be more accurate to say that the action never left me.”

You admitted.

“Now’s not the time to argue semantics, Benji. We need to find out who or what’s responsible for these things.”

“The Pixel Punks? I thought Arcade was the one bringing them to life?”

Julia made a thoughtful noise.

“Oh no, I still think he’s involved somehow. But I don’t think he’s able to do this on his own. I think he’s getting help.”

You frowned up at the Doombots flying overhead.

“You think Doom’s got something to do with it?”

“I don’t know. But what I do know is that we’ve got an unusually high concentration of…’Pixel Punks’ and other weird monsters fighting each other at ESU.”

“Abe’s college? What’re they doing there!?”

“Dunno, but your baby bro’s really considering turning around and swinging back there to save the day. There’s a couple dozen Doombots and a dragon standing in his way, though, so I don’t think he’d be able to make it in time.”

“A dragon?”

“Pixel dragon. This is the first time that we’ve seen an avatar take shape as something other than a person. Could you do us a favor and go check it out? Or at least pass the word along? We could really use some help from the Huntsman and his Amazing Friends.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

You said, before hanging up and returning your attention to Cindy.

“So, what’s the plan?”

(Cont.)

What will you do?

>Head to ESU to investigate the Pixel Punks’ turf war.
>Call up some friends to assist you. (Who? Where should they go?)
>Fly up to the Helicarrier and try to help them defend their base. If you were going to have any hope ending this threat, they would need to get involved.
>Try to hunt down the more dangerous pixelated enemies roaming around the area.
>Send Cindy to check on your folks. You’d feel a lot better if you knew that they were safe.
>Send Cindy to assemble the Desperados. You could use all the help that you can get.
>Send Cindy back to BVA. It’s too dangerous out here, and she’s getting dangerously close to breaking curfew again.
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5772529
>Head to ESU to investigate the Pixel Punks’ turf war.
>Send Cindy to assemble the Desperados. You could use all the help that you can get.

>>5772529
>Head to ESU to investigate the Pixel Punks’ turf war.
We can charge double if we put dragon slayer in our resume
>Send Cindy to assemble the Desperados. You could use all the help that you can get.

>>5772529
>Call up some friends to assist you. (Morlocks, ESU)
>Send Cindy to assemble the Desperados. You could use all the help that you can get.
>Fly up to the Helicarrier and try to help them defend their base. If you were going to have any hope ending this threat, they would need to get involved.

>>5772561
>>5772726
>>5772726
>Head to ESU to investigate the Pixel Punks’ turf war.
>Send Cindy to assemble the Desperados. You could use all the help that you can get.

Taking these. Writing...

File: STL264859.jpg (795 KB, 2750x4175)

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“I need you to assemble the Desperados. We’re gonna need all the we can get.”

Specifically, you were hoping for Flint’s help. It never hurt to have some extra muscle handy.

Cindy nodded.

“What about you?”

“I’m gonna go check something out at Abe’s college. Julia thinks that it’s somehow linked to these guys popping up all over the city.”

You explained. Cindy narrowed her eyes.

“Got it. I’ll be headed your way after I’ve made contact with the others. I might be a bit delayed if I run into more of these guys, though.”

She admitted, glancing at the sky every so often.

“That’s fine. You do what you’ve gotta do. I just need you to pass the word along and let them know where I’ll be.”

You requested. Then, almost at the exact same time, the two of you turned away from each other and grappled onto the nearest, most stable object that you could find.

“Be careful out there.”

You said, swinging off towards ESU.

“You too.”

Cindy replied, swinging in the opposite direction.

Part of you was relieved that she wasn’t going to follow you into another hot-zone. Not immediately, at least. You would’ve liked to stick around and protect her, but that was also what Khonshu was there for. You had to hope that Cindy’s skills and her divine favor would be enough to protect her tonight.

“You’d better be pulling your weight here, Khonshu.”

—-------

Other than a few stray groups of Pixel Punks, you managed to rush over to ESU without much interference. Fortunately, the dragon that Julia was complaining about wasn’t hovering around the route that you took to get here. According to her, heroes and vigilantes of all sorts were already out there putting out fires, same as you. They all probably had their hands full, which left you to deal with this on your own.

But seeing the campus in its current state was starting to make you regret coming here without backup.

Plasma bolts, energy constructs and bladed weapons flew back and forth between the warring Pixel Punks in a cacophony of noise and blinding light. None of them wore any kind of uniform to distinguish themselves from friend or foe, so you had no actual idea of how they managed to keep track of what side they were on. At first, you assumed that this was purely for fun, but then you noticed the absolute animosity with which they flung insults at one another. It was impossible to read their expressions, due to each of them wearing a mask, helmet or faceplate of some kind, but they seemed to be deeply embroiled in some sort of turf war.

Was this part of their game, or was there some other reason that they wanted this college to remain under their control?

(Cont.)

There was only one way to find out. You prepared to jump right into the action, but before you could, a flicker of motion in the corner of your eye drew your attention. A small, grayish brown creature was moving frantically while facing in your direction. At first you were going to dismiss it outright, but you couldn’t help but think that the little thing was waving its arms back and forth to get your attention.

Was that a…squirrel?

What will you do?

>Insert yourself into the Pixel Punks’ conflict and attack them indiscriminately. You don’t care who they are or what they want. They shouldn’t be opening fire on school grounds.
>Wait and watch for a little while. Maybe there are some players amongst them that aren’t interested in causing chaos like the ones you’ve seen before.
>Investigate the strange rodent that’s been trying to get your attention.
>Use this opportunity to slip into the school so that you can make sure that the students are safe.
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5773432
>Investigate the strange rodent that’s been trying to get your attention.

>>5773432
>>Investigate the strange rodent that’s been trying to get your attention.
oh shit, Doreen's here?

>>5773432
>>Investigate the strange rodent that’s been trying to get your attention.
Probably some wizard stuff, not the rodent itself that wants our attention
>still web down as many people as possible while getting to it

>>5773434
>>5773435
>>5773499
>Investigate the strange rodent that’s been trying to get your attention.

Taking these. Writing...

File: tippytoe01b.jpg (26 KB, 400x500)

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Against your better judgment, you ultimately decided to swing on down to the tree that the squirrel was waving at you from. Your eyes hadn’t betrayed you. At first glance, it didn’t look to be anything more than a common squirrel. You couldn’t speak to what exact breed of squirrel you were dealing with, either. You weren’t really a squirrel guy.

Upon closer examination, though, you noticed that there was a pink little bow tied around its neck. Was this someone’s pet?

“Hey there, little guy. This is a dangerous place for you to be.”

The squirrel squeaked in protest, stamping its foot multiple times and clenching its furry little fists in what you could only interpret as outrage. Your eyes went wide and you leaned away from it slightly, worried that it was about to go rabid. You weren’t sure if your healing factor protected you against rabies.

But then, you noticed the color of the bow, and an apparently crucial detail clicked into place in your mind.

You bowed your head in apology.

“Sorry. ‘Little lady’.”

The lady squirrel folded her arms and nodded once, seemingly mollified by your correction.

“Either way, my previous statement still stands. Did you need some help? I’ve never met a squirrel that couldn’t get out of a tree, but then again, I’ve never met a squirrel with this much personality. You should seriously consider auditioning for America’s Funniest Home Videos. Or at least making a viral YouTube video with me. I’ll split the profit with you 50/50. What do you say?”

In a surprisingly human gesture, the squirrel scratched at her chin and tilted her head up slightly, almost as if she’d been seriously considering your offer. But instead, she shook her head as if to clear it, and waved you closer.

You leaned in cautiously, and one of the squirrel’s tiny hands touched the side of your face and shoved at it weakly. With her other hand, she pointed at one of the school buildings in the distance. You allowed her hand to position your head until it was looking at the exact location where she was pointing.

“You want me to go there?”

She nodded eagerly.

“Why? What’s over there?”

She gave you an impatient look, and you thought she was just going to leave it at that. Instead, she turned to the side, struck a boxer’s pose and squared her shoulders. She threw a series of lightning fast jabs that even Matt would be proud of. They were sharp and crisp, without an ounce of wasted effort. She then smoothly transitioned into a spinning roundhouse kick, followed by a front flip into an axe kick. You were so transfixed by the entire performance that you likely would’ve fallen from the tree if it weren’t from your sticky fingers.

When she was done, she looked to you expectantly.

“So…there’s a fight going on there, and you want me to do something about it?”

She made a show of looking around, almost as if to ask who else she’d be talking to, if not to you.

(Cont.)

File: 6885.jpg (54 KB, 400x400)

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You let out a sigh. You weren’t an animal whisperer or an empath like Abe, so your only option was to take this squirrel’s gestures at face value if you wanted to figure out what it was that they were trying to tell you.

“Alright, alright. I got it. Thanks for the heads up.”

You were about to swing off in the direction she’d pointed you in, but a sudden outburst of frantic squeaking locked you firmly in place. The squirrel was jumping up and down, thrusting her arms towards you.

“You…want to come with me?”

She nodded with her hands on her hips, clearly satisfied with your quick understanding of her situation.

“Are you sure? It’s probably going to be dangerous.”

The female squirrel confidently puffed out her chest and cheeks and struck a heroic pose.

You couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

You offered her a hand, and she quickly clambered up to your shoulder and sank her claws into the suit’s fabric to anchor herself.

“Hang on.”

As carefully as you could, you pushed off of the tree and fired another webline at a nearby building. By now, the other Pixel Punks had noticed your presence, and some tried to shoot you out of the sky. None of them were quite good enough to manage it, though. You strained your spider-sense to account for the passenger on your shoulder, not wanting anything to happen to them.

A particularly close plasma bolt managed to singe some of the fur off her tail, and you heard a terrified peep leave her mouth and you swung around the corner of the building to give yourself some cover.

“Sorry. Trying my best here.”

The squirrel waggled her fist at you and chirped angrily.

“I’ll pay for you to visit a hair stylist after this is all over. Deal?”

The squirrel’s tone changed markedly at that, and she began rubbing at your face and squawking gently as you made your way towards your destination. But the closer you got, the more you realized that your new friend hadn’t been exaggerating in the slightest.

Perfectly square, smoldering holes had been cut out of the walls of this building. And as soon as you entered through the open door, you saw clear signs of a struggle. As far as you could tell, there wasn’t anyone left to rescue here. But if they were, they were most definitely in hiding. From what you remembered, this was ESU’s engineering department building. Most of the students should either be hiding in their dorms, staying off-campus, or are stuck in their classrooms. Anyone left here probably would’ve been working in a lab before the attack began, or are just here to take shelter from the turf war taking place outside.

(Cont.)

File: Spoiler Image (849 KB, 1652x1920)

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You’d have to deal with that later, though. You were far more concerned with whatever could’ve caused this much damage. There were more square holes in the walls, floor and ceiling, some of them at an odd angle, but all of them carved into nearly perfect shapes. There were similar gashes carved into the walls and floor. They weren’t nearly as deep, but the fragmented stone from the affected areas looked so sharp that it could probably slice through your finger without much trouble. It looked like a dangerously precise, powerful weapon had been used here.

The squirrel on your shoulder whistled when she saw a desk cleaved in two, the remaining wood through where the attack had passed having been carved into perfectly shaped cubes. You agreed with the sentiment.

“You can say that again.”

The building rumbled slightly, and your passenger tugged at your mask and pointed down the hall where it had come from. You turned and ran in the designated direction, all the while keeping an eye out for threats, civilians or anything that even looked remotely unusual.

“I really wish you could tell me what it was that I was running towards. Are you a big fan of charades, by any chance?”

The squirrel didn’t even dignify that with a response. You supposed that was fair.

The further you went into the building, the more extensive the damage to its structure became. A few times, you ran into a survivor or two, telling them to stay put until you could get a better idea of what was going on.

Several minutes later, you finally reached a spacious room that looked like it had taken the brunt of this mysterious weapon’s wrath. Various cube-shaped grooves were carved into the walls, floor and ceiling, and deep gashes radiated heat, looking to have been freshly formed. And that’s when you saw the being responsible for that damage.

Her hairstyle was vaguely similar to Anastasia's. It was blonde, shaved at the sides, and it ended in a slightly wide ponytail that didn't even come close to matching your girlfriend's in length. More notably, she sported a collection of piercings on her face and ears that made you wonder whether they weighed her head down at all. She wore bulky armor that was far too bulky for her, and it radiated light that was several shades too bright. That’s when you noticed the sharp, angular nature of her armor and weapons. They seemed to be made of the pixels that made up the Pixel Punks that were wreaking havoc all over the city. Unlike her armor, which was rapidly transitioning between shades of gold, bronze and teal, the long, dangerous looking sword that she held in her hands seemed to be pulsating with violet and white light.

Her eyes shone golden, and she was admittedly attractive in a punk, alt-girl sort of way. But any fair features she might’ve had before were definitely ruined by the murderous glare that she was currently directing at the other woman in the room.

(Cont.)

File: Spoiler Image (1.12 MB, 994x1528)

1.12 MB JPG

Crouching low across from the blonde was a woman with short, brown hair and chestnut colored eyes. She wore a leather bomber jacket, rolled up at the sleeves, and what looked to be a brown unitard with a utility belt wrapped around her waist and gray stockings covering her legs. Her boots and the portion of her unitard that covered her chest seemed to be lined with fur, but that wasn’t he most notable part about her appearance.

Jutting out of her considerably well-shaped backside was a fuzzy, 3-foot long tail. A squirrel’s tail to be precise. You wanted to comment on it, but your passenger raised a hand to your lips and made a shushing gesture. That didn’t stop the squirrel lady from turning her head to stare directly at you, though.

As soon as her eyes locked onto your new friend, she beamed at her, exposing a slight gap in her two front teeth.

“Tippy-Toe! You went and got help! You resourceful little rascal, you!”

A moment later, the blonde turned her attention on you, and you received a decent measure of the malice she’d reserved for the squirrel lady. The squirrel named “Tippy-Toe” ran a hand down her face in frustration.

“You picked the wrong fight, motherfucker!”

The woman snarled, lowering a pixelated mask over her face and pointing a blaster with a perfectly square muzzle at you.

Uh-oh.

“There goes the element of surprise...”

You cried out, throwing yourself to the side just in time to avoid a cube-shaped projectile. Tippy Toe took this opportunity to separate herself from you and scurried under a table somewhere.

Despite the dire nature of your situation, the squirrel lady was smiling like this was nothing more than a simple game of tag.

What will you do?

>Snatch her gun out of her hands and use it on her instead.
>Clog up the barrel of her gun and focus on locking down her movements by covering her in webbing.
>Have the squirrel lady create an opening for you, so that you can tear off the pixel warrior’s helmet and punch her in the face.
>Instruct the other vigilante and her squirrel to leave the room so that you can unleash a powerful wave of heat.
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5773569
>>Snatch her gun out of her hands and use it on her instead.

>>5773569
>Clog up the barrel of her gun and focus on locking down her movements by covering her in webbing.

>>5773569
>Ask the squirrel: "Which one do you want me to help?"
>Clog up the barrel of her gun and focus on locking down her movements by covering her in webbing.

>>5774016
+1

>>5773612
>>5774016
>>5774307
>Ask the squirrel: "Which one do you want me to help?"
>Clog up the barrel of her gun and focus on locking down her movements by covering her in webbing.

Taking these. Writing...

File: fontL7FG_2008201102501gpadd.jpg (2.38 MB, 1420x2000)

2.38 MB JPG

You recovered quickly, using your momentum to transition into a side somersault, bounding up and out of the way of the blonde woman’s follow-up shots. It was fairly easy to avoid them, and you were sufficiently motivated to continue doing so. You didn’t even want to imagine what that thing would do to a human body.

As soon as she took a moment to correct her aim, you used the opportunity to scan the area in search of the squirrel. You spotted her peeking out from an overturned table that she’d been using as cover.

“Which one do you want me to help?”

You asked.

The squirrel named Tippy Toe began jumping up and down and jabbing a pair of pointed claws in the squirrel lady’s direction, squeaking frantically as she did so. The strange woman waved at you while leaping over another blocky projectile.

You nodded.

“Just making sure.”

Before she could fire another shot, you fired a fat glob of webbing directly into her gun’s barrel, and another at her faceplate. She staggered back, clutching at her face and waving her gun around. This chick clearly wasn’t an experienced fighter.

You leapt at the chance to take advantage of her weakness, firing a pair of weblines at her legs and yanking them out from under her. She fell back with a resounding thud, sparks flying from her armor as it made contact with the ground. She scrambled to recover, tearing the webbing from her faceplate and swinging her sword blindly in an attempt to wing you. The angry, pixelated face on her helmet glitched out for a moment, but it reformed fast enough to glare hatefully at you as you tried to pounce on her. The squirrel lady must have had similar instincts, because she was fighting right alongside you.

But before either of you could reach her, a fortress of green blocks rose up to block your path. Instead of crashing into the wall or bouncing off of it, you smashed straight through. And to your complete surprise, so did the squirrel lady!

She was a lot stronger than she looked, and that gave you more confidence than you initially had going into this fight.

The walls might not have been enough to completely stop either of you, but it was enough to slow you down. And that was all that your opponent needed to wrestle back a fraction of the leverage that she lost.

In her free hand, she materialized a massive hammer and swept it in a horizontal arc. There shouldn’t have been any way to dodge or maneuver around it, considering how your feet had already left the ground. But you ignored the instincts that told you to brace for impact, and instead opted to sling a webline at a nearby wall. With your other hand, you created a sudden blast of pale, green flame to give yourself a boost. The hammer’s sharp pixels just barely scraped against your back as you vaulted over it, but your partner wasn’t nearly so lucky.

“Aw, nuts…!”

File: 6398058-ember quade.jpg (59 KB, 349x537)

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She had nowhere to go, and she knew it. So, instead of taking the hit head on, she stretched out her foot and pushed off of the hammer’s surface, allowing the weapon to carry her through the air, effectively hitching a ride on it for a very short amount of time.

And while she took the hit like a champ, her landing could’ve used some work.

The table that she tried to land on broke under the strain, and she ended up crashing and sliding across the room. If it wasn’t for her digging her nails into the ground, she wouldn’t have slowed down enough to avoid breaking her bones when her back made contact with the wall. But it never did. Her fluffy tail cushioned the blow, and she came to a complete stop.

You couldn’t deny being impressed by her quick reflexes and good judgment, but you didn’t have time to sit around and gawk at her. Your opponent was still swinging a cartoonishly large hammer at you. She wasn’t faster or stronger than you by any means, but the sheer range of her weapon was forcing you to go on the defensive again. The second swing went over your head, but only because you dashed forward and ducked under her arm in order to avoid it.

“Can’t say that I like how big that hammer is, but at least it’s got a decent hitbox.”

The third swing missed you entirely because you slid under her legs and kicked the back of her knee. The pixel warrior fell to one knee and transformed her hammer into a sword once more. But before she could swing it at you, the squirrel lady’s flying kick impacted her chest and sent her sliding across the room like she had earlier.

“Incoming!”

She shouted.

In retaliation, the pixel warrior raised her gun and prepared to fire it again. You reacted immediately and clogged it up once more, confident that your strengthened, fire-resistant webbing could render it inert.

You and the squirrel lady dashed towards her once more, ready to beat her down as many times as it took. The blonde woman snarled at you and struck the ground.

A wave of light swept through the room, and a series of pixelated pillars began rising up out of the ground in a seemingly random pattern. The shifting blocks halted your charge and impeded your progress, but you and the squirrel lady were still able to navigate the difficult terrain.

“I hate platformers.”

You groaned.

The two of you jumped from block to block, using your enhanced senses to get an idea of where the obstacles would be rising next. The task was made significantly more difficult when she started introducing horizontally scrolling blocks into the mix, and unfortunately, the time that it took to overcome this hurdle had lost you your advantage. Your opponent had somehow managed to manifest a pair of wings on her back, and was slowly rising into the air.

(Cont.)

You snagged her breastplate with a webline and yanked on it to launch yourself towards her. She banished her sword, raised a clawed hand, and in an instant, the limb elongated to strike at you from a distance. You leaned away from the attack’s projected trajectory, but the elongated limb suddenly shifted in direction, making the limb appear angular and misshapen in some places. The claw struck your chest and pushed you back into a rising pillar. It felt like being shoved through a brick wall.

But while you were being pinned down by her weirdly elongated arm, the other vigilante and her pet squirrel were taking this as a chance to advance on their opponent. Both of them had leapt onto her arm and were running up it to reach her.

The pixel lady retracted her arm almost immediately, but by then, both squirrel girls had already jumped off of it. That was when the vigilante lowered her tail under herself and wrapped Tippy Toe up in it. And in a surprising display of athleticism, she performed a somersault and whipped her tail in the enemy’s direction. Tippy Toe was sent flying at the pixel warrior’s face, and she clawed and bit at it as if her life depended on it.

The vigilante pumped her fist in the air and shouted encouragement.

“You go, girl!”

The hovering juggernaut clawed at the rodent desperately, but she was flailing about blindly, and on account of you gluing that gun to her hand, she only had one hand to effectively fight with. By now, you’d fully recovered from the hit that you took, and were preparing to jump back into the fray, but the sight of the vigilante falling back down towards you froze you in place.

“Gimme a boost!”

Without time to protest, you obliged her request and cupped your hand to catch her foot. You pushed up, and at the same time, the vigilante sprang off of your hand, flying towards your enemy. And you were right behind her.

Tippy Toe must’ve noticed that the two of you had made our move, because she abandoned her position and jumped onto a nearby floating block. The pixel warrior was still flustered from the whole ordeal, though, so her reaction to your partner’s sudden arrival was less than stellar.

The squirrel lady delivered a flying knee to her face, and she quickly clambered over to her back and started yanking at her glowing wings.

“Hope you’re not using these!”

“Piss off!”

The blonde woman shouted in a staticky, processed voice.

What will you do?

>Snag some of the floating blocks and start gluing them to the boss to weigh her down.
>Help the squirrel lady tear off the boss’s wings.
>Use your superior mobility to perform the mother of all air combos!
>Turn her helmet around and start wailing on her while she’s blind.
>Write-in.

>>5774789
>Use your superior mobility to perform the mother of all air combos!
MAXIMUM SPIDER!

>>5774789
>Use your superior mobility to perform the mother of all air combos!
DMC this bitch

>>5774789
>Inside every angry gamer is a little kid who just needs some love. Give her a hug! While on fire with your full enhanced strength.

>>5774789
>Use your superior mobility to perform the mother of all air combos!
Let's give this punk a little taste of Web of Shadows type air combo
https://youtu.be/afps33nbThQ?si=d2dibFMVQFd2RXX0

But also
>Help the squirrel lady tear off the boss’s wings.
Idk you but I have the theory that maybe with how much these Pixel Punks get destroyed, surely they're dumb enough to forget or even think of a "Off switch" so that the avatars disappear. If there's the remote possibility that this girl it's using an actual Pixel Mecha to physically fight instead of using the avatar, we can capture her and interrogate her. But if it's an actual avatar then we might get some actual information before her lightbulb turn on so she thinks of disconnecting

>>5774793
>>5774811
>>5774828
>Use your superior mobility to perform the mother of all air combos!

Roll 1d100+15, bo3!

>>5774828
Based Web of Shadows enjoyer!

Rolled 32 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>5774900

Rolled 47 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>5774900

Rolled 65 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>5774900
Literally one of, if not the best Spiderman games.

>>5774903
>>5774909
>>5774992
>80

Taking these. Writing...

File: spidey_01.jpg.jpg (176 KB, 1200x675)

176 KB JPG

>80

This was exactly the opening that you were waiting for. While squirrel lady keeps her busy, you can prepare to give this Pixel Punk the beating of a lifetime!

“Always wanted to try this…”

You muttered, firing a pair of weblines at her chest and pulling yourself towards her. As soon as you were within range, you delivered a right cross and a sweeping kick to her chin. She attempted to retaliate, but you were already pushing off of her to create distance between the two of you.

A split second later, you were reeling yourself back in to unleash a devastating combination. Her counter-attacks were far too slow and sloppy to ever hit you when you were giving her your full attention, and you doubted that she had the time or focus to pull out any of the tricks she had up her sleeve. You never gave her the opportunity.

Another swipe from her massive arm, another miss, and another fresh round of fire-fueled punches. She conjured a short sword in an attempt to skewer you, but you slid down her body to avoid the sharp weapon, grabbed hold of her arm and wrenched it down. There, you webbed her hand and her weapon to her hip, before climbing back up and continuing to pummel her.

You heard a grunt of exertion from the squirrel lady, and after one final sharp tug, the pixelated wings on your enemy’s back were ripped clean off. All three of you started falling after that, but you refused to let it end there.

Using your newfound flight power and a fresh pair of weblines, you yanked her back into the air. The other vigilante had already willingly released her grip and fallen to the ground, so you weren’t worried about her.

But as soon as the Pixel Punk was in front of you again, you flashed her a malicious grin, and your arms blurred.

Over and over again, your punches pounded her hard-light armor, creating cracks and chipping off tiny pixels that fell to the ground below you. Whenever either of you dipped too low to the ground, you repeated the same process of flying back up and reeling her back in, before continuing your onslaught of blazing blows.

Your opponent was being knocked around every which way. So much so that you thought she might’ve been developing motion sickness, as well as a concussion.

Eventually, once you figured that she’d had enough, you reeled her in for one last punch. It was strong enough that it cracked a part of her faceplate, revealing her face beneath all that armor. And before either of you hit the ground, you placed two weblines on either side of her and catapulted yourself down towards her to deliver a power stomp of catastrophic proportions. A wave of debris and pixels shot up as both of you landed, and you waited a minute for the dust to settle before doing anything else.

(Cont.)

The blonde woman writhed under your foot, groaning and struggling to roll over. She had a few bruises on her face, and she was bleeding from her nose, but she wasn’t nearly as hurt from that sick combo that you used to defeat her.

Her armor was cracked and fading in some places. It looked to be crackling and fizzing like an old CRT, slowly being rendered inert after all that damage she took.

Then, a familiar voice shouted from behind you, and you nearly jumped in surprise.

“Oh, yeah! No one messes with Squirrel Girl and uh…”

She squinted at you in confusion.

“Say, what did you say your name was again?”

>”I didn’t, but thanks for offering yours.”
>”Huntsman. Nice to meet you, Squirrel Girl.”
>”Out of all the team-ups I’ve had, that one’s gonna be pretty hard to beat.”
>”Nice job.” (Raise your hand for a high five.)
>”I owe your friend over there a spa trip and a bag of popcorn.”
>”I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before. Are you new?”
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5775250
>”Huntsman. Nice to meet you, Squirrel Girl.”
>”Nice job.” (Raise your hand for a high five.)

>>5775250
>>”Huntsman. Nice to meet you, Squirrel Girl.”
>>”Nice job.” (Raise your hand for a high five.)
>"Now I heard something about a dragon?"

>>5775256
+1

>>5775250
>”Huntsman. Nice to meet you, Squirrel Girl.”
>”Not to be confused with Spiderman. Cool guy though.”
>”Nice job.” (Raise your hand for a high five.)
>”Now I heard something about a dragon?"

>>5775250
>"The Neon Spider Meta; Huntsman! Trademark Pending."
>”I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before. Are you new?”

>>5775250
>”Huntsman. Nice to meet you, Squirrel Girl.”
>”Nice job.” (Raise your hand for a high five.)
>"Now I heard something about a dragon?"
>"Have you seen Spider-Man around here?"

>>5775254
>>5775256
>>5775258
>>5775347
>>5775457
>”Huntsman. Nice to meet you, Squirrel Girl.”
>”Nice job.” (Raise your hand for a high five.)
>"Now I heard something about a dragon?"

Taking these. Writing...

File: clean (24).jpg (734 KB, 750x1139)

734 KB JPG

You pointed to yourself, and she nodded.

“Huntsman. Nice to meet you, Squirrel Girl.”

You raised a hand in front of yourself.

“Nice job, by the way.”

Her smile widened, and she gave your hand an enthusiastic slap.

“You too! I’m lucky that you were the one that Tippy Toe ran into.”

She reached up to her shoulder and scratched her squirrel under the chin.

“Same here. I was looking for a lead on this whole ‘Pixel Punk’ case, and you might’ve just given me the next best thing.”

You said, looking down at the blonde woman.

Squirrel girl nodded to herself, looking impressed.

“‘Pixel Punk’? I like it. Mind if I use that name from now on?”

“Knock yourself out. Now, what’s this I hear about a dragon?”

She just shrugged.

“I haven’t heard much about what’s going on off-campus. I’ve got some little helpers scouting things out, but they haven’t called back yet. I only found out about this girl right before the attack started.”

You were about to comment on that, but a sudden, ominous humming sound drew your attention down to the blonde woman’s right arm. The one where she’d been holding that strange gun. A web of glowing, rainbow cracks were forming in the pixelated material, and you could feel it vibrating with all the pent up energy that your heat resistant webs were keeping trapped inside.

“That doesn’t look good…”

Squirrel Girl and Tippy Toe both had terrified expressions on their faces.

“I think it’s gonna blow!”

“And it’ll take us out, along with a good chunk of this building.”

“What do we do!?”

Your mind raced as you struggled to think of a way to get rid of this thing without anyone getting hurt. You could technically hurl it into your pocket dimension, but doing so without carefully setting the location could be disastrous. And it might hurt your new plant buddy.

Then, a wonderful idea sprang forth in your mind.

“I’ve got an idea. Can you try to rip that thing off of her arm?”

She gave you a salute, and you decided to entrust her with that task while you worked on the next phase of your plan. This girl was certainly strong enough to manage a feat like that, and she hasn’t let you down so far.

With a mental command, you activated the Horton Cells in your bloodstream, wreathing your body in pale green flames. Then, you pointed both arms at the wall in front of you, and projected a concentrated beam of heat at a single fixed point.

“Come on, come on…!”

If you could sweat while wearing the flame cloak, you probably would’ve been. You were currently focusing on not losing your cool, and it was a lot easier to pour all of your attention and effort into this single, crucial task.

By the time you were able to burn a sizeable hole out of the wall, Squirrel girl had already finished things on her end.

“I got it!”

She shouted, raising the gun into the air.

File: giphy.gif (15 KB, 93x94)

15 KB GIF

“Toss it here!”

She did so, but you snagged it out of the air with your webs out of impatience and panic. Without looking back, you crawled through the hole, dove outside and started swinging back towards the site of the ongoing turf war.

The crackling sounds and growing heat from the pixel gun were warning enough though, and the niggling feeling that your spider sense was giving you led you to decide that you wouldn’t make it if you didn’t change up your strategy.

Instead of swinging, you landed back onto the lawn and created a web sling using two nearby trees. You placed the device into the sling, drew it back, and double-checked to make sure that your aim was on point.

“Care package incoming!”

You released the sling, and the gun flew far into the distance, landing right in the middle of the Pixel Punk’s warzone.

In a flash of white light, a cluster of rainbow pixels exploded outwards, wiping out anyone and everyone that was even remotely near that conflict.

You shaded your eyes and peered into the distance at a giant, smoldering crater.

“I love it when a plan comes together.”

—-----

A minute later, Squirrel Girl and Tippy Toe came out of the Engineering Building with your prisoner in tow. According to her, the woman’s name was Ember Quade, and a Computer Science major. Judging by the way that she described her encounter with her, you thought it safe to assume that the rodent-themed crimefighter was either a student here, or she’d been suspiciously close by at the time of the attack.

And lucky for you, Ember was a solid, human being. Not an avatar. So she didn’t fade away like her armor did when she got knocked out. It looked like she was starting to come around, though. Which was impressive, considering how you beat a rhythm on her helmet for a solid minute and a half. That armor must’ve been sturdier than it looked.

What will you do/say?

>”Don’t panic, but I’m about to try something.” (Take Ember up to the roof and interrogate her aggressively.)
>”She must know something about the Pixel Punks. We should try and squeeze the answers out of her before she wakes up and tries something stupid.”
>”Would you mind looping me into your squirrel information network? It would be a huge help.”
>”Let’s pawn her off on the nearest police officer. I’ve got places to be and people to save.”
>Write-in.

((Feel free to add in the questions that you'd like to ask during your interrogation if you'd like to do so.))

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5775570
>”She must know something about the Pixel Punks. We should try and squeeze the answers out of her before she wakes up and tries something stupid.”
>”Would you mind looping me into your squirrel information network? It would be a huge help.”

>>5775570
>”She must know something about the Pixel Punks. We should try and squeeze the answers out of her before she wakes up and tries something stupid.”
>”Would you mind looping me into your squirrel information network? It would be a huge help.”
Hook her up with Julia, she could use the info more than we could.

Specific questions, hmm.
>”Look, I don’t normally save the city on Tuesdays, and I really don’t like doing it for free. Tell me why there’s a civil war going on between the Pixel Punks and what we can do to stop it from playing out in my home.”
>”Why are you not using an avatar? Did you get hit by the ban hammer? Forget your password one too many times and lock your account?”
>”Have any of you considered regular crime? Robbing a bank gets you money, shooting up a city at random gets the acronym agencies after you eventually.”

Feel free to vote up-down the jokes, the more important part is the questions.

>>5775570
>There's still more civilians in danger, we Web her up and go save people.
>call Julia to find out stuff about Ember.

>>5775570
this is not a vote
>>”She must know something about the Pixel Punks. We should try and squeeze the answers out of her before she wakes up and tries something stupid.”
I'm sorry, what does that mean? What do we want to squeeze out of her while she's unconscious before she wakes up?

>”She must know something about the Pixel Punks. Maybe even a lead to shut them down for good.”

specific questions:
>how is she in contact with them
>how are the doombots related
>why are you kids not playing minecraft

>>5775572
>>5775596
>>5776339
>”She must know something about the Pixel Punks. Maybe even a lead to shut them down for good.”
>”Would you mind looping me into your squirrel information network? It would be a huge help.”

>>5776339
That's fair. It's an issue of phrasing on my part. I was sort of rushing when I was finishing up that last update, so I'll try and cool my jets a bit.

I'll take these two votes and put out a short update that jumps straight into the interrogation.

File: 469ef1e3130141f32172606a6(...).jpg (185 KB, 844x821)

185 KB JPG

“She must know something about the Pixel Punks. Maybe even a lead to shut them down for good.”

Squirrel Girl nodded her agreement.

“I saw her creating those avatars that were fighting out there. She’s got to know something.”

Now that was interesting. You witnessed in person how she could generate pixels out of thin air. That answered the question of how the avatars were being created, but that didn’t explain how they were being controlled by the screeching couch-potatoes that you fought on the way here.

“On another note, would you mind looping me into your squirrel information network? It would be a huge help.”

Squirrel Girl gave Tippy Toe a thoughtful look.

“Well…you don’t really speak squirrel, so you’d probably have to speak to a translator that I know. And if she gives you the okay, then we can start talking about getting you in the loop.”

So not only were there two people in this city that spoke to squirrels, but they both knew each other. This truly was a small world.

“Do I have to make an appointment? Is there a number that I can call? I’m sort of in a hurry.”

Ember stirred in your arms, groaning pitifully.

“Let’s talk about that after we’ve dealt with her. But if it’s as bad as you say it is, I think my translator might be willing to make an exception for you.”

You nodded.

“Sounds like a plan.”

—-------

A few minutes later, Ember Quade was awake, entirely lucid, and glaring daggers at you from where she hung upside down from a web cocoon. Her face had started to swell up from where you punched her last, but that didn’t stop her from scowling like you’d just run over her dog.

You and SG stood side by side, observing her from where you stood as if she was an interesting sculpture in an art gallery. Your eyes followed her back and forth while she swung, like an

“Wow, she looks mad. After we saved her life and everything.”

“I don’t think she was awake for that part, but something tells me that it wouldn’t do much to improve her mood.”

“Maybe we just caught her on a bad day. She can’t be this upset all the time.”

“Stop talking about me like I’m not here.”

Ember shot back, wincing as she did. With all that swelling, it looked like the act of talking visibly hurt her. Not a good start for an interrogation.

“Alright, then. I’ll let you do the talking.”

“Yeah! We’ve got questions, and we want answers.”

The squirrel-themed crimefighter tried to back you up while wearing her version of a menacing scowl. It only made her look adorable.

(Cont.)

What will you say?

>”What’s your connection to Arcade and the Pixel Punks? Did he put you up to this, or are you doing this for some other reason?”
>”Why were guys fighting on your college campus? What was there to gain in implicating yourself?”
>”Are you the only one that’s able to create avatars, or are there others like you?”
>”If you can create these things, does that mean you can get rid of them too? Because if so, you’d better start talking.”
>”Do you know anything about why an army of Doombots are attacking the city right now? The timing is a little suspicious.”
>Spin her around a couple of times to get her disoriented and uncomfortable.
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5776634
>”What’s your connection to Arcade and the Pixel Punks? Did he put you up to this, or are you doing this for some other reason?”
>”Are you the only one that’s able to create avatars, or are there others like you?”
>”Do you know anything about why an army of Doombots are attacking the city right now? The timing is a little suspicious.”

>>5776634
>”What’s your connection to Arcade and the Pixel Punks? Did he put you up to this, or are you doing this for some other reason?”
>”Are you the only one that’s able to create avatars, or are there others like you?”
>”What would it take to buy you out and help put down the Pixel Punks? I assume it’s not money you’re all you’re after.”
Third question feeds from the first potentially. I’m also open to the other questions, I just figure these are the most important and if Doombots relate to her then it’ll probably be part of question 1 too.

>>5776634
>”What’s your connection to Arcade and the Pixel Punks? Did he put you up to this, or are you doing this for some other reason?”
>”What would it take to buy you out and help put down the Pixel Punks? I assume it’s not money you’re all you’re after.”
>”Do you know anything about why an army of Doombots are attacking the city right now? The timing is a little suspicious.”
"When did you make the jump from shittalking in FPS' to domestic terrorism with Arcade?"
"There's also Doombots flying around. Aiding and abetting a foreign attack. Might as well throw in some light treason."
" You know Guantanamo is not a Bed and breakfast, right?"

>>5776634
>”What’s your connection to Arcade and the Pixel Punks? Did he put you up to this, or are you doing this for some other reason?”
>”What would it take to buy you out and help put down the Pixel Punks? I assume it’s not money you’re all you’re after.”
>”If you can create these things, does that mean you can get rid of them too? Because if so, you’d better start talking.”
>"Or make something to easier fight them? Like cast a net over them to hinder their movement."
>”Do you know anything about why an army of Doombots are attacking the city right now? The timing is a little suspicious.”

>>5776639
>>5776660
>>5777159
>>5777542
>”What’s your connection to Arcade and the Pixel Punks? Did he put you up to this, or are you doing this for some other reason?”
>”Are you the only one that’s able to create avatars, or are there others like you?”
>”Do you know anything about why an army of Doombots are attacking the city right now? The timing is a little suspicious.”
>”What would it take to buy you out and help put down the Pixel Punks? I assume it’s not money you’re all you’re after.”

Taking these. Writing...

File: Empire_State_University_f(...).jpg (166 KB, 1000x304)

166 KB JPG

“What’s your connection to Arcade and the Pixel Punks? Did he put you up to this, or are you doing this for some other reason?”

Ember didn’t answer right away. She stared at you for a while, using her tongue to feel at her teeth, and squirming in her cocoon, as if trying to get comfortable.

“Me and Arcade met about a year ago. I was always a fan of his game, but he singled me out when a video of me cosplaying as one of the characters from his game went viral. Everyone else thought that it was just a well made costume, but he knew better. I don’t know how he found out, but he knew that I’d created it using my powers. Then, he offered me a deal.”

It was a struggle for you not to blink in shock. She was being surprisingly forthcoming. Maybe she realized that her current situation was far from ideal. That worked just fine for you.

“What kind of deal?”

“The kind where I make avatars and he pays me money. I bake ‘em, the players connect to them, and then they get deployed somewhere. At first, he told me that it was just going to be a promotional thing, but I figured that he probably had other plans when he stressed the importance of increasing the pixel density in their weapons.”

Squirrel Girl stared at her in disbelief.

“And you kept making them anyway? Didn’t you care at all that you were helping him hurt people?”

Ember scoffed.

“People get hurt every day, whether I’m involved or not. Why shouldn’t I benefit from my own superpower? Besides, if you did any research, you’d know that the body count for those avatars are staggeringly low. They weren’t actually meant to kill anyone, just scare them into believing that they might be killed.”

You narrowed your eyes at her.

“But there is still a body count.”

Ember nodded slowly.

“Yeah, well…accidents happen. I tried to make the weapons as weak as I could, but you can’t always account for everything.”

Her reasoning irritated you, and from the look on SG’s face, she shared your sentiment. But that also left the question of why Arcade was wasting time and resources on such grand theatrics. What did he hope to gain from this?

“Are you the only one that’s able to create avatars, or are there others like you?”

Your question should’ve been simple to answer, but Ember adopted a complicated expression, and it took her longer to respond than you would’ve liked.

“I should be, but I think Arcade figured out a way to replicate the effect. I heard you guys mention something about a dragon, right? I didn’t make that. He must’ve been building it for weeks.”

You, Squirrel Girl and Tippy Toe exchanged worried glances. If that was the case, then Arcade was capable of wreaking far more havoc than you originally gave him credit for.

“Do you know anything about why an army of Doombots are attacking the city right now? The timing is a little suspicious.”

(Cont.)

File: Arcade_29_from_Elektra_Vo(...).jpg (1.29 MB, 1988x3056)

1.29 MB JPG

Another long pause. Ember was giving you a thoughtful look. She was likely considering whether to tell you what was on her mind or not. Ultimately, she decided to come clean about her suspicions.

“I think Arcade’s trying to cut me out. I thought he was using me to advertise his game at first, but he was using me to advertise his shiny new tech. And my guess is that the owner of this robot army is one of his highest bidders.”

Your blood ran cold at the thought of what she was insinuating. Squirrel Girl looked confused at first, but she quickly caught on after Tippy Toe whispered something into her ear. Then she gasped loudly and clutched a hand over her own mouth.

“You mean this whole time your boss has been advertising himself to Dr. Doom!?”

Ember glared angrily at her.

“He’s not my boss. He made that crystal clear when he sent this custom-made hit-squad to take me out.”

She inclined her head towards the smoking crater where the turf war had been taking place.

“I managed to rush out a fresh batch of avatars before they could find me. I wasn’t sure if you guys were in on it too, so…”

“So you attacked us.”

You finished for her. She just shrugged again.

“Sorry, not sorry. It was either gonna be you or me. You can never be too paranoid.”

At least on that you agreed.

“So Dr. Doom really is here to try and buy Arcade’s tech? Isn’t he supposed to be a super genius, or something? What does he even need it for?”

Ember blew out a breath and puffed out her cheeks.

“I don’t know, man. I don’t try to rationalize the thoughts of the criminally insane.”

“No, you just work for them.”

Squirrel Girl sarcastically spat, her hands on her hips.

“Not anymore, apparently. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Doom isn’t the only bidder in this. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, Arcade’s bound to attract a boatload of crazies who’ll either be looking to buy him out, take him out, or just take him hostage.”

That meant that Abe was in trouble! They’re probably converging on Arcade at this very moment.

You nodded.

“What would it take to buy you out to help take down the Pixel Punks? I assume money’s not the only thing you’re after.”

Now, it was her turn to blink her surprise at you. At least, she half managed to with the eye that wasn’t swollen.

“It was…but now I’m thinking that I want something else.”

Squirrel Girl gave her a curious look.

“Oh, yeah? And what’s that?”

She gave you a malicious grin.

“Revenge, motherfucker…! I’m gonna make that red-headed freak regret the fact that he ever crossed me. Oh, and…maybe help keep me out of prison if you can?”

The three of you gave her a look.

“What? Too much? We can talk about it later. Just make me an offer.”

(Cont.)

What will you say?

>”I need you to build me something.” (Write-in)
>”If you want my protection, I’m gonna need you to stick with me until we’ve managed to put a stop to all this. And depending on how hard you work, I might throw you a bone.”
>”Would it be possible for you to reabsorb the Pixel Punks? Even the ones that Arcade’s creating?”
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5777842
>>”Would it be possible for you to reabsorb the Pixel Punks? Even the ones that Arcade’s creating?”

>>5777842
>”Would it be possible for you to reabsorb the Pixel Punks? Even the ones that Arcade’s creating?”

>>5777842
>”If you want my protection, I’m gonna need you to stick with me until we’ve managed to put a stop to all this. And depending on how hard you work, I might throw you a bone.”
>”I’m not tossing you to the police by the way. I can send you anywhere from the mafia to magicians to sewer mutants to Maria Hill, head of SHIELD, depending on how I feel later. What they do with you will depend largely on what I write in the greeting card I include in your bow. We clear?”
>”Can you build something that can focus my flames further?”

>>5777842
>"Kid with powers gets made an offer *she can't refuse*, gets in way over her head and tries to mitigate the damage. I heard that origin story before. You'll not be getting of without community service, but you'll need to bring in Arcade."
>”If you want my protection, I’m gonna need you to stick with me until we’ve managed to put a stop to all this. And depending on how hard you work, I might throw you a bone.”
>”Would it be possible for you to reabsorb the Pixel Punks? Even the ones that Arcade’s creating?”

I just hope we can get that hand on that technology

>>5777842
>>”If you want my protection, I’m gonna need you to stick with me until we’ve managed to put a stop to all this. And depending on how hard you work, I might throw you a bone.”
>>”Would it be possible for you to reabsorb the Pixel Punks? Even the ones that Arcade’s creating?”
>”I need you to build me something.” (Write-in)
>"Could you cast a big net over them to hinder their movement?"

>>5778249
you could vote on something going that direction

I meant to link to this post >>5778374

>>5777846
>>5777854
>>5777862
>>5778249
>>5778478
>”Would it be possible for you to reabsorb the Pixel Punks? Even the ones that Arcade’s creating?”
>”If you want my protection, I’m gonna need you to stick with me until we’ve managed to put a stop to all this. And depending on how hard you work, I might throw you a bone.”

Taking these. Writing...

File: 287352-117808-arcade.jpg (102 KB, 400x591)

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“Would it be possible for you to reabsorb the Pixel Punks? Even the ones that Arcade’s creating?”

Ember nodded, her jaw tensing slightly as she grew increasingly uncomfortable with her current inverted position.

“The pixels are created by converting electrical energy into hard-light constructs. I can either reconvert them and make new pixels, or I can just disperse them. I’m not sure how long it’d take for me to convert Arcade’s avatars, but I’ll definitely be able to pull it off.”

By now, she’d lost her glare, and was now looking at the three of you hopefully. You walked over and knelt down in front of her.

“If you want my protection, I’m gonna need you to stick with me until we’ve managed to put a stop to all this. And depending on how hard you work, I might throw you a bone.”

Ember swallowed hard and gave a barely perceptible nod. In response, you pulled out your knife and started cutting her free. After a minute, you were helping her up off the ground, steadying her so that she didn’t fall over.

“Thanks. Sorry about, uh…trying to kill you and stuff.”

You gave her a hard pat on the back, and Squirrel Girl gave her an encouraging smile.

“Don’t thank me yet. We’ve still got work to do tonight.”

Ember opened her mouth to reply, but she got distracted by Squirrel Girl pointing and shouting excitedly at a shifting brown mass in the distance. You almost reached for your knives again, but your spider-sense wasn’t giving you any warning signals.

“Finally! The cavalry’s here!”

And before your brain could process what was going on, a tidal wave of squirrels was scurrying around and between your feet, swarming the college and flooding the buildings.

Ember was cursing and prancing in place in order to avoid them, but it was practically impossible at this point.

One of the squirrels climbed up SG’s legs and up to her other shoulder. It leaned in to whisper in her ear, and she nodded attentively.

“Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, I’ll tell them.”

She and her squirrels turned to face you with troubled expressions.

“According to my scouts, that dragon that you guys were talking about is fighting with a flying shark lady! And there’s an even littler dragon fighting the Pixel Punks downtown!”

Giant shark lady? Was Iara out there fighting on her own?

“Great so we’ve got rogue avatars, digital dragons and insanely rich supervillains to fight before we can reach Arcade. What should we do first?”

You were about to answer, but a quick notification in the corner of your vision drew your attention away from the conversation.

(Cont.)

At your request, Cindy had tried to assemble the Desperados, but Flint was the only one who responded immediately. Black Cat couldn’t be reached for some reason, and the Prowler was refusing to leave his home, for fear that something might happen to his girlfriend. In fact, Cindy was over there right now arguing with him about it.

At the very least, Flint was available, and he was your heaviest hitter. Although, Black Cat going radio silent was a little worrying.

What will you do?

>Head straight for Arcade to help Abe detain him.
>See if you can’t have Madame Webb help you to locate Black Cat.
>Get in contact with Squirrel Girl’s animal translator and introduce them to Julia. Having scouts all around the city would prove to be infinitely more useful than what you were dealing with now.
>Head on over to help Iara fight that digital dragon.
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5779228
>Get in contact with Squirrel Girl’s animal translator and introduce them to Julia. Having scouts all around the city would prove to be infinitely more useful than what you were dealing with now.

>>5779228
>Get in contact with Squirrel Girl’s animal translator and introduce them to Julia. Having scouts all around the city would prove to be infinitely more useful than what you were dealing with now.
>See if Cindy can get Prowler to relocate to BVA. His nephew may still be there, and he can contact Cindy if anything big comes around.

>>5779228
>Leave Prowler be. We can understand him wanting to protect his family and identity.
>Give Squirrle Girl Julia's number to then establish contact with her animal translator. Having scouts all around the city would prove to be infinitely more useful than what you were dealing with now.
>Head straight for Arcade to help Abe detain him.
can't keep getting away with it

>>5779228
>Head straight for Arcade to help Abe detain him.
>Get in contact with Squirrel Girl’s animal translator and introduce them to Julia. Having scouts all around the city would prove to be infinitely more useful than what you were dealing with now.
>See if Cindy can get Prowler to relocate to BVA. His nephew may still be there, and he can contact Cindy if anything big comes around.

>>5779247
>>5779467
>>5779641
>>5781476
>Get in contact with Squirrel Girl’s animal translator and introduce them to Julia. Having scouts all around the city would prove to be infinitely more useful than what you were dealing with now.
>See if Cindy can get Prowler to relocate to BVA. His nephew may still be there, and he can contact Cindy if anything big comes around.
>Head straight for Arcade to help Abe detain him.

Taking these. Writing...

File: Spoiler Image (50 KB, 480x480)

50 KB JPG

As much as you’d like to have the Prowler backing you up on this, you could also understand and respect his desire to stay close to the people important to him. If you didn’t know about your sister’s true identity, you’d probably be a lot more worried about your family’s well-being.

So, you suggested a compromise to her, where she, Prowler, and Prowler’s girlfriend would take shelter near BVA so that they could be closer to Prowler’s nephew, and they could all protect each other.

While you waited for a reply, you turned back to Squirrel Girl.

“Can you get me in contact with your translator? I want to connect them to my tech support lady. With their combined intel, I think they should be able to help save some lives.”

SG nodded and leaned to peak over your shoulder. She made a sharp whistle, and a few moments later, you could feel furry hands scrambling to climb up your leg. With a conscious effort, you tried not to squirm or move erratically as the squirrel climbed onto your shoulder. It was holding a cell phone in its mouth.

You carefully took it from its mouth and flipped it open. There was a single number on speed-dial at the top of the list titled: “Chat”. You looked at the squirrel questioningly, and it gave you an imploring nod.

You dialed the number and raised the phone to your ear. Whoever was on the other end answered quickly, and to your surprise, the voice of an energetic young woman came through the receiver.

“Thanks for calling Pet Palace! This is Chat speaking. How can I help you?”

There was a slightly frantic, nervous energy to her voice that was entirely understandable, given the circumstances. You were honestly surprised that this lady was still working under these conditions.

“Hi, Chat. This is the Huntsman. I’m a friend of Squirrel Girl.”

You glanced over at the woman. She was giving you two thumbs up and an encouraging smile.

“I’m calling to see if you’d be interested in trading info with a friend of mine. With your help, I think we can save a lot of lives tonight.”

After about a half minute of stammering, the woman on the other end finally managed to squeeze out a reply.

“I, uh…what do you need me to do?”

She asked nervously.

“You can talk to animals, right? I need you to call this number and communicate whatever you think is relevant or important. Do you think you can do that?”

Chat cleared her throat, and when she next spoke, her voice sounded a lot less shaky.

“I can do that. What’s the number?”

—----

After sending Julia’s information to Chat, and vice versa, you checked your phone for messages.

Cindy somehow managed to convince Prowler and his girlfriend to take shelter in BVA’s gym for the time being. They probably wouldn’t be the only ones there, and you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Cindy snuck back out when no one was looking.

(Cont.)

File: 7466770-julia_carpenter_((...).jpg (366 KB, 1248x1920)

366 KB JPG

You just hoped that she wouldn’t get in too much trouble for staying out late during this disaster.

And speaking of students getting in trouble, you were currently in awe of the efficiency with which Squirrel Girl’s fuzzy friends were sweeping the college campus for threats and survivors. A few of the avatars that had managed to escape the blast were thoroughly hunted down and smothered in squirrels.

Ember shivered each time she heard the screams of a dying avatar, and you got the feeling that she was currently reevaluating her threat assessment of the rodent-themed vigilante.

You helped out where you could, escorting students back to their dorms and pointing out people in need to the swarm of squirrels. That is, until, Julia contacted you with a newly updated status report.

“Big news, Benji! There’s a lot more going on than either of us expected. This Chat girl’s got some serious connections.”

“So I’m guessing that her leads paid off?”

“Oh, yeah. Big time. I’ve already sent out reports to the police, vigilantes and hero teams in the area. The Fantastic Four is locked down at the moment, but I’ve already gotten confirmation that the Quinjet and the Blackbird are in the air and headed our way.”

“Awesome! What are those again?”

“The Avengers and the X-Men, Benji. It means they’re both racing to our rescue. I hope…”

Two major hero teams that you have yet to see in action. If there was ever a time for them to show up, it would be now.

“Same here. What’s that you said earlier about the Fantastic Four being locked down?”

“They’ve got the largest concentration of Doombots in their area aside from the Helicarrier.”

“Does that mean that the real Doom is currently where Abe and Arcade are holed up?”

Julia made a thoughtful noise.

“More than likely, he’d be sending an advanced Doombot in his place. They’re almost indistinguishable from him in most ways. But that’s our ebay case scenario. If the real Doom is here…”

“We’re gonna get our asses kicked. Yeah, I figured.”

“And knowing is half the battle.”

“Right. Anything else I should know?”

“That huge pixel dragon’s getting its ass kicked by that flying shark lady, but they’re both causing a bunch of property damage in the process. And the tinier dragon that was spotted earlier disappeared a few minutes ago. Now, we’re getting reports of a giant dog tearing through the Pixel Punks’ forces downtown.”

“I wonder if Chat knows anything more about that.”

“She didn’t sound like she did, but it’s possible that she could be lying. I’ll try and do some more digging. Depending on the route you take, you’ll probably run into some real heavy hitters on your way to Arcade’s building.”

You let out a sardonic laugh.

“Let’s hope that at least a few of them aren't in the mood to smack me around.”

(Cont.)

“If it makes you feel any better, Sable International has been deployed to help clean up this mess.”

That did make you feel a little bit better, but you felt even better about the fact that the Avengers were finally showing their faces for once. That was a huge weight off of your shoulders. And if you were lucky, the Avengers and X-Men might just take out Doom for you. Wouldn’t that be a huge break!

—-----

Now that the college was secure, you and Squirrel Girl finally felt comfortable leaving to meet up with Abe. Hopefully he’s managed to hold out without you. The only question was whether you were going to let Ember use her powers to help you. You needed her to reabsorb the Pixel Punks, but you weren’t sure if you were comfortable with letting her go all out again. There was a very real possibility of her escaping in the middle of a fight.

>Let her help you using her full power. She’ll be a real asset, and you don’t want to have to worry about protecting her.
>Restrict her power usage to absorbing the Pixel Punks. You don’t trust her not to run or stab you in the back while you aren’t looking.
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5781757
>Let her help you using her full power. She’ll be a real asset, and you don’t want to have to worry about protecting her.

>>5781757
>Let her help you using her full power. She’ll be a real asset, and you don’t want to have to worry about protecting her.
Fighting us to get away? We can respect that. But break our trust? that makes it personal.


think Chat can talk to our little buddy in the pocket dimension?

>>5781757
>Restrict her power usage to absorbing the Pixel Punks. You don’t trust her not to run or stab you in the back while you aren’t looking.

>>5781757
>>5781854
+1 sounds like an idea

the Chat thing too. Just imagine a mercenary vigilante showing up in front of her to shove her into a different dimension
sounds like (obviously) a pre-mindmelt Sophia

>>5781757
>Let her help you using her full power. She’ll be a real asset, and you don’t want to have to worry about protecting her.
Tell her we like money too, and if she proves reliable we’ll keep her in mind beyond helping commute a prison sentence. Grow our rolodex even further.

>>5781814
>>5781854
>>5782202
>>5782203
>Let her help you using her full power. She’ll be a real asset, and you don’t want to have to worry about protecting her.

Taking these. Writing...

>>5781854
>>5782202
Feel free to suggest this at some point in the future!

>>5781757
>>Let her help you using her full power. She’ll be a real asset, and you don’t want to have to worry about protecting her.

File: 3498661-avenai2013010-ton(...).jpg (429 KB, 900x1366)

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Despite the obvious caution that you should’ve been displaying, you decided that it would be best to let Ember use her powers freely. She might’ve been more than a bit untrustworthy and more than a bit amoral, but you also acknowledged that tonight wasn’t a good night to be picky about the help you’d be receiving.

Flint was out doing God knows what, Cat was MIA, and the Prowler was purposely staying close to his loved ones. You hoped that he could at least leave some of his gadgets with Cindy if he wasn’t going to go back out tonight. That’d make you feel a little bit better. There was no way that the little Avatar of Khonshu was staying indoors with all this chaos unfolding in the streets.

So, you were stuck with a lady that spoke to squirrels, and a programmer who wouldn’t think twice about shooting a hole through someone if they felt threatened enough. It would have to do. Both of them seemed sufficiently powerful enough to defend themselves and watch your back. You weren’t sure if that would hold up once you started encountering some of the heavy hitters, but you tried not to think about that right now.

You walked back to both women, watching with interest as Ember held her hand out towards a wall of the dorm, her eyes closed in concentration. Bright, yellow lines of energy flowed into her palm, seeping from nearly every window.

When she opened her eyes again, they were glowing golden once more. Her mongoose tail and several locks of hair that had been hanging in front of her face were now floating as if gravity had no effect on them. A pair of familiar looking golden wings shot out of her back, and a suit of lightweight armor formed over her clothes. It was much smaller than the one she'd been wearing before, and it looked far easier to maneuver in.

Her golden eyes locked with yours, and you saw Squirrel Girl standing behind her, her fists clenched, just in case she tried something funny.

Ember hovered slightly off of the ground, her wings buzzing with the energy she'd used to form then, but they weren't moving otherwise.

"We doing this or what?"

“Only if you’re ready to bring your A-game. Let’s move out.”

—-------

In hindsight, you really were glad that you let Ember go all out here. The time that you and Cindy spent efficiently clearing out the Pixel Punks now seemed painfully long in comparison to the method that Ember was using.

You and Squirrel Girl would lock down their movements, using a combination of webs, squirrels, and dazzling athletics, while Ember would forcefully absorb their avatars and use them to fuel her attacks.

Using this tactic, the three of you mopped up the city’s streets wherever you want. If anything, you spent a longer time on average dealing with the looters than you did with the Pixel Punks. It was thanks to this that you were able to save time on your commute.

(Cont.)

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The real trouble came when you finally encountered your first squad of Doombots. For the ones that weren’t smart enough to stay in the air and bombard you with lasers from above, they were quickly overwhelmed by an army of squirrels and bogged down by flaming nets. But most of them adapted to the situation fast enough to put you on the backfoot, retreating to safe range and unleashing a barrage of heated plasma in your direction. You and Squirrel Girl were dexterous enough to avoid their shot, but Ember and the squirrels weren’t. SG didn’t hesitate to give them the order to retreat, and Ember was forced to fall back and generate a barrier in order to withstand the sustained fire from the angry metal men standing before you.

Even when you did manage to hit them with a few lucky fireballs, they would systematically fall back in order to repair themselves. Because apparently, Doom built these things with a self-repair function!

Ember, who was clearly straining to maintain the pixel barrier, turned her head to address the two of you. She spoke through gritted teeth.

“Hold on. I’m gonna try and make something that can punch a hole straight through these shiny metal assholes…!”

The effort of maintaining a barrier and generating a whole new pixel construct seemed to be taxing her greatly, but you had no other options besides leaping out of cover and retreating to a safer location.

But before any of you could act on your plans, the arrival of two, very distinct aircraft drew the attention of the Doombots away from your group.

A gleaming, silver helicopter flew out from behind a building, its twin miniguns spinning up preemptively. The Doombots turned their weapons to face the vehicle, but they were several seconds too slow. A storm of crimson plasma bolts ripped through their airborne ranks in mere moments, stripping them of their advantage almost immediately.

Sable International had finally arrived, and you couldn’t have been happier. At least, that’s what you thought, until Squirrel Girl pointed out the identity of the second craft. And your heart lifted.

“Look! It’s the Quinjet! The Avengers are here!”

She tugged at your arm excitedly, pointing up at the red and silver jet. It barely slowed down for more than a few seconds; just long enough for them to open the hatch and allow something to jump out.

You watched in awe as a round, dark object plummeted towards the ground with alarming speed. But as it got closer, its descent slowed considerably, and you spotted what must’ve been a jetpack on its back, along with four mechanical arms.

The round man hit the ground with a thud, but his mechanical arms seemed to absorb the impact, because he didn’t so much as flinch when he landed. Through crimson lenses he scanned the battlefield, taking in every aspect of you, your allies, and the Doombots standing in your way.

(Cont.)

His entire body was covered in a green and gray protective suit, not unlike one you would see from someone working on a space station. His breathing sounded laborious, and he seemed averse to putting any weight at all on his legs. Instead, he was using his mechanical arms to stand.

Even with his face obscured, it was no mystery who this was. You only had one question.

“Why the hell had Otto Octavius come from the Quinjet?”

Once the jet flew off, a single Doombot pointed its arm at his back, and the spell was broken. Time began to move again, and Doctor Octopus suddenly found himself in a particularly precarious situation. At least, that was what you thought.

One of his tentacles flashed, and the offending Doombot’s head disappeared. It fell to the ground in a heap, leaking synthetic fluid in place of blood. Another group of Doombots moved to engage, and this time, Otto actually turned his head to look at them.

Another tentacle struck out at the Doombot in the middle, plunging a silver blade into its chest and pinning it to the ground. The claw began to spin, carving a hole into its midsection and ripping out its circuitry. Another tentacle whipped out to knock the other two away, and at the same time, he raised his real arms to fire a pair of wrist-mounted plasma guns at the two, obliterating them in mid-air.

Now, all the other Doom bots were converging on him, and it was as if they’d completely forgotten about you.

“Now’s our chance. Let’s bail.”

Ember whispered.

Squirrel Girl gave her a disapproving look.

“We can’t just leave him here. He’s an Avenger!”

She looked to you for support.

What will you do?

>Ember’s right. Every second that you waste here could spell certain Doom for Abe. Besides, he looks like he can handle himself.
>Wait and see what he does. If this guy was an Avenger, then you might have to face off against him at some point. Might as well study his moves while you can.
>This is the perfect opportunity to blindside those Doombots. And maybe you’ll be able to form a contact with a potential Avenger or…backup Avenger?
>Open up your pocket dimension and deploy your Shi’ar Jumpship. It’s time you brought out the big guns!
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

I had the perfect image to portray how Ock looks right now, but the file size was too big, unfortunately.

>>5782659
>This is the perfect opportunity to blindside those Doombots. And maybe you’ll be able to form a contact with a potential Avenger or…backup Avenger?

>>5782659
>>Ember’s right. Every second that you waste here could spell certain Doom for Abe. Besides, he looks like he can handle himself.

>>5782659
>Attack the Doom bots while Doc Ock takes all their attention. We're not saying hi or anything, just a quick help, maybe tell him about a hot spot near here and we keep to our objective.

The faster Doc Ock can get out of this fight he can do more. We lose some time but maybe he got a plan to drive off the Doom bots faster

>>5782766
Supporting this.

>>5782659
>>Ember’s right. Every second that you waste here could spell certain Doom for Abe. Besides, he looks like he can handle himself.

>>5782659
>>5782766
+1

>>5782659
>Ember’s right. Every second that you waste here could spell certain Doom for Abe. Besides, he looks like he can handle himself.
>”If he’s here then he’s a bandaid while others are working on bigger plans. Like we are. Take down Arcade and the Pixel Punks are finished. Maybe even take down the Doombot and end it all.”

I don’t like the idea of leaving someone behind to fight alone, but if he’s been tossed in here then he clearly expects to hold the line. I can respect that.

Maybe toss him some web bombs to use? Do a bombing run on the bots as we run away? Some additional CC for him wouldn’t hurt.

>>5782766
>>5782860
>>5782947
>Attack the Doom bots while Doc Ock takes all their attention. We're not saying hi or anything, just a quick help, maybe tell him about a hot spot near here and we keep to our objective.

>>5782678
>>5782913
>>5783301
>Ember’s right. Every second that you waste here could spell certain Doom for Abe. Besides, he looks like he can handle himself.

It looks like we've got a tie here, folks! How would you guys like to handle this?

>>5783410
I'll change my vote to support this
>>5782766

>>5782766
>>5782860
>>5782947
>>5783419
>Attack the Doom bots while Doc Ock takes all their attention. We're not saying hi or anything, just a quick help, maybe tell him about a hot spot near here and we keep to our objective.

Taking these. Writing...

File: OckSuit.jpg (1.91 MB, 2386x3200)

1.91 MB JPG

While you did agree with Squirrel Girl about not abandoning an Avenger, you also wanted to acknowledge that this guy chose to jump into the middle of this firefight by himself.

You aren’t even sure if he really needs your help, but it’d be a bit of a dick move to leave without at least contributing a bit more to the fight.

Besides, with him making himself the center of attention, you were pretty much able to slip right through the Doombots’ defenses, risk free.

The way wasn’t exactly clear, but you and the girls were no longer being forced to hunker down behind Ember’s shield. With Doc Ock tearing through their forces, the three of you had a relatively easy time carving a path through them.

Being the most agile in the group, you worked to draw attention away from Squirrel Girl and Ember. Ock wasn’t nearly as gifted, but any attacks that made it past his mechanical arms were completely absorbed by an invisible barrier that his suit seemed to be projecting. He didn’t look too worried, but then again, you couldn’t exactly tell what he was feeling when he was wearing that weird-looking breathing mask.

With the two of you drawing attention away from the girls, they were able to play their respective trump cards. Unsurprisingly, Squirrel Girl summoned her army of squirrels to overwhelm and disorient the Doombots. Ember, on the other hand, realized that she could convert the electrical blasts that the Doombots were projecting into the energy she needed to create pixels. This allowed her to rapidly fire her cube-shaped projectiles with deadly efficiency, carving jagged squares into their chrome-plated armor.

Seeing as they were a little too tanky and heat resistant for your liking, you focused on locking down their movements so that the others would have an easier time dealing with them.

On one occasion, you intercepted a Doombot that had been trying to grab Ock from behind. You used your webs to envelop his torso and threw him into one of his buddies with so much force that the two of them exploded into a tangle of limbs and wires.

It was then that the good doctor turned to acknowledge you. He gave you a curt nod.

“My thanks.”

You nodded back, and that was pretty much the extent of your interaction. You fought like your life depended on it, and for once, you kept your mouth shut. Between your group, Doc Ock, and Sable International, you were pretty much mopping the floor with these guys. Now was a good time to leave.

But before you did, you made sure to swing by and pass along some info about another Pixel Punk hotspot that Julia informed you of earlier.

Instead of turning his head to address you, he pointed one of his claws in your direction. A green lens at the center scrutinized you for a long moment, before twisting from side to side and snapping its claws at you.

“Noted. Your assistance in this matter is very much appreciated.”

(Cont.)

File: Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_5_(...).jpg (702 KB, 1127x1712)

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And just like that, he went back to fighting and ignoring you almost completely. It was a convenient way out, so you took it. Now that the situation was more manageable, Squirrel Girl looked a lot more comfortable with leaving Doc Ock behind. Ember didn't look like she cared either way.

You just hoped that your little diversion didn't waste too much time. As terrifying as it might seem, the entire city's fate might depend on your actions tonight.

No pressure.

—----

When you arrived at Arcade's studio, you weren’t very surprised to see the largest concentration of Doombots that you’ve ever encountered. They weren’t swarming the building as aggressively as you originally would’ve thought, which was good. But from the current scene of chaos unfolding before you, you thought it safe to assume that they were placed there to keep anyone from entering or leaving.

Vigilantes, crooks, cops and supervillains alike were deeply embroiled in a four-way war between themselves and the Doombots.

“I’ve heard of camping outside for a new game release, but this is ridiculous…”

You breathed, scanning the area for any gaps in the Doombots’ formation. Ember muttered a curse under her breath.

“We’re never gonna get through in time. We need another way in.”

You glanced over at Squirrel Girl to see if she had any input on this situation, only to find her smiling confidently.

“Heh! Why don’t you guys go on ahead and leave this to me. I’ll take care of ‘em.”

Ember opened her mouth to ask what her plan was going to be, before closing it and shaking her head. There was definitely a pattern to all of Squirrel Girl’s plans, and this one wasn’t too hard to figure out.

“Right. It’s probably a safe bet that Arcade’s keeping the Pixel Generator somewhere in his basement. It’s the only way he could be sure that Doom or anyone else crazy enough to do business with him wouldn’t rob him blind.”

Ember said. The three of you craned your necks to stare up at the topmost floors of the building. Doombots were swarming the outside, doing battle with a dark figure that was flying through the air and tearing them to pieces. From here it was a little hard to see what was happening on the inside, but you were certain that Abe had to be in there somewhere.

What will you do?

>As soon as you see an opening, break into the building and search for Abe. You just hope that Doom and the Punishers haven’t gotten to him already.
>Follow Ember to find and destroy the Pixel Generator. She’s bound to face opposition in there, and you aren’t sure if you trust her enough to be alone with the device.
>Stay and defend the area with Squirrel Girl. The more of these Doombots and supervillains that you can take out, the more allies you’ll gain when you storm the building.
>Write-in.

>>5783570
>As soon as you see an opening, break into the building and search for Abe. You just hope that Doom and the Punishers haven’t gotten to him already.

>>5783570
>As soon as you see an opening, break into the building and search for Abe. You just hope that Doom and the Punishers haven’t gotten to him already.

>>5783570
>Follow Ember to find and destroy the Pixel Generator. She’s bound to face opposition in there, and you aren’t sure if you trust her enough to be alone with the device.
Whatever our choice, I say we take the direct approach and drill down. We’re not concerned about collateral damage here, so hardlight drills and/or burning stone should get us to the basement quickly.

>>5783570
>>As soon as you see an opening, break into the building and search for Abe. You just hope that Doom and the Punishers haven’t gotten to him already.

>>5783570
>split up. SQ does crowd control, we go up to arcade, Ember's disabling the generator, then come after us to get her revenge on arcade

>>5783578
>>5783602
>>5783686
>As soon as you see an opening, break into the building and search for Abe. You just hope that Doom and the Punishers haven’t gotten to him already.

Taking these. Writing...

File: d881687a0d529ef3bc5500114(...).jpg (49 KB, 550x766)

49 KB JPG

“Do your thing, Squirrel Girl. If you can keep them busy and carve out a path for us, that’d be great.”

The squirrel-themed vigilante cracked her knuckles, and Tippy Toe cracked her own neck at the same time.

“Coming right up!”

She placed her fingers on her temples, closed her eyes and furrowed her brow in concentration. For a while, nothing happened. But right when you thought that you’d been waiting an uncomfortably long time, you heard a faint, unsettling rumbling sensation in the ground. It was only made stronger with your enhanced senses, and there were a few others that were casting questioning looks around the area.

Ember licked her lips nervously and leaned in to whisper to Squirrel Girl, who was the only one not freaking out right now.

“Hey, uh…Squirrel Girl? What’re you-?”

Ember didn’t get a chance to finish whatever it was that she was saying, because a large shadow washed over her and darkened the street where the fight had been taking place. She inhaled sharply and stepped back hurriedly. You almost did the same.

Squirrel Girl opened her eyes again, and now, she was grinning like a mad woman, exposing the gap in her teeth. And despite there being a tidal wave of brown and gray fur flowing towards her, she didn’t look the least bit concerned. Instead, she raised a fist and swung at the air in front of her.

“Take that!”

In a blur of fur, the squirrel army split to fill the entire left side of the street, flowing around the cops and crashing into every Doombot, costumed individual and common crook within range. Some were enveloped completely, while others were smothered up to their heads, allowing them to squirm and writhe uselessly within the mass of angry rodents. They cursed and screamed as they were tossed around, and some were fighting desperately to stay afloat.

Squirrel Girl swung her other fist.

“And that!”

Now it was everyone else’s turn. On either side of you, people were being mercilessly pummeled and scratched by a seemingly endless amount of squirrels. It was simultaneously the most impressive, ridiculous and terrifying thing you’d ever seen.

For a while you and Ember just simply watched in horror as these once credible threats were reduced to quivering puddles by common tree rodents. Not even the cops got away completely unscathed. Some were shaking squirrels out of their pants, while others ran around in circles as the little terrors hid in their hats or pulled at their hair and eyelids.

Squirrel Girl at least had the decency to look ashamed about that. She chuckled nervously.

“Oops! Hehe…sorry…”

You were still staring open-mouthed at the sheer amount of havoc that she was casually causing within the city.

She gave you and Ember a confused look.

“Weren’t you guys going to go inside?”

Ember pointed back at the building.

(Cont.)

File: download (1).jpg (80 KB, 572x900)

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“Oh, right! Sorry! Almost forgot.”

Squirrel Girl raised her arm and thrust it down again with a sharp, cutting motion. Then, she faced her palms outward and slowly spread her arms as if to push open a door. On command, the squirrel army split vertically down the middle and pulled everyone else away from the center, leaving you a clear line of approach.

“There you go! Now hurry, before someone else shows up!”

Ember shook her head and slapped her cheeks to snap herself out of her trance. She outstretched both her hands and began assembling something complex using her pixels. Meanwhile, you were stuck trying to think of a quip that involved squirrels and Moses.

Before you knew it, Ember had created a heavy-duty vehicle with a battering ram on the front. She turned to you with glowing, golden eyes.

“Get in!”

Instead of climbing inside like she did, you latched onto the back and banged on the back window a couple of times to signal her that you were ready. The tires screeched as you rocketed forward, hurtling past the squirrel blockade and straight through the front doors of Arcadian studios.

In a shower of glass, you rolled off of the car and slid to a screeching halt alongside Ember’s car. The lobby seemed completely deserted, which was probably a good thing. The less people that were trapped in here, the less collateral damage you would have to worry about later.

“You go on ahead. I’m gonna head on up to the top floor.”

The look that she gave you wasn’t so much one of concern, but a questioning of one’s sanity.

“You seriously want to go up there?”

You gave her a shrug.

“No choice. I’ve got a friend up there that needs my help.”

Ember let out a hollow laugh.

“Does he owe you money, or do you treat all your friends like this?”

You winked at her.

“Only the special ones.”

Ember smiled slightly, and you realized that it was the first and only genuine one she’d ever given you.

“Then I might have to rethink my policy. The benefits far outweigh the negatives.”

“You might not be saying that once you get to know me...”

You warned.

“Assuming that there’ll be enough left of you to get to know after this.”

She called back.

You inclined your head to the side and turned around to face the elevator.

“Fair point.”

You strode over the metal doors, dug your fingers between them and pried them open.

“Hang on, Abe. I’m coming.”

—------

(Cont.)

File: 3166838-capa2012012_cov.jpg (397 KB, 900x1359)

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Your ascension of the building was made easier with the use of elevator shafts and spiraling staircases. And your search for your clone brother was pretty much trivialized by all the gunfire and explosions echoing throughout the building. Any civilians that you came across smartly decided to remain in hiding until things died down, but you were unsure of whether that would remain the optimal course of action going forward.

Abe was currently locked in combat with a buff, blonde man wearing a tank top and a bird mask. On his back were a pair of red, white and blue mechanical wings that looked eerily similar to the ones that the Vulture used in the past. Despite being indoors, the bird man was displaying an impressive amount of aerial prowess. And judging from the ways that he was taking blows from your clone, he was a lot sturdier than he looked.

But that wasn’t what worried you the most. Floating behind them, just outside of a broken window panel, was a slim figure wearing a black coat and a plain cloth mask. The air shimmered around them unnaturally around them, and you could see a condensed lump of metal made from Doombot parts slowly gathering beside them. It looked they were preparing to hurl it at Abe!

These must be the Punishers’ new recruits.

What will you do?

>Pounce on the bird-man from behind and fly him straight into his ally.
>Snag the lump of metal out of the psychic’s hands and glue it to the bird-man.
>Throw Skrull Goo Grenades at both of them and take them out with Abe’s help.
>Perform a drive-by with your webs and swing up to confront Arcade and Doom.
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5784569
>Throw Skrull Goo Grenades at both of them and take them out with Abe’s help.

Oh, whoops. I accidentally cut out a part of the update when I went go correct something. It was supposed to read like this:

---------

She gave you and Ember a confused look.

“Weren’t you guys going to go inside?”

Ember pointed back at the building.

“There’s too many fucking squirrels everywhere! We’re never going to-”

Squirrel Girl waved a hand dismissively and made a trilling noise with her lips.

“Oh, right! Sorry! Almost forgot.”

Squirrel Girl raised her arm and thrust it down again with a sharp, cutting motion. Then, she faced her palms outward and slowly spread her arms as if to push open a door. On command, the squirrel army split vertically down the middle and pulled everyone else away from the center, leaving you a clear line of approach.

---------

>>5784569
>Perform a drive-by with your webs and fly up to confront Arcade and Doom. You can even web your brother and drag him along since you don’t need both arms to maneuver anymore!
Limo driver is here. Grab bro, make sure he gets to prom on time. The Punisher’s boys can find a different date at the dance, there’ll be plenty to go around.

>>5784605
+1

>>5784569
>>5784605
sounds reasonable

>>5784580
+1

>>5784605
>>5784732
>>5785146
>Perform a drive-by with your webs and fly up to confront Arcade and Doom. You can even web your brother and drag him along since you don’t need both arms to maneuver anymore!

Roll 1d100, bo3!

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>5785430
Abel, your ride is here.

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>5785430

Rolled 11 (1d100)

>>5785430

>>5785433
>>5785435
>>5785444
>62

Taking these, Writing...

File: Darkweb1A_1200x1200.jpg (320 KB, 781x1200)

320 KB JPG

>62

You swung past a dozen rows of toppled cubicles and catapulted yourself towards the bird man. He must’ve been too caught up in his own fight to notice you coming, because you were able to dropkick the back of his head, use it as a springboard, and web up his arms and wings as you flew over Abe’s head. Both men looked at you in surprise, and you shot them a wink. Without looking, you fired another volley of web-bolts at the figure floating outside of the window. One or two landed, but the rest were either deflected or were snatched out of the air by an unseen force. They attempted to throw them back, but they had no actual hope of hitting you when you had this much space to move around.

“Hey there, fellas! Sorry I’m late. You wouldn’t believe the traffic on the way here.”

“There’s two of you!?”

The bird-man shouted in outrage. You and Abe immediately shut him up with a pair of simultaneous web bolts to his mouth and eyes.

“We get that a lot.”

The two of you said in unison. Your brother looked like he wanted to say more, but you didn’t give him the chance. You snagged his suit with a webline, ignited your flame cloak and flew towards the other Punisher recruit, dragging your brother in tow.

“Whoa! Where’s the fire? Like, where’s it coming from?”

“Oh, this? Just a little souvenir from my vacation. Sorry I didn’t get you one.”

You spoke casually, but during this entire exchange you were rapidly firing flaming web bolts at the leather-clad psychic. Whatever they couldn’t smoothly deflect, they stopped in mid-air. Thinking that you’d successfully managed to fly past them, you refocused your attention on flying up to the floor where Arcade and Doom were holding negotiations. But the psychic must’ve been more powerful than you thought, because you lurched in mid-air, unwillingly coming to an abrupt stop as you caught in their grasp.

A black, gloved hand was stretched out towards you, slowly reeling you back in and applying a crushing pressure to your body that made it hard to breathe. Abe didn’t look like he was faring much better.

What will you do?

>Fire a Garlic Pepper Pellet at their face to disorient them.
>Toss out your web bombs and set them to detonate early so that the net envelops the psychic’s barrier.
>Launch Abe ahead of you and stay behind to deal with the Punishers. You’ll join him shortly.
>Shoot out a long, winding webline and manipulate it so that it ensnares the psychic, barrier and all.
>Retreat into your pocket dimension, grab a few alien weapons and exit before the portal generator hits the ground.
>Use your flames to distract the psychic while Abe uses his empath abilities to stun or pacify them.
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

>>5785475
>>Fire a Garlic Pepper Pellet at their face to disorient them.

>>5785475
>Use your flames to distract the psychic while Abe uses his empath abilities to stun or pacify them.

>>5785475
>Fire a Garlic Pepper Pellet at their face to disorient them.
If that doesn't work
>Shoot a web to his torso, and like a whip try to send our flames towards him, but at the last second pull the web so the small explosion doesn't touch him and desorient him.

>>5785475
>>Fire a Garlic Pepper Pellet at their face to disorient them.
we really need some bear spray or something

>>5785475
The punishers aren't technically our enemies, we just need to get away and maybe make them reconsider why they are fighting us.
Though We don't know what happened before and why they are fighting Abe to begin with
>"Who are these guys, Spidey? Are they working for Arcade or Doom?"
>Use your flames to distract the psychic while Abe uses his empath abilities to stun or pacify them.

Photozip for mobile and caesium for pc. Also prowler has a gf?

>>5785492
>>5785525
>>5785755
>Fire a Garlic Pepper Pellet at their face to disorient them.

Taking these. Writing...

>>5785996
He does indeed. Black Cat managed to suss out the fact that he has a girlfriend that he intends to propose to.

File: Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_5_(...).jpg (805 KB, 777x1200)

805 KB JPG

You grunted in discomfort, squirming in the invisible fist that was clenched around your body. Your bones were being ground together, and it was getting harder to breathe.

With considerable effort, you swung your arm around and fired the Garlic Pepper Pellet that you had loaded into your Hidden Gun. And whether it was due to them being caught off guard, or you’d somehow managed to find a gap in their barrier, your projectile hit them right between the eyes, exploding in a puff of black smoke.

You waited for them to start hacking up a lung, or for them to furiously start rubbing at their eyes. Either would distract them long enough for you and Abe to slip away and continue climbing to the top floor.

You waited…and waited…but, nothing happened. The trench coat wearing psychic didn’t so much as recoil at the contents of the pellet being expelled into their mask. The cloth covering didn’t have any holes for their eyes, nose or mouth, but you assumed that there had to be something in there. Even if they were blind like Matt or Bloodhound, they would still be stuck with the blinding pain of having an irritant shot into their eyes at high speeds.

You blinked in surprise.

“Huh. That’s new.”

You could feel the unseen force gripping you tighter, and at the same time, the webbing that had been floating around the psychic was now unraveling and coiling around you and Abe, tying you together with complicated-looking knots!

At such a close proximity, you were forced to shut off your flame cloak for fear of harming your clone brother.

“Man, this is super annoying when someone else does it to you.”

Abe groaned.

“It’s especially awkward since this batch of webbing is both harder to break and fireproof.”

You added, struggling to slip out of the bindings. The thought of someone using these against you had never actually crossed your mind!

As soon as the psychic felt that you were sufficiently bound to your brother, they pointed their hand downward. Immediately afterwards, you felt a great pressure pushing you down towards the ground. At this rate, you were going to become a smear on the pavement!

What will you do?

>Try to coordinate with Abe to climb back up and beat up the one responsible for this. It’ll be like a three-legged race, but for a fight!
>See if you can’t convince Abe to tear his costume in order to get out of this mess. His is a lot less expensive than yours, after all.
>Weave Abe’s webbing with your own to create a giant web-construct to retaliate against the psychic! (Write-in if you have a specific shape in mind.)
>Signal Squirrel Girl to cushion your fall with squirrels! Hopefully you won’t squash any of them.
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

>>5787091
>>Weave Abe’s webbing with your own to create a giant web-construct to retaliate against the psychic! (Write-in if you have a specific shape in mind.)
SPIDER TRAMPOLINE GO!

>>5787208
+1

>>5787208
+1
After we end this were going to fuck up that psych, how dare he?

>>5787208
>>5787348
>>5787678
>Weave Abe’s webbing with your own to create a giant web-construct to retaliate against the psychic! (Spider-Trampoline)

Taking these. Writing...

File: b3b45a7fd0b41aa05f6075c7d(...).gif (2.13 MB, 500x208)

2.13 MB GIF

You were plummeting fast, and the ground was racing up to meet you. You needed a plan, and fast!

“Abe! Help me out here!”

“You do know that we’re both pretty much in the same situation, right?”

“If you can spin webs, then you can help. I should be able to weave a trampoline below us before we hit the ground, but I can’t do it alone.”

“Alright…! Which side do you want? Left or right?”

“Let’s just feel our way through it and see how it goes. What could go wrong?”

“I’m not answering that.”

With a blur of motion, you and Abe’s arms flashed out to fire multiple weblines in several directions at once. You coiled them around your fists, pulled them over and under, and grabbed the weblines that the other spun moments before. They latched onto steel frames, metal railings, light poles and anything else nearby that seemed decently sturdy enough to support your weight. And all of these weblines were twisted around one another and webbed down towards the complex lattice structure that the two of you were creating with this impressive display of superhuman coordination that was only made possible by the synchronization of thoughts between two men who were, fundamentally, the same person.

“Let’s hope this works…!"

You closed your eyes, and you felt your entire body being enveloped by the springy webbing as you sank into its center. Then, all at once, the lines went taut, and you were suddenly rocketed back up into the sky.

The psychic looked momentarily stunned, but they quickly recovered and stretched out their hand to grab you once more. But you were moving far too fast, and it was probably hard to concentrate with the Doombots flying around and attacking them periodically.

Somewhere along the way, you and your brother worked up the strength to tear off the webs that bound the two of you together, and as soon as you were far enough apart, you reignited the pale green burning flames.

You flew forward, weaving through the swarm of killer robots and clearing a path for Abe to swing through.

The psychic tried to lash out at you, but with so many Doombots to worry about, you didn’t expect them to be freed up anytime soon. But you still had to work fast. There was no telling when the psychic and the bird-man would be back to harass you.

But that wasn't your main concern. Because the closer you got to the top floor, the less presence the Doombots had. It would only make sense for them to be here to protect their boss, but then a sudden realization dawned on.

Doctor Doom didn't need anyone's protection. His robots were only here to distract S.H.I.E.L.D and swat away any gnats that tried to interrupt his business dealings. He alone was enough to handle anything or anyone that stood in his way.

And you were about to face him with no plan and barely any backup.

—---

(Cont)

File: 7741449-7630716-25-variant.jpg (208 KB, 820x1280)

208 KB JPG

When you reached the very top floor, you found that the entire wall had been blown wide open, allowing you and Abe to just swing right inside without much trouble.

There, standing in the middle of the room were two men of vastly different stature. One had bright orange hair and pale skin. He wore a white suit, a green shirt and a yellow spotted bow-tie. It was clear that this one was Arcade. And you were just as certain about the man that stood in front of him.

He wore a flowing, green cloak, and dull gray, chrome armor covered every inch of his flesh. He turned his head to regard you, his mask carved into a perpetual scowl, and you could practically feel the waves of malice and disdain emanating from him. It was as if he was looking at a particularly bothersome fly that wouldn't stop buzzing around his head.

He only said one word, but carried enough weight to make you shudder involuntarily.

"Begone."

Arcade was looking between the three of you with a strangled expression, like he had something caught in his throat.

What will you say/do?

>"Game Over, Arcade. The Avengers are here, and you're about to lose your little bargaining chip. If you turn yourself in, I might just stop the Punishers from carving a crater in your forehead."
>"I'm surprised at you, Doom. You're going through an awful lot of effort to buy something that you could either steal or build yourself. Do you seriously think that you need this clown's help?"
>"Last chance to surrender. I've got an army of squirrels and I'm not afraid to use them!"
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5788096
>"Last chance to surrender. I've got an army of squirrels and I'm not afraid to use them!"

>>5788096
>>"Game Over, Arcade. The Avengers are here, and you're about to lose your little bargaining chip. If you turn yourself in, I might just stop the Punishers from carving a crater in your forehead."

>>5788096
>"Your majesty." *small bow*
>"We may be out of our paygrade here, but Arcade, you're almost out of quarters. The Avengers and X-Men are here."
>"Last chance to surrender. I've got an army of squirrels and I'm not afraid to use them!"

>>5788646
+1

>>5788096
>>5788646
Supporting. Gotta respect the criminal kingpins.

>>5788646
+1

>>5788646
>>5788673
>>5789261
>>5789271
>"Your majesty." *small bow*
>"We may be out of our paygrade here, but Arcade, you're almost out of quarters. The Avengers and X-Men are here."
>"Last chance to surrender. I've got an army of squirrels and I'm not afraid to use them!"

Taking these. Writing...

File: 1911015-xarcadedg123covs.jpg (1.66 MB, 2697x1367)

1.66 MB JPG

Instead of attacking or talking trash, you surprised everyone in the room by giving Doctor Doom a small, but respectful bow.

“Your majesty.”

Abe and Arcade blinked in surprise. For a while, they were speechless. Doom didn’t say anything either, but he let out a huff that told you he was no longer considering tearing you limb from limb. Well…not immediately, anyway.

You returned to your relaxed posture from before, now focusing your attention on the ginger game developer.

“We may be out of our depth here, but Arcade, you’re almost out of quarters. The Avengers and the X-Men are here.”

Arcade let out a nervous laugh, before catching himself, clearing his throat and straightening his tie.

“You think I’m worried about those chumps? Doom and his personal army are here to protect me.”

Doom turned to give him a look. Arcade gulped loudly and made a strangled sound. After that, he clamped his mouth shut and faded into the background as Doom turned around completely so that he could size you up. He didn’t look terribly impressed.

“Hmm. Curious how the Avengers have taken this long to show themselves. And so far, none of their core founding members have been spotted by my scouts. And as for the X-Men, I suspect that they will be far too occupied with my Doombots and this one’s hard-light projections to arrive in a timely manner.”

His voice was deep and domineering, but as soon as those words left his mouth, he narrowed his eyes and turned to stare at something far off in the distance. He rumbled in his throat. You didn’t have to be an empath to figure out that he was agitated.

“But it would appear that my forces are the more reliable out of the two. Not that I expected anything less.”

He turned to glare at Arcade, and the man took another few steps back.

“Nevertheless, I do not expect to be interrupted by either party anytime soon. You alone do not qualify as a threat to me or my plans, so I would advise you to either make yourself scarce or beg for mercy. Seeing as how you have manners that exceed someone of your station, I will at least extend you that courtesy.”

You narrowed your eyes at him.

“Last chance to surrender. I’ve got an army of squirrels, and I’m not afraid to use them!”

Abe leaned over to whisper in your ear.

“We do?”

You nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

Doom didn’t look at all phased by your declaration.

“You think any amount of rodents could prove to be Doom’s equal? It would appear that I severely overestimated your survival instincts. If you insist on pestering me, then I will not hesitate to crush you beneath my heel.”

He clenched a metal fist, and small sparks of crackling green energy shot out from it.

This was bad. Doom was getting impatient, and the Punishers might be here any second.

(Cont.)

What will you do?

>”Arcade’s not gonna have a bargaining chip for much longer. You won’t have a reason to be here for much longer.”
>”My beef isn’t with you, Doom. I just want to make sure that Arcade gets what’s coming to him.”
>”Is this weasel really worth all this time and effort? I know people that are probably way smarter than him wouldn’t be opposed to helping you.”
>”Alright. But don’t say that I didn't warn you…” (Signal Squirrel Girl to storm the building with her rodent army.)
>”Wait! I want to make a counter-offer.” (Try to distract Doom for as long as possible until backup arrives. At least one of these superhero teams has to show up to help at some point.)
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5789423
>”My beef isn’t with you, Doom. I just want to make sure that Arcade gets what’s coming to him.”
>”Arcade’s not gonna have a bargaining chip for much longer. You won’t have a reason to be here for much longer.”

>>5789423
>”Alright. But don’t say that I didn't warn you…” (Signal Squirrel Girl to storm the building with her rodent army.)
Its about to get nutty

>>5789427
+1

>>5789423
>summon the spiders like spiderman should

>>5789423
>”Wait! I want to make a counter-offer.”
>”The meta that originally created the hard-light copies is here and claiming the machine. Hire her and you’ll have two distinct sources to study for further enhancements. All I’m looking for is the chance to deal with Arcade for tearing up my neighborhood. Twice.”
Virtually all upside for Doom as he wouldn’t need Arcade if he had Ember AND the machine. We’re just asking him not to protect someone in exchange. It should merit consideration.

Man, I wish we had helped the helicarrier first, with Gwen's shield we might stand an inkling of a chance

>>5789423
>>”My beef isn’t with you, Doom. I just want to make sure that Arcade gets what’s coming to him.”
>>”Arcade’s not gonna have a bargaining chip for much longer. You won’t have a reason to be here for much longer.”
>"His Pixel Punks were no match for our Voxel Vanguard."

>>5789427
>>5789810
>>5790542
>”My beef isn’t with you, Doom. I just want to make sure that Arcade gets what’s coming to him.”
>”Arcade’s not gonna have a bargaining chip for much longer. You won’t have a reason to be here for much longer.”

Taking these. Writing...

File: 8131084-dr.doom(4).jpg (237 KB, 1080x809)

237 KB JPG

“My beef isn’t with you, Doom. I just want to make sure that Arcade gets what’s coming to him. He’s not going to have a bargaining chip for much longer, so you won’t have a reason to stay here.”

You declared.

“Trust us. He’s not worth all this trouble.”

Abe agreed.

Doom narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked between you, Abe and Arcade.

“I’m well aware. However, I cannot allow a man who is capable of creating armies out of thin air to reside here, where his talents can be used against me. So, he is either leaving with me, or he isn’t leaving at all.”

Arcade’s eyes went wide, and all the color drained from his face in an instant. It was obvious that he hadn’t been let in on that little secret.

“W-wait! You promised me citizenship in Latveria if I could deliver the prototype to you!”

Doom waved a hand, and a second later, Arcade was floating helplessly in the air.

“And you have yet to fulfill your end of the bargain. If you cannot provide me with the machine, then I will have you build it from scratch at a location of my choosing.”

Arcade looked like he wanted to protest, but whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the arrival of the Punisher recruits that you tangled with earlier.

The star-spangled bird-man crashed through a window on your left and flew straight towards Arcade, while the psychic came up behind you, holding a mass of crushed Doombots in their invisible grip.

You and Abe stepped aside, allowing the psychic to lob the dense ball of metal at Doom. In response, the ruler of Latveria held up a hand, and in an instant, all the momentum had been ripped from the projectile, bringing it to a sudden halt directly in front of him.

He then raised another hand in the direction of the bird-man, and without looking he clenched his gauntleted fist, and the winged vigilante’s charge was halted in mid-air. Doom’s gaze was cold and dismissive when he turned to regard the Punisher wannabe. The psychic was visibly straining to regain control of the metal ball, but Doom was passively overpowering them, seemingly without paying much attention to them at all.

The bird-man struggled uselessly in Doom’s grasp, straining his finger in hopes that it would move the single inch required to pull back the trigger on his custom submachine gun to unload his entire clip into Arcade’s chest. It never happened, though.

“Pathetic.”

Doom uttered. And with a flick of his wrist, the Punisher recruit’s body flew up and smashed into the ceiling. A shower of debris rained down on him as his body slammed into the floor with a meaty thud, creating a crater in the ground that greatly resembled his shape. Up and down, up and down.

(Cont.)

File: 8925025-drdoom.jpg (65 KB, 564x821)

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This went on until blood was pouring from his face. His wings were tattered and bent, his mask was misshapen, and his body was covered in bruises that were already turning purple. Mercifully, he stopped pummeling him within an inch of his life, and with his other hand, he snapped his fingers.

In a burst of white light, the solid clump of Doombot limbs separated themselves and spread apart to float around Doom. With another gesture, the robotic limbs flew towards his victim, encasing the bird-man in a prison of warped metal. A moment later, he was tossed out of the room and through a window.

The remaining recruit redoubled their efforts in trying to overwhelm Doom, but he was unphased by their psychic assault. Instead, he reached out with his outstretched hand and twisted it violently to the side.

The psychic’s arm snapped like a twig, bending at an awkward angle. Then, both legs, and the other arm went the same way, twisting and fracturing and leaving the psychic in what must’ve been unbearable agony.

But despite that, they didn’t utter a peep. Not a single cry of pain, or even a grunt of discomfort. Doom either didn’t notice, or he didn’t care, because he telekinetically shoved them out the window, sending them plummeting to the ground below.

Seeing Doom dispatch them so easily, you felt rooted in place, but Abe’s instincts served him well, because he instantly leapt out the window after the Punisher recruits. Presumably, to save their lives.

But now that he was gone, you suddenly found yourself alone with Doom and Arcade. And the ruler of Latveria was striding towards you purposefully.

What will you do?

>”I was just leaving.” (Jump out after Abe. You’re gonna have to fall back for now.)
>”Wait! I haven’t attacked you yet! I really did just come here to talk.”
>Produce as much heat as you possibly can. Maybe you’ll be able to burn hot enough to go supernova.
>Try to snatch Arcade and make a break for it!
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5790870
>”These Punisher wannabes are a pain, always interrupting meetings. I hope you remember I have been cordial so far."
>”I was just leaving.” (Jump out after Abe. You’re gonna have to fall back for now.)

>>5790870
>>Produce as much heat as you possibly can. Maybe you’ll be able to burn hot enough to go supernova.

>>5790870
>Kneel and wait. He hasn’t twisted you into a pretzel already so he isn’t going to kill you. Yet.
>If he asks why we shouldn’t be killed, point out we got this far. That’s gotta count for something.
Time he spends talking to us is time for others. We’ll probably need a distraction if we want to escape too, he crumpled the psychic easily and we can’t defend against that.

>>5791048
i'm pretty sure he wont fall for that twice, also he let Abel go so

>>5790870
>>5790870
>>”I was just leaving.” (Jump out after Abe. You’re gonna have to fall back for now.)

>>5790870
>"He was never able to create an army. The thinner the constructs are stretched, the worse they become. You must have heard of the effectiveness of the bullets they used."
>”Anyway, I was just leaving.” (Jump out after Abe. You’re gonna have to fall back for now.)

>>5790870
>>5790900
changing to
>”I was just leaving.” (Jump out after Abe. You’re gonna have to fall back for now.)
guess we'll leave the nuclear option for later

>>5791249
Abel was apparently not an issue since he didn’t do anything. Doom must not care enough to crush him.

Thinking on it, he probably will let us go for the same reason. But there’s still gotta be a part of him wondering if he can use us since we’re an absolute no-name who doesn’t belong to a bigger group (compared to Doom) yet managed to make our way here to settle a score.

If not, we can make that argument for him. Hell, with Ember’s help and the connections we have we could probably get Arcade’s machine built from scratch. Our network is our real strength, and we didn’t use much of it to get this far.

My real end goal is to get a number for the local Latvian Embassy Doombot to compliment Maria’s number in our contact list.

>>5791569
except he doesn't really want the thing for himself, he just wants to deny more competent players of it. Telling him about Ember is the last thing we wanna do unless you want Doom to flatten her into the concrete

>>5791569
I really don't want to be anywhere on Doom's radar

>>5791604
I don't feel comfortable putting Ember on it either.
it's why i made my write in to question the effectiveness of the whole thing

>>5790877
>>5791534
>>5791364
>”I was just leaving.” (Jump out after Abe. You’re gonna have to fall back for now.)

Taking these. Writing...

>>5791569
>>5791604
>>5791662
If you want Doom to hit you up or look into you at all, then you're probably going to have to try harder to get him to acknowledge you!

File: Spoiler Image (385 KB, 1000x1525)

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Your mind went blank as the room was blanketed in Doom’s overbearing aura. For the first time in a while, you were looking at someone that you didn't have a single chance of beating. Not even a little bit. If he wanted to, he could crush you and your brother like the bugs that you dressed up as.

You'd have to fall back. At least, for now. Maybe once the X-Men or the Avengers could mobilize on him, you'll have another shot.

You backed up quickly, jabbing a thumb over your shoulder.

"I was just leaving."

You started to walk away, and Doom’s stride relaxed slightly. But he didn't stop, and that gave you the motivation you needed to jump back out the window.

All the while, you never turned your back on Doom, feeling like an herbivore that had to struggle not to display any signs of weakness in front of a hungry predator.

For a long moment, Doom held your gaze, even as you were falling. His cape billowed in the wind, and you could practically feel his disdain, even at this distance.

It was a physical effort for you to peel your eyes off of him and focus on the matter at hand. Abe wasn't too far below you, but he looked to be swinging to the other side of the building.

His voice was lost to the wind, but from the way that he pointed at the falling form of the psychic, you got the message, loud and clear.

You tightened up your posture, squeezed your legs together and pressed your arms flat against your sides in order to make yourself more aerodynamic. And as soon as you were within range, you shot a webline at the psychic's chest and reeled them in. Their limbs were flopping around as if they were made of flimsy rubber, but you were careful not to move them too quickly or stop them too abruptly. They hadn't reacted in any way. So you could only assume that they were unconscious.

You couldn't blame them, either. The shock of having your arms and legs crushed would make anyone pass out.

When they were within arms reach, you wrapped your arms around their lower back and the back of their neck for support. Immediately, you felt that something was very wrong.

Their back—no-–their entire body felt extremely rigid and cold. It was as if they were made from stone, metal, or some other inorganic material. You weren’t a doctor like Rich, but you were certain that Rigor Mortis didn't kick in that fast.

Feeling curious, you tore off their mask, only to see a blank, featureless staring back at you. It was smooth, like that of a mannequin.

Actually, upon closer inspection, it really was a mannequin! There was nothing high-tech or inherently special about it. You just risked your neck to save a dummy, and it made you feel just as stupid for going to such lengths for someone—no—something that had tried to turn you and your brother into a smear on the pavement.

(Cont.)

File: spiderman.gif (683 KB, 498x364)

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Seeing as how the ground was quickly approaching, you swallowed your disdain and rising discomfort and swung over to the nearest building that didn't look like it was in any immediate danger of being swarmed by squirrels.

A moment later Abe landed beside you, having deposited his payload by stringing him up in a net made of webbing. The cops would come to pick him up later.

"A little old to be playing with dolls, don't you think?"

Abe asked, peering over your shoulder.

You shook your head and raised one of the dummy’s crushed limbs, before letting it flop to the ground.


"I wasn't. This one was playing with me.”

Abe knelt beside you and nodded seriously.

“Someone’s definitely playing with us, alright. I thought it was weird how my empath powers weren’t working properly on this one. Now I’m starting to see why.”

“What do you think we’re dealing with here? A ghost? A magician?”

Abe shrugged.

“No clue. But we can’t worry about that right now. Doom’s either gonna run back to Latveria with a free passport for Arcade, or he’ll decide that he doesn’t need him anymore, and well…”

He trailed off, but it was easy to see where he was going with this.

“Arcade’s gonna be the one that gets derezzed.”

“Right. And we’re gonna need more players if we want any hope of stopping that.”

You thumped Abe on the shoulder.

“Getting tired of our co-op run already?”

He sent over a wave of appreciation and gratitude. It slightly lifted your spirits.

“That time’s passed, brother. We’ll need to call in a few favors and turn this into a raid. It took everything I had just to tone down Doom’s murderous tendencies. And I don’t even know if that did anything to help. He probably just didn’t care enough to kill us.”

“He might if we come back for Round 2.”

“Then I guess we’ll just have to make sure that he stays down.”

“I’ll settle for him staying out of the city.”

“That’s probably the more realistic outcome, but I take your meaning.”

(Cont.)

What will you do?

>See if you can’t find Ock again. If he really is on the team, then maybe he’ll be able to Assemble the Avengers.
>Head on over to the Baxter Building. Freeing up the Fantastic Four would do wonders for helping to take down their nemesis.
>Use Julia and Chat’s help to track down the Blackbird. You don’t know who the X-Men deployed, but you’re hoping for at least an Omega Level mutant or two.
>Fly up to the Helicarrier and help them clear out the Doombots. There are a lot of them swarming the base, but having them on your side would help you and everyone else immensely.
>Try to link up with Flint. Having him by your side would make you feel a lot better.
>Bother Madame Web for a favor. Maybe she can use her telepathy to send a message out to the various heroes and vigilantes in the city.
>Call up Black Cat again. She still hasn’t gotten back to you yet.
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5792128
>See if you can’t find Ock again. If he really is on the team, then maybe he’ll be able to Assemble the Avengers.
>Fly up to the Helicarrier and help them clear out the Doombots. There are a lot of them swarming the base, but having them on your side would help you and everyone else immensely.

>>5792128
>>Fly up to the Helicarrier and help them clear out the Doombots. There are a lot of them swarming the base, but having them on your side would help you and everyone else immensely.

>>5792128
>>Try to link up with Flint. Having him by your side would make you feel a lot better.
Curse of Ra!

>>5792128
>Fly up to the Helicarrier and help them clear out the Doombots. There are a lot of them swarming the base, but having them on your side would help you and everyone else immensely.
>Call up Julia, see if she or Webb know of a psychic who works through mannequins. Maybe they’d have better luck keeping the knucklehead from fighting heroes.
>Call up Ember, see if she got the machine or is pinned down nearby.
I don’t know if we have a way to contact Ember, but I hope we do. She had the most important mission.

>>5792128
>shoot a message at Hill. "Arcade tries to sell pixel army to doom at [address] floor X."
>Try to find Ember and disable the generator(melt it down so Doom couldn't reverse engineer it either), then get her out so Doom can't get her.

Hey guys! Sorry that I wasn't able to update today. I just came back from a concert in New York, and I pretty much spent all day over there. I'm pretty wiped out, though, so the next update will have to be tomorrow(today?) after I get back from work at the usual time. Which would be sometime around 6pm EST.

From the looks of it, we'll be flying up the Helicarrier very soon!

I'm gonna start writing the update, but I probably won't be able to post an update until later tonight. Something came up, and I'll be a bit busy for a while.

>>5794252
Take your time! Real life always takes priority.

>>5794252
as long as you keep us informed you're cool

File: EmZ365SW8AEkLm0.jpg (283 KB, 1400x1400)

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You craned your neck upwards, trying to get a peek at the Helicarrier through the clouds and smoke rising from the streets. Doom sent most of his forces up there to keep them busy. And so long as they were tied up with that, they wouldn’t be able to mobilize on the ground and coordinate with Sable’s people.

“They’re gonna need our help up there.”

Abel stepped up beside you, looking up at the sky as well.

“And we need their help down here.”

You looked over to your clone brother.

“So let’s meet them in the middle. I’d feel much better about our chances if we had Gwen’s shield when we go to kick Doom’s can.”

“The only question is: How are we supposed to reach it?”

You gave him an odd look, before igniting your hand and holding it up for him to see.

“Did you already forget about the-?”

“Right, right. Fire powers. It’s gonna take me a while to get used to that. So you didn’t bring me any souvenirs at all?”

“I wouldn’t say that…”

Abe narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

“You forgot, didn’t you?”

You staggered back, placing a hand over your heart and making an exaggerated show of being hurt.

“You wound me! Keep that up, and I might just have to rethink my decision to get you a totally awesome souvenir.”

“Uh-huh. Can I at least get a hint?”

“Maybe later. I’ve got to check in with Squirrel Girl first.”

“Who?”

“You’ll see.”

And before he could reply, you shot a webline at a nearby building and swung off to rejoin the rodent-themed vigilante. Abe followed close behind. But as he got closer, you could hear him exclaiming, for more reasons that you expected.

“Is that Doreen!? Why’s she controlling an army of squirrels?”

You spin around mid-swing to give Abe a confused look.

“Wait, you know her?”

He nodded.

“She’s a student at ESU. She’s the one I told you about over the phone. You know, the one that feeds the squirrels on campus?”

You did in fact vaguely recall him telling you about someone like that.

“Oh, yeah. Small world.”

And that was the end of the discussion. Neither of you was willing to reveal Abe’s identity to her, so when you landed on a light pole beside her, both of you pretended like you didn’t know her at all.

“Good work, Squirrel Girl. Thanks for holding it down.”

She turned a beaming smile on you, and then an even bigger one to your brother.

“Wow! You never told me that you were friends with Spider-Man! But now that I’ve got you side-by-side like this, it’s easy to see the resemblance.”

Abe sent out a wave of relief and gratitude.

“Then I guess I have you to thank for getting him here in one piece. He’s a bit of a knucklehead, so I always worry about him.”

Your brother reached over to give you noogie, but you shook him off quickly. Squirrel Girl giggled.

(Cont.)

File: yhy9ui7o33e81.jpg (530 KB, 1600x1230)

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“Oh no, he’s the one that saved my skin when we ran into the one that’s been making the pixels for Arcade!”

Abe gave her a look of alarm, but she waved him off before he could jump to conclusions.

“She’s on our side now, though. She should be destroying the machine that Arcade built to artificially manufacture her pixels. I’ve got scouts in there giving me updates.”

You gave her a thumbs up.

“Good. Do you think you could keep an eye on her while we try and get this whole thing sorted?”

She nodded, but there was still visible concern in her expression.

“What’s happening? Did you run into Doctor Doom or Arcade in there?”

“Yes and yes. We’re not too worried about Arcade, but Doom either wants to kidnap him or kill him.”

Abe answered.

“If we want any hope at taking him out, then we’re gonna need backup. And that means clearing out the Doombots surrounding the Helicarrier.”

He pointed up, and Doreen’s gaze drifted up into the clouds.

“That’s a long way up…”


“Don’t worry. We’ll manage. Just be sure to leave your information with the nice lady that’s been feeding information to your informant. We’ll be in touch.”

And with that, you and Abe said your farewells and swung off to find a suitable point to launch yourself at the Helicarrier. Doreen waved and shouted in your direction until you couldn’t hear her anymore. She probably had the situation well in hand. So long as Ember didn’t slip away while you were busy, then you had nothing to worry about.

And that’s what you kept telling yourself until you managed to force your brain to focus on more important things. Helicarrier first, everything else later.

—--------

Now that you were able to propel yourself through the air without the use of your webs, reaching the Helicarrier had never been easier! You weren’t even bothered by the wind chill at this height. Your flame cloak pretty much took care of all that. Abe, on the other hand…he was having a far less stellar time.

“Can’t you fly straight?”

He was currently struggling to hold onto the webline that you’d left dangling behind you, as well as his lunch. He bounced, dipped and twisted with every wind current that you hit, but this was all that you could manage without losing valuable time.

“I probably could, but that would increase our chances of getting shot out of the sky.”

That was only half true. During your ascent, you couldn’t help but notice a network of crimson lines carving its way through the city. According to Julia, that had been the work of Cyclops, leader of the X-Men. He had only just arrived, but his optic beams had been instrumental in getting rid of both Arcade’s and Doom’s forces. Having him on the ground made you feel much better about the city’s well-being.

(Cont.)

File: Green_Beret.jpg (1.82 MB, 2046x2914)

1.82 MB JPG

You were somewhat concerned for the Morlocks as well. There shouldn’t be any reason for either army to venture into the sewers, but there was never any telling with these villainous types.

A tingling sensation ran down your spine, and a spike of panic shot through you as you dove out of the way of a beam of emerald light. It narrowly missed Abe as well, and you could hear him cursing behind you.

The attack had come from a lone Doombot that had separated from the swarm that was tasked with attacking the Helicarrier. The floating military base was now within sight, and now that you were close enough to assess the damage, you were suddenly glad that you came as soon as you did.

The Doombots were performing strafing runs on the deck, making absolutely certain that none of their aircraft would have any room to make it off the platform. They were also concentrated in other areas that you assumed were alternative launchpads, but there were far more of them devoted to hit-and-run tactics.

But that wasn’t what worried you the most. There were Doombots specifically targeting the engines with lasers and explosives. For the most part, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on-site were doing an admirable job of keeping them at bay, but they couldn’t hold out forever. You could already see small fires starting to form.

“Set me down. We’ve got to stop them!”

Abe shouted.

“I know!”

It was obvious what they were after. If those engines went down, then the Helicarrier wouldn’t be able to fly. And if it went down in the middle of the city…

You didn’t even want to think about it.

As you flew closer to the deck, you saw three other airborne figures that were moving to intercept you. Mockingbird, Spider-Woman and Lost Boy. They looked confused to see you here, flying, and on fire, but they couldn’t spare the time to inquire about it, so they turned away and gave you room to pass through. Some of the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents weren’t nearly as friendly, and the warning shots that they sent your way proved as much, but they stopped firing after a few seconds. You suspected that Hill called them off, wherever she was.

As soon as you were within range, you dropped Abe off next to two of the people you were hoping to see. Gwen and Bloodhound looked up as you flew past. The buff blonde woman gave you a relieved smile, but it quickly turned to one of confusion.

“Spider-Man. Huntsman. How’d you get up here? Were you…flying just now?”

“Yeah! Isn’t it cool?”

Without looking, Bloodhound whipped his gun around and shot a Doombot that had been attempting to go in for another strafing run. A sizeable chunk of its head exploded with the force of the plasma bolt and it fell to the deck.

“I am also very glad to see you, but we do not have time for pleasantries at the moment.”

“Let’s just agree to disagree. It’s good to see you, Gwen.”

(Cont.)

Gwen was wearing her usual S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform, which was convenient, since it had enough padding to soak up a few of the Doombots lasers if they eve managed to make it past her golden shield.

What will you do?

>Join the other airborne units and help them round up the Doombots by weaving a giant net in mid-air.
>Target the Doombots that are going after the engines. You don’t know how much punishment they can take, and you aren’t in the mood to find out.
>Try to clear a path for the pilots to depart from the Helicarrier.
>Call Maria Hill and try to convince her to let you shove everyone here into your pocket dimension. You don’t know if it has the capacity to hold all these people, but you’re willing to take that risk.
>Write-in.

Pastebins:

Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/1ZihFYSV

Equipment and Gear:
https://pastebin.com/WAhveFAd

Contacts:
https://pastebin.com/WdcFXD2s

10 Commandments of the Desperados:
https://pastebin.com/Qpr2jVPE

Costumes:
https://pastebin.com/5Jie54X2

The Huntsman’s Travel Guide:
https://pastebin.com/PU6LWsip

>>5795337
>>Target the Doombots that are going after the engines. You don’t know how much punishment they can take, and you aren’t in the mood to find out.


>>5795318
>Is that Doreen!?
she hides her tail by padding out her ass
the cake is a lie

>>5795340
I'm ashamed of myself

>>5795337
>Target the Doombots that are going after the engines. You don’t know how much punishment they can take, and you aren’t in the mood to find out.

>>5795337
>>Join the other airborne units and help them round up the Doombots by weaving a giant net in mid-air.

>>5795337
>>Join the other airborne units and help them round up the Doombots by weaving a giant net in mid-air.

>>5795337
>Target the Doombots that are going after the engines. You don’t know how much punishment they can take, and you aren’t in the mood to find out.
We don’t have to worry about the heat from the engines. Abe might want to stick with others though.

Wonder how our alien ship stacks up against the regular S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft? Probably better. Might be worth handing to Abe or someone else who can’t normally fly to fight in the skies.