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| - Orbit of Cybertron(#95RLntNu) The world floats serenely below in remote, golden splendor, most imperfections removed by distance and the obscuration of the enveloping atmosphere, except for that huge, missing chunk in the lower quadrant. The icy vacuum of space is studded with jeweled stars that blaze with unearthly brightness, overshadowed - or overbrightened - by the brightly, golden light of the two suns of this system and the occasional flash of prismatic light from Tria, one of the moons. SPACE. Or... orbit. The orbit of Cybertron. Well, the orbit of Dis, a moon around Cybertron. Look, there's an Autobot shuttle there, and Repugnus is in it, and so are the Aerialbots, okay!? "Well, jerks," Repugnus says, pacing about the cargobay of the Autobot shuttle Facemonkey (Repugnus named it). "Your mission, if you choose to accept it, and you have to because it's an order, is to go that moon of Dis and recreate the conditions that caused Mia to be cyberformed. Namely, Superion carelessly firing his stress fracture cannon everywhere and making a mess of the moon. Any questions?" He smiles. Air Raid folds and compacts into his robot mode. Silverbolt doesn't particularly like Repugnus--really, who does? But, he is a superior officer and he is obliged to take orders from the Monsterbot. He nods. "Understood. Should be easy enough, unless the Decepticons give us trouble." he responds, then looks to his fellow Aerialbots. "Are we ready?" Air Raid thinks this might just be the /best/ mission ever bestowed upon him. Unfortunately it means he'll have to be rounded up into the combiner. No use in arguing about it. Silverbolt gets a salute, and he peers eagerly out of the shuttle's windows as Slingshot cackles. "Let's get crackin'!" Repugnus claps his hands together, grinning. "Excellent! I'll send you boys out." He grins as he grabs onto an overhead handhold and simultaneously triggers the back hatch of the shuttle to abruptly open. Wait, the Aerialbots can't fly in space, right? Nah, Repugnus thought of everything! The back hatch was already aimed at Dis. Oh, yes, the cabin was pressurized, too, to about five times the pressure of Earth's atmosphere, and nobody else noticed because they're robots. Space Shuttle cruises silently into the area, sensors on alert. He is here on a mission. The Decepticons know that there is Autobot activity on Dis and the Combaticon sniper has been sent in to observe. Hopefully, he can observe any Autobot activity, gather the information and return without being noticed. The shuttle uses any cover he can find- such as a passing asteroid belt. Keeping just a safe distance away, he scans with high-range sensors and picks up an Autobot shuttle! Ahhh, here we go! Blast Off comes in a little closer.... "Alright, let's get go--" And then Repugnus just opens the rear hatch, causing the Aerialbots to fly out into space. But don't worry, they were close enough to the moon for a safe landing. They begin to form up on Silverbolt as they fall toward the surface of the moon, the various components interlocking with each other until the gestalt is finally fully formed! Air Raid launches from the shuttle hatch with a wild howl of enthusiasm, until he bonks into Slingshot, and they spend a few seconds slinging punches at one another mid-air before getting distracted by Silverbolt's summoning to form up. "Nrrgh," grumbles Raid, "I got this, I GOT THIS!" He pulls his rifle some subspace and tries to fire on the approaching moon surface, but gets yanked into the formation before he can do any damage. "RARRGH!" Repugnus yells, "SUPERION, DO YOU HEAR ME? I AM TALKING LOUD SO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME," into his radio, but scowls as complaints from the other Autobots interrupt his fun. "Ugh. Wusses. Superion, I want you to go ahead and start wrecking the moon. Fire up that Stress Fracture Cannon, and, like, smash stuff." Superion receives the command on his comm as he touches down to the surface of Dis, causing the ground to tremble slightly as he does. "AFFIRMATIVE, REPUGNUS." Charging up the stress fracture cannon, he aims it at a random formation nearby and fires. The shot crashes into the landscape, tearing it apart from top to bottom. But then he receives additional, more specific information regarding his orders. He doesn't question it, though. Or realize that the coordinates Repugnus is giving him would actually form a giant middle finger carving on the moon. <> he confirms, and begins going about making the obscene art... Repugnus snickers to himself as he watches Superion go to work on the moon, the obscene image slowly taking shape on Dis. "Heeheehee!" he giggles to himself, imagining Ultra Magnus's outraged reaction at zero seven hundred hours. He rubs his hands together, almost delirious with delight. Then... "Uh, sir?" the pilot says. "We got a blip! Object looks like... a satellite, bearing down on the planet! Er, moon! Dis, I mean!" Superion's normally snarling mouth eventually turns up into wicked grin as he lets loose on this poor moon's surface. First dust, then silt, then massive chunks of moonrock ripple, shatter, and fly in all directions as Superion fires shot after shot into the ground. They've kicked up quite a haze before long, bits of moon drifting outwards to plink lightly on the hull of the Autobot shuttle. And whatever else happens to be drifting out there. Repugnus realizes, as dust and rocks fly inside the shuttle, that he should have closed the back hatch. Wincing as a rock bounces off his head, he triggers the back hatch to close again. "Keep an eye on that object, pilot, and get ready to intercept it!" The pilot nods, moving the shuttle into position. Space Shuttle watches the activity through his long-range scanners. Is that image being carved into what he *thinks* it is? Blast Off would shake his head if he was in root mode. Hmph, how vulgar. Yet another reason to dislike those Autofools. Then he watches as Superion continues his rampage on the moon. Debris floats up and knocks against his walls. Finally, his sensors pick up something coming in towards the moon, fast, from Cybertron. Something has been awakened. Blast Off begins to realize this may require some action. He radios Decepticon command. <> Brawl arrives to meet Blast Off. How did he manage to get up here this fast? It might have to do with the two unfortunate Sweeps he's using like a pair of rocket skates. They're tied to his feet. Superion continues rampaging, actually quite enjoying tearing up the landscape. It's not as fun as pulverizing Decepticons, but it's certainly better than nothing. Debris and bits of moon explode into the air, the same fractures that had been formed on Mia appearing everywhere. In fact, these are even deeper than the previous ones, since this time he is actually striking the landscape directly instead of going through Bruticus. But then something comes up on this scanners. Is that...a Combaticon? Superion rumbles lowly and opens a comm to Repugnus, wanting nothing more than another opportunity to crush the enemy. < Repugnus's shuttle is poised perfectly, with its back hatch open again, to let the probe into its cargo bay. Repugnus is even standing there, arms wide open, waiting to receive the satellite with a welcoming hug. Then the Combaticons ruin everything. <> Space Shuttle waits and watches, expecting the arrival of teammates shortly. He still tries to hide among the asteroids, unaware that he's been detected. Santa Brawl arrives with his merry team of Sweeps, pulling the other Combaticons along. Who thought this was a good idea, anyways? Well, no one, really. No one other than Brawl - nevertheless, it works. They're making a beeline to Blast Off's position. Time to Merge For The Kill. Brawl's rage is getting the better of him, because the Sweeps just aren't fast enough for his liking. << MOVE FASTER OR I'LL PUT MY FOOT SO FAR UP YOUR AFTERBURNERS YOU'LLL THINK YOU'RE A COMBINER! >> he snarls into his radio. Spotting Blast Off, Brawl and the rest of the Combaticons leap off the Sweeps, which go spiralling into Repugnus' shuttle. Cue merge sequence, as Bruticus comes online. "BRUTICUS... SMASH... AERIALBOTS!" the giant roars, raising his fists over his head, Donkey Kong style. Superion ceases fire on the moon to turn it upon those wiley Combaticons. Or rather, the asteroids they hide behind. Until they blossom into the horrendous Bruticus! The gestalt flier levels his weapon on the vague form of combined Combaticons, firing some simple, taunting lasers in their direction. Then he beckons, grin spreading. "COME GET YOUR FACE SMASHED, BRUTICUS," he booms, flexing the fingers of his free hand. Combat: Superion sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Superion strikes Bruticus with his Laser attack! Combat: Bruticus strikes Superion with his Punch attack! Combat: Bruticus (Bruticus) used "Punch": A Level 1 MELEE attack. Combat: Superion strikes Bruticus with his Laser attack! Bruticus is pelted with little puny lasers that come from little puny planes squished into some kind of ugly robot guy. PFFF. Puny lasers. "FACE SMASHED? THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD IDEA!" The giant flies forward, fist extended, aiming to sock Superion right in the ol' faceplate. Superion reels backward slightly with the force of the punch to the face, though it doesn't do much more than cause a few scratches. "HAHA!" he taunts. "YOU CALL THAT SMASHING FACE? PATHETIC!" And he balls up a giant fist for a retaliatory blow. Hopefully Repugnus managed to capture that satellite...The moon has a mostly-formed carving of a middle finger on its face right now, and if the Monsterbot doesn't have anything else to report, well--Magnus might not be very happy... Combat: Superion strikes Bruticus with his Demolition Blow attack! The probe soars towards Repugnus and his shuttle. Inwardly, Vector Sigma tries to compute this situation. It is very similar to one that occurred not long ago, when Superion and Bruticus fought each other on Moonbase One. Now they threaten Moonbase Two. Curious that this lunar satellite is also behind in its progress, but then that would match the discovery it made when encountering the pink time master in Tarn. But there are other differences as well. Its programming has been altered. It is picking up stray thoughts from the blood of Unicron. New ideas and concepts are flowing through the Creation Factory's systems, and just when it looks like the satellite will mindlessly fly into Repugnus's open shuttlecraft, it suddenly veers away at the last second, narrowly avoiding it. Bruticus' head snaps to the side from the force of the punch, leaving a dent in his faceplate and a "bruise' composed of the color of paint on Superion's fist. "NO. I CALL IT: GETTING YOU IN RANGE!" Giant hands reach out to try to grab hold of the arm Superion extended to punch Bruticus' face. They close around the other combiner's limb and struggle to maintain a hold, trying to crush it if Bruticus can. Combat: Bruticus strikes Superion with his Pulverize attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Bruticus (Bruticus) used "Pulverize": A Level 5 AREA-MELEE attack. Superion says, "RRAAHHH!" Superbolt rumbles as his fist slams into his opponent. Tearing up a moon and getting to hurl damage into Decepticons all within a half hour or so - it's been a good day so far. Bruticus, however, manages to catch his arm and crush it with brute strength. The limb is largely crumbled by the time Superion wretches it away from the other combiner. The strange scraping, metallic sound that wells up from his chest turns out to be brassy laughter as he brings his hands around Bruticus' head and makes to snap it down into his knee." Combat: Superion strikes Bruticus with his KNEEFACE (Smash) attack! Bruticus says, "GUH!" grunts Bruticus, his head drawn down into a waiting knee. His visor cracks and little fragments of glass splinter out into space, refracting light in a glimmering trail. He tries to lunge forward to grab hold of Superion around the middle and plow him into a handful of large asteroids behind the two." Combat: Bruticus strikes Superion with his Smash attack! Combat: Bruticus (Bruticus) used "Smash": A Level 3 MELEE attack. The probe, having evaded Repugnus, now settles over the battle itself. A bright blue beam shoots down from its underside as its wings angle themselves for extended hovering mode. But even as it scans 'Moonbase Two', it rotates a secondary antenna towards Superion and Bruticus. Vector Sigma never understood--or scared to understand--anything about these demons and their conflicts, but now it is beginning to understand it. Hate, ruthlessness, war, cruelty, weapons. These words and more are added to its data banks and gain stronger definitions every second it is linked to Galvatron. Superion is far too occupied with killing Bruticus to notice the satellite scanning them with its blue lights. Suddenly, the other gestalt seizes him around the waist and slams him into some formations behind them. He grunts and powers up his fracture cannon, preparing to fire it at Bruticus while he is at point-blank range! Combat: Superion strikes Bruticus with his Stress Fracture Cannon attack! Bruticus is far too close to avoid that shot; he takes it hard in the chest, armor fragments flying off into the low atmosphere. Microfractures spiderweb across the giant's upper body - the 'fracture' part of the cannon is doing its job. Staggering backwards, Bruticus howls in pure fury, drawing back his right foot and thrusting it violently towards the armor between Superion's legs. Let's see if this hampers mobility a little. Combat: Bruticus strikes Superion with his Ooo Dat's Gotta Hurt attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Bruticus (Bruticus) used "14000 Psi Punch": A Level 8 MELEE attack. As it watches Superion blast at Bruticus with its earthquake gun, and Bruticus retaliate with a vicious kick, it draws parallels between this battle and the new code that's being input into it. The hyperwave link is feeding it new locations and schematics. Factories of destruction, designed to produce soldiers, armour, and arms. Vector Sigma initially rejected this in favour of the original blueprints, but slowly, as Galvatron's corruption has more time to seep into its programming, the designs for Cybertron start falling more in line with his way of thinking. Not even realizing that it's making subtle alterations to the plan, the satellite fires off a small canister down towards the ground, where it impacts and shatters upon hitting Dis. A thin hole has been burrowed deep into the rock, and unbeknownst to the Creation Factory, Moonbase Two will be built for war. Repugnus swings back around in his shuttle just a moment before it fires the canister. "Swing us around, pilot!" Repugnus says. "Full 180!" And the shuttle spins around as he instructs, relying on inertia to continue to bring it in range of the satelite and, if all goes well, it will simply drift into its cargo bay and Repugnus will be able to close up the hatch and capture it. If only there was anything THERE. Just the same, it's a blow to the frame, and Superion is flung back from the force. He flips once and crashes onto his back, left gazing up at the black span of space. But his rage knows no end, certainly amongst the combined minds of those wacky Aerialbots, and he pulls himself upright to lunge forth and swing a roundhouse kick, oblivious to whatever the satellite is doing. Combat: Superion strikes Bruticus with his THAAAM attack! Combat: Bruticus strikes Superion with his 14000 Psi Punch attack! Combat: Bruticus (Bruticus) used "14000 Psi Punch": A Level 11 MELEE attack. The probe hangs in place, having completed its task. For now, it doesn't move, content to remain and monitor the situation and ignore Repugnus's shuttle. As it watches the two super warriors battling, Vector Sigma uses what it's seeing along with the tactical data it is receiving from the Decepticon warlord. It learns about ruthless expansionism, and it is this thought of Galvatron's that leads it to think on Moonbase Three. Moonbase Three also needs to be conqu-- built. As Vector Sigma takes action, the probe drifts into the shuttlecraft's open bay. Elsewhere, somewhere on Cybertron, a third probe is launched. This one's destination is Tria, the last of Cybertron's lunar satellites. Grrr....it seems Superion's fuel reserves are running low. It's too bad he doesn't have someone around who can hit him up with an auxiliary energon reserve like he did last time. Still, Bruticus needs to die. Especially after he just landed that punch in his side, that tore through three armor layers. The gestalt wrenches himself from Bruticus' grasp, taking to the air just above him. Yes, this time it's the Decepticons who can't fly! Smaller turrets on Superion's shoulders open fire on the other combiner. Combat: Superion strikes Bruticus with his This time YOU can't fly! (Disruptor) attack! SHWUNK! The back hatch closes the moment it has the satellite within. And right when Repugnus is about to celebrate--"Another blip, sir!" reports the pilot on the Facemonkey. Repugnus claps the guy on the shoulder, and yells, "Punch it, Chewie, and follow that other blip!" "But I'm not Chewie!" the pilot complains as he brings the shuttle around. "My name's--" "Not important right now!" Repugnus finishes, and scowls at the radar. "Damn, I dunno how we'll make it!" Bruticus goes flying all right, and in the middle of being shot at by Superion, his objective changes - and he draws his weapon, firing it direction at Repugnus' shuttle. Repugnus's ship takes the blast to its starboard thruster, and the shuttle begins to spin out of control! Repugnus himself has to grab tightly onto the pilot's seat to prevent himself from being flung to the ceiling. "Nuts! Double darn that Bruticus, now we'll never catch that probe!" Repugnus growls Superion leeeers as Bruticus FAILS TO PAY ATTENTION TO HIM. He looks over his shoulder at the shuttle, then back to other combiner. His scowl turns into a savage snarl as he reaches to claw at Bruticus, gripping what would be Vortex's 'tail' on his shoulder. With the grating sound of rending metal, he aims to rip that shoulder armor clean off, if not just the sticky-outty bits! And whether he's successful or not, he reaches out over Bruticus' head to try and grab one of the dual cannons. "YOUR FIGHT IS WITH ME!" Combat: Superion strikes Bruticus with his Snap yo' toybits off (Kick) attack! "GAARRRGH!" Bruticus yells in pain as small parts of Vortex's rotors and tail are torn off by Superion's attack and his foe manages to grab one of Bruticus' dual cannons. There is a creak of metal under pressure and Bruticus attempts to wrench away. Well, Superion has his attention now. Bruticus twists around to deliver an uppercut while Superion is so close. Combat: Bruticus strikes Superion with his Knuckle Sammich attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Bruticus (Bruticus) used "14000 Psi Punch": A Level 8 MELEE attack. Superion takes another punch to the chassis, though he smirks triumphantly when the sound of Vortex's body can be heard getting torn up. Still, his energon reserves are getting lower than he'd like, so he pulls himself away from Bruticus' grasp, flying to place a distance between them though not so much that he's out of firing range. Out of melee range, though. If Bruticus wants to punch him again, he'll have to jump pretty slagging far... Combat: Superion takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Bruticus streams rivulets of bright, irridescent pink down his enormous frame. His armor is cracked and falling off in little pieces, Vortex looks like he's been put through a gigantic garbage disposal, his face is dented, his visor is cracked. But at least he's still got chicken. And by chicken we mean a gun. Drawing his rifle, he levels it at the so-called 'Superion' and fires, a roaring wave of sonic energy at the Aerialbot combiner. IN SPACE. Combat: Bruticus strikes Superion with his Sonic Stun Gun attack! [Pulled -5] Combat: Bruticus (Bruticus) used "Sonic Stun Gun ": A Level 6 RANGED attack. Superion gets a face full of sonic waves, which when weaponized isn't very fun. He roars as his armor rattles and dents inward, and his cannon takes the brunt of the effect, but that doesn't mean he won't use it. With a shaking arm, he lifts the barrel to settle back on Bruticus, slinging another fracturing force, and he shan't stop until he's thoroughly depleated or Repugnus calls him off. Combat: Superion strikes Bruticus with his Laser attack! Bruticus holds his gun up, reloading it with a Ka-CHIK. "Bruticus came here looking for a FIGHT. Superion TOO SCARED to give it to him? You not worth Bruticus' TIME." The Combaticon just stands there, staring... Combat: Bruticus takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] "I swear, look at this. Sky Lynx has come to save you once again. I should like to think I am surprised, but let's be honest with one another... It's not that shocking, now, is it." The Dino-Bird skims through space with practiced ease, giving a glance towards Superion and Bruticus. "Oooh, hah, Superion! Don't make me pull you out of the fight as well." He keeps running through the area at full tilt for Repugnus' shuttle. "Alright, you ugly bug...time to get you out of here." Repugnus and his pilot wait at the back of the shuttle, by the hatch--they might as well abandon the controls, since they deactivated the now-useless engines altogether. Repugnus waves at Sky Lynx and gives him a sheepish shrug. Superion says, "HEH." Superion scoffs at his opponent. "THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK." And with that, he dives out of the air, lunging straight for Bruticus in an attempt to smash him into the ground hard. "I'LL SHOW YOU A FIGHT." He ignores Sky Lynx, if he even noticed the dino-bird shuttle at all." Combat: Superion strikes Bruticus with his That's what /you/ think! (Smash) attack! Bruticus is slammed into the ground by Superion, and grunts again from the impact. He stares at the other combiner, optic to optic. "NO. YOU CANNOT." He tries to grab hold of Superion and simply toss him away, no longer feeling the Aerialbot combiner is worth his time. Combat: Bruticus strikes Superion with his Grab attack! Combat: Bruticus (Bruticus) used "Grab": A Level 0 MELEE attack. Sky Lynx sidles up to the broken shuttle, stabilizing it so it's no longer careening off into space. "Right, right, climb on board. Quick-like, I don't want an angry Bruticus deciding I'm a suitable target for testing out his lackluster fists. Just got my armor repainted." He looks back at Bruticus and Superion. "Turn-too, Superion! We have little use of staying here any longer!" Superion is flung aside like a chump, how degrading! But he can do naught else for now, having been summoned off the moon. He shakes a fist, "THIS ISN'T OVER!" And with this, he demerges! Combat: Air Raid dissolves Superion. Combat: Superion dissolves into its component Aerialbots. Air Raid thuds to the mangled ground with everyone else. "Tch, way to drop the ball on that last shot, SLINGSHOT!" Slingshot promptly lunges at Air Raid and they dissolve into another fist fight. Repugnus and his pilot shrug at each other before they jump out the hatch at Sky Lynx. The pilot hangs off a foot and Repugnus clings to Sky Lynx's neck. "If only I could be as amazing as you, Sky Lynx! Why, I could probably just fly myself around in my own huge body!" Repugnus says with a wink. Silverbolt sighs when Slingshot and Air Raid start fisticuffs. "Air Raid! Slingshot! Both of you stand down now." And he dives in to attempt to break up the fight.
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