8th Bravery | Closed Action, Open Video

[radiantchicken]

[Action - Locked to Toushirou and Robyn]

It's late in the day, and Torin is heading home. He's got a bit of a routine going now; he goes to Espresso Yourself in the late morning and stays through the afternoon, at which point, he goes home. He'll fly a few blocks to a bus stop that he'll take to his neighborhood, and he'll fly home the rest of the way from there. He's on the first leg of that journey when he spots something odd in a broken mirror sticking out of a dumpster in an alley. It's...some sort of orb of light? That's only in the mirror? Curious.

The little parrot flies over to perch on the edge of the dumpster in order to get a better look at this. Whatever could it be? A lesser parrot--and even some humans--might have been spooked away by what appeared to be a ghost. Torin, however, shifted his perch, even taking a moment to stand on the ground in order to watch the strange orb resolve into a more humanoid shape.

He probably shouldn't have done that.

The area around the parrot grew dark, distracting him both from his investigation of the supernatural and the telltale pulse of an Echo. He turns around to see what has caused this, only to realize he's surrounded by a bunch of large, brutish-looking humans in dark suits. "Well, well, well," one of them said as some of the others pulled out chains, clubs, and knives. "Looks like Polly ain't going to get any crackers tonight."

Torin could have tried to fly away, but one of the chains might have caught him. He was a brave sort of parrot, and he didn't seem as alarmed as the goons would have liked. "What do you want?"

"Just to send a message," one of them said with a grin. "From Albero."



[Video - Open]

[The video feed opens on a scaly blue, red, and white birdman. The birdman is naked, though, mercifully, the video only shows him above the waist. He gives the camera a little wave.]

Ah, hello. This is Torin. I appear to have changed.

[His baritone voice sounds much the same as ever and matches his body much better now than it ever did when he was a ten-inch-tall parrot, though there is a note of confusion in it.]

I would like to take this moment to warn you all of the dangers that the mafia poses to us all--they specifically targeted me as a Numbered even though I was much smaller than they were. They believed I posed little threat to them, yet they attacked me anyway. I proved to be a bit of a surprise for them.

[That is a definite grin in the birdman's voice.]

I would hope that a parrot using a sword taught them a lesson, but I fear they won't be smart enough to learn. Be cautious.

[The birdman goes to end the feed, but then looks down at himself.]

Ah! And one more thing!

[There is a pause as he tries to work out exactly what it is he wishes to say.]

I would like to request assistance with clothes. I echoed back a set of them some time ago, and I suppose I should wear them now. I just...do not know how, exactly, to put them on.

Comments

Action

[icy_heavens]

He wasn't quite sure at first what had prompted him to follow these guys. Men in suits weren't, of course, inherently suspicious. But there was something about the way they'd been moving, the way they'd looked up a little too often, like they were following something in the air. It was weird enough to notice.

Toushirou, on the other hand, wasn't anybody who would catch a suspicious eye. Just some small kid, wearing a baseball cap to keep the sun out of his eyes. It had been a bright summer so far, much too hot for his tastes, and the cap was only because of that. The advantage it had in this case was covering up his rather distinctive white hair.

He stopped short, blinking when he noticed them stop and draw weapons. But no, he hadn't been seen. The way they were talking . . . the parrot? And Albero's name was mentioned. Terrific. Well, this wasn't going to happen on his watch.

That he didn't have his sword didn't matter. He could find other ways -- that hopefully wouldn't involve blowing anybody up, but that was there as a last resort.

"Seems he's been trying to send a lot of those lately."

Perfectly calm, perfectly confident. What did it matter that even the smallest of these guys had more than a foot on him?

Action

[radiantchicken]

One of the thugs cast a dismissive glance back in Toushirou's direction. "Beat it, kid."

Another flipped open a switchblade. "We've just gotta clip Polly's wings, and then we'll be on our way."

Torin knew an opening when he saw one. The thugs were momentarily distracted by Toushirou, if only a little, and they had spelled out their intent quite well. He extended a hand and fired a blast of gold energy. It knocked the switchblade out of the stunned goon's hand, and before anyone could react, Torin flew up and grabbed it. He was now holding the knife like a sword. "Perhaps it is you who should, as you say, 'beat it.'" The parrot, like Toushirou, was perfectly calm.

Action

[icy_heavens]

Toushirou hadn't exactly been expecting that, either, but after all this time being Numbered, all the battles he'd fought, he recovered quickly. So the parrot could fire energy blasts. So what?

The smart thing for the thugs to do would be to back off. But thugs typically weren't that bright. One of them -- the one that had told him to get lost -- recovered from his surprise and made a move to swing his club in Torin's direction.

Telegraphing your movements, much? Easy solution to that.

In the next blink, Toushirou seemed to briefly vanish, and said thug flew back against the dumpster, crashing hard against it. Toushirou might have been small, he might have been no stronger than an average kid -- but he could move faster than human perception, and that came with a lot of momentum. Just a shove had been enough.

Action

[onecream_fivesugar]

Robyn wasn't really following or being followed by anyone. She was just on her way home when she stumbled upon- ...Was that a bird being threatened by a bunch of goons with chains? And was that the kid who saved her from the crazy monster car? It kind of sounded like him. Of all the days she decided to leave her superhero get up at home, she decided to choose today. ...Not that there was really much she could do to help out in a situation like this anyways.

For now she's just going to step back around and the corner. She'll poke her head back out as Torin fired the blast of gold energy at the thug and claimed the switchblade for himself. Her eyes went wide as the fight broke out. This was so cool.

Action

[radiantchicken]

Torin merely chuckled when Toushirou apparently vanished. Very brave of the kid to step in like this--he liked that.

"Get 'em!" one of the thugs yelled in frustration. The goons charged.

Torin nimbly danced out of the way and slashed with his stolen knife, causing a thug to yelp at the sudden cut on his ankle. He was hopping up and down on one foot, looking kind of stunned at how that even happened. Another came in with a club and was summarily disarmed by a sudden airborne parrot.

Action

[icy_heavens]

One of the thugs made a grab for him -- which, considering the speed he'd just moved at was pretty dumb, really -- and he dove out of the way. He touched one hand to the ground, concentrated another of his powers, and several feet of the street froze into thin, slippery ice.

Consequently, two of the men fell flat on their faces while trying to follow him, and one of them lost hold of his club in the process. Toushirou snatched it up as he got to his feet. It wasn't a sword, which he would have been far better with, but he could probably still handle it decently if he needed to.

Action

[onecream_fivesugar]

Robyn would've liked to get in there and help the two of them. ...But well she had to be honest, she didn't have any powers and this was a kind of out of her league. ...And she might have been a little bit distracted by Torin and Toushiro's abilities. She'd move to pull her phone out of pocket and quickly turned it on video mode.

This was probably one of the coolest things she had seen since arriving in Locke, she had to record it so she could watch it again later.

[espigeonage]

Uh... Huh. You know, I wasn't expecting that.

[radiantchicken]

I must confess that I was not expecting it to happen so soon. Or that I would really be so tall.

[espigeonage]

Riiiight.

...do you actually need clothes, or is it just for the look of things.

[radiantchicken]

[There is a quick look down at himself to double-check.]

I believe it's just for the look of it...and I feel rather odd not being mostly covered in feathers.

[espigeonage]

Well... good. I'm sure you don't need to be introduced to the wonders of claws plus external genitalia.

[He sighs a bit.]

Scales, huh?

[radiantchicken]

Yes! Just like my arms used to be, only covering a much larger area of my body. I'm very much like a dinosaur, it would seem.

[That thought seems to please him.]

[phoenix_temple]

[Anais is. Intensely surprised--]

... The network has a thing about birds, doesn't it? Giant. Birds.

[radiantchicken]

Hm. It would seem so, wouldn't it?

[He is thoughtfully stroking his mustache.]

[phoenix_temple]

You look... good? [You know for being a giant. Humanoid bird. She guesses?]

[radiantchicken]

Ah, thank you!

[He seems a bit surprised to hear that.]

I must confess, it is a bit odd not having as much in the way of feathers as I did before.

[phoenix_temple]

I suppose the clothes will be good with keeping you warm, at least?

It's something you'll probably get used to. I can introduce you to my robot who used to be a bird.

[radiantchicken]

Yes! I am currently comfortable enough thanks to it being the summer, but I am certainly not going to be walking around like this when it's the winter!

I would very much like to meet this robot! I remember a great many robots who used to be dinosaurs.

handwritten purple glitter pen

[lowres]

Excuse me, but might I ask you a question, sir?

Are you something called a "Beastman"?

[Text]

[radiantchicken]

Not to my knowledge! I do know that I was called a Paragon Supreme at one point.

[lowres]

I wonder if they are related? I believe I gained a memory from seeing you, of creatures called Beastmen. Most of the world I remember was populated by them.

What is a Paragon Supreme, if I may ask?

[radiantchicken]

I'm not sure! The name does not ring a bell as far as my other memories go, and I don't think I was normal by Earth standards.

I am not entirely certain, but I believe that being a Paragon Supreme meant that I was supposed to be very much on the side of good, and that I did things like formed teams to fight evil.

[lowres]

Perhaps not, then. I am sorry for bothering you with it.

That is a very amazing goal, sir! I'm glad someone like you is on our side.

[radiantchicken]

Don't be! I like hearing about the things other people remember.

And thank you! I am trying my best to ensure that I can carry on in this manner--and I believe our side is a worthy one.