The Nerd Brigade Advances

[Sean Hall]

"Bollocks," Sean grimaced as the knife caused spiderweb like cracks along the surface of the gate. Strangeness happened due to the sudden release of energy manifesting as a rock nearby turning nto a shrubbery. The knife embedded in the gate was consumed by the gate as Sean drew new runes in blood to fix the damage and realign things best left unexplained.

[Hazard]

"Well then..." Hazard #2 croaked as he found a new hole in his torso. He collapsed.

An orange ogre grabs ahold of Loki and tries to slam the god around like the Hulk. "Hazard smash!"

[The Mockery]

"Don't lecture me on consequences. You're filth even compared to the place you call home." Nailah says, sweeping her staff and conjuring up a blindingly bright light around the Mockery.

As the light bathed The Mockery, you could almost see through the grime and twistedness, and imagine poor Byrna was somewhere underneath all of the disgust and malice. But the light ultimately revealed there is no Bear underneath, indeed that there was no Bear ever.

“EeeeeEeEEEEeeeE”

Two of the rusty halo daggers peeled away and shot out, aimed right at Nailah’s throat.

[Professor Weaver]

One of the daggers finds itself embedded in Nailah's staff, though the other one forces her to back up and drop to one knee to let it whizz past her head

"Eloquently put, but creatures like you don't survive long in the light. Scurry back into the shadows or perish."

[The Mockery]

The light cracked and shattered, falling around the ground beneath The Mockery’s feet.

“IiIii CAN’T pEriShH. AnD I Wan’T tO mAKe You seE..”

Black, crusty hideousness began leaking from the knife embedded in Nailah’s staff, spreading up and down slowly along the length of the pole towards her gripping hand.

“EEveN tHe LIGht can Be INFecTed. LLoKi ShoWed ME tHe WAy.”

[Professor Weaver]

"It's true. Anyone can fall, even gods." she says, holding her staff to steady herself as her other hand grabs the dagger and pulls it from the staff, the black crawling over her hand.

"But I've seen darkness and I've accepted the pain and the guilt. It holds no sway over me like it does you." The darkness around her hand and the dagger cracks, light shining out from inside for a moment before the darkness breaks open and fizzles away. "You're but a shadow cast by someone who's bathed in light."

[Loki Laufeyson]

"Well then..." Hazard #2 croaked as he found a new hole in his torso. He collapsed.

An orange ogre grabs ahold of Loki and tries to slam the god around like the Hulk. "Hazard smash!"

THAT seemed to be effective, Hazard smashing Loki side to side and into the ground.

And that's when he would notice that Loki wasn't actually there, and he was instead smashing some poor Black Air agent back and forth.

"Yes, well, I've had quite enough of that for one universe," Loki said, blasting that Hazard off of the cliff with a blast from his staff, towards the chaos below.

[The Mockery]

The broken dagger rattled and shook, before lifting off and flying back to encircle The Mockery’s head, growing more diseased and rusty as it joined the others.

“YoU wILl FaIL, JuSt aS ALl thESE caSToFfs anD bRieF ssPaRkS WiLl. I aM the fULL, ComPleTe PoTentIal of ThE ClosER. THis EnTiRE IslaND wiLL WaLLow iN mY CorrUPTioN!”

[Toshiro Narumi]

Ennio suddenly perked up with a sly grin. "Hey Johnny boy! Strap that doohickey to me will ya? I have a plan."

The teenage John brought over what he was tasked with protecting and the two conversed in whispers. John nodded and began strapping the device to Ennio.

Ennio saluted the others. "Worry not fellas, I reckon I got this."

He then generated a protective bubble around the device. He ran for the edge of the cliff overlooking the sea and launched himself off with a powerful jet of water.

[Hazard]

Hazard #3 crashed down hard, but soon picked himself up. He seemed only singed by the blast.

"Hazard too strong for puny magic laser!" the ogre bellowed before launching himself all the way back up to land before Loki. "Hazard crush silly helmet man!" he roared before charging.

[John T. Hino]

John, free from guard duty, hefted a very large rock and threw it at Mockery.

[The Mockery]

John, free from guard duty, hefted a very large rock and threw it at Mockery.

Damn it, John had caught The Mockery monologuing.

She moved out of the way at the boulder almost too late, turning her attention to the scaly interloper, eyes full of purple fury.

[Sean Hall]

Sean watched Ennio jump and released the spell he'd been assembling. Relieved of the need to make the dimensional gate he decided to assist whoever it was fighting Loki on the raised cliff. Sean knew only one spell he thought could even come close to putting a dent in the Asgardian so he assembled the energy to use the Key of Nebuchadnezzar. He feels the tumblers click, as he chants the components of the spell. He can feel reality twist as he turns the key. The fabric of reality was already strained, more malleable, more easily unlocked. The tattoos on Sean's skin glowed brightly, they were smudged now, but some were still crisp. The tattoos hurt the eyes to look upon written in a language that was best forgotten, buried deep or locked away.

Nebuchadnezzar had used the spell to create djinn and other spirits bound to his will, to force them into shapes, to serve his purpose. Sean did much the same, but with the cliff that Loki was standing. He began turning the cliff into a golem of stone, animated by magic, and given purpose by the spell Sean was crafting. That purpose was to crush Sean's enemies: the Asgardian on top of it and the Mockery alongside it.

The cliff face shuddered, limbs began to form of stone held together by the spirit Sean had created. They swung out for the Asgardian to crush him. Another limb formed and swung for the mockery.

[Loki Laufeyson]

Loki slipped back away from the charging Hazard...and right into the giant fists of the cliff golem, as Sean grappled with divinity.

[Narrator]

Ennio suddenly perked up with a sly grin. "Hey Johnny boy! Strap that doohickey to me will ya? I have a plan."

The teenage John brought over what he was tasked with protecting and the two conversed in whispers. John nodded and began strapping the device to Ennio.

Ennio saluted the others. "Worry not fellas, I reckon I got this."

He then generated a protective bubble around the device. He ran for the edge of the cliff overlooking the sea and launched himself off with a powerful jet of water.

With so many X-Men fighting everywhere else, Ennio would have a straight shot to the cavern. There were Doombots on the stairs leading down through the lighthouse, but they were apparently unaware of the back, watery entrance to the caverns.

[The Mockery]

“TiME tO DiE.”

Bear floated to the thrown boulder, easily hefting it with her throwing arm.

She easily threw it back at John, like she was throwing a pebble.

[Sean Hall]

Loki slipped back away from the charging Hazard...and right into the giant fists of the cliff golem, as Sean grappled with divinity.

The cliff shuddered as the golem began pulling itself into a somewhat humanoid shape, legs from the sea floor, an upper body from the side of the cliff. The golem tried lifting the grappled Loki before swinging that hand back down towards the top of the cliff which was becoming one of the golem's hand, which began rising up to meet the swinging hand like a hammer meeting.... another hammer.

[Loki Laufeyson]

The cliff shuddered as the golem began pulling itself into a somewhat humanoid shape, legs from the sea floor, an upper body from the side of the cliff. The golem tried lifting the grappled Loki before swinging that hat hand back down towards the top of the cliff which was becoming one of the golem's hand, which began rising up to meet the swinging hand like a hammer meeting.... another hammer.

"I hate hammers."

Sean's swing hit true, smashing the son of a frost giant into the other hand. Who knows how long it would keep Loki down for, but Sean had the upper hand at the moment.


...Sorry.

[Sean Hall]

"I hate hammers."

Sean's swing hit true, smashing the son of a frost giant into the other hand. Who knows how long it would keep Loki down for, but Sean had the upper hand at the moment.


...Sorry.

The golem paused holding the downed Asgardian between two stone giant stone fists slowly considering how to fulfill Sean's instructions. Apparently 'Eliminate the Asgardian' was being interpreted as removing Loki from the conflict, so the golem ground the Asgardian between its two fists until it believed the God of Mischief was suitably trapped in his very own living stone 'hammer' sarcophagus.

[Toshiro Narumi]

With so many X-Men fighting everywhere else, Ennio would have a straight shot to the cavern. There were Doombots on the stairs leading down through the lighthouse, but they were apparently unaware of the back, watery entrance to the caverns.

Ennio used his abilities to speed through the water and into the cavern. He climbed out and sloughed off the water soaking his fur. Reabsorbing his bubble, he looked around.

[John T. Hino]

“TiME tO DiE.”

Bear floated to the thrown boulder, easily hefting it with her throwing arm.

She easily threw it back at John, like she was throwing a pebble.

John's armor protected him from most of the impact, but he was still knocked onto his back. "Ow," he grunted as he pushed the rock away.

"I don't remember garbage lady being this powerful..."

[The Mockery]

“OnCE LoKiI and ii GriND yOu INto MeaTy pAsTE, I WIll PerSONaLLy ShoW EveRY MEMbeR of YOur FamILy, EvERY FrienD, eVeRY PerSON AcROSS aLl RealITIEs wHO hAs EVEr SeeN YoUR LizARD facE juST how PowERFul the GarBAGe LadY hAs BecoME..”

[Narrator]

With so many X-Men fighting everywhere else, Ennio would have a straight shot to the cavern. There were Doombots on the stairs leading down through the lighthouse, but they were apparently unaware of the back, watery entrance to the caverns.

Ennio used his abilities to speed through the water and into the cavern. He climbed out and sloughed off the water soaking his fur. Reabsorbing his bubble, he looked around.

The guards were not looking in his direction. It was, theoretically, possible for him to get to the crystal computer, plug in the doohicky, and reverse whatever it was Dr. Tomorrow was doing, sending all the villains back into their respective homeworlds.

The question, of course, if he could do all three of those things without getting shot, zapped, or twisted inside out.

[Toshiro Narumi]

Ennio used his sneaky ferret powers to quietly crawl on all fours for the crystal computer.

[Narrator]

So far, so sneaky...no one was looking for some random wildlife in this here cave.

[Toshiro Narumi]

Ennio checked the crystal computer for a crystal USB port or whatever with which to connect the device as he unstrapped it.

[Narrator]

There were areas where something could be plugged in, for sure. It seemed fairly user intuitive -- at least, to someone with a bit of technical background and a crash course in dimensional mechanics from one of the keepers of the Crystal Computer.

The problem, however, is that the best place to hook it in was essentially directly behind one of the Doombots.

[Toshiro Narumi]

He stroked his whiskers in thought before ducking behind a stalagmite and tossing a rock into a dark corner.

[Narrator]

The Doombot whirled and fired it's machine guns into the corner, rapidly obliterating the rock, and turning it's back on Ennio.

[Toshiro Narumi]

Ennio gulped and tried to sneak past, giving the murderbot a wide berth.

[Narrator]

The sneaking was going well! He made it past the Doombot in question with little stress.

Plugging it in and powering it on, however, was going to make a noise. And using it to send everyone back was going to take time. The Doombot was only going to be distracted for so long.

[Toshiro Narumi]

Ennio mimed a sigh and positioned the device in as protected a location as possible before plugging it in and turning it on. Immediately he leaped onto the Doombot and summoned up stored seawater inside the machine.

[Narrator]

The Doombot turned and shot, clipping Ennio in the shoulder -- but the momentum was enough for the ferrett to get TO the Doombot, unloading seawater.

Robots don't do well with Seawater.


The device powered up, and started to emit a high-pitched whine...

[Toshiro Narumi]

Ennio rode the collapsing robot to the ground and bounded into cover where he hissed upon finally feeling the injury. Note to Tosh: Tiny ferretmen less able to take a hit.