ANTARCTIC CIRCLE - JUNE EVENT

[metamods]

ANTARCTIC CIRCLE

Monsters are nothing new to this world. While they were thought to be nothing more than legend in the pre-confluence days, the first modern kaijuu attack was recorded in 1954.

Everything people knew to be true was challanged time and time again, but it has been decades since a threat showed itself. The Guild System has kept things manageable, peaceful even. It has afforded metahumans a sense of peace and a place of belonging in a world that once viewed them as disruptive and dangerous.

And so when the reports begin trickling in about a threat manifesting at the South Pole, the senior most members of both guilds head out under cover of night. They're certain they can deal with this quickly and quietly, without placing the burden on the new metas who never asked to be brought to this world.

But when they return at dawn, battered, broken and near dead - the decision is pulled from their hands. The usual theatrics of the guilds are pulled aside as the government officials muscle their way in, taking control of the Alliance command center. Within less than an hour the message is splashed across every screen, interrupting whatever people may have been doing prior.

EMERGENCY GODFALL PROTOCOLS ARE ACTIVE.

ALL ABLE BODIED METAHUMANS ARE EXPECTED TO REPORT INAT ALLIANCE HQ REGARDLESS OF ALLEGIANCE. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. THIS IS A COSMIC LEVEL THREAT.

WITHOUT INTERVENTION IT WILL BEGIN AT T-MINUS 72 HOURS.

STRATEGY MEETING—

You’ll find no one is forcing you to attend this strategy meeting… but most of the metahumans gathered here don’t appear to have any real power to speak of. Many of them are scared civilians. One can levitate rocks, another sneezes fire. All the major guild members are in critical condition, but most are expected to pull through.

They won’t say who isn’t.

The only person left in any kind of condition to help is Chaos Gate, who holds out her arm to display the reason why: one of the Sunset Falls blossoms has bonded to her. And though she’s singed and had been exposed to risky levels of cosmic radiation, the flower itself is fine. The intel the guild leaders brought back is enough to form a plan.

The entity is from another dimension, as is the flower. And so it stands to reason that people from other dimensions would be likewise immune. Even if they aren’t, upgrading existing anti-kaijuu weaponry is their best shot at stopping the threat in its tracks.

Any metahuman who is technologically inclined is called in to lend their skills to adapting the existing anti-kaijuu technology. This is your chance to shine if you’re not much of a fighter. You have twenty-four hours to get these machines ready for combat.

They give you the rundown of the technology that powers the robots. Multiple minds working in sync, meta-energies syncing up to replicate your existing power set on a massive scale. However, as they're powered by metahuman energy, doing this for an extended period of time will be incredibly draining, so it’s recommended for each robot to have a dedicated team of pilots to trade duties. At minimum, two people are required to operate each robot.

Additionally, memory-sharing is a known side-effect of this technology. It’s strongly recommended that no two pilots during active combat be from the same world - better still if you’re complete strangers - as its possible to completely lose yourself in these memories.

You can use this time to find partners or teams - and maybe stake a claim on the coolest-looking robot, if you feel like it.

MOVE OUT —

At dawn the following day, you’re sent off. Though the atmosphere is one of hope, Chaos Gate drops her usually flippant smile to lay down the facts: you may not come back alive.

But if you don’t go? Then everyone dies. The seers couldn’t say for sure whether you’ll succeed, but those that glimpsed futures where you never left at all made it clear what that led to.

Sync up with your fellow pilots and deploy yourselves, or jump into the med bot following behind. Feel the brush of another mind against yours and the power that comes from controlling an enormous steel giant. Take this time to experiment with the powers and abilities in the real robot, not the simulation you only had a few hours to train in.

ENGAGE —

There are five kaijuu in total. Their bodies roughly shaped like a tortoise, a dragon, a phoenix, and a tiger - with the final one an unknowable mass of flesh and tentacle, protected behind a barrier. Each of them measure roughly eight hundred feet, and are leaving massive damage in their wake. Scattered across the corners of the globe, they’re moving towards the South Pole where the largest beast lays in wait. The closer they are to this destination when you engage them, the more reality seems to be break and bend around them. Space and time are fragile here; there may be some odd effects, things like gravity and time rolling backwards. These creatures bleed cosmic radiation, so it’s recommended that you try to kill them as quickly and bloodlessly as possible. This may be difficult as while they’re in possession of breath attacks, they’re more keen to engage in hand-to-had combat.

Each of them is also spawning smaller copies of themselves, which seem to be moving towards the coastlines - towards major cities, specifically.

Those who believe themselves to be better suited to battling the monster directly can engage the kaijuu outside of their jaegers. But anyone exposed to their irradiated blood will catch a doubtless disorienting glimpse of infinity, and anyone who gets wounded is likely to fall into the ocean and be lost in the chaos. Do this at your own risk.

Those who aren’t piloting can also join medical or maintenance crews, which will be teleported out to any robot crews that require assistance.

Mercifully, once the four celestial beasts are slain - their ringleader seems to lose its power. The barrier that has been protecting it has fallen. And with no defenses of its own, it goes down easily. Reality returns to normal. And exhausted but victorious, you give the signal to be teleported back home.

You can sign up to strike a final blow here.

AFTERMATH—

It’s a brutal fight. Maybe not all of you made it back. Once the threat is clear, recovery teams are deployed to try to reclaim and revive any bodies lost in the surf.

Back at guild HQ, you’re welcomed back as heroes. The civilians are eager to know their new saviors - identifying yourself as such is sure to thrust you into the spotlight. Much of the fight has been live-streamed and so your great bravery or cowardice is public knowledge.

Deeper inside headquarters, blue-skinned representatives from the underwater nation of ATLANTIS are shouting at suited lawyers. The kaijuu blood in the water has made their home largely uninhabitable, and the combat has destroyed much of it. Are they going to get the same rescue that the surface world did? You’re welcome to volunteer to visit the rubble that was once their Antarctic settlement and rescue the seal-like selkies from the bloodied water.

IN SUMMARY...

• Giant monsters have appeared. Their mere presence is warping reality. Smaller clones of them are heading towards coastal cities.


• The heroes of this world are no match for it. The government has chosen to enact the Godfall Protocols Act, meaning all metahumans are expected to report in to stop a potential apocalypse. Not everyone has to go and pilot the robot, others can stay to defend the cities from any potential dangers.


• Player characters will be hopping in giant robots designed for two or more pilots. They can read each other's minds to operate in perfect sync. An unintended side-effect is memory sharing. You can get lost in these memories. Any action taken in memory will be replicated by the giant robot.


• After the defeat of these monsters, everyone is brought back to Guild HQ for a heroes welcome. You can sign up for your character delivering a final blow here.


• If you want your character to protest the Godfall Protocols and/or to try to disrupt anything going on, please report your actions here.
• The Atlantean people are begging for help as the robots have destroyed their Arctic cities and the blood in the water has harmed their selkie civilians. Player characters can go search for these selkies. Please report selkie rescues here.

Comments

loki laufeyson, marvel 616 ( viewers & rescuers welcome! )

[ikols]

( nb: npc second pilot as loki doesn't want his mind to hurt anyone he knows. )

[ From grinning selfies in front of the odd-looking jaeger ("She's called Foxy Lady!"), to getting suited up and locked into the cockpit next to his human drift companion, to the way he fixes his phone to the wall so it can livefeed the experience to anyone browsing the network, Loki enjoys all of it. He can't respond to the comment section of his feed but occasionally he sends it a smile as his attention affords a moment to his viewers before snapping back to his immediate duties.

The fight is against the tortoise-like kaiju. Loki and his partner work together to grapple it under an arm and bring down shots on its shell, albeit to no great effect as it seems to be even more heavily armoured than their blasters can handle. What follows is an enraged kaiju body-slamming and smashing into Foxy Lady until her pilots are rattled within, swept up in a crushing hug so tight that the holograms highlighting damage flare red around Loki's waist and back as he tenses up. He and the other pilot bring their heads down so that Fox Lady's sharp muzzle stabs into the forehead of the tortoise and elicits a pained bellow of rage, freed as the monster staggers backwards in the sea.

When Loki's right leg won't respond and Foxy Lady stumbles, he yells for the daggers and holograms come to life in the fists of the pilots as they rush forward to stab sideways under the flailing kaiju's arms while it holds its injured head, very real metal daggers shunking deep into its tough hide. That gains a few triumphant barks of laughter ...

Until the tortoise's shell breaks apart and two more giant arms reach around for Foxy Lady's head, hurling her in a bodyslam that shows on the livefeed as yells of alarm as red lights frantically start blinking and Loki calls for assistance from command. Then the tortoise tosses the jaeger back toward land, and Loki's livefeed rattles so violently it terminates without warning. ]

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Extra metahumans, as secondary and tertiary sets of pilots and maintenance crew, are strapped in securely in the robots chest. Not that it's very reassuring when the metallic scraping and screeching of the robot's parts dragging against each other when the space between them is compressed.

But it matters, when the gravity changes with the speed of being thrown and falling causing Tim and the others to strain against the belts holding them in place. Tim's head clonks back and forth between the pads on either side of his neck when the impact comes.

And then... stillness. The crew doesn't move for a few seconds, everyone performing their own internal system check. Tim judges the bizarre angle from where he's strapped to the floor and unbuckles, falling out of his seat landing at 45 degree angle with one foot on the "floor" and one of the opposing wall. A quick 'everyone okay?' gets the right number of yeses and affirmative grunts.

The pilots! Tim runs for the route to the neck, chosing the tube with the ladder inside rather than the left (seems a bit risky given the non-upright position of the robot). When he nears the "top" of the tunnel, he calls out. ]

Hey, team! Everything okay up here?

[ He has to climb out of the tunnel - the head must be pushed far back or forward in relation to the chest and neck. Tim's red-and-black suit shines under the emergency lighting, and through the lightly-tinted visor of his helmet, his domino mask is just visible. ]

The robot's a little... lazy right now.

[ikols]

... Owww.

[ He's alive. Very much so if the pain in his arm and leg is real. Loki blinks up through his cracked visor at the ceiling, which is now the front screen of the jaeger. Coughing, he croaks louder. ]

Tim, is that you?

[mostdangerousbird]

[ He does his best to speak differently when he's working, more in his lower range with authority, but it's not unerringly indistinguishable if someone has familiarity and a good ear. He's not going to respond directly, and he's not going to correct him to Robin either.

He's going to focus on getting across the room and getting both Loki and the other pilot free of the controls. ]

What happened? We don't have the best view in second class.

[ikols]

Turtle tossed us. Tossed by a turtle. Other guy is unconscious, go check him first.

[ His leg hurts the most as he tries to sit up and can't, locked into the pilot's port in the middle of the room. ]

You rode in our jaeger?

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Loki's oriented to person, time, and place, so he's less of a concern as he's verbal and with it enough to put the other pilot first. ]

On it.

[ Tim snaps to, and he's careful with the other pilot, checking neck and chest for obvious injuries that would mean that moving them wasn't a good choice. He unhooks them from the rig and removes the helmet, running fingers gently over their head. No dimples or blood. It doesn't mean they're in good shape, but it does mean that he can move onto Loki. ]

One of the other metahumans couldn't handle tight spaces. I'm the replacement. Try not to be too disappointed.

[ikols]

M'not disappointed, you're my little dude. My tiny man. My ...

[ He peers at him through his broken helmet, eyeing the domino mask inside Tim's own. ]

What's that for? On your face.

[mostdangerousbird]

Do you have a head injury, or are you just trying to get under my skin?

[ Tim starts unlocking Loki's helmet to check. ]

And it's a mask. Some of us have identities that we need to protect. Humans don't get to scare people off with their godhood.

[ikols]

My head does hurt a bit, now you mention it.

[ That'll be the cut above his temple. ]

Oh. Then what's your made-up name? I should be ... calling you that.

[ Unlike when he outed Batman to Kamala, he feels a certain sense of loyalty toward preserving Tim's identity. Also, he is so sleepy ... ]

[mostdangerousbird]

Robin.

[ He’s seen Tim’s mask, he can recognize his voice, he knows Bruce Wayne is Batman and that Tim and Jason are related to him. There’s more risk in letting a concussed person roam around calling him whatever he pleases. ]

Keep talking. I don’t want you to fall asleep.

[ Concern makes him frown over the injury and inwardly curse that he has nothing to treat it with. Tim’s hand hovers over the bloody cut, and Tim suddenly feels drained himself. Maybe Loki isn’t the only one with a head injury? The adrenaline would be wearing off about now. ]

If I unstrap you, are you going to fall? You were worried about crushing me, and I would try to catch you.

[ikols]

[ It's a lot easier to stay alert once Tim's hand has moved away from his head, which is weird but everything is currently disorientating so he thinks nothing of it for the time being. Tim looks worse than he sounds, Loki also notices as his vision swims back into focus. ]

Just stand back and let me drop when you unstrap me, it's the safest option for you right now. [ A beat passes, then, ] Thanks, Robin.

[mostdangerousbird]

[ The funhouse vertigo of forward-being-up is making Tim more unsteady now. ]

Don’t mention it. Really - it’s a terrible plan, and I don’t want people to know I agreed to something this stupid.

[ But he doesn’t have a better solution, and they’re going to need to clear the injured if another set of pilots is going to take over. And he couldn’t even dip the man so Tim makes sure he’s well clear when he undoes the final buckle, but will rush back in to check Loki’s injuries more fully if he doesn’t land on his feet. ]

[ikols]

[ Loki lands like a sack of cement-potatoes with a howl of pain that quickly turns into a hiss. He sits up and holds his leg with the arm he doesn't curl into his chest, panting harshly as he catches his breath. At least he didn't land on Tim: small mercies. ]

... Okay, alright. I might need someone bigger than you to lean on though, puppy. You're looking rough yourself.

[resurrxion]

[ You can't save everyone.

It's an unfortunate reality of being a mutant. You can't jump in and save every single person, eventually you're stuck playing the numbers game. Josh sees Loki go down and hears it across the comms, but he's too busy trying to hold together someone else to go deal with it.

So later. Later. He's there. He commands the med-bot with the authority of an exhausted wartime medic, barking orders and diagnosing injuries without needing to lay eyes on the patients. The other healers are okay, but the people of this world are new to crisises on this level. their healing powers haven't been pushed the same way his have, ever-evolving.

he'll burn out and sleep later.

for now, he finds where loki's being kept and offers a lopsided grin, leaning against the doorframe. ]

Y'know, they call you a heartstopper... but can you try to be less dramatic about it?

[ikols]

[ Loki has been given a bed in the recovery centre, splinted on his leg and elbow but using his phone with his good hand like he never stopped. His armour is gone and he's more bruised than he expected, especially along one side of his face (mysteriously healed despite the blood once he was briefly checked), but other than keeping a mental handle on the pain he's better off than most.

He smiles when Josh comes over, turning his phone off. ]

It keeps you all on your toes so well, though. Hello. Come to tart me up?

[resurrxion]

If tart is Norse for give you a heaping dose of mutant morphine, hell yes.

[ He'll hold off on doing any major healing, but he can at least cut off the sensation of pain. There are people in worse shape and his attention might be pulled off to deal with someone. ]

How are you feeling?

[ikols]

Like I did something akin to what my brother is likely still doing, only he isn't in need of a bed and probably won't be.

[ He tosses his phone on the spot, flipping it over on the blanket. ]

You're going to knock me out then, take away the pain?

[resurrxion]

Nah. I'm gonna convince your brain that your body hasn't just been rattled around in a giant robot.

[ he grabs one of the chairs and pulls it over, flopping bonelessly into it. he gives his fingers a little wave, there's a bright glow of gold, and that...

should hopefully be more effective than any modern medicine in removing the pain. ]

[ikols]

[ Loki goes from sitting very still to suddenly sagging in place, tension evaporating so he can fall back against the pillows and rest. He blinks a few times, slowly, then opens his eyes on Josh. ]

... Thank you, Josh.

[resurrxion]

No prob. That's what friends are for.

[ he offers that easy lopsided smile. ]

Plus, I kinda owe you an apology for that freakout a while back. So... Sorry. And sorry it took so long.

[ at least a crisis always brings him clarity. ]

[ikols]

[ Boy, is it nice not to have to hold his shit together so no one sees him gritting his teeth against the pain. Now he can languish in his bed and admire the ceiling properly later. ]

That was a thousand years ago, don't sweat it. I didn't hold a grudge.

Are you conserving your energy in case someone comes back from the fight half-beheaded or is there some other reason my bones still have cracks in them?

[resurrxion]

Pretty much. I've only ever healed Asgardians a few times and like, your whole everything is super dense?

[ also that sounds fake.

but he glance towards the live feed on his phone, chewing his lip. ]

I can patch them up for you once they knock one of these big guys down. Once all this is over I'm gonna start giving friends preferential treatment.

[ikols]

Hasn't Thor taken then down yet?

[ What's his brother doing, be a snitch and fill Loki in! ]

Don't ask about my everything being dense, holy shit. Forward much.

[ Haha. ]

[resurrxion]

There's probably a joke in there about how when you've got a Mjolnir every problem looks like a problem for Thor.

[ hmm.. ]

Dude, I hate to tell you but I don't gotta ask. Biokinesis means you've got no secrets.

[ikols]

What kind of "No Secrets"? Because I would continue to disagree with you, minus some specifics.

[ Squinting! Don't be so sus!! ]