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Post by Blacksteel on Jan 1, 2010 8:44:48 GMT -5
"Finally," Hellboy muttered under his breath, taking a quick shot at Lightyear with his wrist ray. The blast missed the ranger's left foot by a few inches, however. Guess his lousy shots weren't that much improved despite the advanced technology. Cursing under his breath, the demon drew out two vibroblades from his belt and decided to forgo his hiding spot to get closer.
There was a shift in the darkness, and a large red figure suddenly darted out from the shadows, briefly illuminated in green light from the larger-than-life lava lamp filled to the brim with distilled evil he was hiding behind, before coming to a stop between Lightyear and Zurg.
"Not so fast, Lightyear." Hellboy's yellow eyes narrowed dangerously as he crouched low, a vibroblade in each hand, ready to strike at any moment. "If you want to get to Zurg, you'll have to get by me first."
Lightyear was only two steps away from Zurg, so the demon had to come to a stop on the topmost step, and truth be told there wasn't much legroom to be fighting up here. But Hellboy had been in tougher situations, and close combat was his specialty.
"So come on, boy scout," he said with a malicious grin. "Show me what you've got."
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Post by Skyfire on Jan 1, 2010 12:19:57 GMT -5
((EEZ, um… the pistol Buzz has… That’s plasma. It’s also fairly big for a handgun. It’s supposed to be so lethal that it’s not even legal yet. That… wouldn’t at least hurt Zurg? O.o? ((Oh! And one more thing! Well, a couple, actually! ;D xrfanclub.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=fic&action=display&thread=981&page=1 – Two one-shots that I think you’ll like and that I’d love to get your feedback on… And I don’t know if you’ve seen my Buzz-Zurg MV yet on YouTube – “Buzz Lightyear and Evil Emperor Zurg: Let My People Go”. Again, feedback appreciated!)) Buzz merely raised an eyebrow. I would guess that means that Hellboy’s going to make an appearance.Buzz flinched at the shot, but otherwise didn’t react visibly, except to turn his gaze in the direction of the ray. Inwardly, though, his combat mode had kicked into full gear, and the familiar adrenaline surge was flooding him. Booster and XR, however, both gasped and drew their plasma rifles – and XR’s weapons stash automatically sprung out. Buzz heard the noises and – keeping his eyes trained on the shadows – ordered, “Steady, boys.” Oh, impressive entrance, Buzz thought sarcastically, holstering his pistol. He should get an Academy Award for that one.Buzz’s blue eyes narrowed in response. His hand reached for the vibroblade strapped to his back – a 3 ft. (or about 1 m) long sword shaped very much like a katana, but with a wider blade. “With pleasure.” And he whipped the blade out, bringing it down in a slash toward Hellboy’s neck. ((Hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do – VIBROBLADE DUEL, FTW!!! ;D… Steel, you’re okay with that, right?))
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Post by eez on Jan 1, 2010 19:49:04 GMT -5
((Pleeeeease, you're talking to the very Evil Emperor who DEALS in illegal weaponry constantly. When he saw that little pea-shooter he just went "Meh". Now a good ol' particle beam accelerator attached with a highly-controversial shrapnel mod? THAT outta get a cautionary glance out of him.
And one-shots you say...*takes out reading spectacles* I'll go see those now!))
At the sound of vibro-blades thrumming to life, the Evil Emperor merely watched and crossed a leg underneath that violet, regal skirt of his; his fingers interlaced together as he slowly dragged his eyes from his agent to the Space Ranger.
With that custom-made suit, Lightyear would be no match in the Shiv regalia--something that absolutely delighted the Evil Emperor. Still, it would do no good to assume at this point so Zurg, being ever clever and fiendish, easily strolled one of his fingers onto his armrest and pried upon the compartment, revealing several buttons--one which he pressed most casually.
It was time to go to Stage 2.
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Post by Blacksteel on Jan 2, 2010 4:57:36 GMT -5
(( Of course I'm okay with a fight! Now let's get crack-a-lacking! ))
Past experience with the ranger had not prepared Hellboy for the sudden lethal swing of that vibrosword, and he moved a second too late, droplets of bright red blood suddenly forming in the air and splattering to the ground.
"Not bad indeed," the demon grunted, resisting the urge to feel his neck and see how far the damage went; but judging by the small amount of blood and the faint stinging sensation, it had only been a superficial cut. "But you'll have to be better than that!"
His right leg suddenly swung out and he kicked Lightyear in the abdomen, sending him tumbling down the stairs. He jumped down after him and darted forward in a crouch, vibroblades at the ready as Lightyear scrambled to his feet. Hellboy's eyes narrowed as he took in Lightyear's armor. He wouldn't be able to cut through any of that, not with these blades... unless he went for the weak spots.
He darted forward, swiping at Lightyear's knee, right where the boot connected, just enough to draw the ranger's attention to the spot even though he hadn't managed to penetrate through the steel, before elbowing him with the other arm in the face, hurling him to the floor again. This time, the demon didn't let Lightyear get up before pouncing him and pinning him to the ground with a knee as he scrambled to kick Lightyear's vibrosword out of the way.
"Pathetic," Hellboy ground out, pinning down the ranger's hands. "You space boys are too soft for a real fight. Guess you never trained hard enough, didja?"
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Post by Skyfire on Jan 2, 2010 7:45:35 GMT -5
(( eez: Ohhh, okay. Got it. *notes for future reference, then starts to whistle while waiting for feedback* …Naaah, I can’t whistle, lol. ((@steel: I meant about a vibroblade duel. Okey-dokey! xD)) The result startled Buzz as much as the move had startled Hellboy – what the captain had intended as an initiating strike had actually drawn blood right at the start. He’d thought that Hellboy would have moved away quickly enough. Buzz’s face exploded with pain, and he couldn’t help crying out. He tasted something thick and salty in his mouth – blood. Stupid, stupid, STUPID!! You let yourself be taken in by a **** FEINT!! He knew better! “Buzz!” Booster cried, distressed. He moved forward. “Wait-wait, Booster!” XR told him, trying to restrain him. Quietly: “Just wait. This is Buzz’s battle.” Buzz struggled in Hellboy’s grip, but it was like struggling in permacrete. Hellboy’s knee pressed painfully into Buzz’s abdomen, already aching from that kick a few moments before. A whole string of profanities ran through Buzz’s head, and it took all of his dwindling self-control not to say them. Instead, he settled for growling, “ You have NO idea.” His mind flew back to a year and a half ago, when he was training Erin before she entered the Academy. Her interest in swordplay, which led to Buzz relearning sword-fighting so he could teach her – ohhh, and all the sparring they did! Those had been some of the best days of his life. …He remembered the very real hate in her eyes that one time… when she’d fallen, and he’d ordered her to get back up… …He sighed, knelt beside her, put his hand on her shoulder. “Erin, I told you that this wouldn’t be easy, and you said that you still wanted to do it. You knew, too, that it would include times like this.
“Sometimes, getting up and going on is the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do. I think you know that already, in a way. Sometimes, being a hero just means that when you think you can’t take any more, when your body tells you you can’t take any more, you push yourself up, and you keep going. It can make a big difference – all the difference in the universe.
“You are a Space Ranger, Erin Frame – show it to the universe.” He straightened, and held out his hand.
She looked at it, then up at him as he smiled.
Though she trembled all over, she grasped his hand and stood…No. Some Rangers really weren’t all that good at their job, but the training was anything but easy. Erin was proof of that. Focus, Lightyear…The Shiv Katall armor, like Star Command uniform, had technology that converted the wearer’s brainwaves to radio-waves. Simply put, the wearer could simply think a command to the suit, and the suit would perform it. …And the Shiv Katall armor had plenty of performance. Buzz spat his blood directly at Hellboy’s eyes, then his right vambrace discharged a laser net at the other man. It startled Hellboy enough to loosen his grip, and Buzz swung up his legs to kick Hellboy over his head. “Who’s pathetic now?” he taunted. Free now, Buzz scrambled to pick up his vibroblade and just had time for a defensive opening stance as Hellboy returned to his feet.
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Post by Blacksteel on Jan 2, 2010 8:10:00 GMT -5
Hellboy cried out and squeezed his eyes shut, Lightyear's spit and blood stinging his eyes. His momentary blindness caused him to loosen his grip, and in that moment he felt something sizzle around him before he felt a hard blow to the head push him back and roll over onto his side. Rubbing at his eyes furiously, he snapped them open and cursed under his breath at finding himself trapped in a laser net.
The demon growled deep in his throat. Shrugging the net off with his powerful right hand, he sprang back up to his feet. "It's not over yet," he hissed, tossing the vibroblades to the side.
Running straight at Lightyear, he delivered a powerful blow to the side of the ranger's head, then brought up a leg and kicked him in the small of his back.
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Post by Skyfire on Jan 2, 2010 8:22:16 GMT -5
Buzz’s vision swam suddenly. He cried out in pain and stumbled forward slightly. Managed to spin around to deliver a roundhouse punch to Hellboy’s face.
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Post by Blacksteel on Jan 2, 2010 10:05:59 GMT -5
Hellboy's lips twisted to form a feral grin. He had been waiting for that.
He quickly thrust his left arm into the crook of Buzz's arm with a jamming block, preventing the ranger from delivering his punch. Then, he slid his arm around behind Buzz's back, grabbed the back of his head and jerked downwards, slamming the elbow of his right arm into the ranger's neck. He decided to forgo the jam into the throat with his stone hand and skipped straight to socking Buzz in the stomach with the said fist, causing him to double over, before delivering two final knee kicks, then finally letting the ranger crumble to the ground in a heap.
The demon stepped back, rolling his shoulders, then smirked. "Now it's over."
(( This is actually a true retaliation against a roundhouse punch. Thought the jam to the throat and groin with the stone hand would have been a bit too much, so I skipped those. :3 ))
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Post by Skyfire on Jan 2, 2010 17:39:43 GMT -5
((Ooo, geeee. *grimaces* Hmm, I didn’t know that – not that I would… …Yeah.))
“BUZZ!!”
XR was just barely managing to restrain Booster, and hissed in a whisper, “Wait! You wanna end up like that? If he did it to Buzz, he can do it to you.”
“But –”
“Booster, please.”
…
Buzz squeezed his eyes shut, his breath coming in ragged gasps. If he had just been wearing his uniform instead of the Shiv Katall armor… it would’ve been a trip to the ER at the least. As it was, he was in serious pain. Both his armor and his body could take a lot of punishment, but – sweet mother of Venus – this was a lot of punishment.
He opened his eyes and, through a haze of pain, heard Hellboy’s voice somewhere above him, distant. "Now it's over."
He couldn’t gather enough breath to say “No.”
His eyelids fluttering close again, he pressed his cheek to the metal floor, the coldness soothing his battered face. He felt blood continue to trickle from one corner of his mouth.
He’d never felt more overwhelmed and outclassed in his life, or more defeated. I can’t do this. Erin, I’m sorry. I just can’t do this.
Memories flashed past his mind’s eye as if trying to convince him to get back up and keep going. But for the first time in his life, he refused. STOP it. Just SHUT UP!!
“C’mon, Big Brother.” The voice wasn’t a memory.
Erin?
“Buzz, you have to get up.”
“Erin,” he whispered, so quietly that no one but he could have heard it.
“You can’t give in – not now! You’ve come too far!”
She wasn’t there, he was hearing things…
“Buzz, come on. Stop scaring me. You have to get up.”
Erin, I CAN’T.
The response came like a whiplash. “Oh yes, you can.” Softer: “Sometimes, getting up and going on is the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do. And sometimes, being a hero just means that when you think you can’t take any more, when your body says you can’t take any more, you push yourself up, and you keep going.”
Erin…
“You never let me give up. Well, now I won’t let you give up.”
He opened his eyes.
“Atta boy!” the voice cheered. “Now go show Mr. Hotshot over there what it really means to be a Space Ranger.”
He thought a smile that his facial muscles just couldn’t manage at the moment. And what’s that? That Space Rangers never quit?
The response was unyielding. “That there’s some good in this universe, and it’s worth fighting – and even dying – for.”
That settled it.
Buzz tried to lift himself up onto his elbows, failed. Hissed as agony shot through every muscle. Tried again. Made it this time. Grimaced as he gradually pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. Okay, stop there, take a deep breath. He inhaled raggedly, and coughed. Oh, he coughed out some of the blood. That wasn’t fun. Hissing the whole time, he slowly, shakily, pushed himself up off his hands and knees.
He stood.
He was trembling, and couldn’t even stand straight, but he was standing.
“Ain’t…” He coughed, a red line still snaking from one corner of his mouth and staining the purple thermal hood. “Ain’t over… yet.”
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Post by eez on Jan 2, 2010 21:28:01 GMT -5
"Oh but I do believe it is."
The Evil Emperor, now unseated and looming over the combatants with a most sinister shadow, let his eyes glow brightly as he could barely contain his glee; those grim teeth of his expanded into a wide, shameless grin.
"You can barely stand let alone remain conscious." Zurg elaborated with a coo down towards the tired and outclassed Space Ranger with doting bats of his eyelids. "You're far from achieving victory today, Lightyear, yet...you made the rash and foolish decision to come here, alone with two rookies who can't seem to cease shaking their legs for one moment."
It was true...The man had come ill-prepared this time, right into the evil, malicious maw of evil itself and yet, Zurg felt oddly disappointed.
"That's not like you, Lightyear; and even though I will admit that you do wing things from time to time with daring, bravado tactics, this one wasn't one of your, how shall I put it gently, tactful missions--if you even thought it out that far to call it a 'mission'." Zurg continued on a tangent, fanning a hand.
"I'm afraid you're losing your edge in your years and with other factors to weigh upon your mind, you're not thinking clearly, are you." The Evil Emperor sighed with a long, drawn-out exhale. "I would have hoped that our last fight together would have been a dazzling show, perhaps with a black hole or two, but so far this is an anti-climatic letdown. We'll have to fix this!"
With a snap of his fingers, purple robots of sinister make de-cloaked and apprehended the two spectating rookies in the back; one Weevil firing off an immobilzer puck onto the Robot Ranger and half a dozen of the vile things easily encasing the Jo-Adian into a mag-net.
Two down, one left to go.
Hardly a challenge!
"Do you have an ace up those sleeves of yours, or are you all out of luck, Buzz."
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Post by Skyfire on Jan 3, 2010 8:13:34 GMT -5
((*sighs* The idea was good. It's the lack of ideas I've had since I had that idea that have been the downfall. I'm sorry - I keep coming up dry of inspiration here! The fight was promising - there, I could just... fight, y'know? - but then Hellboy ended it pretty abruptly and left Buzz pretty much option-less.)) Still breathing heavily, Buzz jerked his head toward Zurg. “Hey!” protested XR. “We’re not rookies anymore!” Booster added. … Buzz closed his eyes, ignoring his team. Zurg was right – he’d been so stupid… Buzz glared defiantly, then his gut twisted in a familiar warning signal. “Booster! XR!” Buzz cried. “Oooo, I hate it when this happens,” XR muttered. “Ugh – I’m – oo – okay – ah – Buzz!” Booster chimed. Buzz sighed and looked heavenward with a classic “what have I done to deserve this?” expression. Buzz’s gaze returned to the Evil Emperor, and narrowed to two chips of blue ice. Then he smirked slightly. “I’m never out of luck.” It wasn’t said smugly – just as a matter-of-fact. It was true, too: no matter what he got into, he always got back out of it, alive and in one piece. “So you’ve got us, Zurg,” Buzz admitted, his mind working feverishly. He spread out his arms briefly in an uncharacteristic – but inwardly unmeant – gesture of defeat. “Now what are you going to do with us?”
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Post by Blacksteel on Jan 3, 2010 15:54:21 GMT -5
Hellboy looked from Lightyear, worn, bruised, battered and utterly defeated--he had to admit that he did feel a twinge of guilt at that--to Zurg, who stood tall and erect, projecting an aura of utter power, yet marred with a hint of disappointment... almost as if the emperor had been expecting one last moment of bubbly good-triumphing-over-evil for old times' sake before the hammer fell.
“So you’ve got us, Zurg. Now what are you going to do with us?”
Hellboy cocked a brow inquiringly at the horned ruler, his hands still poised in mid-air for action. Whatever Zurg ordered, he would do. He just had to say the word.
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Post by eez on Jan 3, 2010 16:05:26 GMT -5
What does he do now?
The Evil Emperor had to think, and he had to think in all seriousness of the word 'think' in all the languages he knew.
He couldn't just let the Space Ranger and his rookies become captured--the man would only escape and cause some serious damage. And he couldn't kill the man either as that was not the Evil Emperor's style. So he couldn't capture, he couldn't kill, and he couldn't....
"You need to go home." The horned ruler sudden spoke up, his voice full of maturity and clear for once. "You have no right being here, when your family is hurt and needs you at your side. You have no business being here when you cannot think straight and find some daring bravado to best me once again. You are in shambles and a fight today would result in something the both of us would not want."
Zurg snapped his fingers once and the Weevils backed down, removing their foul weaponry and fading into the shadows once more as they re-cloaked.
"Just go home, Lightyear. You're doing a great disservice to us both by being here."
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Post by Skyfire on Jan 4, 2010 6:53:45 GMT -5
Buzz’s eyebrows skyrocketed. Did he hear that right, or was he going deaf? Because why in the galaxy would Zurg just let him go??
Shock overrode almost all his anger at Zurg’s criticism. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. It was like a computer running a huge program, then being halted right in the middle – the computer would freeze or some such thing.
Buzz frowned, but didn’t respond directly. Instead, he picked up his vibroblade, reattached it to the back of his armor, moved over to his team, and knelt – rather painfully – to one knee beside them. “You two okay?” he asked quietly.
“Just fine! In fact, never better – thanks for asking!” XR said sarcastically, eliciting a brief glare from his captain.
“I’m okay, Buzz,” Booster affirmed meekly.
“Good.” Buzz heaved a sigh. “Guys, I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”
“Buzz, you don’t –” Booster began.
“Yes, I do,” Buzz interrupted. “Now I want you to get back to the ship. I’ll follow in a couple of minutes, all right?”
“Yes, sir,” Booster replied, saluting and turning to leave.
XR, however, narrowed his eyes, folded his arms, and tapped one tread. “Leave you here alone? What are you – nuts?”
Buzz briefly closed his eyes. “XR, now is not the time for this. Just go.”
“But –”
“XR Nebula, you have exactly ten seconds to get out of this room before I stick you with KP for the next month. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.” The bot saluted and turned to follow Booster out of the throne room.
Buzz waited until he was sure they were out of earshot, then turned back to Zurg. “I can’t exactly say that I’m sorry for coming, but then I can’t exactly say that you’re wrong about it, either,” he said seriously. His voice dropped in volume. “But we can’t go on like this forever. For Good or for Evil, it’s going to have to end someday.”
He reached up under his hood and ran his fingers through his rather sweaty hair. Then he thought of something and gave a slight laugh. “Anyway, you think this was bad? Erin’s just my sister. If I ever have my own kids, it’s gonna be even worse.” He could definitely understand King Nova’s position as a father, now.
“But, uh, one last question. Warp and Erin. Are you done, or are you going to keep harping on that?”
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Post by eez on Jan 4, 2010 17:16:00 GMT -5
"Of course it will end someday." Zurg replied from his standing perch. "But I'm afraid that it will end long after your time."
Or until justice was served, but the Space Ranger needn't hear that, no?
"And if you had kids, I would hope that you cooled down somewhat and thought more before you risked your neck and rookies for an ill-planned attack on, yours truly, my command of operations." The Evil Emperor seriously wouldn't have risked his neck, especially if he had kids--but...then again....if he had kids he wouldn't be here, in this dreary position, wouldn't he? No, no, he'd probably be knitting sweaters or starting dinner.
Oh blast, he was getting emotional!
Carefully avoiding any tears, as that would just not due in a heavy situation as this, Zurg politely scoffed when it came about to Darkmatter.
"I'll be done when I see fit!" He barked, regaining that evil composure. Still, he was growing bored of the pair and he'd rather focus on more things besides odd love and wishy-washy couples. "But...for the mean time, I suppose I've had my fill of them. For now."
And to finish it off, he rubbed his hands evilly once more with a dastardly smile and chuckled deeply before the Space Ranger before him; his cheeks puffy with maniacal glee.
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