Pious

With his priestess now gone, Shimon made to leave through the portal but his eyes caught the presence of a shady figure. He heard the man's warning but his words fell flat upon cold ears. With a final icy gaze, the soldiers of the Most High disappeared into thin air. Never to be head of again... until the time was right.

Between deflecting the water-woman's bladed strikes with his own pair of blades, and the distraction of the alien rail-craft, the missile-to-the-face attack was both unexpected and fatally inescapable. The explosive warhead collided with the man's jaw, causing it to detonate in a massive explosion that inevitably took out the monorail, bringing the approaching cab spiralling earthwards. There could be no doubt in anyone's mind as to the fate of the so-called soldier of the Most High.

((Damn y'all. That... was one very... explosive finish! lol!! But, I could still play on if story calls for it at a later time ))

((Lol. Three attacks within an hour or RP. Play's moving at very high speeds so far.))

It didn't take long for the getaway preacher to learn his supposed hostage was in fact causing him damage over time. With heartless cruelty, he literally struck two birds with one simple move by lobbing his passenger away into the path of the incoming missile. As his zip-line came to its end, he leapt onto the rails, bounding over the impact zone of an oil-slick arrow. Having learnt not to underestimate the peoples of this world, the fleeing soldier pre-calculated the existing possibility that the missile may still hit so without pause, he broke out into a sprint across the structural monorail, while it still stands.

"Godforsaken wench!" muttered the fallen holyman, the force of the woman's charge having knocked him onto his back. "What manner of attack is this? Thy wishes to seduce a soldier of the Most High?" he taunted, the holy energies within his shield now siphoned and depleted. Fortunately, he was yet unaffected. Discarding the shield and rifle, he held up an arm to receive his returning collar, onto which he attached a cord. Using his environments to his advantage, the priest flung his boomerang collar upwards onto the nearby monorail tracks and began retracting it like a grappling hook.

As he did so, the claw mechanism along his arms shot forth three metal blades with which he would hold his attacker hostage. With one arm he tried to trap the woman, to hold her against his chest, choke her tightly by the throat as he hastily made escape onto the monorails.

((*There you go Devious. Do with that plot hook what you wish. I'm open for this all to play in any which way. ))

The wisps of magic energy seemed to pass through the wrecked car as they shot towards the shielded priest. It's effects were negated very quickly however, by the metal shield which although displayed no essence of magic, did sport arcane active defences. This attack was followed by a razor-sharp lance of water which possibly sliced through the wrecked car and ricochetted off the metal shield with such force it knocked the holyman backwards out of his defensive pose.

Anticipating the next barrage of attacks to be more powerful, the holyman clutched his collar and threw it decisively to strike all nearby foes before it would return to him. Meanwhile, he unclipped his front rifle and began emptying rounds of ammunition towards his surrounding enemies, *hitting an arrow off course in the process. The shooter remained knelt behind his shield. This battle was now well under way and the so-called soldier of the Most High was not about to let up.

((*Edited slightly to include response to Fea's coincidental post. Note: This character would likely be represented as a magic vigilante Shield/Broadsword tanker with quite a lot of temps. Plots been fun so far Mechano. Genius idea, once again.))

The robot transforming and re-weaponizing was a big give away that his bluff had been called. He moved fast, shedding his armoured cloak of ammunitions and lobbing it into the incoming rail-rifle fire, hoping to use the explosion as a distraction. He leapt backwards and sought cover behind a car wreckage, wielding his near-impenetrable shield defensively. He noticed a surprise bullet had just whizzed past him, revealing the possibility of other hidden foes. His odds had now been thrown out of balance. Given the right moment, he would now have to find a non-innocent civilian and secure himself an exit strategy. A human hostage.

The man neither recognised nor respected any of the mentioned orders or empires, for his was the only he held as superior to all. Still, he lowered his now empty shotgun and threw it across the tarmac. Slowly and quietly, he held out his arms offering them to be chained or cuffed. He believed the odds were unfair to his enemies. It would usually take at least a dozen men to overpower a soldier of the Most High, but he was going to play the surrender card until his foes were disarmed and within melee range. "Unfair odds" he lied, offering his hands for arrest.

But something didn't feel right. Those with enhanced senses, scanners or x-ray vision might learn that this militarized religious leader was a walking arsenal. Throwing daggers strapped to his lower shins, automatic handguns attached to his outer thighs, two criss-crossed waist belts packing numerous gadgets and utilities, as well as a set of occupied gun holsters. His frontage was heavily armoured with a very large high-powered automatic rifle strapped onto it. His arms bore a mechanism that loads claw-like blades into a wrist-mounted gauntlet.

On his back was a round metal shield mounted atop two criss-crossed longblades, pierced vertically by a large broadsword and a wooden staff with spearhead. Hidden in the linings of his heavily armoured leather cassock were several grenades and incendiary devices complimented by several rows of rifle, handgun and shotgun ammunition. Even his white priest collar was razor sharp and designed to be thrown in the style of a boomerang. Each weapon was well concealed under his large coat and engraved with arcane markings of Hebrew or Aramaic origins. "Let's make this quick" he bellowed, arms outstretched.

"Machine" came the guttural growl of the gunman. Due to his darker skin and the absence of daylight, his face was not clear to see. "Woman... Unseen One... and a Windrider. On what authority do you dare to challenge a soldier of the Most High, ruler of all existence? Be you foolish or just in want of death?"

Far End of King's Row

Fist-sized balls of metal explosives clattered across the tarmac road, settling precariously beneath the arriving police cars. Before their occupants could escape, the grenades sent all three inbound vehicles skywards in a pillar of smoke and fire. The armed preacher turned his attention back towards the scattering civilians and continued his massacre. Some who stood their ground were judged "faithful" or "innocent" and were not attacked, but others including local criminals, were terrorized and gunned down.

Smoke from burning cars and buildings now rose higher and higher into the clouds. The sirens of ambulances and fire trucks joined that of more incoming police but the militarized gunman remained unperturbed. With deadly purpose he moved further down the streets of King's Row, leaving behind a trail of blood and fire.

"How can we be expected to teach children to learn how to read if they can't even fit inside the building?" - Derek Zoolander.

You're right. Everyone in the EU couldn't possibly squeeze into a cybercafe. Unless of course said cafe was the size of a continent. *Ba-dum-psh*

Funnies aside, it'll likely only be a very small selections of us EU/UK players attending. Unlike state-side CoH players, we are such a tiny collective that only one cybercafe is needed to hold our little computer games event. It's unofficial and hosted by one player so it'll inevitably only be small-scale. But we're also a diverse bunch, with an open invite to all players EU-side. I think the title is apt. Last year's meet did see non-UK attendees who actually flew in. You should come too.

As for playing from cybercafes, no I don't think that's something people do too regularly, but seems to me, gaming at a cybercafe is great for large groups.

When do EU players come online? Peak times are evenings, weekends, holiday periods and also during in-game events such as DXP. You won't see many of us around otherwise because... there just aren't many of us. Hope that answers your questions.

Edit: Also... I am now booked off work and free for September!