Re: Mini-Grand 5111 [Round 3: Menagerie]
04-20-2012, 05:09 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Pharmacy.
As if things had not gotten worse.
Kay was slouching sort of catatonic on one of those trendyorganic eco-benches that populate the space zoo. Despite the curiosity of some onlookers, the tourists were otherwise indifferent to her presence. Considering her performance in the earlier rounds - whatever those irritating timespans were called, the duelist was not having a good day. A stroke of bad luck, she attempted to convince herself, but the facts proved otherwise.
Look at her; bleeding pretty much all over with no saber (what is a swordswoman without one - such a disappointment); no mask (with that thought she idly adjusted the stubborn remains on her neck); and no goddamn progress (all she wanted was a proper one-on-one fight but was her simple request ever fulfilled? nooooo). The losses and setbacks were piling on her evolving frustrations. Worst of all, she never fought her --
She gagged on a lump forming in her throat. Batman. Batman. Batman, he was everything that Kay wanted in a rival. But why was he such a fucking idiot. Why did he toss his life away at some singular cyclops. Was this suicidal stunt really necessary for such a short term goal. The list to Batman's foolishness was infinite to Kay. She wanted to yell, scream, shout all these wrongs at this man.
Yet the blood in her eyes said otherwise.
Kay began to sniffle. Good god, why was she crying blood. Why was there blood everywhere with her. Nevertheless, the weight of her emotions was heavy. Yes, she was sad - for the most selfish reasons, honestly. There was the fact that she would never ever ever going to fight Batman for instance. Then, there was this other reason.
Batman was stupid stupid stupid so stupid, but in a way, his stupidity was so smart. He was fearless. He was selfless. He radiated confidence - not fake or arrogant confidence like she had plenty, but real confidence. One-hundred-percent genuine confidence that kindled envy- but mostly shame from Kay. She was sad because she was shamed - shamed that irradiated idiot from the post-apocalyptic plains was better than her in all spectrum of things she strived to be.
[color=#JUSTICE]As if the shame was not enough, Batman appeared.[/color]
Kay blinked but he was real - at least real enough for her. There he was, sitting all casual-perfect across from her - his padded hands embracing each other and his glass helmet fogging up per-usual. Usually, the spacesuit-fishbowl combo induced laughter, but this time - the figure obscured by the passing tourists of all shapes and sizes - he seemed rather...
[color=#JUSTICE]Omnious.
"Some rope and a high enough branch won't solve anything," Batman croaked. Kay nearly jumped out of her skin as the suited man somehow appeared next to her on the bench.
His close proximity was incredibly uncomfortable. However, there was something disconcerting about this effigy. He was definitely Batman especially from this curtailed distance. The voice sounded like Batman...but was not Batman at all. It was slightly disconcerting to hear such a serious tone from a jovial fellow like him. [/color]
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Kay blurted.
[color=#JUSTICE]"Well, aren't you suppose to be too?" Then Batman (or more accurately "Batman") chuckled slowly. Slowly. So slowly. It was kind of creepy to the point that Kay was questioning her self-proclaimed fearlessness.[/color]
Kay was getting really uncomfortable. She wanted to scream. Yell. Shout, and so she did. "Why." Ugh the sentence was so stubborn in her mouth. "Why." The task seem so Sisyphean, nearly impossible."Why." How could she continue this. "Why." Why was it so hard to ask such a simple question. "Why--"
<font color="#JUSTICE">" -- are you STILL HERE."
Silence.
"Same reason as you." Batman's body had disappeared but his voice still lingered on - somehow. "You have questions. You want answers, no?"</font>
"But you are changing the subjec--"
[color=#JUSTICE]Batman's voice (if that painfully flanged voice could ever be assigned to Batman) "No. I am not. Face it, lady. You know I am dead. You know you are dead, but hey why are you still dancing? You know you have questions: why am I bleeding fucking everywhere. What was the purpose of the mask. How are you going to go back home? What your boss is going to think? You know, it's funny. For all your paranormal persona, you are still a squishy human underneath."
He laughed. It was awful, awful, awful.
"Your aspirations. Your insecurities. Your feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelings. Also, your curiosity. You know you want answers. You want them so bad."[/color]
Kay fidgetted uncomfortably in place.
[color=#JUSTICE]"Ending your file prematurely won't do you any good - or work really. After all, you are quite dead." Batman's voice began to fade away like dust. "I think a good step is to get some knowledge. You know what to do: find that shiny archmage. You know, Rannus? Guy who knows everything? He should not be TOO hard to find. He is made of diamonds after all."[/color]
The voice laughed faintly faded away - much to the considerable distress of Kay. Was the Batman (or "Batman," really) in front of her really real? W Yes, she was going to find Rannus. Maybe get some guidance, but more importantly
maybe get some answers too.
Kay stood up from the biodegradable plastic that was the bench. From the glance, the Menagerie was expansive - countless corridors, columns - not to mention the infinite void of space that encompassed the dome. This place was definitely huge, but hey. With enough time and diligence, she could find that crystalline egghead eventually.
Kay gripped her hand on a pistol and darted off. Her future was uncertain but at least there was somewhere to go.
The Officer gripped his head in considerable annoyance. As if manhandling ten different types of camera interfaces was not enough, there was this panicking rookie dancing panic in front of him. Yes, yes, mister space cadet. Stop panicking. Yes we know there's a flock of something coming zoo-wards. However, remember last time? The last time that something attacked (which turned out to be an intergalactic nematode). Everything turned out fine in the end.
As long as they followed protocol, everything should be fine.
The Officer grumbled as he flipped through the specific section of the manual ("Outerdimensional Entities And Beings; IV. How To Deal With An Oncoming Extraterrestrial Threat"). Poring through the pages, he realized that the first thing to deal with such threats was to do away with any probes, beacons, attractors. whatever. Basically, obscuring the path for the oncoming threat could drive the threat away - or in the worst case scenario, buy them time to gain help. Immediately, he began hammering away at the buttons.
After all, Menagerie security was within interdimensional public interest.
As if things had not gotten worse.
Kay was slouching sort of catatonic on one of those trendyorganic eco-benches that populate the space zoo. Despite the curiosity of some onlookers, the tourists were otherwise indifferent to her presence. Considering her performance in the earlier rounds - whatever those irritating timespans were called, the duelist was not having a good day. A stroke of bad luck, she attempted to convince herself, but the facts proved otherwise.
Look at her; bleeding pretty much all over with no saber (what is a swordswoman without one - such a disappointment); no mask (with that thought she idly adjusted the stubborn remains on her neck); and no goddamn progress (all she wanted was a proper one-on-one fight but was her simple request ever fulfilled? nooooo). The losses and setbacks were piling on her evolving frustrations. Worst of all, she never fought her --
She gagged on a lump forming in her throat. Batman. Batman. Batman, he was everything that Kay wanted in a rival. But why was he such a fucking idiot. Why did he toss his life away at some singular cyclops. Was this suicidal stunt really necessary for such a short term goal. The list to Batman's foolishness was infinite to Kay. She wanted to yell, scream, shout all these wrongs at this man.
Yet the blood in her eyes said otherwise.
Kay began to sniffle. Good god, why was she crying blood. Why was there blood everywhere with her. Nevertheless, the weight of her emotions was heavy. Yes, she was sad - for the most selfish reasons, honestly. There was the fact that she would never ever ever going to fight Batman for instance. Then, there was this other reason.
Batman was stupid stupid stupid so stupid, but in a way, his stupidity was so smart. He was fearless. He was selfless. He radiated confidence - not fake or arrogant confidence like she had plenty, but real confidence. One-hundred-percent genuine confidence that kindled envy- but mostly shame from Kay. She was sad because she was shamed - shamed that irradiated idiot from the post-apocalyptic plains was better than her in all spectrum of things she strived to be.
[color=#JUSTICE]As if the shame was not enough, Batman appeared.[/color]
Kay blinked but he was real - at least real enough for her. There he was, sitting all casual-perfect across from her - his padded hands embracing each other and his glass helmet fogging up per-usual. Usually, the spacesuit-fishbowl combo induced laughter, but this time - the figure obscured by the passing tourists of all shapes and sizes - he seemed rather...
[color=#JUSTICE]Omnious.
"Some rope and a high enough branch won't solve anything," Batman croaked. Kay nearly jumped out of her skin as the suited man somehow appeared next to her on the bench.
His close proximity was incredibly uncomfortable. However, there was something disconcerting about this effigy. He was definitely Batman especially from this curtailed distance. The voice sounded like Batman...but was not Batman at all. It was slightly disconcerting to hear such a serious tone from a jovial fellow like him. [/color]
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Kay blurted.
[color=#JUSTICE]"Well, aren't you suppose to be too?" Then Batman (or more accurately "Batman") chuckled slowly. Slowly. So slowly. It was kind of creepy to the point that Kay was questioning her self-proclaimed fearlessness.[/color]
Kay was getting really uncomfortable. She wanted to scream. Yell. Shout, and so she did. "Why." Ugh the sentence was so stubborn in her mouth. "Why." The task seem so Sisyphean, nearly impossible."Why." How could she continue this. "Why." Why was it so hard to ask such a simple question. "Why--"
<font color="#JUSTICE">" -- are you STILL HERE."
Silence.
"Same reason as you." Batman's body had disappeared but his voice still lingered on - somehow. "You have questions. You want answers, no?"</font>
"But you are changing the subjec--"
[color=#JUSTICE]Batman's voice (if that painfully flanged voice could ever be assigned to Batman) "No. I am not. Face it, lady. You know I am dead. You know you are dead, but hey why are you still dancing? You know you have questions: why am I bleeding fucking everywhere. What was the purpose of the mask. How are you going to go back home? What your boss is going to think? You know, it's funny. For all your paranormal persona, you are still a squishy human underneath."
He laughed. It was awful, awful, awful.
"Your aspirations. Your insecurities. Your feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelings. Also, your curiosity. You know you want answers. You want them so bad."[/color]
Kay fidgetted uncomfortably in place.
[color=#JUSTICE]"Ending your file prematurely won't do you any good - or work really. After all, you are quite dead." Batman's voice began to fade away like dust. "I think a good step is to get some knowledge. You know what to do: find that shiny archmage. You know, Rannus? Guy who knows everything? He should not be TOO hard to find. He is made of diamonds after all."[/color]
The voice laughed faintly faded away - much to the considerable distress of Kay. Was the Batman (or "Batman," really) in front of her really real? W Yes, she was going to find Rannus. Maybe get some guidance, but more importantly
maybe get some answers too.
Kay stood up from the biodegradable plastic that was the bench. From the glance, the Menagerie was expansive - countless corridors, columns - not to mention the infinite void of space that encompassed the dome. This place was definitely huge, but hey. With enough time and diligence, she could find that crystalline egghead eventually.
Kay gripped her hand on a pistol and darted off. Her future was uncertain but at least there was somewhere to go.
***
"SECURITY!"The Officer gripped his head in considerable annoyance. As if manhandling ten different types of camera interfaces was not enough, there was this panicking rookie dancing panic in front of him. Yes, yes, mister space cadet. Stop panicking. Yes we know there's a flock of something coming zoo-wards. However, remember last time? The last time that something attacked (which turned out to be an intergalactic nematode). Everything turned out fine in the end.
As long as they followed protocol, everything should be fine.
The Officer grumbled as he flipped through the specific section of the manual ("Outerdimensional Entities And Beings; IV. How To Deal With An Oncoming Extraterrestrial Threat"). Poring through the pages, he realized that the first thing to deal with such threats was to do away with any probes, beacons, attractors. whatever. Basically, obscuring the path for the oncoming threat could drive the threat away - or in the worst case scenario, buy them time to gain help. Immediately, he began hammering away at the buttons.
After all, Menagerie security was within interdimensional public interest.