[OPEN] The Day Grandfather Invaded

[doubled_speed]

WHO: Tommy Shepherd
WHERE: Sh'Ka
WHAT: Shadow Fears in the Storm
WHEN: During Storm Event
WARNINGS: Possible Violence

I. Stone Leaf Issues | Storm Day 1

Going out into the fog wasn't something Tommy had intended to do. Tommy hadn't even realized it was a storm when he woke that morning, not at first. Tommy had a migraine, sure, but he didn't associate it with the storms. Which was stupid. He had been through so many now that he should know the warning signs.

As it was, This was a busy time of the year for Tommy. The last rush of harvest and prep of food for the winter was serious. He split his time between Temba and Sh'Ka, bringing in all he could, loading up the train, and riding back to get it all stocked up. That was the plan. That was why he was in Sh'Ka over night, working in the greenhouse. That was why he was walking outside now with a crate of harvested food that felt heavier than it should have been, and stepping into fog.

Only then does he realize what he'd failed to notice before. The weakness in his arms, the lack of his mind racing, the fact that he couldn't FEEL the energy in his body.

"No," he whispered to himself, but then froze when he saw a flash of movement. Tommy's eyes went toward it. He knew better than to chase things in the storm but this was...

Shit, it looked like Shiro. And fuck if Tommy wasn't going to run after someone he KNEW was here.

"Shiro, hold on!" he shouted, putting down his box and then racing off at human speeds after the shadow. He was so focused on the chase that he missed the sound of a branch swaying, a snapping, and then a harsh whistling of a leaf falling.

II. Killer Robot Attacks | Storm Day 2 On

He got lost. That's the only explanation for Tommy still being out the next day. After all the issues he'd had with the fog the day before, all he could do was find shelter in a mostly fallen building that evening. And, without his powers, well... Simply put, it was one of those instances where sleep actually held sway over Tommy for a lot longer than normal. He slept the whole night through, as if his body was angry for years of what a normal human might consider insufficient sleep.

Since he wasn't in Temba he wasn't affected by the screaming of the moon. It meant sleeping without his powers going on the fritz again (he didn't want to experience that once more). And since he slept through the night, when he woke it was with a crack of lightning. A flash of crimson lightning. Tommy yelped as he jerked awake, and soon his eyes were casting about in the shadows.

Turned out there was another downside to being a superhero here other than the stress of being powerless. Tommy had heard tons of stories over the years of things that had attacked the Earth. Was it really that shocking something should manifest now of shadows and memory? Something that already had crimson eyes? Something that wasn't one something but a whole wealth of them starting to land behind him.

"shit," he said before scrambling to his feet and running into the thick fog. "If anyone is near, run AWAY from my voice."

Because it turned out Tommy's other grandfather was here, and he was hardly friendly.

Comments

II

[tyrants_son]

There was no sleep for the restless and paranoid. Feeling himself cut off from the Light only made Felwinter more wary of things as the fog came in, and as the skies overhead darkened he braced himself for the worst, even while thinking somehow he'd been betrayed, for he'd heard that the last time a storm had come, Sh'Ka had been untouched.

But there was no terrible moon in the sky, and for that, he could be thankful. It wasn't enough to let down his guard, however.

Sh'Ka seemed more empty, but being more dilapidated and uninhabited as Temba was, it was to be expected. He walked with his shotgun cradled in his hands, more for a sense of security than any expectation to use it, but he'd at least be prepared if that changed. His helmeted head lifted as he heard the sounds, someone running, someone calling out. The voice was one he knew, and it was approaching.

[doubled_speed]

Approaching is bad. Especially as one should be heeding his warning and avoiding Tommy's approach. Something perhaps illustrated by the way that something exploded in front of him, damaged by a blast issued by one of the leading Ultrons chasing him.

"Oh come on, I thought Thanksgiving is when your old ornery grandfather is supposed to be a particular asshole. It's probably not Thanksgiving yet!"

Even as a 'mere' human, Tommy couldn't help sassing the killer robots.

[tyrants_son]

That blast is certainly one way to ramp things up. Felwinter pumps his shotgun, watching as shapes finally manifest through the fog.

"What are they..?" They were more Exo-like than frames, although in terms of numbers they swarm like the latter. "Thomas, get behind me," he says as he swings his shotgun up and squeezes the trigger the moment he can make out faces behind the glowing eyes.

[doubled_speed]

"They are probably something to do with the storm. But, uh, more specifically? My grandfather. Ultron-drones, Felwinter. Felwinter, I don't know that a stand off is wise."

The drones do stop to consider Felwinter though. Silent, contemplating, hands raised as if they would shoot at him with said hands. Then one spoke, it's voice clearly synthesized but decidedly male.

"Surrender the human."

[tyrants_son]

"Your grandfather?" Was he like Clovis Bray, the creator of Exos who sought an immortal body of metal?

Felwinter's attention remains on the constructs in front of them. Unseen, his optics narrow behind his helmet. If he could access the Light he was confident he'd make short work of them. Still, surrendering anyone is not an option.

"I have no intentions of a standoff." He raises his voice then. "Let me consider." And with that, he fires.

"Run."

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah, paternal if you'd believe it," Tommy answered, definitely putting himself behind Felwinter. Except... Fuck, no, he started a mess.

"I know!" Tommy shouts as he runs. At unfortunately human speeds. Because that's all he is right now. A human whose grandfather wants him dead. Fun shit.

The Ultron fired at does fall, head mostly blown off. That does nothing to stop the other Ultrons behind it from giving chase, hands raised and shooting at them with bursts of energy.

"I've seen Hydra grunts shoot better!" Tommy shouts. He should really stop making trouble.

[tyrants_son]

So far as he's concerned, it was a mess as soon as all these had appeared. Felwinter shoots again before he takes off after Tommy. His shotgun's really only good for close-quarters where it does the most damage, and he'll make full use of it while he can.

"Must you aggravate them?" Like shooting a couple of them in the face wasn't adding to that. "If these are manifested of the storm, how real are they?"

[doubled_speed]

"I don't think I am obligated to harass them, but I am pretty sure I am in the moral right for calling out racist old man relatives at this time of year," he answered as he ran.

Ran and tripped over an uneven bit of road. Which he amazingly recovered from without damage.

"As for how real..."

The trip had slowed him and there was a burst of crimson energy that struck the road near him, small fragments of stone and dirt rising from the hole.

"Real enough it seems."

[tyrants_son]

That...served as a valid enough proof. Felwinter turned to fire again, expending his remaining shots so he could reload as he nudged Tommy to continue to move.

"I do not recall this ever happening in the previous storm," he said as he slid shells into place, snapping the barrel up with a satisfying click. "What should we do?" He asked merely because Tommy seemed to be well acquainted with these robots. Hiding never worked well in his experience when it came to such opponents.

[doubled_speed]

Well, there's that. It's happening the best way i can and TOmmy's having to run and think at the same time.

"I'm not the heroics nerd like Billy is. Hold on. I need to think."

And that wasn't going to help them. But he needed a moment or two to think.

"Shit I need to know this city better. Stupid fog."

[tyrants_son]

"Are they capable of tracking us? What if I try to draw them off?" At least these robots could be destroyed and having the means to fight them made all that much of a difference.

Felwinter glanced back before looking frontwards. "The fog is a hindrance, but I believe I know where we are. If we keep going as we are, we may find the quarry the hard way," he warned.

[doubled_speed]

Huh, that's a super good question.

"I, uh, think so? But you could get hurt. Not sure I want my gramps hurting you, man."

If he knows where they are, though... Oh god, the Quarry.

"That's a great plan. The metals they're made of, it's not like they're overly durable. The advantage Ultron has is in numbers, and those are easier to make if you don't do the absolute strongest metals. What if we can trick them into falling in?"

[tyrants_son]

"I am more durable than you are," Felwinter said. He could tell Felspring wasn't very impressed with the idea, but she knew they wouldn't have much options either way so long as the killer robots were still after them. "Also, I have a weapon whereas you do not."

He looked ahead, not that he could see that far beyond the fog, but perhaps that was key. "Do they not fly? But that may be possible if their visibility is limited as ours, and they are focused on us. ...we just have to make sure we do not fall as well."

I

[the_tailor]

Going out? Bad idea. He knows it's a bad idea. God knows he's learned enough over the last...how many years has it been?

(It's hard to keep track anymore.)

And yet here he is, desperately needing to stretch his legs and get a little air. As a normal, boring human, he hasn't had any powers on the fritz, but there does tend to be the nasties out and about, so he tries to be alert.

It isn't long until he hears a familiar voice. Not only that, a familiar voice calling a familiar name. Lance frowns, not at all happy with the tone of it, and starts running towards said voice until he finds its source.

"Tommy?"

...Running...normally?

Re: I

[doubled_speed]

Running normally. Reacting normally operating under basic, human level reflexes. Which was why Tommy yelped in shock when a stone-leaf crashed to the ground in front of him. He hadn't seen it coming and definitely hadn't dodged on time. In fact, as he back away from the thing in shock, processing that he hadn't seen it coming, another one fell beside him.

This one shattered as it hit the ground, the shrapnel of it shooting out to cut across his leg.

"Shit," Tommy whimpered from his pain before he tried to figure out what to do.

Retreat, or advance? Backwards was probably more safe. But Shiro...

And then there was the sound of someone moving behind him. Or something. Tommy turned toward the voice, fists up, like he could defend himself. Well hell.

"Lance?"

[the_tailor]

"Hey, hey, it's just me." He holds his hands up. "What's going on? I heard you call Shiro's name, and--"

It's then that he sees the wound on his leg. Lance frowns.

"What happened?"

[doubled_speed]

"I saw him," Tommy said, his eyes moving toward where he had seen Shiro.

"Come on, we can't stay here," Tommy said with a wince as he started walking after the (what he didn't know was) illusion of Shiro. "Stone leaves will keep falling. But I gotta find him."

[the_tailor]

Lance frowns, glancing up at the fog. He hadn't seen Shiro, but...

"Stone leaves? Is that what hurt you? Like...literal leaves made out of stone?" He follows along, clearly worried; Shiro's no damsel in distress, but in a world like this, everyone's safety can be at risk. And Tommy...

"Are you okay?" he asks as he follows. A pause, as he realizes it's perhaps a dumb question, but.

[doubled_speed]

"Welcome to Sh'Ka in the fall," Tommy grit out as he limped forward. And yeah, he was starting to get it now. How screwed he was.

"This is probably a storm. So no, I am not even remotely okay."

[the_tailor]

Not the first time. And it's pretty clear what's going on again. Lance may be unaffected power-wise, but he's seen Keith's connection to quintessence on the fritz lately.

"Okay, well, first off, you're not walking like that alone," he says matter of factly as he moves closer. "Quiznak knows what nasties are hiding in the fog and you, buddy, are in no shape to be fighting or getting away from them."

He tries to take Tommy's arm and put it around his own shoulder, if allowed, wanting to support him with him injured as he is.

[doubled_speed]

"Can't fight without my powers," Tommy answered quite plainly. He knew that. He'd never really looked for training. He felt like an idiot for that.

Still, the man looks ready to argue before he at last relented to Lance's help. He hates this.

"We gotta get away from the trees. But that way," he points, "is where I saw Shiro going."

[the_tailor]

Lance has never had powers; he was always a decidedly average guy who had to train like hell to even try to keep up. Even so, he knows that feeling of helplessness all too well.

"So the trees are attacking. Cool. Coolcoolcool, totally not what you want when you go watch the pretty autumn leaves falling."

He grumbles as they walk slowly.

"Did he look hurt or anything?"

[doubled_speed]

"They ain't choosing to attack. They just are like this in the fall. When I have my powers I make a game of dodging them."

Which of course can't be done today. Fall here isn't pretty. Which sucks because he liked a lot more of the food in this greenhouse and so was here more to gather it.

"No, but are his reflexes amazing enough to keep him safe amid this shit? I don't know if he's a storm illusion or not, but I can't abandon my friend."

[the_tailor]

Note to self, be very, very weary of trees in the fall. Lance can only count his blessings that he's been safe before. Relatively, anyway.

"Shiro can kick most of our asses ten ways to Sunday, but..." He frowns anyway. "He's my friend, too. My big brother, even. And Keith would divorce--nay, obliterate me if I let anything happen to him again on my watch."

He takes a deep breath.

"Okay. Let's go. But you let me handle it if we run into anything bad, got it?"

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah, I remember, you had a shrine to him," Tommy said with a low chuckle. "I'd call it weird but I had one in a school notebook to the man who ended up being my uncle."

He doesn't wait to agree to try and start forward, ready to haul the man with him.

"You any good at hand to hand? Or at beating people over the head with a rock?"