Issue 1 Downtime

As the defenders of Wundagore organized on the launching pads for the Atomic Steeds, two of the three groups of aircraft were closing to visual range, from the East and West. Running lights were evident in each direction, and the faint sound of engines was growing louder as they approached.

The third aircraft was not yet in visual.

Talos stood on the edge of the pad, scanning the horizon.

John, clad in the armor of a Knight of Wundagore, was saddling up an atomic steed. At his hip was a large energy mace, hooked to a belt he also liberated from the armory. If one didn't know better, on might easily mistake him for an actual Knight of Wundagore.

The defenses were not firing. Apparently, Rob was still working on them.

Stan looked back at the assembled denizens of Wundagore, before turning back to the sky.

"Steady.."

Taliesin perched on one of the balconies, ready to take flight...

...only to be passed by Will, who discarded his suit and went out there, head on.

Alyson stood next to Onyx, shifting her vibratium axe from hand to hand in a way that might have been eagerness, or could have been nervousness and was most likely both.

"Don't worry," Onyx says softly, "I'll always protect you."

Ronin had, for the first time in years, gone without the costume made famous by his predacessor. It really wasn't up for the job. He had been provided with a set of armour that fit surprisingly well and, fittingly, somewhat resembled that of a samurai. For the time travelers and even most of the people from the safe house is was the first time he had shown his face. It was weathers, stubbled, but recognizable to anyone who had known him in the past. His hair was a mess and his eyes looked pale and almost lifeless compared to how he had been years before.

He made certain his tachi and wakizashi swords were fastened securely to his armour before climbing onto one of the steeds, hefting a yari-like energy pike in readiness once his foot-hands had grasped the stirrups.

"What was it they used to say years ago?" He muttered in a smoker's voice. "For Queen and Country?"

"I know." Alyson said "Ready to make some noise?"

"When you are," Onyx says, melting into Alyson's shadow.

"Lets start with the one on the left."

Alyson would find herself falling through shadows and a moment later she was transported exactly where she wanted to be.

Alyson found herself falling from just above one of the three sentinels that were approaching from the East, which was the closer of the two groupings, at least slightly. She could spot the other two flying in tight formation with the one she would very soon be riding. One of them gave a beep as its sensor array lit up, and pivoted its head towards the one Alyson had materialized over.

Alyson was already powered up as she landed on the Sentinel's back, slashing at it with her axe.

Will, not having the advantage of teleportation, was a bit behind Aly, but when he got there, was going to unleash one hell of an ass-kicking, or punching, or whatever...

...but he was still a ways off...

While Alyson is being teleported there's the sound of an atomic steed's engines flaring up and Robin, in her mashed together armor, shoots across the sky towards one of the aircrafts. There's a moment of the generator winding up with a telltale hum before the former defense battery of Wundagore discharges from it's new configuration on Robin's shoulders and opens fire.

One of the sentinels' shoulder-plating opened up as Robin's generator engaged the defense battery. It released a storm of debris that deflected most of the shots from the cannons as it maneuvered around to aim its palm weaponry at the armored girl.

Alyson's strike severed a power conduit that was feeding the turbines of one of her sentinel's boot jets. It began to list to one side, stabilizing thrusters keeping it from going into an absolute spin for the moment, while secondary conduits started to engage to restore power.

The third sentinel, intent on dislodging Alyson, fired its eye-lasers in her direction. Its targeting computers were refining the trajectory as it geared up for a second shot.

Will cut sharply towards the third, increasing in mass as he hurtled towards the thing, basically becoming a huge cannonball.

Robin's (atomic) thrusters engage as well as she tries to swerve out of the way of the incoming fire, her own weaponry continuing to track the Sentinel, preparing to fire at it's hand once the reactor has built up enough power again.

John was among those headed to engage the enemy in the night sky to the west. Between his keen nightvision and negligible body heat thanks to his darkforce armor, he hopefully had some advantage over the metal giants.

Stan launched himself brightly at the nearest Sentinel, His anger over the situation and the desire to protect the time travellers fuelling his ionic abilities.

With a roar, he launched a powerful hammer blow at the head of the robot.

There was a flare from farther down the compound, and then a jet of flame marked Daniel's entry into the fray. A beam of energy spread from him at the Sentinel, as he elected to stay clear of it instead of taking the fight in close like Stan.

Will, assuming no more shots were fired in his direction, slammed into his Sentinel at high speed---and began to flatten out, and spread...

Alyson kept slashing at the robot, doing her best to make it spin totally out of control. Hoping that Onyx would be able to grab her before it crashed.

Shadows appeared between Alyson and the lasers, redirecting fire back at the robotic monstrosities.

A fiery rain of explosives descended from the sky, impacting the armour of the attackers heavily.

Ronin wasn't the most adept pilot or horseback rider, so combining the two didn't make him any better at it. Instead of weaving and dodging around the blasts he just punched the throttle, as it were, to the maximum and pointed the steed in a straight line toward the nearest Sentinel not already engaged by one of his comrades so as to minimize the chance of a collision. Flying directly at the flying-robots head he drove the end of his energy pike into it's eye.

The atomic steed skidded and grinded against the Sentinel's torso, skipping off of it's thigh to tumble riderless toward the earth below. Ronin's unique feet gripped the staff of the pike as it protruded from the Sentinel's metal skull, reaching for his shorter sword while his tail whipped back and forth to maintain his balance.

"It's been awhile since I rode one of you bucket of bolts. But not long enough for my tastes." He started tunning up the length of the staff toward the robot's head, sword brandished menacingly.

Alyson's handiwork managed to cut power to the stabilizing thrusters before the main boot turbine could be brought back online, sending the Sentinel into a spin and Alyson into freefall.

The eye beams that were aimed at Alyson were redirected at the Sentinel that fired them, damaging its shoulder joint. Will impacted the sentinel that same sentinel, the robot's eye lasers firing frantically as his spreading form crept towards its sensors.

Robin managed to evade the sentinel's weaponry as her dynamo cycled up, and finally blasted the hand from the robot.

On the Western front, several shots aimed at John were well wide of their mark. Stan rocketed towards a sentinel, eye beams glancing off of his ionic form before he collided with its head in a shower of sparks.

Daniel's beam rendered the arm of one of the three sentinels a smoking ruin, its repair and rerouting systems struggling to keep up, just before it was taken down for good by the barrage of Dead End, crashing to the ground.

Ronin managed to ace his landing on the third, as of yet undamaged sentinel of the Western formation.

Will took his time, checked where the lasers were coming from, waited for one to stop...


...and then tried to flow INTO the laser cannon, trying to gum it up nicely...

Taliesin, meanwhile, was serving as a mortar, firing shots...directly towards the Sentinel Will was on.

John drove straight for a Sentinel, weaving between shots with a hair's breadth between him and destruction. He leaped from his steed seconds before a direct hit. With the force of the explosion propelling him forward, he raise his energized mace and landed atop the back his foe with a mighty smash of crackling power.

Stan circled around the smashed head, attempting to squeeze hard enough to pop the head off like a mushroom cap.

Alyson did her best to aim for a shadow, and hoped Onyx could catch her.

Daniel swung around, driving a blasting fist toward the Sentinel's chest.

Shadows formed around Alyson, wrapped around her body and sprouted into black wings that kept her aloft.

"Reckless," Onyx says, sounding playful.

"Chicks dig it." Alyson said with a grin.

Taking advantage of the Sentinel's lack of firing angle from losing part of it's weaponry she quickly gains speed and aims herself at the thing's chest, her armor shifting around into a more ram-friendly shape. She doesn't expect it to really hold up against the robot's actual armor plating, but the smallest breach in the casing around it's power-source would be enough for her.

Aiden may have been a bit late to the party, but he certainly tried to make an entrance. He dove for a group of sentinels exhaling a brilliant white tinged plume of flame to cover his approach before he'd bodily slam into them.