(CLOSED) I'm bigger than my body I'm colder than this home

[rehandle]

WHO: Stephen Strange & assorted
WHERE: The Aerie
WHEN: Encompassing the whole Aerie event
WHAT: Various starters, catch all for event threads.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: General mind powers warning - likely to be themes of lost autonomy & manipulation. Beyond that, I'll keep you updated!

Comments

[baltimores]

[ The coordinated charge makes things so much easier, now that they've actually had the chance to go on the offensive, that the element of surprise electricity is less of a factor.

He sees Garak duck a little lower so he stays further upright to really cover their bases. Sure, there's some risk to it, but Amos is already pretty certain Lance isn't going for a kill, so, whatever; the reward is worth it.

They time it well, able to hit Lance at the same time, probably get some decent bruises going around his core. Amos is even able to grab at one of Lance's arms - the one with the clipped shoulder - and keep hold of it, at least prevent him from moving it the way he wants, take it out of commission for the time being. ]

[lifetothefullest]

[Now that he's switched tactics to play defense more than offense, his main goal is not to take too much injury; of course there's only so much he can do about that, especially when it's two on one, but it's still worth the attempt.

So he's able to see the hits coming and deflect them enough to avoid any broken ribs, but he's still very much going to feel the bruises in the morning--if he makes it that long--and is briefly winded, more than distracted enough that he can't avoid Amos grabbing his arm. But that actually works out well enough; he twists into the grip instead of away, putting his back to Amos, and slams his head backward--hopefully into Amos' face--at the same time as he jabs at Amos' ribs with the elbow of his other arm.

Without waiting for a reaction, he uses what's hopefully a brief opening to then kick Garak in the chest, intending to at least bruise him in return if not do worse.]

[plainsimple]

[Garak moves to twist away from the kick but only shifts enough that it scrapes along his burned scales rather than being a direct blow. It still hurts. He coughs and then pushes that to the back of his mind. Injuries can be tended later. Now he has to make sure he doesn't get more.

Amos has gone high and Garak stays low, elbow brought down toward Lance's knee. Crippling him would make this a great deal easier, even with the lightning involved. Which has paused. Noticeably. Could Lance only do a little? Had he shown his hand too soon? Garak can't make that assumption but he can hope.]

[baltimores]

[ Amos instinctively tightens his grip at the contact Lance makes. As it stands Lance mostly gets his forehead and he has to shut his eyes against the sudden headache for a second; let out a quick exhale at the sharp contact to his ribs.

No lightning, though, which seems like kind of a stupid move if the goal is to do some damage, so that must mean Lance is going for something else. What, he has no clue.

And it's not like he's in position to bend the arm backwards anymore, break it or anything, so. He lets go, dazed and head definitely hurting but still aware of how Garak is going for Lance's knee, how Lance's back is to him, how his kidney is right there.

So he goes to jab at his kidney. ]

[lifetothefullest]

[Lance feels a flash of annoyance at not landing a good hit on Garak; he doesn't want to seriously hurt him or anything, and same goes for Amos, but he's still not super enthused with either of them at the moment and doing a little damage here and there is very satisfying.

But at least Amos lets go, though his relief at that working out is short-lived as he's hit simultaneously in the leg and the back; both actually register as painful despite the adrenaline, and he gasps out a short pained sound before his leg gives out and sends him tumbling to the floor. He manages to catch himself on his injured arm, but instead of making a move to protect himself or try to take out someone's legs, his eyes light up gold once again.

This time, though, he puts as much power as he has behind the lightning and doesn't aim at either of the other Shrikes, but directly toward Stephen.]

[rehandle]

[ It takes Lance a while to arrive at the inevitable action. Stephen watches the fight in measured silence once his power has arced out into the room for that first time, waiting, anticipating the moment when Lance's attention turns his way.

The thing about a fight like this is it's a visceral experience. There's very little time for planning ahead when you've two other people making choices and taking actions that might prevent your own. So although it's inevitable eventually, the when of it is obfuscated by the unpredictability of the sequence of events playing out between the three battling shrikes. Take your eye off the ball for a second, get too caught up in the show, and things get out of hand in the same way they can in the fistfight he's too busy watching to notice the need for immediate preparations.

So Lance has the opportunity to make the shot. Stephen sees it coming only the couple of seconds before it does, and by that time it's too late to control the man himself and avoid the action. Defensive measures are all he has left, and they come in the form of the other people in the room— Garak, the only one spatially positioned between himself and the arc of lightning coming for him, he has throw himself up as a bodily barricade against the attack heading his way; Amos he makes move to grab for Lance's aiming hand, in the hopes he might conduct some of that force and channel it away from the blow that hits Garak.

He'd asked for an arrest, not two dead shrikes. Ideally, he won't have to inform his son that his favoured shrike died in the line of duty today.

At the same time and almost reflexively, a killing blow met with equally deadly force, Lance will find himself caught with the same pain as both of his unintended targets are experiencing as Stephen opens up the links between the three of them in his neural network, allowing the sparking of the struck shrikes' pain receptors to overlay onto Lance's own.

It's all a little too late to avoid one of the branching coils of electricity that cuts through the air in a flash and strikes him at his open collar, burning the material and sending stabs of sharp pain rocketing out from the epicentre. ]