RESISTANCE IS FUTILE - [modplot/log catchall]

[letsgolegion]

Who| Everyone who signed up
What| "Resistance is Futile" plot catchall
Where| All over the place, but mostly Colu
When| After the network briefings and deployment.
Warnings/Notes| cw: zombies, body transformation (probably). If your subthread has something triggery pop up, put it in a subject of the one of the comments.



The entire planet Colu is a sprawling urban mess, one of the worst environments to fight zombies. Yes, the cities are clean and impressive and yes they're meticulously planned, but they're planned for elegance, efficiency, and ease of transportation -- not defense. While Colu had suffered under the yoke of various oppressors in the past, that was over a millenia ago, and they've grown complacent, thinking their world untouchable due to their technological superiority.

Now they're paying for it. Robo-zombies swarm through the various mega-cities, spreading their disease by touching or wounding their prey. Due to the many walkways, hover-lift tubes, maintenance tunnels, and sewer systems, there seems to be no way of stopping them.

When the Legion first arrives, it seems hopeless. The Coluan Home Defense Forces aren't used to combat and are struggling to set up defensive zones. But then something unexpected happens.

Pods drop in all over Colu from orbit. The CHDF regard them with suspicion and disdain, but they have their orders, and the civilians regard them with fear, despite word starting to spread about who's come to help.

Kid Q's voice comes over the comms and while it's hard to hear it through the crackling, she sounds absolutely delighted.

"Look alive, folks, we just got a miracle. It took some negotiating with the CHDF, but they finally relented on accepting some help from others beyond us."

The pods all burst open and Robotican combat mechs start rolling and marching out, spreading out over all of Colu.

"The Roboticans haven't been able to translate it to a cure because the virus was meant to interact with them differently than organics, but due to their disaster preparedness, they were able to develop a block to the Brainiacs' virus and only suffered a few casualties. Robotican leadership says they're eager to have their chance to make reparations to organics by defending them from this threat -- and that they're honored to stand with the Legion."

It's not a magic fix. It'll still be a deadly struggle. But at least they've got more than the inexperienced CHDF at their backs.

"Let's make the most of it, Legionnaires."

[ooc: This will be used as a plot catchall, but you can make your own log posts in Legion Missions set in the plot if you like. All major plot parts on Colu will be set up here, with "The Reject Pile" part set in the Legion World comm (with an accompanying network post). That said, if you'd like to set individual plot threads on Legion World, you can also start your own Legion World posts in legionworld.]

Comments

We're Gonna Fight, We're Gonna Fight the Good Fight

[hallaifyouherd]

Marjara makes the most of her time by diverting the oncoming hoard where she can. These streets weren't made for defense, but they can make use of them as best they can. Route and redirect where possible. So while others help herd the others to safety like halla, she does what she can to slow down or divert the bulk of the creatures.

Lightning turns out to be extremely effective at slowing them down, though he doesn't quite kill. Still. Watching a bolt shoot out of her staff and bounce in a chain from one to another, stunning an entire front line of the things for a few moments is mildly satisfying. Fire doesn't do nearly as much to slow them down, though destroying nearby buildings and bringing down rubble for cover could be a last resort, if needed.

And of course, if some of them slip past? If they get too close to one of the fleeing citizens or one of her fellow Legionnaires? They'll find themselves swiftly kept at bay as a shimmering barrier springs to life, to give their would-be victim a chance to fight or flee accordingly.

It's midway through another wave when she downs her third mana potion, swigging it quickly and chucking it to the ground in a tinkling of broken glass. "Come on..." she mutters, turning her focus back to the sound of furious approach coming from just behind that row of buildings.

Exhaustion can't take her. Not just yet.

[lovernotafighter]

Goddamn right it couldn't.

Tucker's zombie plan never included anything even remotely like this, not rabid robot masses while trying to defend a place rather than just leaving and heading towards a farmhouse in the country. The bonus? He was surprisingly good at adapting and improvising, and even better at getting annoyed and just breaking shit. Sometimes if he was lucky, the shit included zombies.

The glowing sword was taking a backseat (or hip, in this case) to the gun in his hand; the distance was important, and he wasn't about to risk getting infected, not with how that shit looked. This face? Too good-looking for that. Catching sight of the living book cover model for one of Simmon's DM guides, he made his way up to her while still actively trying to take out the ones coming behind those buildings, sound from each shot loud, echoing.

"Look, we all know you're a badass, but you don't need to rub it in our faces." Because magic? Fucking sweet. He was so asking her to put Grif in a box and saw him in half the next time they weren't killing zombies. Or, you know, maybe while they were still killing zombies. "Take a breather. I'll cover you."

[hallaifyouherd]

"It's alright."

She took a sharp inhale, straightening her back and adjusting the grip on her staff. While she might be glad to see Tucker, and while she might trust him to fight at her side, there was always that pull. That sense that she wasn't doing enough, that she could push a little further, a little harder. A few more lives might be saved if she did, and might be lost if she didn't.

It was a hard thing to break yourself of, after so many years.

"I just need a moment for it to...catch up." A smile tugged into place as she glanced back in Tucker's direction, her dark eyes glittering. "Want to keep score?"

[lovernotafighter]

Alright? He gave her a look, a Uh huh, sure, right because he knew people who said they were alright when they weren’t. Hell, sometimes he even did it himself, depending on who he was talking to. Another strong person? Yeah, he would. An enemy? You bet. Someone hot? That went without question.

So he didn’t chide her. Instead, he smirked at the option to keep track and really? Going to bring this stuff down to video game territory? Granted, she had the span with those spells, because how awesome was that?!

Okay, so maybe he was a little jealous of that.

“You sure you want to try to go against me?” He took another down two down with his gun, and while he didn’t want to thank Wyoming for anything, being stuck in that time loop sure gave him a chance to hone his targeting skills. “Because I’m not going to hold your hand when you start crying over how bad you lose.”

[hallaifyouherd]

"Well then it's a good thing I'm not going to lose, isn't it?"

Lightning sparked, skittered along her arms and legs, and it almost seemed like a thin barrier spiderwebbing across her body, and in the next moment she was darting forward. Distance? Bah.

You don't get numbers that way.

She's nearly in their midst when her staff comes swinging around her head, spinning across her shoulders and thrusting outward. A moment later, and the ground between them begins to glow in shimmering, circular runes. But getting this close has its drawbacks. One of the things starts to reach for her--

And that electricity skittering around her form promptly zaps it backwards.

[lovernotafighter]

"Holy shit."

Yeah, Tucker lost this bet before it began; he knew that, could see it now because she was crazy enough to get into the middle of them when he wasn't. Also, because magic. So. Much. Cool. Magic. Hell, he was transfixed for a moment, shaking it off just in time to watch one of the robozombies reach for her. He raised his gun, and--

--was totally unnecessary. So not all Chosen One's were created equal, apparently.

He squeezed the trigger three more times, taking down two (look, even someone as awesome as him was allowed to miss everyone once in awhile), before he tried to head towards the way she was clearing. "Okay, so what kind of counting system are we using here? Like, each one of mine counts for five points for every one of yours? Sound fair?"

What? It sounded fair to him as he fired another two rounds off. Completely.

[araignee_du_soir]

As the first couple technozombies became visible, the boom of a very large rifle echoed through the area, followed by subsequent soundings of shots being fired from up high. One by one, the heads of the visible zombies exploded, the bodies falling to the ground, and then even puffs of debris from the high caliber rounds going through the building's corner were seen, taking out zombies on the other side. Unfortunately... the fallen zombies would gather themselves together to rise again.

Widowmaker knew this and it irritated her so much.

Lowering herself down from the rooftop by her grapple hook, the sniper landed behind Marjara and leveled her rifle at the far buildings again. Viros down, her expression was unreadable as she scanned for other options; the longer this kept up, the more ammo she was going to pointlessly waste until she got the go ahead from Kid Q.

"I do not like things that do not die when they are shot in the head," she murmured to Marjara, eyes zeroing in on something visible in her infrasight. Now there was an idea.

"Do you possess ice magic?"

[hallaifyouherd]

"Never was my forte." Though slightly out of breath, she chuckles when her head tips back, regarding Widowmaker as she spies their surroundings. "You have the temperament for it more than I do. It requires a steady, patient mind. I only ever got so far as frosting the morning grass."

Not of much use for slowing down the horde, was it? Ah well. Things she wished she could have learned in retrospect.

[araignee_du_soir]

There was the slightest frown upon her face at that. She had been hoping for something more... replenishable than the limited items tucked in amid the cylinders of ammunition on her belt. Apparently at some point, she had come to regard Marjara's magic as something akin to a Swiss army knife. The utility had been very useful, but it was clear she hadn't thought that the kind of magic possessed reflected personality. But perhaps they could still make due.

"Can you at lease freeze water with it?" She looked up from her scope to glance at Marjara (though only the slight downward angle of her head gave that away) for confirmation or denial, but then her head and rifle snapped back up. "Protect your ears," was all the warning she gave before firing at the next couple of zombies. Widowmaker was used to the loud sound of Widow's Kiss, but the elf... not so much.

[hallaifyouherd]

Immediately, she claps a hand down on the ear closest to the gun. She remembers that it makes a good deal of noise when firing, especially so close.

Her other ear rings, but it's not as terrible.

"Afraid not," she returns after the shot, before summoning another bolt of lightning around her, skittering across her skin, and slamming outward into the first of the zombies and bouncing between them, one after another in quick succession.

[araignee_du_soir]

Widowmaker hummed in thought as she lowered her rifle and stared at the arcing lightening for a long moment. This idea could still work as it seemed the electricity was temporarily frying the zombies' circuits or something.

"I have an idea. Let the next wave join these ones when they reassemble. We need them close to us," she said, turning her head upward to look at the structures hanging high over them. As she spoke, she walked a few steps away to be underneath a tall metal overhang.

"There is a water main coming up into that far building over there. We are going to flood this street."

[hallaifyouherd]

Realization clicks swiftly after that. She's seen what happens when water and lightning mix, and her eyes widen ever so slightly before she gives Widowmaker a determined nod.

It takes restraint, letting them come. Letting their numbers build and swell and holding off. Waiting for just the right moment. Of course it's probably better, giving her a chance to start regaining some of her strength for one big surge.

Might wipe her reserves, but it might also be worth it.

[araignee_du_soir]

Good, she didn't have to really explain much. The less she had to talk on missions, the better; talk was generally reserved for Command and Support, not the Assassin.

Keeping most of her eyes trained on the approaching and reassembling zombies, Widowmaker found the right structure overhead to deploy her grappling hook on. She didn't pull herself up by left it there and let the slack out so it sealed in the ground. One foot was placed on top of it, the cord trapped between sole and heel. Then she turned her attention to the water main.

Widow's Kiss shifted to assault mode, and she fired a controlled spray of rapid fire at their target building to wear away the wall and expose some of the thick pipe. Back in sniper mode, she zeroed in on the visible pipe. A single booming shot blew the pipe open, letting water gush out of it and sluice across the roadway.

Now they just needed to wait for the water and the zombies to reach them. To keep themselves from being shocked along with the zombies, Widowmaker reeled in the slack on her grapple line.

"Place your foot on mine and lean back against me," she instructed. "I will keep you from falling while you use your magic."