capeandcowllogs | THE WHEELS OF STEEL ARE TURNING

WHO: These lucky contestants
WHERE: Various boroughs of the City, and the demon dimension.
WHEN: Tuesday, August 21st, 11:54 am and onward.
WARNINGS: This post may contain graphic depictions of violence, psychological horror, and adult themes; it will definitely contain adult language. Viewer discretion advised.
SUMMARY: Vulcanus tries to blow up a collection of buses around the City in order to incite anti-imPort rioting; Lachesis mixes things up again. see here for details.
FORMAT: Go crazy, kids.

Each bus will have a labeled thread in the comments. To recap:

Bus W will explode. Lachesis will teleport these ImPorts to a location near the bus just after it explodes. Those who are assigned to this bus, you must be the heroes that the City demands. The damage will carve a hole in the street, and civilians are at risk for debris/fires/etc.

Bus X will yank imPorts inside of it and induce a week-long power switch. From 8/21 at 12 PM to the following Tuesday, 8/28 at 12 PM, characters will have their powers switched with another ImPort passenger. All characters on this bus have their new powers assigned.
Correction: this bus is located in Brooklyn.

Bus Y will yank imPorts inside of it for one minute, and then transport its imPorts to the demon dimension until midnight. Envision Dante's Inferno as the setting, but with the twist that ANYTHING CHARACTERS IMAGINE WILL MANIFEST IN THE WORST WAY POSSIBLE.

Bus Z will yank imPorts inside of it for one minute, and then with a LOUD SCREECHING NOISE, it will infect imPort minds with radio signals, songs, dialogue, AND IMPORTANT PLOT-RELATED INFORMATION THAT VULCANUS DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW for the rest of that day. There is no way to turn this off for the entire day. ImPorts will be returned to their prior locations at the end of one minute. All characters on this bus have their unique mental broadcasts assigned.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well. There's someone.

Someone who was currently slogging through his own version of hell. The version in which he's wandering aimlessly through a familiar ruin. Old buildings, crumbling, covered in fluids, while familiar -- painfully familiar -- screams are echoing through the wasted halls. His home city -- the place he came online, reduced to ashes and corpses.

The war is nothing short of hellish, to be sure, but the real problem, the real horror of it all, is that, in this current form, he's all but helpless to stop it. To fight in it, or do anything. The same sort of helplessness he felt in his human form. In this city.

"Just great."

The world starts to blur as he moves -- it's no longer the Cybertron he knew, the twisted metal wastes. There's... why is it getting colder? And --

... Is that Skyfire? Being chased --?

He doesn't think further. He reaches out to grasp the nearest bit of rubble. And flings it at the thing going for the other Autobot.

He had great timing. Fabulous timing in fact, because the ice-thing is nearly on top of him, clawing at his legs as he tries to scramble for purchase in the snow.

The rubble collides with it and temporarily grabs it's attention. Enough for Skyfire to stumble to his feet and limp-run toward his would-be savior.

Is that Ironhide?

He never thought he'd be so happy to see the guy.

"Ironhide! Run!" Because now that monster is after the both of them.

"Hah!"

He can't help it. When the improvised projectile smashes into the creature, he has to laugh -- a short, coarse bark of victory. Take that, bizarre Not-Cybertron. Take that, human body.

It's short-lived, though. As well-timed as his strike was, the thing hasn't stopped completely. He does not want to run, he wants to stand and fight.

He growls, reaching forward to grasp one of Skyfire's arms, and shove the other Autobot behind him, before he turns to run. He'll cover him, if it has to be that way. This thing will have to get through him, before it can get to Skyfire.

"Buildings," he barks, the word bordering on an order. "Inside! Move!"

"Right-"

He just books it fore the closest structure. A door- thank spark a door.

Something to put between himself and that. Thing. He darts in, Ironhide in tow. Though he doesn't stop. It's a hall, crumbling. He runs down it because one wall just isn't enough.

He doesn't stop running until he reaches a dead end. It's dark, he can barely see besides the sight of his own breath in the cold air by the dim glow of his own eyes.

He follows. He doesn't look back. It would only slow him up, at this point. He just keeps moving, covering Skyfire's back. Aiding Decepticons or no, Skyfire is an Autobot, to him. And he will not leave him to face this thing alone.

Helpless... though he may be.

He does pause, though, at the door, long enough to haul it closed. It looked Cybertronian. He shouldn't have been able to move it by main strength -- and yet, it squeals into motion. He actually bellows as he shoves it, fighting to get it closed before that Thing gets in. He's close. He almost makes it.

But it snakes an arm in, sporting claws he didn't remember it having before. He shoves himself away, but it hooks one into his shoulder, tearing at it before he can get fully out of range.

Then he's running again, trying to follow Skyfire's path. "Incoming!" he calls out, spying a flash of white. "Arm yourself! This is going to get fun."

It's not far behind him.

Damn it.

Arm himself? With what? Skyfire rarely ever utilized his strength. And here it feels like his powers are failing.

Above them, a glass ceiling arching, filtering the dim light through dusty, cracking shards.

"No- come here!" He's offering his hand. If they fight it, that will be the end of them.

He has no idea if there even are any weapons -- makeshift or otherwise -- here in this place. But it's an instinctive reaction. Something wants to kill them? They should fight back. He should fight back.

He shouldn't be running.

His fist clenches, the cut in his shoulder bleeding freely. This is wrong.

But he grasps the offered hand, snarling something wordless.

He's yanked in, clutched tightly and abruptly to Skyfire's chest and up they go. With all of his strength, he manages at the very least, some upward motion. Up and through the glass, shattering it around them. It tears at skin and clothes, but they sail up and through before starting to drift-

And eventually fall. It's not a long fall, but long enough to scatter them, rolling to a rough stop. The shuttle slides, limp, unmoving after the landing. But they are on the opposite side of the building.

Safe, for now.

It isn't a scream. He will forever deny it was anything close to such a sound. But, whatever he wants to call it, it's a noise of sudden, abrupt surprise as the ground falls away. To his credit, it turns into coarse curses before more than a moment passes, and he literally wraps his arms and legs around the other Autobot in reflex.

He was never meant to leave the ground. If he was, he would have wings and why are they flying.

It doesn't last long. Which is fortunate. The fall, however, is not. There is more cursing, especially when they hit the ground. He lands on his already injured shoulder, rolling -- and never stops swearing. It's a coping mechanism. Or something. But he doesn't lie there for long before he hauls himself to his feet, moving for where his comrade went down, and crouching beside him.

"Skyfire." One hand touches his shoulder. "You hear me?"

The shuttle only stirs after a moment, gasping awake eyes bright and glowing with fear only to realize it's just Ironhide. His head is throbbing from the fall, from trying to use his powers here.

"I'm- I'm fine. Are you?"

He's just got glass in places now. An attempt to stand leaves him stumbling and scrabbling at the nearest wall for purchase.

"We need to get out of here."

Duh.

"Yeah, so we do."

He doesn't answer the first question. His frame is aching. There's something hot running down his arm from the shoulder. It's safe to say he's not 'fine'. But that can take a backseat.

His good arm slips around Skyfire, and starts to hoist him up, ducking under the shuttle's own arm to support him.

"Can you stand? Or shall I lift you?"

THE WHEELS OF STEEL ARE TURNING

/SMASHES INTO

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