Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on May 12, 2009 11:33:33 GMT -5
A hit is still a hit as far as Magnus is concerned, whether or not there's some jutting structure available for him to smash in. That would just be gravy. He gets arm instead; he'll take it, and lets go his rifle to grab on with both hands. It helps to steady him when Scourge pushes and he can feel tarsal plating crimping under that hand, lets him plant himself and twist to the outside of Scourge's crooked sword arm, trying to lock one forearm under his double's shoulder and the other hand on Scourge's forearm. "I've dealt with worse than you," he says dismissively. "Another heavy black truck, as a matter of fact. But Motormaster had enough pride not to wear an Autobot's face." If he can get the arm lock in place to break Scourge's balance, he can get the throw. Now if he could just get the radio to give him more than static– Like that brief moment of clear air. It's hardly an astrosecond's worth, not enough to transmit, but it's a good sign. If he holds out a little longer…. OOC: This is the move Magnus is attempting.
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Post by Sable Conolly on May 12, 2009 12:51:41 GMT -5
Scourge seems inexplicably enraged to be compared to Motormaster, to judge by the red flash of those nearly-magenta optics. hmm. Wonder what's up with that... He roars, "This face is mine by creation! I have as much claim to it as anyone!"
He also seems to be a just wee mite touchy about his looks, but a Decepticon with the face of Optimus Prime? How could he not have a complex? And, if as Scourge says, he has had that face from creation, what was his creator thinking?
Of course, there was very little thought involved in his creation, to tell the truth.
Furious as Scourge is, Ultra Magnus gets in the throw. As Scourge falls, he tucks his chin to his chest, bends his knees, and lets his arms hit the ground first, absorbing some of the shock. He rolls, banged and scuffed and perhaps with some internal damage from concussive force. He pays the pain no heed and ends up on one hip, the arm on that side propping him up. The other arm is raised and bent to protect his head. With one foot, he tries to hook Ultra Magnus's bad ankle. With the other, he tries to kick the knee above it, hoping for a lock-out that topples Ultra Magnus - or better, to break his knee entirely.
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on May 14, 2009 17:54:42 GMT -5
Hm. A little sensitive about that, it seems. Ultra Magnus can't really be sure if it was the jab or the compairson that set Scourge off – Scourge certainly is most vocal about his face – but he'll have to remember that.
"So you were made to look like an imitation– Nngh!" Something in his knee snaps with the force of the kick and he goes down, tucking his shoulder under as he hits the dirt. He can feel parts grinding when he flexes his knee as he tries to get back up and he puts the sensation out of mind. He has to get back up, get himself into a ready position. He can't let down his guard like that again. Scourge may be a Decepticon and he might be vain and overly self-important, but he's still a threat – quick, strong, and skilled – and he can do real damage. Another rookie mistake on Magnus's part will hurt. Badly.
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Post by Sable Conolly on May 14, 2009 18:12:11 GMT -5
"I don't know if you know what a protoform is or not," Scourge starts, "but it's essentially a blank Transformer. No faction. No alternate mode. No spark. It contains a system to scan an alternate mode and bring the blank to life, to quickly create new Transformers that fit into new environments."
He rolls over, putting his weight on the other hip and balancing with the other arm. "I scanned a tanker truck."
Scourge kicks with his other foot now, at Ultra Magnus's other knees, as Ultra Magnus attempts to get up. "I scanned Optimus Prime."
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on May 16, 2009 13:52:23 GMT -5
"I know perfectly well what a protoform is," is Ultra Magnus's reply as he brings up one forearm to guard his knee and knock Scourge's foot aside. Though it sounds like they have different ideas of how a protoform becomes a fully-fledged Transformer. Protoforms don't make themselves.
And Optimus didn't make this one, for that matter. Didn't sound like something the Optimus Magnus knows would do. He can't even imagine it, really.
"So you took his face," grunts Magnus as he shoves himself back with his good leg. He has to brace himself on his injured knee and it twinges sharply, but he ignores it again to balance his weight and take his stance. "How proactive." It might well be an incorrect summation – protoforms don't make conscious efforts and even Scourge describes them as sparkless – but it seems fitting.
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Post by Sable Conolly on May 23, 2009 17:37:52 GMT -5
"He threw himself in the way of the scanning beam," Scourge observes. Older brothers. Useful for recounting one's creation. "He then begged me to stay."
Scourge is not lying. He's just leaving out the fact that the scan was accidental. Would Shockwave be proud of Scourge's lying by omission?
Oh right, Shockwave is a soulless bootleg incapable of feeling pride.
Well then.
Still propped up on the ground, his weight supported by one arm and a hip, his other arm up to guard his head, Scourge tries to bring an axe-kick down on Ultra Magnus's instep
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on May 29, 2009 3:18:41 GMT -5
Begged Scourge to stay? The Optimus Prime that Ultra Magnus knows is hardly one to be fettered by anything so trivial as sentimentality or personal attachments. Not even to his own kin.
And still, Magnus would die for him.
Distracted by that infuriating thought, Magnus can't pull back in time. He's only dully aware of the pain as Scourge's heel crushes his foot, but the sound of armour crumpling and pistons splitting comes through loud and sickeningly clear. It throws off his weight distribution and he loses his balance, dropping hard. It's sloppy, but he makes a valiant effort to land with his knee – and full weight behind it – on Scourge's leg.
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Post by Sable Conolly on May 29, 2009 19:56:55 GMT -5
When on the ground, it is imperative to the destroy the standing opponent's base, because otherwise, he can... just try to step on you.
As study as Scourge's construction is, he's not sure that he wants this white ghost putting his full eight on his leg, so Scourge rolls - he doesn't have much from his alternate mode as a robot - so it's easily for him to shift his weight over to his other hip and arm.
Speaking of, Scourge is just a cab. Where is his trailer?
Scourge aims a quick kick at the falling Ultra Magnus's hip, trying to further off-balance him. Then, he scrambled to his feet and calls out, "Sword of Fury!" his signature weapon appearing in his hand. Then, behind him, a gleaming chrome trailer appear and unfolds into a small base, bristling with weaponry. He raises the Sword of Fury high and demands, "Yield."
Scourge brings the blade rushing down at Ultra Magnus's neck. It's really obviously telegraphed, and perhaps a word might stay him.
But there's a hand behind his back. What's he up to?
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Jun 2, 2009 23:37:15 GMT -5
Ultra Magnus hits the ground with frame-rattling force when Scourge rolls out from beneath him and the kick nearly topples him to one side; he jars himself further when he stops his fall with one hand, compressing his elbow until the pistons scream protest. He hears that battle cry and tries to recover, but by the time he has his equilibrium back, there is a small armoury trained on him and a sword about to make him a head shorter.
"That's it?" he barks abruptly, holding stock still. The rest of the challenge goes unspoken: You can't just take me, so you have to bring in guns to do the work for you? It's a perfectly Decepticon manoeuvre, of course, but after all the strutting and pride, it just sits oddly. Scourge is a strange one. But if he expects Ultra Magnus to beg for mercy, he isn't getting it.
Not to say that Magnus isn't angling for whatever backup he can get; he finally has something resembling a clear spot amid the static and he's taking it, starting with his team's frequency. If any of them are here, he might be able to reach them.
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Post by Sable Conolly on Jun 4, 2009 13:39:19 GMT -5
Two soldiers. One black, one white. Close cousins, or uncle and nephew across the realities, as the case may be. Who have both served the same master, at some point.
The trailer is doing nothing, at this point, it should be noted. Nothing except looking menacing.
The sword lowers quickly, as if to cleave Ultra Magnus's head clean off.
Then, that other hand behind his back? That other hand is holding Scourge's plasma gun. He whips that arm around and tries to crack it hard against Ultra Magnus's side helmet antenna, the way a human might try to crack another human in the temple, a sudden knock-out shot.
"No. This is it."
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Jun 4, 2009 18:52:32 GMT -5
Ultra Magnus had expectations going into this, expectations of engagement and attack, expectations of behaviour. Scourge has met them, but at the same time, he hasn't. Not quite. He has shattered them, too.
Those expectations have also clouded Magnus's judgement. He's made mistake after mistake – story of his life – and he can add another to the list. Scourge moves to bring the sword down and Magnus shifts to fend it off. It leaves him wide open long enough; he catches a glimpse of the gun as Scourge hauls it forward. It doesn't give him enough of a window to dodge. He expects a point-blank shot. Not a smash into his antenna that puts him on the ground, dazed and unable to focus with his radio full of static again.
Still, he tries to pick himself back up, fighting the urge to reboot his processors. Running into Menasor, as it turns out, is very different from taking a precision strike to the head.
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Post by Sable Conolly on Jun 5, 2009 15:44:44 GMT -5
Scourge has Ruination for when he needs to field a combiner.
Except he doesn't have Ruination here.
Scourge misses his Commandos, he does.
The black figure attempts to smash a foot into Ultra Magnus's head. His opponent is down. Now to see that he stays down. Scourge is not enough of a fool to try to tie a conscious opponent to his trailer.
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Jun 6, 2009 21:02:52 GMT -5
Magnus is far too dazed to stop the second blow and, mid-rise, he drops hard when Scourge's foot connects, vision cutting to black and jagged bands of static. He can't coordinate his limbs well enough to get back up, either, though he tries. He pitches to one side in the attempt, then goes still.
He's shutting down again. He can't stop it. Far be it from Ultra Magnus to break routine and succeed. He's been outmanoeuvred. By Shockwave.
"Nn… n-no…" he grinds out, trying one last time to resist shutdown and stand.
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Post by Sable Conolly on Jun 7, 2009 12:15:04 GMT -5
Kick him when he's down? Kick him when he's down. It's in the Decepticon Code of Conduct.
Scourge murmurs, voice dark and heavy, "I'm not sure if I should be frustrated that you took so long to put down or pleased to see the mettle of my own dear metal."
If Scourge knew that Ultra Magnus attributes this victory to Shockwave and not Scourge, Scourge would be most upset with the cyclops. There would be words. Also explosions.
So, Scourge has a sword in one hand and a gun in the other. Missiles in his shoulders. Perfectly good knees, feet, and elbows. A trailer. An alternate mode! So many options. He whips the flat of the sword around as Ultra Magnus tries to stand, trying to crack him hard on the other side of the head.
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Jun 7, 2009 20:21:02 GMT -5
That last blow does nothing to balance out Ultra Magnus's teetering systems even if Scourge has the decency to hit him on the other side of his head. Stasis lock crashes down on him an astrosecond later, processors screeching to a halt, and he crumples finally, an inert heap in the grass once again.
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