On the Hunt

[ngm_bloodforce]

Panther's Blood Force eventually got their trans-reality portal to open again. There was some time lag and even greater distance shift between when they left and where they arrived. The five dimensionally-displace villains arrived at North Carolina's Outer Banks slightly disorientated from the journey. As they got their bearings, Blood Witch took a breath of the salty air.

She looked to the others of Blood Force. They looked hungry for action and slightly disappointed they weren't getting any right away. She took stock of their surroundings. No annoying superheroes were there yet. Which was both good and bad. Good in that they could lay a trap. Bad in that they had no one to call their prey to them.

She ran her tongue over her pointed canines. "Mm. Quiet little world here. Let's make it a little louder. Sandstorm, make this sandbox ours. Rough Justice, scout the area. Iron Maiden, Blackdog, get the authorities to come. I want a surprise for the soon to be dead crown prince."

The escaping nuisance from last reality had probably warned Remi deNamor. Blood Force would not have much time to set things up. The little almost king would be here soon. Possibly with others to slay.

Comments

Re: Sandstorm

[ngm_bloodforce]

It was a trap! Admiral Akbar did not need to be there to tell them.

Both big dunes rose up like waves and came crashing down on the pair of Atlanteans. Sandstorm rode the crest of one of the pair of meeting waves.

[sub_mariner]

Derric cursed and held his hands out in front of him. The electricity that had been crackling around his fingers flared out and a bolt of electricity burned the sand around him.

[aqua_gambit]

Remi adjusted his shields as Derric raised his hands to blast, giving his alternate timeline son unobstructed sand to blast. He grunted slightly as the sand over them pressed in.

"You have enough power to make fulgurite to punch through? Otherwise, he's trying to crush us."

[ngm_bloodforce]

Sandstorm stood on top of his giant mound of sand. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest as he concentrated on making the sand contract around the Atlanteans. If he didn't crush them, he could try to hold them there long enough to suffocate.

[sub_mariner]

Bulgur wheat?

Did his Dad ask if he could make bulgur wheat? What the hell?

Derric closed his eyes and concentrated. He could crystallize the sand around him or something if he hit it with enough electricity. The power was surrounding his body now, not unakin to how it would an electric eel's.

[aqua_gambit]

Remi might have been glad Derric's mouth and his brain were not so connected. Otherwise, he would have to teach the boy some basic sand science. As it was, the Atlantean prince was straining to keep the sand from crushing the two of them.

"Glass. Soon. Please." That was about all he could get out as he started hunching over like his shields under the pressure from the sand.

[ngm_bloodforce]

"Drowned by sand or crushed by it? I wonder which is more fitting," Sandstorm mused aloud before he gestured with his hands for the sand to push harder against Remi's shields. Everybody else was busy, so it wouldn't hurt to brag just a little.

"You're not as strong as your mother, little prince. Those shields won't hold much longer."

[sub_mariner]

Electricity flared out from Derric, eight thick, braided, crackling strands of it, almost as though they were the tentacles of an octopus.

Eight electric tentacles that were busy making glass.

On the bright side, if this hero thing ended up not working for Derric, at least he now had a back-up career to turn to.

[aqua_gambit]

The dome Remi had created with his shields was getting smaller and smaller. He put his hands up to press against the shield, hoping the physicality would help him hold out just long enough.

"Derric. Punch the glass. We need out. Now."

[ngm_bloodforce]

Sandstorm frowned. One of the sides of his crushing dome was not responding like it should have been. He could feel it stiffen to his desired movements.

[sub_mariner]

Derric did as he was told, punching through the glass. When he was out of there, he was going to kick Sandstorm's sandy ass.

[aqua_gambit]

Remi's shields were on the verge of collapse. Once Derric had punched, Remi dropped his shields, tried to grab his son, and dove through the hole Derric had created.

He could hear the sand making a whomff noise as it collapsed down behind him.

[ngm_bloodforce]

Sandstorm felt the shields give under the sand. He grinned as he had the sand push down to crush them. Though the smile faded as he realized the sand was not crushing Atlantean bones.

He growled and summoned the sand up. It lifted off the massive dune beneath his feat and swirled around him in an obscuring tornado.

[sub_mariner]

Bolts of electricity stretched out from the aura surrounding Derric's body and shot towards the swirling tornado of sand.

Pretty sculpture surprise was a go!

[aqua_gambit]

Remi turned toward the sand tornado. "Merde.

He put up staggered shields he could draw together into a dome if the tornado came toward Derric and himself.

[ngm_bloodforce]

The electricity went into the sand tornado, though it was hard to tell if Sandstorm was hit. Though long tubes of fulgurite spun out of the tornado, zipping all over the beach like deadly thrown spears.

The tornado grew as it consumed all of the suffocating dunes and started to pull more sand from the beach.

[sub_mariner]

"Okay, that's not good," Derric said, taking a step back.

Then, he started forward and lunged towards Sandstorm.

[aqua_gambit]

"Derric!" Lunging after a brutal and wily killer in a sand tornado was somehow not on Remi's mind as a tactic. That Derric did it... meant Remi might have been a bit more cautious because he had a baby on the way.

The Atlantean grit his teeth and went after Derric. He knew how much power Sandstorm could bring, but he needed to find his alterna-son and protect him with shields.

[ngm_bloodforce]

Sandstorm was not in the center of the tornado. He knew that was where people would expect him to be. Particularly people who have invisible shields to try to trap him.

The bald man was to the left of center, the sand in the tornado wrapping around his body before continuing to swirl on. He waved to Derric as the young Atlantean passed by.

Then the tornado started spinning faster and louder, hiding Sandstorm as he moved to another spot in his creation.

[sub_mariner]

Derric cursed. Okay, that wasn't part of the plan.

Getting caught in the middle of this vortex was also not the plan.

...this is probably why he wasn't exactly leader material.

[aqua_gambit]

Remi dove and blindly groped his way through the sand tornado. He had shields in front of his eyes, but it wasn't helping him see through sand.

He hoped to grab onto Derric, wrap a shield around them, and then take them both out of the top of this thing. He just needed to get a solid grab on his alterna-son.

[ngm_bloodforce]

Sandstorm emerged from the swirling wall of vortex to try to grab Derric by the neck to strangle him. Except his fingers ran into invisible shields. He cursed and retreated back into the sand.

[sub_mariner]

"This is getting less fun," Derric managed to say as Remi whisked Derrick away. "We need to regroup or something, Alterna-Dad."

[aqua_gambit]

"My homeworld is not a fun place," Remi noted as they rose out of the tornado. He flew the father-son duo to farther down on the beach. He set them down with their backs to the water.

"Get a nice charge ready. Sandstorm's not going to stop until someone makes him."

[clobberin_kid]

The beach sand muffled the thudding sound of his steps as Jacob headed down to follow the Blood Witch's direction. His body did, anyway. Inside his head, he was struggling like crazy to get control of himself. This was his worst fear... he couldn't control his own actions and he was heading straight for his friends.

The two police officers still dangled from his clenched fists. When he was close enough, he hurled them at Remi and Derric.