True Potential

[Mani4c]

Lilith walked through the crowded center of cyber city, she had a number of bags dangling from her right arm that were filled with various cosmetic programs and video files, things that she hoped would keep her from mulling over recent events...It wasn't working in the slightest, no matter how much she tried to block it out, she just couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. It was hard to believe that only 2 weeks ago she had found out about her origin, that she was a formed from data cast off from one of the legendary Four Horsemen, and that she was created because of a virus named Abraxas.

The news hit her harder than she thought it would. At first she was livid, she had been searching for her past for so long, only to find out that she was created in a desperate attempt to remove a viral tumor. Then she became depressed, she felt like her existence had no worth, even though she knew that wasn't true. Now she was just irritable, not because of her past, but because she couldn't stop thinking about it. She knew that she hadn't come to terms with what she had learned, she had just bottled everything up, and that her inabilty to do so was the reason for her fixation on the subject. It didn't make her constant fixation any less irritating. 

Lilith just sighed, 'I'm going to lose my mind if this goes on... maybe I can give Viral or Mani4c a call later.' Mani4c was the officer that had saved her from a mugger on the day that she learned about her past, and Viral... Lilith didn't know what to think of Viral, he was abrasive, short tempered, and somewhat crude. But he also showed a large amount of concern for Lilith's well being, and he had freely offered himself as a sounding board for Lilith's troubles. 'Damn it...this day was supposed to be fun, instead I'm trying to sort out my bloody past again. Well, if that's the worst thing that happens to me, I suppose that it's a win overall.' Unfortunately, things were about to get worse...much worse. 

[Saber]

Lilith's hopes of her day getting better were quickly shattered, as a large commotion was happening just at the end of the street. Avatars of all types were running away, some in a panic, some running in a robotic manner, clearly non-customized. Amidst the shouting and the stampede of avatars, three avatars were wreaking havoc. One avatar was a large, troll looking avatar that was swigging around a giant club, smashing everything in its path. The other, a wild avatar resembling a werewolf and a dragon combined, with dragon appendages, and scales in areas that made it intimidating enough with its visage while spewing flamethrowers at anything it could see.

And standing behind them, picking running avatars off with his guns, was a more human looking avatar, wearing a black, spiky armor with gun mounts on his arms and what looked like an ammo pack on his back. His helmet showed no emotion from the avatar, but the maniacal laughter proved he was greatly enjoying himself

"Oho yeah! Now this is what I call a fun time! Smash everything up boys, we're just getting started!" He spotted a small group of avatars who were backed into a corner, unable to retreat because of their location compared to the trio. A sadistic laugh escaping him, the humanoid avatar whistled and caught the two avatars' attention. He pointed at the small group, and started giving orders, clearly the leader of the group

"Sic 'em Wulf!" The dragon wolf growled and rushed the group, jaws wide open and ready to start ripping data to shreds.

[Prythian]

Of course, it wasn't going to be that easy. With no one seeming to be around and in any condition to fight, an avatar that preferred to stay hidden chose to reveal herself.

She flew down, red prongs hovering behind her back forming wings, connected to each other by a flowing golden energy, landing directly in the path of the dragon-wolf. Her own body was similarly colored, with light-red plate mail and her skin looking almost like a golden leather, aside from her face. Her long hair flowed down her back, a flame-like red, and her eyes blazed golden. The wings melted into a large red sphere with golden lines in intricate patterns on it, before reforming into a large sword, handle red with the blade made of golden energy.

"You want to eat something? Eat this!" She growled, anger clear in her voice, and she brought the sword back, charged it with destructive energy with her Lingering Slice DP, and cut directly at the avatar's wide-open jaws. The trail of energy left by Lingering Slice would cling to what it touched, damaging it for the moment that it existed.

[Mani4c]

Lilith was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of screaming and things being smashed, She saw a large troll like avatar, a werewolf, and a Large humanoid avatar in black spiked armor. 'Oh for fu-That's it, I. HAVE. HAD IT!' Lilith's face went from one of confusion to one of anger. "I get mugged, stalked by a grim reaper, find out that I was born from a god damn tumor. and now these a**holes decide to choose TODAY to wreck some s***, I'M DONE!"

Lilith's eyes flared crimson as activated her Vampiric strength and summoned her rapier. "HEY! CUT THAT S*** OUT KNUCKLEHEAD!" Lilith swung her blade and hit the switch on her rapier, aiming for the Troll avatar, causing the blade to extend like a barbed whip.

[Saber]

The werewolf howled in agony as the blade slammed right inside of his open jaws, his draconic teeth snapping wildly while trying to get rid of the data that was harming it. It then stared at the sudden arrival and snarled, ignoring the pain in his jaws and rearing back while the inside of its mouth began to glow red, before a conflagration of red fire-like data started spewing from his mouth...Typical for a werewolf with dragon-like qualities.

The troll was smashing away at the nearby benches, internet traffic posts, and even the gateways to some of the nearby sites, when suddenly it felt a stinging in its shoulder, and it looked at the whip-like item stabbed in it's shoulder. Gat looked over at the girl who was fighting the werewolf, when she heard another female shouting rudely at his little posse. When he looked over and saw Lilith throwing her whip at the troll and stabbing it in the shoulder, he couldn't help but let out a wolf whistle

"Well lookie here boys, Tits McGee decided to pay us a visit and try to be the hero. And look at that toy! Did you just finish up with fetish night at the strip joint? HAHAHAHAH!!!" The troll grabbed onto the end of the sword whip, pulling her closer if he could "Keep her right there big guy! Maybe we'll have a bit of fun with Stripperella before we erase her~ Who knows, if we have enough fun, maybe we'll keep her around for a while as a pet, heheheheheh......"

Up on a nearby rooftop, another figure was silently watching, his body cloaked and hidden from view from anyone without the proper scanning program, and preparing a few projectiles to surprise the enemy avatars that were threatening the city.

[Prythian]

Merge staggered backwards, arms thrown up as a low-level energy field appeared a few inches above her armor plating. Even with reducing the damage, Merge felt serious pain, singed and angry. The sword immediately vanished, reconfiguring into energy cannon much like a bazooka as she knelt down. The energy inside of the werewolf's mouth was already gone as she prepared to fire in the middle of the flames towards their source, effectively swapping damage for a greater chance at damage. "Take... this!" With that, a powerful energy blast fired from the cannon, aiming directly at the werewolf's feet. The next one she fired directly at his chest. Her goal being to knock him off balance, then send him flying onto his ass with the strong cannon fire.

[Mani4c]

When Lilith heard Gat mention making her into his "Pet" something in her broke, Gat's remark brought back Lilith's memories of the night that she unlocked her Vampiric powers, and it also reminded her of something that Viral had told her after her first meeting with Totenkopf.

"You say that your powers are a curse, but they're only a curse if you let them be. You'll never be at peace if you can't accept what you are. Baretta wouldn't want me to tell you this, but you need to embrace your powers, not run from them. If you keep running away, the world will only make you a victim..." Lilith clenched her fists, allowing the troll to drag her closer to him. 'He's right, it's time to stop running, It's time to show these thugs just who they're messing with!' 

When Lilith was dragged close to the Troll avatar, it reached out to hold her, that's when Lilith made her move. Lilith grabbed the troll's finger, dislocating it with a simple jerk of her arm. The troll roared in pain, lunging at Lilith. Lilith scowled, bearing her fangs, "I WILL NEVER ALLOW MYSELF TO BE VICTIMIZED BY PIECES OF FILTH LIKE YOU!!!" Lilith pulled back her fist, focusing all of her power into her arm. "MY NAME IS LILITH, AND I WILL KILL YOU!!!"

Lilith let loose with her punch, smashing the troll in the face with a sickening crunch. Lilith didn't even bother looking at the troll as it flew back from the hit, she retrieved her sword from the Troll's arm, retracting the blade and pointing it at Gat. "You're next you limp d***ed hood." 

[Saber]

The wolf hopped from foot to foot when his legs were shot, spinning around temporarily when shot in the chest and falling forward and catching himself with his arms. Getting angry, his claws dug into the pavement, carving out claw marks as the dragon wolf got to his feet again, and firing another blast of data at Merge. When all was said and done, she was the only one left standing, mostly because the other avatars ran away when they had the chance, but not without some damage in the process.

Gat tilted his head when Lilith started retaliating with a punch to the troll, sending him flying away and crashing into a building, whistling softly "Kitty has claws! This is gonna be fun." Then, Lilith insulted Gat, and his head lowered, sighing "...They always want to play hard to get...Well, guess she leaves me with no choice." His guns shifted form, one into what looked like a flamethrower, and the other growing a launcher of sorts onto the machine gun styled mount. He aimed the machine gun at Lilith, his visor lighting up as he activated another program as well "...Lilith, right? Name's Gat, nice to meet ya cyber tits."

He launched a grenade at Lilith, before letting loose with his spammer, which seemed to be having all of its bullets adjusting their flight path for Lilith, as well as letting loose with his flamethrower once she was within range. "BURN BABY! BURRRRRRRN!!!!!!"

[Prythian]

This time, though, Merge was ready. Her cannon had already been changed back into her wings, and she flew up away from the blast of fire. "You won't catch me that careless a second time." She warned the werewolf. Even without a weapon, she figured she'd aggravated that avatar enough so that it wouldn't bother going after those running. It would likely instead focus on her provided she gave it hope that it could catch her. She darted in and out, flying near but not touching the flames, and just generally buzzed around the werewolf like a mosquito, aiming a few kicks in here and there where she could, usually from behind.

[Mani4c]

Lilith leaped backwards to avoid getting blasted by Gat's grenade and flamethrower, landing near a wrecked speeder, 'Damn it! Those bullets can track me, I've gotta block them somehow.' Lilith glanced at the speeder and smirked, "This'll work!" Lilith grabbed the bumper of the speeder and dragged it in front of her, she then used her enhanced strength to lift the speeder in front of her, 'This is usually more weight than I like to lift, but it's not impossible, thank the creator for small favors.' The spammer rounds hit the speeder with several dull pings. "Now that I've got some cover, I can release my seal and get some altitude."

Lilith took a deep breath, "Alright, Seal Release!" The seal on Lilith's hand glowed a bright gold, and small sparks danced around it. Lilith slammed her palm onto the ground, and a pillar of black energy shot out from beneath her. The pillar obscured her for a couple of seconds before gradually disappearing, revealing her true form, two large wings made out of the shadow energy burst from her back; allowing Lilith to take to the skies.

Lilith burst out of cover and up into the sky with one strong flap of her wings, flying almost 30 feet into the air before coming to a stop. Lilith had a cocky smirk on her face, revealing her elongated canines. Her eyes flared red and she pointed at Gat with her sword. "Alright Gat, I hope you've got a thing for pain, because I'm going to kick your a** up and down this city."

[Saber]

Wulf stopped firing his flamethrower as his target took to the sky, looking around to try and spot where she went. Then, something sped past him, knocking him in his head and throwing him off balance. He stepped forward and regained his footing, but was thrown off balance again not too long after. Hit after hit, Wulf had to reposition his feet, and even use his reptilian tail to keep himself upright.

Finally fed up with the speedy opponent, he let out an enraged draconic roar and started flailing his head around, launching an endless stream of flames that flailed around like a whip. The pattern of flames soaring in the air was erratic, almost hard to predict, and would need expert flying skills and quick reaction time to recover from.

Gat kept attacking the vehicle that Lillith was hiding behind, until he saw the pillar of darkness appear from nowhere, and the Lilith taking to the skies with some new features. Gat tilted his head as Lilith pointed her sword at Gat, claiming to 'kick his ass up and down this city'. He started cackling sadistically "HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!! Oh man! That is rich lady. Do you know how many people have said that, only to turn religious when I was through with em?" He aimed his spammer at Lilith, tilting his head the other way, a crazed smile hidden behind his helmet

"The guy was so holy, there was no way of recognizing him as he was slowly erased from the system." He started firing his machine gun again, making sure to try and lead his target this time, to keep the bullets from missing their mark too much "But since kitty wants to wing her claws, I guess Im gonna have to have them removed!"

Meanwhile, the hidden figure on the rooftop was still studying the two battles, trying to decide which one was in more need of protection, his three shuriken waiting to be thrown at his intended target.

[Prythian]

Unfortunately, Merge was decent with her wings, but not that skilled yet. Either she hadn't mastered the fine control necessary for the dodging maneuvers, or else her wings weren't good enough for them, but she kept getting winged (pun intended) by the flames. Just by powering through each one, she avoided the majority of the damage by not staying in the fire, but that damage was certainly adding up over time. So it was time for a desperation move, since Merge didn't have much hope of anyone coming to help her at this point. She should've called the police, but if they found out she was a rogue... she shivered as she flew up above Wulf, entire body already aching and burning.

Her wings vanished, and she flipped in the air as the Combosphere turned back into a sword, which she aimed directly downwards at Wulf's head/neck area, attempting to barrel into him with as much force as gravity could muster.

[Mani4c]

Lilith smirked, "So much bravado, I wonder if your compensating for something." She held her index finger and thumb close together to emphasize her remark before beating her wings with as much force as she could muster, creating a powerful gust of wind that blasted Gat's spammer rounds, sending them flying. One of the bullets whizzed past Gat's head, missing it by a couple of inches. "You also seem to be having performance issues. I'd see a doctor about that babe. As for me..."

Lilith suddenly dove, heading towards the ground at breakneck speed, before suddenly pulling up. She extended her sword's blade, swinging it at a Speeder bike that was parked on the curb. The blade wrapped around the seat of the bike as Lilith shot past, dragging the bike behind her. She then pulled up again, shooting 50 feet into the air with the bike in tow. "I'm afraid that I'm only allowed to administer beatings, and you're my latest patient." Lilith swung her sword out, causing the bike to fly forward before the whip snapped taught. She then began to spin, almost appearing to pirouette in midair as the speeder swung around her. She spun faster and faster, before suddenly coming to a stop while simultaneously releasing the bike, hurling it at Gat.

[Saber]

Wulf was still flailing around, is fire breath whipping this way and that. As Merge got closer to the source, the flames kept getting closer and closer to Merge's body. That was when something unexpected happened on Merge's end. Three tiny projectiles flew at Wulf from below, crashing into him and exploding on impact. This forced Wulf onto the ground, laying face down, dazed and wondering just what happened. But before it could get to its feet again, it was suddenly being pinned down by a stabbing pain in its back. From Merge's point of view, she could only see a hole suddenly being pierced open in Wulfe's abdomen, and some bootprints on his legs, leaving him vulnerable to a finishing blow "You're staying right there...Criminal...Your days of harming innocents are over..."

Gat just kept staring at Lilith through his masking helmet, clearly not too approving of the female avatar's taunting. Gat froze in place when Lilith launched his bullets back at him, one of them barely missing his head. When Lilith swooped down and grabbed the speeder bike with her chain sword, she said the corniest lines ever, which turned Gats mood around enough to focus on the fight again.

"Beatings eh? Think I'll pass doll face." Some wings formed on the cargo pack on his back, and he leapt up while using the wings and some thrusters on his feet to close the distance between himself and Lilith, effectively missing the bike as it crashed into the ground where he once stood. With less ground to cover between them, he aimed both guns at Lilith, and unleashed another barrage of bullets, as well as a searing hot flamethrower at Lilith from close range "DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!"

[Prythian]

Merge landed heavily on Wulf's back, unable to respond in time. Even though she'd been aiming for a killing blow in the first place, having someone she couldn't even see interfere in the fight almost made her reconsider the attack. Either way, without much time to prepare for it, the blade thunked heavily through Wulf's neck, gravity and her own strength pushing it straight through. "I wish... it hadn't come to this..." She breathed heavily. "But attacking innocents... is wrong... and I had no choice..." She pulled out her sword, it transforming back into the large Combosphere, which floated behind her back once more as she looked around herself for the other avatar in vain.

"...wherever... you are... I'm too tired to continue to fight... took too much damage... at least... not as I am. If I can see you though... I might... be able to return the favor you just did me."

[Mani4c]

Lilith wasn't prepared for Gat's attack, and didn't have time to dodge or use her shape shifting to create a shield. The bullets mostly struck her in the stomach, with one blowing a hole in her sword arm's shoulder, the flames not only scorched her but also destroyed one of her wing's membranes; causing her to crash to the ground near where Merge and the unknown avatar were. "ARGH! DAMN IT!"

Lilith struggled to her feet, retracting her wings. 'Great, look at me, I'm pathetic...can't even beat some s*** head with some fancy guns.' She suddenly began to notice a feeling other than the immense amount of pain that she was in, hunger. 'No, damn it! I'm not snacking on some poor schmuck just because I'm hurt, hell, I don't even know if it'll heal me. I've gotta focus...' 

She began to look around for some kind of route out of the open, hoping to sneak up on him somehow, instead she saw Merge, she appeared to be just as badly injured as she was. Lilith stumbled over to Merge and pulled out a repair kit. "H-here, use this... just open it and hit the execute button, you'll heal up instantly. Then get the hell outta here. That guy's a freaking monster." 

[Saber]

Gat was laughing maniacally when Lilith crashed down after being peppered by his spammer gun and scorched by his flamethrower, spinning in midair and looking down at the two girls with a sadistic grin hidden behind his helmet, not that that detail mattered much to others who couldn't see his face. He had his arms stretched out like he was trying to get a hug from someone, his head tilted back and bobbing with each laugh

"YYYAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAH!!!! Oh YEAH! That's what I'm talking about BABY! The fear! The CARNAGE! I can't get enough of it!!!"

He brought his head back down and lowered his arms, the flamethrower shifting back into his rifle as he pointed it at Lilith, his head tilted at an angle like before and his visor shining in a particular fashion "Don't you run from me you binary-bitch! We still have some more fun to be had, I'm not through making you scream in agony yet!"

The invisible stranger turned his head, albeit unnoticeable, and looked at the girl who had offered to return the favor he had done for her. He wasn't used to gratitude, being the silent hero type, but it was something that he actually appreciated. His attention was drawn to a sudden appearance from Lilith, who was worse for wear. She was offering a repair kit for Merge, and had her back to the one who she was fighting before. This woman was clearly not familiar with rule #1 of combat. And as Gat turned and aimed his rifle at Lilith, Lilith and Merge could hear a loud whirring sound beside them, like a classic fan from the 20th century spinning. And while that sound got louder and louder, a whirlwind began propelling toward Gat, who's flight capabilities were mediocre at best.

"Woah! Hey what the Fu-AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" Gat was suddenly caught in the whirlwind, and was spiraling out of control before crashing into a 4-wheeled cyber speeder, leaving a crater in the hood as he groaned in annoyance "Uuuurrrrrgh...What...The f***...Was that?"

The veil covering the invisible stranger lifted, and a ninja-like warrior in black, white and gold armor, wielding a dual bladed staff, stood adjacent to Merge and Lilith, his eyes shifting from Gat, to Lilith with a somewhat stern glare "...First rule of effective combat...Never take your eyes off of your opponent until he is beaten, or distracted enough to escape his view."

[Prythian]

Merge weakly shook her head towards Lilith. "I'll... I'll recover on my own, given time. And in a moment... I won't be the one in danger. Use it on... yourself." She glanced at their new backup. "In... in return for helping me with that fight... I will help you with yours. In saving me... you acted in a way worthy of this. You seem to have... weapons and armor under control..." She mused, seemingly to herself. "...which leaves... alright. I will grant you... my wings!" And with that, the Combosphere once more transformed into the red prongs, connecting to each other in a flare of golden energy... but as it subsided, Merge herself began to glow, breaking apart into pieces of light. It wasn't like she was being deleted, though, far from it; her broken-up data flew with purpose into the wings, vanishing into them.

The wings flew around Dagger a couple of times, before, with a surge in the golden energy making them up, stopping in the air right behind his back. A warm glow emanated from their center, flowing to Dagger's back, securing them. Merge's voice came out of the air. "Now... you can fly... and I can see any attack coming... from behind our back!"

[Mani4c]

Lilith looked at Merge when she told her to use the repair unit on herself, saying that she would heal on her own. Lilith had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to make Merge reconsider. "Alright, If you're certain." Lilith opened the unit and activated it, becoming cloaked in a bright golden light as her wounds sealed up instantly.

She then looked at Dagger, her expression was a mixture of wariness and irritation, she was starting to get tired of crazy people popping up every five feet in this city. When he began to lecture her on proper combat tactics, she returned the glare that he sent her way. "Yeah, thanks. Maybe in return I can teach you how to have a conversation with family members without starting a battle, you seemed to have flunked that course."

Her gaze then fell to Gat, her eyes flashed crimson in anger. "As for this a**hole... I have a feeling that my sword's blade won't cut it against his armor, if you'll pardon the pun." Lilith released her grip on her sword's handle, making it disappear in a flash of light. She clenched her fist, activating her seal. "So, instead I'm going to have to use my other talent." Thin vaporous streams of black mist billowed from her seal, wrapping around her arm like a cloak.

She then threw her arm out to her side, causing more mist to burst from her hand. Her entire body became covered by a thick black cloud, which began to shrink around her body until she looked like a living silhouette. Thin green lines then began to form on her body creating markings similar to those found on Integrate. When she opened her eyes they were a bright acid green color, similar to Viral Mani4c's original appearance, they also were one solid color, save for one small white dot on each eye which acted as a pupil. 

"Alright..." Lilith's voice was much harsher, and her teeth were sharp points that were flush with her head, and her head lacked any visible hair. "Let's do this!" Lilith's arms began to change, becoming much larger and ended in huge 50 pound fists that looked like they were chiseled out of stone and slammed them together.((Hammerfists are now in use, these deal moderate damage and are effected by enhanced strength.)) "I hope you enjoy being turned into a carpet stain you piece of s***!"

[Saber]

Dagger listened to Merge talk, wanting to thank him for helping her in her fight, and talking to herself...From what he could gather anyway. Then, her body began to break apart, condensing her data inside of the wings she was apparently giving him. He looked behind him when the merger was complete, intrigued by her unique talents. Perhaps there's more to this avatar than she pretends to be.

Then, Lilith began criticizing him about his social skills with his family members. Merely keeping his eyes trained on Gat, she was clearly trying to hit below the belt, but he wasn't in the mood for witty banter. "Why don't you try focusing on the task at hand and bicker about my personal affairs later..."

It didn't take his words to convince Lilith to focus on Gat, shifting her body to deal more damage output, and looking absolutely menacing in the process. Gat rolled off of the car, pretending to crack his back straight "That was a hell of a twister...Huh?" Gat got a good look at Lilith and the merged Dagger, noticing the familiar armor style that the ninja avatar was wearing "Well no shit, look who it is! The big guy's baby brother. Still playin the guardian angel I see. And what the hell happened to cyber tits? She looks like something that came out of a bad horror movie!"

He aimed his guns at both Lilith and Dagger, his visor lighting up again. The guns now had switched to identical disk launchers, the sound of grinding metal sawblades spinning around inside of the launchers as he looked at the duo with a tilted head "No matter, I'll cut you both up and feed you to the viruses of the wasteland!" His launchers began firing disk after disk of saw blades at the two, blades that were homing in on their location.

Dagger merely generated a handful of shurikens and threw them to intercept some of the blades, but more took their place, which forced Dagger to take to the air. Flying ahead of the blades as they trailed his flight path.