<div class="floatleft">(http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5499ff2ce4b0b85c868a2158/t/556fb05ae4b01eeb36c217a6/1433383003661/)</div><hr/><strong>Name:</strong>Arthur Curry/Orin (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=239229.msg11802466#msg11802466)<br/><strong>Nom de Guerre:</strong>Aquaman (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=239229.msg11802466#msg11802466)<br/><strong>Affiliation:</strong>The Atlantean Empire.<br/><strong>Time:</strong>Saturday the 17th of October 2015, 20:13<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Gotham Central Bank, Central Gotham<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Maggie, M'gann, anybody else in the immediate area.<br/><hr/><br/>Though he didn't hear an immediate telepathic response from M'gann to his Sending, he did recognise that she had at least heard him; the wave of nausea that had no doubt overtaken her as it had him receded from her end of the connection slightly as his message broke through, though he didn't exactly feel relieved at the revelation; yes, she was at least not seriously injured - no more than he was, at least - and she could at least move, if the strength of her signal was anything to go by...but he recognised that sudden wave of hatred and dark fury that emanated from her suddenly as the darker side of her new personality began to take charge...he hadn't seen much of her more ruthless methods recently - though he'd heard of plenty of them, he'd never seen much of it hinted at in his own personal interactions with her besides what she told him - but if they were bad enough to reduce her to tears when she recounted the type of thing she had done to him...well. M'gann was a strong, fiery, independent woman, and anything that could reduce her to a sobbing wreck was definitely not something that was inconsiderable in its magnitude, especially not now, after she had apparently deliberately attempted to harden herself after her uncles death. He didn't know much about how she got when she entered that mood - he hadn't seen much of it in person, as he'd said - but he knew enough to know that if nothing else, he needed to be nearby in order to at least provide some level of counterbalance to whatever little voice she had in her head telling her that her ruthless, merciless methods were the right ones. He'd listened to that vindictive, vicious voice before, and now that he looked back on those times, he sincerely wished that he'd had somebody talking him back from the edge. No matter how right you felt at the time, it always led to regrets if you were only even half as full of innate kindness as M'gann was. And he refused to believe that she had changed into somebody who lacked that inner compassion. He just wouldn't believe it.<br/><br/>Thankfully, she was still nearby; she had apparently fallen when the sickness hit her, much like he had (though his was an albeit delayed reaction), and had - by luck - been close enough to be enveloped by the Forcefield that he had created around himself. He turned to his side, pausing in his slow, methodical advance, trying to find her...and then he saw her, staggering to her feet, pure fury radiating from her in such strength that he didn't need the as-yet unclosed telepathic link between them to feel the rage seething off of her in waves so thick that he could practically<em>see</em>them. He had no doubt that she could feel his own concern in return, but that wasn't enough; he had to get to her and keep her from doing something that she would come to regret...that was what he was there for, and that's what he was going to do. Even the best general needs an advisor to stop them from going too far in the midst of battle, and every good officer needed a decent general to reign them in if they got too overzealous. He wouldn't see M'gann cross that line into villainhood...he just wouldn't allow it. He was just about to take his first step towards her - dizziness aside, he was beginning to get a handle on compensating for the spinning nature of the world every time he moved - when he became aware of somebody elses presence in the immediate vicinity; he would have noticed earlier, but....well, the vomiting and the nausea had temporarily knocked his senses out of whack, and his talent for observation, too. It was going to take a bit more getting used to, it appeared. Still...the individual wasn't leaping to the attack, so he could safely assume that she wasn't an enemy, at least. He turned towards her and - after a moment of watching her mouth move through the spinning nausea that the movement provoked - actually finally registered what she was saying. He blinked a little, and forced himself up a little higher.<br/><br/>He wasn't at his full height yet, but his reaction to the infection was becoming more manageable. It must have been the delayed reaction; he had remained "healthy" for a bit longer, but the effects were worse due to the increased incubation time. Or something like that; he wasn't a biologist in any sense of the word, so all he had were vague guesses based on flimsy, circumstantial evidence. It could have just been that he was allergic to something in the toxin. Either way, his vision cleared quickly and he could feel his brain unfogging a little as time went on. A little more time, he figured, and he'd at least be able to move normally (albeit little more carefully).<br/>"I agree," he managed to force out, though his voice sounded a little raw at first from the previous attempt to vomit. He cleared his throat and tried again, fighting his way through the nausea to at least be able to see straight. It was a struggle, but he managed it...and it got easier the more he got used to adjusting to compensate for his queasiness. "We need to regroup and direct all of our firepower at Ivy. She's the general of this Chaos....with any luck, this will end if we cut the Kraken off at the head." He turned again, back towards where M'gann had managed to force herself to her feet.<br/><br/>"Come. We need to gather who we can...and get to Ivy before she has time to organise any more tactical nightmares for us." With that, he did his best to quickly cover the several metres between him and M'gann, his steps more confident now as he managed to at least reduce his visions spinning. He wasn't quite as fast as he usually was, but at least he wasn't stumbling and almost falling over...though he did slow down a couple of times to fight down the urge to vomit again. He came to a slightly wobbly stop at her side, and placed a slow hand on her shoulder. Hopefully she hadn't closed the telepathic link and had realised that it was him rather than an enemy combatant approaching her. If not...well, this could get embarrassing. Still, he had to try and keep her calm and collected...bloodlust was never a good thing to lose yourself in, that much he could attest to from personal experience. "Peace, M'gann," He murmured, low enough for only her enhanced senses to pick up, "We'll stop her...but I need you to remain calm. Remember the first rule of battle: Keep calm and don't lose yourself in the moment. Control your emotions; don't let<em>them</em>control<em>you.</em>" He took a few steps in front of her, and resumed his walk towards the bank that Ivy had disappeared into, his forcefield shunting still-enraged civilians out of the way, small ripples forming from where it was being hit repeatedly by stray and directed gunfire. "Come," he said to the two currently behind him within his forcefield, "We need to try and end this....and quickly." He increased his pace, walking as briskly as he dared towards the bank. He managed to fight the nausea down most of the time, even through his still slightly spinning vision...though he did use his Trident to steady himself after a slight stumble or stomach-induced hesitation more times than his pride would let him admit.