World Tree MUSH

      In the City of Progress, we strive for innovation o/`
We won't rest 'til you hear it 'cross the nation o/`

This cheery little jingle is what one will likely hear upon entering Piltover, the cultural hub of Valoran. Indeed, the city looks like an idealistic vision of the future as imagined by someone like Jules Verne, with borderline Victorian architecture stretching to the sky and sprawling across a land bridge that connects the continent of Valoran with its southern neighbor Shurima.

Colored glass windows and brass clockwork contraptions of indiscernible purpose cover many of these buildings, with brick roads giving way to patterned marble as one gets closer to the city center. The primary mode of transportation appears to still be one's own two feet for many, though the occasional horse can be seen.

Presently, most of the city's wealthier and more influential citizens are gathered in the enormous plaza that stretches before City Hall, separated from the much larger throngs of commonfolk by a ring of steel-armored peacekeepers- the Wardens, as it's explained to our gathered offworlders. The marble floor here bears some of the most intricate geometric designs yet, and in the center of the plaza is a brass statue of the city's own clockwork insignia, representing the mechanical innovation that made it what it is today.

In front of this statue is a raised podium with several men and women patiently waiting on a platform behind it, all very handsomely dressed... with the exception of one woman with bright pink hair, a tattoo on her cheek that reads "VI", and two massive steam-powered gauntlets on her hands. She appears to be on bodyguard duty, judging by the way she's thoroughly scanning the crowd- and also blowing the occasional bubble with some gum she's been chewing for an awful long time now.

But oh, the center of attention is obviously the square-jawed beefcake in the middle of this group, his hair expertly slicked back with two little locks perfectly hanging down just above his left eyebrow, which seems permanently quirked as he flashes the most charming of smiles at the crowd. He's graying a little around the sides of his hair, but by the reactions of both men and women in the gathering, that doesn't seem to make him any less attractive.

He's of course smartly dressed as well, wearing a white tuxedo jacket over a black waistcoat and slacks, with another white, buttoned shirt beneath the waistcoat and a black bowtie to hold it all together. Lastly, a bright red rose completes the image, pinned to his right lapel. This, as it is also explained, is Jayce, the Defender of Tomorrow as he's often called in the newspapers.

The ceremony is set to begin soon, with the frumpy mayor next to Jayce nervously double-checking the speech he has written on a couple sheafs of paper, while glancing around as if expecting to see someone pop up out of the crowd. A certain masked individual, Khada Jhin, rumored to make an appearance at this very event to present a commemorative art piece for the occasion. Which, in this case, means murder.

"Caitlyn, checking in. I'm in position, roof of the third building west of you." comes a British-sounding voice from the crackling handheld radios given to the offworlders. "I can see the whole plaza from here, so if I spot anything suspicious I'll let you all know... maybe even before I pop his dome."

    In the crowd is a person who honestly sticks out like a sore thumb. A teenager, probably a girl, in a black leather trenchcoat with the hood pulled up. She has black leather gloves, and is wearing black high-heeled boots, and the clothes visible under the partially zipped-up coat are also black. How is she not overheating?

    She has a walkie-talkie in her hand, for some reason. Is she one of the offworlders brought in for extra security? If so, you'd think someone would recognise her.

    he boy walking around the Plaza screams 'tourist'. Between his casual clothes, a cap with a company logo (that likely no one in this particular world knows), a curious backpack and that he is taking photos with a handheld device in one hand he certainly looks the part!. The only unusual detail about him is the curious 'bear' creature he seems to be holding with his free hand, a panda dressed in curious clothes that squirms, points at stuff and seems to struggle to break free.

    Did you know that Usagi Tsukino's dad works for a really popular magazine? Did you know that he's been tasked by his bosses to write a new column for said magazine about events and happenings across the Tree, in other worlds?
    He IS!
    And that's why Usagi Tsukino is here after school, because her dad has a job to do!
    Usagi herself doesn't have work to do here-- well maybe she has some homework waiting for her at home- but right now? She's just a tourist!
    "Now, Usagi, I'll be busy trying to get pictures of the ceremony. Here's some allowance, go have fun, but remember to be home by ten pm."
    "G-geeze dad I'm not a kid, I can get home on time." The blonde huffs, before the word 'allowance' sinks in and there are hearts in her eyes as she snatches the bills clean out of Kenji Tsukino's hand.
    "THANKS DAD, LOVE YOU, SEE YOU LATER BYE!"
    Oh boy look at her go off in the direction of the nearest food cart to probably blow said allowance as quick as possible.

Is this a strange place? Yes. Does it look familiar somehow? Also yes. While the Al Bhed technology definitely isn't steampunk in variety (not that Paine would know that word), there clearly is a lot of technology here, and Paine remembers the Al Bhed and their love for technology. So yeah, she's probably feeling a bit more at home here than a lot of other places.

She's also not able to go and wander through it at the moment, because she too is on guard duty. Paine's not near the main group of important people -- that huge sword on her back isn't good for close-in fighting. So she's a little further back from them, though still close enough to intercept if things go pear-shaped.

Hard to tell if she's really intimidating though -- the black leather outfit is black and made of leather (obviously), but it's not super-armored or anything. The heels make her a bit taller, but aside from the sword at her back, nothing on her person is really all that threatening. Aside from perhaps a pretty bad case of 'resting bitch face'...

    Being short has disadvantages, especially if you're supposed to keep a lookout. Aurelia is milling about near the stage, having been hired to do bodyguard work, craning her neck to see over the others on the same duty. She's encased in a small mountain of reddish gold that shimmers and catches the colors of a sunrise, accompanied by a metal-plated lion with thick cables for a mane.
    Hear anything, Zero?" Aurelia asks her companion.
    "Just people. Smells like people too." The lion replies with a sniff of the air.
    Well, things aren't exciting yet, so Aurelia looks up at the architecture while she's waiting.

     "Pssh. You say that like I won't bust his skull first, cupcake." the pink-haired bubblegum-blowing steam-gauntleted bodyguard says over her radio, loud and clear for everyone to hear.

"Officer Vi, what did I say about calling me that in public?" Caitlyn's voice responds in crackly walkie-talkie sound.

"That you'll shove your rifle up my-" Vi starts to respond, only to get a sudden blast of static cutting her off that sounds suspiciously like an exasperated sigh.

Meanwhile, it seems like the ceremony is beginning. The mayor, giving his big bushy gray moustache a few extra twirls as he takes a deep breath to steady his nerves, steps up to the podium and lays his papers down atop it, flicking a switch on the attached voice amplification device (official name still patent pending). "Ahem hem. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. As you all are likely aware, we are here today to honor the achievements of one of this city's greatest individuals. From humble beginnings, through hard work and perseverence, he transformed himself into the shining icon we know and love today, the protector of Piltover's peace. Yes, the Defender of Tomorrow... Jayce!"

Standing up to thunderous applause, Jayce straightens the lapels of his jacket and flashes a winning smile to the audience before him as he steps up to the podium, the mayor standing aside. "My fellow citizens, and yes I am just as much citizen as any of you..." he begins, and by the way he continues on about his adventures of daring-do and battles with nefarious criminals and supervillains, it seems like his speech might go on for a while yet.

    The figure in the black hood looks around the crowd a little, before turning their attention to the stage. They just sort of stare at Jayce as he speaks. Given the hood totally conceals the top half of their face, the effect is honestly a little eery.

    Fortunately, the person in the black coat doesn't KEEP staring for very long, and begins to make their way through the crowd. Possibly checking for suspicious individuals. Or possibly being suspicious themselves, who knows?

    The boy and the very curious 'pet' slowly make their way to the crowd as the event seems to progress, and the guest of honor (or oen of them at least) begins to speak. He is not tall enough to really see over the crowd, but he hands his 'phone' to the small panda creature and convinces it to hover up, to film the stage a bit, maybe capture Jayce for a moment, even knowing how unlikely Pangshi might focus on it. It is at least a bit of a curious display, a floating creature holding a weird device looking towards Jayce and the mayor.

    Oooh ahhhh the ceremony is beginning!
    ... And Usagi is largely oblivious.
    Stuffing her face with local Piltover cuisine as the mayor begins to speak. Kenji Tsukino is busy taking as many pictures as he can, but the fact of the matter is, Usagi is kind of having a blast off in her own little corner of the crowd.
    "So who's this Jayce guy anyway?" She muffles to a stranger while her mouth is full.
    Before she actually SEES Jayce.
    There are hearts in her eyes.
    "Oh wow what a hunk, is that him?!"

    <3_<3

Paine's going to tune this guy's inflated ego out preeeetty much as soon as she hears that first 'when I was in', when she's sure he's about to start talking about his AWESOME ADVENTURES across this world. That's actually a good thing, because it leaves her attention free to actually keep looking for likely trouble!

And of course Paine sees Luke's floating vampire panda. VamPanda, if you will. But fortunately she's familiar enough with technology to at least recognize the 'phone' as something to capture images and/or video. That said? She's still going to keep an eye on those two. Because what the heck even IS that thing?

She's never going to admit it's cute. Absolutely not. Her reputation will not allow it.

Usagi's making enough noise and being enough of a spectacle to attract Paine's attention, so she glances in that direction long enough to send a flat gaze in her direction. It's not necessarily a judging glance... .... ...okay yeah, it is slightly judging. But Paine stays at her post for now.

    "That sounds familiarr..." Zero growls in a low voice as he stalks down the steps towards Luke and the pangshi. Aurelia perks up, honestly getting bored with Jayce's self-aggrandizing, and follows Zero, wading through the crowd looking a bit like a sun setting at sea in the process.
    Zero pads up to Luke and sniffs. "Oh, it's you. How's the big fire cat?" His tail flicks, shoving aside somebody and clearing the way for Aurelia in her shiny armor.
    The young woman looks surprised to see Luke. "Hello Luke, surprised to see you here!" Aurelia lifts the mask on her orichalcum helm to show look that it is indeed her.

     "Hold on, I see something. A floating... bear? What /is/ that?" Caitlyn's voice comes through the radio again, uncertainty causing it to waver a bit. A small red dot of light momentarily flickers on over the Pangshi's head as it begins waving that strange device around, but after a moment it disappears and Caitlyn speaks up again. "Doesn't seem like a threat. One of our new hires seems to know them, too. I'll let it live."

Jayce seems to be finishing up his speech, which some people in the crowd don't seem very interested in while the majority eat it right up. If one looks closely, one might notice he's starting to sweat, and his smile seems a little more nervous than it did before. "I hope I didn't go overboard, never can get used to crowds..." he can briefly be heard mumbling over the mic as he turns away, heading back to his seat so the mayor can take over again.

"Ahem, yes, well. There you have it, dear citizens! Such accomplishments, such courage, the very embodiment of Piltover's ideals! For this very reason, we present to Jayce the key to the city." he announces, pulling what is literally a comically oversized golden key from the hollow bottom of the podium and turning to hand it to Jayce, who suddenly realizes he wasn't meant to be sitting down and quickly jumps up to take it.

"Er, ahem, thank you from the bottom of my heart, mayor. And to the rest of you as well! Your love and support are what drive me through tough times, knowing I have such amazing citizens to protect." Jayce speaks into the microphone, having to lean past the mayor a little. Once he's done, he steps back but remains standing, trying his best to find a comfortable position to hold his new trophy.

"Now, with that done, we also have a special surprise from none other than our very own Professor Heimerdinger at the University! Who, sadly, could not make it today due to pressing matters in his own hometown, I am told." the mayor continues, then spreads his arms wide. "We also present a monument to our hero, this holographic statue atop City Hall, which will remind everyone in the city, night and day, that they are under the watchful protection of the Defender of Tomorrow!"

As he says this, a flickering teal hologram does indeed project upward from the building's roof, but it's not Jayce's face. It's a strange, ornate mask set over a black, skintight hood, a tall mauve collar emerging from what seems to be a white poncho of some sort.

"Good afternoon, Piltover. In case you've forgotten since my last visit, I am Khada Jhin. Just 'Jhin' will do nicely too."

    Nothing seems to be happening. The girl in the black coat continues to wander the crowd. Her attention is caught by the adorable floating... panda-thing for a moment, but she soon goes back to just walking through and surveying the crowd. She doesn't appear to be particularly interested in what's going on on stage.

    Until the creepy maked guy appears on the hologram. This immediately catches her attention. He seems... clownlike.

    For some reason this is ringing alarm bells.

    Judge all you want, Paine, you can't stifle a young girl's heart~. ... Especially around a heartthrob like Jayce.
    Swallowing down the last of her snack foods, the twin-tailed girl pauses when she actually sees Paine. She's hard to not notice with all the belts and buckles.
    "Ah... Weren't you at the electronics store that crazy day?" She asks, tapping her lower lip with a finger.
    Oh but things are continuing. And that Jayce guy is getting a holo-statue. Neat.
    Except it's not neat when that isn't Jayce's face on the hologram.
    "Uhhhhh... Is that supposed to be happening?"
    Right about now, a small black cat starts darting her way through the crowd towards Usagi...

    Thankfully, the Pangshi doesn't seem to notice someone aiming at it, and does a somewhat ok job at filming the speech, then again it also keeps turning around to look at random people!. It focuses on Aurelia once the figure begins to approach, recognizing Zero, and quickly goes back down to land on the trainer's head, greeting it, and Aurelia with a loud growl, almost dropping the device as it waves.
    Luke does recognize Zero, reaching to pet the metal beast lightly, "You mean electric tiger?, Dynamo is doing ok, just didn't think it was a good idea to have him around in a crowd like this." he says, before smiling and waving to teh armored Aurelia, "That's a really cool armor!" he says, "I was just visiting, this place is really cool, and heard of the event, that guy had some interesting adventures!" he casually adds, pointing to the stage towards Jayce. "Makes me wonder if he signs autographs or something...." going silent to stare at the cool hologram, "Ohhh."

Paine.... aaaaaaalmost smirks when Jayce looks far less comfortable than he wants people to think he is. But nope, she's not going to draw amusement from someone else's misfortune. At least not visibly.

Usagi's question gets her attention here though, and she blinks as she recalls it. "Yeah, I was there," she confirms. Pause. "...You okay?" Yeah, there's a heart in there somewhere. Gotta dig through the snark to find it, but it's there.

Though when the hologram appears and it's something OTHER than Jayce's smiling face, that's a sign to Paine that things have already gone wrong (though that line about the professor not being able to show up was a pretty big clue too).

But she's not going to go running to the hologram. That's probably the intention, to pull people off their charge and leave him unprotected. So as the likely panic starts, Paine pulls her sword and gets closer to the stage, now visibly scanning for trouble in that immediate area. She's probably not going to get paid if this guy croaks!

    "Electric cat, right. Wonder why I remember a fire ca-" Zero's ears perk and his head turns to look at the giant hologram of Khada Jhin. "... a clown?"
    Aurelia flips her mask down. "I thought the guy getting the key was kind of a loser, but this guy..." The sword hasn't come out yet. As many odd stares as she's gotten and questions about Targon... a diamond-bladed sword might raise even MORE questions.

     "Jhin! So you've finally decided to show yourself, have you? Good, now I'm in my element!" Jayce says over the microphone, having grabbed it off the podium while he points up at the hologram. "You might have escaped Ionia's prisons, but Piltover's cells are going to be your new permanent home, so I hope you packed your bags!"

"How trite. Your performance has enthusiasm, but it lacks subtlety." Jhin responds, rolling his one visible eye. "But I must admit, you are quite the handsome figure. I would even say, perfect for my latest piece... almost."

Vi, by this point, is standing from her chair and sticking close to both Jayce and the mayor, scanning the crowd more intently than ever. The presence of that red dot flicking over various citizens indicates that Caitlyn is doing much the same, while the other people up on the platform huddle under their chairs fearfully. After a brief pause, Jhin continues.

"You're getting old, Jayce. I know you can feel it, and it's beginning to show too. Soon enough, the cracks will ruin your beauty, and your body will wither. But under my direction, you will last forever."

It's at this point that the podium suddenly topples over as a trap door opens underneath it, a hidden elevator carrying none other than Jhin himself up to the same level as Jayce, the mayor, and Vi. They barely have time to turn around and look at the source of the noise before the large, rifle grip pistol in Jhin's hand raises to aim at Jayce's heart, the trigger pulled, and a loud BANG echoing out across the plaza.

    That's definitely the ranting of an evil madman all right. Xion has no idea who he is - she doesn't really understand who she's here to protect either - but this is definitely setting off her Hero Instincts.

    She breaks into a sprint as the podium topples over, although there's too many people in the way for her to really get close in time. The loud BANG! makes her freeze up for a moment... before she decides to screw being polite and just climbs OVER the people in the way.

    It's okay she doesn't weight much.

    And so she practically runs across the crowd towards the stage, in a big obvious 'a hero is coming' display. The fact that she's wearing a spooky black coat only spoils it slightly.

    "Yeah. Yeah... Naru was a little shaken up, and dad got a little banged up, but we all made it out fine." Usagi replies when Paine asks her how she made out that day at the electronics store. But then her attention is snatched by what's going on with the 'ceremony'.
    That... That doesn't sound too good.
    "Uhhhh..." Usagi is looking a little clueless as Jhin tells Jayce he's GETTING OLD in just about the most menacing way possibe.
    And then Jhin himself appears.
    Blue eyes stare dead on as that pistol is levelled. Pupils dilate and Usagi's perception of time seems to grind to slow motion as she raises a hand. 
    "L--." She wants to warn them, she wants to say 'look out'.
    All she can do is flinch and look away when the gun goes off.

    "I mean I have a fire bear and an electric cat, maybe that is the mixup?" he quickly replies to Zero, even as he hears the speech from the new 'guest'. For better or worse, there is not a lot of time to react, he had issues even seeing the podium!. The boy only really jumps into action when the shot is heard, flinching and starting to push towards the stage, returning Pangshi to its pokeball and reaching for another one, releasing a much larger creature, a round, still kind of cute looking 'tiger' creature, climbing on it and hoping to get closer, not really thinking about 'what he'd do about the gun'

None of the posturing is sinking in, partly because she doesn't know this world or its troubles, and partly because she doesn't really care -- they are both kinda being ridiculously over the top, aren't they? Though hopefully that 'being over the top' will work to her benefit here.

It's going to be incredibly close, and Paine might actually not get there in time. But at least the raising of the elevator, and the FURTHER posturing, might give her just a little extra time.

More to the point, she's going to try to get in between the masked guy and his quarry, or if there's not enough room, get her sword between them. It's a pretty wide sword blade, maybe it'll serve decently enough as a shield? Maybe?

    Although Aurelia can't react fast enough to stop a bullet from a gun she didn't even see drawn, she motions to Zero. "Help Luke, Zero." She unsteadily takes flight, willing her armor to lift off the ground so she can rise above and get a better view. 
    The big cat hunkers down, offering Luke a seat atop his metal shoulders. "Hold onto the mane, don't be afraid of pulling. And where to?"
    Aurelia assumes the first thing she ought to do is somehow neutralize this Jhin character. She reaches out with her senses, identifying any pieces of metal in his clothing as well as the gun, and attempts to use her magical power to yank him straight into the air by all these metal things.

     There were two BANGs, as it turns out, nigh-simultaneous. One from Caitlyn's rifle, the bullet /just/ whizzing in front of Jhin's face to punch harmlessly into the wooden floor of the platform. The other, Jhin's pistol, the very moment Paine's sword gets between him and Jayce. This bullet strikes the edge of that blade, angling it off-targetto miss Jayce's heart, instead blasting through his shoulder and causing him to spin to the floor from the unexpected force of the shot. Blood begins pooling underneath him, staining his white jacket as he grunts in pain.

"Damn it! I got distracted by the hood kid. Stop him before he can shoot again!" Caitlyn's voice crackles over the radio, while the crowd begins the usual "scream and run frantically in every direction in blind panic" routine.

Vi tries to step around Paine to pummel Jhin's face in, but another trap door opens up underneath her, causing her to fall beneath the platform into the darkness. A subtle "click" might be heard by those close enough, followed by a whir and the THUMP of a muffled explosion, along with a cry of pain from Vi before she goes quiet.

Jhin, in the meantime, is gingerly backing away from Paine with his gun aimed at her and his other hand behind his back. "My, my. You're intent on upstaging the lead? Very bold, very bold. But I'm afraid this stage only has room for one star-" he begins to monologue, only for his body to be hoisted into the air thanks to the considerable amount of metal he does indeed seem to be wearing. "What? What kind of stage trickery..."

Craning his neck behind him, he catches sight of several heroic-looking figures rushing toward him, and if his mask could show any kind of emotion, it would be an unpleasant grimace. "Fine. Time to improvise." he mutters, his free hand drawing a cylindrical device from under his poncho and, after pressing a button, hurling it into the crowd with an arc of smoke following it.

Why yes, that is a grenade, and it is heading straight for Usagi's father.

    The bad part about literally running across a crowd is that once they start to enter 'screaming and running' mode, you sort of lose your foothold. So down Xion goes, tumbling to the floor - but she manages to turn it into a roll and keeps on running. She leaps up to the stage, seeming not to notice as the villain of the hour tosses a grenade - she's too intent on getting close to the guy who just got shot.

    Scrambling up, she ducks under the levitating Jhin, practically pirouettes around Paine, and comes to a sliding stop on her knees next to Jayce.

    "CURA!" she shouts at the top of her lungs, hand extended, a green light shining brightly. A sort of magic Paine might recognise, huh.

>> SUMMARY[Xion] >> Xion casts CURA

    Soooo everything has gone to chaos. Gunshots ring out, people scream and panic, Jhin is in the thick of a huge fight all centered on him, and Usagi is staring somewhat in shellshock.
    "--gi...!"
    ...
    "Usa-- gi!"
    She barely registers the voice of the little black cat pawing at her ankles.
    Until Luna digs her claws into the blonde's legs.
    "YOW!"
    "Usagi! Don't just stand there gawping! You know what to do!"
    "I DUN WANNA!" She blurts, before getting the claws again.
    "OW OW OW OKAY OKAY!" Usagi squeals as she ditches the crowd and darts into the nearest alley.

    "MOON PRISM POWER... MAKE UP...!"

    In a flash of light, Usagi Tsukino is gone. And in her place is the pretty guardian who fights for love and--
    "OW LUNA I TRANSFORMED ALREADY STOP SCRATCHING MEEEEEEEEEEE!"
    ... Right then... So SAILOR MOON comes stumbling out of the alley just in time to see a grenade tumble through the air towards...
    . o O (Oh no, dad!)
    Sailor Moon watches in horror for a beat, time seems to slow down again as that ticking bomb hurtles on a course for her loving father and...
    "MOON TIARA BOOMERANG!"
    It all happens so fast. The twintailed blonde heroine of justice yanks her tiara from her forehead, the gleaming golden circlet transforming into a deadly boomerang of light that she hurls in an arc...
    It sails through the air, screaming like a buzzsaw on a direct course for the grenade, impacting it with a metallic clink- that hits it hard enough to alter the course of said grenade, now launching it back at Jhin along with the literal flying buzzsaw of light that is Sailor Moon's tiara.

>> GAME >> Usagi Tsukino spends an Edge for: Moon Tiara Boomerang!

There's a lot of stuff going on, and Paine can't save everyone. Jayce, oddly enough for a guy who's supposed to be a Big Damn Hero, looks the least capable of doing that, so she's going to stick with him. But Paine still answers Jhin. In a flat voice, she notes, "It's a paycheck. Nothing personal."

There are others here to back her up, apparently, even with Vi apparently down. So for the time being, she'll try to face off with Jhin....

...As he floats up. Well, that kind of solves the problem, doesn't it? Except he has grenades! She very much wants to run to the crowd and try to get that grenade, but... she has to pick one at a time. And she doesn't want to leave Jayce unguarded, since... well, he seems to be the main target.

So she'll stay where she is, and move back towards Jayce a little. She can't heal him, but she can try to cover him in case anything else comes his way.

    Luke seems to be in the middle of a large mess!, with Zero's help him and his pokemon do make their way faster to the stage, only to see the 'villain' start floating up, throwing bombs?. There is clear panic on the boy's face as he sees the explosive, and then someone managing to deflect the explosive thing!. He certainly is not sure attacking Jhin is a good idea, not wanting to trigger any other bombs, either causing that person up, or making them fall and blow up the stage, or any spectators!. He decides to instead try to corral people around, calling his other pokemon to help, even if they potentially might... cause a bit more panic. He just tries to make sure people get away!.

    Aurelia commands the metal on Jhin to start pressing inward, into the skin, heating the elements just enough to make it clear that it could be way worse. She floats slowly, concentrating more on keeping the villain pinned in place so he'll have a hard time hucking more grenades.
    "HEY," she shouts at Jhin, "you might end up burning from the inside out if you keep moving!" For all Jhin knows, she's telling the truth. She sees the blur of the boomerang and the grenade sailing towards Jhin. She can't do anything to stop either thing, focused as she was on keeping herself and Jhin aloft. Underneath her mask, she grimaces because Jhin's probably going to get a gutful of grenade and tiara boomerang.

     The Wardens, busy as they are with trying to keep anyone from trampling the stage, or being trampled themselves, are unable to help much with Jhin himself. Then again, considering how the offworlders are handling it, maybe they don't need to. Caitlyn, in the meantime, is desperately trying to get Vi to answer her over the radio, only serving to add to the chaos.

However, Luke and his pokemon are doing a lot to help quell this panic, or at least redirect it away from danger. The Wardens are at first confused, but then gladly accept the help, one even personally thanking Luke to his face.

Xion's healing magic quickly works wonders on Jayce, his wound closing up and stemming the flow of blood. It was quite a large bullet wound too, and some strange metallic fluid had begun sprouting like a bizarre tree from it before dropping off as Cura does its work. "Nnngh... thanks..." Jayce groans as he sits up, tenderly touching his shoulder and marveling at how quickly it's healed. "That Jhin's a sneaky one. He probably hijacked the setup of this ceremony somehow, to get everything lined up like this."

Jhin himself, at the moment, is more concerned with the grenade and boomerang headed his way, that single eye behind his mask widening as he stage whispers, "The curtain closes..." The boomerang hits first, tearing open that white poncho to reveal the mauve undershirt, followed by the grenade slamming into his chest just as it goes off, blasting Jhin back down toward the stage out of Aurelia's grip.

This is also the moment that Vi bursts up through the wood, her gauntlets cracked and smoking, uniform burned and torn, hair an absolute singed mess, but still alive. "Ha! I lived, bi-" she starts to say, but Jhin's body slams into her like a truck, causing the two of them to skid across the stage until they're both hanging in a limp daze over the edge of it.

Surprisingly, the masked gunman seems to still be alive as well, shakily picking himself up... only to notice a red dot on his chest. He reaches for his pistol- gone. His grenades- all scattered about, and probably to Luke's relief, unlikely to explode any time soon. Even the strange contraption on his shoulder, with the poncho torn away, seems to be busted up beyond repair. Raising his hands in the air in the universal sign of surrender, he takes a deep breath... and coughs as his body shudders in agony, one arm coming down to wrap gingerly around his likely very broken ribs.

"V-very well. I will acquiesce. This masterpiece of a drama has turned into quite the farce."

    Xion grins to Jayce from under her hood. "No problem! I've been practicing healing." Her hood fell down during her acrobatics, so Jayce gets the see the adorable face of the girl who healed him. She quickly stands up, turning towards Jhin and producing a pair of magic swords from nowhere...

    But it seems the fight is already over. She stands there feeling awkward for a second, before the swords vanish again. She coughs.

    Panting and breathless from sheer terror, Sailor Moon remains rooted right where she is, by the time her tiara returns to her.
    "A- a farce?" She blurts.
    "H-... How dare you use a city's celebration of their hero for your nefarious ways!" She blurts, striking a shakey pose. "In the name of the moon, I'm going to beat your sorry behind!"
    "... Sailor Moon?" Luna mewls from at her ankles, prodding her with a paw.
    "... You're supposed to make the speech before the villain surrenders."
    "..."
    ...
    "Buh... Buh... But it was so scary, I didn't have time until now!" She whines, beginning to sob pathetically.

Paine's keeping herself between Jhin and the apparently injured Jayce as all hell breaks loose and Jhin finds out the folly of pissing of a handful of offworld adventurers. Jhin gets flung around and Paine has to switch her position to both avoid taking a faceful of masked gunman and to continue to keep herself between the two.

Though if Jhin comes RIGHT at her he's going to get batted like a baseball, possibly further adding to the guy's bodily trauma.

When he appears to give up, Paine nods. "Probably wise, unless you want to end up in a few pieces. If you're lucky."

A smirk, then, at Sailor Moon's upset. "Hey, you gotta be fast with the heroic speeches, girl. Why do you think I gave up on them?" Not that she ever really dd them in the first place. But nobody needs to know that, right?