High Seas Hijack! Midnight Thunder Strikes! [Flynn/Pluto]

[Tokoz]

BlacKitten

 The air was dull and gray, as Flynn stood on the deck of the right-hand prisoner transport. It was early morning, and the two Marine vessels were transporting a recently captured unit of Revolutionary intelligence officers down below. CHIMERA had been asked to help oversee the prisoner transport, as the top brass suspected that there would be a break-out attempt made sometime soon, before they reached their destination. 

They were a few hours out from first sight of their destination, the G-2 Marine Base and Prison. Aside from the two ships, there was also another, lurking beneath the sea. 

The Avernus, CHIMERA's submarine, was sailing between the two under the water. Two of Chimera's companies and a full hunter squad of 5 Cazadors. The two prisoner ships had their own guards as well, lurking either belowdecks or hanging around on top, keeping a watchful eye out. It was cold, and Flynn kept his hat pressed against his head. 

If someone was going to attack the prisoner transports and try to free those inside, it'd be soon. Cracking his knuckles slowly, he exhaled, and began to pace back and forth. When they reached G-2, any attacks would be far more difficult. He had been on edge this entire time. It was possible this would go smoothly, and nobody would make an attempt. 

Somehow, he doubted it. 

[BlacKitten]

Soaring in the sky, a little bat gazed at the two marine ships sailing down below side by side. Soldiers at the crow’s nests were busy scanning the surrounding area with their handheld telescopes on the lookout for any ships near the horizon. They treated the environment like a two-dimensional plane just like what a map would portray. If there were to be any incoming attacks, the number one source would commonly be from enemy ships; they had no reason to expect anything from what’s above them.

The bat was merely an insignificant speck that blended with the cloudy grey morning sky, and as he descended towards the ships in a roundabout manner, he approached the formation from the left flank at a low altitude. He took full advantage of the giant angled white sails which blocked anyone on the right side from being able to spot him. If he couldn’t see the soldiers, then the soldiers couldn’t see him either. For soldiers keeping a lookout on the left flank, he merely vanished out of sight with a sudden burst of blinding speed – faster than what their vision can detect especially for something so small. His claws clung onto the wooden green surface of the left wall of the left ship, hidden within the shadow of the hull.

Pointed cupped-shaped ears listened in, capturing the soundwaves of any voices and ultrasonic components of living beings. He could sense the presences of those on deck and within the vessel itself, roughly informing him the number of men on board. 

Right above him would be the main deck, and right below him would be where the cannons were sticking out from square-framed openings. There were a total of six cannons on each side of a standard marine ship; to him, that meant six total openings to exploit. The problem was that each cannon had at least one soldier stationed –ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

With so many serious, attentive men ready on standby, going unnoticed was going to be difficult. As confident as he was with his own skills, he'd rather not waste too much energy with such a mission. The captured Revolutionaries were all unfamilar folks to him; he had no attachments to them whatsoever. He didn't particularly care what happens to them; this was all merely a duty assigned to him alone due to his unique abilities. He may be a single soul, but a crew of low ranked soldiers shouldn't pose much of a threat to him. The biggest threat would be who their leader is. It'd be a problem if he was up against a Vice Admiral, and ranks can be difficult to determine based on appearences alone.  

[Tokoz]

Flynn frowned as he looked around, blinking. Had he seen something in the sky... ? No, it didn't look like it. Still, he had been on edge as it was. Even if it was just a bird, the existence of Zoans meant that he couldn't be too careful. Hopping up on the mast, he stared skyward, looking around. The sky was empty, save for a slowly drifting seagull. Staring at it questioningly for a moment, he shrugged. 

Lowering a hand, he flicked the extending chain and activated his Chainsaw, before flicking his arm. A curved blade of air flew upwards, hitting the seagull and sending it plummeting out of the air. On the ships, men jumped and looked around. Flynn watched it plummet into the sea, before bobbing up and splashing, looking quite annoyed. 

So, not a Devil Fruit user then. 

Dropping back down, he looked around, then gestured. "False alarm. Stay on guard, though." Scratching his chin, he hummed for a moment. He had no idea what was coming. A strike team? A ship? A whole fleet? Nothing? It was difficult to tell. Raising a hand, he clicked the Den Den Mushi he had in his coat active. "Flynn to Avernus. Everyone on alert?" 

A moment later, a female voice came through. "Aye aye, Captain. Ready on your signal if anything happens."

[BlacKitten]

“False alarm. Stay on guard, though.” Authoritative words from an unknown speaker fell into the ears of the eavesdropping bat.

“Flynn to Avernus. Everyone on Alert?”

So his name is Flynn.

“Aye aye, Captain. Ready on your signal if anything happens.”

So Flynn is a Captain. But something isn’t right here.

The voice of the woman’s response from the Den Den Mushi couldn’t be detected elsewhere. He should be able to hear two identical voices at once – one where the woman is actually located and the other being telepathically transmitted into the snail. Yet, he could hear the sound of the latter. He assumed that the woman would be located on one of the two ships. Judging from by few exchanging words, it did not seem that Captain Flynn was speaking to someone who’s located on another island. This person should be close by, someone who’s ready when given a signal. Perhaps the key part was the name Avernus. At first, he mistook it to be the woman’s name, but the pronoun ‘everyone’ suggests that the name refers to a collective group of people – likely a crew on a vessel. However, his ears could only detect those among the two marine ships. Moreover, all the standard marine ships looked the same; calling each one by a name was downright confusing. Was there a third ship somewhere that not even he could detect?

While the rank of Captain can be confirmed, it was still unclear if there were any more officers that wielded an equal or higher rank. For the time being, he should act carefully. Everyone here seemed to be on guard as if they were all expecting him. If so, that certainly made his job a bit more difficult, but that did not mean these folks know exactly what to expect.

At the center opening, a soldier stood behind the cannon, looking out the small square opening for any signs of enemy ships. Within a fraction of a second, his eyes caught sight of a dark blur flying straight at him before a sinisterly dark hand gripped over his face, covering his eyes while a single knuckle struck him in the throat. A sense of heaviness knocked him off balance as the weight of an intruder slipped around towards his behind, catching his collapsing body to prevent the sound of a thump. The soldier could neither scream for help nor see what was happening.

Twitch Form

The infiltrator tampered with the muscle composition within his body to possess more fast-twitch fibers. He desired to eliminate everyone within the cannon room as quickly as possible.

Shadow Step!

His very appearance vanished, blitzing throughout the room and appearing no more than a streak of black and dark pale violet. Every soldier in the room frantically turned their heads around at the sound of their comrades hitting onto the wooden floor in a heap. The ambusher approached every single one of them from their blind-spots as he systematically knocked everyone out cold by striking at their temples – one of the thinnest parts of the skull. Each hit conducted a jolt of electricity straight into their heads; he had the power to control over his own bioelectricity after all.

The Revolutionary Agent, Midnight, shrunk himself back into a bat before hiding behind the stairwell that lead up to the main deck. Over a dozen soldiers were now unconsciously lying on the floor here. He didn’t kill any of them, simply making sure they wouldn’t be in his way. He prioritized extreme speed and stealth to ensure that none of them held any useful knowledge about him.

Now, he rested in the dark shadows, waiting to make his next move.

[Tokoz]

 After finishing his call to the Avernus, Flynn tapped the Den Den again. "Ship 1, command area, report in." An all clear came through, and he nodded. He had set up a check-in system every 10 minutes, in order to make sure they were not infiltrated. From there, he began to move to the different parts of the ship, calling each and hearing an all-clear from the officer there. 

With a final "All Clear, sir", he finished his check-in of the right ship. Each ship had a command area, a deck, the prison area, a bunks, and a cannon deck with Den Den Mushi. However, the bunks should be empty at this time, so they had skipped check-in for those. Anyone in the bunks was being treated as an intruder, to prevent Marines slacking off on the job. 

Well, the ship he was on seemed clear. That was good. Still, there was another ship to check in with. As important as this was, it was a massive pain to call several different people and wait for them to pick up. He had nearly burst into the break room when someone failed to answer an hour ago. He needed some tea, he was too paranoid. 

Starting with the command room, he worked his way down. Next was the cannon deck. Hitting the button, he let the Den Den begin to ring.

[BlacKitten]

Several moments later, the lack of rushing footsteps indicated that no one outside of this room noticed what has occurred here. From the sound of things, the ship on the right of his little formation was undergoing a check on each major region to ensure that everything was proceeding smoothly. By the echoing of voices, it would seem that the Den Den Mushi was at use, and from the one within the cannon room right here, he could further confirm that these telepathic snails were the main tools for communication. With this safety routine undergoing, it was only a matter of time before they proceed to check on the ship that he’s currently on.

The little bat swiftly galloped across the wooden floor, using his strong hind legs to propel his little body forward while the claws of his wings were used to steer him in the right direction and to function as additional balance. Vampire bats were the only kind of bats capable of maneuvering quickly on ground level. He furtively went down to the prison section of the ship. There were multiple cells with metal barred gates to trap the hopeless handcuffed prisoners. There were only two guards stationed here to keep watch of everyone; each of them was armed with a loaded rifle for self-protection.

In the long dimly lit room, the bat scurried like a rat on the ground, approaching the guards quietly. He watched the two men facing back to back in order to keep an eye on each opposite row of cells. The little bat jumped up between them and shapeshifted into a humanoid figure as his humanly hands cupped their mouths and gripped their faces. He released a dose of violet-colored electricity from the palm of his hands to the heads of the two ambushed guards. Their screams were muffled, and a few seconds of involuntary muscle spasm later, the two grown men collapse onto the floor.

Immediately, the prisoners behind bars looked up and observed at what had just transpired. They saw a man whose face was shadowed by a hood; his body wore a dark-cyan underclothing that could be seen in between the disjointed pieces of dark-violet armory around his torso, forearms, thighs, and shins.

Standing upright with his hands in by his side, the mysterious figure spoke in a low and quiet tone, “My name is Midnight, and I am an agent of the Revolutionary Army.” With a quick scan, he observed there to be about a dozen prisoners here. When it came to rescue missions, he was more used to saving a signal soul; having to save this many of them would be rather difficult. To make matters worse, this was only one of the two prison ships that he will have to deal with.

He tossed the ring of keys in between the bars where they could begin freeing themselves from the cuffs around their wrists. “With this many of you, I cannot guarantee all of your safety. But to optimize your chance of escape, then you must all listen to my commands without fail. If you understand, then nod your heads but do not speak.”

The captives didn’t exactly have much of a choice in the matter. If this cryptic man was indeed a part of the same affiliation, then they were more than willing to follow him. All of them nodded their heads.

“Good. Then listen to my instructions very carefully,” he spoke in a fast pace. “You will all quietly swap places with the marine soldiers in the cannon room above us. I have already rendered them unconscious. Exchange your clothing with their uniforms and systematically place their bodies within these cells.”

He then gestured his fingers towards the two that he deemed to have the closest facial and bodily appearances to the two guards that he had just knocked out. “You two..., will stay here and act as the prison guards.”

He informed all of them as a general whole, “If the Den Den Mushi rings on either the cannon room or the prison room, confidently respond with these exact words: ‘All Clear, sir’” 

Speed was of the essence here. He needed these folks to act fast without hesitance. As he constantly monitored the situation through sensing both the presence and sound of other soldiers, he led the way towards the cannon room where they may begin swapping procedure.

While overseeing the process unfold as humanly possible, Agent Midnight stood behind the stairwell in case any unwanted soldier decided to come down and check up on the situation here, but with the check-in procedure that they have installed, most of them were probably reliant on it to inform their situation.

[Tokoz]

 The Den Den rang, and then clicked, as someone on the other side picked up. "All clear, sir." said a calm voice on the other end. Flynn nodded, and ended the call. Then, he inhaled deeply and roared out "ALL HANDS, RED ALERT!" Hitting the button on the snail, he barked into it. 

"Avernus, we have a problem. Surface now! Get everyone out here!"

Kicking off the ground, and then off the air, Flynn blurred through the sky to the deck of the other ship, landing and then speeding downstairs. In the room, a man was just putting down the snail, wearing a Marine uniform. He was met with a fist to the face. Spinning about, Flynn flicked his arms, chainsaws revving. 

"DOWN ON THE GROUND, NOW!"

As he spoke, there was a massive crash of water from outside, as a huge metal hull rose from the deep. All over the top, hatches began to open, and figures were launched out, landing on the ships. Two companies of CHIMERA Marines, decked out in gas masks and body armor, landed on the ships. Many of them had gas grenades ready, and others were carrying cuffs and nets. From within the ship, 5 Cazadors crawled out, standing on the hull of the submarine and glaring about, searching for their prey. 

As Flynn stood above the unconcious revolutionary, he glared down at him. 

"You may be used to dealing with soldiers, but I'm a scientist. I explore all variables. Did you think I didn't check the prisoner list, memorize every face of those we were transporting? If that wasn't enough, I've been hearing the same pattern of voices say the same thing every 15 minutes for the past day and a half. I noticed when the voice changed."

All over the ships, Marines fanned out, eyeing each other. On the other ship, additional forces were sent down to the brigs to check the prisoner manifests. 

[BlacKitten]

“ALL HANDS, RED ALERT!” A loud roar reached every ear within the vicinity. The moment one of the Revolutionaries responded to the check in, actions from the marines began immediately.

The intruder remained hidden behind the flight of stairs, hiding within the shadows as he observed the situation unfold. Very soon, footsteps came rushing down from a single person – if it was appropriate to even call this freak a person to begin with. Quickly, a tall, slender, four-armed abomination rushed into the room, immediately apprehending the man who responded to the Den Den Mushi without hesitance. “DOWN ON THE GROUND, NOW!” He warned.

Meanwhile, the suspicion of a ‘third ship’ was soon confirmed as Avernus – the name of a submarine- surfaced from the waters between the two prison ships. He could breifly make out of it through the small openings on the right side where the cannons stick out.

An underwater ship!?

This was a first time for the intruder. He had no idea that the marines had such technology in their possession.

Well..., I did not see that coming.

The five revolutionaries who were unfortunate enough to be on this level went down onto the ground as part of the order from their captor. With a quick glance, the hooded figure deduced that the sound of this freak’s voice belonged to Captain Flynn, but he wasn’t the only one who can recognize voices. As explained by the scientist himself, Flynn had memorized every face and voice, having to hear the same voice every fifteen minutes for the past one and a half days. To go to such lengths, this one was clearly an oddball among the marines and an extremely paranoid one at that.

However, with how things were right now, the intruder didn’t have the luxury to just wait and observe. This freak with four long arms and horns on his head had his back turned to him and hadn’t seem to have noticed his presence quite yet.

Heavily outnumbered, Midnight had no intention of playing fair. Within a split second, he had shapeshifted into his human-beast form – a hybrid state. Black, hook-shaped claws formed on his hands and feet. A giant folded up pair of bat wings sprouted from his shoulder sockets.

He timed himself to attack at Flynn’s back as the mechanical freak has allotted his time into speaking. Without knowing what this adversary was capable of, the Zoan-user resorted to a long-ranged assault.

Aerial Crash!

For a fraction of a second, his wings had blurred, momentarily fanning outwards to release a giant wall of condensed air that spanned out across nearly the entire room. With the way that the Revolutionaries are down on the ground, their low positions made it convenient for him to unleash a sweeping attack that would breeze over their heads, meaning the figure that’s nearly eight-feet tall would be the only one at risk of getting bulldozed by his attack which has enough power to crush the Marine Captain through the ship’s wall. Being indoors, he chose a technique that was difficult to evade due to the sheer amount of space that it takes up.

No other choice; I guess I’ll have to the more violent approach.

[Tokoz]

The revolutionaries he had apprehended fell to the ground, putting their hands on their heads. Each of them was in a Marine uniform, probably from the men who were supposed to be here. Flynn eyed them, thinking. They had to have gotten out somehow... If it was on their own, there would have been a report. There was no way the guards down there somehow missed these guys getting out of their cells.

That implied someone strong had snuck in, strong enough to take down the 12 or so Marines between here and the prison. 

Looking down at the false Marines, he noticed several of them glance momentarily behind him, and his eyes narrowed. Whipping around, he saw a figure standing there, large bat wings and hooked claws visible. His wings were snapping, and Flynn's eyes widened again as he cracked his arms forward rapidly, digging his heels into the ground. 

The sudden burst of air from his arms against the roof, as well as his uneven footing, sent him slamming down into the wooden floor with a sudden exhalation. Still, his rapid fall to earth served him well, as a massive wall of air shot over him, breaking the wall opposite. The ship groaned as it's timber was broken, and he whipped his hand into his coat. Clicking the Den Den, he growled out "ABANDON LEFT SHIP" and flipped, standing up and then slamming his hands together. "GUNNAGRAIN!" 

 Out of his four arms, chainsaws whirring, erupted a flurry of air blades. Like a shotgun of air slashes, they slammed downwards through the deck, shattering the wood and leaving a gaping hole in the already damaged ship. All around it, men were gathering documents and unconscious comrades, preparing for the rapid sinking already taking place. Meanwhile, Flynn kicked off the ground, rocketing upwards diagonally through the hatch he had entered, and kicking skyward, looking down at the ship below him. It would be harder to surprise him from below, and if it WAS a Zoan user, the seawater already surging up through the hole would put him at a severe disadvantage in mere moments. 

[BlacKitten]

Seemingly out of pure reflex, Captain Flynn reacted to the wall of air by strategically tripping and falling to the ground with style via a burst of air from his arms to the ceiling. The Zoan-user’s technique had completely crashed through the frontal part of the ship’s wall in a single clean sweep. The destructive end result had left the Revolutionaries gaping in shock with their eyes popping out of their sockets.

Ah... I didn’t think such a tall target could have evaded that.

The bat-human folded up his wings behind his back to minimize the space he occupies. Despite all the unexpected events, he felt unusually calm and nonchalant about the situation. Perhaps deep down, he believed that with his ability of flight, he could escape from this mess at any given moment.

“ABANDON LEFT SHIP” The four-armed freak growled into the Den Den Mushi as quickly as possible. His quick mind and fast decision making was quite impressive. He wasn’t wasting any time at all.

Agent Midnight casually placed his hands into his side pockets. Now that his presence was known, he no longer had to think about hiding. He paid close attention, anticipating this weird looking scientist to make a move.

“GUNNAGRAIN!” The chainsaws on each of his four arms were activated.

Gunna-what? What did he say?

A flurry of air slashes was unleashed, but such a destructive attack wasn’t directed at Zoan-user. Instead, the assault was aimed downwards at the floor itself, completely decimated through the layers of wood until it penetrated through the base of the ship. After leaving behind a large gaping hole, the Marine Captain took the opportunity to escape, eventually leaving the winged figure hanging upside down from the ceiling with the hook-shaped claws on his feet.

Water surged through the hole, beginning to spread outwards across the floor. As the Revolutionaries grew alarmed, their supposed rescuer was hanging off of the ceiling, away from the rising seawater below.

“Well..., let’s look at the bright side. You folks aren’t Devil Fruit users, so you can all swim away,” he said in a nonchalant tone of voice.

“EH!” The fake marines gawked in unison as the waters rose up to their waists. They were in the middle of nowhere, and the closest island from here just happened to be a marine base. The idea of swimming away was preposterous. Just moments ago, they were all safe and sound, kept in confined cells. But now, at the cost of being freed, they had to survive on their own.

Swift as the wind, the winged combatant bolted through the gaping opening that his attack had created, leading him towards the outside world where he would be greeted by countless pairs of eyes. As the left ship proceeded to sink, the escaped prisoners picked the gaping hole as their exit as well, diving straight into the seas below.

Shadow Blitz!

Just as Shadow Step was a high-speed maneuvering technique on the ground level, Shadow Blitz was a high-speed maneuvering technique used in the sky. Within a heartbeat, he appeared like a sharp streak of darkness, reappearing on the main deck of the right ship, surrounded by armed soldiers. Within that instance, a surge of bloodlust radiated from his presence, casting killing intent among those within his vicinity.

“Fight... or... Surrender!?” The hooded fighter asked in a cold, detached tone. Despite being surrounded, his bold approach indicated that he wasn’t the least bit afraid of the sheer numbers that’s against him. He had already demonstrated the means to result in a sinking ship abeit that was unintended on his part and was drastically sped up thanks to Flynn's decision. 

Which is more important: your lives or your blind sense of duty? 

[Tokoz]

The bat-like figure burst from the hold, zipping into the air like Flynn had, and nearly vanishing. Flynn could barely perceive his motion, but saw him heading for the right ship. 

He landed, the Marines on the deck whipping about to aim at him. Several CHIMERA marines leveled gas sprayers at him, and others cocked their guns. All of them, however, were struck in an instant by the wave of utter malice that the bat was exuding. Several of the regulars choked, and one even dropped his gun. It was the next words that made their position clear, though.  

The cold words washed over them, a dull and pointed question. Fight or Surrender. Then, from above, Flynn's voice echoed.

"Any man who puts down his gun, or surrenders now..."

The regular marines tensed, fearful, but the CHIMERA Marines suddenly pulled up their weapons again, eyes glaring behind gas masks. "On them, I will lay no blame. This opponent is beyond you. I won't lie about that." There was clear shock among the men of the prisoner transports. Flynn stood floating in the air, kicking every second or so, 

"However, I implore you... do not falter! Remember why we are here." Spreading his hands wide, he growled, suddenly looking as if he had been cast from steel. His face was overshadowed by his hat, and his eyes seemed to glow. "WE ARE MARINES! WE ARE THE BACKBONE OF THE WORLD! IT IS BY OUR BLOOD AND SWEAT THAT CIVILIANS CAN LIVE IN PEACE! WE HAVE A DUTY TO STAND AGAINST THOSE WHO WOULD THREATEN THAT PEACE AND SAFETY!"

 Whipping his hand down at Pluto, he growled. "I CAN RESPECT YOUR IDEALS, BUT YOUR METHODS HAVE BUTCHERED THOUSANDS. I CHOOSE TO STAND WITH ORDER, AND I WILL FIGHT ALONGSIDE ANYONE HERE WHO WILL STAND WITH ME!"

There was silence for a brief moment, before a man in the circle broke it. "My home island had a Marine Base. My brother worked there. I wanted to follow in his footsteps, to defend our home. The Revolutionaries blew it up. The next week, while I was in mourning, we were attacked by pirates, and my fiance was killed. So, Mr. Revo..."

He lifted his head, glaring with an almighty ferocious hate. "You can fuck off to hell."

 All of the Marines fired. Some straight ahead, others upwards, preventing an upwards dodge. Meanwhile, Flynn sped downwards, flicking his arms back, and aiming a slash at Pluto with a whirring Chainsaw. 

[BlacKitten]

"On them, I will lay no blame. This opponent is beyond you. I won't lie about that."

What a nice, logical captain... I respect that.

"However, I implore you... do not falter! Remember why we are here."

Oh boy... why do I feel that he’s going to give a speech as I’ll feel inclined to stand here in this vulnerable spot and listen to what he has to say?

Several seconds later...

His head perked up as his tone of voice immediately held the tone of tangible emotions, “Huh..., I have ideals?” He sounded very puzzled. He never stated anything about his ideals to any of them, but apparently, that four-armed cyborg respected his ideals. He didn't exactly came here with a grandiose cause for fighting.  

He later tilted his head, “Well... it’s true that I’ve killed quite a number of people..., but most of them were either pirates or members of the illegal Underworld. Isn’t that what you guys wanted too?”

"So, Mr. Revo... You can **** off to hell."

“Ah yes, I am totally responsible for destruction of the marine base from your home island and the death of your fiancé who wasn’t even killed by revolutionaries,” he said in an unenthusiastic, sarcastic tone. Little by little, his mind felt dulled by all this vehement emotions and dialogue lingering in the air. His bloodlust was effectively extinguished by the soldiers' will to fight. 

Shield Form!

Intercepting the timing of these riflemen, the Zoan-user modified his wings to appear thicker and bulkier by enhancing the network of muscles within the membrane. By combining his mastery of his own transformation powers with the inspiration of the Tekkai technique of the Rokushiki system, he invented a form where his wings become as hard as iron. By using the massive surface area of his additional appendages, the demonic figure shielded a large chunk of his circumference as bullets bounced off the curvature of his super-hard wings. For the area that his wings couldn’t cover, he either evaded them with sharp lurches of his torso or relied on his metal forearm protectors to deflect the incoming bullets away from him.

These riflemen had to be considerate as well. As advantageous as their encircling formation seemed to be, they had to be mindful of not accidently sniping down a fellow soldier on the other side of the target.

Their captain is going to attack me from above.

Without even bothering to look, Agent Midnight made a long sweeping step to the side, turning his body partly around, and blending smoothly around the cyborg’s assault.

Ugh... my Kenbunshoku Haki isn’t advanced enough to keep track of this many people at once. I’m still too overly reliant on my visual reflexes.

[Tokoz]

The Revolutionary looked confused by the suddenly invigorated men. He seemed less brutal, more confused and annoyed now. Snipping back at the rifleman who had spoken, he made a valid point Flynn was still quite sure would be ignored. There was a reason Flynn had tailored his speech as he did. His own reasons were similar, but a bit different, but this would resonate with his men better. Not all were as pragmatic as he. 

The man shifted and swelled, his wings seeming to flex and harden. Bullets bounced off him, and the larger projectiles of the CHIMERA Marines were deflected as well, falling to the ground like all the other bullets. 

When Flynn hit the ground, blow missing Agent Midnight, his hand buried into the deck... and the regular soldiers turned and ran. With a sudden, rapid motion, all four of Flynn's arms went to grab at the Zoan User. He attempted to snag the man's arms, wings, any part of him that was out, taking advantage of his multiple arms and extreme reach to get a hold on him.

With his chainsaws, if he managed to snag the Zoan for a moment, it would likely weaken him. Head down, it wasn't obvious either what he had done while skyward. His eyes had been glowing under his hat, but it wasn't just his augmentations.

It was the gas mask that he had put on. 

Less than a second after he landed, the gas grenades that the CHIMERA soldiers had fired went off, filling the air with a huge cloud of tear gas. Even some of the regular soldiers were unable to escape in time, having known what was coming. Flynn and the CHIMERA Marines were protected, but Midnight and anyone else in the area was now breathing in stinging gas. 

 

[BlacKitten]

Closing his eyes, he heightened his concentration of his surroundings.

Next, he’ll try to grab me.

And just as he foresaw, four long biomechanical hands reached out towards the Zoan-user who honed in on his sixth sense towards Flynn, who he believed to be the strongest fighter among this crew. Slickly and silently, his very image blurred just before any of the hands could grab hold of him. Circling around the cyborg to outmaneuver him, he didn’t wish to get caught by those nasty chainsaws that was built into those arms with two elbows.

“Tch!” His eyes opened halfway from an unexpected sting on his nerves; his vision was then immediately clouded by visible white gas. His hands immediately rushed to cover both his eyes, nose, and mouth as his wings violently fanned outwards to blow away some of the gas. He held his breath, but it was too late.

What!? What is this!?

Even with his eyes squeezed shut; he could feel tears leaking out. Were they using some form of poisonous gas? Did the marines use such weapons?

I can’t... focus...

His sense of sight had been robbed, and the sting in his eyes made him feel inclined to wildly thrash about.

He didn’t think they marines would pull a stunt quite like this, especially when there were so many unmasked men on board.

Not good... someone can attack me any moment now...

Immediaetly, he rushed in the opposite direction of the marine captain, shooting himself straight out of the dense fog of tear gas. Pain fueled his movements. His wings curved in front of him as he crashed straight into a mob of soldiers, ramming straight into them with his iron-hard wings smacking them on impact.

He toppled over, rolled onto his knees. His wings reverted back into their regular form to regain their flexibility before wildly and erratically flapping in random direction. Gusts of winds were released by accident, knocking men off their feet by the impulse of wind. His clawed fingers crushed the planks of wood beneath him; his teeth clenched tautly. In order to endure this pain, he had to thrash around a bit.

“Haah... Haah!” Breathing became difficult, even causing him to cough twice before he held back the inclination to do so.

This is bad! I can’t fight like this...

He didn’t know where his opponents were. Not only was he blind, but he couldn’t focus on his surroundings at all. Within that fraction of a moment, his heart began beating rapidly out of fear. He was in a very desperate situation right now; a moment’s worth of carelessness and cockiness had led to such a petty trick get to him.

He hated to admit it, but he underestimated them. Never in his life had he ever witnessed such advanced technology before: an underwater ship, mechanical arms with chainsaws, strange masks, strange gas weapons that made him all teary. It didn’t feel like he was up against the marines at all.

He didn’t think he would ever resort to this technique, but he had no other choice. Without knowing where his targets are, he would just have to target the general surrounding area all at once.

Before anyone could get to him, the intruder channeled the stinging pain straight into a blurring pivot on his leading foot with his slanted wings splayed outwards, resulting in a high speed rotation of his body.

COILING SERPENT!

Immediately, a vortex expanded outwards, spreading throughout the main deck. His wings acted as the blades of an electric fan, generating a rising whirlwind with enough suction power to hurl grown men into the sky. The powerful spinning air raised beyond the height the mast of the ship. The white sails began to violently flutter, tearing by the force. The entire vessel began rocking uncontrollably.

At the eye of the storm, Pluto huffed and puffed in place, repeatedly trying to open his eyes. As soldiers were swirling above him, doomed to eventually fall into the seas, he took the time to recover. “ARUGH!!! Haah... Haah... Tch...,” his hands went back to covering his eyes, unable to do much about his vision. All he could hear was the rush of winds whistling around. This was one of his strongest techniques, but the vortex was likely weaker than what he could normally do. He estimated that the whirlwind would only last around fifteen seconds before it dissipates.

I still can't open my eyes... just what did they do to me?

[Tokoz]

Flynn grinned in triumph, watching as the Revolutionary stumbled backwards. The tear gas had exploded right around him. There had been some collateral damage among the regulars, but they'd be fine within a quarter-hour or so. However, the revolutionary was currently under time pressure. 

As the Bat Zoan flailed wildly, Flynn spun backwards, getting out of range of the pained creature. That gas was nasty, he knew all too well. Testing had resulted in numerous accidental and on-pupose exposures, and while he had a bit of resistance to it, a gas mask was still fairly necessary. 

As the Zoan rushed away, Flynn narrowed his eyes, looking him over. Those ears were quite large... Hmm. "Avernus, submerge again. All assets, prepare to retreat. Code: 5PRXS." Behind him, the Avernus sank beneath the waves again, air locks on the side opening to allow the swimming CHIMERA Marines to get in safely. The crew of the sunken ship had already made their way in while the larger hull doors were open, leaving the crew of the remaining ship and the deployed Marines the only ones outside. Figures in Marine uniforms were leaping from the existing ship, some carrying others. 

Some soldiers were knocked off the ship by the sudden gusts of wind from the panicking Zoan, and Flynn spared a glance to make sure they were conscious. Snapping a gesture, a few of the standing Marines jumped off the side to help those who had been less lucky, to make sure nobody drowned. Focusing on the panicking bat, his eyes narrowed.

As he sped forward, he saw the bat slam his foot down and twist, hard. Oh fuck. Hands slapping down onto the deck, Flynn turned as fast as he could, changing the angle slightly. Arms wide, he sped towards the closest marines, throwing them to the ground and trying to brace himself. 

Marines were thrown skyward, and Flynn cursed as he saw more than a few hit the water. "All standing Marines, save your comrades! GO!" There was almost nobody remaining on the main deck, but muffled cries of assent came from the water below, and the deck downstairs. The ship creaked violently, and Flynn cursed. Right then... time to get inventive.  

He was against the back railing, having been blown clear of the vortex. It had still hit like a Sea King, and he felt quite winded. Thankfully, he had been on the outskirts of it, but even so. The ship was groaning horribly, and the mast had been torn to pieces by the sudden assault. Standing up, he narrowed his eyes at it. It was continuing, with the Bat presumably inside. 

That Zoan was incredibly powerful. He was at least Vice Admiral level, if not stronger. His tactics were probably the only reason his enemy hadn't completely destroyed him yet. Kicking off the deck, he flew upwards, clearing the top of the vortex as he blurred through the air, getting higher and higher. Then, gritting his teeth, he seemed to snap. 

Electricity arced along his body, and his whole form inverted chromatically. White became black, blue became yellow. Kicking off the air again at an odd angle repeatedly, he threw himself into a spin, and shot downwards through the eye of the vortex, body sparking with electricity and speed at the maximum. The vortex was around it's creator, cutting off his escape route. 

Chenso Vortex

NERVE VECTOR ACTIVATED
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