Log:Enter: Silverback

2012/01/06 	 Ellbeth Flutter Kay Material Girl Redwood Silverback Toby Total Babe Veidra 1

The police have blocked off the tarmac about 50m from where an orbital shuttle sits on an open runway. The shuttle looks to be in the middle of refueling -- there's a fuel truck near by, with a hose connected to the underside of the shuttle. Near the shuttle, there's also a stout tow rig, a robotic truck used for moving planes around on the tarmac. Veidra is here, along with six gunmen. One of them watches over a group of techs who are sitting down by the fuel truck. Two gunmen are finishing the refueling process. The other three are taking cover with guns at the ready.

Flutter is on scene! She is eager to lend assistance in some manner, and she feels that she can very easily offer help with one of numerous spells at her disposal.

Total Babe runs from the maglev toward the police block. . o O (Next time I make a deal with the devil, remember to ask for movement powers....) "What's the situation?" she askt he police as she rushes up.

Ellbeth is already on the tarmac of the runway. Her yacht, Abydos, is being flown in from the Italy shipyard where it had just been serviced. So the police presence quickly gains her attention, and she makes her way other there to see if her assistance could be helpful.

Kay arrives on sight, arriving at ridiculous levels of speed once she heard that it was Veidra on site and takes a good look around the situation, well, in the space of a few moments getting an idea of what to do. .oO( Good, can finally end this Phylxian menace. ) Meanwhile over SGG to those who have such communications, << I'm going to throw a barrier up between the gunmen and the technicians. If someone could stop the fueling process without damaging anything, that'd be swell. >> And she comes in for a landing *thoom*, "Hello Veidra. Would you like a cell next to Destroyer?"

The police officer in charge says to Total Babe. "It's one of those aliens, like the on that attacked City Hall last year! She took the groundscrew hostage and look like she's going to take the shuttle."

Maggie arrived at the Transit Center not long ago, returning from a holiday trip. She's used to jet lag, stiff legs, and bustle when she leaves the concourse. Looking out and seeing cordoned areas with gunmen is just a wee bit unusual. Fast landing people yelling isn't really normal, either.

Flutter rises into the air, starting to cast a spell aimed at the general area of the persons who are hostagified. The Sigil of Binding, for those familiar with her small array of magic.

Total Babe nods., "On it," she says, both to the police and to Kay, and leaping over tha barrier runs toward the refuelling truck - either to try to stop the refuellng or to serve as additional protection for the hostages, as need be.

Veidra turns towards Kay as her booming entrance. She snaps her wrist and red blade of pure energy appears.

Ellbeth arrives at the police line in time to hear the comment to Total Babe. She nods to the heroine, then suggests to the officer in charge, "Calling Starguard is advisable if you haven't already done so. And do you have any..." The remainder of her speech trails off as heroes begin engaging the villain and henchmen.

Total Babe runs to get herself between the hostages and the people with guns as top priority.

Total Babe thinks. o O (I just pray if they fire it'll be at me, not them!)

"I thought you heroes were supposed to care about the weakling humans," Veidra says. "I admire your aggressiveness." With that, she raises her hand towards Kay and red strands of lightning shoot at the telekinetic from her fingertips.

Total Babe thinks. o O (Hurry up with that shield!)

Toby-running a bit later than usual, comes in at the end of in the streak of pink light which marks her mach-stupid movement. Toby-still hovering a good distance above everyone, tries to get an idea of what's going on.

Kay grimaces and grits her teeth, jaw flexing as she snarls in defiance, the lightning rolling over her skin and into her right through her force field. "Really? That's it? That's the best you've got?" She smirks, "I'm not a hero, I'm a soldier. I have no problems putting you down rather than taking you in." She could be bluffing. "Sure, the civs matter, but what makes you think I can't save them from here?" And she gestures, focusing her will through the pain, to summon forth a wall of crimson energy between the hostages and the fight! Or tries to anyways.

Veidra smiles. "You /do/ care about them. That weakness will be your undoing."

Kay smiles wryly, "Really? Cuz the way I see it I'm still going to put you down and they'll be safe."

Flutter aims her sigil of binding at either one group of or the entirety of the gunmen, since the hostages are protected from more than one front.

Glowing bands of energy bind up everything within 30m of the shuttle, including Veidra, Total Babe, Kay, the gunmen, and the hostages.

Total Babe thinks. o O (What the-?)

Toby blinks as there are energy binds thrown up around everyone, but then nods to herself, gaining a bearing on things. Toby flies in closer Veidra, creates a sphere of pink energy and throws it straight at Veidra.

Kay blinks as she's surrounded by glowing bands of energy that threaten to restrain her movement, "Really?" She asks seriously, "I'd already protected the hostages Flutter!" She calls over her shoulder, apparently having run into how Flutter 'protects' civilians before. She seems amused though, smiling and shaking her head.

Toby's blast knocks Veidra free of the bands. She tumbles roughly up the tarmac - bumps and bouncing along the surface, heading away from the heroes.

Maggie figures now is a good time to change clothes, and switches her wardrobe before she walks towards the shuttle. If there's a bunch of gunmen, then there's guns, and those are what hurt people. She concentrates on one of those pieces of metal to try and turn it into a bunch of really tiny pieces of metal. That way the nearest gunman might then be just a man.

Veidra's trigger men try to bust free of the bands.

All but one of the goons is able to strain free from the bands.

Three of the gunmen huddle down behind cover, two of them behind the tow rig and the third one, by the hostages, fires around the edge of Kay's barrier.

Flutter is hit by the gunfire, sent away from the gunmen and to the ground. She seems unharmed.

 Kay says, "Next time, shoot around the bands so they hold her still, now I can't get to her."

Ellbeth teleports closer, getting to just about ten metres of the shuttle. She suspects her intended action will be largely futile but if it issn't it will help more that trying to TK blast through a mass of Flutter's webbing. Reaching out with her mind she tries to shut down Veidra's visual centre in her brain.

FOOSH! From the distant end of the tarmac two figures fly down from the sky: one is a an individual in a power armor, flying at breakneck speed. He's carrying a woman in a uniform body suit. Thos who have seen here will recognize her as Redwood.

Silverback Power armor with a sleek and aerodynamic design. The form of the armor is masculine, hinting at the nature of the pilot, through her face is hidden behind a black tinted faceplate. The suit is outfitted with a number of vectored thrust engines, and it doesn't appear to have any built-in weaponry, although the pilot is carrying a pair of plasma rifles. The armor shimmers with the energy of a protective force field. The suit is sky blue, with white trim, with a streak of silver running down the rear shoulders and back of the armor.

Redwood Redwood is a woman in a black. She's red skinned, with long black hair and matching red highlights. She's wearing a black uniform body suit, with a couple of pouches along the belt and legs.

Redwood drops from the arms of the powersuit guy. As she falls, she grows and transforms into giant, tree-like creature with think bark-like skin worthy of her namesake. She lands with a *kra-thoom*.

Silverback says, "Veidra, give it up! You can't win this fight!"

Kay laughs, "Red, how good to see you again. You'll get a cell right next to Blow." She then looks over at Veidra, "You've got a choice here Veidra, you can come with me willingly, or, you get beat unconscious, come with me anyways. If you come with me willingly to Starguard HQ, it'll mean I can take /them/ down too."

Veidra floats up to her feet. She still keeps her hand raised towards Kay, pouring red lightning towards her through her finger tips. She raises her second hand to try and double the effect.

Kay is blasted, yet again, by more and more lightning, which she can do nothing about as she's wrapped in gold bands from flutters spell, along with the people she was trying to save. She grits her teeth angrily.

Veidra calls over her shoulder towards Silverback. "What are you supposed to be -- reinforcements? Wait your turn. I'll deal with you in a moment."

Total Babe demonstrates she's rather more flexible that she looks as she extricates herself from the entangling emergies. Since she can't really put herself between all gunmen and all hostages she decides rather to make a target of herself, running over to the fuel truck in order to cut off the refuelling.

Kay flexes her arms and tries to smash her way out of the barrier that's holding her. Not like she expect it to be really difficult to do so but once done she focuses her will on the now 22m distance Veidra, "You think your little trick is going to help you?" She asks with a growl. "Think again." And crimson energy glows around her hand, lines extending from her fingertips as she tries to grab hold of Veidra with her TK and slam her into the ground as /hard as she possibly can/.

Veidra stops shooting lighting from one of her hands. In a flash, her energy blade is back, and she uses it to bat away, Kay's incoming telekinetic field. Sparks fly as the two forces collide.

Toby flies closer to the Veidra, and tries throwing another sphere of pink energy at her.

Veidra's blade hums as she uses it to deflect Toby's energy globe.

Silverback says, "No, we're not their reinforcements, Veidra. I admire your fighting spirit, but look at the situation... At this rate, you'll end up captured along with your comrades. I'm here to offer you a real chance at freeing them. That starts with getting away, escaping to carry on the fight another day."

Flutter stands and traces a rapid sigil, speaking its name in the ancient and forgotten language. She grows to immense size, heading right for the gunners to give them something even bigger to shoot at!

Material Girl is first excited by the new arrivals, then frowns when she realizes they're not here to help. Not help stop things, anyway. "More of them?" She keeps walking forward (no ludicrous speed here) and tries to slow down Veidra's possible escape.

 Kay says, "I'm likely to collapse soon if she keeps pushing with that lightning... so you know."

By now, five of the gunmen are free and they turn their weapons on Flutter, an obvious target.

The sixth gunmen breaks free as well. He raises his sights to shoot at Flutter as well.

The shots land in the massive Flutter without apparent effect, the purple girl-shaped giant being attractive to the gunfire.

Ellbeth moves up to the group of technicians and casts a Sphere of Protection spell around them. Then she casts a mental illusion of a opaque brick wall between Veidra and Kay, maintaining the effect for no longer than a second or two, but blocking line of sight for that period.

The crackling energy from Veidra's off hand dissipates as she loses sight of Kay.

Ellbeth positions the illusionary brick wall accurately and blocks the line of sight Veidra needed to maintain the constant mental power.

Toby shakes her head, and continues her course of action, it worked the first time!

Toby's blast knocks Veidra from her feet and she skids up the runway a little further.

Kay frowns as Silverback and Redwood offer to try and recruit Veidra, "All that's going to happen, is you're both getting arrested for interfering with a Starguard operation. I suggest running now. Red knows how to run, don't you red." And those crimson tendrils of telekinetic energy reach out for Veidra again!

Kay grabs hold of Veidra and she literally flies over towards Kay to land on the ground before her face first. "See. You don't get her. She goes directly to jail, does not pass go, and does not collect two hundred dollars."

Material Girl sighs and everything is just too far away. She just starts running towards the shuttle and the people generally around it.

Total Babe isn't sure it's a good thing she seems to be being ignored, but she turns off the fuel supply and looks to see if she can detach the line to boot.

Silverback says, "Last chance, Veidra. This offer expires in 3, 2, 1..."

"Alright! Get me out of here," Veidra says. And as she does, she tries to flex against Kay's telekinetic hold.

Veidra manages to break free of the telekinetic hold.

Silverback flies to within 30m of Kay and Veidra. "He addresses Veidra's goons. Listen to me carefully if you want to escape, concentrate your fire there." He points an armored finger towards Ellbeth.

Redwood rumbles forward on the runway and charges straight into Flutter.

Flutter is easily able to avoid Redwood's clumsy bullrush.

Flutter heads to the gunmen, getting in the way of them so that it's harder to snipe Ellbeth. She does her best to smack two of them.

"Aiiee!!" The two gunmen are sent flying as Flutter swats them aside. They land hard on the trmac, one is instantly knocked out. The second is barely hanging on to consciousness.

The gunmen open fire. With Flutter in the way, only two of them have an angle on Ellbeth.

Ellbeth watches the bullets fired at her bounce of her Sphere of Protection spell.

Flutter continues being unfazed by the assault upon her!

Ellbeth simply maintains her speel and waits to see if further action is needed, although she suspects it will not be.

Silverback aims a plasma rifle and takes a shot at Ellbeth. As he does so, he tells Veidra: "Get next to Redwood - now!"

Veidra floats up to her feet and moves over to beside Redwood.

Ellbeth looks up at Silverback after the barrier she hastily erects is shattered, "Is this personal? Because as far as I'm aware we've never met. Or are you mistaking me for someone else. Alternatively, if I do hold the key to the success or other of your escape effort, please do explain how. I so hate mysteries unless I'm the author writing them."

Total Babe thinks. o O (I really do need to work on my banter.)

Silverback says to Ellbeth. "Nothing personal. It's just that you're between me, the hostages, and an easy escape."

Toby focuses, moves closer and creates a brighter sphere of pink energy, and tries throwing one more bolt at Veidra.

Ellbeth replies to Silverback, "Ah. Now I understand. Thank you. I would say I'm sorry for inconvenincing you, but actually I'm not."

Angstrom gets out of the way of Toby's blast with a back handspring.

Veidra gets out of the way of Toby's blast with a back handspring.

Kay smirks, "Everyone concentrate fire on Redwood, she's the escape plan." And she turns, focusing her attention on the giant sized redwood then she /launches/ herself at Redwood as hard and as fast as she can!

Kay instead gets a headache and a bloody nose as her power backfires on her.

Material Girl calls out to the one shooting at Ellbeth and the techs. "You don't HAVE to go through the people that aren't even fighting back you know!" Silverback is flying. how hard is it to go around? Now that she's closer, she tries again to take the gun out of gunman, but this time it's against one of the flying armor's guns.

 Kay says, "Bring down redwood... she's their escape plan."

Total Babe, having stopped the fuelling, follows Kay's instructions and charges at Redwood, lashing her three-section staddfard at the tree-woman.

Wham. Total Babe hits Redwood with a solid strike that reverbrates through her tree-like form. She sways from the hit, but doesn't budge.

Redwood says in a low bass-y tone. "Come on." She reaches down to pick up Veidra and hugs her to her trunk, folded up amidst a bunch of branch-fingers. Her feet root into the tarmac. Redwood glows as her form shrinks a little. Veidra disappears, teleported away as Redwood departs, leaving a redwood tree in her place.

Total Babe says, "Damn."

Kay sighs...

Toby frown and sighs.

Silverback says, "That's my cue. I believe that evens the score... Colonial Bay 1, Power Company 1. Let's have a rematch some day!" His forms shimmers as he ascends into the sky, vanishes from sight as he flies off.

Total Babe shakes her head. "What the heck was that all about?"

Kay says, "That, is a new power player, recruiting villains to steal alien technology for his own means. If we could have taken down Redwood, we would have had them all." She shrugs and drops her barrier, then goes to free the hostages by ripping apart magic entangle.

"Thanks," says on of the freed tarmac workers. "That Veidra person -- she's scary."

Material Girl hangs her head as they all get away. Not just that, but her attempt to help was about as helpful as her standing by and doing nothing.

Toby shakes her head, and seems to consider something. "Well, we stopped her from doing whatever it is she /wanted/ to do, at the very least."

Kay says, "Veidra wanted to escape this planet, or the country at least. Now she's working for a very dangerous group."

Kay says, "That's a loss in my book."

"She said she was trying to get to some place..." a tech says. "Tranquility, I think."

"Perhaps I can find a way to locate the tree spirit," Flutter offers.

Kay nods, "Probably to try and free Destroyer and the other one of her criminal accomplices from there." She looks over at Flutter, "Be my guest."

Total Babe blinks. "Tranquility? She wants to break someone out? Is that where her compaions were sent?"

Total Babe says, "In that case, it's a win. Assuming she hasn't travelled to Tranquility by tree."

The purple winged girl-shaped thing shrinks back to its normal size. She goes to where Redwood was, and starts following a trail that few others might notice.

Kay says, "There's nothing stopping Veidra from attacking Tranquility, with more super powered support now. It's still not a win."

Material Girl considers this a major loss, and a personal failure. She makes her desire to be transparent a reality as she becomes as transparent and solid as the air around her.

Total Babe says, "Well, we know what she intends at least - we can warn Tranquility."

Toby just simply sighs, and lands on the ground. Toby looks to herself, then up to the sky. Then shakes her head once more. "If anything, no one was hurt, and we know that she's likely going to try to attack Tranquility." Toby nods to TB, "Yeah, it's not a total loss."

Flutter takes to flight, seeming focused upon something still, and moving away.

Total Babe stares glumly at her weapon, whcih failed to prevent escape. . o O (Perhaps I should carry a chainsaw.....)

Kay informs Starguard over comms about Veidra's desire to get to Tranquility, and about her joining forces with Blowhard's employer, which is definitely bad news, but otherwise a crimson field of energy snaps into place around her and she lifts off into the air, following Flutter.

It takes a little bit of time to for Flutter to follow the trail to the destination. There's a forest in the hills NW of the city, and there's an lone redwood tree there that sticks out like a sore thumb. The site seems quiet, but according to how the nearby forest has been cleared out, there was some kind of VTOL aircraft parked nearby.

Toby also makes sure to follow.

Total Babe shrugs to herself and heads off to the maglev - this seems to be over and everyone's leaving. . o O (Wish I'd been more useful....)

Flutter lands by the large tree, peering into it with fascination. "The spirit is responsible for this," she lilts excitedly. "I have not before encountered one."

Kay sighs when she spots the giant tree, "It's how she teleports. She grows a tree and moves from one to another. We've seen this before." She tells Flutter, "It's how she escaped capture the first time I encountered her."

Flutter nods slightly. "Yes. I may be able to find her place of origin, how she found the spirit..."

After a few seconds, Flutter explains, "The spirit was called by ritual to be part of her. They have joined, and she is a conduit to it. There are wards which may have effect upon her but I do not personally know how to enact them."

Kay nods, "Well, thanks. Starguard doesn't have an active mage type right now anyways. Not sure how feasible it'd be to try and ward Tranquility anyways, it's on the moon." She explains. "We also don't know /what/ to ward, or where, since at the moment we have nothing to predict their plans other than a desire for alien technology."

Flutter smiles. "I will learn more and reference what I do know. This style of magic originates in a different part of the world. And the spirit would probably be less content outside of the natural world's influence. She will return often to the world."

Kay says, "You also really need to learn something more offensive than that great big golden band wrap thing. It gets in the way an awful lot. Maybe a stunning spell that won't hurt anyone permanently would be your style."

Flutter explains, "I had meant to prevent the men with the guns from harming anyone. But I had not cast the spell precisely in the manner that I should have."

Kay nods, "Sure, I can understand that. But if you had the ability to say... hit them with a sleep spell, or something to stun them rather than wrap everything up... it might be more beneficial to have more options in the future. That's all I mean."

Flutter looks thoughtful, "There are four variations of the spell to induce a comatose state, six variations of a spell to induce a gentle slumber in those who are relaxed. Two within my understanding which attempt to bore the subject into nodding off." She lets a small amused laugh. "That was a joke."

Flutter looks thoughtful, "There are four variations of the spell to induce a comatose state, six variations of a spell to induce a gentle slumber in those who are relaxed. Two within my understanding which attempt to bore the subject into nodding off." She lets a small amused laugh. "That was a joke."

Kay smiles wryly, "Maybe look into ways to further your knowledge and capability. It's just a suggestion. Thank you for the information I have to go talk to my boss at HQ." She starts to lift off into the air and then heads off back to SGG HQ.