Log:New Starguard Adventures, Scene 9

New Starguard Adventures 2016/07/06 	 Abigail Chen Elephant Man Grimm Malcolm Mayfly Psyn Stinger Torus Victory

9

This is a massive cargo container ship, nearly 200m in length. Most of the deck is covered with cargo containers, stacked three stories tall, with narrow, claustrophobia inducing passageways between them. Towards the rear of the ship is tower with the bridge located near the rear of the ship. It's several stories up, high enough to see over the containers on the deck.

Mayfly hovers above the deck, watching as Stinger and Ten fight it out. She turns and looks towards the incoming heroes, Guardian and Psyn. "We've got more company!" she says, and turns and waits for them to close.

Chen is a little surprised at the lack of reaction from the crewman. But she didn't get much reaction the last time she tried that either. With a shrug of all four shoulders she bounds out the bridge door onto the catwalk leading down to the deck and reaches out ,and out, with a 30m long fist aiming at Stinger after switching her internals to martial mode.

Stinger hops backwards, getting out of the path of Chen's fist as it clangs into the deck where she was standing.

Psyn blinks as she comes in and takes a look around, seeing things. She slips into hovering and focuses her mind looking at Mayfly and then sends a blast that way, they called in for reinforcements, and it does look like that is who the foe is.

Mayfly winces, "Ow! Mentalist! Ow!" She seems to shake off the effects, and she's ready to return fire. She flits towards Abigail and Psyn, zig-zagging as she approaches, with her fists extended. She fires bolts of orange energy from her hands at Psyn. "I got her!"

Victory looks over at the captain, "This is one of your guys, right?" He heads over to the overly-calm crewman and places a gloved hand on the crewman's shoulder, "Are you okay?" Something's off, and he better figure out what it is.

Psyn winces as she gets blasted. Her shields take most of the hit but can't deflect it all. She manages to keep from tumbling from being hit with the blast.

The captain nods. "Yeah... there's some creepy spider woman with them. She put us under somehow... I woke up from it. I dunno -- I guess it wears off after time..."

"We're supposed to man the bridge," the captain says. "Those were our last instructions..."

The Torus monitors and watches the readout of his various sensors with great interest. The portal to the deck remains, but a sphere bubbles out of it- almost like an infinitely black lava lamp.

The sphere floats towards Victory to get clsoer to the Captian and the enthralled man.

The crew man doesn't respond to Victory's touch.

Even as Stinger starts moving and launches her attack on Psyn, Abigail is already moving. She flares a bit as her energy field adds thrust and vectors her towards Stinger. Her hands area also glowing with power as she spins about on her approach.

A few meters of movement, and she ends her spin facing towards the humanoid jellyfish. Doing so, she releases the plasma buildup she'd prepped. The highly luminous plasma sphere flies towards Stinger, growing as it goes... until it erupts in blinding light.

The blast of light catches Stinger perfectly as she lands from dodging Chen's attack. She shouts, surprised, and covers her eyes. It's a reaction, and too late to avoid getting blinded. "Damnit. Can't see!" she says.

Mayfly continues to weave back and forth in mid-air, keeping her distance from both Psyn and Abigail. As she circles, she aims her fingers at Psyn, firing another blast.

Grimm sees the cavalry arrive and decides to stay as Malcolm's backup for whatever is clamoring up from below. She vanishes in a flicker and reappears by Malcolm with a wave of soft, dark whispers.

And, seeing things coalescing, Abigail remarks to Psyn, "Put them down. I'll do my best to keep you shielded." And she whirls into motion, performing an aerial cartwheel and ending in the way of the incoming bio-electrical blast... which seems to absorb into her body for literally... like no effect.

Mayfly draws her shooting hand back from firing, and into a flying position. "Crap... Guys, we could use a bit of help up here."

The Torus watches Malcol and Gabrielle's advance with great interest as it floats near Victory and the two sailors.

Forge remains on the stairwell up to the bridge from the deck. He's covered, head-to-toe, in his Colossus' Flesh and is staring quite intently toward the sounds coming from the engine room. As Grimm reappears at his side with a hushed susurrus of unsettling voices, Forge teasingly comments, "I told you we should've gone to the engine room first."

Grimm lightly claps Forge on the shoulder and grins. "Yeah, yeah, you were right. You're always right," she murmurs playfully as she tries to sense what's coming to give them a heads up.

Stinger grumbles, still holding her face in her translucent hands: "We've got to get out of here... the longer we're exposed, the more enemies will show up!"

Mechanic idly floats around the shell-shocked sailor before puffing up a bit. Inside the black sphere- the machine colonies that make up the majority of the incredible device go to work reshaping and repurposing the programmable destreum that it is made of.

"Victory, Perhaps we should check this man over. To make sure he's alright of course."

Victory starts to head out of the room, but when the Torus speaks up he nods. "Alright. Fair enough." He goes ahead and searches the crewman, just in case. Over the radio, he says, "There's at least a third in their group. A spider woman with...hypnotic powers, it sounds like?"

"Fantastic," comments Forge over the comms, "You think she's doing all the banging in the engine room?"

Victory says over the radio, "No comment."

Mayfly says, "Sure thing, Sting!" She banks tightly, zooms down a gap between two sets of containers. She snatches up Stinger as she zips past and drops her over the water.

Victory adds more more comment on the radio, "I found a couple of bite marks on the crewman on the bridge. I suspect the spider woman has a paralytic bite."

The captain puts his hand on his neck too, wincing.

Psyn blinks, "Thanks." she says as the blow is taken and then focuses on Mayfly again and this time lashes out with her mind to try and lock the mind of the other.

Mayfly's wings stop beating and starts to drift towards the water.

Chen looks at Victory, "The two outside are bugging out. Bugging out... Get it? Anyway would you like me to stick around up here or should I head down towards the noise from below deck?"

Victory says to Chen, "I think I have things in hand for the moment. Go help free the crew."

Chen switches back to turtle mode toughening her skin in the hope it will prevent hypo bites and charges after Malcolm and Grimm.

Victory turns back to the captain, and says to the Torus without taking his eyes off of him, "Would you mind scanning the captain here? I'm curious how he broke out of the control."

The captain says, "Do you think it's safe here? Can you get us off of this ship?"

The booming footsteps get closer. A hulking, man-animal hybrid ducks his head and walks in through the door. He clenches his fists and prepares to throw down.

"Certainly, Let me have a look." The Torus says as it finishes its inspection on the shell-shocked sailor.

The sphere with various arms with medical equipment on the ends floats towards the Captain.

"If you'd just hold still- this shouldn't take too long." It says to the Captian as it begins its review.

The Torus does not say what he found on the first sailor yet- it waits until it finishes his physical oof the Captain.

The captain backs away from Torus. "H-hey? What is that thing?" he asks Victory.

Victory smiles. "It's a...futuristic...scientist, I think? I'm not sure if I got the full details. But Starguard has given him...it...clearance. So, you should be fine."

"You think?!" the captain says.

The Torus slows at the man's apprehension but only a second. "I assure you, a Variable Opthalmascope is not dangerous- nor is this Phased Cutaneprobe."

The Torus resumes its forward movement at the Captain.

Victory points to the crewman, "The same scan was done on him, and he's no worse for wear."

The captain says to Torus, "Hold it." He drops his hand away from his neck and turns to Victory. "You've got me. Let's talk -- you're going to want to hear what I have to say..."

The Torus stops, but a pair of very threatening Configurable Facioclamps remain- their sharp points pointed at the Captain. Ifit was surprised by the Captain's admittance, it shows no sign of it.

Victory is somewhat surprised that the captain gave up so easily. "Alright. Let's hear it."

Elephant storms toward, charging into Malcolm with a flying knee aimed for his jaw.

"... I'll be honest, I always thought flying elephants were supposed to be pink," comments Forge, tone somewhere in between awe and horror as the Elephant Man's charge turns into a flying knee. The metal man sinks back into a defensive combat stance - Grimm may well recognize it at this point - arms shifting and feet planting as Forge adopts something similar to a crane stance.

Forge promptly lashes out with both hands, forcefully turning the Elephant Man's knee aside. In the same motion, Forge whirls, breaking the transferred momentum as he sends Elefun careening toward the door frame.

Grimm takes a step back as the Elephant man charges, leaning backwards a little as the knee is blocked by Forge with a titanic clash. She straightens up again and breathes a sigh of relief as Forge manages to stop the charge. "Good save, Forge." She shakes her head at the Elephant Man. "Man, I'm really sorry you got the short stick on superpowers. I'll never complain about mine again," she says pityingly. But of course she'll complain eventually. She focuses her gaze on the Elephant Man for a moment. What sort of nightmares would a guy like that even have anymore?

The bruiser barely blinks in response. "Let's see if you're still joking, after I paint the walls with you two..."

"Three..." Chen syas up. "Three!"

"Yeah, whatever..." Elephant Man says. "More than enough of me to go around..."

Stinger dives into the water and disappears beneath the surface. Mayfly landing is more of a crash.

"Good." says Chen cheerfully. "I didn't think Malcolm and Grimm were likely to leave me anything to do."

Forge shrugs at Elephant Man, spinning his metal batons around quickly. The metal man surges in to execute a stab-like striking combination with the batons before he spins back and to the side. Ducking low, Forge sweeps at Elephun's knee with one baton while his other arm lashes out to perform a one-two hit on the opposite, potentially now stressed knee.

Standing up abruptly, Forge follows through with a final strike aimed at smashing the Elephant Man in the collar bone. It's a hard, brutal strike, but Forge is hoping to have laid the smack down in definitive fashion with it.

Malcolm first blow strike Elephant in the knee, solidly, but his thick leg absorbs the blow.

Mayfly seems to have been snapped free by the crash into the water. She sucks in a deep breath before diving down below the surface.

"Psyn. Don't go after'em. I've a feeling Stinger's more dangerous in water than air. Let's go back up the others." says Abigail as she hovers there a moment... waiting. (Hold)

Psyn nods her head, "Got it." she says and then moves to fly to the ship, getting closer.

Chen looks over Ellyman. "I'd bet your tough. Maybe even as tough as I am. But I'll also bet you're slow." She says and switches back to Martial move. Closing in to a few steps away she holds, intending to drop him to the floor when he tries to move.

Victory waits, looking at the captain. "I'm waiting. What do you have to say? I'm assuming you're the spider person in question, yes?"

"You probably think I'm an idiot too," Elephant says to Chen. He pushes off from the wall that Malcolm redirected him into with one hand, and lashes out a backfist with the other.

Chen fails to avoid the punch. She thought she was far enough away from Ellyman to have time to throw him before he got to her. Oops. Knocked back along the passageway she bounces back to her feet. "My turn"

Nobody says, "No," the captain says to Victory. "That would be my teammate, Psycho Spider. She's down in the engine room with the crew of the ship, and enough explosives to sink it. You'll want to let us go -- believe me. But you don't have to take my world for it...""

"No," the captain says to Victory. "That would be my teammate, Psycho Spider. She's down in the engine room with the crew of the ship, and enough explosives to sink it. You'll want to let us go -- believe me. But you don't have to take my world for it..."

"Tell your team to stand down, immediately...." the crewman finally stirs and delivers those words. He turns to face Victory, swaying a little as he comes around to face Victory.

Victory says over the radio, "We've got explosives in the engine room. And the spider person is down there too. And...they intend to blow up the ship unless we stand down."

Victory makes a note of the apparent mental connection between the crewman and Psycho Spider. "Hmm."

Muttering into her radio in reply, Abby states simply, "I never believed that if the bad guys kill hostages, it's anyone's fault but the killers." She hesitates though and adds, "But I have a feeling they are going to kill the hostages and sink the ship either way."

Victory says to the 'captain', "If you're intent on blowing up the ship...why? We have no idea why you're here."

Grimm whispers over the radio, "If they double cross us and try to sink it anyway, we may be able to evacuate the crew. But it's risky..."

"Kinda tied up, Lieu. You think you can handle the sticky bomb situation?" inquires Forge over the radio.

The captain says, "You have no idea why you're here, and yet you managed to show up at the right place and time... Funny that."

Victory chuckles. "Oh, I know why we're here. We got a tip. I just don't know why '

Victory chuckles. "Oh, I know why we're here. We got a tip. I just don't know why YOU'RE here."

The crewman says, "The crew, in exchange for safe passage. No stalling. Do we have a deal?"

Victory relays that offer over the radio, checking with the team.

"A tip?" the captain says. "That puzzle-solving freak," the captain mutter to the crewman.

"Safe passage back to the Island of Dr. Moreau? Or safe passage for the whole damn ship?" inquires Forge.

Psyn, and Victory

Chen nods to Ellyman, "Well, yes, I did think you were a dumb brute. I can't express how disappointed I am that you don't seem to be. Guess it's not all bad. Means I get a decent challenge," she says and lashes out with a hard fast strike at Ellyman's chin.

Chen cracks Elephant solidly on the jaw, turning his head. He turns back to face her. "That's all you got? I don't see why Moreau makes such a big deal about you..."

Well, since Chen has been so helpfully holding Elephant Man's attention, Forge reaches back behind him. Liquid biometal flows down his arm and into his hand, rapidly forming into the haft of some kind of large weapon. It takes but a second or so for Forge to finish shaping his biometallic membrane into the familiar shape and heft of a sledgehammer.

Forge tries to time things out so that Elephant Man's attention is fully focused on Chen before he SPROINGs into a shallow arc to get some leverage on the enormous Elephant Man. Swinging his sledgehammer around, the metal man drops down, hoping to slam the heavy metal weapon into the base of Elephant Man's skull when he least expects it.

Elephant staggers forward from the force of the blow, but manages to keep his balance. "Whooulf!" he grunts. Wincing, he stares at Malcolm.

Chen grins and gives Malcolm a thumbs up with one of her spare hands.

"What?" inquires Forge as he lands, rolls, and pops back up to his feet. The metal man peers up at Elephant Man, one metal eyebrow arching as he verbally contemplates the meaning of that stare the Personable Pachyderm is giving him.

Chen takes advantage of Ellyman's distraction to slug him on the jaw again, this time with feeling!

Elephant raises his fists in time to deflect Chen's punch off of his forearm.

"Huh!" Chen says with a grin, "If I'm so insignificant why are you bothering to block my feeble punches, huh?"

Victory looks back to the 'captain'. "Safe passage for whom? Or what? Your team?"

Accelerating... pouring on speed, Abby says to Psyn. "Catchup when you can. Might need the backup. Also.. cover me." And then she flares a bit brightly as she rockets to the ship's deck... landing with a bit less grace than usual... but she lands. One foot, one knee, and hand.. as she starts heating her skin... exuding plasma from all of her pores at once.

"Safe passage for all five of my team, plus our jet," the crewman says. "Last chance, or the ship is going to the bottom of the bay. All hands on board."

Victory frowns and look to the 'captain'. "I need more than two damn seconds to get confirmation from the team leader. Cool your jets." He says over the radio, "They want safe passage for their team. All five members. And their jet."

Victory does some quick math...noting that all members of the team are accounted for at least in some fashion.

Grimm watches the heavies duking it out with the Elephant Man and holding up just fine. But there are people stuck in the engine room with the Spider lady. And if things all go to heck, they'll need an out. "Hey Forge. Give 'em hell," she tells him, offering an encouraging smile before she flickers out of sight.

Down in the engine room, Gabrielle...doesn't reappear. She checks out the scene to see what's going on.

Victory waits for any kind of answer from the radio. "Hello? What's the call?"