By All your Powers Combined (IC)

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum glanced furtively at Geckoman, but seemed to accept his eccentricities without issue. In some distant part of her mind, the idea wasn't completely out of the question. That bothered her a bit in a humorous way. Still the situation was urgent.

"Then its agreed? Lets have a look at this trouble spot and see where it leads us," she said as she stood, "Time to find the cure for this disease and get you back to working order, Tempest. The race is on."

[Geez3r]

"Very good then. This abornmality has manifested itself in the mountain ranges just outside of Freedom. As I have yet to venture there myself for I did not know what I would encounter, I do not yet know the location. There may however be some sign of this abornmality, but I cannot say for certain. All I ask is that in our travels, we remain vigilant and keep a wary on on our surroundings. Is this agreed?"

[Ecalsneerg]

"Yeah, should be fine," said Geckoman, pointing back at the Pitchoo. "Heck, the radar's probably the only thing that isn't borkded in some way. Nothing's gonna sneak up on her."

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum refrained from saying what was on her mind. Geckoman must be trying to repair the ship. After all it had been through a lot, and he looked very attached to the junk pile. Idly she wondered if it was named after the Millennium Falcon. Still a functioning radar would be useful, but what could possibly be out in these mountains?

Tangent thoughts aside, Fulcrum nodded her and lifted off a few feet, "After you, Tempest."

[quotemyname]

"Reckon my bike ain't all that fast in the air. Y'all wouldn't mind if I hitched a ride on yer ship, would'ja?" Colt asked Geckoman. When the seating was sorted out, he gave his affirmative to the plan. "Let's ride!"

[Ecalsneerg]

"Yeah, easy," said Geckoman, adjusting his goggles for the flight. "You could stick the bike in the back if you want to take it, it'll easily fit." He leaned out the side to speak to Tempest. "You gonna go on ahead and I follow, or you want a ride too, or what?"

[Geez3r]

Tempest filed into the Pitchoo after everyone else. Taking his seat calmly, he looked towards the sky. Tempest's eyes began to glow bright white, and clouds began to form in the sky. They seemed to trace a dotted line off in the direction the mountain range. "There are your directions Geckoman human."

[quotemyname]

Colt easily obliged, and led his Motorcycle up the ramp into the airship. "Thanks fer the ride, partner." He added with a tip of his hat.

He was continually amazed at what tempest was capable of. "Reckon folk from this dimension never cease ta amaze me," he said as he watched the clouds form up.

[Dariusprime]

"Cool." Leaning inside the hatch, she said, "I'll fly along side." With that she ascended, slowly gaining altitude and following the cloud trail. Wonders never ceased.

Honestly she wasn't sure how fast the ship would go. Every few seconds she looked back to the ship. She sure didn't want to get run over by it, but on the other hand carrying a broken down Super Science! ship wasn't very appealing either. Everything would be alright. Geckoman knew what he was doing. As the Pitchoo joined her, off they went!

[Geez3r]

And nearly soon enough, the mountain range comes into view. Tempest notices it first, but makes no mention of it other than adjusting the path of the clouds slightly. The Fulcrum and Colt noticed it nearly one after another. All of the evergreen trees on the side of one of the mountains are a much lighter shade than those in the surrounding area. Almost as if they weren't getting enough nutrition. Also, Fulcrum's Cosmic Awareness leads her to believe that the mountain seems to be unraveling and falling in on itself.

Colt feels a sensation in his stomach similar to what he felt when he first arrived on Earth. He doesn't know what it is or means, only that he's felt it before. Maybe Geckoman's driving reminds him of his Interstellar Cycle careening helplessly through the star system and nearly becoming a flaming smear on some back water world, maybe its a weird connection to cosmic irregularities, or maybe its just gas. Who knows?

Geckoman feels a bit off, like he's got a mild fever, but can't pinpoint the source.

[quotemyname]

"Well," Colt began as the mountains came into view, "If'n there ain't nobody else gonna say it, reckon I got a bad feelin' 'bout this." Colt glanced around seeming similar looks on the faces of his companions. His hand nervously laid against the grip of Jericho at his side.

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum adjusted her flight path and examined the mountain. The sensation was unsettling to say the least. Was the mountain actually disintegrating? Intuitively she understood the concept on a cosmic scale, but a few minutes west of Freedom City didn't seem cosmic enough. Must be what they were looking for, judging from the sensation and Tempest's cloud trail.

Banking up close to the cockpit, Fulcrum motioned toward the mountain with one arm. Their attention on her, she pointed at her eyes with two fingers and shook her head. A worried look crossed her face. She may not have heard Colt, but the sentiment was definitely shared.

The real problem, the one they were racing toward, was the cause of this...collapse.

[Ecalsneerg]

"Hey, I'm flying this thing!" shouted back Geckoman to Colt, slamming on three levers before grabbing a hammer tied to the dashboard with string and smacking the side of the controls with it several times. "Quoting the Solomeister is my job!" He kicked his chair out from behind him, yanking the controls to the side to correct the flightpath then slammed a big red button on. "Where we landing?"

[quotemyname]

"Reckon you should land anywhere you can without gettin' us killed!" Colt yelled over the din of the malfunctioning electronics. He was starting to regret he hadn't flown his bike here after-all. Colt grabbed one of the support handles hanging from the ceiling. "Hold on'ta yer horses," He said to Tempest, "Sounds like this's gonna be a rough one."

[Geez3r]

"Your piloting technique is most unique Geckoman human. When you have finished the landing procedure, I would appreciate it if you could tell me where you learned to pilot this vehicle." states Tempest calmly. Apparently, this is how you are supposed to fly in Tempest land. It must be a wonderful place where truly ignorance is bliss. "There appears to be a clearing just over that ridge to the right of our current destination. I believe that would be a suitable place to land."

[Dariusprime]

Seeing the commotion inside the cockpit, Fulcrum veered away from the Pitchoo. That flying contraption needed plenty of space as far as she was concerned. Still the more she watched, the more worried she became. So worried in fact that she dropped beneath it, ready to grab hold if something were to...burst? Still everything seemed to be going fairly smoothly. If they could just land, then one major hurdle would have been topped.

Her mind raced over the real issue however. She honestly didn't encounter enough close-range cosmic energy sources to fully develop her awareness of them. On the one hand, that was a bit on the side of frightening. One never knew when a unique skill like that would come in handy. But on the positive, this opportunity was perfect to develop such a refined view of the cosmos.

Sans gods, reality-shattering aliens and other monstrosities of course.

[Ecalsneerg]

"The School of MC Hammer," quipped Geckoman, smacking the controls with the mallet again. "My coach was a Timothy Mallet." WHACK! Some lights came back on. "Hurray, the brakes are back on! I missed you guys! Anyway, as I said, Geckoman human is redundant. You've got two mans in there, cut it to Gecko human, or, reaaaaaally wild idea, Geckoman! The Geckoman Whose Brakes Are No Longer Screwed!" He kissed the levers as he brought the ship into a much smoother landing than before.

[quotemyname]

No sooner had the Pitchoo landed, than Colt was out the door. "Whoo! Reckon it's a miracle we survived that trip, owin' ta the way y'all're drivin' that thing!"

Not wanting to step back aboard the clunky aircraft, Colt pressed a button on the remote control for his motorcycle and it wheeled itself down the ramp. "Reckon I should be kissin' the ground're somethin'!"

[Geez3r]

"An excellent landing The Geckoman Whose Brakes Are No Longer Screwed! human. Perhaps I should inquire to this School of MC Hammer, as I am interested in how the humans attain flight through these machines. An errand for another day perhaps." Tempest calmly undid his seat belt and exited the Pitchoo to survey his surroundings.

The clearing that the heroes have landed in isn't immediately remarkable. On second glance however, it appears as if everything is covered with what appears to be a fine layer of soot. There is little to suggest that it has been made my man, as weren't any roads visible up here, let alone any factories or such.

[quotemyname]

"Well, now." Colt exclaimed. "That's mighty interestin'." Colt watched as his bike rode towards him all by himself. He picked up on the trail that was left by the tires. The tires seemed to be picking up the soot that was resting on the ground. Once the bike reached him he bent over and wiped a finger along one of the tires. It came up black and he examined it, even sniffing it a little. He made a face like he was considering tasting it, but wondering whether or not it would be wise.

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum sighed visibly when the Pitchoo landed. Frankly given her level of anxiety, Colt's was perfectly understandable. While he unloaded his bike, Fulcrum looked around the clearing, rubbing some soot in her fingers. Nothing really jumped out at her, although she scanned the area for signs of old fires anyway. Barring that, human pollution was a possibility. The toxicity of the soot sprung to mind.

Crouching next to him, "What do you think, Colt? Is this wood soot or industry?"

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman crouched down, pulling an evidence bag from his utility belt, and a pair of tweezers. Picking up some grains of soot, he dropped them into the bag, then got another tweezerful and sniffed it with his enhanced nose. "Hmmmm..." he frowned, walking back into the Pitchoo and tapping away at the computer console for a bit. "Interesting..."

[quotemyname]

"S'like the dust settled'n nothin' touched it." Colt appraised, slightly stunned.

[Ecalsneerg]

"Exactly, nothing disturbed it except us. No animals, no weather... wind and rain, there's still a uniform coating. Also, were it entirely natural, it'd be concentrated on one side of the trees, from the direction it blew in. Everything's completely even. That's not natural at all. My gut tells me the centre of all this is the answer." Geckoman pulled out an evidence drawer, keeping the bag of soot in a small compartment therein.

[quotemyname]

"Reckon we should get ta the center'a this then." Colt scratched his chin for a moment. "What I'm wonderin' is if'n we don't know which way it came from, how're we gonna tell where the center is?"