Nightmare at 200,000 feet (IC)

[Supercape]

GM

Up on deck!

Like a seething film of oil, Gremlin oozed up a crack, up a wall, and formed in all his impish glory right beside Glow. The creature was deathly silent, small, and sneaky. He stayed out of Glow's visual range, and not even the normally eagle eyed Jack Jackson noticed him...until it was too late.

"Look out!" yelled the reporter, jumping onto his seat like he had seen a mouse, with genuine terror at the site of Gremlin.

Gremlin was vexed, to say the least, at the young heroine's magnificent bubble around the aircraft.

"You!" it yelped at Glow "You are the one I texted! curse my unconscious, curse Doktor Archeville! Well, I'll soon put a stop to your games. Kill my party, will you???"

And with that, its iron nailed hands slapped into the young Heroine. For his small size, Gremlin was strong, and his nails sharp, but he lacked force and power.

[Scuffles]

Kristin started to turn as Jackson yelled out, but it was too late to avoid the attack of the stealthy little Gremlin. She cried out in pain as sharp claws raked across her lower back, shredding a section of her jacket and tearing shallow gashes in her skin.

The telekinetic bubble encasing the stricken SX-1 flickered for a moment as the young heroine stumbled forwards and struggled to maintain her control, but she quickly righted herself and the field stayed airtight as she swung around to face her attacker.

What the heck is that thing?

Whatever the creature was it was clearly dangerous, so she acted on instinct and reached out with her telekinesis, trying to grab hold of it. The gremlin proved far too nimble for the attempt however, easily dodging aside.

[Supercape]

GM

"Feisty little thing aren't you!" snarled Gremlin, as it ducked and rolled from the green power of Glow.

"Curse my unconscious for bringing you on board...that green power of your's is most irritating!" it continued, slapping it's own cheek in frustration.

"I must be as mad as the Doktor, always undoing myself. No matter. I shall overcome!"

With that, he hopped and slashed at Glow once more, before scuttling off, fast as a dart, to the rear of the ship, where the gaping hole to the outside was.

"Let's see if I can't make things a little hotter here..." it giggled.

[Scuffles]

Kristin squared off opposite the Gremlin and raised her hands defensively, matching his snarl with one of her own. "Who are you calling little, pipsqueak?" she asked challengingly, but the concentration required to keep the atmospheric integrity of her telekinetic bubble made it impossible to match her opponent's speed.

As the creature leaped forward to slash at her again she tried to bring her arms down to block, but was just a moment too slow, taking another set of claw-slices across her stomach. Scrambling backwards the young heroine grabbed at the injury, then grimaced as her hand came away covered in blood.

"Get back here!" she yelled at the Gremlin as it dashed off towards the rear of the plane, but she couldn't muster enough concentration to make another grab for it with her telekinesis.

I hope Archeville gets back up here before this think tears me to shreds!

[Dr Archeville]

As Archeville scurried back towards the passenger area, he was swiftly mentally reprogramming a few clusters of the nanites within him, a trick he'd tried once while on that dying desert world months ago. But then, he had time to do so carefully, and a slightly more controlled environment.

... and remove the tertiary safety interlocks, dial down the IFF sensors, and... that should do it. I've ramped up their aggressiveness, so they will attack anything that is not directly, unequivocally me... which means they will soon start attacking the bacteria in my guts, but if I can get it into that Gremlin before I'm incapacitated, they should reduce it to inert components. I know I had taken out some syringes from my bursting pockets, and laid them on my seat -- I just hope the rolling and rocking this plan has been doing has not tossed them to some inaccessible spot!

[Dr Archeville]

Luckily, when Archeville returned to the cabin, he found the syringes were in the chair where he'd left them. As was the Gremlin, who'd just tore a large gash in Kristin's abdomen! Ahh, got to work fast, before it takes her out... or my own nanites take me out! Already feeling some effects... Fighting growing gastrointestinal distress, the Doktor dashed over to hes chair, snatched up one of the syringes, tore the cap off with his teeth, and plunged the needle into his arm to draw out the nanite payload. He let out a yelp as he did -- Hnnn! Must've hit a nerve! -- which drew the Gremlin's attention.

"That's right! It's me! I'm the one you're after, right?" He tried to stalk towards the creature, but his growing distress mad hie gait uneven. "You say you're a part of me? Well let's see how you do," he held the syringe up high, slammed it down onto the Gremlin's neck, and depressed the plunger, "with a bit of me in you-

The Doktor staggered and fell, vomiting and doubled over in pain, as the altered nanites that were chewing on the Gremlin were doing terrible things to his own insides.

[Scuffles]

Kristin didn't dare look to see how bad her injuries were, but the fact that both the back and the front of her shirt were soaked through with blood was clearly a bad sign. Still maintaining the bubble around the SX-1 she moved towards the rent near the back of the cabin, wrinkling her nose at the smell as she stepped carefully over the retching form of Archeville. Carefully she poked her head out and looked across the wing where the Gremlin was scuttling about gleefully.

I can't wait for Archeville, that damn thing could tear the wing off or something.. I can't believe I'm about to do this...

With a deep breath to calm herself Kristin swung her body out through the hole in the cabin and clambered quickly onto the wing. With her feet planted firmly for balance she squared her shoulders and glared at the Gremlin. "Hey! We're not finished here!" she called out. "You asked me to stop you, I can't hardly say no."

She lashed out again with her telekinesis and tried to catch hold of her foe, but the imp-like creature was maddeningly quick and evaded her best efforts.

[Dr Archeville]

Good Lord, but this is painful! But I cannot fall -- must not fall! These people are counting on Kristin and me to stop it, and I cannot let it continue running free!

And speaking of running free, now that some of my nanites are inside it, I can tell them to keep chewing on it from the inside... assuming its own internal defenses haven't taken them out! Have to concentrate... reach out and find their signal...

Though it appeared Archeville was lying motionless on the ground -- which for the most part he was -- he had managed to turn himself so he got a good, solid look at the Gremlin. He did reach out to the nanites he had injected into the 'creature' and tweaked their already-tweaked programming so they continued to attack it, but feedback signals also agitated some of the altered nanites still within him, and they continued their efforts at chewing through his GI system!

[Supercape]

GM

"Ow!" yelped Gremlin as the Doktor's Nanites crawled over his skin, distorting it slightly.

"You don't give up do you?" he shouted over the wind at the Doktor "I just hope this hurts you as much as it hurt's me!" he said, shivering with the effects of the nanites.

"Don't you see, my crazy maker! You designed me because of your own weakness! I am stronger than you!" it gloated.

"You made me out of fear!" it shouted "but fortunately, I am not blessed with such weaknesses. I may have copied your own desire for self defeat, by bringing this girl on board...and her very annoying little talents have proved most vexing...but unlike you, I can push the button!"

And with that, Gremlin laughed, and thrust down both of its nailed claws into the wing, splintering and tearing it. The engine exploded, hurling the still laughing Gremlin off into space, and shredding the wing right off the plane, which promptly started diving in an uncontrolled spin, straight down to earth!

[Scuffles]

"No!" Kristin yelled at the Gremlin as it drove its claws into the wing. The young heroine tried to muster her concentration for another telekinetic assault but it was too late and she was pitched violently to the side as the engine exploded. She banged into the hull of the plane and tumbled towards the tail section as the wing tore free completely, her hands scrambling desperately for a handhold on the smooth metal.

With a final bounce she tumbled off the wing, but with a desperate twist she reached out with her left hand and caught hold of a metal strut near the rent in the cabin, nearly wrenching her shoulder out of its socket as she swung her body around in an impressive display of gymnastic ability.

With strength fueled by fear she dragged herself inside and clung on tightly as she turned to look back out the tear. Earth and space flashed past the opening as the plane spun crazily - in any other situation it might have been a remarkable view!

[Dr Archeville]

Archeville scrambled as best he could to the wing, but he was far too late to stop 'his' creation. He did get there in time to help pull Kristin in, though, and fell onto his backside once she was safely back in the cabin.

Okay, assessment: it is gone, but she is back in. Wing and associated engines are gone, too.

First, to de-re-program the nanites chewing on my gut...

To an outside observer, it looked as though Archeville were sitting on the floor, eyes closed, breathing calmly, trying to settle his stomach. Which, in a way, he was; few in the cabin could fathom the lines of code he was writing in his head and uploading to the nanites he'd reprogrammed earlier, setting them back to their original tasks.

"Right," he suddenly said, eyes snapping open and scanning over the area, "that thing has been sucked out, and hopefully will not be coming back, so I can start repairing this thing. Kristen," he faced the younger girl, and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I imagine this is difficult for you, but can you maintain this bubble for a while longer, until we can find some way to patch the holes? Dave," he shot a look to the man who'd invited him, "how's the flight deck?"

[Supercape]

GM

"Its..." came the reply from a green and white face, before being interrupted.

The plane lurched, and with another explosion, propelled itself forward, downwards, and into a ferocious spin.

All the passengers were hurtled, brutally around the passenger compartment.

"I've lost control!" came the scream from the Pilot deck "we're going down!!!!"

Smoke belching from the destroyed wing, and the other engine misfiring, the plane dived and spun, screaming back to earth from its high position. Even at their phenomenal altitude, it would not be long until they hit ground level...wherever that might be....

[Scuffles]

Kristin clung tightly to the back of a chair as the SX-1 tumbled and spun crazily. "Repairing this thing?" she yelled at Archeville with a completely incredulous look. "You do know the wing just came off right? I think it's a little beyond repair!"

An impish grin crossed her face. "Luckily that little monster really screwed his plan up big time!" she chuckled. A moment later the outer skin of the ruined aircraft began to shine, taking on the signature green glow of the young telekinetic's power. Chewing on her lip in concentration Kristin reached out, still not releasing the atmospheric bubble, and took hold of the plane. She applied force carefully and evenly in the opposite direction of the spin and slowly brought the mad tumble to a halt.

The SX-1 was still falling like a stone, but Kristin winked at Archeville. "Once we fall enough that I don't need to hold the air and heat in I can catch this thing and set it down! Should be fine, I've done a cargo ship bef... aww damnit!"

The young heroine turned a glare on Jack Jackson. "I don't want to hear a single word about this out of you!"

[Supercape]

"I don't want to hear a single word about this out of you!"

Jack Jackson was spinning along with the plane, his face as white as a ghost, with a touch of green.

"Disaster...from...down..." he shouted back, before crashing head first onto the floor of the plane as it revolved, sending his eyes rolling.

"...I knew you would be the death of me..." he mumbled at Glow as his consciousness faded.

As the other passengers screamed and yelled in fear, to unsettled even to succumb to the inevitable nausea, the plane slowly righted itself as it plummeted to the earth. The other wing, whilst intact, had been shut down, to prevent the inevitable spin it caused.

"Can't fly with one wing...." yelled the Captain.

"Cant....fly...at all!" he added quickly, as the Plane continued to plummit to the ever-nearing earth. As it started hitting the atmosphere, the turbulence started, and the plane started to heat up...

[Dr Archeville]

Archeville scooped up his Screwdriver from bouncing about on the floor as he staggered towards the flight deck. His did a quick visual sweep of the controls, finding them fairly similar to most commercial aircraft. His free hand darted out over the console, flicking switches and hitting overrides.

"What are you doing?!" the pilot screamed.

"Trying to save us! I am purging the fuel -- it is useless to us now, but losing it means we might not explode in a spectacular fireball when we make contact with the ground!"

And if I can get my Belt working in time, I can use it to level us off, while Kristen keeps us safe in her bubble. But I do not know if she can hold off the heat, but I know my Electromagnetic Screwdriver could safely shut it away.

[Supercape]

GM

"Good thinking..." said Hanson, his face green as he clutched one of the seats.

The plane was slowing down now...having reached terminal velocity. And it was getting hot as they bumped into earth's thicker atmosphere.

"But we are still going to crash..." he added, soberly.

The Fuel streamed out of the Craft, spraying into the sky behind it.

"If by some miracle I survive this..." mumbled Jackson, giving Glow an evil stare. He pulled up his camera and managed a rather blurred shot of Glow.

"1 minute to impact!" yelled the pilot.

[Scuffles]

"1 minute to impact!" yelled the pilot.

Not on my watch! Kristin muttered to herself as she stood and walked carefully towards the front of the crippled plane. Slowly she released her grip on the atmospheric integrity of the bubble, adjusting the telekinetic field to wrap more tightly around and under the aircraft. As focused as she was on the task at hand, she didn't even spare a glance for Jackson in response to his empty threat.

"Everybody better hold on, it's going to get a bit bumpy again!" she called out as she spread her arms out wide and began to exert her will upon the plummeting SX-1. The aircraft lurched as the young telekinetic fought to control and reduce its tremendous velocity, and she groaned under the strain, fighting off a wave of dizziness that threatened to break her concentration completely.

Come on! Focus!

Gasping, she shook her head clear, then set herself to try again. Green light streamed off her body in sheets as she turned her powers loose. The SX-1 shuddered for a moment, then began to slow noticeably as Glow's telekinetic grip began to bleed off some of its incredible velocity. For nearly thirty seconds she fought to bring the descent under control, but finally managed to get the plane leveled off.

The Australian heroine straightened. "I can't do this for long I don't think..." she called to Archeville and the pilot in a voice that wavered just slightly. "You better find somewhere I can drop it!"

[Dr Archeville]

Archeville was far from idle during those thirty tense seconds. The first ten or so were spent doing a quick-and-dirty reboot for his Screwdriver and Belt, bringing them sputtering back to life.

Must work faster must work faster

The next ten, he worked on the pilot's console, re-initializing the communications systems which would allow the pilot to radio for help, and the GPS beacon so their rescuers could track them.

Must work faster must work faster

That done, he went back to his Belt, swapping out components, readjusting controls, and making all sorts of additional quick-and-dirty alterations. The aircraft was suddenly enveloped in a second energy bubble, this one glowing a soft light blue, and laced through with tiny crackling lightning arcs. A moment later, Glow felt a sudden shift in her mind, as if the plane's great weight had been suddenly decreased -- which is exactly what was happening!

"I do not think Mr. Davidson would like it if we 'dropped' his plane," the Doktor said as he slowly walked towards the center of the passenger compartment with his glowing (and only slightly sputtering) Screwdriver and Belt. "But I think now we should be able to land it in a safe manner. I believe," he called back to the pilot, "that would be your job, sir!"

[Supercape]

GM

"Yes Sir!" snapped the pilot, saluting the Doktor.

Flying a one-winged plane would be, of course, impossible, but by cutting the power and the twin machinations of Glow and Doktor Archeville, it was possible.

Sort of. In an ungainly way. Like flying a brick.

"We are in the middle of the Atlantic!" said the Pilot as the plane steadied and levelled, the vast expanse of water ahead of them. They were still dropping, but flying too.

"What do we do know? I can't keep her up for ever..."

[Dr Archeville]

Archeville looked to his Screwdriver, well, if Star Knight can do it...

"I think I know a way," the Doktor said as he continued down the cabin, careful not to jostle his patched gear too much for fear of breaking, towards the hole left by the absent door which the Gremlin had torn off. He approached the opening, and looked out once more at the missing wing. Taking a firm hold of the edge of the door's setting with his left hand, he slowly swung out the doorway, putting his whole right half outside.

Yeow! If this is how strong the winds are now, I shudder to think how much more intense they'd be if my force field were not wrapped around it!

In his right hand was his Screwdriver, and from it shot a kaleidoscopic beam of light; he struggled to keep it steady despite the winds threatening to tear his arm off. The beam grew wider and wider, thicker and more solid, until it was as wide as the aircraft's body, and continued down to the water. The pilot felt the beam beneath the craft, acting like a rail, reducing the spin and guiding it more smoothly down. Once they were close enough that the far end of the beam made contact with the ocean, it spread out, in the form of a lily pad, big enough to hold the plane. Or so he hoped.

"If we cannot make it to a landing strip, I will just have to make a landing strip for us!," he exclaimed.

[Supercape]

GM

The plan worked perfectly - or at least, as perfectly as could be expected.

The landing was not exactly smooth, but it was at least relatively safe. Given that a few minutes ago, the SX-1 had been spinning madly, out of control, plummeting from the edge of space, anything that didn't involved total disintegration of the craft and its passengers was counted a success.

"Brace yourselves..." mumbled the Pilot, steeling his nerves as he sat the plane down on the artificial construct.

A few more jolts, and a few extra bruises, but the plane landed, stationary on Doktor Archeville's landing strip. Bobbing up and down on the ocean gently.

[Scuffles]

The light streaming off Kristin dimmed and flickered as she slowly released her grip on the SX-1, allowing its weight to settle completely onto the platform Archeville had created.

The young telekinetic looked around the cabin of the damaged aircraft, then down at her own blood soaked clothes. The adrenaline rush that had sustained her began to wear off and she suddenly felt very wobbly on her feet. For a few seconds she leaned against one of the seats to get her strength back, then pushed herself upright once again.

Ignoring her discomfort Kristin made her way over towards Archeville. "Nice one. I can probably push us along if you keep us afloat or something," she said as she peeked outside. Do we know which way we need to go?"

After a moment swayed on her feet yet again, then sat down in a heap. "Actually first I think maybe someone should get that first aid kit before I bleed to death or something..."

[Supercape]

GM

A first aid kit was thrust under Glow's nose.

"Here you are...can't...say...you are first on my Christmas list" groaned Jackson, a nice blue-black shiner swelling up over his left eye, and a smattering of blood on his shirt.

"But...I got to....keep you alive...so I can..."

He groaned once more, wincing with pain.

"Sue the damn hell out of you!" he added, before sitting back and passing out.

The Plane, bouyant as it was, was easily propelled by Glow's telekenetic force, the ocean parting as it skimmed over the seas and waves, towards land.

"I got a bearing" said the Pilot "we are 50 miles out from Cuba. Damned if we didn't actually circumnavigate the globe after all of that! Maybe this plane does have a future!"

[Dr Archeville]

"I'm really glad that worked!," the Doktor exclaimed. He smiled and gave a thumbs-up to Glow, "and you -- you did great!" He was about to reply to Jackson's outburst, but the reported passed out, so he turned back to the telekinetic teen, "ah, try not to let him bother you, there seems to be one on every newspaper's staff. Helps to keep us on our toes, I suppose, keep us honest."

I just hope he didn't hear too much of what that Gremlin said -- I already feel bad enough that I caused all this, I'd rather not have another verse for the chorus singing my litany of sins.

"I shall try to keep us steady, sir!," he called to the pilot, "though I'll warn you this thing," he indicated the Screwdriver, "is currently held together with spit and willpower."

[Supercape]

GM

And so, slowly, the plane washed against the waves, landing on the shores of Cuba with a gentle bump, and to the tune of a group of onlookers amazement.

Jack Jackson, despite being bruised and battered, instantly took over, snapping shots left and right.

"Wow, an exclusive!" he yelped "I'm going to hit the big-time!" he smiled, before catching sight of Glow.

"No thanks to the disaster from down-under!" he mumbled, theatrically massaging his shoulder "damn near killed me...yes sir, let me tell you all about it in a world exclusive by Jack Jackson!" he interrupted himself, catching sight of a local TV camera.

And so the process of business and media took over, a mammoth and complex operation, but one well within the capabilities of Hanson, who actually saw the whole thing as a bit of a success.

Meanwhile

The grey sludge wafted lonely on the ocean, no more than a puddle, but cohesive none the less. It was hard to say exactly what it was, not water, not oil...but...something else.

Presently, a fishing trawler passed, neither near nor far, from the smudge on the sea.

"Cap'n...Cap'n...!" yelled the first mate as smoke rose from the rear of the vessel.

"I don't know what happened! ship was services only last week! damn motor just cut out...was running as smooth as you like, then...pah! just went!..."

As the ship came to a stop, the grey ooze started wafting, slowly but surely, towards the vessel...

~ Fin ~