ic Justice Like Lightning

[TheAbsurdist]

Errant's entry was without flash, he was just there.  Maybe he had been hidden nearby, maybe not.  It was kind of irrelevant now.  He was leaning against the bricks of the wall behind him, the outfit he was wearing a mix of dark grays and dark blues, with a full face mask.  With that he moved towards them, as there was no real way to handle this, apart from a misunderstanding that resulted in the fist fight, besides going to them.

 

"Break line of sight."  His tone as flat an unemotive as ever.  It was easy to tell it was him, the omnipresent hoodie helped, even if he was out of Claremonter uni.  He shifted and stopped, his head tilted to the side, checking his web to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary.  Not focusing so hard on it, for him to feel inside of the building.

[The Sailor]

Suddenly it dawned on Sakurako. Being high and out in the open was probably a bad idea, considering that someone could be tossing lightning bolts. She gets behind some cover. The buildings of the area around them easily provide a corner to hide behind as she hovered. "Thanks, Errant." She said, before pulling out her EM wand, setting it to it's Electric Discharge Mode. All she needed was for someone to make the call. "Once the fight starts, I'll cover you. Unless you want me to watch our backs." She said, pulling back the hood and closing her helmet, ready for action.

 

"Now hopefully Casey and Vonnie are on Errant's page." She thought.

[EternalPhoenix]

The lightning striking the building accelerated it’s pace, hammering it over and over until it seemed impossible that it was still standing and/or not on fire. Until it suddenly stopped, and something out of Nicola Tesla’s darkest dreams dove out of the sky. It was made of electricity and resembling nothing less than a griffon straight out of ancient lore. It swooped over our heroes, forcing them to duck instinctively. Then it turned and burned sky (almost literally, the air was blackened) towards Wharton Forest. Vonnie gaped. As the thing wasn’t a solid object, he hadn’t known it was there until his eyes saw it. “Did…did you guys just see that? I’m…not finally losing my mind, am I? That was a lion. With wings. Made of lightning. Right?†The rain finally slackened slightly. There was no thunder and lightning to be had.

After everyone who wanted to had responded, Vonnie’s head twitched back over to the building. He did not say anything Errant hadn’t already sensed. “The basement. Four people in there. Fancy machine. It’s not big, though. Three males, one female. Around our ages, I think. Maybe a little older. They seem…ragged. Their clothes aren’t in good shape, and neither of their bodies. Whew. Spatial awareness still works. But then what the hell was that thing?â€

Edited February 1, 2015 by EternalPhoenix

[Heritage]

Casey winced slightly at the dour boy's sudden appearance, but right now a little backup couldn't hurt; still coasting just above the street, she landed silently beside him. The lightning strikes were practically deafening at this point; she gaped in amazing as the creature flew overhead; her first instinct was to follow it, but the rest of her impromptu 'team' needed her more.

"Not sure; did they have one of those in Clash of the Titans?" She clenched her fists and rolled her shoulders. "So, are we ready to say 'hi'?"

[The Sailor]

"I'll take care of the casualties if necessary, but I wanna look at that machine. Casey, can you play escort? I could use someone watching my back closely." She said, tying her rain poncho around her waist. "But I think we need to talk to those injured people in the basement first." She said, switching her EM Wand to medical mode, while activating it's light function. "Errant, Vonnie, do a sweep of the building then follow in behind us. Of course if a fight breaks out it should be obvious. My electrical discharges are almost as loud as that lightning."

 

Sakurako bravely goes into the basement first, looking about. She sort of felt like The Doctor, exploring some underground alien facility when she crossed the threshold. She looked back for a moment to make sure Casey was behind her before pressing forward to check on the individuals, before checking on that machine...

Edited February 3, 2015 by The Osprey

[EternalPhoenix]

Samaritan shrugged. “If there was anyone one else in there, I’d have see ‘em. But…maybe there’s a smaller version of whatever that was out there. A nasty surprise in the middle of first aid we don’t need.†He bounded inside. “Errant, get the ground floor, would you? Uppers are all mine.â€

The foursome in the basement looked like they’d fought a war. Two, even. They were wearing more or less identical uniforms (mostly black, but with silver belts/waistlines) Vonnie hadn’t described them. The males were black, white, and Hispanic. The Hispanic man was fairly tall, about 6’ 3â€, and built like an NFL defensive end. He looked like he had some mild burns (and his uniform had a few charred places) as he stepped forward, shielding the people with him. “Lightning. Company.â€

The black man, who while not as big as his associate remained above average size, turned from the machine where the white man was crouched working. The latter did seem to be the smallest of the three. “I have eyes, Charger.†The lone female was white, with hair the shade of Terminus orange. She lay against the far wall with her eyes closed and breathing regularly. Unlike the other three, she wore gloves, the exact same shade as her hair. The black man-Lightning, presumably-spoke to Endevour. “Well, this is awkward. Erased, how are we doing over there?†His voice was one of hardened authority. This was a person who was using to both leading and getting his way.

The white man stood up and sighed. “It’s not gonna work.†His voice was calm and easygoing, as if he didn’t know how to be rattled. “I told you, I’m only but so good at this stuff.†The machine seemed to be little more than a thick ring with a boxy control panel attached to the size. The steel was heavily scorched, and the smell of burnt metal was heavy in the air.

“It got us here, it can get us back.â€

“Boss, the cage is broken beyond my skill to repair. I don’t even know how it worked in the first place.†Erased turned around to reveal the most generic white guy that had ever drawn breath. Even in good lighting, this was the kind of guy nobody could pick out of a lineup. “Fried cables and melted wiring everywhere.â€

Edited February 13, 2015 by EternalPhoenix

[The Sailor]

Endeavor looked over the situation, crossing her arms. "What's this about? The whole lightning griffon outside and everything. All heck is breaking loose with the electrical grid." She looked over the people in the room. "It seems you're group is conscious... conscious but in a bad way."

 

She switched her wand from it's medical mode to it's discharge mode. She wasn't going to be caught off guard. She kept her back to the door standing at the doorstop. She wasn't going to go in unless she had backup at this point. First real move against her and she's running to the others. She's there alone. 

 

She thanked God Casey was behind her.

Edited February 13, 2015 by The Osprey

[Heritage]

Keep her hands out where anyone could see them, Casey stepped forward, blocking half of Sakurako's body with her own; she offered these strange people a wary smile. "Hi! Looks like you four are having a rough night." She indicated the device 'Erased' was working on with a nod. "Sounds like 'engine trouble'; are you all stranded here? If you can explain the situation calmly, maybe we can help. Starting with your unconcious friend over there."

Casey really hoped this could all be resolved peacefully, but she was more than willing to fight if that didn't prove to be the case.

[TheAbsurdist]

Errant might have complained about being on the ground floor, but he didn't have the ready ability to get high, so it made sense.  And frankly he was moving slowly, letting his telekinetic web feel around them, for anyone else impacted, so he was pulling up the rear.  In case anything was missed.  Plus he was cold, and tired, and beat up.  As per normal.  Eventually he'd come up to the rest of the group, making sure there was no stragglers or worse.

[EternalPhoenix]

Charger stepped forward aggressively. “It’s nothing you gotta worry about. We can handle this.†Lightning held up a hand, then put it up against the wall and leaned on it. His head dropped. He seemed…confused. No. Utterly exhausted. Erased quickly stepped forward and gave him what seemed like a stabilizing hand to the back. He shot a bland look at Charger.

“Jason, could you wake Phoenix? I imagine the last stand will come soon enough.†As Charge strode over the girl and began to shake her awake, Erased looked at the girls without removing his hand. “To be honest? That is a voltivore cage, and not a very good one. Well. It is the only one, so I suppose that’s not much of a standard. Oh. You…wouldn’t know what a voltivore even is, would you? Well, it’s more or less exactly what it seems like. A creature that subsists on voltage. An electricity eater.â€

Lightning perked up suddenly. “Sorry to make you do that again.â€

Erased shrugged. “Better than the alternative, isn’t it? Ah, sorry. A little adrenal massage. Can’t let a man whose will alone keeps the over ten power plants’ worth of electricity in his veins from spilling out all at once falling asleep, can we? I think that would be bad for the entire neighborhood.â€

Lightning grunted affirmation. “And with Erased telling half our secrets to people we don’t know, you probably understand the situation.†On a closer look, Lightning’s uniform was scorched and burned, but the man himself was not. Unlike Erased, who had a similar amount of battle damage as Charger.

[The Sailor]

Sakurako twirled her EMWand. "Electrovore huh? Now this could require study... your job is tracking and keeping tabs on these creatures, correct?" She said, walking over to Phoenix, setting her wand to it's medical mode. "I can help with her injuries, but there is still one more question... why the subterfuge? It seems our goals are intertwined."

 

"If this Electrovore is a threat, it seems it has gotten out of hand and you guys seem to need help. Luckily electricity is right up my alley, guys." She said. "I wager this machine over here then contains it's power? I can get it working again if you would not mind me taking a look once I help her."

 

"And don't play the "don't need help card". Check the bravado and pride for now. The city is in danger. There's been power surges and so far it's not affected an airport or hospital... but what would happen if it did? Let us help you and we can get this crisis in the making contained in no time."

 

"Fancy outfits by the way... what are they... with how these obvious uniforms look you guys are a team?"

[Heritage]

The blonde heroine nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we could care less about whatever your secrets are; we're just here to find out what's causing all the power outages. And if that means helping all of you bag this voltivore, then we're happy to oblige".

Casey scratched her head. "Last we saw, it looked like it was heading for the state forest to the west of town; any idea why it might be headed that way?"

Edited April 11, 2015 by Heritage

[TheAbsurdist]

Errant was a bit of a different beast, he cared for the why.  Because he was generally a suspicious person, and because he knew that people's expressed motivated were never really inclined to match up to their actual motivations.   He was on the outside of the group, hands thrust into his pockets watching, looking for what was missing.  He didn't want their omissions to bite him.  This wasn't done with with malice or paranoia, it was healthy suspicion, and the acceptance that people tended towards self-service.

 

Especially when they were uncertain of an unknown quantity.  Which was represented in this incident by him and the others.

[EternalPhoenix]

Lightning took a step forward and folded his arms. “Wasn’t planning on playing that card. We weren’t looking for help, but help’s here. Be stupid to turn it away now. Card I will be playing is ignoring any questions that aren’t related to helping us out. Well…I’ll give you one thing. We are a team, and we’re not criminals.†He looked at Erased. “She knows tech, show her the cage. She’s probably better than you.â€

Erased, to his benefit, didn’t even blink what should have been an insult. “Sure.†He looked at Endeavour. “Don’t you worry about Phoenix, she was just taking a nap. She’s not any more injured than I am.†He paused a moment. “Though none of us really have any medical training and we have been dealing with an electric monster. If you want to give her a checkup, go ahead. Just don’t touch her skin with your own. That’ll…hurt. You, not her.†He gestured for the teen genius to take the lead, whatever she wanted to do.

It was Phoenix who answered Casey’s question as Charger helped her up. “Made itself a nest out there. There’s…some kind of energy source out there, but it’s inconsistent.†She had a hint of a New England accent. “Hence why it comes back and tries to feed on your power grid.†At Lightning’s blank look she added. “Did you not get that far yet? Then you tell them, leader boy.â€

Lightning sighed, and for a moment he looked as exhausted as it was possible for a young adult male to look. “I was about to. Unlike some people, I can’t sleep without annihilating half the city. Look, it’s as she said. We were traveling, the voltivore was in it’s cage, we hit that energy source in the forest, it broke loose, and we’ve been chasing all over the city trying to catch it. We haven’t chased it to the forest because throwing electricity around all that wood is a poor idea. There, all caught up. Can we get on with it?â€

[Heritage]

Casey nodded. "Absolutely, we'd be happy to! Just tell us what we should and should not do so we don't put anyone in any danger." She still got the sense that there was a lot they weren't sharing, but no point in antagonizing someone who just asked you for help.

Not quite sure what to do yet, Miracle Girl hung back, not wanting to crowd either Endeavor or any of these odd teens. Clearing her throat, she finally began. "So I'm pretty darn tough and strong, as well as pretty fast. What can I do to help? Need something moved or hit, and I'm your girl."

Edited March 15, 2015 by Heritage

[The Sailor]

Sakurako touches her EM wand to Phoenix's skin, a warm, painless sensation goes through her body, enervating Phoenix's own healing capabilities. "Seems you took a beating, your left hand had some nerve damage, probably from the extensive electrical discharge you recieved. Luckily electromagnetism can heal as much as hurt."

 

She twirled her EM Wand in her hand as she looked over the machine. "Interesting... this machine has some capability but it's at it's limit... But if I can find a way to better share the load between these circuits... it'd be a jury-rig of a jury-rig..."

 

She pulls out the SIMM chip to her smart phone, pocketing it, then strikes the smartphone against the floor, cracking it open. "What it needs is a wire going from the third voltage regulator to the discharge capacitor over here... and the wire to this circuit pair blew out..." She starts cannibalizing her smart phone, bridging the circuits necessary to have a electrical wiring method of balanicng out the voltages of the machine. "There we go... What' I'm curious about is that full throttle mode you guys got on this machine? There seems to be a central... for a lack of a better term, a miniature Tesla coil. All the power wires lead to it after bridging the paired circuits. and it's connected to some copper up here that would facilitate some form of massive discharge."

Edited March 17, 2015 by The Osprey

[EternalPhoenix]

Phoenix flexed her gloved hand. “Thank you. Next time I won’t try to go hand to hand with a electric monster. Even if my powers can help.†She pushed her orange hair out of her face. “Then again, we wouldn’t know why that thing keeps going back to the forest if I didn’t.†She smiled wryly. “At least I’m good for something other than being the chick in this sausage fest of a team.â€

Vernon, meanwhile, was looking over Endeavour’s work. He whistled softly. “This is a lot better than anything I could do. I’m just an amateur by comparison. I think it’ll work this time, boss.†He took Endeavour’s hand and shook it. “You do good work. You may have heard already, but my codename is Erased. Real name’s Vernon. Nice to meet you.â€

Lightning just rolled his eyes, pointedly ignoring Endeavour’s questions about the machine. “Okay, here’s the plan. I’ll flash up to the sky and let off a big bolt to lure to the voltivore back here. When it does, Blondie and I can play tag with it a little, while Erased, Charger, and Brain Girl get the cage set up outside. Once that’s done, Brain Girl and I try to work the voltivore in the cage. I have powers, she has that wand. Charger and Blondie provide some muscle backup if we have trouble. Erased and Phoenix, you activate the cage once we have it in position.†Lighting smirked. “Your friends can help them if they run into trouble. Sound good?†He purposefully said nothing about how in the world he knew Samaritan and Errant were around.

And of course, this was when Samaritan decided to poke his head in. “I don’t have any problems with that. Errant’s still upstairs, you guys. But the upper floors are clear.â€

[Heritage]

Casey crossed her arms and frowned. "Other than you calling me 'Blondie' and my friend 'Brain Girl', no, it sounds like a good plan, Big...Annoying Guy." She nodded with satisfaction, having put the boy in his place. Sort of.

She was happy to see Samaritan again, for some reason comforted to have another friendly male presence in the room. It was also good to see Endeavor get a chance to do her thing, both the healing and the tech; it felt good to work together with another team around their age, even if some of its members were jerks...

The blonde bruiser lifted off and hovered in the air, raising her eyebrows in Lightning's direction. "You ready?"

[The Sailor]

"No." Endeavor said, plainly. "You're bringing that creature back to the city. That creature threatens the safety of the people here. If you're going to engage it with proper bait, engage it somewhere where there isn't a population that is highly reliant on technology." She turned her wand into it's "lifting mode" and the device lifted from the ground like it was nothing. "I am fully capable of carrying the device to the forest or on to a abandoned cargo ship in the bay or somewhere where no one could be harmed if the beast gets stronger."

 

"Engaging it here puts the electrical grid of the city in peril."

Edited April 8, 2015 by The Osprey

[EternalPhoenix]

Lightning just sighed. He had the look of someone just too tired to care. “Fine, whatever. We’ll take the show on the road. Lemme think a minute.†He arched an eyebrow at Miracle Girl. “I don’t know your names, Blondie. You haven’t been courteous enough to share them.†He paused, as if an idea had struck him. “New plan. Phoenix, get the van. You’re driving. Erased, Charger. Get the cage in the van. It won’t fit through the doorway assembled like that, as you both know. We’re going into the forest. Otherwise, plan stays the same.†He looked right at Endeavour. “Does that suit you, Brain Girl?â€

“Endeavour. Not Brain Girl.†It was Samaritan, in the back. “Blondie’s Miracle Girl. I’m Samaritan. Other guy’s Errant. You guys really didn’t introduce yourselves? That’s like, the first thing I do.â€

[The Sailor]

"Let's keep the technicalities for after this crisis, everyone." Endeavor said, moving the device. "I'll get this loaded."

 

When she saw how the device was put together... "Someone pull that and that pin, the device will stay together, but it'll fold open in a way that will allow it through the doors. It'll save time when we have to put it back together."

 

She grinned. "Once we get this to the forest we should have this situation under control..."

 

She was still remembering the odd device built into the cage contraption... it wasn't comforting, but... She'd bring it up if it was necessary.

[Heritage]

Casey got a little pink in cheeks when she realized that neither Sakurako or herself had made introductions; what would her mom say? Clearly flustered, her mouth opened and closed a few times before she managed a reply. "I, uh...I think we were too busy being self-righteous." She offered Lightning a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

The adjusted plan sounded good; Endeavor's insistance on relocating to a less inhabited area made her breathe an internal sigh of relief, as it would allow the two team's heavy hitters to do their thing with less concern about collateral damage, though of course she was always mindful to use her powers carefully. After all, what kind of Scout would she be if she saved innocent lives but still managed to start a forest fire?

With the two young teams now on the same page, Miracle Girl was ready to do her part!

Edited April 11, 2015 by Heritage

[EternalPhoenix]

The ride was relatively uneventful. Phoenix drove the van. Erased and Charger rode inside. Lightning on the roof. The heroes were left to their own devices. Vonnie, for his part, chose to get out of the rain for a bit and rode inside. Phoenix, god bless her, wasn’t the best driver in the world. She was competent enough to get by under normal conditions, but a driving rainstorm and, after the freeway, muddy gravel roads…did not help. After a certain point, Miracle Girl had to be on watch to physically pull the van out of the mire when it got stuck. After round three of that, Lightning called a halt to that nonsense. He had scouted out a meadow that would suit their purposes just fine.

 

Once there, he looked this fairly large crew of teenagers over. “Everyone ready? Once I bait this thing there’s no going back.” He looked and sounded like his energy was flagging badly. His team each gave a quick, sharp nod. Vonnie smiled and flashed a thumbs up. Kid was ready for everything ever.

[The Sailor]

Endeavor sighed, flying behind the vehicle, and when it finally came to a stop, she stood behind the vehicle, waiting for the doors to open so she could fish out the trap. Once things were set, she used her EMWand to lift out the complex gadget out of the van and on to the ground. She assisted the mysterious team in re-assembling the thing in record time, minding her fixes to the whole kit.

"Okay... whatever this thing does, it's all set here. If this can capture the beast, then we got things settled."

She had to trust that the others were more than ready for a battle, as the sailor-suited super genius started making absolutely sure everything was plugged in right on the device. "No, no, no, that will reverse the polarity of the ion flow and kill everyone in a 100 foot radius! Plug that red wire in over there! And no, that add-on wasn't my fault it was the only way to bridge capacitor #12... it's an unfortunate feature, not a malfunction!"

"By Tesla's coils..." she sighed.

[Heritage]

Casey did not like to be 'that girl', the bitchy complaining type who gave girls a bad name, but after the third time of pulling the van back onto the road, she rolled her eyes and got a bit snarky. "Look, should I just pick you all up and fly the van over?" Luckily it looked like they were finally ready to begin.

She landed on the grass next to Endeavor and Samaritan, wiping her hands off on the legs of her pants. "As ready as we'll ever be; at least out here, we can limit any casualties to...well, us." The blonde powerhouse did a few stretches to limber up, unsure just how nasty this was going to get, but ready to do whatever it took.