| Observatory Shocked |
| Summary: | A Mongo Shock Trooper hits the Griffin Observatory in Metropolis, heroines and hero intervene. |
| Date: | (2014-09-25) |
| Related: | http://ageofheroesmux.wikidot.com/plot:the-menace-of-mongo |
| NPCs: | One of Ming's shock troops. |
| Scene Runner: | Jack Flag. |
| Social/Plot: | Plot |
| Players: |
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With all the rumors flying around lately of space and meteors and possible attacks on earth or Wakanda initiating its space program, it probably comes as no surprise that today the Griffin Observatory is busy today in Metropolis. As such, Jack is taking his good friend Gary to the Observatory. Gary is a special needs adult mostly independent with some group home needs. As such and to help with the lines, he's in his Jack Flag outfit. Being lesser known, though getting some publicity lately, he is at the ticket gate waiting to go into see some of the exhibits they have around the observatory.
"What, I'm totally Jack Flag, what do I have to do to prove it, break down a wall or something, come on pal," says Jack Flag. Gary nods, "Ya, he's a real hero, we can pay." They can pay, but there is just a really big line to get a ticket right now.
What they don't see yet, is the Golden Armored shook trooper about to land on the Observatory. Complete with gold gas mask and laser gun, full on Ming trooper, with a rocket harness, coming down right at the opening to the real observatory that most people don't get to see. Until there is a rush of voices and a commotion from the scientists there as they see it. This causes a stir in the museum area, everyone looking to see what's happening.
Ruth Maxwell is a young woman with black hair and blue eyes, almost always with some degree of sunburn. Her presence at the observatory is twofold - firstly, to learn more about astrophysics and astronomy out of genuine interest - and secondly because she operates solo and doesn't have a better way to find out about incoming space threats like have been announced. She waits in line, but is notable in that she simply hovers in her place a few inches above the ground, occasionally making jittery motions to nudge herself back and forth to hold position.
When commotion breaks out she unslings her backpack and rises up out of line, taking a position inverted near the ceiling. She opens her backpack and suit pieces spill out on strings from it. She turns the bag inside out and is soon donning her gear. It's no secret that this flying girl is Aerial! Though she's not really a big enough name that anyone cares.
City of Tomorrow, alien tech that can't leave its perimeters, yeah yeah… At least one can still transfer money to off-shore accounts through the city limits, and even though the fancy tech can never leave the area it doesn't mean that there aren't some people that still want something which someone else has, and would be willing to pay for it.
This had been the start of her day. A heist in the upper levels of one of the towering skyscrapers, a leap of faith right out of a window onto a flying car, a few ..technical difficulties, and now…
Now she's just plain falling.
The job's done but the flying car, piloted by another, goes sailing across the clear blue sky with smoke billowing out from one side. Two more, not quite as wounded, give pursuit. They zip past her faster than she can accelerate toward terminal velocity, limbs flailing as she twists herself about and comes to face the ground, not quite as distant as she had been hoping.
A random shot with her wrist-mounted grappel line snares a construction crane on a nearby tower. The line goes taut. With a twist on her shoulder much of the downward momentum gets turned into lateral momentum, the thin cable quickly running out as she swings around one corner of the building. Then another.
Then she crashes feet-first through a giant lobby window, the line cutting and sending her rolling across the floor until she lands flat on her back with her feet sitting halfway through a now broken display case.
Eyes pinched closed, a weak voice calls out "Are we there, yet..?"
For his part, Jack looks to Gary, "I'm gonna check on this, stay near the entrance and." That's when the front window shatters and someone comes in, crashing into one of the display cases. Jack changes his mind, "Um, the fellas room, I mean, safe place. I have to go check this out."
He starts moving towards the commotion near the telescpore room area, a gaurd still thinks he's posing but is pushed aside easily enough as the man starts running against the wave of people starting to move in that direction. He looks around to assess, one person crashed through the window, one started floating near the ceiling. And it looks like the one that dosed the vats in the fire, but she took off before he could meet her. He calls up, "Hey, Fly-Girl! Can you see what's going on at all?"
The door is open to the main telescope, usually staff only and real science, not like everyone gets a peek at space for free. But up there, the shock trooper has started to fire into the room, the flying one might see golden lasers firing and some smoke where things have been hit, but the shoook trooper is not yet visible. Passing the crashed case, Jack also offers a hand to Dominio, "Need a hand?"
"Hold on," calls Ruth, "The sensors are in the helmet, it goes on last! Just give me a min-" Click, hiss. Visually-altered face displayed on the visor, and somewhat altered voice from the speakers. "Aerial, in service." Blinky red lights indicate recording video cameras pointing multiple directions. "Unknown aggressor, rooftop." She flies in a jagged line to an angle to pass out through the site of Domino's dynamic entrance. "No database match. Primary task: Protect civilians. Secondary task: Observe attacker and note powers. Tertiary task: Prevent property damage."
Cringe. "Good form but she botched the dismount, let's take it over to the judges," Domino mutters to herself while rolling onto her side. Having just been on a job where mobility is key she doesn't have anything plain nor fancy to cover up the armored black skin covering most of her body, or the blatantly lethal combat gear positioned all over herself.
And yet, she's not the craziest one here, is she? When a hand is offered she slits one eye open, peering up at Jack with a puzzled expression. "Oooooh..-kay- then…" she adds in a stupefied tone while reaching up to take a red glove in a black fingerless glove.
"Did I forget Captain America appreciation day again?" she inquires while stretching her back with another cringe and several soft pops from within. There's also some lady flying around in red. And trouble on the rooftop. Of course. She had just -been- up there, darnitall!
"Oh, and it sounds like someone's shooting an energy slinger in here. Did you know that someone's shooting in here?" Sigh. Unfortunately, one of the best ways to throw the heat off of herself is to pretend to be one of the good guys. Her rough landing just happened to land her in the middle of someone else's problem. Which..means it's now also her problem.
Lucky her.
Too Domino, Jack Flag shakes his head, "No, I didn't not until now and jeeze lady, every day is Captain America apperciation day." That's a joke, but partially serious, he's a fanboy, he'll admit it even. "I'm going to investigate. Girl-Gone-Robot up there says there is an attacker on the roof." He thumbs up towards the inverted, hovering Aerial. Like everyone should be listening to her, though he barely knows her. Though she is flying out the window Domino crashed. She can see as she gets over the real observatory that the golden armored shock trooper is flying down from the roof through the large opening for the telescope. Shooting people, but also going to hit the telescope itself, maybe part of the shook troopers plan on earth, take out the observation towers so no one sees the real force arriving.
As for Jack on the ground with Domino, "Ya, shooting guy, I'm totally going in there, don't worry, you're safe." He says to her after she's up and out, and he runs for that doorway, not pushing people so much as trying to get around them nicely.
Aerial comments, "Energy beam weapon, rate of fire, strength. Putting it on the screen for you." Then more loudly as an announcement to those below, "Seek cover behind reflective or metallic surfaces, not in the open. The enemy's target appears to be the telescope itself." Let's see if this is something barrier gel can fix. Aerial makes a sudden strafing run with no lead-in. One moment she's stationary, the next she's at speed, and a pellet is released. Then she's zagged at an impossible right angle to go upwards and jerks to a halt. The barrier gel blooms out on impact, growing into hungry engulfing sticky foam that prefers warm targets.
It's handy that Red here seems to have a good idea of what's going on, because Domino sure doesn't have a freaking clue. It doesn't help that her head's still spinning, though when Jack says she's safe she says "I know" while rubbing the heel of a palm against her face. "So..any idea how we can get up there without using the elevator? And more importantly, does she come as a phone app?" the albino inquires while thumbing after Aerial. "Seriously, that's useful intel."
When Jack starts running she throws common-sense out the broken window as well and runs right after the guy, already unholstering a pair of sidearms. Gaining altitude means she can pull her zipline trick again when this is all over with, which means no dealing with authorities. Win-win?
"Got me, I don't have a phone with me," he says lookig back, and going into the large room. The Shock Trooper is descending in the room, Aerial has flown over and dropped barrier gel at the trooper. It doesn't seem to quit work, it hits the armor but doesn't go quickly and the trooper sheds the armor it hit, flying away as that gel expands around the piece he dropped. Warm target he may be, but the armor might be insulated from things like space. Though his primary target is the telescope and he's hit the control to jam them a bit for now, the arrival of Aerial gets his attention, he turns to focus laser fire on her, moving in a person to person like dogfight, to avoid gel being dropped on him directly.
Ya, in the air, that is a problem, Jack looks at Domino who know has weapons out, "I can throw you if you like?" She came along, didn't run like everyone else, maybe she wants to be thrown at crazy bad guy.
"Yes Mom, I'm at the observatory." … "Yes, I'm a little busy Being evasive at the moment. Can't dodge lasers! Have to dodge the guy's aim instead." She dives towards the building and simply stops immediately when her forehead touches the roof, and then she's darting away on another angle. "No, I'm not coming home, Mom." … "NOT HAVING THIS ARGUMENT RIGHT NOW." (End call.) (Wait, was that broadca.. dammit! Scrub that audio from the footage.)
The face on her visor grits its teeth a bit. Aerial unzips a pouch on her leg and pulls out a length of chain instead, with a hook on the end. "Bad idea, Aerial," she sighs, "Let's play tetherball anyways." She moves at nearly the speed of sound, shooting past the trooper to the far side, then unspooling some of the chain and trying to lasso him with it.
"You - what?" Domino pauses while passing Jack a puzzled look. Did he really just..? Hmm. This opens up a whole new pile of probabilities, and with the observatory having a dome-shaped ceiling it could result in some really -awesome- ricochets. She just has to avoid laser fire, a red gal very nearly breaking the sound barrier while arguing with her mother (Hah,) a length of chain flailing about, and ..y'know. Pancaking into the ceiling.
Shoulders (gingerly) roll first then the pistols both do a forward roll around her index fingers, thumbing back the hammers on their return."Alright, Mister Star-Spangled Trebuchet. I'm feeling lucky." It's never a bad time for an Oddball Special, right?
"Awesome," he says, a bit too giddy for his own word. If only he could jump himself that high, that's just a touch out of range where they're flying. He holds a hand down by the ground, "Step on!" If she does step on, she'll realize he can easily left her, not just a nutter in a Cap suit. He'll turn to throw her javelin style (hope that makes sense, it does in my mind) towards the guy.
As it happens, the chain trick by Aerial does work and she lasso's him. So he's an easy target for flying Domnio for the moment. Though he tries to fly back from Aerial, testing who is the stronger, but not without turning to fire his laser gun at her, turning up the fire rate and using the tug chain between them as a guide for his arm even.
Oh, testing who is stronger isn't necessary. Aerial weighs /literally/ nothing, due to her power, and is simply dragged behind him like a helium ballon. The chain itself also weighs literally nothing, but that doesn't mean it isn't as strong as normal chain.
"Concentrate. Taking the badguy. Come on, power. We're connected. Get him." Aerial flies triangles. Now that she's got him lassoed, she doesn't even have to aim. She can just pick a random direction, and when the chain goes taut she's jerked to a halt at its end. She can't pull the trooper AT ALL in return. But she's rapidly winding the chain around him with the sudden random motions like a demented ping pong ball. And the trooper gradually begins losing his own weight as Aerial's power nulls his mass.
Dom's done a lot of stupid things in her time. This experience will probably end up on the list in..oh, four seconds. During these four seconds it's a slightly different situation.
"WHOAcrap!"
Just in case she didn't experience enough vertigo for one day, now she's barreling -upward- toward the Golden Goon! All she can do now is start shooting-wait, scratch that, she can't get a clear shot with Red darting all over the place!-then brace for impact, and maybe see about disarming the guy or ripping out some important looking hose or wire or something on her way back down.
Not that she makes the trip with grace. "This might have been a bad ideaaa!"
WHAP!
Like a fly to a windshield the albino strikes the now fully linked pair, latching on for dear life even as her two pistols go flying out of her hands and across the room. When they strike the domed section one unexpectedly fires a single round which quickly ping-pongs about the room, striking up all sorts of scary but hilarious sounds as it goes.
All three together, the goon can't fire his laser gun when he's wrapped up, and he's massless. He could use his rocket belt thing to fly around certainly, but he sees no way out of the tangle that Aerial has him in and now there is another on him like glue. A nod of the golden gas mask like face mask of the shock trooper and then they can see smoke coming out of that mask. He seems to start disintegrating right there in front of them.
Jack on the other hands is on the ground, "Ya, totally worked, you two got him, now, bring him down, I'll punch his lights out!" He has moved to be under them at least, to catch the three.
"Welcome to the party," as Domino joins the melee. Aerial's power goes to work on Domino as well, and soon everyone's weightless. Including the reaction thrust from the rocket belt. Which means while it's still hot, it provides no thrust anymore. "There's a strap on my back you'll want to grab /and hold tightly to/. My power wears off if you break /grip/, contact isn't enough."
Everyone's knocked upwards due to the impact. — Except now weightless, it instead appears that the Earth was knocked downwards. No acceleration is felt. It's all zero-g now. And Aerial is the pilot.
First, straight up. The Earth just lurches away from the trio at just shy of the speed of sound. This, just to give Aerial a head start. Next, she aims for a barren patch of ground. "You're totally gonna go splat if you let go." And again at the speed of sound, in a direct powerdive, the Earth hurls itself at the trio. — And Aerial releases the chain. Mass returns immediately to the trooper when the chain comes loose from her. On "impact" Aerial and Domino come to a sudden safe and undamaged halt. The trooper no longer has such protection.
Here Dom had been expecting gravity and all to still be working by the time she got up here. Nope! A sheepish grin and a "Hiya" is quick to change into surprise and confusion, because it's just a -weird- feeling for anyone not used to it! "Yeah..right. Strap, firm hold. This -does- wear off..okay." Pause. "Think I could have used your help about three minutes ago."
Then the planet disappears, prompting a completely stunned string of colorful language that's practically still going on their return trip.
Is her hold firm? Oh hells YES it is!
Just as quickly it's over with, the two in much better shape than the Golden Goon that's probably creating a new crater for himself. Domino may be unhurt, but "I think we left my stomach back in Metropolis…"
With all his smoking and disintegratign, the Golden Goon is simply no more. Buy the time his mass returns to be crater, hits just his laser gun and armor smashing into the floor. The gun explodes on impact, sending little bits flying everywhere.
If Jack sees where they landed on their return, he'll go to them. Though if it was literally a random open patch away from the city, he'll have no clue and be left alone in the Observatory, stopped in his celebration as they two others and the goon are no hwere to be seen.
"Well, we have to go back. At the very least I have to clean up the barrier gel before someone gets stuck in it." It wasn't necessarily an open patch /away from the city/, just an open patch. Where there wouldn't be people. But it doesn't matter because she's still going back. Buildings fly by and smack Aerial and Domino painlessly in the face to halt them, as she navigates back and turns corners that way. Then drops back down into the observatory.
Well, so much for salvaging any of the fancy golden hardware… Even if any of it is still in one piece Domino's suddenly zipped away on a red Aerial rocket. On the upside she can get her sidearms back! Maybe she isn't getting paid for this (entirely selfish) gig but she won't be in the hole any, either.
She'll just have to avoid any strong drinks for a day or two.
"That..was the single most unsettling thing I have ever experienced…" she grumbles weakly once she returns to normal mass mode. For Flag's sake she then calls out "Honey, we're home!"
Some of the gel may have gotten to Jack, he being inquisitive sometimes, and may have expanded and gotten his leg. He's struggling at it, its even starting to crack - his strength and the gel strength being pretty close. Almost off even. "I didn't do anything!" He grins, like caught in the cookie jar, touching the gel, touching the pistols, which might be in some of the gel that expanded somewhere. "Glad you're back though …" He looks at the door, Security is there, "I think they have questions."
Aerial seems able to disintegrate the leftover barrier gel with a simple wet wipe towel soaked in alcohol. The stuff shrinks back on contact like it was merely being erased. She taps the side of her helmet and slides out a USB stick, before turning to consult the security staff. "Aerial, at your service. I taped all but the very beginning. You can keep this if you want, but there's really no point. I'll have it uploaded to YouStarr and law enforcement soon enough."
Security. Here. Questions. (Greeeeat.) Dom has her own priorities, as usual. Retrieve her stuff, get the hell outta Dodge. If she gets held up for questioning then she's one of the good guys. Honest! Just don't run her mug through any facial recognition software, if you please. But hey, she's got Stars and Red to vouch for her. Handy, that.
Until she realizes that this is going to be posted online. Did..any of the cameras catch a clear shot of her face..?
Ah, fudge.
"Do me a solid and blur me out before you upload anything, kiddo." Her reputation may not be able to recover from that kind of hit!
Jack finishes breaking his leg out, "Woah, that's some awesome stuff." He says, moving around like he has a cramp in his leg from the effort even. Moving closer to Domino then, as Aerial seems on point for the guards. "What, you got a great face, why would you do something like that." Course, he has a mask on even as he says that.
The guards come up to Aerial, About to take the USB stick, though she indicates she's gonna turn it over to the law enforcement anyways. "Um, sure, ya, just, they'll be her shortly, if they have questions we can send them to you?"
Aerial nods, "The YouStarr version has faces blurred. The version the cops get doesn't. That guy we pounded did some kind of… disintegratey teleport maybe, I'll have to review it, take more measurements of his strength and speed and such… if he shows up anywhere else, we'll have his stats." And then… business cards! So people can call Aerial!
"It doesn't carry over well on camera," Dom replies to Flag's comment.
Now she's getting a business card out of the ordeal, as well. 'If in need of hero, call number below.' Heh. Y'know, this might actually work to her advantage at some point.
In the meantime, however, if these two have the cop situation handled then she's just going to try and find a quiet exit for herself. Once the cops review the footage they'll know that she's not one of their own, and that they just lost their chance to make a high profile arrest.
Today the odds just aren't in their favor.
Indeed, Jack Flag is instereted in talking more to Domino about her face, the cameras, the throwing at the bad guy trick. The card catches him off guard, "Hgh, this is pretty serious stuff." He says turning it over, not having his own hero calling card, wondering if its the trend and he should get one. "Aerial, fitting name."
Then he's turning to say, "Ya, really, I don't see how …" And she's gone, totally, gone. He was gonna ask why it didn't carry over well and she's out. "Aerial, did you see where that girl just went, or did she teleport too."
Turning back to her, he does pause, "Really, that's what happened to him after you left, he teleported away?"
Aerial shrugs. "I don't know. I recorded it, but he didn't hit the ground. He was gone. Maybe he disintegrated, maybe he teleported and the disintegration was the special effect part. I don't know how random powers work. That's why I record it. I'll have a video up soon." (Play back the exit — hmm, behind and to the… eyes in the back of my head are always useful.) "I think she went that way, but I lose track behind that display case. Don't know which exit she took."
Shaking his head, Jack Flag nods from security who move to do paper work and wait for Police, to Aerial again. "That's pretty awesome, I'd try that, the filming, but my luck, the heroes I help out don't want to be filmed." Forgetting the security and police on the way even, or the people looking over. "Look, I think you helped last time, big fire. I wanted to say thanks for that."
Aerial hesitates a bit, "I film for a number of reasons. Firstly, I don't trust myself. Posting my stuff online makes it so anyone can call me out. Show me what I did wrong. So I can get better. Secondly, to share the analysis I do of villains. I replay the footage. I see what the people we fight can and don't do. If you watch my stuff, and fight someone I fought, you'll have good intel. Thirdly, documentation. At some point, we catch badguys and they go to trial. And there's a big difference between a badguy jamming a gun in someone's mouth because they're backed into a corner and want to not get pulped by a superhero who can —- ANYTHING, instead of doing it just because they like to, with a grin and green hair and an annoying laugh."
Listening to that, he ponders a little. Jack Flag returns, "You know, if you don't trust yourself and want some help, ever think of like doing what you do with others. They have teams and stuff right? I mean, look at Power Woman and the Justice League, or that group up in New York that let all those villains escape." Not that Outsiders let the villains escape, the made a villain team to work together to escape.
Aerial holds up a business card again. "I figure that's the kind of thing where you wait for them to call you, not the other way around. I'd love to be on a team. Working alone is… really dangerous. Nobody to provide a distraction or bail you out… or even to just switch out powers with on the baddie. I /fly/. There's a lot of /tricks/ that come with it, but… I /just fly/."
"I know what you mean, I punch and break things, that's about it. The flying is cool," returns Jack. Then puts the business card away that she gave him. "I can't gaurantee anything, but if you want to do more, or train or anything. I could call you, at least when I'm on Earth, you now, and free," he does have some time commitments. "Not so alone, not so dangerous?"
Aerial nods. "Yes, I'd like that." She seems more distacted now, her head moving as if looking more at the things on the inside of her HUD than anything else, but then she takes off the helmet, with a hiss. It floats like a balloon on its string along with her. "Some powers behave really strangely together, and it's good to figure out the hows and whys if you can. I'm sure I don't even know all the things I'm vulnerable to."
"Lets hope you don't have to find out," grins Jack, watching the helmet float like a balloon, familiar with zero g on a personal level. "But that would be cool. I got you go by Aerial. I'm Jack … Flag." He turns his head to the side towards a Star patch, as if his name goes with his costume and all that. "Did you make this suit, is that where your power comes from?" He doesn't get it all, she had the suit and was flying, maybe she's like Iron Man, yet she said she didn't know all her vulnerabilities, like a regular meta or altered human, like himself.
"Ah… no, and no. This is a Stark. Custom made for me. I can't lift much normally. Or go into space. This is a power boosting space suit. My power is flying. I do that without the suit. But the suit lets me extend my power to carry sattellites and such. And gives me better awareness, since… well, cameras and huds and information things. Don't wanna get lost in space."
"Ya, I suppose better awareness with huds and stuff works better than waiting for something to hit you and turning to see what it was," grins Jack Flag then, as he considers it. Looking at her without the helmet even, he can't take his off it seems, at least in public, keeping that identity to himself. "Like Stark is a friend or something, or you can order that on-line?" A chuckle, "Sorry, a lot of questions, police will be here soon, maybe I can just try calling the number on the card, find a better place to talk about all this?"
"Stark is a client. I'm a delivery girl. He wants satellites in space, I take them there. Cheaper than rockets full of fuel. I hold onto it and suck its mass away, and then we go up. Effortless for me. Expensive for him. Worth making a suit over. Call me." Helmet back on, and away she goes!
