(2014-10-09) You Sir Are No Vance (Switcheroo)
You Sir Are No Vance
Summary: Jack wakes up with Vance, after thinking they were dead, only to discover its not Vance, but Stargirl in the body of Justice
Date: (2014-10-09)
Related: http://ageofheroesmux.wikidot.com/plot:the-menace-of-mongo
NPCs: Rico - an archer and musician Arboreal Prince's kindgon
Scene Runner: Mutual
Social/Plot: Social Plotting
Players:
stargirl..jack-flag..justice..

The last thing Jack remembers is thinking Justice just died and going to smash golden trooper in the face. He is finally coming too, to realize he's been stripped of his uniform into something fit for a gladiator. Thinking he was dead, it doesn't help the pounding in his head. Having seen a golden trooper disentigrate (sp) itself before, thinking they had some new weapon they just used on Vance, Jack was sure he was a gonner. There is the feint sound of cheers overhead, amidst the trickle of water on stone, drops at most, to give the slaves something to drink most likely, and other hygenic purposes, if water through old stone is hygenic.

Still he's opening his eyes, from darkness to the dim, dank stone walls of a mongo gladiator cell. His hand going to the itch at his neck, finding its a collar, "What the fuck," he says, one of those rare times he cusses one would note. If anyone was around to note this.

The body of Vance is there, quite alive and quite awake, but seemingly in a state of shock. A set of bars divide him from the cell that Jack is waking up in. He sits there, on whatever passes for a sleeping pallet in the cell as is staring down at his body as if he's never seen it before. "You can say that again." he says as Jack's words penetrate the brain.

"Jesus, bro, I thought you were dead," says Jack sitting up and grinning, comfortable in the company of Vance. "Don't fuck with me like that again, I was about to cry, then someone would of saw me and I would of had to explain that something was in my eye." Half a joke, maybe. "Where the hell are we, did you piss off some other alien princess and she's out to get us, make you pay space alimony or something?"

Hands are lifted and stared at briefly, and Vance finally gets up and moves around a bit in the cell, looking down at himself and looking both disgusted and intriqued at the same time "I'm either dead and this is some kind of Hell or maybe a nightmare." there is a hurried pace to the bars that divide the cells and he grabs them in white knucled fashion "It's a nightmare..It has to be…I'm in a dude's body!!! Not just any dude's but Vance's." panic starts to set in "It's a nightmare Courtney, just wake up and it'll be all over." head smacks against bar "Wake up already!

"No, we're alive, bro, just, like in jail or something like that," says Jack to Vance/Courtney as she is figuring out the new body. To him its all Vance and he's still coming around. Then it gets weird, cause Vance wouldn't think a dudes' body is weird to be in, and he wouldn't call himself Courntey. "Hey hey, you took a good hit, in that vehicle that blew up I think. Snap out man, its me and you, we've gotten out of prison before, I'll just smash the bars. We'll get a move on it Vance." Letting him/her ponder waking up, Jack gets out, fighting the pounding in head, he halls off with full force to hit the bars. There is a resounding crack, he might of dislodged a knuckle. "Ahhhh, the fuck!" What is this thing, pain, no, it is a nightmare. He's doubled over holding his hand as it even, gasp, starts to bleed.

Vance/Court looks totally confused as Jack goes on about being hit and explosions "But I'm not…" is the forthcoming protest that is cut off as Jack proceeds to punch the bars to detrimental effect "Oh my god, Jack!" there is a lot more concern over the unexpected results than Vance would probably exhibit "Are you okay?

"Ya," he says with clench teethed, chuckling at the pain, or surprised by it. Still holding his hand as he's doubled over. "No, I'm broken. The juice, the venom, it wore off or something, or those are some serious bars." All gritted teeth, this Jack Flag today. "I've been better, I think its broke," his hand, or hurts like it. He moves in to pace around walk it off, shaking his finger. He might of noticed the more concern in Vance's voice, but the pain is overriding him joking about it now even. "Can you mind blast it, maybe its just stopping physical stuff …."

"I can't mind blast anything Jack." the woman trapped in a guy's body states "I'm not Vance." V/SG pushes away from the bars and begins to pace "I'm Courtney. I don't know the first thing about using the powers Vance has." moving back to the bars she holds a hand out "Let's see your hand."

Jack startles a little, not cause he's dressed in whatever passes for Mongo style gladiator garb, but because he was dropping verbal bombs in her presence. Like he does try to watch that, maybe a gentleman in their, needing lots of polish. "No, serious, you're not fu… joshing me, not some Vance joke." His own questioned answered Vance might have jokes, but not pulling a stunt like this.

He lifts his damaged hand up to Vance to look at, having trust in what she is saying actually. "So, we don't have Vance's mind blasts, and I'm crap out of strength, this day has gotten worse. I have no clue where we are then."

"Could Vance do this?" she concentrates a moment at first nothing happens then almost reluctantly the Star Staff appears in hand "That proof enough for you?" she frowns down at the staff in hand "It is having a hard time attuning to me like this." it's not mind blasts or super strength but it is the only weapon they have at the moment, and a reluctant one at that.

Okay, that is weird, he doesn't know how the staff works and if anyone attuned to it can summon it, but he's sure Vance couldn't just do that. "You win, its you Courtney, I was believing you, its still weird. Just, I wasn't gonna talk about Rainbow Dash if you were Vance." And inversely, he's going to stop cursing for the time being since its Courtney. "That leaves us still SOL on knowing what's going on here."

V/SG squirms a bit uncomfortably "Well looks like you two had a lot of fun without me." a glance is given at thier surrounding, "If I'm in Vance's body does that mean he is in mine?" the disgusted expression once more returns "Oh god, i don't think I am going to want it back now." a deep breath is taken "Okay, once problem at a time. Escape and then getting my body back." she taps the end of the staff on the bars and talks to it "You going to behave for me?

"Don't think about it, it'll get better," says Jack, then getting a slightly sour looking, him too thinking what Vance might do in Courtney's body. The only good thing, if it counts, Jack is certain there will not be any unwanted fellows around Vance, Vance wouldn't have that. Or he hopes, a shudder, Jack doesn't want to think about that. "Yes, back, one problem at a time. Does it listen, if you talk to it and him in your body, what if he tries to call the staff too … how does it listen to you?"

"Don't think about it!? You know what happens when you try not to think about something? You think about it even more!" s/he starts to bang his head against the bars again "Not in any normal fashion it doesn't. It's not sentient in any sense of the word, but it is aware to a certain degree. If that makes sense." he stops the head banging and looks back to Jack "I don't know. This is new territory. He might be able to, it is attuned to both my mental signature and the cosmic energy my body stores. I have the one, he has the other. Thankfully Vance has a bit of cosmic stuff too with all his travels in space. Just not much.

"I'm not liking this any more, now," says Jack. Usually a little more happy go lucky. "Can you save the staff for a needed moment? Like not just bust out, cause if you spend its iffy charge or cosmic super will …" He shrugs, like they will alert the guards and be out of tricks. He notices Vance has a similar collar on his neck too. Not that he knows she has his powers, just the collar is stopping Justice's abilities from coming to Courtney.

"Agreed." is said at the not liking things "No, it is constantly absorbing cosmic radiation and recharging. I just don't know how well it will work since it is only getting half of me." he kneels down and points the staff to one of bars. His back to the corridor so his body is a sheild against any passing guards seeing what is going on "Come on, work already." there is lots of concentration, usually it's just point and shoot without much thought, not so this time. Finally a heat beam shoots out and slowly starts to melt the bar.

There are other cell's nearby, other gladiator prisoners even. The bar is heated, starts to melt. A voice calls out, "I wouldn't try to escape yet, if you wait, you might find a guard and a gun to help with your cosmic radiation." Some crazy listening the whole time, in a cell next door even. The bars are on the front, stone walls in between. It sounds an awful lot like the bald guy from the forest.

Jack is returning to Courtney, "Half of you is better than both of us," meaning Vance and Jack, "In this situa…." He stops when he hears that voice. "You were listening in, the whole time?" Of course, Jack's first question isn't the most helpful in the current situation.

It's Vance's grin that comes with Jack's comment "I won't tell him you sid that." the bar is melted through but she would have to repeat that a few times, at bottom and top of make a hole big enough to get out of. At the new voice giving them advice she shoots a worried look to Jack before standing back up "Someone you know?

"I'll tell him," grins Jack a little, then leans towards the bars, as if he would see who it is. Sort of bald head, "Ya, its that guy, friends of the Prince, when we got the baby, the bald guy." Jack is whispering to Stargirl as Vance. Like Rico can't hear them.

"I can hear you," he says, as if moritified that Jack would just vocalize that while perhaps having meant it more for a private conversation. "They put those collars on you, to surpress your abilities, whatever those are." The man doesn't know, they didn't demonstarte in the forest. Other than Jean and Kori flying up into the trees, he doesn't know Vance and Jack didn't do much other than climb the tree. "They want you dead." He further explains.

V/SG facepalms, that is totally a Courtney gesture. "Jack you can be such an idiot at times." as Rico explains a hand goes up to the collar around his neck "That would explain why I can't access Vance's powers, unless those went to wherever he is." she shrugs having no clue "Oh did you hear that Jack, someone wants us dead. That's new." a bit of sarcasm there.

Making a deadpan face himself, sort of sarcastic with his palms up, Jack is probably thinking 'what, he is bald, just being honest.' As if that was his only idiotic move in this moment. Glad she goes with sarcasm, "Ya, its kind of funny how you get used to it. More like, it would be boring if no one wanted us dead." Not that they need to have that conversation now.

Coughing from his cell, Rico interjects again, "I don't know what you're doing to melt the bar, but you might be able to damage the collars enough … so that when you get to the arena, you'll have a better chance to get out of here. They have a couple more aliens around here with similar collars." Not just suggesting Jack and V/SG are alien, but others not of the normal enslaved people could be used in their escape plan, people with powers that want out.

The collar was noticed, it could easily be felt around the neck, but until it was pointed out SG didn't put the collar together with the missing powers. Not that it has been pointed out she feels an idiot, but in her defense she has had other things to worry about, like what Vance is doing to her body and how guys can stand to walk with a…well nevermind about that one. "Jack come over over here." she beckons him over "The collar I can probably do something about easily enough.

"I do not have a collar, but if you do make a break," he is only suggesting during the games, like a big fight might be coming up, "I'll join you if I can." So says Rico, who goes back to silence for the moment.

Jack moves closer to V/SG, "Does the will of the staff listen to you, you're not gonna laser cut my head off are you?" He should work on a filter sometimes. Bad thing, he's pretty open about stuff, but good thing, he's pretty open and straightforward - folks will know he's square with them, nothing hidden.

"No I'm not going to laser your head off." she hopes not at least. Reaching through the bars s/he pulls him against the bars to examine the collar. If Courtney has to she will manhandle him a bit, turning him around, or the collar if it is loose enough to try to get a handle on how best to deactivatite or laser it so it will break away on impact.

Jack goes as she man handles him, he'd do it anyways, whether it was Vance or Courtney actually. "Thanks, I owe you a solid," he offers being turned around. The device is pretty solid, most likely the technology is on the inside. Whatever helped the bald guys work towards simulated TP is probably at play inside of it somewhere just the same. Might be easy to just delicatley try to cut it in half, careful of the hot metal to Jack as he's depowered currently.

There is a hmming noise as the collar is examined "This is going to get kind of tricky." she pushes down on his shoulder "Sit. I'll get a better angle that way and will be less likely to behead you." s/he looks down the corridor "Rico watch for guards." and she gets to work on weakening the metal of the collar "You know I am only going to be able to do yours. I'll probably behead myself if I try to laser mine.

"If we were taking them totally off and not worrying about who say them," offers Jack as she works, "I'd could probably get yours too. Lets see if your staff does the trick and I get strong back again. Honestly, its crazy, my hand is throbbing like its in pain." Funny, as that is exactly what's happening, throbbing pain.

"Of course," responds Rico, who then remains silent to keep an ear out for guards. Oddly, they must seem to think the prisoners are contained well enough, not suspected the staff trick at all, none come around.

No one expects the Staff…that's what makes it such a great tool/weapon. It's slow going and the angle is hard, but it's cutting through "I just want to sever it enough to disable it but not make it obvious that it has been tampered with." Which is why she is nearly choking (maybe) him as she pulls it as far away from his neck as she can so she can cut it from the inside…if that's possible, if not, outside it is. "Jack, I hate to tell you, but it probably is pain. Has it been that long since you felt that?

Choking but he can breath and he's not questioning her technique in the least. "I'll trust you there, maybe throw some dirt on it to help hide it some too?" He offers about her avoiding the tampering look. Jack pauses then, and thinks, "Um, like 6 years, I think. I mean, I was paralyzed for a few years and avoided getting into painful situations then the whole venom thing and going to space." Aka, the lifting of the curse after being paralyzed.

"Dirt…good idea. Let me know when you start feeling something…or not feeling something." whichever the case may be. S/he'll continue to work on the collar until it either falls off or powers are returned.

It takes a few moments, just more than halfway through, Jack holds up a hand, the throbbing one. It has bled, but looks closed and scabbed now. "I think you got it, lets give it some time and I'll test it out. I'm guessing about an hour and it will be better." He grins, "You're awesome Courtney, even if I haven't said it today, and despite Vance's body there. Not so cute, and to think, I almost bro-hugged ya when I saw you, or him, he , was alive …."

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