Heroics - X Team - A GAME OF CAT & MOUSE

[M3D]

==GM EDIT==
Looks like I goofed on the bright flash. Swamped at work right now. Will edit in about an hour or so.
====

 

[M3D]

==GM EDIT==
FIXED IT. You can continue with your business now.
====

 

[Casmick]

Casmick was relieved she had something she could help with at last

Disengage steel mode and start patching the pilot up with the med kit

 

[Stromgarde]

do something.[/I] Our pilot already got shot while your were arguing. I cannot make us invisible reliably enough under any circumstances. Don't let them hit us again."

"Fine, whatever. I'd try and make the jets crash into each other but with those two teleporting into one of em, probably not a good idea. Unless you want I should kill teammates? Heaven knows we're already blowing the 'Stealth' part of this mission. Best I can do now is help Trent keep this thing in the air"

*Stomps off into the cabin with Trent*

"So, how's it goin up here?"

 

[Garth Blackburn]

Lower volume of wind to negligible levels, allowing Payload and myself to communicate easily

"Hmmmm. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

We are not in a plane."

 

[M3D]

Casmick was relieved she had something she could help with at last

Disengage steel mode and start patching the pilot up with the med kit

==GM==
The plane banked as Trent dodged incoming fire for the first time as the plane's new pilot, fortunate that he had been thinking so hard about flying during the battle so Trent could copy his behaviors.

The pilot himself was in pretty bad shape. Casmick did her best to patch him up, pressing gauze into the wounds and applying pressure, but it was hard to stay consistent with the plane banking under fire. The pilot moaned a little in pain.

"Don't morphine me lady," he said when Casmick reached into the kit for bandages. "I need to stay aware so your telepath can keep reading how to fly this bird."

Casmick nodded, understanding the gravity of the request.

"Aren't you people super-somethings?" he said through gritted teeth. "Can't you fight them off?"

Rata-tat-tat-tat-tat

Another wave of fire from a passing jet glanced the top of the plane, forcing Trent to bank again, this time fully away from their intended target, the Xandanbourg border. The team was now headed almost directly back the way they came.
====

 

[Trent Washington]

==OOC==

I need to be actively reading his mind to know how to fly the plane? I assumed it would work like a book, like I read his thoughts to learn how to fly it, not be tapped in like a phone line or something.

 

[M3D]

==GM==
Your power is to read minds, not absorb knowledge. That's a whole different power set. We discussed when you picked your powers that as a rookie hero, you can read surface thoughts but to go any deeper you'd need a roll. And that's just reading, not instantly absorbing years of specialized training. Otherwise right now you could instantly have all the skills of knowledge of everyone you've run across. If you wanted that power, you should have picked it instead of basic telepathy.
====

 

[Trent Washington]

OK EVERYONE KEEP THAT PlLOT CONCIOUS!

 

[Garth Blackburn]

So are Payload and I in any danger? Does it seem like any jets are targeting us?

 

[M3D]

==GM==
The jets all remain in pursuit of the plane. Between the darkness and light flash effects Lumox emitted during your port, the jets did not see you. Of course, you may want to pull your chute before you hit the ground!
====

 

[Garth Blackburn]

I GUESS

Deploy parachute. Watch the plane we fell out of to see where they're heading/if anyone else bails out

 

[Trent Washington]

Should I turn around so we can meet up with them or should I straighten ourselves out to go back towards the border? Doesn't look like we're making much progress here via air.

 

[Lumox]

Use my powers to bend the light from outside our plane onto an area of the cockpit so it's like a rearview mirror showing us the enemy jets.

Man, I should have thought of that sooner.

"Hey Casmick and Pilot Guy, do you want me to try using heat lasers to cauterize his wounds?"

Look to see if something weird happened like Garth and Payload were say falling through the air.

==OOC==

MOD3D can I get a check on that stuff?

 

[M3D]

==GM==
Thanks to Lumox's light powers, Trent is able to see Garth and Payload parachuting out of the sky back the way they came.

Lumox concentrates the light to form some heat and cauterize the wound of the pilot.

You Roll: 6

The light dims for a moment in the cabin and a laser extends from Lumox's finger to cauterize the pilots wounds. The pilot screamed in pain, but somehow avoided passing out.
====

 

[Garth Blackburn]

What's my status?

 

[M3D]

You are a smart@$$ with a weird power. You are also floating out of the sky with your parachute popped. Totally safe for now. Although, a plane and 3-4 jets appear to be headed in your direction now so good luck!

 

[Lumox]

"Hey Stromgarde,mess up the jets. Suck the air away from under them to drag them down to the ground, or whatever you feel would work best. If your powers have a limited range, get Trent to keep the plane close to them as necessary."

Keep using my powers to give them a view of where the jets are and what they're doing.

 

[Garth Blackburn]

What's our elevation in relationship to the planes? I presume they're quite a bit above us since we were in freefall for a bit

Also, damn straight I am

Sunglasses: On

 

[M3D]

Sunglasses: On

==GM==
You Roll: 2!

You fumble with the sunglasses and nearly lose them to the high altitude winds. Attempting to press them to your face, you poke yourself in the eye a moment. You are really glad Payload didn't see that... at least you think he didn't.
====

Oh, and you are a couple hundred meters lower than the plane and the pursuing jets. You can see them heading your direction.

 

[Payload]

"Well... ****."

Continue clutching Garth, not yet wasting a parachute.

"They're coming back towards us. I think I can take one of those *******s out, at least. But I've got to let you go. We'll find you. Try to find some way to make a signal using your noisemaker, and we'll find you. If Bossman sees you, hopefully he can keep the jets from... you know... destroying your chute."

Parachute still intact and undeployed. Let go, and begin porting safely away from Garth horizontally, while also falling. Once safely out of range, so the effect is minimal on Garth's chute, start rapidly porting updward. Pause to make sure Garth's not... you know... dying. Then, keep porting up as fast as possible until roughly 50 meters above plane level.

Maybe a jet is a bit to fast to port into in half a second. But I can hit a moving target no problem. I'm smoking at least one of those jerks, and if it works, who knows! Maybe the telepathpilot will be smart enough to draw us back around.

Maintain a stable height of roughly 50 meters above the planes. Try to gauge their trajectory and speed. Arrange myself so that I'd be directly overhead as one of the enemy jets passes underneath. And as they're finally getting closer, time my fall to be such that I would splat on one of the planes. But! 5-10 meters before I go splat, go BOOM instead, porting 50+ yards away from the jet.

 

[Stromgarde]

"Hey Stromgarde,mess up the jets. Suck the air away from under them to drag them down to the ground, or whatever you feel would work best. If your powers have a limited range, get Trent to keep the plane close to them as necessary."

Keep using my powers to give them a view of where the jets are and what they're doing.

"I do have limitations, but flying close won't do squat. You can't drink wine by licking a bottle, you have to open it. Speaking of opening, open the cargo bay. Going to step outside for some fresh air."

*Walks out into the cargo bay area*

"Might want to hold onto something people, going to get a bit windy."

*As the door opens, takes a running leap out, flying towards one of the jets, in an attempt to land/grab onto said jet. Using my powers to try and match their speed as much as posible to prevent jarring, trying to get close enough that I can abuse the slipstream effect to provide preasure needed to stay connected with the plane*

If sucessful, I then try and alter the slipstream further, to have the air blow around, rather into the air intakes of the jet.

 

[M3D]

Alright! Finally some real action!

"Well... ****."

Continue clutching Garth, not yet wasting a parachute.

"They're coming back towards us. I think I can take one of those *******s out, at least. But I've got to let you go. We'll find you. Try to find some way to make a signal using your noisemaker, and we'll find you. If Bossman sees you, hopefully he can keep the jets from... you know... destroying your chute."

Parachute still intact and undeployed. Let go, and begin porting safely away from Garth horizontally, while also falling. Once safely out of range, so the effect is minimal on Garth's chute, start rapidly porting updward. Pause to make sure Garth's not... you know... dying. Then, keep porting up as fast as possible until roughly 50 meters above plane level.

Maybe a jet is a bit to fast to port into in half a second. But I can hit a moving target no problem. I'm smoking at least one of those jerks, and if it works, who knows! Maybe the telepathpilot will be smart enough to draw us back around.

Maintain a stable height of roughly 50 meters above the planes. Try to gauge their trajectory and speed. Arrange myself so that I'd be directly overhead as one of the enemy jets passes underneath. And as they're finally getting closer, time my fall to be such that I would splat on one of the planes. But! 5-10 meters before I go splat, go BOOM instead, porting 50+ yards away from the jet.

==GM==
Payload began stretching his teleportation powers to their limits, porting repeatedly to gain height and distance. As the planes approached him, he timed his final port above them and felt himself began to tumble down.

Roll: 6 Lucky rolls tonight!

Payload watched his ally's plane zip by and then tumbled down almost directly towards one of the pursuing jets. Despite being at more than 50 yards, his gravitation sense seemed to be reading everything. He was perfectly aware of his position and while he hadn't tried to port max distance in a very long time, he knew in that moment that it was going to work.

KABOOM

Payload's port took him nearly a mile away... his longest port ever. And the results were incredible. The concussion wave from the port didn't just wobble the target jet, it smashed the jet sideways as if a great invisible hand had swatted a pesky metal fly out of the air. Going into a full side-spin, the jet tumbles out of the sky and explodes in the countryside below.

The extensive porting tires Payload. Any more repeated teleports, let alone big stunts like killing a jet, will be incredibly difficult to pull off again.

"I do have limitations, but flying close won't do squat. You can't drink wine by licking a bottle, you have to open it. Speaking of opening, open the cargo bay. Going to step outside for some fresh air."

*Walks out into the cargo bay area*

"Might want to hold onto something people, going to get a bit windy."

*As the door opens, takes a running leap out, flying towards one of the jets, in an attempt to land/grab onto said jet. Using my powers to try and match their speed as much as posible to prevent jarring, trying to get close enough that I can abuse the slipstream effect to provide preasure needed to stay connected with the plane*

If sucessful, I then try and alter the slipstream further, to have the air blow around, rather into the air intakes of the jet.

Just as the cargo door to the plane opens, Stormgarde is greeted by an incredible sight. One of the pursuing jets was knocked from the air and spun like a top all the way into the German countryside where it exploded in a ball of fire. Confidence bolstered by having one less bogey to fight, Stormgarde dove into the winds.

He could feel the powerful wind currents surrounding him, sensing both the natural and unnatural flows of air. Normally he couldn't fly so fast on his own, but using the force generated from all the planes he was able to keep an incredible pace and move between them. As he approached one of the jets, it turned away in an attempt to avoid him.

Roll: 2

Stormgarde attempted to pull the air from the jet engine as he approached, but the sudden movement of the jet caused him to lose some of his own air support and he tumbled back towards his own plane to right himself. Suddenly he sensed something coming through the wind behind him and turned to see another jet coming around and flying towards him with guns blazing...
====


I am awarding Payload 1 MVP point for being bold with his powers and getting so stinkin lucky to roll a 6! Good job.

 

[Stromgarde]

Where's this new jets location in relation to the other one?

 

[Lumox]

Lumox uses his powers to bend the light bouncing off Stromgarde toward the oncoming jet so that Stromgarde appears to move so that he would be between the two enemy jets. Also attempt to make the other non-firing jet appear to move as well in relation to Stromgarde. Be sure the light-Stromgarde doesn't move between the attacking jet and our own plane.

==OOC==

If that doesn't quite make sense, what I'm going for is making the shooting jet think Stormgarde has moved so that he will be firing at an illusion of Stromgarde, and then the bullets will hopefully go through and hit the other enemy plane, which the shooting pilot will think is somewhere else due to my powers.

==Even more OOC==

I will be going on a vacation and will have little to no internet access for the next few days. I should be back Sunday night EST.

 

[M3D]

==GM==
The original jet you were chasing has veered away and out of the intense winds that are allowing you to keep up with the jets. It's far off to your right and above you now. The incoming jet is almost directly behind you by a couple hundred yards.

Lumox attempted to bend the light and trick the incoming jet.

Roll: 3

The incoming jet suddenly sees Stormgarde's image appear off to its right, as though he teleported. He veers for a moment before firing his gun, aiming for the new image. Unfortunately it isn't lined up quite right with the other jet so no friendly fire ensues. As the jets reposition, Lumox loses control of the illusion and it fades.
====

Lumox and Payload bought you some time, but now something needs to be done soon if you want to survive this encounter unscathed.

 

[Garth Blackburn]

Play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbUpPVOEkdA

Preferably loud enough for the rest of the crew to hear.

 

[Payload]

Spread out arms and legs to try to max wind resistance. Try not to fall unconscious. Look to see where the planes are - does it look like they'll be closer to be before I go splat?

 

[M3D]

==GM==
The planes appear to have moved on and are heading back towards Garth's position. You would probably go splat before they would be able to turn around and find you.
====

 

[Garth Blackburn]

Do they appear to be coming right at me, or just in my general direction?

 

[M3D]

==GM==
Just in your general direction. You are North and they are headed North.
====

 

[Stromgarde]

Do any of these jets happen to have any rockets/missiles underwing?

While waiting, I'll also attempt to blow the jets closer together slowly

 

[Trent Washington]

==OOC==

Mod, could you please give us a quick overview of who is currently where/in what situation in this scene? Got a couple things mixed up over reading and wanted to make sure I was on key with everything.

 

[Garth Blackburn]

"You guys should totally bail out. So we can move on with the mission"

Sure is weird to say that to no one in particular but oh well

 

[M3D]

==GM==
Here's the current layout:

• You are over Germany. You are to the NORTH of Xandanbourg.
• Garth is to the NORTH of the flying planes, floating down out of the sky with a parachute. You are headed in his general direction, with 3 jets still in pursuit.
• Payload is currently to the WEST of the planes
• One jet has crashed, three are still in pursuit
• Stormgarde is using the wind power from the plane/jets to move WAY faster than he would normally be able to fly under his own power.
• Stormgarde is to the EAST of the plane
• The jet he TRIED to attack is FAR to the EAST now
• One jet is BEHIND your plane, to the SOUTH
• The remaining jet is ABOVE your plane and a little behind it.
• These jets do NOT appear to have missiles, only guns.

====

re:Stormgarde attempting to blow the jets closer together - doing that slowly has no effect. The pilots can just steer into/against the slowly changing wind pattern.

==OOC==
I don't usually do this but you guys seem a little stuck here... Your team has the powers necessary to actually fight these jets. You have seemed so determined to not fight for most of the game right now that I feel like its OK at this point to tell you to engage them. Use your powers. Payload got a 6 and his attempt worked. Stormgarde's roll was worse, but that doesn't mean the ATTEMPT was a bad idea. Be aggressive and let's move on.

 

[Garth Blackburn]

Start positioning myself for a nice safe area to land

 

[Stromgarde]

I attempt to blow off, or at least damage/mess with the flaps on the wings

 

[M3D]

Stormgarde pushes the wind towards the nearest jet, aiming for the wings.

Roll: 4

The gust pushed the jet hard, elevating it on one side and forcing the pilot to veer hard out of combat. One less plane was giving chase.

 

[Garth Blackburn]

Aim a sonic boom at one of the jets. Make it loud as I can muster

 

[Payload]

Payload fought to keep his arms spread and wind resistance maximized. He'd been in free fall often enough that he knew how to keep his wits about him. At least this time he had a parachute. If he lost consciousness, though...

But now they'd really screwed it. "damnit, skip," payload said to himself, even though he couldn't hear anything above the air raging in his ears. "never take someone with you on a jump. What the hell did you think would happen?"

Now he was a mile out, dead exhausted and soon to be just dead. He ran through his options.

Pull the parachute, and hope his team could survive the attack. Then, hope they could find Garth. Hope they could find Payload. Hope they could still reach the border.

Keep high enough with teleporting, and hope he didn't lose consciousness. Hope Lumox could find him. Hope he could somehow be relevant again in the fight.

Payload knew he had botched it. If Garth died, it was on him. Worse, he'd separated a member of the team, weakening the whole group.

There was so much more they could do, and they had already failed the mission. Before even reaching the border.

"Some salvation this turned out to be."

Even though he couldn't hear it, Payload knew it was a load of crap as soon as the words spit into the rushing air.

It wasn't over yet.

He'd joined the team to do something good. To do it fr the Right Reasons. To truly help a team with the use of his powers, not just the greedy desires of some mogul.

He couldn't help them by himself. But if he could just get back TO the fight, he could get back IN the fight.

Pulling the chute meant hoping they survived. Not pulling the chute and porting up meant hoping the planes reached him before he lost consciousness.

Hope was not a strategy.

He could try jumping diagonals at fifty-foot intervals. Keep high enough altitude. Do it quickly, and gain ground towards intercepting the fighters.

The mere thought of so many ports, even sloppily aimed, made Payload nearly pass out on the spot. He could barely hold his arms aloft. His head felt like it was filled with sand. He didn't know if the blurred vision came from the clouds or exhaustion. He doubted that allowing his stomach to vomit would give him much momentum.

Momentum.

There it was. A foolish fancy, the type that only appeared in Payloads head when mid-jump between skyscrapers. A moment of idiotic insight that had saved his life so many times before slamming into the ground or parkouring into power lines. He didn't know if it would work, but he knew it was his only chance of getting back to the fight.

Jumping preserved momentum. He'd learned that from hard knocks many times. Payload had spent hundreds of hours trying to jump into a dead standstill. He had to stop after the third concussion nearly knocked out his gravity sense.

But what if he could somehow harness that momentum in a different direction?

Free fall didn't allow Payload time to consider whether it was possible. He couldn't wax about how porting could possibly be combining two places in space time, or why he created explosions upon entry and exit.

He knew that he was falling at terminal velocity. He knew that freeflying could speed faster than a peregrine falcon. Granted, that direction only went one way. Down.

But... What if it didn't.

Hope wasn't a strategy. But if Payload could fire horizontally out of a port with the same momentum. He would easily catch up with just a few harrowing jumps, then throw the momentum to go straight up, and let gravity do the slowing.

That was a strategy. Hopefully.

ooc: can I do something like a constitution check? Payload's feeling drained, but that's no excuse to allow teammates to die. I'd first like to roll to see if I can muster up sme do-or-die fortitude.

Here we go again. As said above, first roll a constitution check for that do-or-die fortitude.

Then, gauge the directions and speeds of the jets, as well as my own, so I can attempt to intercept them at where they are headed.

Muster my instincts and attempt to harness my momentum in a different direction than... Down. Jump up about 30 yards - attempting a long enough jump that I'm not losing altitude too quickly, but not so far that I'm further tiring myself. Ideally, I angle the momentum not just horizontally, but also upwards at about 30 degrees, so I can get a nice, speedy arc before air resistance takes over.

And, of course, fight like hell to not lose consciousness.