A City Falls: Start

[voidtreckermods]

Preparation

Just after light on the seventh day of the month of Bassoon everyone’s SCA glows with the colour of the void before showing a message. A briefing for the mission to come.

Anyone who goes to investigate the dressing carriage will find all the cupboards and drawers open. They may need to battle through spider webs but soon will find an array of clothes. Trousers, skirts, dresses, shirts, robes, cloaks. Everything they will need and plenty of choice. All the clothes have accents of team colours in more muted hues than the normal bold hoodies they wear.

A few hours later there is an announcement over the speakers. "Arrival to Planet #25768 imminent. Prepare for exit from Void. Drop order: Purple, Orange, Red, Blue. All passengers are to wear their Safety Control Apparatus and are reminded that emergency evacuation protocol is three short taps."

The train shudders and jerks. It is time.

Purple

"Purple Team to doors. Drop in two minutes. Purple team to doors."

The train flies down through the air before coming to a stop between two rocky outcrops. The doors hiss open, it’s a bit of a jump down to the ground and anyone who looks back will find the train hard to see. Not invisible but definitely cloaked, shifting to blend in with the rock.

They can hear the sound of many footsteps and the high sound of young voices. It is easy to hear where they need to be.

As they move down the rocky slope they will see the main pass. A large group of children are walking. Spirits are high even if it is clear they are on their guard. Older teens are wearing weapons, swords, the odd axe, a few daggers. Nothing expertly crafted but they all wear them with ease. Slightly younger children carry the very young, toddlers and those too young to walk and keep pace.

There’s a sound from in front of the group. From around the corner a girl, about thirteen years old, runs towards them. Her braids bounce against her shoulders, her eyes are wide with fear and she waves her hands at the others. “Run! Run!”

A shadow looms behind her, a winged wolf, gaining speed towards her. Sat on the wolf is a spear wielding goblin.

From all around them a growling of many more wolves, in the hills, close and ready to pounce.

Orange

Once Purple Team are gone the train flies again. "Orange Team to doors. Drop in two minutes. Orange Team to doors."

The train seems to be still concealed as it hovers at the city walls. There’s a bit of a jump onto the walls but at least they are near one of the staircases down into the city.

Also luckily no one seems to have seen them appearing out of no where though that has more to do with the general chaos rather than anything else!

There is a lot of chaos! People evacuating, animals everywhere, people looking lost and bewildered. Get herding or helping and encourage people up that cliff path!

Red

The train flies onward. "Red team to doors. Drop in two minutes. Red team to doors."

The train makes a slightly bumpy landing on a rocky slope. Scrambling up the slope red team will see a group of fighters, perhaps eighty in total. There are some supplies to the side, not yet allotted. Some horses and weapons. All the fighters are currently focused on a tall woman who is on horseback, facing them from the front.

“… Say those that stand here, as few as we may be were the ones who end the goblin menace on our lands for good. For our children and our families. We fight!”

The end of what was clearly a rousing speech, the fighters cheer. They begin to move over the slope, towards the goblin camp below. If you are joining this battle the time is now!

Blue

The train flies low, skimming over the lake. "Blue Team to doors. Drop in one minute. Blue Team to doors."

Jumping down off the train they will land in the shallows of the lake. It’s not deep enough to go over their boots and now too far to wade to shore. The shore is rocky, loose rocks and pools of water to avoid. The tower stands before them. Three goblins, riding wolves perch on the walls high above them. The sky above crackles with lightning that is not at all natural.

The doorway to the tower is open, there are a lot of stairs to get up. The howls of the wolves fill the air as the wizards fight them off above. Time to climb!

Comments

[afterburner]

Preparation

Renee...is perplexed. While she is going through the costumes, she's never done things like LARP or Renaissance faires and so she's...having more than a few problems, even as she's doing her level best not to make a mess of the costumes for anyone else.

"Damn it, I am not going to wear a dress. I'll destroy it!" she growls. But she'd take help--any help--at this point...


Drop

Now that she's kitted up--and looking somewhat piratical in leather, honestly--Renee's ready to get out the doors. But drop? Not...exactly. She does step out the train, but then the signature crimson hue of her power surrounds her, and her legs disappear into rocket-like propulsion as she lifts into the sky.

But then she heard the kid screaming to the others to run. It's not hard to see why--winged wolf with a goblin rider? How unfair. So she steers herself in midair to go blasting towards the spear-toting goblin and its mount, not stopping even when the goblin casts the spear at her--which bounces off the field Renee generates when blasting.

She keeps going. The goblin didn't expect that, and tries to wheel its wolf around and flee--and that's about the time she collides with them, throwing the goblin and wolf away from each other in separate directions.

Looks like Team Goblin's blasting off again!


Later--punch drunk

This...is probably concerning to anyone who isn't Renee. The drawback to using her powers in constant succession for long periods of time? Even with her training and control, eventually she gets...a little silly with the exhaustion. She's still durable as heck and can take a lot of damage, but her judgement...isn't that great. So it's entirely possible to see her posing and flexing as she staggers towards a group of sword-and-shield wielding goblins, waving her arms and generally trying to catch their attention...with some success! She might need some intervention...

Preparation

[hashtagparkerluck]

Hello Renee, looks like you could use some help from your friendly neighborhood nerd. The whole LARPing and Renaissance thing isn't his main scene but he and Ned have definitely dabbled in that area.

"Why would you have to wear a dress? You're gonna be fighting that's like super impractical. Do something like um... pants and a tunic and boots and maybe one of those over the left shoulder armor plates." He offers his nerd expertise while he hunts down something for him as well.

[afterburner]

"Why just one shoulder plate though, Pete? Does it have some meaning I'm missing?" Renee's already mystified, honestly.

"Pants. Yeah, that's definitely better. Do you think I ought to squish the girls down a bit?" She means bind, not that they have much in the way of that here, but Renee could figure out something to make do if she had to. Not that she thought a corset would be amiss, really.

[hashtagparkerluck]

"Because it's heavy." Peter offers a shrug as though that would be obvious. "I mean, if you have super strength then I guess that kinda doesn't matter. But yeah, Armor's heavy and the less of you have the better you can move. So just like make sure to protect all your vital organs."

He turns red so fast at her question, eyes going wide. Why would he ask him that?

"Uh! I don't know-I've never-uh... maybe like a scarf or something could?"

[afterburner]

"No, no, I know ways to do it, just wondering if I should try passing as a dude more. I don't think it matters...maybe my powers will intimidate them or something. Not that I normally want to do that, but."

Peter, you're safe and you've got a girlfriend who's her best friend, that's why. Your opinion is trusted to not be perverted. Unlike some Tonys Renee knows!

"Yeah I do--super strength. I suppose just one pauldron would be okay though. And when I'm blasting, like I do when I fly, I'm pretty invulnerable anyway." Not that she was all the time, but Renee wasn't that reckless in actual combat. Surprisingly.

[hashtagparkerluck]

Peter pauses, honestly considering if he thought Renee trying to pass off as a man would be helpful at all.

"Nah, if anyone gives you grief for being an over powered, badass woman you can just blast 'em. No need for all that 'you're a girl, and as a man I gotta protect you' bullshit, you know?"

[afterburner]

"Hey, I never asked for being overpowered, ya know!" Not that Renee's going to deny it, not for a minute. She knows damn well that she did not get the shitty end of the stick when it came to mutant powers. Even if she almost wished she did.

"Yeah, I don't need anyone to save me. I can save myself, right?" She nodded. "Thanks, Pete. You better not get in trouble out there, though, you know? Go easy. Or hey, get a makeshift bat and go get 'em, slugger!"

But she was grinning at that. And secretly hoping that his Parkerluck eased off a little, this time 'round. Even if it probably wouldn't.

[hashtagparkerluck]

Peter's mostly resigned to Parkerluck as a thing in his life but it does still throw him some curve balls manage to smack him right in the face. Despite that though, he's really a cheerful person. Usually.

"Eh, I'd feel better if I had my webs but c'est la vie, I guess." He shrugs.

[afterburner]

"How do you make 'em, anyway? Buncha chemicals?" Renee's not genius level, but despite what some people say, she's really not that dumb. She can at least read the periodic table. That might not help here, but maybe another world they run across, there might be ingredients for his webbing.

And she's really not above walking off with some things, if she needs to...

Preparation

[runs_on_batteries]

Tony smirks as he comes out wearing his medieval outfit already. It was more of a burgundy color than true red, trousers- not tights, thank you-, and tall boots. Despite it not looking half bad on him, he looked pretty uncomfortable.

"Then wear pants. Pin your hair, wear a baggy tunic, no one will know."

Re: Preparation

[afterburner]

"Oh yeah, because I'm gonna go along with what the reject from the Murderer's Row games is telling me." Then again, she looked just as uncomfortable as Tony did, in her way. Renee never did things like LARPing or the Renaissance Faire, though there was a faire within driving distance of where she'd lived.

"Yeah, but I'm trying to do somewhat form fitting because clothes don't always hold up when I play rough, you know?" She sorely missed the unstable molecule costumes that the X-Men had available to them--though Renee was damned if she knew why the bracelet came with her, and not her costume.

"Gonna braid my hair back though. No hat 'cuz it'll blow right off and get lost, and that'd be a waste."

[runs_on_batteries]

Tony gives her a scowl and looks down at himself. "How exactly do I look like a murderer?" He'd spent more than an hour figuring this outfit out between Joss and Buttercup. "What's wrong with it?"

He looks at her curiously. "You mean your crazy punch skill might burn your clothes off?" Well.. that was new. "How does form fitting help with that?"

[afterburner]

"Games, Tony! Games!! It's a series of games where I'm from, you play an assassin and go through time and shit, and you look like the hero there, okay?" Yeesh. Clearly he was not a hip cat and in line with the times.

"Nothing's wrong with it! It looks good, sheesh." Renee shook her head at that. "And no, not my crazy punch skill, I can fly, but it's like a rocket and that might mess them up, most cloth's not made to deal with that, right? So the closer it is to me, the more protected it is, because my powers surround me with like...a safety field." Maybe Beast could've made it sound more scientific, but she just didn't have Hank McCoy's aptitude.

[runs_on_batteries]

He rolls his eyes. "It's been a couple years since I was up-to-date on popular video games." Not unless they had My Little Ponies or Dora the Explorer on them. That sounded pretty cool though, so he might have to look at those when he- oh.. never mind.

He nods, finding that answer completely valid. "I'd recommend leather then. There's a reason motorcyclists wear it besides to look like they're outlaws. It's protection and can take the wind resistance when driving. I think I saw some leather pants in there- obviously not like ours nowadays." He went over to the container with all the pants options. He holds up a pair and eyes it then her and back. "I think this might fit." In fact, he might want to find a pair too, it was better than the cruddy fabric these trousers were made of.

[afterburner]

"So long as they're not like...assless chaps. Who knows what the hell you're gonna find in there?" Things Renee didn't want to think about, take one! Or more like one thousand.

"These might actually work, though. Thanks!" Hopefully there's a curtain or something she can duck behind, because there's absolutely no way she's gonna drop trou in front of Tony Stark for any reason. Not if she can help it!

[runs_on_batteries]

Tony laughs and shakes his head. "Only for my wife, thanks." Tmi? Tmi. He didn't care, she started it.

He glances at the dressing room that she just went into and down at another pair of the leather pants. He shrugs, kicks off his boots, and yanks his own pants down. What? He had on a pair of black boxer briefs. It wasn't like he was showing anything. Of course the first ones don't fit, so he has to rummage around for a yet another pair.

Whenever she comes back, she gets to see him standing there sans boots and pants. Everything she always wanted, right?

[afterburner]

Nope. Nope nope nope. What's worse is that she can't nope out hard enough--it's all she can do to get her boots on and work on tightening up the bodice she's in as best she can.

"Man gotta warn the kids there's a nasty old man on this train! Jesus Tony!" It's not like it's anything Renee hasn't really seen before, but those were her brothers and that was different. This is...well, it's weird.

"Ugh, can't unsee." She rubs an arm across her face.

[runs_on_batteries]

Tony looks back at her and rolls his eyes. "How old are you again? Twelve- no, eleven. Everyone on this damn train is eleven."

He tries on the next pair. These will work alright. They were a little long, but he could handle it. Actually.. "Do you have a knife or some scissors?"

Anyway..

"I came in here to talk to you, by the way. Stop doing that and listen!" He tosses something at her- he thinks it's a codpiece, which is just extra funny given their conversation. "Come on, I need you to be on the look out for the others. Do you have memorized all the other teams are going to be?"

Punch Drunk

[bombashbunny]

Keeping track of where Renee is during the fight isn't so difficult: follow the read flashes across the battlefield and you'd find your girl. Ash wasn't making it a point to keep track of her, but at some point it seemed that her movements had drastically slowed down, so Ash made it a point to track her down and be sure she was okay. It was almost unsurprising to see a very tired Renee taunting a group of goblins.

Ash spun up her aetheroconverter as her gun started to shift its form a little, giving her a small handle to hold on to as the gun itself grew in size a bit. Ash slid in front of Renee to stand between her and the goblins, and her gun started to spew out fire that absolutely was not discouraged by the wet climate. The forward most goblins caught alight and turned tail, with their friends following close behind. When Ash was sure they wouldn't come back she stopped the flames and turned to Renee.

"You look as rough as I feel right now friend."

[afterburner]

Ash got a big grin for that--hell, Renee applauded all the fire. That was really fuckin' cool!

But another wave of exhaustion rolled over her, and Renee started laughing again. It was like Gwen had called her a dickweasel to her face again. She lifted a finger to Ash, then.

"Ohey, this happens. One too many hits with the snake...not that they have snakes or I got hit with one. Just used my powers too much. I either need to eat or fall down. Though falling down sounds real good 'bout now."

She staggered a little, but caught herself, at least.

[bombashbunny]

Ash made sure the goblins had no intention on coming back before she turned to Renee, the thing about the snake flew entirely over her head, but Renee clarified it. As Renee staggered Ash put a hand out and helped steady her, shaking her head.

"You need to be more careful, we just got here and we have a lot more we have to do." Ash looked around, seeing if there was a place they could sit for a moment. She saw what looked like a little bit of cover. "We can maybe sit for a little bit over there?"

[afterburner]

Renee frowned at that, but Ash's words managed to get through the haze. "Ugh. Yeah, that's true." Well. At least she was getting the stupid out of the way now, before they were really deep in the thick of things...

"Just gotta sit down a minute, yeah. And cram something in my food hole." No, that probably didn't make a whole lot of sense right now, but with the Viera's guidance she'd manage. She'd stowed some rations in her pouch in the case of this sort of emergency. It wasn't tasty, but in a pinch it'd do...

"Thanks," she half mumbled.

[bombashbunny]

It was clear to Ash that Renee was really struggling as she agreed to take a moment, so Ash wrapped an arm around Renee to help support her. Ash moved at a pace that Renee could keep her footing with, shooting a goblin or two on the way to the spot Ash had seen. "Right here, okay." She sat next to Renee and kept a look out for any goblins that thought to get smart as they sat.

"We should be okay." Ash looked to Renee as she got the rations out. "Hm? Oh, don't mention it. Part of the perks of having a friend watch your back."

It seemed that the goblins hadn't notice them slip into cover. Ash kept alert, but sat back moment and pulled out a bite of rations from her own pouch. "Your powers tire you out then?"

[afterburner]

"With repeated, continuous use. Like I'm getting now. I mean if I was just using my kinetic stuff, it'd probably be okay, since it's kind of like charging a battery there, but..."

Flying, fighting, the rest of it. Renee really needed to catch sleep when they stopped for the night, and not even the charge up she tended to get from being punched or bashed or bitten didn't bring everything back to baseline normal.

"I just have to be careful. More careful, I guess. I'm just used to being out in the vanguard, so to speak."

Between the lines, though; she's tough, she can take more damage, therefore she should be expendable.

[bombashbunny]

Ash listened to the explanation and gave a small nod as Renee talked about her powers a little. After Renee explained she wasn't used to being in the vanguard, Ash gave her a knowing look.

"It can be a tough transition, certainly. Back home I overexerted myself more times than I would like to admit. My magic was certainly nothing up to par as yours, but using them too much has similar effects, it seems."

There was a pause as Ash looked towards a noise that caught her attention, her hackles raising. She stared for a moment before whatever it was seemed to move on. She looked back to Renee.

"Hopefully we don't find too much combat, but you'll figure it out. In the future it might be worth it to stay close together so we're not having to cover ourselves all the time. It grew easier to hold back a bit once I trusted my unit to have my back."

Endurance through a long fight was something Ash had genuinely struggled with on the First - she had been very passionate and dove head first into a fight, giving it her all. It wasn't until the Source where she had no powers she had to learn to be careful and make safer choices. She still often preferred to work alone, but for the big fights she found it so much easier to trust the team she put together to help her and cover her.