ArchivedLogs:The Morlocks Strike Back

The Morlocks Strike Back
Otherwise known as 'Highway Robbery'.
Dramatis Personae Tatters, Jim, Hive, Flicker, Howl, Marrow, Ash, Malthus, Carnage, Lily
In Absentia	2013-08-11 Post Morlock assault.
Location Somewhere in Virginia...
Virginia. Somewhere along route 81. A long stretch of lonely mountain road. It's a gorgeous day; fluffy clouds, blue skies, birds chirping, bees madly having sex with them. The road is an even grade -- about 100 yards of slightly-upward-slanting asphalt; double-laned, one way. On the right side (going down it), there's a sheer mountain cliff -- granite, recently blasted by the look of it; the marks of chisels still cleanly cut. On the left side... a drop. A very long drop. First, down to the opposite road (about 100 yards down), then -- just down into woods. It's actually quite a gorgeous view. Traveling down this stretch of road, right now, is a set of three armored convoys -- heavily modified eight-wheeled MEVs (M1133 Medical Evacuation Vehicles); the soldiers driving them call them 'Castles' on account of the fact that -- they're essentially drivable fortifications. Extra armor-plating; a larger chasis to allow for a more roomy interior. Networked together, with internal comm stations. Also, a recent addition: Anti-telepath plating. The vehicles are about 7 yards apart apiece, moving at a good 30 mile per hour clip. Radio contact between the vehicles is light. They make a dull, steady thunderous rumble as they amble their way up the road, their diesel engines snarling as they chew their way across asphalt. Tatters lies prone atop a lowish section of the cliff, peering through binoculars at the incoming convoy. She's wearing the same gray-skinned, statuesque four-armed shape that she faced down Malthus in, bony scales creeping out around the edges of her tank top, a long tail coiled behind her, dorsal fin radiating heat in the Virginian summer. And she's Sergeant Tatters today, with that army surplus helmet on her head. And at some point in the past week she's found the time to sew a pair of additional sleeves onto her WWII-era jacket. One hand has a thwip-gun, the other her fireman's pig, and the other two her binoculars. Without moving a muscle, she projects a thought, her mind-voice that of a teenage girl and not at all a four-armed war machine. << Okay, uh, I've got eyes on the convoy. Three Strykers, nothing else. Be ready, guys. >> Below her, there is a sign, crudely painted plywood propped up against the rocky wall. It says "WARNING: ROAD OUT." And sure enough, just beyond it the road is, in fact, out, a neat segment of gravel collapsed out, spilling down into the forest below. (It should also be noted, about that sign, that beneath the warning is painted a "sorry :(" in smaller letters. Also there may be stickers on it, and other little painted doodles that make it look like it was put together as a kindergarten craft project.) Perching in her little alcove and dressed in a one piece painters uniform plus a V for Vendetta mask is Marrow. Her mask is pulled up for now so she can smoke the latest in a long chain of cigarettes. "God this is dull. I should have brought some weed," she mutters. "And I probably won't even get to kill anyone. Waste of a fuckin' day." Standing on the far side of the collapsed is a bunny. A big, brown bunny. He's just under six feet tall, brown as chocolate milk, with pink lining on the inside of his longish ears. The head is trim, more like an oversized hood instead of a removable, bulky thing. The costume in question doesn't fit him so well, stretched a little taller than the designer had in mind, but also baggy in sections where rounding fluff has been removed to give the outfit more mobility. He's pretty muddy, too, after collapsing the road, but also seems to be wearing a vest made out of rock as well. He's panting, a little but gives a wave in Tatter's direction. Message received. He then starts marching up the cliff face toward her, amazingly finding footing wherever he goes. Howl is laying on his back, a bit of a ways away from Tatters, looking at the sky (for the first time in a long while, in fact) and concentrating a /bit/ on trying not to panic, now that they're actually /here/. Not looking at the trucks helps, apparently. There are two gallon-jugs of water, one on each side of him, their seals broken but lids intact, and the unreasonably tall man is dressed in-- a long black skirt, to cover the tails (which, underneath, are helpfully tied together with a braided cloth! it's a sight too beautiful to be seen by mortal eyes), a dark purple ladies' button-down shirt with nehru collar, and a dark /blue/ headscarf, folding down his ears so that they are just odd lumps on either side of his head. When Tatters gives her assessment of the situation, though, he rolls onto his stomach, pushing himself up to an awkward crouching position. << I think I expected helicopters. >> For being the oldest member of the party, Howl's mind-voice sounds a bit youthful as well; not quite teenage, but not nearly as 'old' as his speaking voice. A bit slower, though, and, perhaps thankfully, it is also less Welsh and more 'generic English' in accent. << How far? >> The three 'Castles' rapidly come to a rumbling, growling halt at the sight of the collapsed road -- inside of the massive tank-like vehicles, there is an explosion of radio activity. When they stop, each is approximately 10 yards from the other; the one in front is about 15 yards from where the gravel collapses. None of the vehicles are moving -- though all three remain on, their engines continuing to grumble in apparent displeasure at having to stop. The sight of the... bunny? Rock bunny? Well. It's hard to tell if any of the trucks noticed, or if they're even /doing/ anything about it. But -- ah, there we are. They're starting to back up, veeeery slowly at first -- apparently intent on turning around and going the /other/ way. Breaking the law! Sitting back against the wall beside Marrow, Lily makes the same face she's been making all morning. Apparently, the usually cheerful street artist isn't happy about sharing an alcove with a chain-smoker. She's dressed a bit differently today too, with a baseball cap hiding her shock of blond hair and a cut-off jean vest, oversized t-shirt extolling the virtues of "Beer: Helping ugly people have sex since 1862!" and raggedy denim shorts. And with a sunburn makeup-painted onto her face, she's succeeded in looking pretty redneck. Well, except for the thwip-guns on her wrists and the spray-cans hanging at her belt, those are a little weird. The baseball bat, however, isn't. As Tatters' notice reaches her mind, however, she sits straight up and takes a deep breath, first one, then two, quickly scooting over to crouch near Marrow, eyes closing as she looks down at the slowing convoy. Flicker is in baseball cap, too (a RED SOX cap! This far from NYC, it /probably/ won't get him beaten); black cargo pants, a long-sleeved grey t-shirt, sunglasses held on with a strap. He looks fairly like Generic White Boy. << Helicopters would make for a way more dramatic rescue. >> It's almost a lament! Except for how it's actually kind of /relieved/. His mental voice comes across with a quiet note of /cheer/ under his words, despite the situation. He is, at the moment, just /chillin'/ on a ledge alongside Tatters. He moves up into a crouch as the trucks approach, looking down at them and drawing in a quick breath. Ash breaks into a run when he hears the vehicles approaching, going the long way up and over the road. When he finally reaches the far side of the convoy, he turns abruptly and starts skating down the rock face, brittle bits of newly formed gravel spilling away from his heels. He doesn't stop when he gets to the road, instead spreads his arms wide and cuts through the asphalt like a hot knife through butter -- butter that shatters and falls away from where the knife cut it, but butter never the less. << Second rock slide initiated! I'll get to the bottom in a minute and make sure that it's cleared out enough so they can't get away. >> Lily's unusual ability to perceive others' range of vision grants her immediate information about the contents of the truck -- she can see the cones of vision extending from both drivers of each vehicle, swinging this way and that as they check the surrounding area; she can see those cones sweeping up and around their cliffs -- judging by the quickness of the cones' movements, it's pretty obvious their owners are agitated and looking around for an assault. She can see the prisoners' cones, too -- two of them, at least. One in the front truck, staring at a wall; one in the middle truck, /also/ staring at a wall. And... nothing in the third truck. Eyes closed? Unconscious? Curious: There seems to only be /two/ soldiers to each truck. Rather than the three Hive told them to expect. The fall of the second rockslide causes all three trucks to suddenly halt. There's shouting, from within the vehicles themselves, now; Lily can see those projections bobbing as, almost in perfect concert, one soldier stays at the wheel as the other soldier moves into the back of the vehicle. Tatters does, however, have the presence of mind to take a look up at the cliff face where her sister and fellow Sewer Knight are hiding. There, Lily's voice speaks urgently into Marrow's ear, sounding very similar to Tatters' mental projections in that moment. "Close your eyes, then open." Gripping Marrow firmly with arms around the taller girl's torso, she steps with her out into view-- -- and suddenly the sunlight is gone and the floor beneath their feet is metal. Lily's grip relaxes and she opens her own eyes, staggering slightly to the side and re-gathering herself. It'll take a moment for her to be active again, so it's up to Marrow to deal with the soldier who they've just appeared next to. << Yepyep. >> This comes in slight distortion; Flicker is jumping /while/ he's talking. His particular brand of teleportation leaves, for a moment, tiny ghost-Flicker image where he just was; this fades as he reappears for a second in the air over the middle truck. But only a /split/ second, and then he's down near Ash. "Y'ready?" He murmurs this very quietly, pausing only long enough to check for response before looping an arm around the earthbender's waist and WHOOSH. It's a disorienting sensation, the world vanishing-reappearing-vanishing-reappearing, but it's over with quickly as the teleporter deposits Ash gently atop the middle truck. He's gone again in a second, reappearing beside Howl with a warm smile. "Hey. Sorry," he apologizes, quietly, "but we have to go now. The world's gonna vanish but it'll be quick." He, again, pauses only long enough for acknowledgment, then curls his hand around one of Howl's arms. Blinkblinkblink, and the hydrokinetic is placed neatly beside Ash. Flicker vanishes back to the cliffside, watching from above. Ash finishes checking his handiwork just as Flicker appears. He nods quickly and raises an arm to rest lightly on Flicker's shoulder, prime positioning for teleportation, Flicker style. He crouches when he lands on the roof and frowns downward at the material. He raises fluffy bunny paws to the rock wall behind him and gathers some heavy stone around his mits, making it look like he has rough bowling bowls for hands. He looks over at Howl when he arrives and gives him a little smile and a nod. "Ready to do this? "--what the--" is all the soldier in the /back/ car manages when his eyes swing around just in time... to find himself staring at a Lily and a Marrow. The HAMMER operatives are dressed in black body-armor; they aren't wearing their usual faceplates -- something SOMETHING about driving visibility -- which means the two Morlocks get a chance to see a pale-faced young man, maybe in his mid-twenties, staring at them with what's /essentially/ dumbfounded confusion -- an assault rifle in hand. He was on his way to the back of the truck, where... well, okay. He's not on his way there /anymore/. Now he's actually just rushing /back/ into the passenger seat, reaching for the lockable metal plate, trying to slide it down and LOCK himself and the driver off from the two of them. Even as he shouts: "SHIT SHIT SHIT THEY'RE INSIDE--" The space in the interior of the strykers is actually -- well, cramped for a room, but /spacious/ for a truck. There's enough room to almost stand! There's a lot of equipment shoved into this space, though -- a comm station (with a monitor!), what look like various medical supplies... oh, and a station for the prisoner. Who is, in fact, unconscious! Neither Lily nor Marrow would recognize him; he is covered in horrible scar tissue (much more prominent than Masque's) -- caucasian, with a few fluffs of reddish-copper hair springing out of his miserably wrinkled, scarred head. He is missing... a portion of his left hand (only two fingers remain), a large number of teeth, part of his nose (giving him a sort of uneven bat-like snout), and possibly more. The man is bare-chested, clad in metal bindings, locked up to the wall -- wrists extended to either side of him, locked in place; he's hanging down, everything below his waist currently hidden inside of a cylindrical sheathe. He appears to be unconscious. But not soon after Marrow and Lily arrive, he is receiving an electrical jolt, his eyes fluttering open -- wide, panicked, confused -- and then a low, throaty snarl. "The /fuck/--" On top of the other truck, Ash and Howl can hear the soldiers beneath them panicking, tumbling about in the belly of the machine. Howl was, at least, briefed - briefly! - on the Flicker situation. So when the younger man shows up to retrieve him, he is just a /touch/ hesitant before grabbing those two jugs of water and nodding. "No time like the present," is his cautious reply, gripping those jugs tightly, arm held out for easy grabbing! And once he's dropped off on the truck he almost staggers, from the surprise more than anything, but ultimately crouches and gives Ash a quiet nod. "As much as I can be," he murmurs. Then, even /more/ quietly, << How exactly are we going to get /inside/? >> Also, quite suddenly, Lily may notice that every truck's interior is now being watched -- no doubt remotely -- the bloom of projection swelling out through each and every convoy, bathing it in 'whitespace'. In the moments before being teleported Marrow slipped her mask down, pulled two paint grenades from the pockets of her overalls, then as she closed her eyes popped the pins. No sooner has she appeared inside the stryker she flings both of them towards the drivers compartment, then charges the soldier in the back at a pace an Olympic sprinter would be proud of. When Lily opens her eyes, she locks gazes with the newly conscious prisoner and...well, frig. With a "sorry!" she raises a forearm and TWHIPs the prisoner in the face, ready to step away when -- crap. "MOTHERFUCKER." For maybe the fifth time in her life, Lily swears. Anger and fear coursing through her, she darts in the opposite direction as Marrow, eyes sweeping over the back hatch as she tries to figure out how to open it. This is NOT the time for people to be watching her. On the front truck, Tatters fixes on arm, then her leg, then tweaks a couple of ribs back into place, her face impassive as she does a quick check of her structural integrity. That should do it. Rising to her feet, she hefts her pig and takes a few steps forwards to one of the top hatches, digging the spikey end into a seam and planting her feet on the metal, flexing with tremendous strength as she tries to pry open the hatch. "Um, I was going to try the pry approach. What do you think?" Ash takes a wedge of stone off one hand and places it near the top of the back hatch, holding it steady as his other hand begins to rain down blows, trying to get in between the layers of metal and apply enough pressure to pop the hatch open. "You could try knocking on one of those top hatches and see if anyone will let you - or that -" his eyes move down to the water jugs, "- in." KABLOOM! Paint ruptures, promptly splashing across the interior windows of the stryker in the back -- blinding the windshield and covering both the driver and the passenger (who is desperately trying to backpedal) in paint-splatter. "FUCK! FUCKFUCKFUCK!" the passenger is screaming, just as Marrow /slams/ into him -- a moment before he can shut the door -- sending him smashing up against the dashboard, hard and brutal; he grunts, /swinging/ the butt of his assault rifle down for her face, even as all the air rushes out of his torso. Meanwhile, the driver struggles for his pistol with one hand, wiping at his paint-coated face with the other. Meanwhile, in the back of the truck, something is happening. The disheveled, mutilated man in manacles is /staring/ at Lily. Nostrils flaring. As if getting a good, solid sniff of her. When she THWPS him, he spits out a series of curses, squirming in his bindings: "MMphmmmph--!" But then there's another ZZZPT, somewhere from behind him, shocking him. Just as Lily's searching for -- and finding -- the release hatch. Throw it, and the back of the truck will start to rumble open, its back door descending to double as a walkable incline plain...! Meanwhile, Tatters finds herself working against what is one /hell/ of a well-sealed door. That being said, it wasn't designed with ridiculously strong mutants in mind -- something Malthus will no doubt soon correct. The door produces a low, creaking /crack/ in response to the pressure she's exerting; it gives about... an inch. Something clunking inside of it, something /snapping/. Then, another inch. Then... Just as the platform is descending for Lily, she'll hear one of the comm stations 'click' on. Maybe she doesn't look back to see the face on the viewscreen -- maybe she does. Either way, she'll definitely /hear/ the calm, unsettlingly tranquil voice of Malthus, swelling up from behind her: "My apologies. But your princess is in another castle." Suddenly, the medical goods on the other side of the room make a warbling beep... and explode. Completely /bathing/ the mutant prisoner in blood. /Mutant/ blood. The mutilated red head's muffled gagging shifts from desperate gurgling to a euphoric wheeze. It almost sounds like he's... /giggling/. Howl just sort of. Shrugs, up to Ash. "Prying might be best," he answers, after a moment of thought. Gesturing to the jugs, he adds, "I'm a bit limited in what I can do, and Lady Tatters requested minimal injury, so." Deep breath. "I have some ideas, but I suspect you may be better equipped for this part of the plan." /Regardless/ of this assessment, however, he does thoughtfully crawl over to an entry hatch, tilting his head and rapping on it with a claw. "{Hello?}" In Welsh, because why not. There's even a lilt to his tone. "{We've come to collect your television license.}" Lily is almost hyperventilating as she stands there, waiting for the ramp to lower. Creepy bloody mutant is one thing, but she is being WATCHED that is NOT OKAY. NOT OKAY. NOT OKAY. When the monitor clicks on, she turns around and twhips it, spattering web fluid over what is presumably Malthus's transmitted visage, then bolting out the back of the truck, shouting mentally as she goes. <<--WATCHING US and they're watching the WHOLE THING I CAN'T SEE AND NOX ISN'T HERE there's some guy instead and there's a guy on the TV and-->> Tatters ceases prying the door open and looks back across the convoy, her face still impassive because she has better things to worry about, you know? Her breathing is deep and regular, though her mind-voice is...well. At the very least it's annoyed. << Lily, Marrow! Get out of there! Flicker, bring me to the back truck. Rest of you, be CAREFUL. >> Shouldering her weapon, she crouches down and cups a hand to her mouth, shouting throatily into the dented hatch. "HEY SO I gotta take care of a thing, you guys sit tight for a sec okay?" And then she stands, waiting for Flicker. Marrow doesn't slow her charge, grabbing the soldier and trying to plough his head into the front window of the stryker. "Bring it on SHITFUCKERS!" The assault rifle is flat out ignored as in the confined space there isn't much room to put force behind the strike. Dazed, unconcious or not the soldier is then swung and slammed into the driver all the while Marrow whoops with glee. Ash looks up from his pounding to glance first toward the shouting Lily then back toward Tatters. He frowns (or would be frowning visibly if he wasn't wearing a mask!) at Howl and shift his gaze from left to right as he continues trying to pry the large door open. He pauses only when he watches Marrow beat on the guards in the driver's compartment. He severs the lock on the next strike, managing to pry the door itself open a few inches - just wide enough to send more stone wedges in to destroy whatever hydraulics is keeping that door shut. The soldier's helmeted hand /slams/ into the front of the stryker; he grunts, before being shoved roughly into the driver's way -- the pistol he just pulled jammed up toward the ceiling and fumbled out from his hand, clattering somewhere on the ground. "Fuckin' -- fuckfuckfu--" Meanwhile, in the back of the stryker, Marrow can hear that wheezy giggling becoming louder and louder. It's accompanied by -- the curious sound of ripping. Then, the sound of metal creaking, groaning, cracking -- and clunking. Then, at last, one single word -- so softly spoken it's scarcely more than a whisper, yet so sharp and penetrating one can hear it in their very bones: "blood." Meanwhile, Ash's wedges do a considerable amount of destruction to the back of the stryker; there's another creaking groan, a growling /clank/ -- and suddenly, something harsh /snaps/. Not just a few inches give -- but several feet, as the hydraulics inside of the door are torn loose, leaving it flapping open like a human tongue. Bouncing a little. Inside -- another prisoner, this one a woman neither of them recognize; small, dark-skinned, head shaved. She blinks, sluggishly, at the light -- even as a soldier steps forward, pistol in hand, to just start opening fire out of the hatch at the first face he sees. BLAM BLAM BLAM! Back at the back truck: As Lily exits the vehicle, something is slowly making its way after her. Long, red /strips/ of tendrils that glitter like bicycle reflectors wind their way toward the edges of the now-open canopy; two eyes that glow like a pair of luminescent moons peer out from the interior of the stryker. A maw of teeth -- like a platter of steak-knives -- opens, as a tongue -- like a slithering pink cobra -- unfurls, dribbling with dark ichor. "fee-fi-fo-fum / I smell the BLOOD of a MUTANT CHUM." Marrow might notice some of those tendrils are beginning to slither their way into the cab behind her. Fortunately for Howl, that is NOT the hatch he was hunched over. Joy! He did stop knocking, after his initial attempt, when Ash got to working on that larger door. And once things begin creaking, he's uncapping the water jugs, holding back a bit to wait for it to open properly. And when it /does/, and those gunshots start, he actualy manages /not/ to freak out entirely -- and, as if in reflex, suddenly about two gallons of water are /flying/ through the air towards that hatch, stopping above the entrance to form a shape that rather resembles a very large toothpick, pointed at the downward end. It isn't actually /in/ the vehicle, just threatening to drive downward, as the grandmotherly-dressed man yells, "STOP!" Granted, the way he's shouting it it sounds more like a plea than a demand, though the second time has a /bit/ more authority. "No shooting!" Whether this is /heeded/ or not, he's edging nearer to that entrance, so he can actually get at least a glimpse of what's going on inside the transport. The fact that he doesn't recognize the woman doesn't mean much, given that he never met Nox; for all he knows, that is, in fact, her. Tatters nods to Flicker and then hefts her weapon, striding up the ramp and immediately stopping as she comes face to face with that familiar, toothy maw. She pauses for a second. And then: orders, fast and clear. << MARROW, close that door! FLICKER, get Marrow out! LILY, keep your distance. >> Taking a step back, she drops into a ready stance and raises her hammer, impassive expression finally breaking into a wide grin. A thought, mostly to herself, slips out over the mindwaves. << Round two: FIGHT. >> Marrow grabs the strap of the assault rifle and hauls the soldier to his feet with it, right into her good right hook. Complete with hardened bone knuckles. Without letting go she swings him around and slams him against the wall next to the door controls. "Looks like your boss really hates you two shit-eaters," She presses in close to the soldier, then pulls the door control. "What did you do? Piss in his coffee cup?" Lily bolts around the side of the vehicle and settles down into its shadow, squeezing her eyes shut and breathing deeply as the engine rumbles overhead. No one can see her, anymore. That's good. She's okay. She doffs her cap, running a hand through her hair, and swallows before pulling it back down to shade her eyes. Things are alright. Well, mostly. The telepathic chatter grabs her attention after a moment, specifically Tatters' final aside. << Jill? Do you know this guy? >> << We know him. He drinks blood. /All/ the blood. Tele... kines... es it, too, >> Flicker informs the others. << Terrifying. Try not to get /cut/. >> /He/ is blipping away from the BLOODMONSTER cab now that Tatters has been deposited, appearing again beside Lily with a very uncertain followup to Tatters: << ... Does Marrow /want/ out? Iiii don't want to get shanked. >> BLAM BLAM BL--okay what the FUCK. The soldier in the middle-truck stumbles back wildly when the water looms over his head and forms that dagger-like pick, his eyes widen. His kids are HUGE fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender; he knows /exactly/ where the fuck this is going. When Howl hollers 'STOP', the gun tumbles out from his fingers. "Holy /shit/," is all he manages, and now he's scurrying to get /back/ into the cab. And probably slam the door to it shut. And /deadbolt/ it. FWUMPF; the soldier Marrow's got ahold of chips a few teeth under the force of that next punch; maybe even fractures his jaw. When he hits the wall next to the door controls, he responds with a gurgled cry; the driver, meanwhile, still recovering, proceeds to reach for the gear shift -- crank it -- and /slam/ his foot on the gas just as Marrow is throwing that switch, locking her off from the MUTANT-EATING BLOOD MONSTER. "Eat rubber and die, /freaks/," he snarls. The ramp Tatters just stepped on is suddenly shuddering as the whole vehicle lurches backward -- just as Carnage makes his big appearance. Metal scrapes across asphalt as they start hurtling back at an increasingly fast clip -- the driver is trying to angle it so he backs straight into the side of the mountain. Carnage, meanwhile, is crawling forward, those pale, pupiless eyes of his only growing in size, teeth glistening... "You look different," Carnage states, even as his claws -- each the size of a man's torso -- /crinkle/ the metal on either side of the door. The fact that the vehicle is moving doesn't seem to bother him; his lower body is that of a spider with /knives/ for legs, his upper body... some horrific approximation of a human torso. "You /smell/ the same, though." And then he /flings/ himself forward -- both arms extended, sprouting an array of daggers, knives, and /axes/, all aiming to seize hold of Tatters and SHRED. "DELICIOUS." << The guy from the lab? >> There's a chill in Ash's mind voice as he asks, his form stilled where it lays upon the top of the truck. He too waits to see if Howl's authoritative voice will be heeded or if that water-pick is going to be entering the truck. When the soldier clears out of the way, he moves to slide inside of the second vehicle, big cartoony bunny eyes looking toward the cab as he works his way inside. "Fuck." With the truck behind them lurching away, Ash turns those large bunny eyes on the movement, shoulders tensing. He speaks to Howl. "Um, You got this one? I might need to make sure that truck doesn't fall off the cliff." "Yeah, and you're a looot smaller." Tatters dodges back down the ramp as a cartoonish array of blood-red weaponry swipes across where she used to be, winding up and aiming a swing at--whoops, now the truck's moving, the ramp bucking and shuddering beneath her. With a leap she jumps forwards straight AT Carnage, the ramp crumpling against the wall and the impact against Tatters' back propelling her into Carnage's bulk like a hammerblow. And then, she does the same thing she did last time: growing, hardening, bony armor sweeping up along her scales, her top two arms splitting into spikes. On one hand, he's finally trying to *shred* her now, and while many of his blades skip off her scales a few open long gashes in her flesh, Tatters' growth slowing as she pulls the blood away from each one, hardening and scabbing the wounds -- but on the other hand there's a lot less Carnage to burrow through than there was last time, and as her burrowing spines get purchase Tatters starts to flex her tentacles, trying to TEAR her opponent in two. Meanwhile, the telepathic queries go unanswered. She is, after all, a little bit busy. As he approaches the hatch looking into the truck, Howl sort of-- stops, when the soldier drops his gun and retreats. Blinks a few times. "Is that.." He frowns. "That seems like it was too easy. Was that.. supposed to happen?" But then the question is answered with a brisk nod, and water is allowed to splash onto the inside floor of the truck. Soon enough, followed by Howl's lower half, as he drops himself in. Standing upright, his head is probably sticking out of that hatch, but he does hunch over a bit to wander over and fuss with the restraints on the prisoner. "Hello," he remarks soothingly, almost conversationally, really. "This will just take a moment. I expect." Marrow draws the pistol from her punching bags holster, then slams the butt into his face to finish him off. "How god-damn rude," she says with a grin, popping the top hatch open as she aims at the driver. "New plan. You're going to close the back door and we're going for a ride off the cliff. Unless you want me to paint the dashboard with your brains?" <<Spread the word. We're taking Gimpy for a ride.>> "Wha--are you--is this some sort of--" the prisoner Howl's helping seems /astounded/, for an instant. Or maybe she's just completely flabbergasted by Howl's appearance! She's being saved by... what? "--are you--here to save us?" she asks, her voice a very tiny squeak. Meanwhile, Tatters vs Carnage is going -- well, about the way you'd expect it to go. The truck SLAMS into the back of the mountain wall; the door crumples with a metallic creak -- and now they're on one another. FLESH VS BLOOD, round 2. For every wound Carnage scores, he's /yanking/ ounces of blood out of it with a hungry snarl -- but once Tatters scabs over the wound, Carnage can't pull anymore out. The tight spaces make it harder for Carnage to really get the distance to his swings he needs to dig deep -- but he's making up for this with his implements. Barbed hooks, nasty scythes, needles, axes, claws -- everything and anything is raking across Tatters as they wrestle, the back of the truck soon becoming a biological /warzone/. The cab Marrow's in has a lot of noise going on, right now. There's the impact, sending all three of them reeling; then, there's the sound of the fighting behind them -- as Marrow yanks the pistol out of its holster, a foot worth of blood red /blade/ suddenly -- SLAMMING through the door, breaking past it with a metal /CREAK/, inches from the driver's head. Before, with a gurgling, blood-curdling (literally) snarl, the blade slides out of the door and back into the back of the truck, where it is probably being used -- liberally -- against Tatters. "...fucking -- /fuck/," the driver says, staring that pistol down, even as he -- perhaps uselessly -- proceeds to BUCKLE HIMSELF THE FUCK IN. << Here to save you, >> comes to the prisoner and Howl in affirmation. This time it's Hive's voice, or something /like/ it -- his voice layered over a /chorus/ of background voices speaking in unison. << We're getting you out of here. Go with him. >> Flicker reappears, in the cab behind Carnage -- and then not there anymore, vanishing to pop into place behind Marrow. "-- Holycow," is his response to the giant BLOOD sword slicing through the door. << Might want to hurry this up that guy with Tatters doesn't have a lot of manners. >> << Hey... um, you guys need help? >> Ash asks, head tilting to the side a little. He glances back at Howl and the prisoner he is rescuing and shuffles over. "Maybe we should work on the front truck too." "Get him," Marrow says, pointing at the soldier on the floor. "Then Tatters and then come back for us." She points the pistol at the hole, aiming at what she hopes is Carnage. "OH SHITHEAD." *BLAM* "DID I FUCKING STUTTER?" *BLAM* "CLOSE THE BACK DOOR AND DRIVE OFF THE CLIFF." Punctuating with bullets, Sewer Gangsta style. Eep! Lily bolts as the vehicle starts moving, dashing forwards towards the middle one as it rumbles around her, stumbling and then Stepping out of the air by Howl as soon as she moves into anyone's field of view. << Jill! The truck's moving! >> she shouts, entirely unnecessarily. Tatters' mental shout is rather more pertinent, if just as shrill. << MARROW WE ARE NOT DOING THAT. HIVEFLICKER, STOP HER asdlfjasdf. >> It's not common to hear a teenage girl's voice sound exactly like hammering at a keyboard, but somehow Tatters' mental projection manages it. In the truck behind them she plants her feet and slams Carnage's bulk into a wall. With every moment that passes she becomes more bony and less fleshy, her head and torso resembling a spiny, ever-growing blob creeping armored spikes, hooks and blades catching and skittering across her as her blow spatters blood across the opposite wall Doing her best to pin him there with one arm, she pulls mass from the rest of her body to pour into her other limb, creeping and growing upwards as it seeks out Carnage's core, her flesh elsewhere paling beneath her armor as she pulls blood away from it to feed the parts of her that are important. After a moment her voice continues, much harsher, a bit less human. << I spattered this thing when he was the size of a bus. I can take him. Don't kill the soldiers. >> << Is anyone else beginning to suspect we've ambushed the wrong convoy? >> Howl muses, as he finishes releasing the lady prisoner. He gives her a brief look-over, before looking back to Ash. << I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Lady Nox, but from what I'm gathering, this isn't her. >> "Not, of course, that I'm entirely averse to rescuing this young lady as well. But it seems an odd situation." << Master Flicker, we could probably use some help here, I don't know that our young lady friend is in any condition to... do much. >> And again to Ash, "I hate to sound cold, but should we really risk endangering ourselves with the other truck? I'm not so sure--" He frowns. "This is getting entirely too confusing." << Do we have any way of telling if the other truck has the people we're after? >> << I can /get/ the soldiers, >> Flicker says with quiet patience in response to Tatters, << And the bloodmonster has lived through worse. >> << Don't be a fucking idiot, >> is Hive's less patient answer to Tatters, << Jegus Christ I hate fucking /heroes/. -- Howl, he'll be there in a -- bit. >> After the truck is over the /cliff/, perhaps. << Can you hang tight for a sec more? >> One way or another, it doesn't matter: Either out of panic from the bloodmonster behind him or as a result of Marrow's command: The truck is /gunning/ for the cliff. Carnage is /giggling/; blood splatters across the walls with each of Tatters' strikes -- and yet that very same blood soon rushes inward to /rejoin/ Carnage, once again. It's not a perfect transference; clumps of dried blood are starting to coat nearly every surface available -- but it's clear that since Tatters' last met him, he's acquired a much /sharper/ sense of control. His form has collapsed during the struggle with Tatters, into something more humanoid -- covered with rough, bone-like sinew. From his back project all number of blades, knives, hooks, and needles -- both of his arms are /battleaxes/. Tatters has him pinned to the wall; he's writhing, his own battle-axe arms writhing to coil /around/ that arm, becoming liquid, then calcifying into barbs and hooks of his own -- digging into that hardening surface, seeking its weak points, attempting to tear and rend. The other arm -- that seeks Carnage's core -- gets a choked, gurgling /giggle/ out of him, his luminescent eyes glowing even brighter as he snaps his head down -- neck extending with a bloody *SCHRLP* -- to attempt and bite into what looks like an elbow, to latch on and /wretch/ his head to the side -- trying to disrupt tissue and tear it asunder. Even as Tatters' flesh intrudes through him, spikes poking and prodding and /extending/, an unusual greyish-white -- like bone spreading through muscle. Meanwhile, the nice lady has been freed by Howl; she's a little slow on her feet, her eyes dark and confused -- she reaches a hand out for his shoulder, a moment, steadying herself, before mentioning: "They -- before they sent us. A man on the -- screen?" She gestures to the comm station in the truck. "--told me. That we were going to be attacked, and this was a trap. He --" She stops, before adding, with sudden panic: "The last truck. Don't go near it it's got a /monster/ inside--" << Yeah sure, send Flicker back here to get me it's not like this car's a friggen blender or--asdflkj! >> Tatters jerks back as the car rumbles forwards beneath her feet, << OUTOUTOUT. >> As Carnage reforms into a more compact shape Tatters pulls back, and is jerked to the side as teeth gain purchase on one of the couple of joints that limb has. And as the vehicle accelerates she swears and just...detaches that limb, along with the end of the one pinning Carnage, dropping them off and prying open the bone plates shielding her eyes as she bolts for the hatch, jacket shredded and helmet lost, one of her two remaining limbs pulling her hammer along in her wake. << I think we're fine here for now, >> is Howl's reply to Hive. << As far as I can tell, I've frightened the escort in this truck rather a bit. No hurry. >> He shrugs helplessly, not that Hive can /see/ that, and runs a hand over his headscarf with a long exhale. Lady prisoner is offered some physical support, when she reaches for him, and he even holds her hand all gentlemanly. "Master Ash," he addresses the boy, in that tone of voice you use when trying not to upset an angry dog. "Perhaps it may be a good idea, for the moment, to check on how our friends are doing? There is a bit of a cacophany out there. I will stay here with our /new/ friend," and here the lady's hand gets a gentle pat, "until Master Flicker is available to retrieve her, and then see how I can help from there." << Tatters, can you dislodge yourself from that thing at all? I don't want to jump Flicker into -- >> Hive's words cut off here, but there's a brief reluctant flash of /memory/, of the lower floor of Prometheus, forcing Flicker back (and back and back) into Foom's acid-clouds. Flicker, meanwhile, is reaching to grab at Marrow's arm in the moments just before the truck actually heads over the cliff. They're vanishing even before it goes over the edge, with a brief disorienting disappearance of the world before he dumps her kind of /unceremoniously/ beside Howl's truck and takes off again. He's tense, once more, as he reappears, clearly none too sanguine about being in the truck with Carnage. << /Tatters/. >> His hand extends towards her, /snatching/ at one of her remaining arms as she bolts. POOF. Her feet are suddenly no longer bolting on anything except a disorienting lurch of nothing-space in the instant before she is left with Marrow, too. Flicker vanishes again, but with the truck plummeting over the cliff it's hard for his team to tell exactly what is going on after this past a mental << ... gggh. >>; the teleporter in the front of the cab is trying hard to grab /both/ the solders at once, though the falling car and angry bloodcreature in the back makes stability a /difficult/ thing. "Bury that fucking thing!" Marrow yells, running towards the edge with the pistol ready. Just incase Carnage is already free. "Drop the whole fucking mountain on it if you have to. Just don't let it get out!" Suddenly, everything is happening /very/ quickly. Carnage shrieks as Tatters dislodges her limbs; the blood-monster tears into them, searching for sustenance, even as he clambors on after her -- toward the sudden flash of sunlight that floods the room. Marrow disappears, leaving the driver to swivel his head to the side -- mouth opening in shock. /Just/ as the front end of the car hits the guard-rail -- tearing through it like a twizzler in the path of a freight train. Tatters disappears, leaving Carnage to scream in dismay as he clambors toward that flash of sunlight -- and the interior suddenly becomes weightless, needles and shrapnel briefly floating into the air as he scrambles toward the hole in the back of the truck. The driver of the truck hisses -- briefly -- as Flicker appears -- eyes wide -- just as the whole thing starts its rapid nose-dive to the highway a hundred yards down. And then all three of them vanish, leaving only Carnage's emerging claws at the back of the truck as it descends. "BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD--" Tatters reaches forwards as the flicker of, uh, Flicker reaches into her vision, hitting the road in a roll as she's dropped outside the truck, a bony, shapless lump with a pair of arms sticking out of it for the moment as she looks herself over, shifting beneath the surface in a flurry of activity as she deals with the wounds, with the blood loss, with keeping herself alive first and getting herself mobile second. Meanwhile, no one has noticed Lily disappear, but as the truck hurtles over the edge an urgent shout echoes across the mindwaves. << Close your eyes! >> And then there is a snap, a sound that isn't, as Lily steps out of the air near *someone* on the road, a soldier held in her arms. Behind her for a split second there is a crack in the world -- a jagged window through which one can see a horrible unreal nothingness. And then with a sense of vertigo the moment is past and the rupture in reality closes and Lily falls over. "Check on our friends?" Ash begins running as soon as the truck starts moving, the ground around them starting to rumble as he takes stock of particularly key structural points in the mountain scape. He skids to a stop as the truck lurches forward and starts going off the cliff. He's running after it in a state of confusion when Marrow starts yelling. The sight, however, of blood claws emerging from the back of the rapidly shrinking transport causes Ash to curse loudly, the words swallowed in the sound of the mountain erupting, several large boulders forcing themselves out from under the surface and thrown on the same trajectory as the truck, smashing against the vehicle by virtue of their own weight, followed by the rocky debris of mountain face following. WHUMP-whump-CRSSH. Boulders slam into the back of the convoy as it falls, smashing into the space Carnage is trying to emerge from -- crunching steel and sending the truck /spinning/ as it falls. There is a loud *WHUMP-CRSH* a second later; when the truck makes contact with the highway below. Even a heavily armored military-grade vehicle has limits -- being dropped, nose-first, a hundred yards out of the air onto asphalt while being smashed with boulders seems to be among them. When it hits, its front-end crumples, before it smashes and /rolls/ across the road... and keeps going. Off /that/ road, and down the mountain face. WHUMP-CRSH! Whump-crsh. ...whump-crsh. ... ...whump ...crsh. It's... probably gonna be doing that for a while. Tatters is quiet for a moment, as she kneels on the ground. Silent, barely breathing. And then, with a series of high-pitched cracks the bony armor around her joints breaks and she lunges at the Marrow next to her, bony fist thrown in a punch. From her armored mouth emits an inarticulate roar, and from her mind her voice is twisted and hoarse. << you are dead you little fucking shit i will kill you i will EAT you >> << ...What is going /on/ out there? >> Howl's mind-voice is. A blend of confusion/incredulity/concern! He's also not sure if his ladyfriend is getting the mental linkup, is proceeding to assume that she is /not/, and thus gives her a. Comforting pat on the hand. "I do believe everything should be fine. In fact, we should probably get you out of here." And with that observation made, he proceeds to look towards the front of the truck, checking for any /suspicious movement/ from the drivers, and then... pulls himself up and wriggle out of the transport, reaching back in to help pull her up after him. And pointedly ignores the ridiculous level of destruction that's gone on behind this truck. Everything is fine!! << Master Hive. >> He's hesitant, now. << Can you tell if whoever is in the front truck is one of our people? >> Though he does stop, turning to look at his rescuee. "Actually. Since they said it was a trap, would you happen to know who's in--" pointing to the last remaining truck "--there?" Marrow springs sideways as Tatters charges. "What? Because your sister fucked up and killed someone? Eat shit whoreface." She continues bounding back, comparatively fresh compared with the beating Tatters has been through. "You lead us into a trap and blame me? And for a fucking encore you're pissing around while the cops close in." "Oh. Fuck. Who was IN THERE?" Ash turns around and yells when he hears ... well, nothing inside his head again. "Fuck. We have to make sure that thing's dead ANYWAY," he announces, emotion making his throat tight. He takes off running, down the hill, aided by the loose ground and his powers, sliding hard and fast down this cliff to catch up with the vehicle, the back end pummeled as it is. << HIVE? >> He tries, listening as he heads down the side of the vehicle, mind quiet, body tense. Tatters doesn't respond to Marrow's words, at least not with her own. She's probably *thinking* something, but there's no longer anyone around to hear it. What she does do is roar and continue advancing, armor continuing to crack as she sprouts spines and blades, looking worryingly like Carnage at this point, face a helmetted mask with only slits for her eyes. With another forwards lunge, she gives her hammer a sidearm hurl at her prey, breaking into a run to follow it. "He's -- I don't know him," the woman with Howl mentions, following him -- like a puppy! -- her eyes widening at the sight of SHEER DESTRUCTION that surrounds the area. And... ohGod are those two people fighting? Is that -- what /are/ those two people? She might be taking a /tiny/ step behind Howl, now. "--he's -- some sort of -- plantmonster? I think? I..." Cue the sound of the hatch of the first truck unsnapping; a flash grenade is /chucked/ out the top -- clearing the approximately 30 yard distance between it and Tatters + Co. It lands, probably a good 5 or 10 yards away from the main group -- and proceeds to detonate with a resounding /KABOOM/. The brightness probably isn't going to blind anyone -- but the noise is probably going to deafen the /fuck/ out of some eardrums. It's promptly followed by one soldier -- then another -- climbing out of that hatch, assault rifles in hand, leaping down to take cover around the front -- and taking aim. On Marrow. Tatters. And Howl. Ash misses the kaboom by about four or five seconds; there's an explosion somewhere back on the upper highway -- meanwhile, he's chasing down the still-tumbling stryker, /skating/ forward on a pile of dirt. It's... quite a ways down. About 250 yards; it's descent has started to slow, at least -- it's hit a level ledge of dirt, where it teeters on its side. About thirty yards away, there's /another/ ledge, and another hundred yard drop; this one straight into woods. By now, Howl has, if nothing else, /guessed/ that Something Bad has happened. For the moment, he's going to try and assmue it wasn't something TERRIBLY terrible. Nonetheless, he's being all paternally protective of the woman with him; gripping her hand a bit more tightly, he's more than willing to put himself between her and... the sight of the girls fighting. His free hand is drawn up to pinch the bridge of his nose. And he focuses on the /good/ news. "Plant.. monster. That sounds like Master James. Seems we can't retreat just yet, after all." Though he does sound a bit /irritated/ about that; he's ready for this to be over with, apparently. And then suddenly there are doors opening! And a curious tilt of his head over in that direction. "Beth yw..." is all that he can murmur, before he realizes that this isn't going to end well. "Sorry!" gets shouted, as he falls to the roof of the truck, pulling the woman down with him and covering his eyes, expecting a FLASH grenade; when it turns out to be just regular type, the deafening noise results in a keening, doglike whine from the man. /Guns/ pointed upward probably won't hit him, at this angle, but nonetheless -- water rises up and out of the middle (well, 'back', now) truck, forming /two/ spears that hover above the soldiers. "Nid y-- don't shoot! We're unarmed!" He's still lying prone, but is /sneeeaking/ to the edge of the roof, to peek at the soldiers below, and sort of gestures for the woman with him to stay where she is. Marrow kicks off the road-side barrier, just as the hammer soars through the air and smashes it to pieces. "You know what? Screw this and screw you. Have fun with the soldiers," she snaps, sprouting a bone blade from each forearm and then sliding down the slope. Digging the blades in to slow her descent. Not her best plan, but better than putting up with Tatters and assault rifle fire. << Get him get him get him get him. >> In contrast to his earlier fury, when Hive's voice sounds again in Ash's head he just sounds -- kind of /pleading/. << -- Be quick, the bloodthing is waking up. >> Flicker is still in the cab with the second soldier. Kind of banged up -- kind of /really/ banged up, though the amount of blood on his clothing might be misleading -- head injuries bleed an alarming /amount/ even when not too serious. He is groggily attempting to scoot his way towards the second soldier, now that the truck has started to slow. << Mngh, >> is his unhelpful reply -- directed only to Ash, as the only one in range when Ash arrives. << Can you stop this thing please we need to get back up. Also please don't get eaten. Please. >> In the back of the fallen stryker, something stirs. Very quietly, at first; it's followed by a slow, steady series of clunks -- a crack -- and then a tiny, miserable groan. "...blood." And then -- crrrrreak. Clunk. CREAK. The door behind Flicker... shudders. Groans. And then... two blood-red blades /spear/ through it, on opposite sides -- before folding back into hooks, /pulling/. Digging into the doorway. Causing it so slowly crumple inward. "BLOOD." Ash cringes a little when he hears explosions, but doesn't waiver. He keeps after the vehicle, throwing up a couple stone road blocks, long curving barriers, trying to curve the vehicle more sideways from its present course, so it both slows down and doesn't plummet off the cliff. << Working on it. Truck's pretty heavy and I've been throwing roads around all day. >> The wear is starting to show in his mind, if hidden by his bunny mask. << Trying, Hive. Don't want that freak to get me. Had enough of him the first time around. >> Ash grabs onto the top of the vehicle and starts scrambling against the railing to yank the hatch open on the top of the cab. Tatters stops chasing after Marrow for a moment when a grenade detonates next to her, her body suddenly acquiring a bit more shrapnel, her jacket in further tatters. She stands there for a moment, as her prey leaps over the side, quietly, closing her eyes. A ripple runs through her body, and then she slowly turns and looks up at the soldiers pointing guns at her. After a few seconds, she speaks, her voice gravelly and hoarse, tired and pleading, slightly muffled by her face-armor. "Guys, um, I'm bulletproof. The thing you guys brought along to kill me is over the cliff. Your reinfocements are at least an hour away. Please put your guns down before anyone else gets hurt. We even brought snacks." So, here's what the HAMMER operatives see: They emerge after flash-grenading the group, catching a brief glimpse of a bunny dirt-surfing down a cliff -- followed by a bone-monster -- just in time to have two harpoons made out of water pointed at them as someone on top of the truck screams 'WE'RE UNARMED' and a gray-scaled Frankenstein monster turns on them and casually informs them that not only is she bullet proof, but they just threw the truck with CARNAGE over the cliff. In response, here's what they do: OPEN FIRE. The bullets are probably not going to do much against Tatters; after two or three quick bursts, they're backing off -- even as they're yelling in their radios. "EVAC! WE'RE GETTING THE FUCK OUT!" The hatch in front of Howl suddenly pops open, before: "GO GO GO!" And -- a soldier is suddenly emerging, clad in body armor, gun in hand -- pausing, however briefly, to just /stare/ at Howl and the girl. Kind of -- shocked, like. While dirt surfing is an elegant way to get down a slope there is something to be said for barely controlled falling. Several things actually. On the plus side Marrow is making very good time... On the downside holy fuck does it hurt. By the end she's rolling and hits the lower highway hard enough she bounces. "Shit. Almost punctured my own fucking lung. Why did I not bring my gear with me?" She slowly pulls herself to her feet, popping on of her shoulders back in. Tatters sighs as a burst of gunfire strikes her in the chest, a stray bullet cracking through her (less bullet-resistant) mask and splitting her cheek beneath. Half-turning, she points behind her at the half-collapsed road to the rear, rather than the fully broken path leading forwards. "Um, you guys'll want to go that way I think." Obligingly she steps out of the way, gesturing graciously past her with an armored appendage still bristling with spines, stepping into the shadow of the second vehicle. At the shout from its rooftop, she glaces up and waves him in the same direction. "That way, we won't pursue you, we apologize for the inconvenience." Flicker's hand closes over the soldier's wrist, finally, when the truck starts to slow further. << Ohthankgoodness, >> comes relieved when Flicker sees Ash atop the cab. << The thing is coming can you bury it? I can -- >> He hesitates, even his /mental/ voice sounds pained, but finishes: << Come back and grab you. If you need. >> Though it's likely he'd rather not /have/ to. His jumping is nowhere near as fast as it was before; it takes him a sluggish moment to reorient before he vanishes, with the soldier, reappearing for a moment on the ground somewhere below where Marrow is sliding. And then vanishes again! To kind of /collapse/ onto the road behind Howl's truck. Mental communication CRACKLES back to life for the others. << Ungh. How about. We all. Get out of here. >> Hive has moved somewhere past angry into flat and bland. Flicker isn't /standing up/; it's uncertain whether he can. His expression, too, is shifting, sort of /glazed/-vacant, Hive taking over as he /checks out/. << Sorry, >> Hive apologizes to Howl. A little strained. A /large/ undertone of mental pain. << Everyone ready to go? >> He might just be ignoring the flying bullets. /Clearly/ everyone is ready to check out of here. Crrrrrreak goes the door to the cab in the crushed stryker. It's pulled off its hinges, finally; torn off and /swallowed/ by the darkness. The darkness then proceeds to peer out at Flicker -- with two softball sized luminescent eyes. And /hisses/. "BLOOD." Clawtips /launch/ out of the darkness; glistening red, they seek Flicker out -- stabbing for him. Greedily. Just as he vanishes. RRROOSH. "Ssszt!" And then, suddenly, from the hatch Ash is peering down into -- those luminescent eyes are peering up at /him/, now. As something red, angry, and hungry fills up the cab. Not very happy at being denied its meal. When that soldier starts emerging from the transport, Howl shares A MOMENT with him. Eyes link, and perhaps in the film adaptation, there will be a dramatic musical swell... but Howl shoots first. The water javelins abruptly /zip/ back to Howl, and somewhere between 1.5 and 2 gallons of water are suddenly just sort of forcing their way into the soldier's mouth - aiming to shock him, not for fatal damage! - as the man just shouts, "Sorry! I'm sorry!" /Scrambling/ over to the hatch, he proceeds to try and-- close it. Slamming on it a few times, /possibly/ hitting soldier torso, possibly closing it!, but regardless of result, three slams and he's scrambling to tumble onto the road, with a pained grunt as he lands. "Sorry!" is shouted again, in a slightly more gruff voice, and he pushes himself to his feet to limp towards the back of the transport. "Miss, you should probably climb down now! Lady Tat--" Pause. "--Commander, I think Master Morgan may be in the last truck." "--command, we seem to be encountering -- uh -- okay there's some woman here who's bullet-proof," one of the soldiers who fired on Tatters is communicating into his radio, "also we lost one truck off the side of the cliff and -- we're pulling an evac. One of truck #3 is still missing, presumed dead -- we're pulling back to check on him--" The soldier on top manages a wet '*gurgle-smurgle*' before being slammed into by water, his eyes popping open wide before he's jammed back into the cab -- the hatch shut! Howl may even hear him spitting and spluttering beneath the metal top. The other two soldiers are still keeping their guns trained on Tatters as they move to the second convoy -- to retrieve their injured friend, the one Lily teleported in. "We," the commanding officer informs the radio, "are getting the /FUCK/ out of here." Ash curses long and low in Spanish when he hears the metal tearing from the inside the cab. << get yourself out first, Flicker. Being in there is death. >> He apparently didn't need to think it, as Flicker does it before he finishes. He turns his big, plastic bunny eyes on the ones looking back at him instead, and gives a little rocky handed salute. "Hola, guapo. Sorry, not staying long to chat. Just figured, I'd make sure you liked your accommodations before they became permanent." He crouches low against the vehicle then leaps away, his mind reaching out to shatter the mountainside beneath the truck, sending it plummeting down the next cliff with several metric tons of rock on top of it, his powers merely keeping the land slide moving, covering the vehicle with everything he can send down -- while keeping himself a float by the vest he's wearing. "BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD BL--spsszzt FFHT FFFHT FHHT Aagh FFFHT!" Dirt, apparently, doesn't go well with blood; Carnage /lunges/ out for the hatch just as Ash brings a mountain down on his head. The truck rolls -- creaks -- and swings down with a sudden ROCKALANCHE that rolls behind it, several /tons/ of dirt descending atop of the truck to -- thoroughly /smother/ it in darkness. << ! >> << !!! >> Tatters' mind-voice crackles to life, a hoarse, monstrous quality twisted further by the excitement, and slurred a bit almost as if she's concussed. << OMG you're alive omg omg Marrow I'm sorry I tried to eat you and -- shit is Lily OK I couldn't even see... >> Crouching by her sister, she ignores the retreating soldiers for a second and checks her pulse and her breathing and an audible sigh of relief washes over the group, her eyemask cracking further as she the slits to see better. After a second, the unconscious soldier gets a check too, opening her mouth to call over at the soldiers -- and brightening visibly as they approach. "Um, I /think/ he's okay to move so you guys can -- yeah, cool." Standing, she gives them a solemn look, as well as that expression can be communicated through her shattered bonemask. "Please tell Captain Rogers that using the bloodspider like this was very irresponsible, and that I'm very disappointed in him. I, um, think it's still alive too, so I expect him to come back here and clean it up. Thanks." And with that, she turns to nod up to Howl and walk off towards the first truck. << OK. Tatters, can you get Jim out while Flicker gets Howl and -- person? Out of here? He'll come back for you. >> It's Hive's voice, again; Flicker has gone quiet in the mental airwaves, though he's getting to his feet, abandoning the soldier he pulled out of the truck to lie unconscious on the ground. His movements are stiff and mechanical; he doesn't put any weight on one of his legs, dragging himself upright with his hand gripping the side of the truck he's leaning against. And then, blink! And he is there, still kind of one-legged-standing, beside Howl & Ladyfriend. << You guys ready? >> Hive again, not Flicker. << Howl, grab on to him. >> Flicker is reaching, stiffly again, for the lady, to curl fingers around her arm. << if it's um if there aren't any MORE surprises than sure. please don't forget Lily >> Walking slowly but steadily, Tatters plods over to the lead vehicle and heaves herself up the ladder to tumble into the compartment, flumping down onto the surface with an armored clatter, glancing up to confirm the identity of *this* prisoner before she speaks. "Hey, Jim. Sorry it took so long." With a tired look around she hits the button to lower the ramp, then starts undoing his restraints. Ash turns and flies over toward Marrow before setting himself down. "No. If you want to drown him, talk to Howl. At this point, I want to go up there and make sure that everyone else is okay, okay?" He pauses and stares at the hefty mountainscape and frowns. He stops his foot and a rectangle of rock starts to lift out of the ground under his feet. "What a ride?" << Should pick better vacation spots, assole. >> Hive manages to work his chorusing borg-voice back up from bland to cranky to greet Jim. Flicker's arrival gets a bit of a start from Howl, followed by-- a not even remotely hidden look of concern. << Is he-- are you?-- alright? >> He's looking Flicker over, not really /sure/ if the bedraggled man is even 'there'. A long look is sent towards Tatters' way, but when it looks that everything over there seems to be working out well enough, he does the only thing that seems to really make sense at the moment and, in lieu of taking Flicker's arm, instead crouches down just a /bit/ to wrap his arms around the boy in a firm, if cautious, hug. << Don't strain yourself. >> In the dim of the final truck, Jim is... sitting back in whatever restraints might be reasonable. Nice and cozy under a sun lamp, branches spearing out every which way like a monumental series of anglers. "Congratulations." He pulls a cigarette from his his mouth, eyes flicking past Tatters to the LOVELY natural sunlight outside. "You just walked into a trap." NOW he tells them. Kind of /brightly/, too. Pfff, smokeexhale. "Anyone dead?" Hive's mind is SHOVED back against. Like... grappling/locking arms with it, yanking and shoving as the mental handshake syncs back up. << I get home. I'm getting me a fucking sunlamp. >> Marrow marches up to the edge, peers over and with great care hocks up a globule of something unpleasant and spits it after the truck. "AND FUCKING STAY DOWN," she yells at the truck, still rolling off into the sunset. "What I want is a bottle of something so strong it'll make me go blind and a big fat bag of green. But sure. Beats walking back." Tatters gives Jim a level, expressionless look, then turns and walks off down the ramp. She does stop at the bottom, though, and turn to give him an answer. "Meh, they kinda half-assed the trap bit, it was just the Bloodmonster. Um, Flicker almost got pancaked and Lily's out cold, but I think everybody lived. All of us. All of them." She pauses for a second more, then turns and heads off towards the others. "Man, the South sucks. Lets go home." Somewhere far away, Malthus watches -- and listens -- as Tatters speaks to Jim. His fingers rise to pinch at the center of his nose and /rub/. "Sargeant," he says, "bring me an advil."