Logs:Come Hell Or --

Come Hell Or --
Dramatis Personae Blink, Jax, Joshua
In Absentia	2025-01-27 "Oh, it's definitely cursed."
Location Somewhere over the Chihuahuan Desert
The Blackbird has been here for a while, now -- in the desert night it's even harder than usual to see, at least to those with normal senses, a strange shadow high overhead. Joshua, bland in his tactical blacks and black-flag-embroidered red kippah, has largely been letting the bird circle on cruise control. His attention has been pulled away from the Kindle in his hand by the many strangely colored flashes and odd twisting shadows down below. Perhaps, here alone in the cockpit, his expression twists into a more overt worry. Perhaps. By the time he actually gets the ping to return, by the time he pulls the Blackbird down lower, his expression is just its usual morose droop. A bright purple spark lights up the rear of the cabin, and Blink steps through, much heavier than her usual light hop. It's hard to tell at a glance that her X-uniform is wet, but she is in fact soaked from head to toe. The desert landscape visible through the portal behind her is distinctly dry save where she and her partner were standing just before coming through. "It's just water," she says pre-emptively. "...I think." Jax is glowing fierce and bright, a steam hissing up from his colorfully beadazzled uniform. The glow fades away as he steps through the portal. There are some kind of strange drippy-slimy tendrils hanging off his boot. Just before the portal closes he shakes them hard to fall with a splat from his toe through the portal into the desert sand behind them. "Just," he's saying, and though his hands are busy unzipping his no-longer-damp jacket, a cartoon pair of hands animates themselves to either side of his head to supply the air quotes. "I'on think water usually do that." Joshua is twisting slightly around in his seat to look at his teammates. He's watching the steam, the slimy splat, Blink's squelchy-heavy hop. When he turns back he is looking down, first, at the controls in front of him. Then up again, through the cockpit window. His healing sense is silently extending for a cursory inspection of the other two, just in case. "-- We good?" "I'm pretty sure there are weirder things in the ocean." Blink peels off her waterlogged jacket with a grimace and hangs it on the back of the rearmost seat. "Granted, there's supposed to be water in the ocean." The thermal baselayer under her jacket is also wet, but at least it isn't weighing her down so much. She rolls up one sleeve to inspect a red welt spiraling from her wrist halfway up her forearm. "Yeah, as long as this isn't like a deadly poison or a cursed mark or something." She offers it out for Joshua's inspection. "Oh, it's definitely cursed," Jax sounds strangely chipper about this even as he's looking (warily) out the front window. He himself seems uninjured, externally, though the unsteady fluctuation of energy within him is probably neither comfortable nor very reassuring to be on a plane with. "But I hope it ain't poison, can you imagine having to go back an' wrangle all that again gettin' some sample for Dr. McCoy to test? I be real happy to not never have to --" His brows are furrowing, head tilting just slightly as he peers out into the darkness. Joshua takes Blinks hand in his own. The welt starts to fade, paler and flatter as the irritated skin recedes. It hasn't quite vanished altogether, down to just a faintly raised pink strip along her forearm, when Joshua's gaze snaps hard to Jax staring out into the dark. He looks, too, though he doesn't have any particular night vision; a moment later he's looking more helpfully down at the Blackbird's sensors. His eyes widen, and he's reaching quick for the controls. The jet starts to climb. There's a whoosh, and it rocks precariously in the air -- a huge splash of something wet goes sloshing over the windows. It rocks again, but he's pulling it steadier and higher -- he looks over to Blink, brows raised. "Thanks." Blink rolls her wrist experimentally, no wince this time. She's slower to clock the incoming, and does wince again as the Blackbird shakes mid-flight. "Maybe it followed the cursed mark." This is more exasperated than frightened, and she gives Joshua a reluctant nod before glancing over to Jax. "Guess we're wrangling all that again." A purple spark forms between them and she pulls it open into a portal. "Back to back." And they're gone.