Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]
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		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Extreme =&gt; Extreme Small Groups =&gt; Topic started by: TanaSilver on 22-03-2010, 02:03:34</h2>
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				Title: <strong>Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>22-03-2010, 02:03:34</strong>
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				FREEDOM FORCE<br><br>The members of Freedom Force - Athena, Flashcard, and Happy Trails - stood in the midst of a wrecked downtown, reduced to rubble by the powerful earthquake. The 9.0 had struck Chile in the dead of night, and by morning the government was calling upon aid from any corner of the world. The US responded with money, rescue teams, and the Freedom Force. Quakes had been shaking the entire continent, from Argentina through Venezuela, for the better part of a month, but Chile had been hit the hardest.<br><br>Over the two months since their formation, the members of Freedom Force had spent most of that time engaged in team training and preparation, though they'd had two field operations. The first was rescuing people from a burning factory in Georgia, where they saved twelve lives. Their second operation was scooping would-be bank robbers out of a stand off situation in Los Angeles. There were no hostages; it was a simple matter of busting into the bank and subduing the three assault gun-toting miscreants.<br><br>Both operations had netted some decent media time, though most of it had focused on Athena, since she was already fairly well known around the country thanks to her years as a Marine poster girl. Still, those operations netted a spread in People Magazine, placing the team in a "poised" position, as Major Welles put it.<br><br>When the quake rumbled South America, however, Welles said this was the big one, in more ways than one. <br><br>The world's attention was focused on the devastated country. With Freedom Force making its presence known, the media attention would be fantastic.<br><br>They had four days in which to work. There were survivors to be pulled from beneath tons of rubble, bridges that had been destroyed, water ways disrupted, roads blocked, and people stranded in remote locales. All the while, news crews from networks spanning the globe wandered about, filming nearly every action.<br><br>"The potential to make you all household names is tremendous here," Welles said. "Just, please, don't screw up when a camera is rolling."<br><br><br>OOC: This is a prologue to the main adventure, an opportunity for you to show your hero in action. Go ahead and narrate a post showing your character, in a single situation, doing something to help in the public eye. The particulars of the situation are up to you; it can be something simple and routine or something dangerous and heroic. However, I will follow up your post with my own showing the result of your efforts; the more ambitious your attempt, the more fame you will earn should you succeed, and the greater the disaster should you fail. The team is acting together for most of the four days, where they do a lot of good, but for your post make it just your character acting alone. This is meant to be a short prologue, so just make a single post, I'll follow it with a single post, then we'll move on to the meat of the adventure.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>22-03-2010, 19:55:37</strong>
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				Oscar had not been a fan of Freedom Force's first two missions. In their first trip, they had pulled some people out of a burning factory. Sure, it was noble, but it was not really Oscar's forte. He had gone into the building with everyone else, and pulled a couple of people out over his shoulders, but it was mostly Athena and Happy Trails who did everything. The younger guy, well, much younger compared to Oscar, could probably have saved everyone before Oscar could have saved one.<br><br>The second mission was to foil a bank robbery. This was more of Oscar's realm of expertise, but it still didn't mean he had to like it. He had quit the Army back in 'Nam, which meant he was tired of killing people, but now he was the Marine Corps puppet. He was the first one into the building, and had taken a smattering of bullets to the chest, all which left him unharmed. They would hardly bruise, though they certainly stung a bit. When their bullet-fire was drawn towards Oscar, the other three swept in and took care of them. The worst of the damage they had done was to tear up the 'uniform' he had been given. They were standard combat fatigues; He didn't want anything flashy like what Happy Trails and Athena wore. Oscar was not a flashy person, and was glad when most of the cameras concentrated on any of the other three.<br><br>Now he was in Chile, and for the first time, he felt like he could do some good. The other three had gone their own ways, and Oscar was left in shattered Santiago, the capital of Chile. He spoke with some of the civilians there, speaking fluent Spanish much to their surprise, and they told him where some of the worst devastation was. Oscar spent several hours dragging big shards of concrete off of bodies. Some of the people had died immediately, but some had been alive after the collapses and had been without water and food for hours, maybe days. Some of those people died, but amazingly others survived, some in good spirits when Oscar lifted the rubble out from over the heads and gave them a hand up. He helped out for hours, never quite exhausting himself. By his count, he had plucked about 19 living people out of the rubble, maybe half of them completely unharmed. They had found three times that many bodies though... The joy from finding the next human alive might erase the morose atmosphere hovering over his, and the other Chileans shoulders from the last few bodies the had found.<br><br>At one point he decided to take a break, and some of his 'friends' who had been helping him had been cooking a pot of soup, and they graciously handed him a bowl. He smiled and squatted beside a fire with them, though his eyes were suspiciously drawn to a few of the news cameras that were watching him. They had been buzzing like flies over his shoulder most of the day, but Major Wells had forbid him from shooing them away. 'Just goddamn deal with it', the man had said, and Oscar reluctantly went along with it. Oscar shook his head, and put on a happy facade for the cameras while he picked at the hearty potato soup he had been given.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>22-03-2010, 21:43:25</strong>
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				As 'public relations' oriented missions went, Rachel had to concede that disaster relief was the way to go. There wasn't much to do here that was within her skill set, really, except the job Wells was already doing, leading, coordinating; but it was good work here, in a situation like this, pretty much no matter what the specifics were. Rachel took a more hands on approach, even if the high heels "They" insisted she wear were extra hassle on rubble...well, they were an actual part of the suit, so it's not like she couldn't just opt them out and keep the rest. At least she was strong and agile enough to manage it without any real risk of injury, not that she wouldn't heal a sprain just about instantly, but it still sucked. It was the job, however, and Rachel could certainly see the merits of having someone like her in the position "They" put her. It was a smart appearances move, Rachel still kind of wished it hadn't been her. Sort of. She liked the results of the serum, who wouldn't? She just wasn't one hundred percent on the cost. It was all too complicated, even if she stood a reasonable chance of always getting a table in the best restaurants now.<br><br>Athena went some fifty-four hours straight through at first, mostly helping out with some heavy lifting and using her leadership skills to good effect in putting rescue teams into coordinated action, before even her metabolism couldn't keep up any longer and she had to rest. Five hours later she was back at it, this time with something a little meatier, heading off via helicopter to a remote village in the mountains. Word was they had been hit hard, so Athena along with several Hueys full of supplies and Marines, and a couple news crews, were to be first in to do what they could. Rachel could swear she heard Wells' PRgasm at the opportunity, but whatever, it was good work.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>23-03-2010, 02:44:32</strong>
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				FLASHCARD / OSCAR<br><br>A woman, impeccably dressed and impossibly well kempt given the devastation behind her. She holds a microphone as she looks directly into the camera. A building lying in rubble is visible over her shoulder, individuals working on the wreckage with power tools.<br><br>"This is Suzie Dawson for CNN news in earthquake stricken Chile. We are at the site of what appears to be a collapsed apartment building ... I'm sorry? Oh, an office building," she says, pressing her finger against an ear piece. "Behind me are work crews, frantically attempting to rescue survivors trapped within. We also have a member of the American super team, the Freedom Force on site."<br><br>The camera tracks away from Dawson and focuses on the wreckage, where a group of men, covered in dust and ash, are gazing into a hole in the wreckage. The camera view wafts out of focus for a moment as the cameraman zooms in on the dark hole, picture clarity returning.<br><br>"A member of the team just went through that hole. We think his code name is Flashcard. Wait, something's happening!" Dawson's voice can be heard.<br><br>The men looking into the hole suddenly back up, moving out of the way fast as the pile of rubble shudders. A slab of thick concrete, iron bars sticking out like broken teeth, lies atop the wreckage and begins to slowly rise. The camera zooms in more, focusing on the dark hole, and you can now see a man, wearing combat fatigues, standing inside the crevice. His back is against the slab and he's pushing against it, lifting it higher and higher. <br><br>"He appears to be lifting that section of flooring. It looks like solid concrete, it's gotta be five, ten tons?" Dawson's voice narrates, her tone awed.<br><br>As the man straightens his legs further, raising the slab higher, you can see movement behind him, deeper down. A woman is crawling forward, making use of the newfound space to get out. A worker rushes in and grabs her hand, pulling her out. More people follow, a total of three crawling out from around Flashcard's legs as he keeps the slab suspended.<br><br>"I wonder how long he can hold that?" Dawson's voice sounds, tense. With the last survivor emerging, now it's just the man in uniform inside the hole, still holding the slab. Suddenly the wreckage trembles and the man falls, the slab crashing down atop him.<br><br>"Oh my God! The entire building just collapsed further!" Dawson cried. Workers are running around the debris as a new cloud of dust billows up, obscuring the entire area. The dirt cloud roils toward the camera, and Dawson can be heard coughing as the camera attempts to penetrate the gloom.<br><br>"There's no way he could have survived that," Dawson is babbling, trying to think of something to say.<br><br>But a shadow can be seen walking through the cloud, and as the dust clears, Flashcard is visible walking along the pile of debris. He's covered in dirt, his uniform torn in places, but he otherwise appears unharmed.<br><br>Cheers can be heard from the workers as they clap, a few tossing their hard hats at the devastated building, as though saying "Fuck you!" to the pile.<br><br>The camera swings back to Dawson, who is blinking hard to get the dust out of her eyes. "An amazing rescue, and an amazing escape," she says, her signal beaming out all over the world. The reporter's eyes are red, but you can't tell if it's from the dust or from tears of relief. <br><br>The cries of the rescue crews are still audible as they crowd around Flashcard, cheering.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>23-03-2010, 03:10:09</strong>
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				ATHENA<br><br>Wolf Blitzer sits at his anchor desk, a graphic hanging suspended over his left shoulder reading, "Crisis in Chile."<br><br>"We just received a report of a possible fire fight in Chile, at a remote village where rescue crews are trying to help isolated villagers. Our own Rick Sanchez is on site. Rick, can you hear me? What can you tell us is happening?" Blitzer says, turning his head a bit as though that will help him listen.<br><br>The screen changes, and at first there is only static. Then the terrified face of reporter Rick Sanchez comes into view. He's hunkered down and gunfire can be heard, and it's close.<br><br>"Wolf, all hell just broke out here in this remote mountain village!" Rick says, yelling into his microphone. "We were accompanying a rescue sortie, headed by the Freedom Force's very own captain, Athena. This is a remote village ...," he says, stopping suddenly as he cringes, a barrage of rapid gunfire going off as a US marine runs past right in front of him.<br><br>"A remote village ...," he continues. "We were just arriving to give supplies and aid. We touched down, and someone opened fire on us. Bandits, I suspect, who fell upon the village for easy pickings in this desperate time. The marines were taken totally by surprise."<br><br>The camera begins to turn away from Rick. You can tell that the cameraman is poking his head up above the barrier they are huddled behind.<br><br>"Jack, what're you doing?!" Rick's voice can be heard as he speaks to his cameraman. <br><br>You can see a street now, strewn with debris and a burning jeep. There are buildings, some wrecked from the quake. Behind a bullet-riddled vehicle down the street are visible at least eight armed men dressed in drab grays and greens, firing at marines positioned around the street. It looks like a tense standoff.<br><br>Suddenly a wall bursts in a building near the assailants. A figure is visible exploding through the wall. It's Athena, taking the gunmen by surprise. <br><br>They turn as she appears in a shower of broken timbers, and one man fires, appearing to hit her. In an instant, though, she's among them, fists and feet flying, men tossed over her shoulder, another kicked so hard he flies across the street and rolls from view. She slaps the rifle from one man's hand while sending her heeled shoe up into the crotch of another, flipping him back as she spins to deal with yet one more.<br><br>She moves in a dizzying flurry, and in less than twelve seconds she stands alone, the gunmen littering the ground around her.<br><br>Athena turns and walks down the street toward the eye view of the cameraman. You can see a marine who had been taking shelter in a doorframe step out and grin at the white-skinned hero, giving her a salute.<br><br>"I don't believe it," the reporter says in a whisper, unaware that he's even speaking.<br><br>The camera zooms in on Athena. There is a spray of blood across her left cheek from where a bullet had struck her shoulder. The crimson stands out starkly against her bone white flesh, but she seems to take no heed of the wound.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>24-03-2010, 01:18:28</strong>
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				Athena snaps the marine a crisp salute in response, followed&nbsp; immediately by a nonchalant smirk. "Someone get on the radio and let the Chilean authorities know about these bandits. Better check them out too; secure them and make sure any wounds are treated."<br><br>A marine medic was already approaching to tend to her 'wound' when Athena waved him off as she looked at the red on tips of fingers from where she'd touched the wetness on her face. "I'm alright. Hurt, think it knicked the bone, but that's passed and it's already healing. Just give me an alchohol swab." The medic nodded and handed over a sealed packet with a wipe in it, Athena took it and turned towards the reporter and his cameraman.<br><br>She ripped the packet open and wiped the blood from her face as she casually, and gravefully, walked back across the road towards them. Even if the whole thing chafed her a little, Rachel would do a good job and even pander to the camera a little when she could. She poked the wipe in through the bullet hole in the shoulder of her uniform, swabbing at the blood on her already scabbed over and quickly turning to scar tissue wound - even that would be gone in a day or two, leaving just smooth, flawless alabaster skin - and smiled at Jack Ramirez and asked, "Are you two alright?"
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				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>24-03-2010, 06:57:30</strong>
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				The reporter was slowly getting to his feet, the reality dawning slowly on him that the danger had passed. As Athena approached, the cameraman had the presence of mind to keep his lens operating, focused on her.<br><br>"Uh, yes, yes fine," the reporter said, gathering himself. "Wolf, I'm sure you saw what just took place here. I'm with Athena, captain of Freedom Force, after she just subdued a group of armed men. Athena, can you tell us, you obviously have just been shot. Doesn't that hurt?"
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				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>24-03-2010, 07:28:55</strong>
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				"Not anymore, but it did, Rick. It hurt like hell." Athena replied, making sure to keep a serious face. It would have been easy to be flippant, but Rachel didn't think being too cavalier about being shot was in anyones interest; she could end on a light note, a combination the PR people recommended. "I heal fast, really fast. Regeneration, remember? But yeah, it still hurts when I get shot."<br><br>Finished with her superficial clean up, Athena shifted automatically to 'at ease', clasping her hands behind her back, her manner business like as she continues, "Honestly, Rick, if we could have been certain there were no civilians in there with the bandits before I burst in, I would have ordered my marines to use grenades. We could have ended it at least a couple minutes and many rounds flying over our heads sooner, which would have been safer for everyone, myself included. Super powers are not an excuse for carelessness when lives are at stake, but in this case, since we didn't know if they had hostages, it made sense to act quickly and decisively before they could secure their position fully."<br><br>Relaxing and giving the reporter a grin, her eyes flitting to the camera briefly, "Fortunately, in my case it really does 'only hurt for a second'. I still try to avoid it, though, by crashing through walls, say, which hurts considerably less. If you guys are alright, and you don't have any questions that can't wait, we've got work to do here."
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				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>24-03-2010, 08:05:21</strong>
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				He was totally caught by surprise when the whole building collapsed on top of him. If it weren't for the fact that he had his arms over his head and could bring them down protectively over his exposed cranium before he got toppled by the concrete, he might not be alive by now. He coughed furiously as the dust flew all around him, and his skin crawled with the sensation of being buried. He dug through the smaller gravel until he felt a big chunk of concrete overhead, and he began to push up... If he couldn't lift it, the least he could do was to let the outside world know he was still inside, still alive. Something atop the concrete shifts, probably even more debris rolling down the sides, and he forces himself to stand up, lifting the big piece of concrete over his head like he's squatting a barbell. There's dust everywhere, invading his eyes and mouth, and he can't tell if anyone else has been hurt. With ease, he drops the big rock behind him, and steps forward into cleaner air. As soon as he becomes visible people begin to roar and cheer for him, but he's just dazed, wiping his filthy face off on one of his tattered sleeves.<br><br>He gets lost in a crowd as people rush towards him, grabbing him by his clothing and giving him kind words about how brave he was, how remarkable it was that he had escaped mostly unharmed. Oscar sure as hell didn't feel unharmed. His fingers rubbed over a slick spot in the back of his dark hair; A big gash, not readily visible under his matted down hair, but one he would have to get checked out. His fatigues were ruined; Children were clutching at his pant legs, jumping up and down and screaming wildly, and he could feel some of the seams on his pants giving way with each small fist that balled up around the fabric. "Okay, okay," he said wearily, beginning to gently push his way through the crowd. "¡Por favor, deme algún cuarto!" He cried, and some people finally began to separate from him, at last giving him room to maneuver.<br><br>Oscar ripped a rag off of his uniform as he moved through the diminishing crowd, going down the street, eager to get away from it all. He wasn't afraid of crowds... Well, not really, but that didn't mean he was comfortable in them, either. He was sick and exhausted, and a little battered, and right now he needed a little quiet time. He waved the rag through the air, trying to evict any of the dust from the collapsed building so that he could push it into his eyes and clear them out of all the grime and sweat. He tossed the dirty thing to the side when he was done, and began to look up and down his body... There were gashes everywhere in the clothing, and when the breeze lifted, he could feel it filing through a flap in his shirt, revealing the pebbly dark skin beneath. Fuck... Well, he would find Athena, and find out if they had any spare fatigues, or anything. He didn't want to take clothes from the Chileans who really needed them.<br><br>Thankfully, the crowd that had been mobbing him had gone elsewhere, though a few eyes watched him as he passed. The city had been hit very hard, but the devastation wasn't as much as Oscar believed it should have been. The buildings here must have been very well built, because Santiago wasn't a total loss at all. It occurred to Oscar that he didn't know where any of the others were, and they hadn't exactly set up a rendezvous point. He sighed and found himself slumping next to a tree, feeling quite tired after toiling for hours to dig people out of the rubble.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>24-03-2010, 15:04:54</strong>
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				The Chile assignment was just the kind of mission J.D. had been dreading.&nbsp; Here was a chance for Fucking Freedom Force to make a real difference, a situation where their unique talents could save lives that otherwise would almost certainly be lost.&nbsp; It wasn't like the first two missions, where they had admittedly saved the day, but the actual work involved was so carefully planned out and rehearsed that it felt less like helping people and more like putting on a show for the press.&nbsp; <br><br>J.D. was still getting to know his teammates, and he wasn't sure how cognizant they were of the potential contradiction in trying to help people while simultaneously serving as PR poster-children for the U.S. military.&nbsp; He figured, however, that it was only a matter of time before all the goddamn tapdancing in front of the cameras got in the way of saving somebody's life.&nbsp; He trusted his teammate's instincts to make the right decision in such a situation -- he had already witnessed their effectiveness on the ground -- but it was hard to say what the result would be if Wonderbread Welles got his way.&nbsp; The Major wasn't smart enough to imagine that the goals of the American military could ever run counter to the right thing to do in any conceivable situation.<br><br>That kind of naivete was about to be put to the test.&nbsp; Somebody in the military PR department (probably not Major Blowhard) was smart enough to not only sense J.D.'s misgivings about this mission, but also to take advantage of his particular weaknesses in order to get the desired results out of him:&nbsp; he'd been personally "embedded" with a hot little Latina (from Fox News, natch) who looked like she was fresh out of school, maybe a couple years older than him, tops.&nbsp; He'd been only too happy to peel off his mask and show off his pearly whites for Miss Lisandra Sanchez during their interview on the chopper, especially after she'd boarded in front of him and the blades had sent her skirt flying, giving him a generous eyeful of tight, tanned booty and -- <em>'Oh my gawd was that a thong under there?&nbsp; Oh, mama ... Scorchin'!'</em><br><br>Unfortunately, J.D. discovered that his long gazes directly into her eyes couldn't shake her professional demeanor, but he gave all her questions thorough and thoughtful answers, playing up the fresh-faced, selfless American do-gooder-angle for the viewers back home:&nbsp; <strong>"Just call me 'Happy,' Ma'am!"</strong> ... <strong>"I'm just glad to be here, Ma'am, representing all the good-hearted folks watching this from home, who wish they could help somehow"</strong> ... <strong>"I just feel so fortunate to have this opportunity, and I hope my special gifts can do some good here in spite of all this tragedy"</strong> .... (<em>'That's right, you just know the viewers are eating this up, baby! ... Maybe I'll track down her boss and put in a good word for her later, see if I can earn a little show of personal gratitude ....'</em>)&nbsp; Months of military training had made helicopter drops second-nature to J.D., and it was easy to lose himself in Lisa's deep auburn orbs and forget where he was for the twenty minutes of the flight.&nbsp; (Plus it helped keep his stomach calm to not look down to the ground.)<br><br>Twenty seconds after the landing in Colina, however, there was no pretense of calm remaining, nor any time for preening in front of cameras.&nbsp; Lisa was left to find her own stories, while J.D. went to work.&nbsp; Wellesie had told him plenty of times to slow it down once in a while so that the cameras could get in a shot or two, but there was just no time for that kind of bullshit.&nbsp; Everywhere J.D. turned was another pile of splintered wood and concrete shards, with a human wail issuing out from underneath it.&nbsp; He spent the rest of the day racing over the cracked pavement and dirt roads of Chacabuco Province, stopping only to guzzle bottles of water and wolf down energy bars to keep his metabolism from doing cartwheels.&nbsp; During one of these short breaks at the military base station, the Major ran over to chew him out and order him to give Miss Sanchez more face-time.&nbsp; Uncharacteristically, J.D. was too preoccupied and worn-out to argue.&nbsp; Instead he stuffed the cellophane wrapper of his energy bar into the Major's jabbering mouth and left him in a cloud of red dust.<br><br>J.D. felt he had to push himself harder than ever, racing against the halt to his super-powered work that the sunset would bring; darkness would make it completely impossible to traverse such barrier-strewn terrain at high speed.&nbsp; One look at Lisa's sweaty, disgruntled visage made it clear that she wasn't lining up for a cushy anchor position any time soon:&nbsp; her afternoon of breathless ground reports with the superstar superhero had turned out to be nothing more than excess footage of the demolished landscape.&nbsp; Even a follow-up report proved impossible, as Army medics peeled off J.D.'s dripping uniform and deposited his speechless, exhausted body onto a stretcher for I.V. rehydration.&nbsp; <br><br>The next day, J.D.'s overtaxed arm and leg muscles swelled into immobile lumps, rendering him useless for the remainder of the mission, but his assistance in the crucial early hours after the disaster had proven invaluable.&nbsp; He'd been moving too quickly through too many different areas for anyone in the press or military brass to keep track of what he was doing; only the medical workers who received the people he evacuated could tell how helpful he had been, and even they were only aware of the ones he brought to their particular stations.&nbsp; He'd been far too busy to keep track himself, but a wonder-struck private at the central base station stopped off at his bed with a hand-counted estimate:&nbsp; 273 trapped or severely injured Chileans, personally transported to U.N. and U.S. military aid stations, in just under seven and a half hours.&nbsp; 
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				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>24-03-2010, 21:43:44</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"This is Lisandra Sanchez for Fox News. I'm standing at a relief supply site in beleaguered Chile. Normally, it would take days to transport the goods you see behind me," she says.<br><br>The reporter is standing in the outdoors, and behind her are tables laden with supplies of water, food, and boxes that look medicinal. Relief workers mill about at the fringes of the screen.<br><br>"Today, however, crews are working on a slightly different time-table, thanks to Freedom Force member Happy Trails."<br><br>Behind her a sudden streak of motion is visible, and Happy Trails appears out of nowhere, picking supplies off a table. In another flash, he's gone.<br><br>"Happy is what some people call a 'speedster,' a superhuman capable of moving at impossible speeds. Today he's putting that ability to use saving lives," Sanchez said.<br><br>Happy appears again at the table, and Lisandra turns, looking as though she's about to speak to him when he disappears in a whirlwind of dust.<br><br>She turns back to the camera, slight embarrassment on her features. "As you can see, this fleet of foot superhero is working hard. I have with me, though, Marisella Fernandez, coordinator for this supply site."<br><br>A pleasantly plump woman with a friendly smile walks into view.<br><br>"Miss Fernandez, tell us what it's like to have a superhero on staff," Sanchez asks, moving the microphone toward the woman.<br><br>The coordinator's smile broadens. "It's wonderful. Simply wonderful. Can we keep him?" she says with a laugh. "Really, though, we thought it would take us three days to deliver these supplies, but there are people who need them now. People who might die. But with Happy ... he'll be done before the day is through, and that's just by himself. That allows us to focus our human resources on other emergencies."<br><br>"He sounds like a godsend," Sanchez comments. <br><br>Happy appears again in a flash, and the reporter breaks off from Fernandez, turning to try and get the hero's attention again. As before, he zips away as swiftly as he appeared.<br><br>Sanchez returns her gaze to the camera. She touches her ear lightly, hearing a message on her communicator. "Well, until we can catch Happy Trails in a still moment, we'll show you an exclusive interview I had with him earlier today during our helicopter ride here. This is Lisandra Sanchez, Fox News."<br><br>Lisandra lowers her microphone as the red light goes out on the camera. She thanks the coordinator, who shakes her hand and quickly walks back to her work.<br><br>"Goddamnit, did you get him at all?" the reporter asked her cameraman, the perma-smile sliding off her face.<br><br>He shook his head in the negative as he lowered his rig. "Not really. Only when he stopped to pick something up."<br><br>She sighed, glancing as Happy appeared and disappeared yet again.<br><br>"Okay, let's do this," she said. "I heard Flashcard almost got himself killed this morning. Let's go find him. Maybe he'll do it again."<br><br>The news crew gathered their gear and moved on. Workers continued their labors, becoming oblivious to the flashes that accompanied the gradually shrinking pile of supplies.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>25-03-2010, 03:51:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				OOC: We're moving on past the prologue, so I'm fast-forwarding to the point where your week in Chile is over.<br><br>"Oh, sorry if this hurts!" Dr. Wilson said as she peeled back the bandage on Oscar's head. The gauze, put in place by a medic in Chile, came away dark with puss and dried blood.<br><br>The team relaxed at 20,000 feet, flying back to the states in their Freedom Force jet. The interior of the craft was well appointed, more befitting for corporate executives than as marine transport. The exterior was all white, in honor of the team's captain, with a red, white and blue "FF" logo emblazoned on the tail.<br><br>Dr. Jane Wilson stood behind Oscar as he sat slouched in a cushioned seat. He looked beat, as did JD. Athena was the only one of the three who appeared refreshed, annoyingly energetic.<br><br>Jane looked closely at Oscar's scalp, making a face as she did. "Ouch, that must have hurt. You might be hard as stone, but you can still be wounded," she said. "Too bad you don't heal fast, like Rachel. I'd suggest stitches if we had needles that could penetrate your skin. I'll have to add that to the project list."<br><br>"Get the Defenders on the horn," Major Welles called out without looking up from his laptop. "I heard they came up with some kind of powered syringe with a diamond tip."<br><br>A few staff members worked busily, handling press inquiries and monitoring the week's coverage. Clouds rolled by the windows, and far below the jungles of South America slid by.<br><br>"Hold still, please," Jane said, applying a new bandage to Oscar's bruised and battered cranium. "Good as new!"<br><br>"Hmm, check this out," Welles called, reading his email. "The General thinks we should add another member to the team. Apparently a poll shows that 12 percent of the public thinks this is an all mutant outfit, and they don't like it."<br><br>Welles pulled his eyes away from the screen long enough to look at Oscar, the only true mutant on the team. "No offense, Oscar," Welles said, returning his attention to the email.<br><br>"The General wants to add a member who's a straight up, obvious human, like a tech genius," he said, pulling up an attached file on his screen. "Hmm, there's this guy, Anthony Star. He claims he built a suit of powered armor in his barn in Nebraska. Repulser ray, super strength ... roller skates? You gotta be kidding me," Welles said, closing the file. "I don't think so."<br><br>The week in Chile had been intense, but Freedom Force had gained impressive international attention from their efforts. Welles had been giddy since the operation had concluded. Even Athena's run-in with banditos hadn't resulted in any deaths, although the guy who got crotch-kicked may have wished he would die. The publicity surprise of the week had been Oscar, whose adventure with the fallen building had scored excellent footage which had been replayed over and over on news broadcasts around the world.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>25-03-2010, 08:11:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"It's probably a good idea, we've got a nice skill set on the team, but someone technically oriented would round us out more." Rachel replied, glancing up from her own laptop, where she was filling out an after action report on the relief operation. <br><br>Rachle had switched back to her MCCUU, the woodland cammies, for the flight. There was a bullet whole in her spandex, or whatever it was, and she felt much more comfortable in the loose fitting utility uniform anyways. She'd probably have to switch back to the tights before disembarking from the plane, in case there were press around, but at least for the flight she could relax.<br><br>Looking over the rest of the team briefly, she smiled at Oscar and J.D. casually, "If I haven't already said it, you guys did good work there. We all did."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>25-03-2010, 21:19:14</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar winced as Doctor Wilson slowly pulled the ichorous bandage off of his head. It smelled ripe, to say the least. Medical efforts in Chile were better directed towards the victims of the earthquakes... Though in away, Oscar himself was the victim of it too. It turns out there had been a small after-shock that had shifted the building just enough to drop a fresh piece of concrete on his head at that time. It had been happening up and down the western coast of South America, even a week or so after the main earthquake had struck. But Oscar refused to be treated, knowing that some people were worse off. So he allowed one of the medics, a man from Doctors without Borders, to clean and dress the wound, but after that it was all Oscar maintaining it and the various scratches and bruises he had accumulated. He kept the wound as clean as he could, but there was only so much he could do, considering that it was on the back of his head.<br><br><strong>Oh, sorry if this hurts!"</strong> Doctor Wilson said, though he could taste a little of the disgust in her voice as she pulled off the nasty bandage. After so many years of human interactions, it wasn't hard to tell what someone was thinking just by hearing the tone of her voice... If he was looking in her face, Oscar might be able to read her thoughts. Then again... He could read her thoughts, at least, if Dr. Wilson allowed it. Even then, he could force his way into her thoughts when she made contact with him in any way, but Oscar had serious ethical issues with that. What he could do without forcing anything was get a sort of sense of what she was thinking without applying words. It was just raw feeling. Some people called it Empathy, and Oscar was inclined to agree. He could literally taste the disgust inside of her, would have even if she said nothing. "Isn't a problem Doctor. You know, I might have infallible memories, but being as old as I am, I've ironically 'forgotten' pain. Not that it doesn't hurt... I can just cope better, if you know what I mean.<br><br>Yeah, I suppose it hurt like hell, but it's not like I was expecting a rock to drop on my head, you know? Anyways Doc, if the skin is ripped up that much, go ahead and put some needles in, otherwise I think the infection will have really run its' course. I think in a couple of weeks, it'll be nothing more than an itchy scar." He had some experience with scars, but the majority of them that had dotted Oscar's body at one time had either been swallowed by the almost cancerous, armorlike growths all over his torso, legs and arms, or had just healed up. Maybe with enough time, all scar tissue disappeared. He could recall several books worth of knowledge on the subject, but tried not to talk too much, because he knew he could literally go on forever about certain subjects.<br><br>Oscar didn't move as the rest of the plane bustled around and Jane Wilson applied a new bandage on his scalp, enjoying the feeling of her dainty fingers and the cool anti-bacterial ointment she was spreading on the raw skin. The major started to read his email, and Oscar listened in intently. <strong>"The General thinks we should add another member to the team. Apparently a poll shows that 12 percent of the public thinks this is an all mutant outfit, and they don't like it."</strong> He frowned... Why did people hate mutants so much? Oscar regarded his kind as just the next step in evolution... Did the Cro-Magnon man resent Homo Sapiens for being that much more damn efficient? "Sir, whether or not we're entirely a group of mutants is fact, not opinion. Why don't we just tell them that? Don't worry sir, no offense taken. I've gotten used to the hatred."<br><br>When Doc Wilson finished with the fresh bandage, he stood up and turned to face her, a grin on his face. She was a nice woman, almost reminded him of Femke a bit. "Thanks doc. I'll try not to bust my head open again," he quipped, then turned to read over the Major's shoulder. "Nebraska? I already don't like it," he remarked quietly. Athena said, <strong>"If I haven't already said it, you guys did good work there. We all did."</strong> He nodded dutifully to her; It wasn't as if Oscar had a choice to work with Freedom Force or not, so if he was going to get his deal cut, he might as well do his best. Oscar found a leather sofa to lounge on not far away, and sunk into the warm cushions, about ready to go to sleep... The wound had fevered him a bit, and he still didn't feel quite right, but it was nothing that he had ever let on to his teammates, or his comrades who helped him in Santiago. He might take a nap while there was still time... "Major, Sir, aside from this business of adding another member, do we have anything else coming up? I hear Port-Au-Prince is kind of nice this year, and significantly more demolished."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>26-03-2010, 01:51:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Major Welles closed his laptop and leaned back. "Nothing specific on the docket, and I think the team's earned some R and R. I agree with Athena, nice work," he said, playing with a pen idly in his right hand. "But a vacation will have to wait a few weeks. I'm expecting the team's showing in Chile might net some high profile interviews and good television face time. We'll have to wait and see for a few days."<br><br>It was clear from the expression on his face that he was hoping the Chile operation would be the team's big breakout experience, but it was too early to tell for sure.<br><br>"I got some good data this week, too," Jane said, retrieving a clipboard and glancing at the top sheet. "The team saw significantly more stress this week, it was interesting to see how that played out physiologically." Dr. Wilson seemed into her numbers, but Major Welles was fighting hard to keep the expression of boredom off his face; science only interested him when it accompanied positive public perception.<br><br>Not noticing Welles' reaction, Jane continued. "Especially you, JD. I've never seen you run so fast for so long! It's fascinating to see just how much your body can take," she said with a big smile, then suddenly thought about what she just said and the smile missed a beat. "I mean, not that I think you're going to die from it. You're not ... I think."<br><br>Dr. Wilson's features flushed an embarrassed shade of red and she sat down, eager to let someone else take the floor.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>27-03-2010, 08:21:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As Jane sits, the red glow remains on her cheek and you realize it doesn't come from a blush, but from outside the aircraft. A soft, red light is visible, even though sunset is seven hours away.<br><br>Going to the window you cannot at first tell what is causing the glow, it seems as though the clouds themselves have been lit from below. As the jet passes through a break in the cover, you spot a bright glow coming from a place in the jungle, far and to the west. As you watch, the radiance pulses and becomes so bright it hurts your eyes, bathing the sky in its radiance.<br><br>The jet gives a sudden shudder, and all at once it falls in altitude. Staff members cry out as they are flung about the cabin, laptops and loose papers scattering like leaves in a sudden wind.<br><br>Major Welles grips the edge of his chair and pushes a button in a panel to open communication with the cockpit. "What the hell is going on?!" he cries to the pilot.<br><br>"I ... don't know, sir," the pilot's voice comes back, loud enough for everyone to hear. "We're losing power, hydraulics..."<br><br>The plane lurches suddenly, the engines screaming, and the jet begins to plummet with enthusiasm, spinning freely.<br><br>Athena is thrown across the cabin and smashes against a wall, which seems to have temporarily become the floor. <br><br>Oscar finds himself tossed forward, his aching head colliding with the back of a seat.<br><br>JD, who had been lounging, is flung rudely and rolls through the aisle, jamming up against a blonde staff member who looks completely terrified.<br><br>The interior of the aircraft is in chaos as it tumbles from the sky.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>28-03-2010, 05:22:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Athena struggles to pick herself up, thankful for the firm grip of her combat boots instead of the nearly-stiletto heels of her hero costume. The plane felt like it was going down, and if the pilots couldn't get it out of the spin and back under control, people where going to have to try to bail out. People might have to do that anyways, and it be a lot easier if the plane were more or less level.<br><br>Trying to get the attention of one of the flight crew, Athena yells, "Do we have emergency parachutes?" <br><br>She would do what she could to get people out of her, but Rachel didn't know if anyone besides herself was a trained skydiver. She could give them the basics in a 'when this dial get to this spot pull this!' kind of way, if she had to, which might be better survival odds than if they remained in the plane all the way till it was a smoking trench strewn with twisted debris.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>28-03-2010, 06:07:52</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The staff member Athena yells to is a woman named Stephanie, if she recalled correctly. Stephanie was currently laying on the floor, gripping the metal legs of a chair to keep herself from flying around the cabin.<br><br>"No! No 'chutes," she managed to answer.<br><br>The heavy bouncing lightened up some as the plane ceased its spinning and leveled out, although your guts were telling you it was still losing altitude. You can hear the engines outside screeching louder as the pilots pumped every bit of juice they could.<br><br>"We got some control back," the pilot's voice comes over the intercom. "Just enough to keep us level, we're still heading down. We're going for an emergency landing, but there's only jungle beneath us, so everyone ... brace for impact! We've got about twenty seconds!"<br><br>With the violent rolling done, staff members began to crawl their ways back to seats and strapping themselves in. Major Welles was bleeding over his left eye, but he managed to get himself to a chair. "You heard the man!" he yelled. "Everyone strap in!"<br><br>Dr. Wilson also pulled herself into a seat, clicking the buckle into place. Her expression was stricken and she looked like she was hyperventilating. "We're going too fast, we can't land in the jungle," she gasped, hands clutching the arm rests. "We're going to die. We're all going to die!"<br><br>"Stop fucking panicking!" Welles burst out at Jane. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>28-03-2010, 06:26:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				When the plane shuddered it threw Oscar forward, and he hit his head hard on one of the cushy seats of the plane. The blow dazed him and he fell to the ground, his vision spinning... Or was that the plane? He had a hard head, but as Jane mentioned just moments ago... It wasn't that hard. He pushed his hands to the ground and forced himself onto his knees, looking up the aisle to Athena, who was screaming at one of the staff members of the Freedom Force. No parachutes? Shit. Oscar knew how to parachute. Even if the last time he had taken a jump had been on June 6th, 1944, some time during the pre-dawn morning over a stretch of French woods, he still knew how to use one. It wasn't something you forgot... Even if you weren't blessed, or perhaps cursed, with a total memory like he was.<br><br><strong>"Everyone strap in!"</strong> Someone yelled... Everything was moving too fast for his confused mind to differentiate who had said the words, not that it mattered. He was already climbing unsteadily into a chair and strapping himself in, his eyes going to check on his other teammates. Dr. Wilson was buckled in now, and she was the only one he worried about. Athena could probably survive the crash anyways, and definitely didn't need help with a seatbelt, and the kid could worry about himself. When he was buckled in, Oscar dipped his head low and wrapped his arms protectively around his dome, the only really vulnerable part of his body. Unless he took a really huge piece of shrapnel to his chest, he wasn't in that much danger. Oscar had a hard time convincing himself of that as their plane dropped like a stone towards the earth.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>28-03-2010, 07:22:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Rachel didn't know how her regeneration would stand up to a plane crash, though if she didn't die outright she'd probably be recover just fine, and she'd certainly manage better than just about anyone here. Oscar was tough, he'd probably survive, but he didn't heal up any quicker than an ordinary person from anything Rachel had seen. The kid was fast, but she doubted he could outrun gravity.<br><br>Athena started muscling anyone who looked either too panicked to help themselves and those who just looked liked they needed the help, into their seats and helping them buckle up before taking care of herself. Hopefully she'd get everyone else squared away nicely with enough time left to strap in, or this was going to hurt like hell, at the very least.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>30-03-2010, 03:25:37</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Athena helped a few staff members to their seats, strapping them in quickly before heading back to her own. As she passed staff and team members she had worked with for months, she couldn't help but wonder how many of them would still be alive in just a few seconds.<br><br>She shoved a staff member, a brunette woman named Susan, into a seat beside Oscar. Susan buckled herself in hurriedly and tucked her head low, like Oscar was doing. As the plane shuddered she gripped his leg suddenly, holding onto him for the remainder of the flight.<br><br>Anyone looking outside would notice the earth approaching at an alarming rate. The jet was moving very fast, and there was nothing below but greenery and hills.<br><br>Major Welles glanced out the window, and when he turned back his expression was not encouraging.<br><br>"Jane!" he yelled, getting Dr. Wilson's attention. "You gotta change! Janet can take the hit!"<br><br>Dr. Jane Wilson stared at the major, her eyes like those of a trapped animal. She hesitated, then lowered her head.<br><br>When she looked back up, it was Janet filling Dr. Wilson's clothes. She looked around herself with a curious expression.<br><br>"What are you crazy kids up to now?" she asked, then began to notice the strained expressions. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say ..." then the plane hit.<br><br>The next few moments were raw chaos as the hurtling aircraft plunged through the jungle canopy and tore its way through the vegetation. People screamed as the plane thundered its way forward, the metal howling as the wings were torn off by trees.<br><br>The aircraft struck ground and skipped like a stone on a lake surface, bouncing through the jungle, ricocheting as it went. The turmoil came to a sudden and bone-crushing stop as the plane finally ran into something that didn't want to give. The tail section rose up on impact, then slammed back onto the ground. The plane had stopped.<br><br>The interior was now silent. Of the six staff members, two had come free of their seatbelts while a third's entire seat had come loose of the deck. None of them were moving. Major Welles lay slumped in his chair.<br><br>Athena had been returning to her seat when the plane hit, and she had almost gotten her belt on when the impact catapulted her forward. She had crashed through a utility compartment and now lay in a pile of debris and office supplies. She was hurting, but that wouldn't last long.<br><br>Oscar had remained in his seat and, aside from his gut feeling as though it had taken a monster wallop, he was otherwise fine.<br><br>JD had come free from his belt, the strap snapping. The jostling had sent him into the aisle, where it felt like he had collided with just about everything there was to collide with. He lay on the floor, groaning, but it didn't feel like anything was broken.<br><br>Janet was still in her seat, a blank expression on her face which turned into a sudden smile. "WoooHOO! Let's do it again!" she yelled.<br><br>The interior lights were out, the plane's power gone, though sunlight streamed through the windows. A tree limb poked in through a crack in the ceiling and outside birds could be heard cawing, disturbed by the plane's violent entrance.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>30-03-2010, 06:20:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Athena groaned, feeling the ache all over as her metabolism kicked in the regeneration and quickly brought her back to clarity after being stunned in the crash. That was only the smallest part, though, and she hurt everywhere still. Athena had to wonder if she had any broken bones, thinking that it might be a good idea to find out and straighten them back into place before they healed much. They'd probably fix themselves, if her past experiences with regeneration were any clue, but it would suck to find out the hard way.<br><br>She picked herself up as best she could and patted herself down, a quick check for any serious injuries. Once she'd dealt with that, as best she could at any rate, Athena could see to checking on the other passengers and helping if she could.<br><br>"Janet, I think we could use the doctor back. Definitely have some injured people here."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>30-03-2010, 07:00:37</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Athena stood, which was a good sign in itself. She patted herself, feeling many bruises, but nothing seemed broken. In the time it took to check herself over, she had already regained her first wind, and was feeling better. <br><br>She moved up the aisle, coming to the first staff member in her path. His name was Peter Smith, and he had remained in his chair although he was unconscious. Athena felt a weak pulse on his neck, but blood stained the corner of his mouth, hinting at internal injury. He gasped, and Rachel tried to keep him still. As she watched he took another breath, opened his eyes, and died.<br><br>As Rachel asked her question, Janet had been unbuckling herself and now stood in the cabin, surveying the damage. "Hmm, I don't think so," she said, giving her sides a dramatic squeeze. "Our guts are a little stirred at the moment. If I hand the wheel back now, she'd probably gack up a lung and die."<br><br>To illustrate her point, Janet cleared her throat and hawked out a bloody wad onto the cabin floor. She wiped her mouth with her coat sleeve, leaving a bloody smear on the white cloth. "Besides, they all look pretty dead to me," she said, spreading her arms in a "too bad, so sad" kind of gesture. "Who's going to put the mint on my pillow now?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>30-03-2010, 10:07:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				It was almost comforting in that moment of pain and madness to have Susan (of course he remembered her name) clinging like a child to his leg, her warm body pressed up against his. For a moment he could vividly recall Femke... Though they looked nothing alike, Oscar didn't need much of a comparison to remember his late (VERY late, more than 70 years dead) wife. Then things got crazy. They must have still been going terribly fast when tree branches began to tear the cabin apart, and the wind began to scream through the jagged metal. One moment Susan was there... And the next, she wasn't. If it wasn't so loud, he might have heard her seatbelt rip out of the chair and hear her screaming, but he couldn't even hear himself screaming. Not over the sound of chaos. God... He could have reached down and grabbed her hand... Anything. If she died, Oscar couldn't help but feel like it was his fault.<br><br>He clutched his head tightly, just waiting for sanity to resume control of his surroundings. He still had his head bundled between his arms when he heard Jane... Or Janet, yes, this was definitely Janet, exclaim wildly. Do it again? He slowly lowered his arms to his lap, and might have shot her a venomous look if his eyes weren't immediately drawn to the crumpled form on the ground in front of him. Susan must have rammed face-first into the seat in front of her. He could tell by the awkward angle of her head that her neck had snapped clean on impact, and she must have died quickly. It was a small solace, Oscar thought bitterly as he ripped the seatbelt off of him, feeling frustrated over the needless loss of life. Oscar carefully tried to stand in the off-kilter cabin, but had to grip at the seat in front of him to prevent himself from collapsing. So... Dizzy.<br><br>"Woah," he said. "Stirred or shaken..." He said cryptically, perhaps referring to Janet talking about her guts. Finally he slumped back down into his chair and took a few deep breaths. "How's Welles? What about the pilots? Everyone else? I... She's dead," he said. It was a simple statement in a neutral tone, but it betrayed a little of his exasperation. He finally slumped out of his chair and knelt beside her, putting a finger to her neck. Yep. She was still warm, but the pulse had fled her, and soon, the body heat generated by her core would flee as well. Again Oscar tried to stand, and this time he was feeling a little less... Stirred. "Where are we, I wonder. Still in South America?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>30-03-2010, 22:02:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				OOC: I'm going to give this information to you OOC, as you'll learn it as you search. Of the six staff members, 5 are dead, 1 is hurt and unconscious, but alive. Major Welles is dead. The pilots are also dead, the cockpit entirely smashed in because the plane ran up against a very large tree. JD is hurt, but without major injury, he just needs a little time to recover.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>31-03-2010, 09:11:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Alright then.", Athena gave Janet a simple nod, then began to assess casualties. She was not at all pleased with the results, just one of the crew survived, hurt, as well as JD. Major Welles dead, as well, which would leave Rachel as ranking officer, except that the rest of Freedom Force weren't exactly marines and Rachel didn't think it would do any good to try and treat them as such. <br><br>"Oscar, how much survival training have you got? Janet, how about you and the doctor? We need to start taking stock of things here. I'll check the cockpit, try the radio, see if I can't find something that will give us a clue as to where we went down, maybe why and how."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>31-03-2010, 18:37:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				His previous question hung in the air, but Oscar didn't need it answered anyways; Looking through the windows, he could see the trees, and he knew that there was no way they made it out of South America. He wasn't sure that there were any rubber trees between Los Angeles and Miami... The jungle was mostly quiet, but he could hear some of the wildlife sounds resume after the catastrophic impact of the airplane. Behind him, he heard Athena say, <strong>"Oscar, how much survival training have you got?"</strong> His eyes scanned the jungle for another moment before he turned around, and gave a shrug. "I've spent five tours with the Army, I never forget a thing... I've fought the Vietkong in jungles like this, and my unit was sometimes stranded for days without contact with Command in Europe. I guess I know how to survive." Athena left to check the cockpit, and Oscar went over to the Major's side. The man was dead, his eyes wide open as if he were still aware. Oscar shook his head and closed the man's eyes, then went to the door of the airplane and kicked it out. He didn't think the pilot would mind, if he were still alive.<br><br>OOC: Is the airplane on the ground or are we sort of draped in the trees?
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>31-03-2010, 19:51:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Janet was rummaging through some of the wreckage, looking for something. "Survival training? Jane couldn't find food and water in a grocery store," she said derisively, then she stood up holding a candy bar, looking very pleased with herself. "But I have skills!"<br><br>Athena went forward to the cockpit, but met a depressing site: the plane's nose had accordianed like a tin can smashed by a heel, the heel in this case being an enormous tree that the plane had smashed into. The devastation up front was total, the pilots no more than red smears in the twisted metal, the radio and control equipment so much scrap.<br><br>Oscar kicks the door open and surveys the terrain. The plane is solidly on the ground, the path behind leaving a deep furrow where the craft had plowed forward. They are surrounded by dense jungle, nothing but trees and vegetation as far as Oscar can see.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>31-03-2010, 20:49:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Athena gave Oscar a respectful nod in response as she turned towards the cockpit, but she didn't get further than forcing the deformed hatch open and looking inside. It was pretty plain to see nothing but the black box was going to have survived the crash.<br><br>"Bad news, cockpit is trashed.", Athena said solemnly, turning back to Oscar and Janet. "The good news is, we were on a fairly short flight, and we'll be missed. They'll come looking soon, and once we get the corpses out of here we can probably use the fuselage to make a shelter. We just need to check for fuel leaks, though if we're not right in a puddle the fuel could come in handy. Otherwise, jungles are good and bad. Bugs a plenty, so keep covered, especially your feet and lower legs, but we'll not fall short of food or firewood to cook with; with both Oscar's and my training we'll be just fine. So unless we find a reason to move, I suggest we remain with the wreckage."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>01-04-2010, 06:33:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				JD unsteadily got to his feet; he was still plenty rattled, but he was returning to the land of the living. The sole non-team-member survivor also came to, and was healthy enough to rise. His name was Jon Talpert and he was a civilian public relations professional, one of Major Welles' "spin" guys. His well-tailored suit was a smidgen marred by the blood that had spilled down off his head, but at least he was alive.<br><br>Chomping happily on her candy bar, Janet took a look out the door Oscar had opened. Jumping out onto the spongy soil, she took in their surroundings. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>02-04-2010, 18:57:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>"Jesus."</strong><br><br>J.D. got to his feet and blinked hard five times, waiting for the floor of the plane to stop whirling around over his head.&nbsp; Snippets of conversation floated up to his ears through a soup of vertigo.&nbsp; He recognized familiar words about training and supplies and casualties, all spoken with that crisp ring of determination peculiar to military folk:&nbsp; that would be Athena, assessing the situation and taking charge.&nbsp; J.D. had already learned to look to her whenever leadership was required, rather than that loudmouth Welles, who was all bluster and no backbone.&nbsp; (Being much shorter than her, J.D. had also learned to look to her for spectacular eyefuls of cleavage, but it was her level-headedness that counted in a situation like this, even more than her physical wiles.)&nbsp; The blowhard always liked to pretend he was in charge, regardless of where the team's real loyalties lay, so it was unusual to not hear his incessant background barking.&nbsp; <br><br>The slower, sedate tones that J.D. noticed next came from Oscar:&nbsp; not much of a talker, at least around his young compeer, but when he spoke, it usually counted for something and was worth listening to.&nbsp; The speedster had failed so far in his attempts to warm up to the grizzled hero, who always seemed preoccupied with private matters and utterly disinterested in J.D.'s juvenile snickering.&nbsp; His stoic reserve made the youngster look up to him and even want to impress him, win his approval somehow (though he'd never admit to such a thing).<br><br>None of these sounds were what the teenager was listening for, however, and as his head cleared, he grew increasingly alarmed at the absence of other voices nearby.&nbsp; The adorable chirping of the petite doctor, whom J.D. had been crushing on hard for months now, was no longer audible, and he dimly recalled crazy Janet making a rare appearance seconds before the -- <br><br><em>'Crash.&nbsp; South America, airplane ... Jesus.&nbsp; We just crashed a fucking airplane in South America, and -- just my luck -- I was almost ready to ask Stephanie for her phone number before everything went crazy ... Jesus!&nbsp; Stephanie!'</em><br><br>The blonde was the one with whom he'd been exchanging breathy whispers before their discreet flirtation had been interrupted by turbulence and weird lights.&nbsp; The painful pounding that he'd taken as he was jostled around finally registered, and at about the same time, his initial disorientation gave way to panic over the whereabouts of Stephanie and the other unheard staffpeople.&nbsp; J.D. surveyed the state of the airplane and its crew in a two-second burst of motion, long enough for him to get the blood of all eight dead passengers on his hands.&nbsp; At the end of his reconaissance, he dashed out the door, past his teammates, and emptied his stomach onto the jungle floor.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>02-04-2010, 19:26:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Please!" Janet said, watching JD spill his guts on the jungle floor. "I'm trying to eat here!" <br><br>She finished her candy bar, crumpled the wrapper and tossed it in a disgusted gesture.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>03-04-2010, 04:48:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				J.D. had taken a disliking to Janet almost right from the start.&nbsp; "Almost" because her bitchin' bod had made a predictably favorable first impression on him and his hormones.&nbsp; Though he was totally hot for Jane's skinny sexxitude as well, most guys prefer a bit of zaftig to grab onto and ogle, as long as it comes firm and fully-packed.&nbsp; It was her personality that rankled, far too butch and too diametrically opposed to her charming, sweet-spirited counterpart.&nbsp; Something about the lioness sharing a body with the doe-eyed naif just didn't sit well with him.&nbsp; The sexual appeal of a woman with two distinct, interchangeable, hot-as-hell bodies wasn't lost on him, but Janet was the kind of girl he considered better seen than heard.<br><br>Thus her insensitive jibe did nothing but piss him off.&nbsp; If he hadn't been so shaken up by what he'd just seen on the plane, he might have taken a swing at her, but for the time being, all he could do was glare.&nbsp; <strong>"What the FUCK is WRONG with you?!!"</strong>&nbsp; The volume and anger in his voice surprised even him, but for God's sake, she was having snack-time while her comrades' corpses were still warm!&nbsp; <em>'What the hell kind of group is this?&nbsp; Our whole crew just died, even our fucking loudmouth boss, the one we've been working with all these months ... just fucking gone!'</em>&nbsp; <br><br>J.D. kept his more humane emotions -- things like empathy and concern -- buried under a mountain of cocky attitude, but only because he knew what it was like to have his sensitivities trampled.&nbsp; The water collecting in his eyes gave his teammates a rare glimpse into the young man beneath the veneer -- that, and the quiver in his lip and right hand, which began condensing into a fist.&nbsp; <br><br>His senses of grief and shock were blending together into a frothy fury, now that the mysterious "fifth" Forcer had given him a target.&nbsp; Before indulging his homicidal impulses, however, he looked to Athena and Oscar for cues on how to behave amidst such a catastrophe.&nbsp; Loathe as he was to admit it, J.D. was still the impressionable youngster of the group; he couldn't help but look to his seniors for direction whenever shit got out of hand.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>03-04-2010, 08:10:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				And senior he was. Oscar was leaning against the outer husk of the downed airplane, smoking a cigarette and looking thoughtfully into the dense jungles. Nobody had really 'known' how dangerous cigarettes were until recent years, say 20 years ago at least, and Oscar was more than a bit alarmed to hear the news. He had picked up smoking some time during the second World War, and it had just stuck with him. Funny; He had been smoking for more than 60 years, on again and off again, and still couldn't muster the strength or courage to quit. He supposed the carbon dioxide just helped him relax... Just like people breathing into paper bags to calm down a bit. It hadn't killed him yet; After smoking for so long, Oscar hypothesized that it wouldn't.<br><br><br>"Relax, kid," Oscar said to J.D., who was perched over a pile of his own vomit as if he meant to do pushups over it. "It hurts, I know. To lose so many good lives in such a sudden and violent moment. We'll all get over it... Though at the expense of our own humanity," Oscar said philosophically, tipping ashes off of the end of his cigarette. He could guess what had gotten JD's stomach so upset... If it wasn't the fucking airplane crash they had just suffered. Oscar had seen the deaths of countless people, could remember every pint of blood he had ever seen spilled... He was more than a little desensitized. But JD was about 12 decades, not years but <em>decades</em> younger than Oscar, and had presumably seen much less violence and bloodshed in his time. When Oscar had seen those Sioux villagers massacred at Wounded Knee... He had retched too. He even could remember what it smelled like, way back in 1892.<br><br>"I don't think we have any shovels on board... But we might have to bury the bodies if we're not picked up by the end of the day. In this humidity, the rot's going to come quick, and god knows what else. Predators, insects of all varieties." He looked over to Janet... He wanted to ask her if Jane could come out and play again, but he figured he had no legs to stand on. Janet may be raunchy, crude and sometimes a little mean, but Oscar probably would just sound insensitive if he asked her to go away. Her personality did grate on him though, so he hoped that she would soon make the change.<br><br>"So... We all saw the red glow coming from this very jungle before we crashed. I'm hazarding a guess, right now, that it had something to do with our current predicament. What do you all think it means?" He asked, taking one last drag on his cigarette before tossing it to the ground, stomping it out in the mud with his boots... How much harm was one butt going to do in the Amazon rainforest? Assuming that's where they were...
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>03-04-2010, 23:22:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Janet stared at JD, not with anger or threat, but as though she didn't understand what sparked his ire. Her expression was a strangely innocent "what's eating you?" look.<br><br>Distracted by Oscar's questions, she turned to him, and made her first rational utterance since appearing. "Maybe it was an EMP pulse," she said with a shrug. "Maybe that red glow you saw was a nuke going off."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>07-04-2010, 00:08:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oscar's right, we will need to bury the bodies, though I'd like to do it as much to keep scavengers from scattering their remains as anything else; with any luck, we'll be able to send an expedition back to recover them and get them home to their loved ones - once we've gotten ourselves back to civilization. It would be nice if the bodies were intact.", Athena says, a somber note in her voice. It's pretty clear all the deaths have effected her, she's not hiding it, just controlling it.<br><br>Athena turns and heads towards the ships galley, thinking maybe a tray might do for a shovel, if they are sturdy enough. If not, it seems likely to be the best place to find some implement that would do a better job of digging than just bare hands.<br><br>As she rumages through the galley, she calls back out over her shoulder, "Janet may have something there. I had my nose in my laptop, so I missed it, but an EMP could be the cause. I don't think that changes things for us, mind you, we're still best to remain as we are and wait for rescue. The crash site and fuselage will be much easier for them to find than trying to trail is through the jungle."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>07-04-2010, 04:22:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar didn't care to give orders to Athena, but he had a good idea what to do with the bodies. "We need... Something to wrap them in. I guess it's too much to ask if we have any plastic wrap on board, but anything would be better than nothing. Hell, we could rip out the seats and wrap them in the upholstery. It would keep the bodies more decent until they're... Rescued." He couldn't think of a more proper term than that. There was no rescue for the dead, only for their bodies.<br><br>He climbs into the plane, passing Athena and immediately checking some of the overhead storage areas. There were some suitcases... Maybe they could wrap them in their own clothes? He began to carry their suitcases out, two by two, piling them next to the hatch he had kicked open. "An EMP? Are you sure? If it was an EMP, wouldn't it have knocked the power out of your laptop?" Of course, Oscar never forgot a thing he had ever heard or learned, but he didn't hear or learn everything. He began to rummage through the cases, pulling out longer pieces of clothing that they would be able to wrap over the dead bodies, to keep them at least a little more intact than they would be if they were buried bare.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>07-04-2010, 06:44:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Great, now we're burying people. This party just gets better and better," Janet said sourly, then shot a grin at JD. "You going to yell at me for that?"<br><br>Someone did yell, but it wasn't the young team member. A man cried out, and he burst through the jungle foliage waving his arms like everyone might somehow miss him. "Help me, please!" he cried, his English rusty but passable. "I had accident ... my wife, she hurt badly! Please, come!"<br><br>He pointed back through the jungle, like that explained everything. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>08-04-2010, 09:34:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Holding a plastic tray in her hands that she hoped would serve as a passable shovel, Rachel furrowed her brow and got back up to go see what the commotion was.<br><br>Looking out the open hatch, she looked the man over and called over to him, "What's the problem, sir?" <br><br>Rachel wasn't sure they should trust him. Seemed odd to have this man run up to them, if they crashed in the middle of a jungle, and ask for <em>their</em> help. Very odd. Caution was advised, she felt, but Rachel wouldn't turn down a request for her help if the man seemed sincere. It would be worth the risk, and she was fairly sure there wasn't much the team couldn't handle, or at least get their asses back out of.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>08-04-2010, 10:34:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar was busy shredding shirts, pants, coats, anything big enough to suit the corpses to use as a pall when the man burst out from the jungle. Oscar dropped his things, looking left and right at his various squadmates, a confused look on his face that matched theirs... Why was this man in the middle of the jungle? Slowly, Oscar found his feet and went over to the frantic man, resting one hand on the Hispanic man's arm... It was intended to calm him down, but Oscar also intended to read the man's thoughts, or at least get some insight into what sort of emotions the man was feeling. His body was tingling in alarm, only because it was such an odd coincidence in a string of odd coincidences. It would pay to be cautious.<br><br>"Dime qué ha pasado con su esposa, señor," he said to the man. "Tell me what has happened to your wife," he said, repeating in English for the sake of his comrades.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>08-04-2010, 17:33:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The man is speechless for a moment as Athena appears, her pure white skin a little disconcerting. <br><br>"Ehh, our jeep, it jumped the road," he said, awkwardly answering Oscar's question. "Please hurry!"<br><br>He started to head back toward the jungle, back the way he had come.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>09-04-2010, 01:27:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar and Rachel's statements of concern for the dead reassured J.D. that he wasn't the only human being on the team, although it would be an overstatement to say he was comforted.&nbsp; Comfort was going to be hard to come by in their current situation.&nbsp; Sweat was already moistening every inch of Happy's body, both in and out of his suit, while a little phalanx of ravenous insects had descended upon the nutritious bounty he had just expelled onto the jungle floor.&nbsp; Many of the attackers diverted to investigate the edible opportunities in the youngster's hair, ears, eyes, and nose, not to mention every bit of exposed skin.&nbsp; A few adventurous bugs were even burrowing under his collar to get to whatever lay underneath.&nbsp; <br><br>Once he had calmed down a bit, the speedster turned his attention to making the environment a bit less miserable.&nbsp; He covered the puke with handfuls of vegetation to minimize the stench and selected a wide, foot-long leaf to serve as a makeshift fan.&nbsp; Flapping it at high speed dispelled the eager insects around his head and also created a much-needed breeze to offset the jungle humidity, which seemed to lap at the visitors with warm, dripping tongues.&nbsp; He considered fanning his teammates too but decided not to volunteer such a service without being asked, since it was likely the others were untroubled or at least less-bothered than he by the hardship of the tropical setting.&nbsp; Plus, if a few of those burrowers got into the costumes of his distaff counterparts, maybe they'd have to shed some of those pesky outer garments ....<br><br>(Or so one could hope.&nbsp; That horniness could coexist with shock and anger in J.D.'s mind was merely a consequence of his tender, puberty-stricken age.)<br><br>The suggestion to bury the bodies was welcome, in part because it gave the troubled hero something to do, a small way to help in this disconcerting situation.&nbsp; Seizing a jagged piece of metal that had once been part of the fuselage, he followed the lead of his comrades and sliced up enough stray cloth to encase the bodies, then hacked away the flora over a section of the jungle floor about 12-feet-square in size and 4-feet deep.&nbsp; It would be more than enough to serve as a temporary gravesite, although he waited to fill it until his teammates gave their okay.&nbsp; Besides, moving the heavy corpses was a task better suited to a super-strong partner.<br><br>All the talk of EMPs and nuclear bombs kept the teen's anxiety level at a 12 out of a possible 10.&nbsp; The sudden appearance of a local in need of help struck him as highly dubious:&nbsp; this guy has a car accident, his wife needs help, and by coincidence, a quartet of American superheroes literally fall out of the sky, within walking distance?&nbsp; It was a scenario unlikely enough to have come straight out of a comic book ... but in spite of that, Happy was curious to at least investigate.&nbsp; After all, superheroes weren't much use unless they had far-fetched obstacles to overcome and helpless civilians to rescue.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>09-04-2010, 07:48:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The Hispanic man broke away from Oscar before he could accost him for his lies... Lies that Oscar had read from the man's brain like a book. He was still wrapping his mind around the confiscated thoughts when the patrolman said <strong>"Please hurry!"</strong> and the words snapped him out of his reverie. He didn't move, and raised his hand in the air to halt any of his comrades who might have made to follow the guy. He turned around and went to Athena, Janet and J.D., who were all looking curiously at him. "Hold on, guys. He's not who he says he is. There's a cocaine cartel running through this jungle, and this man's a part of a patrol that saw our jet fall out of the sky. <em>Don't</em> make any sudden movements, there's another one in the jungle watching us now with a rifle on the back of one of our heads." His grave, dark eyes flickered between each member of the Freedom Force, before he spoke again.<br><br>"He means to walk us right into a trap. I don't know what is planned for us, nor do I know if they had anything to do with the explosion that took down our plane. What do you say, Athena? Do we walk in anyways? Or take these guys out?" Oscar didn't feel comfortable making any big decisions. Athena was their leader, even if she wasn't their 'official leader'. She had a commanding spirit, which she exercised easily with a tone of confidence around her peers. He didn't intend to override her or upset the natural balance they had fleshed out.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>09-04-2010, 16:19:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"We take these guys out." Athena said immediately, keeping her voice low. She'd known it was a little too off, that man showing up, and drug cartels would kill anyone who happened close. Their mistake was going to be not taking the chance to ambush Freedom Force when they had the chance. "Oscar, can you direct JD to the sniper? JD's speed should let him get close before the guy reacts, hopefully. I'll try to take out the decoy. Follow my lead."<br><br>"Janet, grab the first aid kit, you two, see if there's something we can use for a stretcher in case we need one." Rachel said firmly, her voice raised slightly. She wasn't used to this kind of charade, but hopefully it would seem more like she was just using her command voice than anything else.<br><br>"Sir! Hey, wait, I've got a few questions...is your wife still concious? Bleeding?" Rachel calls out after the man, picking up her feet to run after him. Hopefully by playing along she'll be able to get close enough to him to take him out quickly.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>09-04-2010, 18:50:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Aye aye, Captain!" Janet said sarcastically, throwing a sloppy salute to Athena as she started looking around for a first aid kit, or pretending to at least.<br><br>The man stopped as Athena called to him. He looked impatient, like he just wanted everyone to follow him already. "Eh, bleeding? Yes, very much," he said, and it was patently clear to Athena that he was about as bad an actor as Janet was.<br><br>"She got, uh ... arm hanging loose," he said, making a gimp arm motion, trying to express the dire condition of his wife so everyone would get a move on.<br><br>The upshot for Athena was she ran right up to him without him suspecting a thing.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>10-04-2010, 04:30:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar watched as Athena chased after the man, and he put his hand on JD's forearm, stilling him. "I'm not... Entirely sure where the gunman is. I didn't pick that up when I read Mr. Escobar's mind. Logically, he's got to be somewhere between us and the ambush," he said, and made a sweeping motion with his hand, ranging from several yards left of where Athena was, and then several yards right of her. "You're fast, I saw you. How's your stomach feeling? I need you to be your fastest right now, Happy Trails." Oscar didn't care much for their secret names, and sometimes forgot to use them in JD's and Jane's case. Athena exuded the presence of the Goddess she was named after; He sometimes forgot her <em>real</em> name, always opting to call her Athena instead. "If you can't take him out, just flush him out. I'll be waiting," he said grimly, cracking his knuckles. He had a pistol on his hip holster, but that was still inside of the wreckage, completely forgotten amidst all the confusion. It didn't matter; Oscar didn't want much noise to be made when they neutralized the gunman.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>10-04-2010, 21:22:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<em>'Damn that marine outfit!&nbsp; Wish she'd get back into her tights ... Wonder if she'd let me help her change? ....'</em><br><br>Oscar's grip on his arm roused J.D. from the welcome but brief distraction of watching Rachel's behind as she went off after the stranger.&nbsp; He nodded and eyed the thick greenery in the distance while listening to Oscar's instructions.&nbsp; The confidence in the older man's voice reassured him and helped still the lingering twitches in his belly.<br><br>The mention of his codename made him wince -- he found the full version kind of unweildy for practical use, but he hadn't yet persuaded his teammates to use the shortened form all the time.&nbsp; <strong>"'Happy''s fine, boss,"</strong> he muttered, keeping his voice low instinctively, for no apparent reason.&nbsp; <strong>"'Happy Trails' is for the headlines and press releases, you know?&nbsp; <br><br>"I should be able to disarm anyone I find before they know what's happening.&nbsp; The only risk is if the gun's primed and aimed already, with his finger on the trigger, it could slip and discharge a round when I take it off him.&nbsp; But, nothing you guys couldn't handle ... Um, right?"</strong>&nbsp; <br><br>The last statement came out sounding a bit uncertain:&nbsp; he knew the others each had some degree of imperviousness to harm, but he wasn't so sure if every inch of them could take a rifle shot -- what if the guy was aiming for their eyes, for example?&nbsp; It was the kind of detail Happy wished he'd paid closer attention to during all those months of interminable, dull briefings with Sweet Jane and the Major ... but how was he supposed to listen to technical lectures with hotties like Jane and Rach in the room?&nbsp; (J.D. had a wide range of nicknames for his associates, depending on his mood, but he mostly kept them to himself.&nbsp; He wasn't about to try calling Athena "Rach" to her face, at least not until he got to know her better.&nbsp; Many of his nicknames were a lot less polite than that, especially for the Major, but -- <em>'Fuck, that poor guy,'</em> the youngster thought, remembering Welles's current state.&nbsp; <em>'He was full of shit most of the time, but he still deserved better than that.'</em>&nbsp; All this death and danger was heady stuff for a teenager to deal with.&nbsp; It made him almost miss the boring training sessions, when he could at least relax and enjoy the pretty sights.)<br><br>Happy whipped his mask out of the concealed pocket in his uniform and pulled it snugly over his face, even though he doubted he would need it much under these circumstances.&nbsp; The full-body shielding built into his hero-costume was necessary to prevent friction-burns at high speeds, but with all the dense foliage and unfamiliar terrain, he didn't figure he could move for more than short stretches at very high speeds.&nbsp; Still, it didn't hurt to be cautious, and he also liked the "super-badass" effect of being masked in front of his opponents -- that whole "man of mystery" thing.<br><br>The creepy percussive pop of Oscar's knuckles sounded in J.D.'s ears just as he burst into motion, leaving nothing but a green after-image behind him, shimmering in the air where he'd just been standing beside Flashcard.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>10-04-2010, 21:45:58</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Don't worry, sir, one of my friends there is a doctor.", Athena reached out to put a 'comforting' hand on the man's shoulder, looking back over her shoulder to indicate those she spoke about, but also so she could see when JD sprang into action, or rather, suddenly vanished. Having a hand on the man already would also make it much easier to subdue him. <br><br>Athena wanted to take him alive, and preferably conscious so he could answer some questions. Recent actions in Afghanistan and Iraq had brought military personnel into regular contact with civilians, so they had beefed up their hand to hand repertoire to include more restraint techniques and nonlethal, non-crippling maneuvers. Rachel was a good student, especially after her 'modification', so the new moves made a nice addition to her deadly commando training. <br><br>"How about you, sir, maybe we should have the doctor check you out as well? Make sure you aren't hurt?" she glanced back at him, trying to keep a note of serious concern on her face instead of giving away her actual intentions.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 04:03:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				JD sprang into the jungle, a blur of motion. He didn't know where the gunman was, so he started in a circle around the group. Fortunately, he came upon the man before he even finished the first half of the circumference.<br><br>He was crouching low, concealed by foliage, and holding a semi-automatic rifle aimed at JD's comrades. The guy was grinning like he had the whole world in his sights, and it took just a nanosecond for JD to have the weapon in his own hands. The thug's grin lingered for a moment longer before he realized he held nothing but air in his palms.<br><br>Athena kept talking to the first thug, but the moment was growing thin, and they could both feel the tension. He stared back at her, looking eye to eye, and for a moment neither one said a thing. Then he hastily reached behind himself and Athena knew he was going for a gun. She was on him in an instant, gripping his shoulder and preparing to take him down. His right arm came back, sure enough holding a firearm. He cried out as he pulled the trigger, and Athena felt herself take a hit in her thigh, not enough to bring her down. She tried to immobilize his weapon arm, and the two danced for a moment, the gun going off a second time. Finally, Athena shoved her elbow into the guy's face. His head jerked back, his nose blossoming in a brilliantly bloody display as he fell backward to the jungle floor.<br><br>Two shots had been fired, the birds were still flapping in the trees. If the guy had any buddies nearby, they would certainly have heard. <br><br>Athena looked down to see that she had been shot twice in the leg, but she could already feel her body pushing the lead back to the surface.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 06:32:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				His eyes were still scanning the foliage when he heard two gunshots, and he began to run. "Come on, Janet!" He shouted back to her, though he didn't think she needed any more encouragement to throw herself into the fray. The madness which possessed her whenever combat arose could only be classified as suicidal.<br><br>It only took a moment to catch up with Athena, the recipient of two gunshot wounds into her calf, which were already sealing over. He couldn't deny he was a little envious of her power to heal up like that. She wasn't even a mutant, but she seemed more of a post-human than he ever could be. "I'm guessing they'll be along in any moment... I just hope the kid finished up with the project I left him. I didn't hear any other gunshots besides these two," he said, pointing to the two bloody bullets which were lying on the ground, expelled by Athena's own body. Oscar brought his fists up, and for a moment felt very silly... JD and Athena had flashy costumes and very capable powers. All Oscar had was his military fatigues and the hand-to-hand combat techniques he had picked up over his very long life... Though his impressive strength and the stronger-than-Kevlar growth covering most of his body certainly did help.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 09:42:26</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oscar's right, we better get our asses in gear." Athena said as she dragged the man behind her, adding under her breath as she limped slightly, knowing it was still going to take her a day or two to be fully healed, "Can't believe the fucker shot me twice...must be getting sloppy with this regeneration..."<br><br>She pushed the man face down by the fuselage, not caring or even really noticing if he was even concious. Rachel ripped one of the sleeves from his shirt and began to bind his wrists, none to gently, behind his back. "Grab your gear while I take care of this guy, people. JD, bring yours down here too; we're taking them with us, at least for now. We should question them as soon as we can, then dump them." she let the last hang, emphasizing it with an extra hard yank on the makeshift restraint on the man pinned underneath her. She wouldn't execute them out of hand, but they didn't know that, and it couldn't hurt to start motivating them to cooperate now.<br><br>As soon as she had him secured, Rachel headed into the plane to get her own gear, weapons, spare uniform, even her superhero outfit; the latter she really didn't want a bunch of drug lords finding. Rachel hadn't slept through all the PR seminars she'd had to attend the last couple of years.<br><br>"Don't forget to grab and weapons, survival and first aid kits we can. As much as we can carry." 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 10:06:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar followed back to the wreckage. For a moment, he shamefully allowed his eyes to fall to gaze at Athena's butt as it rose and fell with her strides as she effortlessly dragged dear Mr. Escobar, who was either very traumatized by his encounter with Rachel, or very unconscious. Oscar tore his eyes away from her body and strode past her, climbing up in to the airplane. He knew what was coming next... They hadn't walked into the drug runner's trap, which meant that whoever was organizing the ambush would be getting pretty antsy by now, if they weren't already coming to investigate the gunshots. Oscar didn't feel totally comfortable running up against an armed mob with nothing but his fists... As competent as they were, Oscar felt more comfortable with a gun in his hands.<br><br>He had his own pistol, still secured tightly in the holster he owned and stowed away in his bag. He snapped it on his belt, but didn't think that would be enough firepower. He knew that Welles liked to tow around more gear, just in case the Freedom Force ever needed it... So he began to search the plane, not entirely confident he knew where everything was supposed to be, looking for guns, ammunition, anything.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 10:22:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar began rooting around inside the plane. Freedom Force traveled with it's own armory, he was aware, but they had never had to crack out the firepower before, so he wasn't even sure where it was stowed. Looking around the rear of the plane, he came across a section where the floor was ripped apart. He grabbed the lip of a wrent and pulled it wider, gazing down into the cargo hold of the plane. There were several crates, and from their markings Oscar could tell that there were handguns, heavier firearms, and an assortment of other goodies down there, maybe even some explosives.<br><br>Janet stood outside the plane, watching Athena truss up her catch. She sighed, and looked about to say something when she suddenly winced. Just like that, Janet was gone and Dr. Jane Wilson was back.<br><br>Jane blinked, looking around, and her eyes grew large at the wrecked plane. "Oh my God! That must have been some landing," she said, looking at Athena with a happy smile. "Rachel! Is everyone okay?"<br><br>She took a few steps toward Athena before she realized there was a man on the ground, tied up, with a bloody face. That stopped Jane in her tracks, her smile melting. She looked at Athena, her expression questioning.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 23:41:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Rachel stopped as she headed into the plane and gave the doctor a grave look, "We had several fatalities in the crash. Aside from ourselves, just Talpert survived, and Major Welles is dead. To make matters worse, we came down relatively close to some kind of drug operation, which is where these two came in. Not sure how close, yet, but we have little time to waste. Gather your medical supplies, Jane, and as much food as you can find, though there should be MREs in the packs already. I forget, do you know how to handle a firearm? Jon, how about you?"<br><br>Inside, Rachel joined Oscar in pillaging the armoury. She new her own gear was there and grabbed it first, all her superhero kit and her own M40A3 sniper rifle. Rooting around, she tried to locate a second rifle, knowing there would be some. She couldn't recall the exact manifest, even though she'd had considerable input, as was hoping to find they'd stocked some M16A4s with M203 grenade launchers on them; 40mm grenades would be a big help if they got into a firefight and were seriously outnumbered. She wasn't so worried about her own survival or even Oscar's, since they could both survive even most 'lucky hits' from small arms, but despite JD's speed and whatever Janet could take, they might not. Plus, there was still Jon to worry about, and she wouldn't let a civilian get hurt if she could help it.<br><br>Even if they weren't fully prepared in event of a crash, Rachel new they were equipped to her personal standards. She wanted to be ready if they had to be diverted, or if a mission required them to walk overland to reach an objective. They should be outfitted with several ILBE (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ILBE) packs loaded and ready to go, as well as Dragon Skin body armour (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Skin_%28body_armor%29). Rachel asked specifially for the best, she only hoped they'd been loaded. Even if Jon Talpert was untrained, she could show him how to use a pistol and strap some body armour around him to help keep him safe, at the very least.<br><br>Getting her gear together, Rachel strapped it on and turned to Oscar, "Did you find any C4? We'll blow the plane, at least make sure whatever we can't carry won't make it into the hands of a drug cartel."<br><br>OOC: I hope I'm not stretching too much, tried to make sure you could deny anything you don't want us to have, Cogs. I just wanted to put out there what I think we'd have to be decently prepared to meet the needs of most missions at the drop of a hat.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>14-04-2010, 06:05:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Jane looked stricken as Athena described how the others had fared. Looking at the plane with some trepidation, she went in to fetch her supplies, and to take a look at the bodies themselves. She exited the plane looking very pale and carrying a black duffel bag with a red "X" on it. She was quietly crying, but trying to hold herself together she sat on the ground to assess the contents of the bag.<br><br>Jon Talpert, the pr guy and only other civilian survivor, watched Dr. Wilson exiting the plane, his expression sympathetic. He still wore a wide-eyed, stunned expression, as though he hadn't quite come to grips with the fact that he'd just been in a plane crash. He looked at Athena, belatedly regarding her question. "Guns? Uh, I've never handled one, no," he said. "Maybe we should just ... get out of here or something."<br><br>Inside the plane, Athena and Oscar tore into the weapons locker in the cargo hold and found exactly what they were looking for. Freedom Force may not go up against the heavy hitters like the Defenders, but they sure as hell were armed as though they did.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>14-04-2010, 12:42:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar rummaged through their armory for a moment, amazed by the sheer amount of weaponry they had been lugging around. The crate was long enough for Athena to begin to salvage some armor and ammo, as well. "Yeah, there's C4 buried near the bottom," he told Athena, lifting out some of the plastique, wires and detonators and setting it on the ground beside them. "Hello, what's this?" He asked, lifting a rifle out of the crate... For the most part, it resembled the M-16's Athena had been pulling out of her side of the crate, but there was something different, as well. The magazine slot was much smaller than it should have been... After doing a little more searching, he found a case full of 'magazines' that were small enough to match the hole on the bottom of the rifle. He cautiously inserted one of them, making sure to point the gun away from the both of them as he did, and five lights lit up on the magazine, their colors ranging from red at the bottom to green at the top. They both knew what it was... Welles would only let them target practice with the laser rifles, and they needed Welles' approval to even <em>touch</em> one of these things, but Welles was dead.<br><br>"Laser rifle," Oscar said reverently, running his fingers along the five lights. "Each light represents one shot. This mag has 5 shots total. Best to take several of these," he said, shoveling the magazines, which were not much bigger than a USB flash drive, into one of his pockets, taking 19 more, giving him 100 total shots. They were a bit cumbersome in his pocket... The technology had only come so far, but he didn't mind. He also took one of the ILBE's that Rachel had dragged out of another compartment, and began to shovel more C4 into it... And on second thought, he might want to bring some of the clothes he had packed in the first place, in case he needed a change. He had no idea how long they would be out of civilization. He took his rifle, his backpack and returned to the door he had kicked open, and found his suitcase lying half-open, some of his clothing already torn up from when he was making burial cloths for the dead. Jane was seated not so far away, looking quite miserable... It was in stark contrast to Janet, who joked about their dead comrades. Oscar stuffed two extra sets of fatigues into his pack and made his way over to Jane, hunching down opposite of her. "Are you... Alright?" He asked when he noticed her tear-stained face. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>15-04-2010, 03:36:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Are you planning to take enough C4 to blow up the drug cartel's operations or something? I was planning on heading <em>away</em>, if we can.", Rachel teased Oscar gently. "Don't forget to grab something else for backup. We don't know what jungle humidity might do to the laser rifles guts. No moving parts, sure...but just to be safe, right? Do me a favour and grab a vest for Jane, please, Oscar?"<br><br>When she came back out of the plane, Athena looked well and truly ready for battle, decked out in body armour and a helmet, with a tactical load bearing harness covered in pouches full of extra magazines and a bandoleer of 40mm grenades across her chest. She had her 'two-oh-three', simple slang for a rifle with the M203 underslung, dangling from a strap as she set two ILBEs, her sniper rifle in it's case, and a second helmet down just outside the plane and stepped up to Jon holding out a Dragon Skin vest for him to put on.<br><br>"Relax, Jon, these two wanted to lead us somewhere, which means their buddies aren't that close. They'd have surrounded us before making themselves known, probably tried to take us alive to see if we could be ransomed, if they could. I brought you a pack, there. Now, let's get this on you.", from her manner, Rachel wasn't taking no for an answer as she all but manhandled Talpert into the body armour, then placed the helmet on his head and took a quick minute to adjust the straps, but only superficially. <br><br>"That's not to say we shouldn't be quick, but if we leave unprepared and without supplies the jungle could kill us just as sure as the cartel. We'll take a better look at how this stuff is sitting on you when we have enough time, but this should do for now. Here...safety, off...on...release the magazine like so, slap another one in firmly, pull the slide back, and never, ever have your finger on the trigger unless you're pointing the weapon at something you want to kill. Keep it along the slide, here, until then." she showed him a M9 semi-automatic pistol, handing it to him with a holster and a handful of extra magazines of 9mm ammunition. "Don't get all worked up, Jon, it's for self-defense only. If the bullets start flying, you just get your head down and leave it to us superheroes, but we can't be everywhere at once; this is just in case you find yourself face to face with a bad guy, but don't worry about using till then, okay?"<br><br>"Alright," Rachel picked up the volume some, definately, and automatically, going to her command voice, "we're about set here, so grab your packs and let's get moving. We're going to head away from where these guys wanted to take us, we'll check the GPS and plot ourselves a course out of here as we're hiking. Assuming that wasn't an EMP and the GPS still works...map and a compass will if it doesn't. Oscar, you want the honours of blowing the plane?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>15-04-2010, 07:59:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Jane looked up at Oscar as she muscled up a smile. "I guess I should be happy, right? I made it, and you guys too," she said, though she didn't look very happy. Hearing Athena give orders, Jane closed her pack and rose.<br><br>Jon Talpert looked like a little boy playing dress up, the armor and helmet not quite on snuggly, the gun hanging from his hand like he had forgotten it was there. However, he was paying attention, at least, his eyes on Athena.<br><br>JD stood with a gun leveled at the bandito he had rustled from the thickets, the man not saying a word. The thug Athena had cold-cocked and tied up was waking, shaking his head groggily, his face a bloody mess.<br><br>Looking at her GPS, Athena was pleased to see the device was working normally.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>19-04-2010, 23:22:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Amid all the excitement of subduing the attackers, everyone seemed to have forgotten that there were bodies to bury.&nbsp; J.D. volunteered to fill in the makeshift gravesite, but he asked his comrades to help him lower the shrouded bodies into the pit -- and not just because they were too heavy for him to lift alone.&nbsp; He'd seen dead relatives at funerals, but he'd never touched a corpse, much less one belonging to someone he'd been flirting with a little while ago.&nbsp; And then there was the odor that had started to come off them ... the whole business made his stomach churn.<br><br>Having to hold a stranger at gunpoint didn't help him relax, either.&nbsp; Happy kept the gun aimed at the stranger's chest, as he'd been trained to do, threatening a lethal response to any resistance.&nbsp; But he held the rifle gingerly, a bit away from his body, as if it was something filthy, crawling with nasty germs that he didn't want to get on him.&nbsp; His teammates handled their guns and explosives with relative ease, like pragmatic tools, useful equipment for their line of business.&nbsp; The teenager, however, couldn't help but associate the weapons with the pile of bodies in front of him.&nbsp; <em>'That's what these fucking things are for, goddamit:&nbsp; making corpses.'</em><br><br>Dr. Wilson's reappearance was the one thing in this crazy scene that helped the young man feel a little less uncomfortable.&nbsp; J.D. naturally gravitated towards Jane as the least intimidating member of the Freedom Force entourage.&nbsp; He fancied that their mutual interest in scientific fields pointed to deeper similarities in their personalities, maybe something that could be built upon if they ever managed to go beyond a mere professional relationship.&nbsp; Oh, and how he wanted to get his hands on those tight little buns of hers ... but for now he was content to have somebody around that he felt he could relate to a little easier.&nbsp; As a fellow civilian, she was far less gung-ho about all the military bullshit than Athena or the late Major.&nbsp; Plus she was friendlier and more approachable than grim old Oscar.&nbsp; As for Talpert, J.D. had barely paid him any notice before, since nothing with a Y-chromosome could hold his attention for long.<br><br>As soon as the PR man got geared up, however, Happy saw an opportunity to relieve himself of the unwanted guard duty.&nbsp; <strong>"Here ya go, chief.&nbsp; Keep this pointed on Sancho there and make sure he doesn't cause any trouble.&nbsp; You can handle that, right?&nbsp; Sure you can!&nbsp; Thanks!"</strong>&nbsp; Before Talpert could protest, the bandito's rifle was thrust into his hands and shakily trained on the prisoner, and the pistol and ammo was taken off him.&nbsp; If he had to be armed, the speedster preferred the M9.&nbsp; Lighter than the Mexican's gun, it would be less of a drag on his movements, plus it was smaller and easier to ignore.<br><br>J.D. then turned to confer with his teammates.&nbsp; Desperate for a distraction from all the death and carnage, his brain had begun calculating odds and trying to make some sense out of their bizarre circumstances.&nbsp; <strong>"Okay, so ... We're thinking it was these Mexicans that brought down our plane, right?&nbsp; I mean, how else could they have been waiting here for us?"</strong>&nbsp; Noticing the functional GPS unit, he added, <strong>"And if that thing's working, maybe the bi -- I mean, maybe Janet was wrong about the EMP and the bomb and all that?"</strong>&nbsp; <em>'Please god let the crazy bitch be wrong about the EMP and the bomb and all that ...'</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>20-04-2010, 07:25:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Talpert seemed confused as JD transferred guard duty to him, but that seemed to make the captive even more nervous, as though the pr flack might just blow him away by accident. The Mexican gave Talpert a little smile, actually trying to reassure the man.<br><br>The speedster's question raised a little debate about the nature of their crash as Oscar and Athena wired the plane up. They needed just enough explosives to ruin anything that might be useful in the wrong hands, and quickly had the aircraft ready to light up. The other captive thug seemed to gather his bearings quickly when he realized why they had to move away from the plane, and presently they all set off into the jungle. Minutes after they departed, an explosion ripped the quiet, and they could see smoke rising behind them from the wired detonation. A warm wind blew their way, and that was the end of their Freedom Force jet.<br><br>"JD, I really don't think a drug cartel would have the technology to bring down our plane, not like this," Jane said, getting back to JD's question. They were all moving through the jungle, their two captives looking unhappy. Jane had been sticking close to JD. "One of you mentioned an EMP or nuclear blast, but I don't think so, not with our other electronics working. I saw the glow, too; it came from the jungle, but it didn't really look like a blast."<br><br>The jungle was thick, and without any roads or paths it wasn't easy to move through. Consulting the GPS device, Athena saw that they were in the heart of Bolivia. The closest civilization appeared to be a place called Yucuma, about twenty miles to the north-west. Not only were they going to have to slog through dense jungle, but in a few miles they would hit a river they would have to cross.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>20-04-2010, 10:11:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Twenty miles. That's not too bad, really, though throw jungle that's still going to take time.", Rachel said, trying to give the others a reassuring smile. It came off pretty well, as she was confident she could do it easily, but she was a little worried about the others, especially Jon. But they'd be alright.<br><br>"Come on, let's keep going. I'd like a little more distance between us and the plane before we interrogate the prisoners.", Athena gave the two men a hard look, clearly meant to intimidate them with cruel promises, before starting off in the direction of Yucuma. "Oscar, how's your counter-tracking? I'd lay odds the cartel have at least one decent tracker, given they are based in the middle of the jungle. Couldn't hurt to have one of us obscuring our trail some."<br><br>"JD, remind me to show you some simple tricks for that when we have the time. Your speed would really be an asset there." she said, smiling at the 'kid'.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>20-04-2010, 18:52:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He and Athena finished wiring the airplane... He thought it was such a waste. There was still hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of weaponry in there that was about to go up in flames. To Uncle Sam, he supposed, it was just pennies from his pockets.<br><br>A few minutes later, he heard a deafening boom that indicated that their plane had met its' fiery death, and the five of them (seven, including their two captives) began to discuss their situation. "We're not in <em>Mexico</em>, J.D. I'm going to hazard a guess that we're in Venezuela, or god-forsaken Colombia," Oscar scolded. He wasn't mad, but he had a pretty good understanding of geography, and it irked him that someone would make that sort of mistake. "Bolivia. I stand corrected." Oscar amended after Athena got a proper coordinate on her GPS device. "Wow, really, Bolivia? I thought we were in the air much longer than that." Just because he never forgot a single thing, didn't mean he was an accurate clock...<br><br>"Twenty miles. With two prisoners. Fighting against the humidity and the jungle... I'm thinking we'll have to move the rest of the day, and spend the night in the jungle, and another long day's walk to get there." He turned to Athena. "Counter tracking? I suppose it's not really something I picked up in the Army. It's pretty hard to hide the passage of that many people, but I learned a few things here and there. I'll see what I can do to cover our tracks. Are there any rivers or streams close by?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>20-04-2010, 21:52:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Athena shook her head and put a hand on Oscar's shoulder to get his attention, passing the GPS to him, "Take this instead. Since you never forget anything, I'm sure you are still good with the orienteering the army taught you, right? I've actually had training, being a Marine scout-sniper and Force Recon, with all that escape and evasion stuff we learn. I'll drop back and start doing what I can to muddy our trail. That does take some time and effort, so just keep a moderate pace, so you don't get too far ahead of me, okay? It'll also be good to have someone watching our six for any persuit."<br><br>After that, Rachel drops back, trying to float between ten to fifteen meters behind the bulk of the group. If she can just spend the first couple of hours obscuring their trail, it might help them to buy a bit of time. Sure, the cartel guys will probably assume they are headed to the nearest bit of civilization, but with prisoners in tow, inexperienced teamates, and a river to cross, Rachel doesn't want to cut a zig zag through the jungle. The river should be a decent barrier, and if they still think someone might be trying to follow them once they cross it, then they can start a more evasive technique.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>21-04-2010, 06:27:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"JD, I really don't think a drug cartel would have the technology to bring down our plane, not like this," Jane said, getting back to JD's question. </blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>Without needing encouragement, the doctor had fallen in right next to J.D. on their march through the jungle.&nbsp; As they walked along, he shared his super-speed-insect-repelling-leaf-fan with her.&nbsp; Like him, she lacked the physical toughness of the rest of the FF, so he figured she'd appreciate some relief from the harsh environment.&nbsp; He reached around the brunette so that she was between him and the flapping fan, which provided the added benefit of sending her sweet perfumed scent his way.&nbsp; <br><br>He still found the coincidence of them crash-landing near a gang of criminals a bit odd, but the others seemed comfortable with Jane's assessment of the situation, so he let the matter drop.&nbsp; As long as she stayed close enough for him to smell her delicious bod, she could say the world was flat for all he cared.&nbsp; <br><br><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"We're not in Mexico, J.D. ..."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>Even the makeshift fan couldn't keep Happy's cheeks from growing hot when his gaffe was pointed out.&nbsp; <em>'Shit.&nbsp; I could've sworn somebody said something about Mexico ....'</em>&nbsp; The cultural faux pas was embarrassing for a brainy college kid like J.D., but it didn't sting half as much as being corrected in front of the ladies.&nbsp; Pretending to watch his step on the plant-strewn terrain, he kept his eyes on his feet and hoped the others (or at least Jane) didn't notice him blushing.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>21-04-2010, 07:16:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The group moved slowly through the jungle. Jane seemed to appreciate JD's fanning abilities, which kept the nastier insects at bay. <br><br>The pair of prisoners marched sullenly along, silent until both of them came to a sudden stop. Ahead of you, in the jungle, was a wooden pole sticking out of the ground, rising to about twenty feet. It was made of dark wood and was inscribed with red and blue markings that zig-zagged from top to bottom. The reaction from the drug cartel thugs was immediate and strange: they were afraid.<br><br>The one whose face Athena had busted turned and waved his arm at the pole. "No go," he said, searching hard for the right English words. "Place bad. This mark, mark of Ramac."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>21-04-2010, 19:04:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar accepted the GPS unit that Athena had handed him, and took point on the team, leading them through the jungle. Not after long, the humidity began to really eat at Oscar, and he buttoned down his fatigues, finally discarding the long-sleeved top fully, leaving him in a sweat-stained white tank-top. One of the prisoners whispered something when they saw the bark-like growths all over his arms, but he didn't give them any attention. Leading their group was less navigating, and more trail-blazing. In some places, he had to bend saplings backwards and stomp down undergrowth. Sometimes, they came up against large spiderwebs that spanned between two trees. Oscar was reluctant to disturb them... Not because he was a nature lover, but because spiders had always disturbed him for some reason, and he simply lead them around.<br><br>Oscar hadn't been paying attention to the path ahead of him, but he heard a commotion behind him as their two prisoners suddenly stopped in their tracks, refusing to budge. "What's going on?" He asked inquisitively, wiping the sweat off his brow as he convened with the group. "What's the mark of Ramac? <em>¿Cuál es la marca de Ramac?</em>"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>21-04-2010, 21:56:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Rachel sighed to herself at the sound of the first sharp, deliberate snapping of wood and dropped back another few meters and headed off to the side of the path Oscar was carving through the jungle. She liked Oscar, and not just because he was, at one time at least, military like her, but Rachel had to remind herself he was a soldier sixty years ago or more. The military had changed a lot, from lessons learned in WWII and Korea, even more by their experiences in Vietnam, and again by the recent 'unconventional' wars in Iraq an Afghanistan. On top of that, Oscar did have one serious flaw, to a marine like Rachel: he was army. The thought made Rachel smirk, not that anyone could see it.<br><br>Rachel instead paralleled the trail Oscar made, gauging the distance she should follow with her experience to give her a good lead should she spot anyone coming up on them from the rear, enough to make sure the main group couldn't be engaged by any pursuers until they'd gotten past Athena. She could move more carefully, and stealthily, on her own than with the group, and Oscar's trail made for a beacon so she didn't have to worry too much about her own. With Oscar's strength no doubt making his trailblazing easier and faster going, Rachel's only worry was that they might actually move to fast for her to keep herself concealed. She'd just switch to good old fashioned 'bringing up the rear', tailgate Charlie, patrol duty, then.<br><br>Following along, keeping her attention turned to the trail behind them, Rachel had no idea what was going on when the group suddenly stopped. She was far to professional, and confident in her companions abilities, to give up her post, however. She waited for them to resume, quickly finding herself a good position to watch the trail behind them, and as much around them as she could; head on a swivel, as they say in the military. Her companions would call for her if they needed her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>22-04-2010, 07:15:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The two thugs seemed concerned about the totem pole, more concerned about that than about keeping mum. Upon realizing that Oscar speaks Spanish, they begin to talk rapidly, while Oscar translates for JD, Jane and Talpert.<br><br>Ramac is apparently a local warlord, maybe another drug cartel head, Oscar isn't completely sure. The totems indicate a region controlled by Ramac, and those entering without his permission often meet dire ends. <br><br>While the men are talking, Jane approaches the pole, looking closely at the markings. "These symbols look almost Incan," she remarked, her curiosity engaged. "If this didn't look brand new, it could easily be mistaken for an artifact."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>23-04-2010, 08:38:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar was fluent in Spanish, but it wasn't something he spoke on a day-to-day basis. But he did understand the main gist of their lightning-paced Spanish rants, and related their translations to his fellow group members. At one point during the conversation, he waved his hand in the air, silently requesting that Athena rejoin the group. Oscar figured that they could just blaze a trail right through Ranac's territory, and fuck the consequences, but he valued the more leadership-oriented opinion of Athena. If they all got gunned down in Ranac's territory, it was on her head, not his, and he was loathe to make decisions that would screw with her rep.<br><br>When Athena caught up with them, he gave a wary eye to the prisoners before he took the Spartan woman to the side. Just by resting one hand on her forearm, he could sort of taste what emotions that were running through her mind, though he would only read her thoughts with his permission. "What's the call? Do you think they're telling the truth?" Oscar realized then that he had a grim smirk on his face. He was unaware of where his sudden mirth had come from... Maybe something from her had rubbed off on his emotions? Either way, being in closer quarters with Rachel was not unwelcome.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>23-04-2010, 21:35:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Rachel takes off her boonie hat, smoothing down her tightly tied back hair as she considers things for a minute. When she replies, it's obvious she's inviting the opinions of the other members of the team, at least for their input, "It's a tough call. On one hand, going into this Ramac's territory would obviously get the cartel off our backs, but they are an enemy we know. And we're here because something <em>we don't know</em> had the power to knock our plane out of the sky, and now we find ourselves on the doorstep of some drug dealer boogeyman? It might me nice to investigate, but on our terms, after satellite surveillance of the area and all that good stuff, not like this. I'm thinking we can skirt the edge of Ramac's turf, leaving our options open, as in we could always duck in if the cartel guys catch up to us. What do you all think?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>28-04-2010, 17:34:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Jane glances back through the jungle, the way they had come. She doesn't like it, and that's plain, even with JD's super fanning.<br><br>"Considering I'm traveling with a group of superheroes, I think I'd take my chances with Ramac," she said. "Especially if that means getting home sooner. Who knows how far out of our way we'll have to go if we go around? Besides, it's probably just superstition. It's just a dumb old wooden pole, after all."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>28-04-2010, 18:07:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar was torn with indecision, and took a moment glancing between the two women, and then glancing between the boundary totem and their prisoners. "They could be exaggerating, for all we know, about this Ranac guy. They come of as pretty superstitious about it... Either that, or this Ranac fellow has them scared shitless.<br><br>"I say, we charge through. If we skirt around, we <em>still</em> are being threatened by the jungle, these guys' bosses," he said, pointing his finger towards the ex-gunman and the bait-man, "And whoever Ranac is. Plus, according to this thing at least," he said, hefting the GPS unit, "Yucuma is due that way," he said, indicating the totem. "I don't want to be stranded longer than necessary. What are your thoughts, kid? Talpert?" He asked, looking to the other two males who so far had been silent.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>29-04-2010, 02:59:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Ra<b>m</b>ac not Ranac." Comes a voice just off to Oscar's left.&nbsp; It's definitely of a woman and from around these parts with a heavy Colombian accent.&nbsp; While her accent is heavy her English is still clear.&nbsp; She's clearly fluent in the foreign language.&nbsp; Out of the densely packed jungle she grabs a branch, peeling it to the side to allow her to introduce herself more formally.&nbsp; Before them stands a beautiful Colombian woman that stands at 6'3" including the four inch heels she has on her black boots.&nbsp; She's clad in a violet, metallic-colored body-sheath that covers from the top of her head down into her boots.&nbsp; The cowl on top of her head allows her long, nigh-black (deep brown) locks to spill out of the back and down to just above her firm rear.&nbsp; Her lips are painted red and her eyes are nearly as dark a brown as her hair.&nbsp; The cowl itself only leaves her eyes to be seen as well as her lower cheeks, her jaw, the tip of her nose, and plush lips.<br><br>Matching her black, knee-high boots are a pair of elbow-length, black, wet-look lycra gloves with holes cut into the very tips of her fingers leaving bare the last knuckle down to the tip of her fingernails.&nbsp; They're not painted but are in excellent shape.&nbsp; Finally around her waist she wears a black sash.&nbsp; Her eyes flit to the two they've captured and lets a small smile curl over the corners of her lips.&nbsp; They're going to <i>freak out</i> just seeing her.&nbsp; Not that she could blame them.&nbsp; "I would not mess with him.&nbsp; Or her.&nbsp; Never seen Ramac myself." She admits eying each of the people gathered, paying particular attention to the males.&nbsp; "You are correct," she rolls the two r's in correct, "Yucuma <i>is</i> directly that way.&nbsp; Though I would not suggest going into the territory.&nbsp; Anything or anyone that scares the cartel should scare you." Including her.<br><br>The Colombian heroine eyes the two captives once more.&nbsp; She's almost certain that none of these people will like her suddenly showing up so she explains. "I have been--how do you say?--battling? The cartel here for quite a long time.&nbsp; I am here to investigate more of this Ramac when I see a plane crashing into the jungle.&nbsp; Not every day we see a plane pass over.&nbsp; So I look for it.&nbsp; I heard the explosion only moments ago and thought the worst." She pauses explaining what brought her here specifically, eying each of the people carefully before continuing.&nbsp; "I am Voltaje." (Pronounced "Bolt-Ah-hay")
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>29-04-2010, 03:45:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Rifle snapping up as she turned with unnatural quickness, the barrel coming neatly into line with the chest of the Colombian <em>'...superheroine?'</em>, Rachel thought to herself, looking down the sight rails at a point between the woman's lovely breasts. Rachel looked Boltahey up and down, her weapon never wavering, assessing the potential threat. Sure, what the woman was saying would indicate she's one of the good guys, hell, anyone who fights the Cartels is a friend to the USA in Rachel's mind, but is it true?<br><br><em>'She looks about as tall as me...heels in a jungle? Brave or agile...'</em> Rachel thought, quickly considering the scenarios. Could this woman be Ramac? They'd never gotten a chance to question the prisoners about this, and they were on the edge of Ramac's territory. It would be likely to try ward of an unknown threat, like a small party of people well armed with military grade hardware, at least two of which were obviously trained soldiers. If it was Ramac who knocked down their plane, however...anyway she looked at, Rachel couldn't see anything that didn't come out to either playing along and giving the Colombian superheroine the benefit of the doubt, or shooting her right now - without provocation - and Rachel didn't do that sort of thing.<br><br>Still, it was best to be cautious; Rachel didn't lower her weapon as she replied succinctly, "Captain Keyes, United States Marine Corps, though sometimes I go by Athena. As I'm sure you guessed, the plane was ours."<br><br>Without taking her eyes off Voltaje, Rachel said to the others, "You heard the woman, dangerous route that way. Oscar, ask the prisoners what they know about this Ramac; if they give you any shit, inform them they get to go if they are forthcoming with the intel, if not, they get to walk point."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>29-04-2010, 23:55:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As the junior member of the group, J.D. had kept his opinions to himself about what do next, but deep down, he was spoiling for action.&nbsp; Athena's willingness to treat the newcomer as an ally, at least for the time being, just irritated him.&nbsp; He realized it was probably the prudent reaction -- costumed strangers usually had powers to go with their outfits, so attacking Voltaje was a risky proposition -- but he wasn't feeling very prudent at the moment.&nbsp; After the loss of most of their party, the angry teenager was looking for someone -- anyone -- to hold accountable for the tragedy.&nbsp; His ire was further compounded by the inescapable, sticky heat and the hungry, stray insects that managed to evade his leaf-fan.<br><br>Belligerent impulses were out of character for Happy, but the hostile environment and bleak circumstances were taking a toll on him.&nbsp; Recognizing his mounting sense of frustration, he holstered his sidearm to keep himself from doing anything rash.&nbsp; The speedster lacked any expertise in foreign languages or cultures, so he couldn't make much of Ramac's totem; instead he turned his attention to performing a surreptitious, high-speed, 360-degree inspection of the new arrival.&nbsp; <em>'Never know what she could be hiding under all that ... skin-tight ... lycra ... and stuff ... wow ...'</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>30-04-2010, 00:12:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As the strange, new woman steps out of the jungle and introduces herself, the two prisoners stare at her in naked hatred, and more than a little fear.<br><br>"Voltaje!" the one without the smashed nose says, and spits at the ground. The defiant gesture is followed by a prudent step backward, as though he feared to be near her. His nose damaged compadre, however, seemed to have had enough action for the day, and took a distancing step away from his friend.<br><br>In a sudden burst of speed, JD sped around the woman. To her startled eyes he seemed to disappear in a blur, and she was surrounded by a two-second whirlwind, the loose strands of her hair dancing. Then the young member of Freedom Force was back where he had been.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>30-04-2010, 03:48:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				His thought was interrupted by a Latin-lilting voice from behind him, and he spun on his heel, hand instantly going to the side-arm slung on his belt, but he faltered. It would have been a fatal mistake if he hadn't been nigh invulnerable to gunfire, and if the person who had just snuck up on his group hadn't been here to fight. The first thing he noticed about her was the violet, skintight suit she was wearing, and how it contrasted against the green environment around her. Did she want to stick out like a sore thumb? Then, the second thing he noticed about her was inevitable: that lycra was not only skin tight, this woman was an absolute bombshell, and every curve of her body was being shown off proudly by the suit it was like seeing her naked, which shamefully made his loins stir. JD was the horndog of the group, not he, but he was not sure if he could trust his mouth to work around this woman... Voltaje, she called herself. When he had first met Athena, he sometimes had to hold his tongue without tripping on it, and he still had trouble talking to the doctor. 14 decades old, and he still acted like a lovesick teenager at times.<br><br>He opened his mouth, but then closed it again, just briefly, to compose his thoughts. Then, he fought off the urge to speak to her in Spanish; He might say something that he didn't mean to say in a language that frankly wasn't his own. Finally, he said to Voltaje, "I'm sorry... You can certainly understand my reluctance to believe you, right? How can I trust anything you say? We're in the middle of the rainforest, and until now we've only encountered hostile drug runners. Now you show up... And you don't exactly look like some traveling local." Cautiously, with one hand still on his holstered pistol, he took a few steps closer to Voltaje, and raised his free hand, palm open, out to her.<br><br>"May I have permission to read your mind? I can do it if I put one hand on you, but a guy knows when no means no. Obviously I need to verify that you're not one of them, trying to pull a fast one on us," he said, gesturing back to the captives.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>30-04-2010, 08:21:49</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She gets exactly the kind of reception she thought she'd get from everyone.&nbsp; Save maybe for the one cartel-crony that spits at the ground and acts semi-defiant.&nbsp; Her brow raises at him, taking no steps forward.&nbsp; She might if she weren't getting along with the other heroes. "Ah yes. Athena, I've seen you on TV. It is good to meet you. I like your normal costume." Because the one she has on now isn't all that appealing.&nbsp; Though there <i>are</i> nice qualities about the woman holding the gun right between her breasts.&nbsp; She doesn't raise her hands, just takes her glances from one to the other.&nbsp; It's natural to inspect the enemy, though some of these looks aren't inspections at all, at least not of her threat level.<br><br>Not that she minds it.&nbsp; She finds J.D. swirling around her at speeds that she can't really detect both her sash and hair fluttering in the momentary cool provided by his breeze.&nbsp; When he stops her lips curl up into a grin. "Did you like what you saw?" There's an underlying tone there that could even be called flirtatious.&nbsp; While aimed at J.D. for the moment her attention does quickly find itself on Oscar.<br><br>His eyes hold a wisdom that she's not seen before.&nbsp; &nbsp;"I imagine I look a lot like a superheroine.&nbsp; Athena doesn't look too terribly different in <i>her</i> tights." She lets her shoulders rise then fall, staring him down.&nbsp; She hadn't exactly expected to be accepted right away, though she can't say how she planned on showing them that she's a friendly.&nbsp; She raises a brow at the raised hand towards her and then to Oscar and finally over to Captain Keyes.&nbsp; She eyes him for some moments then raises one of her hands pointing a finger to her bare cheek. "Is here okay?" She does take a step closer to him, locking eyes with the man.&nbsp; <br><br>"Ready when you are." 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>30-04-2010, 09:34:42</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Ahh, was Oscar feeling a bit gunshy? He nodded slowly, when she touched her hand to her cheek. "Yes, anywhere is fine, clothed or not. Skin to skin is really just a myth," Oscar clarifies for her as he tenderly reaches out with his hand and rests it on her cheek...<br><br>OOC: I imagine Cogs will post next.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>30-04-2010, 10:29:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Rachel smirked, visibly relaxing at the reaction of the two cartel men, though she still kept her weapon trained on Voltaje for a few moments, until Oscar steps forward to 'read' the woman. Trusting Oscar's professionalism, his ability to carry out his end of any action, Rachel lowers her rifle finally and turns her attention back to the jungle, after stealing one last appraising glance over the form of the Colombian heroine, "I have a feeling she's going to check out alright, enemy of my enemy, you know the rest, but it'd be good to know for sure. Just be quick, will you?"<br><br>Scanning the jungle, Rachel was still worried about further cartel pursuit, and despite her words, she still wasn't entirely convinced Voltaje was on the level, that the attractive woman in the tights was really alone out here. Rachel would have someone covering, if possible, were their positions reversed.<br><br>OOC: I wanted to make sure to have Rachel watching their surroundings, so I had to slip this post in. Sorry to make you wrong, Doomsday, hehe... ;)
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>01-05-2010, 00:13:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The abashed teenager didn't expect anyone else to notice his lightning-speed visual inspection of the visitor, but her coy comment dispelled any self-consciousness he started to feel.&nbsp; He answered her cheeky question with nothing more than a glance at her eyes and a hint of a lascivious grin.&nbsp; He inwardly reproached himself for not taking into consideration the wind currents he might kick up with his movements.&nbsp; There was still so much he had to learn about using his remarkable powers.<br><br><strong>"Talpert, keep your prisoner's mouth shut,"</strong> Happy ordered, after the captive spat out his greeting to the heroine.&nbsp; The PR man had let the barrel of the rifle lower.&nbsp; J.D. jerked it upwards until it was pointing at the cartel goons again.<br><br>The youth returned to fanning the fetching doctor so he didn't have to watch Oscar do his little brain-grope.&nbsp; He envied the other's empathic powers greatly, particularly for the clues they might provide into the inscrutable minds of the fairer sex.&nbsp; He found Oscar's virtuous imperatives a bit excessive, however, but he kept those criticisms to himself.&nbsp; <em>'Shit, man, they don't need to know all the details about how your powers work -- don't discourage them from showing some skin!'</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>01-05-2010, 05:45:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				After picking Voltaje's brain for a bit, he stepped back, and nodded his affirmation. If she had any ulterior motives, she was either very good at masking them, or had some sort of psychic block that he couldn't detect. "She checks out. Well... I would offer our help to check out this Ra<strong>m</strong>ac fellow, but it wouldn't be prudent while we're dragging these guys around behind us," he said, jamming his thumb backwards at their prisoners, "and we should really report the crash, and the deaths of our fellows. If you could help us get to Yucuma, without inspiring this Ramac guy's anger, it would be greatly appreciated."<br><br>Oscar takes a step back and readjusts the ILBE on his back, taking a look around at the rest of the Freedom Force. He wondered if he should tell them what he had discovered about Voltaje... But decided it wasn't really important to blabber about it. All that really mattered was that she really didn't have any ill will towards him, or the rest of the group.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>01-05-2010, 06:22:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The skin-to-skin contact hadn't been for <i>his</i> benefit which would probably be something he came along in his travels through her mind.&nbsp; Just as he had to be certain that she's not Ramac she also had to be certain of the same.&nbsp; If he tried to mess with her mind she could eject him from it rather forcefully with that contact.&nbsp; It's not a <i>nice</i> thought, but it's a precaution.&nbsp; As it turns out he doesn't mess with her mind and he's also probably not some kind of a double-agent.&nbsp; Athena she does know from the TV, even though she's not wearing her tights, it's good enough for her.&nbsp; <br><br>She steals her own appraising look of Captain Keyes' backside when she turns her gun in that direction.&nbsp; Her eyes shift to Oscar once he's done and shrugs a little bit.&nbsp; She's pretty much crushing on <i>everyone</i> there.&nbsp; Even the meek doctor, though there are far more looks towards J.D., Oscar, and Athena than anyone else.&nbsp; The woman being the one in charge gets a serious dose of respect from the other superheroine.&nbsp; She can't really decide whom she would like to hit on more, though the second appraisal of Captain Keyes&nbsp; gives her the ability to start making up her mind.&nbsp; <br><br>"I can lead you around Ramac's territory.&nbsp; It may even take less time than your computer way.&nbsp; Plus, Ramac is infamous for putting the head of men like these on pikes." Which would explain why they're so afraid of him (or her) and less so of Voltaje.&nbsp; All <i>she</i> does is send them to the hospital and possibly to the prisons around here.&nbsp; Prisons here are not as good as the ones around in America.&nbsp; Though none of this makes it past her lips, instead she waves a hand off in the direction semi-true to the GPS device. "This way is fastest.&nbsp; Follow me." She then begins to lead them through the jungle, her hips in full swing.&nbsp; 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>01-05-2010, 06:44:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				A level of trust established between the team and Voltaje, the woman begins to lead them through the jungle. Despite the heels, she moves with efficiency and assurance, obviously quite at home. Also, getting a good and regular look at her backside, the Freedom Force members notice that her skintight suit has a certain metallic sheen in the sunlight.<br><br>Perhaps because of JD's admonition, Talpert maintains a more watchful eye on the prisoners, keeping his gun up for the most part. The two men look sullen, but they don't cause any trouble.<br><br>"Um, I wonder if ...," Dr. Wilson begins to say, then trips on a tree root. She grabs JD's arm at the last moment, smiling sheepishly at him. "Voltaje, I wonder if you might tell me a little bit about what you can do. I don't mean to pry, but super physiology is kind of my field."<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>01-05-2010, 07:14:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her eyes move back to the Doctor as she falls and she moves to catch her, though it seems as if there's no need.&nbsp; She wouldn't have gotten there fast enough at any rate, though her reaction time may have been noted by the rest of the crew.&nbsp; It'd gone from a simple turn of her head when addressed to springing into action in far less time than it <i>should</i> have taken her.&nbsp; She'd give them the rough English version of her name, if it were too difficult for them to pronounce, though they seem to be doing quite well with Voltaje.<br><br>Bolt is a crude name and far harder for her to remember to respond to it anyway.&nbsp; Rather than answer directly she holds her thumb and index finger about an inch apart then lets an arch of electricity branch between the two fingers.&nbsp; She dispels it, a wry grin appearing on her features, turning again to lead them once more.&nbsp; "Electricidad.&nbsp; Mm." She thinks for a moment. "Electricity." It may explain, now, to the rest of the group why she'd been so specific as to why she wanted Oscar to touch her cheek rather than just anywhere.<br><br>"If you don't mind. May I get everyone's name and power in return? I know of Captain Keyes but not of the rest of you." She pauses to think this over. "For team work later on." If they need it, chances are they'll slip through the jungle with the ease and skill that she always manages, but with more people there's more of a chance they'll be spotted.&nbsp; 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>01-05-2010, 07:31:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar was deep in thought as their march resumed. He was grateful that he didn't have to lead the way anymore, but he was still very curious about Voltaje, as he called herself. He had not taken the time to glean her real name, but he had plucked other things about her out of her mind. She's been fighting these drug cartels for years now, though he hadn't gathered exactly why from his brief scan of her thoughts. He did know that she was a natural born mutant, just like he was, which was probably where his infatuation for her had developed... Well, that, and the fact that she was very beautiful.<br><br>When the group stopped at the doctor's request, he felt like they had not been walking very long at all, though the jungle had gotten a little darker, meaning the sun must have been coming closer to the western horizon by now. Maybe an hour or so had gone by, and he had barely noticed. Oscar took the time to let his ILBE drop to the ground beside him as he leaned against a tree, taking just a second to make sure there were no creepy crawlies lying in wait. There was no canteens on board when they had gone down, but Oscar had taken the time to stuff a few cold bottles of water into his pack, which were mostly lukewarm now. He twisted the top off of one of them and watched as Voltaje sent a flicker of electricity between her fingers. He knew previously, of course, what her powers were, and had even seen the moment when her powers had manifested, or at least her memory of it.<br><br>After the little display was over, Voltaje asked, <strong>"If you don't mind. May I get everyone's name and power in return?"</strong> He straightened his back and quit leaning on the tree, and just sort of shrugged. "My powers aren't so dynamic as others. You saw JD, he can move super fast. You can manipulate and create electricity. Me?" He shrugged again, and ran a few fingers over the bumps on his arms. "I've got this crap. It can stop a bullet, and a lot of other things. I've never forgotten a single thing I've ever seen, heard, touched, tasted, or smelled in my life. Speaking of my life, I'm about... Older than all of you, combined, believe it or not. Born in 1869, and the doctors from SHIELD have told me that in the terms of my 'expected lifespan', I'm barely an infant.<br><br>"As you might have figured out when I read your mind, I'm a telepath, and I'm also an empath, though I need to actually touch the person who I'm reading. Though, I do always ask permission," He said, ending with a smile, though he didn't feel very happy at all. He hated talking about his powers. The bark skin would kill him someday... And if not, he was doomed to live for thousands of years still. He was only 141 years old now, and everyone he had ever known and loved had already succumbed to old age and died. What was even more damning was that he could not make himself forget any of it... He remembered when his family had been taken from him, and stuffed in one of the jew camps of Europe during the 1940's. He remembered the pain of every bullet he had taken. Of every single moment, the good and the bad, but especially the bad, it seemed.<br><br>The telepathy and empathy were perhaps the most benign of his powers, but they could become intrusive and a burden at times, too. It was especially awkward during sex, having to hear every little inadequacy about himself from his lover, whether she wanted him to know about it or not. Though perhaps it did make him a master of trial and error. Those two powers were automatic; He had to will himself to stop using them, not the other way around.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>02-05-2010, 00:24:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I don't think we need prisoners any longer, actually...", Rachel said deadpan as the group got ready to move, leaving that to hang in the air a moment so the prisoners had time to think about what she might mean. She wasn't about to execute them, of course, but she wanted them to think about how totally outclassed the cartel was by the small party of superheroes. Rachel nodded her head back down the path Oscar had pummeled through the jungle and said to the two drug men, "Go on, get moving. You shouldn't have any trouble getting back, even with your hands still tied. Just remember that if I see you again, I have a local guide now and won't need to be acquiring any more."<br><br>Watching them scurry off*, Rachel said over her shoulder to the others, "My real safety concern here is ensuring both Jon and Doctor Wilson get out of the jungle and back to civilization. That's the reason we won't be helping you with trying to find out more about Ramac, presently, Voltaje. Once they are clear, though, I am very curious about what took down our plane, and this mysterious Ramac sounds like as good a place to start as any in this jungle."<br><br>As the party got moving again, Rachel took up position as the rear guard once more. She wasn't convinced the cartel wouldn't still try something, but more importantly, it was just Standard Operating Procedure. <br><br><br><br>*OOC: They weren't mentioned in the intervening posts that I saw, so I hope it's okay with everyone if I just let the cartellis there run back into the jungle?
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>05-05-2010, 01:31:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The two men look at each other, as though this might be a trick, then they run off into the jungle. Without them in tow, the group of heroes were able to move a little faster, though Talpert and Dr. Wilson were still the weak links.<br><br>The sun was descending and it was clear they weren't going to make it to Yucuma while daylight still shone. Still, they trudged on, Voltaje guiding them ably through the fronds and foliage.<br><br>"Hey, look!" Dr. Wilson said, pointing to another totem. It was almost obscured by tree branches, making it difficult to spot. The pole looked much like the previous one, with red and blue markings criss-crossing it.<br><br>As the group paused, a distinct humming can be heard in the air. As you focus on it, the humming is more of a vibration than a sound. With suddenness, the hum increases in pitch making your ears ring. The totem begins to pulse with an inner glow, as though it's not made of wood but of glass. The jungle is instantly infused with a red glow, your entire world turning crimson for a moment.<br><br>Voltaje drops to the ground in pain, arcs of electricity dancing across her body as she writhes and jerks on the ground. The red glow disappears just as suddenly as it arrived, and Voltaje's spasm also passes, leaving her gasping for breath.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>05-05-2010, 04:32:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje looks towards the sky as she watches the sun beginning to drop.&nbsp; "We should should make camp." She eyes the others then gestures around to the jungle. "We will not make it to Yucuma by night fall.&nbsp; We do not want to traverse the jungle at night." She begins to look around for a place to stop where they could keep a good eye out for any trouble but also stay off the jungle floor with all the creepy crawlies.&nbsp; <br><br>Though before they're able to find a decent camp they find another totem.&nbsp; "We need to move away from this." Then it begins to hum, her eyes turn to it then it becomes a deafening pitch.&nbsp; "Nnnngh." She slaps her hands up over her ears in an attempt to block out the sound.&nbsp; Of course the ear-piercing pitch quickly is forgotten as the thunderous roar of the red light passes over them.&nbsp; "Get away!" It's her only warning to the others before she's completely over taken by the red light.<br><br>At first her entire body <i>tenses</i> and she's glad she rolled her tongue back so she wouldn't bite it off.&nbsp; Then it's like whatever was holding her there releases her and she collapses like a rag doll to the ground.&nbsp; Her body twitches and spasms far out of her control, though perhaps worse is the <i>pain</i> that she can't stop.&nbsp; Every last <i>inch</i> of her body is forced into some insane writhing, a mix of her trying to escape instinctively and every nerve ending in her body misfiring just milliseconds apart from one another.&nbsp; <br><br>She pants as it ends, the sweet release just being enough for her to want to lie there for the rest of the night.&nbsp; If it weren't for the bugs down here she might just.&nbsp; It's not so much the bugs as their poisonous bites.&nbsp; Her chest heaves up and down as she parts her full lips, thinking as best she can from the ground.&nbsp; It's a slow process but she finally rolls over onto her side, then picks herself up, eyes lulling around in her skull.&nbsp; "At least...we know who's behind <i>that</i>." She grunts, though she really wishes they didn't have to find out quite like that.<br><br>"We need to make camp." And possibly have someone watch out, because damn that hurt.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>05-05-2010, 07:07:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Rachel immediately puts herself between Jon, Doctor Wilson and the totem, or just Jon if she can't adequately manage both; Jane has Janet as personal backup, after all. <br><br>M-16 aimed at the totem, Rachel debates for a moment whether or not to try and shoot it, but decides not to. Who knows what could happen if she did that; what if it exploded? Turning her attention to the jungle beyond it, Rachel scans between the trees, looking down the sights of her assault rifle, quickly adding more and more jungle to her scans, not letting her focus rest in one area.<br><br>Immediately taking charge, it would be her instinct even without her officer training, Rachel barks out orders with an urgent, but still level demeanor, "JD, help Voltaje up, we need to get moving again, fast. Jane, Jon, I need you to take her from JD once he's got her clear. Oscar, keep your eyes open and rifle ready, let the others worry about helping our new friend; we need our shooters right now."<br><br>"Let's get a little distance, then we can look for a good campsite.", she continues, gesturing directly opposite of the totem, clearly meaning for the small group to head that way. Preparing to head into the jungle, Rachel gives the group and the jungle behind the totem a last look before turning and moving off, "I'll take point this time, Oscar. It might be good to have your telepathy between us and Ramac's territory right now."<br><br>OOC: I hope that's good, but just to be clear (for everyones sake), I'm trying to make sure you have the opportunity to interrupt us, Cogs, before letting us head off again. So this way you can let us know if we 'get away', or not, at you GM whimsy. :-)
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>05-05-2010, 20:09:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				When the red glow rose from the totem, Oscar was assaulted as well, though it was not as overt or obviously nearly as harmful as what had happened to Voltaje. He might have gone to his aid if the entirety of his attention hadn't been devoted to the totem, like a charmed snake sitting in a basket. The first time he had seen that red glow from the airplane, he had sensed... Something strange. His empathy had acted wild, even though he had not been in contact with anyone, but he knew he was sensing some strange emotion. And here it is again... Something in the totem was calling to him. He had taken a few steps toward it, unaware of the environment around him until Athena interrupted his daydream, telling him to keep lookout.<br><br>He blinked furiously, trying to dispel the strange feeling that had taken him over for a moment, and looked between the group and the totem, the object that had caught his attention so. "Hey, Captain?" He asked, taking a few steps towards Athena. In a low voice, he told her, "I didn't say anything on the airplane because everything happened so fast, but... Just now, I felt something. When the big red glow came over us, my empathic powers were going nuts for a moment. That totem... I don't want to sound crazy, but it's <em>alive</em>. And it's watching us, right now. And usually, I can only get a good reading when I'm right next to someone... Like right now," he said, patting her lightly on the shoulder as if demonstrating the proximity needed to exercise his mental powers, "But I was two dozen paces away and I could still <em>feel</em> something. Do you think I should... Check it out or something?" He wanted to go touch the totem, but he had reservations... Was he entirely safe if he touched it?
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>06-05-2010, 22:33:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Not at this time, Oscar.", Rachel said immediately and without looking at him, never ceasing her scans of the jungle around them. She continued, "It fried Voltaje pretty nicely from that distance, possibly because of her electrical powers, but if you get too close who's to say it can't short out the neural impulses in your brain? And we can't afford to carry another person, especially not one of our two shooters."<br><br>If these were some of her marines, Rachel would simply order them, and decide whether to explain her reasoning to them later on, when it was more prudent. They weren't her troops, though, Rachel was aware, and decided that not only might they benefit from hearing more of her reasoning, so she could earn their trust in her judgement, but also because they just basically deserved the consideration.<br><br>There was something outstanding, however, that made her disinclined to fully detail what she was thinking right this moment, something Oscar's information only made Rachel believe more strongly. She brought this up now, "If it's alive, that makes it only more likely it's monitoring us; any further discussion should wait till we are well clear of Ramac's territory."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>07-05-2010, 18:34:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I am okay. Gracias." Voltaje stands with or without the help of J.D.; a little shaky at first but she manages to get her legs back into place. "You do not have food, do you?" She asks patting her stomach to indicate she might need a little something to charge up.&nbsp; "I agree.&nbsp; Let's not speak until we are well away." She points in a direction directly away from the totem.&nbsp; There also should be a decent campsite up that way, though she's trying to follow what Captain Keyes had said and not say anything more.&nbsp; It does seem logical, though it's something she's having to get used to.<br><br>Normally it's just her, so she doesn't have anyone to talk to, which then makes the need to be silent rather moot.&nbsp; She's <i>always</i> silent.&nbsp; Now that she has a team with her, even if it's not <i>her</i> team, she has to first get used to thinking out loud, and now to become silent once more.&nbsp; These are just normally trains of thought that never enter her mind.&nbsp; Though she's somewhat glad for them being around, especially if they have food.&nbsp; Hunting an animal or finding the right plants to eat would be difficult on an empty stomach.&nbsp; Especially after an attack like that.&nbsp; <br><br>They would still need time to hunt for food, though they might have to wait until morning.&nbsp; The sun will fall extremely quickly here, which means they'll have to set up beds off the ground rather quickly.&nbsp; By the time they do that, it'll probably be dark.&nbsp; At least they can build a fire, even if most things here are damp, she knows not only what kinds of wood burn well here, but where to find some.&nbsp; They just...need to get away from Ramac's territory before another one of those blasts go off.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>09-05-2010, 08:47:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar was a little dismayed he wouldn't get a chance to examine the totem, but he figured it was probably for the best. For all he knew, the thing could <em>kill</em> him if he got closer to it. He gave a defeated shrug and slung his ILBE back over his shoulder, checking the safety on his rifle before he gave Athena a nod. "I'm ready whenever you are."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>11-05-2010, 02:44:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				They moved on, shaken but none the worse for wear. Dr. Wilson gave a confused look back over her shoulder at the totem before falling into line, moving forward until she was closer Oscar.<br><br>"Your empathy must be glitching, Oscar. There's no way that piece of wood could be alive," she said, all matter-of-factly. "Maybe whatever magnetic or electrical forces messed up Voltaje are also confusing your abilities."<br><br>Voltaje found some high ground soon that looked good for camping. The sun had already dipped below the mountain peaks, and it was starting to get cold as well as dark. As the group set about forming camp, the darkness revealed another feature of the jungle: in the distance, a red glow could be seen from a particular spot deep in Ramac's territory. The glow would be too faint to discern in daylight, and you can only see it now because of your position on a hilltop. You cannot see what is causing the glow, only a persistent red glare coming up from dense foliage, perhaps fifteen miles distant from your position.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>11-05-2010, 10:31:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Here.", Rachel said to Voltaje once camp had been set, tossing a brown package into the Colombian superheroines hands, "I don't know if you can exactly call it food, but we have plenty of MREs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRE), so don't worry about what we're going to eat. Likewise, we've all got personal supplies of water, as well as water purification rigs in our kit. What I want to know, Voltaje, is what you're doing out here <em>without</em> kit. You weren't planning on hanging around out here long enough to need any supplies, maybe?"<br><br>They'd already seen to setting up a raised sleeping area, strung mosquito netting, and otherwise prepped the campsite to Rachel's satisfaction before she'd allowed herself, at least, the luxury of a break. No fire would be lit, as the MREs all came with flameless heating elements and they certainly didn't need the heat in the jungle.<br><br>Everyone had also been told that Rachel wanted an informal briefing, her words, after they'd eaten, to discuss what they'd learned, and what they should do, but more importantly, Rachel wanted to finally explain her reasoning to everyone.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>11-05-2010, 18:18:37</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Once finding a suitable camp site she thought it would be best for all of them to gather the materials needed then bring it all back to this one site.&nbsp; She tells them where each kind of tree can be found, spotting some on the way into camp, getting leaves for roof thatching, as well as strong vines set up to tie the branches to the tree trunks that they fine.&nbsp; That is, if Rachel doesn't mind her taking over for a brief amount of time.&nbsp; She does instruct where to find kindling for a fire.&nbsp; <br><br>"Fuego builds spirit." She informs Rachel when it comes to needing to build a fire. "Easy to start for me." She shows her the way the electricity arcs from one fingertip to the other, then looks at her eyes again.&nbsp; "Fuego--How do you say? Fire? Wards off bugs and animals too." It's not just for heat and cooking or boiling water.<br><br>When asked about carrying no supplies on her person she just smirks, especially after the display of knowing where to go for what kinds of wood and vines.&nbsp; She does, however, take the MRE and munches on the contents inside.&nbsp; "Jungle provides all things needed to survive." It's also a great way of traveling since she's not carrying around hundred pound packs on her back.&nbsp; They may have noticed, or not given the full body sheathe, but she doesn't have a problem with bugs.&nbsp; Any that actually land on her skin get a rather nasty shock.&nbsp; 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>12-05-2010, 08:31:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar was a little frustrated with himself, a little frustrated with Rachel, and when she sided up to him and told him that he must not have been perceiving things correctly, a little frustrated with Dr. Wilson. "I know what I felt," he said in a neutral tone. Even though he was frustrated, being as old as Oscar was taught you not to vent on other people. Well, perhaps Oscar had always known that, but he saw on a day-to-day basis how some people blamed their own problems on others. A grin cracked on his face, though he had no idea where the sudden burst of mirth had come from. He took Jane's hand before she could pull away from him, and said, "This? I know when this thing is working. I can tell you're a bit surprised right now. I know what I felt," he repeated. "That totem knew we were there. It was <em>alive</em>." Self-consciously he released her hand, and kept walking, his mind still jumping like the arcs of electricity from Voltaje's fingers.<br><br>When they came to the flat-topped hillock that Voltaje had in mind, they began to build up their camp. Usually Athena was the director of all activities, and Oscar just pitched in where four hands were needed in place of two, but Voltaje immediately began to help. Much to his amusement, she spread wide leaves over the top of Athena's mosquito net, and where Athena tied everything down with elastic cables and rope, Voltaje then re-tied with vines she had pulled right out of the earth. The woman clearly had little to no military background, but she knew how to prepare camp. Even when Athena passed out their MRE's, the curious Latino woman insisted on fire- fuego, as she said it, though Oscar knew what she said when she first said it anyways.<br><br>Oscar grabbed about three MRE's and pulled Talpert and Dr. Wilson to one side. Athena knew how to figure out the things, and she could help JD and Voltaje. He didn't think a couple civvies like Jane and Talp knew how to even open the thick plastic wrap, let alone how to prepare the contents inside. "Military food," he explained as he bit the top of his bag open, motioning for them to follow suit with their own MRE's. "It's... Pretty awful. But it's nourishment." The meal came with the main course, sealed into a smaller plastic package which itself was sealed into a cardboard box, a 'side', a desert and any condiments necessary. Oh, and of course, a spork. "Dip the package inside of the heat sheath, make sure everything's nice and flat. Take your canteen and pour just a little water inside, don't go over the line on the bottom. That's going to activate the heating element. Wrap it back up, shove it inside of the box, and let it lean against... Something for two minutes, then come back." His meal was already heating as he watched Jane and Talpert confusedly toil with their packages. It was a lot of plastic for one meal; Environmentalists must have gone bonkers when they saw modern, super-packaged MRE's introduced in the 80's.<br><br>Oscar gave a sigh and swatted at one of the few insects that had been trapped beneath the mosquito net. That was when he noticed the red glow off in the distance... His breath caught in his throat. He couldn't feel anything coming from it, like he had the last two times he had seen that light, but it still made his hairs stand on end. "You see that?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>12-05-2010, 10:28:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"It's easy for me to start a fire too." Rachel said as she gave Voltaje a patient look, holding up a zippo lighter stamped with the USMC logo. "We've also all got a pack of water proof strike anywhere matches. Insect repellant and mosquito nets will keep bugs away, and animals we can look out for and probably scare off. No fire. This is because that while I hope the cartel will have broken any pursuit - hopefully those two i let go will tell them it's a team of well armed superheroes, which should make them think twice - but there's no guarantee. On top of that, we're camped out on this Ramac's doorstep, and it's looking more and more likely by the red glow over there that he, or she, is the one that took down our plane. Let's not make it easy for either of those parties to find us by lighting a fire, got it? No. Fire."<br><br>Turning to the rest of the group, Rachel gestured for them all to gather around, "Alright, we've all had a long, and bad, day today. We're all tired, hot, soaked in sweat and our backs hurt from lugging those packs around for hours. I also know that aside from Oscar and me, none of you are really professional soldiers, so I'd like to apologise if I came off too strong or too controlling, but I just want to get us all out of this jungle alive and I'm the only one I'm one-hundred percent sure has had up to date jungle survival training - excepting our new friend here, of course, who is obviously skilled in fieldcraft." Rachel says with a genuine smile and a polite nod towards Voltaje.<br><br>"Now that we have the time to sit down and discuss out situation, I would very much like to open this all up, let's <em>talk</em> and try to iron out a plan, okay?", Rachel gives them all a relaxed, open smile, the weariness of the day clear on her face. Despite it, and this is not news to her teamates, she doesn't look actually tired, not physically, at least, though this is just her metabolism.<br><br>"I'll start, let you all know what I've been thinking all day and then you can all tear it to shreds if you want, okay?"<br><br>"I've already said why I let the two cartel men go, but besides that, we do not execute prisoners and we couldn't afford to take care of them for much longer."<br><br>"Ramac is a much bigger, and more interesting problem. I think I'm agreeing with most of you when I say I really do want to look into this Ramac, I just think we're in a piss poor situation to go charging off into the unknown right now. First and foremost, I do feel it's our primary objective to get Mister Talpert and Doctor Wilson to safety. Even though Jane has Janet for backup if things get dicey, it'd be irresponsible to take two untrained and non-combant people on a recon op like that. Second, contacting HQ to give them a sitrep, let them know what happened and where, the casualties, is again the responsible action."<br><br>The second actually has another, positive, effect, that we can get the resources of the US government and the Corps back on our side. I would love to at <em>least</em> see some satellite images of Ramac's turf before going in there, especially night time ones, now. Letting the General know what's going on could also allow him to lias with the Bolivians, which could get us actual permission to be here and to conduct an operation inside their borders; right now, we're on really shaky ground and would probably have to formally surrender in order to avoid a firefight with their military, so I'd prefer to not run into any of them until we can contact our embassy. If we can strike a deal with the Bolivians, then maybe we can even get support for our recon from the locals, at least in the form of supply and comms. If we can't get permission from the Bolivians, or if the General doesn't want to ask, then we can see about doing this all under the radar. Maybe we can get cleared to do it ourselves, either way, I think it'd be incredibly stupid for us to go into Ramac's territory without letting our people at least know what we're doing, right?"<br><br>"Okay. Who's first?" Rachel offers with a crooked grin.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>14-05-2010, 19:53:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje stands toe to toe with Rachel staring into those sky-blue eyes.&nbsp; Toe-to-toe, breast-to-breast, and nose-to-nose.&nbsp; She doesn't like to be told that she <i>can't</i> do something, especially when it would lift the morale of the other people in their troupe.&nbsp; There are at least two that are non-soldiers so it would do them some good.&nbsp; Though there are good points in Rachel's explanation of not building a fire.&nbsp; They did have extra protection against animals and bugs that she's not used to having without a fire.&nbsp; The fire would also stick out the same way as that eerily glowing red light down in the jungle.&nbsp; <br><br>She leans in to whisper to Athena's ear. <span style="font-size: 7pt;" class="bbc_size">"Who needs fuego when we have you?"</span> She pulls back sneaking a little <i>peck</i> to the woman's cheek opposite of where it'd be painfully obvious to everyone.&nbsp; Just in case Athena wants to confirm or deny any such flirtatious actions.&nbsp; Voltaje locks eyes, or at least tries to, with the other superheroine as she draws away, allowing the Captain to speak to the rest of her people.&nbsp; Most of which she catches, there are certain words that escape her like "lias" and "foremost" even "sitrep" and "dicey" make her think for a little bit longer.&nbsp; She still got the gist of the message though.&nbsp; Get back to civilization for the doctor and Mr. Talpert, whom she assumes is the guy holding a gun like it might be a snake, and then assess Ramac.<br><br>"If government is not paid by Cartel I may be able to help with talking." She's almost completely positive that didn't come across in the way she'd wanted it to.&nbsp; It would help to know what lias meant in this case.&nbsp; If they're not getting funds under the table, then they probably <i>like</i> the only hero willing to take on the Cartel.&nbsp; However if they are paid by the Cartel, the one heroine that is taking them on is probably a huge thorn in their sides.&nbsp; It could go either way.&nbsp; So apparently she's going next, speaking up like that.<br><br>"I will start with fact, then move into ah--" She thinks for a moment coming up with a word. "Fiction by talk?" Rumors, she couldn't think of the translation though so she went with the meaning instead. &nbsp;"Facts are few.&nbsp; Ramac showed up about six months ago, the Cartel and even I thought he would just disappear one night like everyone else.&nbsp; But he didn't.&nbsp; He recruits men, mostly paid men for violence, then he starts to take over territory.&nbsp; He marks territory with poles." She points out towards the red dot in the distance. <br><br>"The Cartel does not like this, so they push back. Then their lieutenants all end up with head on pikes.&nbsp; Very violent. Bodies ripped open like from inside out, and their men just....gone." She makes a motion with her hands as if to show that they'd disappeared from thin air. &nbsp;"Every one that opposes Ramac disappears mysteriously.&nbsp; So I have been investigating.&nbsp; Not much to be found.&nbsp; Then red light go off and..." She points to the sky.&nbsp; She saw their plane go down.<br><br>"Talk says they have unlimited money, pay in stones and gold," that'd be <i>precious</i> stones, "That he has army of paid men, some maybe even super like us, and no one knows what he's up to.&nbsp; Not even me." She frowns a bit at that last bit of information.&nbsp; &nbsp;Every time she thinks she's getting close to something someone winds up dead, or the lead just vanishes into thin air as if it never existed.&nbsp; Though now knowing that the totems could be more than just totems, that could be the reason her leads always evaporate before she gets anywhere with them.&nbsp; <br><br>"I agree with Captain Keyes.&nbsp; We get civilians to civilization then come back to investigate further."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>15-05-2010, 04:58:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar sat cross-legged for a while before his legs began to numb under his own weight, and shifted every few moments while Athena gave a long-winded detail on her thoughts so far, and their plans for the next day. Finally he settled on squatting, resembling a baseball catcher, except perhaps without all of the knee problems. Oscar wasn't sure if it was because of his advance lifespan or perhaps just because he had the X-gene, but Oscar had never experienced any long-term deterioration in any of his joints. It was fortunate, because if he was going to live hundreds of thousands of years, he didn't want to be an arthritic cripple for the majority of them.<br><br>In the time it took for Rachel to finish speaking, he had already scarfed down the burrito that had crawled out of his MRE. It was slightly soggy, but it was edible, which was the most you could hope for in the middle of a combat situation. Voltaje quickly replaced the short silence left by the Captain's speech. Oscar could speak English, as it was his native language, and he could speak Spanish, as he had lived in Spain for several years longer than Voltaje had probably been alive, but deciphering her broken English was a bit of a chore. For her sake and dignity, he didn't let his amusement show. As she went on though, that amusement was replaced by a darker feeling as Voltaje related the disturbing method that Ramac used to literally pull apart his enemies. The military had started packing deserts into the MRE's before the turn of the century, and Oscar munched on an off-brand Nerds imitation to distract himself from those grim details while the Latino woman wrapped up her speech.<br><br>Some eyes turned expectantly to him, and he shook his head slowly. "I agree with the Captain. Let's get to Yucuma, and then look into some legit solutions to dealing with Ramac. If this guy has mutants or other supers with the capability of taking down an aircraft, I feel like it's our responsibility to do something." Oscar generally never went against the grain when Athena handed down orders, and here was no exception. He perhaps had enough knowledge and ability to lead the Freedom Force himself if Athena was ever indisposed, but that was not his ambition. The deceptively old man shoveled another handful of hard candy into his mouth, looking between JD and Jane for one of them to speak next.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>15-05-2010, 20:52:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				J.D. frowned at his pseudo-burrito and let some of its mystery meat fall to the jungle floor, where a phalanx of half a dozen horned ants claimed the goop for their own.&nbsp; <em>'Thank god for dessert, even the U.S. government can't get that <strong>too </strong>wrong ... I hope,'</em> he pondered, crunching into a mouthful of sweet, empty carbs.<br><br>The dirty-minded teenager was still trying to get his head around what he thought he almost saw happen a few minutes ago between the two Femizons of the group.&nbsp; It was really too good to be true -- he figured he must have imagined it, but -- <em>'for a split-second there, I thought for sure that -- Naaaahhh.&nbsp; No way does Cap'n Keyes swing that way, she's way too straightedge for that kind of fun ... right?&nbsp; Plus there's that whole don't-ask-don't-tell nonsense they have in the armed forces.&nbsp; But, it's not like that's gonna keep them out of there, right?&nbsp; And, I'm pretty sure Athena hasn't said anything yet about having a boyfriend stashed away anywhere ... Haven't seen a ring or anything either ... Oh, sweet mercy.'</em>&nbsp; <br><br>J.D. tried to put it out of his mind for the time being, since there was nothing he could do yet about the seething heat in his groin that such contemplations aroused.&nbsp; He felt a little guilty about being so foul-minded after the catastrophic events earlier in the day; but, it's not like his hyperactive pubescent libido gave him much choice in the matter, what with all the skintight outfits and bodacious bodies all around him.&nbsp; He winced with the shameful recognition that, no matter how interested he was in the team's plan of action, he really couldn't wait for them to finish all the discussions so that he could pretend to fall asleep, and attend to his physical needs while no one was watching.<br><br><strong>"<em>Mmmupmmph</em> -- <em>mm </em>-- maybe we should just send the yuppie back with Boltie, to get him out of the way,"</strong> the teen suggested, referring to Talpert, who had already devoured his rations and was conspicuously eyeing J.D.'s largely-untouched share.&nbsp; <strong>"Help yourself, there, bunkie!"</strong> the youth offered, tossing the remainder of his dietary travesty at the PR flack.&nbsp; <em>'Masochist,'</em> he thought.&nbsp; <br><br><em>'Wonder if Athena'll chew me out for not getting a full meal ... Nah, that'd be more the Major's angle.&nbsp; She's cool.&nbsp; Plus, she's too busy sit-repping and liaise-ing and all that.'</em><br><br><strong>"I mean, you've gotta have a place around here somewhere, right, B?&nbsp; Um, I mean, V?&nbsp; Or -- ?"</strong>&nbsp; He paused to weigh the likelihood of her using the one consonant over the other, and to fret over how dumb he was looking to the others who knew more about Spanish than he did.&nbsp; <strong>"The point is, you had to come from somewhere, right?&nbsp; So, take the civvie back to your place, give him a phone to call in some backup for us ... Meanwhile, Freedom Force can check out the weird lights and maybe kick some super-badass-ass ... Or, you know, something like that."</strong>&nbsp; Happy stuffed his mouth with the remainder of his handful of rock candy to give the others a chance to respond to his notions, and also just to keep himself from self-consciously blathering on.&nbsp; His mouth had a bad tendency of running away from him whenever there were hot women nearby.<br><br>Speaking of whom, he hadn't mentioned anything about Dr. Wilson departing in his little scenario, and the omission was no accident.&nbsp; He figured she could handle herself no matter what they came up against, considering she was carrying around her own emergency backup in the form of her psycho alter ego.&nbsp; Also, the doc's brainpower was sure to come in handy in such an exotic, foreign environment.&nbsp; Most importantly, she was hella nice to look at and made J.D. feel a little less lonely and homesick.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>16-05-2010, 20:04:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Talpet accepted JD's rations without question. The pr man's shock seemed to have mostly worn off, replaced by hunger, it would appear. <br><br>"I'm all for getting out of here," Talpert said, taking no offense as the group discussed him like he was a piece of luggage that should be shipped to safer ground.<br><br>Dr. Wilson sat, rubbing her feet. That had been more walking in one day than she had done in the past year, and her feet were complaining. She looked pensive and troubled, and not from pain. "I just don't get it. How is Ramac doing any of this?" she said, more thinking out loud than actually asking a question.<br><br>She looked at Athena and nodded her head. "I agree that we need to get back to civilization and bring a more organized expedition back here. The sooner we get to this village, the better."<br><br>OOC: You can continue the discussion if you wish, otherwise we will move forward. The consensus seems to be to move on to Jucuma, so unless there is a change in plan I will assume that is the next move.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>17-05-2010, 03:05:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Rachel, disciplined as always, only reacted to the peck on her cheek with a surprised blink and a startled, but very brief, glance at Voltaje. It wasn't something she was used to, being hit on that blatantly, by anyone, male or female.<br><br>She quickly set it aside and looked obviously relieved to hear everyone was in agreement; she wasn't trying to hide it, at least. Rachel didn't lack confidence in her ability to lead by any stretch, but she hadn't been sure in everyone elses willingness to follow, something she'd gotten more or less used to taking for granted leading marines.<br><br>"Good, I'm glad we're all on the same page here. We can talk more tomorrow, right now I know you're all tired and stiff, so get some rest. I'd like for two people to be on watch at all times, good news, though, I'm one of them; I can handle a few days without sleep. Oscar, keep watch with me for the first few hours, then you can switch with JD, and Voltaje will take the last shift. Everyone good with that?"<br><br>OOC: I'm good to move to tomorrows hike, or some more chat, whatever the group wants. :-)
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>19-05-2010, 06:26:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar rose from his crouch, and nodded when Athena volunteered him to help her on the first watch. He slung the rifle he had pilfered from the armory back at the crash site over his shoulder and approached the mosquito net, peering outside at the redness that hung on the horizon, almost like a sun that refused to set. After a few minutes, when some of the others were trying to settle in for an uncomfortable sleep, he paced his way along the netted barrier and found Athena. Adjusting the strap on his shoulder, he said to her in a hushed tone,<br><br>"So, candidly, what are your thoughts on that?" He said, jabbing his thumb towards the red horizon. "Supers? Illegal tech...?" He didn't want to say magic; He personally thought that magic was a hoax, no matter how many Dr. Strange's or Thor's he had seen. A hoax, or perhaps mutant powers misinterpreted as magic.<br><br>Behind him, he heard a soft yawn. A male voice, could have been Talpert or the kid. For a second, he envied them. He hadn't gotten much sleep since Chile. He could fit in power naps as well as any other human, but after neglecting a good night of sleep for several nights in a row, Oscar was prepared to heavily crash for the night, and if he couldn't, sometime within the next week he would probably get violently ill. It was, unfortunately, something that had happened in the past. He had been a part of a deep sea fishing trip in 1958, sending him and a few acquaintances deep into the Mediterranean on a small yacht. They stayed out on sea for 9 days; Oscar had gotten perhaps 9 hours of sleep throughout. The trip had been planned for another week, but their boat immediately began to churn towards the closest coasts when he simply collapsed on the ninth day. Not that he planned on going that long without sleep ever again.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>19-05-2010, 19:29:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As she pulls back from Captain Keyes she eyes the woman even giving her a grin for the surprised look she gets after the brief kiss.&nbsp; She had thought about giving her a subtle little shock of pleasure but wasn't sure that would do anything.&nbsp; Besides she wanted an honest reaction to it, not one that had been forced by her <i>electrifying</i> touch.&nbsp; Once she's not been slapped and Captain Keyes goes right back to explaining what the night would consist of, Voltaje finishes off her MRE.&nbsp; <br><br>It's not the best food in the world, but it beats eating bugs.&nbsp; Though she thinks if they had started to make camp earlier they probably could have caught a hefty sized snake to share between them.&nbsp; Snake tastes like snake, though they would probably associate it with pollo...erm, chicken.&nbsp; No matter, her own MRE is gone within a few minutes of opening it, replenishing her supply while they get orders of whom is to sleep first and who will get each rotation of watching out for the camp.&nbsp; <br><br>She's a <i>little</i> bummed when she doesn't get first shift.&nbsp; She does, however, get last shift.&nbsp; That's okay, she's imagining at the end of the shift she and Captain Keyes can watch the sunrise.&nbsp; Though she's not sure they can get on high enough ground to see the sun come up over the canopy of trees.&nbsp; She eyes what little stars she can see through that same canopy then begins to remove her sash.&nbsp; Made of similar material to the rest of her costume, it's actually water resistant.&nbsp; <br><br>She moves to hand it to Captain Keyes or Oscar whomever would like to take it.&nbsp; "It will keep you dry if it rains." Knowing this place it will probably rain during the night.&nbsp; While at first she does offer it to the Captain, she doesn't hesitate to offer it to Oscar as well if he should show interest.&nbsp; Or if he's close by at all and Keyes decides not to take it.&nbsp; "Goodnight." She then moves off to the bunk she's made for herself, well off the ground.&nbsp; "Keep eyes out for bugs on ground too.&nbsp; Many are poisonous." Which is why their bunks are off the ground.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>20-05-2010, 10:33:56</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				J.D. grew uncharacteristically withdrawn and a little abstracted after their paltry dinner, so he was glad to be spared the first shift of guard duty.&nbsp; Restlessness and physical discomfort made it impossible for him to get any actual sleep, but he needed time to mull over the day's events and the curious behavior of his partners.&nbsp; Assuming his relative youth made it hard for them to take him seriously, he was more puzzled than offended by the way his suggestions had been ignored earlier.&nbsp; It was nothing he faulted his teammates for, especially in Oscar's case, but it stung worst coming from Jane, simply because he craved her attention the most.<br><br>While she and the rest seemed to focus on the mysterious Ramac, however, Happy found Voltaje more of a puzzle at the moment.&nbsp; What kind of person would enter this hostile jungle with neither overnight provisions nor any apparent intention of returning home for the night?&nbsp; It made him wish he could get a moment alone with Oscar to ask what he'd gleaned from that mindmeld earlier.<br><br>Privacy was another luxury they'd have to do without, however, as the troupe made the most of their cramped quarters ... not that everyone seemed to mind.&nbsp; J.D. had to struggle to keep from laughing at the volume of Talpert's snoring.&nbsp; The delightful doctor, on the other hand, made hardly a peep in the night, fulfilling the teen's idyllic impressions of her and also making him wonder if she couldn't sleep, either.&nbsp; That possibility foiled his previous plan to release all his pent-up sexual energy in a moment of private self-pleasure, lest Jane suspect the cause of all that sheet-rustling in his bunk.<br><br>Despite the close sleeping arrangements, however, there were far more interesting things to listen to outside of the campsite.&nbsp; A thick cacophony of clicks, chirps, calls, and cries formed an aural canopy around them, each sound more exotic and surprising than the last, reminding the young American just how out-of-place they all were in this primitive landscape.&nbsp; <br><br>More than once he found himself staring off into the distance, mesmerized by the eerie luminescence nearby.&nbsp; In the youth's imagination, the lurid hue intimated the angry nature of the source of that light, while also bringing to mind the blood of his comrades that had been spilled so recently, with neither cause nor provocation.&nbsp; No matter what the others thought of him, J.D. was glad to be on the team for now, if only for the opportunity it gave him to strike back at the source of such senseless violence.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>21-05-2010, 22:39:01</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				OOC: I'm sorry, Rick, I'd meant to reply to JD but somehow it didn't get into my last post. :(<br><br>Rachel looked out towards where Oscar was pointing, peeling back the wrapper on another power bar as she replied, "I honestly have no idea. If you really want my guess, though, I'd be thinking some kind of mutant power, largely because of what you got from that totem earlier. I can't think of anything else to explain it as alive unless it was a focus for someone, maybe Ramac, to...hmm...'displace' their conciousness, maybe just their awareness, through."<br><br>She paused, taking a bite of the power bar. Rachel stood easily, her free hand resting casually on her rifle where hung on it's strap in front of her. She didn't need to the same kind of rest as a normal human, as most of the team knew; as a side effect of her regenerative abilities, Rachel's body was constantly working to 'reset to default', clearing lactic acid, repairing the micro-tears and fractures of strenuous activity, and all the myriad other little things that added up to physical fatigue in a normal body. It didn't require fuel, per se, but it always left Rachel hungry and vaguely bad after healing an injury if she didn't have enough to eat, like the gun shots to her thigh earlier. She carried a few extra protein bars for the big calorie boost as a result.<br><br>"I'm far from an expert, though I don't think any of us can really pretend to be where this Ramac character is concerned. I really hope we get solid permission to investigate, at least from the Pentagon even if they can't get us support from the Bolivians. Like you said, if they are shooting down planes and collecting supers in there, someone needs to take a look. I'll admit, I'd love to do someting real, too, instead of another PR stunt." Rachel glances over and gives Oscar a wry, slightly sheepish grin, "I'm not talking about this last mission, of course. Disaster relief is good work, but if I have to cut one more ribbon on some defense contractors new real estate..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>23-05-2010, 05:21:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The night passed without incident, though for most of the team sleeping in the jungle was not a pleasing experience given the constant noise of creatures moving in the foliage, and the occasional animal cry as something ate something else. During JD's time to watch, he grew bored and happened to glance back at Dr. Wilson. He couldn't tell for sure given the gloom, but he thought she was awake, and watching him. It might have been shadow, but her face seemed different, and he couldn't tell who was really looking back at him. Then she sighed and turned to her other side, seeming to fall back asleep.<br><br>They rose at dawn the next day and restarted their march, Talpert grumbling about how he'd give his left arm for a Starbucks.<br><br>The previous day had taught them a routine to walking through the jungle, and they fell into familiar step, making fantastic time with Voltaje leading the way. By noon they would reach Jucuma. They crossed a shallow stream and found a dirt road, a good sign that civilization was near. <br><br>The first definite sign that they were approaching the small jungle town was the sound of gunfire.<br><br>As they encountered the first, shack-like buildings, the unmistakable sound of automatic weaponry could be heard nearby. Moving in closer, they found what might pass for a town center, a crossroads where the buildings were thickest, and Jucuma was having a bad morning. People were running and screaming while armed men chased them. The gunmen looked like mercenaries, perhaps more drug cartel thugs. There were several large trucks where people were being herded into, forced at gunpoint to enter.<br><br>As you watch, a man with a rifle drags a woman out of a house, she's screaming as he takes her toward one of the trucks. A man, husband perhaps, suddenly runs forward, an axe in his hand. One of the gunmen unloads a volley of rounds into him, his body jerking with the impacts and collapsing to the ground, the men continuing their work without missing a step.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>23-05-2010, 18:31:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The stream might have been a bigger challenge for Voltaje but as she's come this way before finding a suitable crossing point had been relatively easy.&nbsp; She does her best to avoid bodies of water whenever possible, and while the shallow stream itself may not be a problem, falling in that same stream would prove disastrous for the whole team.&nbsp; "Stay here; I cross." She'd told them, taking her time to slowly cross on top of stones that line across the stream.&nbsp; It's not until she's dry and on the other side does she turn and wave the others on.&nbsp; She doesn't much explain <i>why</i> they had to stay, not unless someone asks.<br><br>Finding the dirt road is a relief.&nbsp; While navigating the jungle is <i>easier</i> for her, it's still a pain in ass.&nbsp; Traveling through the underbrush is always slow, painfully slow in fact, and now that they have a cleared road it makes it far easier to traverse the distances needed.&nbsp; "We are almost there." She's not sure if they would already know that given the GPS they have, but it certainly didn't hurt to mention it, especially given the people that aren't used to traveling by foot.&nbsp; <br><br>Though as they get closer she can hear the rapport of gunfire coming from the city.&nbsp; She nearly darts forward.&nbsp; Her legs coiling to do so when she seems to remember she's not alone.&nbsp; Instead of bursting forward into a sprint she stops for half a second.&nbsp; Her eyes dart from J.D. to Oscar and finally to land on Captain Keyes.&nbsp; "Plan?" She points to Dr. Wilson and Talpert.&nbsp; "You should hide." Then eyes back to Keyes. "Suits?" She waits for a second. "Ah, do you have your suits? Supers in force would help." Rather than soldier, super, teen, and other soldier.&nbsp; Other than that she's allowing the other team leader to assess and come up with a plan.&nbsp; Voltaje is used to working alone, she knows what she'd do, but she never has to worry about others around her.&nbsp; In fact, her mom and sister normally handle the inner-city stuff in Colombia, she's more used to working in the jungle where there aren't civilians around to harm....or team mates.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>23-05-2010, 22:14:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Do you really think we should take the time to change <em>right <strong>now</strong></em>?" Rachel asks, giving Voltaje a pointed look and jerking a thumb over her shoulder, past the low wall they were concealed behind, in the general direction of the recently gunned down villager. Besides, the USMC issue camoflage was unique, so even if they weren't recognized as such by the villagers they were obviously not 'with' these mercenaries or the Bolivian military. <br><br>Without skipping a beat, in other words leaving no time for a reply to her obviously rhetorical question, Rachel began to dish out orders, a hasty plan forming in her mind. She began by first addressing Jon and the doctor as Rachel shrugged out of her ILBE, shedding the extra weight while leaving all her tactical gear in place, with it's extra ammo and grenades: "She's right, you two stay put, keep your heads down. The rest of us should be able to draw their attention away from this spot."<br><br>"JD, circle around clockwise, get in front of the trucks. Wait for me and Oscar to engage, then do what you can to disable the trucks without destroying them or putting anyone already loaded in danger. I don't know what you can manage at superspeed, but maybe you can get the batteries out of the engines, or at least slash the tires?", Rachel turns to Voltaje again, giving her rifle a final check with practiced ease, "Follow JD. You're his backup and I'd like you to cover him while he takes care of the trucks, alright? Once the trucks aren't getting away, you two move in and start taking out badguys. You should have a good position if you can deal with the trucks without getting noticed, since by then they should really be focused on me and Oscar. Just remember, wait till we've engaged and drawn their attention before you start on the trucks! Go!" she finishes their orders with a confident nod, trying to convey to them her trust in their abilities.<br><br>"Alright, Oscar, let's head the other way, get some distance from Jane and Jon before we open up. I'm thinking getting on top of those buildings there, use the high angle to minimize overpenetration and collateral." Rachel says to him with a tap to his shoulder as she begins to move in a crouch along the low wall, counter-clockwise. Rachel knows her increased strength will allow her to simply leap up onto a one or two story structure, and Oscar is stronger than she is, so she's confident they won't need to waste time climbing. "We'll take a moment to scope it out, maybe we can start by taking out the leader. After that, classic fire and maneuver, only we'll stick to rooftops as much as we can as we try to draw them towards the tree line."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>24-05-2010, 21:22:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The night before reaching Jucuma, J.D.'s guard shift proved surprisingly eventful, but not in any way he could have anticipated.&nbsp; He made use of the time alone with Athena to pick her brain about how she saw their present dilemma.&nbsp; He was still getting used to her leadership style, but the clear logic behind her plans appealed to his scientific sensibilities, and unlike some of her military peers, she wasn't above explaining herself, even to a relatively youthful associate.&nbsp; The way she took his questions seriously and the respect she treated him with in general almost made the lusty teen think he had a shot with her ... But when he wasn't thinking with his dick, his brain told him it was a long shot, indeed.&nbsp; On the other hand, it was the very improbability of such a pairing that made the fantasy so compelling.&nbsp; But the statuesque platinum-blonde wasn't the real focus of Happy's yearnings that night.&nbsp; <br><br>Toward the end of his shift, after he'd finished talking strategy with Athena, the pair spent their last stretch of time together in silence, attending to the strange sonic landscape that spread out around them in every direction.&nbsp; To Americans accustomed to omnipresent artificial lights, the inky jungle blackness seemed to magnify every noise to twice its real volume.&nbsp; So many of the sounds were utterly unidentifiable:&nbsp; bizarre clicks and hisses and squeals, scratchings and rustlings, now and then a scream or cry that almost sounded human.&nbsp; The teen hero's imagination seized on one nightmare vision after another, putting images in his mind's eye to fit the creepy cacophony around them.<br><br>Even while conferring with Athena, J.D. found his gaze wandering over his sleeping companions and inevitably landing on the beautiful doctor.&nbsp; By the end of his shift, however, he came to regret this innocent impulse, for the features he thought he could just make out grew increasingly unfamiliar to him.&nbsp; Was she looking back at him?&nbsp; What was that expression he thought he saw?&nbsp; He found himself looking away from her suddenly, only to have his eyes drawn back, as if unwillingly.&nbsp; His relentless sense of logic promised him there was nothing there to see but a woman sleeping ... yet, he couldn't shake the sense that something there, right in front of him, inside their little campsite, was the cause for the prickles along his spine and the frigid wetness beneath his collar.<br><br>The next day, the youth fell in behind Talpert, who took his previous place at Jane's side for the rest of their march.&nbsp; Pretending to be lost in thought, Happy avoided looking at the doctor, unsure how he would respond to any quizzical looks.&nbsp; <br><br>It wasn't until the troupe reached the dirt road to Jucuma that the apparent pall on his spirits lifted.&nbsp; <strong>"Finally!!!"</strong> the teen practically shouted, springing down onto all fours and pretending to plant kisses on the relatively-level, relatively-obstacle-free surface of the roadway.&nbsp; <strong>"I was starting to think I might forget how to do this!"</strong> he quipped, pulling his dangling mask over his face for the first time since the plane crash.&nbsp; In the space of an instant, he sprinted a mile down the roadway, leaving a green smear and an audible suck of displaced air in his wake, followed by a slowly-rising column of fine particles kicked up from the road.&nbsp; <br><br>Four seconds later, he was standing right next to Athena and pulling his mask back off to speak.&nbsp; <strong>"Sounds like trouble up ahead, boss.&nbsp; We better hurry."</strong>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>25-05-2010, 01:34:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She raises a faint brow at the way Happy acts when they clear the jungle to the stable, <i>flat</i> road.&nbsp; It's cute, really, how he can have so much power but it's so limited in what he could do without the even surface of most roads and sidewalks.&nbsp; When he takes off her gaze follows the trail of dust that he leaves in his wake.&nbsp; It hadn't taken him long to bolt off then come back to tell them of what they're in for up ahead.&nbsp; <br><br>Once at the site where she'd suggested that everyone change into costume and Athena looks at her funny, she looks right back at her.&nbsp; "You are a woman, with a skin-tight suit.&nbsp; They are men. We will be distraction enough, no?" Even though she'd suggested the more tactical route, if Voltaje and Athena were to step out into the street the men would certainly turn and take a look at the two vixens standing there.&nbsp; Given the way they're taking women left and right, they'd probably immediately come after them.&nbsp; Which would then land them all in a fun world of hurt.<br><br>"Your suit is...ah...tough?" She asks Athena poking at her own suit, it caves like any other spandex suit would against the skin.&nbsp; Perhaps that wasn't the best demonstration of what it could do.&nbsp; She's assuming, though, since she's such a popular heroine in the states, and now the leader of a team, that the government would have forked over enough money to make her suit bullet proof.&nbsp; Her shoulders rise then fall, peering out above the wall.&nbsp; She sinks back down, locking eyes with Athena again, feeling as if the instructions she had for her were impossible.<br><br>"Keep up with <i>him</i>?&nbsp; Can he not take out the soldiers and cars at one time?" Relatively speaking, but it seems a little...impossible to keep up with Happy.&nbsp; He's so fast that she wouldn't be able to keep up with him without a wire, and even then it seems like a waste of her abilities.&nbsp; "Perhaps I walk out there and distract?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>25-05-2010, 04:26:20</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Captain Keyes stopped in her tracks and turned back around to give Voltaje a most disapproving glare, saying with a level firmness, "We work in pairs, whenever possible, because shit happens. You are not on the payroll, you don't have to follow my orders, but if you should choose not to, then you'd best stay out of our way. Otherwise, <em>never</em> question me when people are dying!"<br><br>"JD, you have your orders. Go. You," Rachel fixes her pale blue eyes on Voltaje again, "I said follow, not 'keep up'. You have time while Oscar and I move into position. Do it, or stay clear, it's up to you."<br><br>Rachel turns and moves off without waiting for a response and ignoring any that comes; she's already covered it, people are dying, talk time is over. Keeping low and out of sight, she gives a simple nod to Oscar to indicate they are moving out.<br><br><br>OOC: Just a note, I think Rick's post assumes we have some knowledge coming into this that Cogs on post above his did not. I'm going to stick with the GM's post here, and assume we didn't know about what's going on in Jucuma until we got eyes on it, okay? Otherwise I'd need to go back and revise my post that's directly above Rick's. :P 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>26-05-2010, 19:02:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje moves, getting right up in Captain Keyes' face so that their noses are nearly touching.&nbsp; There's a point where this same position could be a prelude to a kiss or just to press their bodies up against one another.&nbsp; Neither of these, though, are what's going through the heroine's mind right now.&nbsp; She holds a finger up even as her mind processes what it is that the other woman has said to her.&nbsp; "I am <i>here</i>.&nbsp; I am <i>not</i> alone this time.&nbsp; I am here."&nbsp; This is not the same woman she'd been on watch with.&nbsp; While she thought Keyes had been serious then, it was more of a casual serious.&nbsp; Not high bitch serious.<br><br>She hadn't talked about the peck to Rachel's cheek, not wanting any of the others to wake up and over hear what had actually transpired.&nbsp; Instead she just pointed out the sun rising when it had, and how the colors filtered through the trees in such a magnificent way.&nbsp; How it was hard to believe that all that violence could be going on with just the beauty of the jungle in the morning.&nbsp; Though if she'd had the slightest <i>thought</i> that they'd run into trouble here, she would have at least thought to tell everyone to change into their hero costumes.&nbsp; Probably should have anyway.<br><br>Hindsight is really a bitch like that.&nbsp; She can at least see that her reasons for wanting Keyes in her heroine costume and partnering with <i>her</i> instead of Oscar are entirely selfish.&nbsp; She wants her plan, and she wants Keyes with her so she can protect the woman.&nbsp; Really? Protect <i>Athena</i>?&nbsp; "JD, take keys and lift hoods.&nbsp; Sometimes they use tires that don't slash." She motions for him to go then she moves her deep dark eyes back to Athena's pale blue ones. "Stay safe."<br><br>With those words she's off and around the building, looking for any kind of wires she might use to quickly catch up to JD.&nbsp; If she could travel through them and pop out near the trucks then she would be gravy.&nbsp; Otherwise she might have to find a narrow alley and use the walls to kick off of one another and get to the rooftops.&nbsp; Either way, she's taking off towards the trucks.&nbsp; Her hope is not to be spotted, as per Athena's orders, and to fry the batteries of the trucks while JD takes out the keys.&nbsp; That way even if they know how to hot wire their trucks, they still won't be able to start them.&nbsp; Her primary concern, however, is being spotted, always at the ready to get into a fight if she should need to, hopefully...she is hoping, that Athena and Oscar will be able to draw them away.<br><br>If not then she may need to go into some hand-to-hand combat, something that she's devastatingly <i>good</i> at.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>28-05-2010, 04:03:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">As you watch, a man with a rifle drags a woman out of a house, she's screaming as he takes her toward one of the trucks. A man, husband perhaps, suddenly runs forward, an axe in his hand. One of the gunmen unloads a volley of rounds into him, his body jerking with the impacts and collapsing to the ground, the men continuing their work without missing a step.</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>J.D.'s hands squeezed reflexively into fists, so tight that his knuckles turned white inside his gloves.&nbsp; Busy surveying the scene, he'd been caught off-guard by the burst of gunfire, and that hesitation had cost a human life.&nbsp; He wanted to pull his own hair out or smash his skull into a wall.&nbsp; Fortunately, there were enemies around for him to vent his turbulent feelings on.<br><br><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"JD, circle around clockwise, get in front of the trucks. Wait for me and Oscar to engage, then do what you can to disable the trucks ..."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>The mask over his face concealed the youth's displeasure with Athena's orders, but by the time he had thought to protest, she'd already started walking away with Oscar in tow.&nbsp; Another slow response, more lives put at risk for no reason; the speedster was beginning to realize that the biggest limitation on his fantastic powers was his own mind, which, in spite of his above-average intelligence, processed information at a snail's pace compared to how fast he could move.&nbsp; <br><br>It seemed, however, that the newcomer to the group was faster to assess the situation than he was, and she shared his opinion that it was a waste of his talents to have him standing around, waiting on the others.<br><br><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"... Can he not take out the soldiers and cars at one time?"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Captain Keyes stopped in her tracks and turned back around to give Voltaje a most disapproving glare, saying with a level firmness, "We work in pairs ... <br><br>"JD, you have your orders. Go. ..."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"JD, take keys and lift hoods.&nbsp; Sometimes they use tires that don't slash."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>He cursed under his breath as he dashed off, without even thinking about Voltaje and whether she would be able to follow.&nbsp; It was bad enough following hasty, unexplained orders from the team's leader, much less taking advice from some tagalong stranger.&nbsp; He assumed again that it was his youth that made the others give him such short shrift.<br><br>Seconds later, Happy was hidden behind a concrete shed, just a few yards from the idling trucks.&nbsp; <em>'Why the fuck does she want me to wait around?&nbsp; Damn tight-ass military with all their big orders, thinking they always know what's best.&nbsp; Maybe Athena's not so different after all ... Shit!&nbsp; I could have disarmed the whole lot of 'em by now!'</em>&nbsp; <br><br>The youngster seethed quietly and resolved to make some Bolivian thugs pay for his teammates' bossiness.&nbsp; Listening for the others to start their attack, he scowled and tried to ignore the right side of his field of vision, where someone's husband or father lay crumpled in a heap, amidst a spreading pool of red.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>28-05-2010, 06:52:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				JD is gone in a flash, Voltaje trying her best to follow his trail. She knew where he was heading, and ended up scaling to the top of a cinder-block building to follow. Creeping along the top, she spots the idling trucks, and sees JD standing behind a concrete shed, the young man looking tense and angry. Voltaje had a good position, a place where she could watch JD's back and see the trucks as well as the main compound. <br><br>Dr. Wilson and Talpert stayed behind in the relative safety of the jungle.<br><br>The soldiers were still busy, but there was no more gunfire. The townspeople were cowed and following orders, allowing themselves to be marched to the trucks. The soldiers were taking men, women and children, though not everyone. They seemed to have some criteria for choosing though it wasn't clear what.<br><br>JD felt the rough concrete against his back as he stood against the shed. He was so close to the trucks that he could smell their exhaust fumes.<br><br>Athena and Oscar had found their own rooftop perches, in good positions as well. The four heroes had the marauders surrounded, if four people could do such a thing against two dozen, and so far the gunmen had not noticed them. This extra moment of observation showed that most of the men were South American, though not all. There were some obvious Americans, a few Germans, and other odds and ethnic ends. <br><br>"What da hell is taking so long!" a thick voice cried out. The gunmen looked up in alarm as their leader walked into view, and what a view he was.<br><br>(http://www.personal.psu.edu/scd5029/blogs/was_ist_das/225px-Clayface3.jpg)<br><br>A humanoid, perhaps eight feet tall, strode out of the jungle, his form appearing to be made entirely of earth and mud. There was an audible thump as each footstep hit the ground, his weight impressive. Sludgy features made reading an expression difficult, but he looked mad anyway.<br><br>"I haven't got all day, I want to get the fuck out of here!" <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>29-05-2010, 00:50:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Mercenaries?" Rachel whispered to Oscar as she peeked out at the scene in the village from her perch, carefully selected to minimize any silhouetting against the sky that could give her and Oscar away.<br><br>She scrambled along on her belly to get a better view of the leader as he emerged from the jungle, and Rachel cursed silently. Things definitely had just gotten a lot more complicated. At least Freedom Force still had the element of surprise, and it didn't change much in the grand scheme.<br><br>"Oscar, on three, shoot the mud man. I'm going to grenade him while he's still at a safe distance. Then break left and circle around him, I'll head the other way after a second grenade. Keep to the rooftops as best you can, until JD and Voltaje have dealt with the trucks and joined the fight. Three...two...one..."<br><br>And Rachel popped off a 40mm rifle grenade at the mud man, hoping to nail him right in his massive chest, then she rolled onto her back out of sight on the rooftop to reload the M-203. She was actually planning to be a little more daring, not want to leave Oscar exposed alone for any longer than she'd have to; Rachel would spring to her feet and in mid leap to a neighboring roof, fire the second rifle grenade at the mud man. Provided, of course, there weren't any villagers that would obviously be caught in the blast.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>29-05-2010, 06:19:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				From her perch above she can see far more of the forces and their races.&nbsp; Perhaps normally that wouldn't matter but this isn't the <i>cartel</i> here.&nbsp; She could see them doing something equally as despicable as rounding up families for ransom purposes, or just to hold them hostage so that a town will <i>have</i> to surrender to them.&nbsp; However, most of the time they only deal with natives to the country, at least the ones she's been dealing with.&nbsp; They don't like mercs because they can be bought out by someone else.&nbsp; Especially with someone like Ramac around that seems to have deeper pockets than a god.&nbsp; "Buenos dios." She whispers to herself.&nbsp; "Ramac." <br><br>Her eyes flit from the mercenaries to the big man in charge.&nbsp; One that she's very uncertain about.&nbsp; He's obviously made of mud but that's not why she's unsure about him.&nbsp; His weight seems impressive, if the has that much weight, he may also have the strength to support it.&nbsp; It seems that he could walk fairly well, which means a punch from him would probably put any of them out.&nbsp; Worse yet is that he is made of mud....the very earth itself.&nbsp; Could he also <i>control</i> the mud? Would running on the ground be hazardous?&nbsp; <br><br>Her job just became a whole lot harder.&nbsp; And while she hates to admit it, Captain Keyes had been right.&nbsp; Had they followed Voltaje's lead JD would have been stuck out there possibly treading deep wells of mud while the big...<i>thing</i> snuck up on her and Athena.&nbsp; Though she can't imagine him sneaking anywhere, that would have been disastrous.&nbsp; There's another curious thing about the man-thing.&nbsp; Could she hurt him?&nbsp; She would guess that he's a great conductor, being mud.&nbsp; After all, water by itself is not a conductor, it's all the minerals that are in water a lot of the time that make it that way.&nbsp; So it stands to reason that mud, being <i>mostly</i> the minerals and a little bit of water, would be a great conductor.&nbsp; However, what does that mean for her?&nbsp; Could she electrocute him? Would he be able to just ground himself out?&nbsp; If her mom were here she could turn him to rigid stone by sucking the water out, or possibly just into a fine dust.<br><br>But she's not here.&nbsp; She's silently grateful for that.&nbsp; If she were here, her sister would also be here.&nbsp; Both would be faced down with something they don't see too often.&nbsp; She can see why everyone fears Ramac if this is one of his small forces.&nbsp; Lead up by at least one super human, with likely the best of the best mercenaries money can buy.&nbsp; Her eyes do move back to those mercenaries though.&nbsp; Rifles strapped to them would prove to be their own downfall.&nbsp; She could <i>use</i> that to her advantage.&nbsp; Turn the gun, break their hands, use the butt to snap it up into their chins, break some jaws.&nbsp; Flips safeties so no one gets shot, ultimately get in close and knock them out.&nbsp; <br><br>Not yet, though.&nbsp; She's just readying herself, keeping her eyes peeled for anyone that may take notice of JD.&nbsp; Rachel was right about how to approach the situation.&nbsp; Even if it's changed slightly, they still need to get the keys out of the trucks so that they won't start.&nbsp; She takes a deep breath, then watches as a grenade plows through the air towards the mud-man.&nbsp; Well <i>that</i> should distract him sufficiently.&nbsp; Then her eyes are back on the ground, hoping to keep track of JD, or at least of the <i>blur</i> that JD will become and any threats to his being.&nbsp; She's coiled and ready to go, but waiting all the same.&nbsp; If he can get out, get the keys, and then back to safety without drawing attention, there's no reason for her to go down and blow her cover from the rooftops. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>29-05-2010, 06:53:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The grenade flies through the air, true to Athena's aim, and smacks square in the middle of the giant's muddy chest. The tiny canister juts out of him for a moment, and he looks down at it in surprise. <br><br>"What the hell is ...," he starts to say, then BOOM!<br><br>Mercenaries scatter in surprise, some ducking, though most seeking cover, weapons ready. There is a cloud of dust around the mud-man which quickly clears. He's still standing where he was, though there is a concave depression in his chest where the grenade exploded.<br><br>"Who the fuck?!" he yelled, his left hand balling into a chunky fist.<br><br>Oscar was on the move, firing his weapon as he raced across the rooftop. Bullets ripped across the giant's chest, but seemed to have little effect on him as they disappeared in his muddy hide.<br><br>Athena was also moving as she fired off her second grenade. This one landed at the monster's feet, exploding close enough to tear a normal man limb from limb. He waved his thick arms through the debris cloud, trying to clear the air as he stormed forward in a fury.<br><br>"There! Right there!" he yelled, spotting Athena as she leaped rooftops, jabbing a thick finger in her direction for his men to see. "Get that bitch!"<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>30-05-2010, 00:24:37</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Rachel couldn't help but smile in grim satisfaction; she had their attention, that was what she wanted. She had to keep it, though, draw the other mercs away from the trucks, give JD and Voltaje the time they'd need. Rachel really hoped they'd be able to finish their tasks quickly, though. She wasn't sure either her or Oscar could hit harder than a 40mm grenade, and that would make taking this big bastard down kind of tricky. Maybe if they could lead him into the jungle, restrict his movements in the close terrain, and there perhaps Rachel and Oscar could either take him down or at least occupy him until JD and Voltaje could join them.<br><br>Rachel loaded another grenade as she jogged across another roof top, continuing her effort to try and circle around the mudman, to lead him back into the jungle. She'd fire when she could get a clear shot, the grenade if it didn't look to catch any civilians, even though she couldn't tell if it was even hurting the huge <em>thing</em>, but just a burst from her M16 would do, the latter at one of the (hopefully) human mercs, if possible, since mere bullets didn't seem to hurt the mud man at all. Whatever she did, Rachel would do it as visibly as possible. She needed them to be after her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>08-06-2010, 08:08:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				It didn't take much coercion to get the mercenaries on Athena's tale; the tin rooftops around her feet began to ping with the bullets fired at her. She kept low, firing back, drawing the men toward her. Oscar imitated her fire-and-flee tactics, and the two heroes were soon racing into the jungle, the mercenaries close on their heels.<br><br>The mud-man wasn't as fleet of foot as the others, but not much stopped him either. He barreled forward, busting through a small dwelling in his rage to get his thick fingers on Athena.<br><br>Athena and Oscar found themselves moving fast through the jungle, bullets ripping through the foliage around them as the mercenaries pursued, and somewhere back there could be heard the mud-man hollering obscenities.<br><br>With the mass exodus of the mercenaries, the village suddenly seemed relatively calm. There were a few armed men still with the trucks, keeping the townspeople at bay, but Voltaje could tell this was going to be much easier now.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>08-06-2010, 08:32:56</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Well <i>that</i> worked like a charm.&nbsp; Her eyes follow the men and their fleeing forms into the jungle.&nbsp; She really can't say she'll be questioning Athena's judgment again.&nbsp; She can see so many ways in which her own tactic would have failed.&nbsp; She's just so unused to working with anyone else or even around civilians.&nbsp; There's often enough space in the jungle to do sneak attacks without ever being seen.&nbsp; In a rural setting like this, it's <i>so</i> much harder.&nbsp; She gets up from her hiding spot on the rooftop then makes to get around the backs of most of the men.&nbsp; At least that way she can drop to the ground and try and sneak up on each one of them.<br><br>If she's at all successful, she'll try to use the trucks as cover until she can use her finger tips to send a jolt of electricity through each of the men, hopefully putting each of them down for the count without much of a fight.&nbsp; She's relying on J.D. to take out all of the trucks&nbsp; so that by the end of it they can maybe get these people to safety.&nbsp; Then they could join up with Oscar and Athena in the jungle to help out.&nbsp; For now, one thing at a time, though.&nbsp; Getting down from the rooftops and attempting to take the men down one by one.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>13-06-2010, 04:44:17</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje made it to the ground without anyone noticing, their attention riveted in the direction of the pursuit. The few men remaining held their weapons tensely, the morning's excitement something they weren't expecting.<br><br>She moved closer to the trucks, trying to stay to the rear of the men. She heard a smacking sound, and turned to see a mercenary fall to the ground. There was a blurred streak, and another smacking noise as a second merc hit the ground, thanks to JD. Voltaje saw a guard turn, his attention drawn. His back was to her so he didn't see her approach. He raised his weapon as another man went down in a blur, but he didn't get a chance to fire as Voltaje sent waves of electricity through him. The man collapsed, his teeth chattering as he fell into unconsciousness.<br><br>JD suddenly appeared in front of her, his arms laden with almost a dozen automatic weapons. The area had been completely cleared, for the moment.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>13-06-2010, 07:22:14</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Once in the jungle, Athena decided it was time to start taking the fight back the mercenaries persuing her and Oscar. Using their superior mobility, basically the vertical leap afforded by their superior strength, she as Oscar could hopefully double back and drop in to close combat.&nbsp; In hand to hand, Athena hoped her and Oscar could take out as many of the mercenaries as possible before Muddy, as she was now calling him in her thoughts, showed up.<br><br>Running through the jungle foliage at a pace hopefully slow enough to allow the mercenaries to just keep up, Rachel stopped to make her move, calling out to Oscar, "Flashcard! Follow my lead!".<br><br>She wanted their attention, so she took up a quick firing position behind a big tree and snapped off a three-round burst at whatever target was available. As soon as the last bullet left the barrel, she spun fully into cover behind the tree, expecting a mass of return fire on her position, but she didn't stand there, instead Athena lept up into the tree.<br><br>Athena would get up as high as she could, into the canopy if she could do it in a couple bounds, and hopefully double back towards the village overhead and unnoticed, and drop into their rear ranks. That was the plan, but if someone noticed, then she'd just have to drop into the middle of a cluster of them and start systematically taking them down.<br><br>With any luck, the timing would be good and JD and Voltaje would be along to join before Athena and Oscar got overwhelmed.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>13-06-2010, 18:33:00</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Her eyes follow the blur as best she can, though even with her enhanced reflexes it's still hard to keep up with JD.&nbsp; After the man in front of her goes down and it seems that all of the other men have been taken out she smiles, placing her hands on her shapely hips. &nbsp;"Good job, Happy." She'd heard them refer to him as such, which is better than a real name that a half-conscious man may hear.&nbsp; Her eyes flit up to the rooftops then she nods to them. "Put them up there." That way Athena and Oscar could get to the stash if they needed but it'd be a great deal more difficult for anyone else to get to them.&nbsp; "I will get to work on the trucks." <br><br>Voltaje then turns to the trucks, hoping to climb into the cabs and take the keys out of the ignition, plus putting her hands under the steering column, into the wiring to send super-surges through the system.&nbsp; Hoping to fry any and everything with them.&nbsp; With that done she'd move around to the next and next, unless JD is able to get to them first.&nbsp; At which point she'll go to the back of the trucks to let the people out.&nbsp; She speaks to them in Spanish and English both, trying to get them to run away. "Go! Run." 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>14-06-2010, 05:42:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Athena, her back to the tree, felt the bullets ripping at the wood behind her as the mercenaries returned her fire. The tree shook with the impact, the foliage around her bursting. She glanced at Oscar, who stood a few dozen yards away, also shielded by a tree. With a nod, each jumped up into the higher branches as the gunfire continued its barrage below them.<br><br>Athena and Oscar leaped through the treetops, passing above the gunmen below who did not notice. The men continued to advance forward, perhaps believing they had the pair pinned down and were finally closing in for the kill. As Athena leaped along, she passed above Muddy, who barreled through the jungle, knocking aside smaller trees as he went. It wouldn't feel good to take a punch from that behemoth.<br><br>Back at the village, Voltaje fried the truck electronics with ease, their systems not capable of withstanding the bursts she sent through them. In a few minutes, the trucks were neutralized and Happy had stored the guns on a rooftop. People began exiting the trucks, their expressions bewildered. Other townspeople began to return from their hiding places, too stunned by the sudden turn of events to heed Voltaje's warning to run.<br><br>Athena and Oscar returned to the town as more people began to gather around Voltaje. The townsfolk were agitated, afraid, but also speaking very rapidly. Voltaje and Oscar understood, and soon translated for the others.<br><br>Although the heroes had stopped the four trucks present, three others had already left previously taking nearly four dozen townspeople. The stories came hurried and disjointed, but the gunmen had shown up about an hour before and simply began to round people up. These were Ramac's men, not a cartel's, but the purpose of the abductions was unclear. Women, men and children were taken, with no clear distinction between them.<br><br>The trucks had driven off into the jungle. Townspeople pointed to a gap in the trees, where a makeshift road was visible. The "road" was nothing more than a cleared path of ground, stretching off in a straight line into the jungle, like a giant shovel had been raked along the earth, shoving aside flora and even trees. Although crude, the road would be good enough for a truck to roll along, and it went straight into the wilderness, in the direction where the heroes had seen the red light.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>14-06-2010, 23:34:57</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"No, <i>run</i> away. I know." She tries to get them to go instead of crowding around her.&nbsp; Yes she's actually popular around these parts for good reason too, but that doesn't mean she likes the publicity.&nbsp; She wonders, idly, how Athena handles it.&nbsp; As the crowd gathers around her she begins to hear stories, first at how she's saved them before, or someone they knew.&nbsp; Then there's the other stories of how the men in trucks came before.&nbsp; She's pointed off into the direction of the jungle where the trucks had gone.&nbsp; Her own language picks up in speed trying to get everyone to calm down.<br><br>And then...there's a hand on her bubble butt.&nbsp; Her eyes go wide for a second as someone as the balls to <i>squeeze</i> just a second before she swats it away.&nbsp; She half turns trying to find the guy, almost certainly, that had done as much then feels someone <i>else</i> take a grab. "Párelo!" Stop it!&nbsp; in Spanish.&nbsp; She swats the next hand away then the next.&nbsp; Then the others get there before anyone gets any good ideas about anything else.&nbsp; She narrows her eyes at the crowd, but a large part of them don't even <i>realize</i> that someone, or several someone's decided it'd be fun to cop a feel while they're this close to the famous Colombian superheroine.&nbsp; <br><br>She huffs, trying to organize her thoughts then moves over to Oscar to explain what happened in Spanish, moving slower so he can understand, then translate in a more clear English than her own.&nbsp; She eyes the crowd then moves closer to Athena.&nbsp; She wants to ask how she deals with that kind of "attention" being such a public figure, but not with the guys around.&nbsp; They probably don't exactly understand.&nbsp; Probably just teenagers not really understanding that she's not some object but an actual woman. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>18-06-2010, 03:38:43</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Okay, it was just plain wrong of him, but ...<br><br>In some ways, you could almost say she brought it on herself.&nbsp; After disarming a whole platoon of grimy villians, J.D. had paused in front of Voltaje with a mountain of seized weaponry in his arms, and he could've sworn she'd given him an approving look.&nbsp; Like, even with all her own amazing abilities, she'd probably never seen a speedster in action, or at least, not one like him.&nbsp; He figured she had to be impressed, right?&nbsp; Who wouldn't be?&nbsp; <br><br>Heck, Happy was a little impressed with himself, that he'd disarmed and dispatched so many mercenaries without tripping on anything or breaking any of their arms, or breaking anything on himself, for that matter.&nbsp; Those were still very real risks for the fledgling hero.&nbsp; He hadn't been hero-ing long enough to become inured to either the wonder or the danger of his powers, especially since he had a long way to go before he mastered their control.<br><br>But anyway, after he'd kicked some serious rent-a-thug ass (and more importantly, cheered himself up by getting some payback for that poor guy's death, before), he was pretty much on cloud nine already.&nbsp; <br><br>And then she had to go and do that little --<br><br><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">After the man in front of her goes down and it seems that all of the other men have been taken out she smiles, placing her hands on her shapely hips.&nbsp; "Good job, Happy."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>Now, first of all, she hadn't really shined her pearly whites at him until just that moment; before, it was their Amazon leader who seemed to garner most of her smiles -- and <em>what</em> a smile .........&nbsp; <br><br>Secondly, she got his name right, the very first time!&nbsp; He'd been regretting his choice of moniker for some time now, because it didn't exactly flow off the tongue:&nbsp; "Happy Trails" -- it was even in plural, it just didn't sound right, and he was having a hard time convincing everyone on the team and in the media to use the shortened form.&nbsp; But the Latin Lovely got it right without even being told ...<br><br>Finally, that little pose she struck was the last straw:&nbsp; she kinda let her hands waft down and come to a rest just at the top of that tight little shelf, where it started to curve out, and then just kept curving, and curving, and --<br><br>But, no matter how he looked at it, he knew it was just not an okay thing to do, for anybody, much less a budding super-dude.&nbsp; Still, it wasn't like he was the one that started it.<br><br><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">And then...there's a hand on her bubble butt.&nbsp; Her eyes go wide for a second as someone as the balls to squeeze just a second before she swats it away.&nbsp; She half turns trying to find the guy, almost certainly, that had done as much then feels someone else take a grab. "Párelo!" Stop it!&nbsp; in Spanish.&nbsp; She swats the next hand away then the next.&nbsp; Then the others get there before anyone gets any good ideas about anything else.&nbsp; She narrows her eyes at the crowd, but a large part of them don't even realize that someone, or several someone's decided it'd be fun to cop a feel while they're this close to the famous Colombian superheroine.&nbsp; </blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>It's just, how could he resist a chance like that?&nbsp; All he had to do was slip around a couple other horndogs and sneak his hand in right after one of them, and right before another.&nbsp; It wasn't hardly even a full grab, he just kinda pressed his hand in there and cupped a palmful of UNBELIEVABLY HOT BOOTY for, like, a fraction of split-second.<br><br>Sure, he could have done the chivalrous thing and pushed the other gropers away, instead; he could have, he <em>should</em> have, but he only thought of that once he'd started feeling guilty, and that emotion took several seconds before it really showed up -- which was practically forever, in speedster terms.&nbsp; The first emotion that hit him, as soon as he realized some cheeky customers in the crowd had decided to squeeze the Charmin ... well, he got as worked up as they did over the prospect of copping a feel.&nbsp; He was still a regular teenager, after all, in the ways that counted.&nbsp; He just had some extra talents that meant he wouldn't get caught being such a perv.<br><br>At least, he thought he wouldn't get caught.&nbsp; The truth was, like everything else on this adventure, Voltaje was still largely an unknown quantity.&nbsp; For all that Happy knew, she could have super-senses capable of following his lightning-fast moves, or even an electrified ass that could've killed him on contact.&nbsp; But he had to admit, at that moment, he couldn't think of any nicer way to go ....<br><br>He seemed to have gotten away with it.&nbsp; At least, it seemed that way at first.&nbsp; Voltaje started saying something to Oscar in Spanish, and she sounded a bit unsettled, but didn't direct any special attention J.D.'s way.&nbsp; Could Athena have noticed? or Oscar, for that matter?<br><br>For the moment, the fighting was through, and his uniform was stifling in that climate, but he was afraid to pull off his mask, in case his face had turned red without him realizing.&nbsp; Instead, the teen tried to loiter inconspicuously in the background, hovering a few feet away from the others.&nbsp; While the rest of Freedom Force talked, their junior member was awash in alternating waves of embarrassment, self-consciousness, and awful guilt ... but underneath all of those, there was no denying he was on a hopped-up hormone high.&nbsp; <em>'Ay! Mamacita! ...'</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>19-06-2010, 04:57:20</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				There is still quite a crowd around the heroes, some of the townspeople cheering now that the initial shock and horror had dulled. Oscar regarded the attention in stride, but his impassive expression broke for a moment as he glanced at Happy. A look crossed Oscar's face that seemed somehow reproachful, but he had Voltaje talking at him in Spanish, filling his attention.<br><br>"Do we give chase?" Oscar asks, looking at Athena. The tire tracks are fresh, the path through the jungle clear; it wouldn't be difficult to follow.<br><br>"We better do something." It's Dr. Wilson, walking into the village with a vervous Talpert right behind her. "We saw you lead the thugs away, but I'm betting they'll be back, and soon."<br><br>Oscar translated for the crowd, warning everyone that the danger was not over. That sobered many of the people, who began to rapidly disperse, making themselves scarce.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>20-06-2010, 04:21:24</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				OOC: My actual intention was <em>not</em> to come back into town, but for Rachel and Oscar to drop down into the rear ranks of the mercenaries and start taking them out while they were focused on where we were. That said, roll with it... ;)<br><br>----------<br><br>"Yes, we should get back after them." Rachel nods to Oscar. "If we had more bodies I'd say set a perimeter, but we don't...are the trucks completely disabled or can they be used by the villagers to evacuate now?"<br><br>"Either way, we're between them and the villagers now. Voltaje, sort them out, tell them flee or at least hide in basements if they have them. Join the rest of us once you're gotten the civilians squared away. Doctor, Jon, find yourselves a good hiding spot again. Oscar, JD, let's go."<br><br>Rachel checks her weapon again, swapping in a fresh magazine as she heads back towards the treeline, speaking to her teamates on the way, "Oscar, take left; you're the anchor. JD, start on the right and do that thing with taking their weapons again, but if you can knock them out as well, that'd be better, and head towards Oscar. I'll take the middle and cover JD as we move towards Oscar. Avoid Muddy till we've got the mercs taken care of so we can focus on him without distractions."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>20-06-2010, 18:24:09</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				If she knew half those gropes had come from Happy she'd be severely disappointed in him.&nbsp; Not because he groped her bubble, but because he hadn't done <i>more</i>.&nbsp; Granted doing more may have outed himself as the one that did it, but he has super speed.&nbsp; Could he not turn himself into a human vibrator and turning any girl he has sex with into mush?&nbsp; Then again doing so right here and <i>right now</i> may not be the best course of action anyway.&nbsp; She might like to feel his hands on her again, just not in the situation that they find themselves in right now.&nbsp; That being the one with tons of civilians at their backs and pissed off mercenaries at their front.&nbsp; <br><br>Her eye <i>twitches</i> ever so faintly when Captain Keyes asks her to try and start up the trucks that she just disabled.&nbsp; It's a simple twitch that may convey a lot.&nbsp; A lot more possibly to Oscar whom can feel emotions.&nbsp; <i>If you'd said to disable the trucks but not destroy them, I would have done that already!</i>&nbsp; Instead her jaw simply sets and she turns on her heel and begins speaking in fluent Spanish, words flowing from her mouth so fast it's a wonder at how the townspeople can keep up the automatic fire being barked in their direction.&nbsp; The gist, if Oscar can keep up, is that they're in serious danger out here on the street.&nbsp; The heroes gathered here will take care of them, but the people need to go and hide, or better yet run away from here so that the heroes may beat up the mud man and send the mercenaries packing so that Ramac will never bother them again.<br><br>She shouts it, telling them how to get to the next town over, and whatever they do that they should not go down the path after their friends and families.&nbsp; The heroes here will also do that for them, but they need to leave right now.&nbsp; <br><br>When she's done and they all seem to be leaving or hiding in their basements, she takes a breath and turns and moves to follow her new-found teammates into the dense jungle.&nbsp; This part she's actually looking forward to it, as they'll be on <i>her</i> turf.&nbsp; She can hook up with Captain Keyes for orders, or if they seem to be in mid battle, she can jump in without much problem.&nbsp; Always pretty easy to sneak up on a distracted man and give him a good blast of electricity!
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>21-06-2010, 08:57:23</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">... his impassive expression broke for a moment as he glanced at Happy. A look crossed Oscar's face that seemed somehow reproachful, but he had Voltaje talking at him in Spanish, filling his attention. </blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>Though he was practically cooking inside his uniform after exerting himself so hard, Happy could still tell when the hot blood ran to his cheeks and turned them crimson.&nbsp; He hung his head and stared at his shoes, ready for his perversion to be exposed to the whole world.&nbsp; It was a nightmare come true for a man his age.&nbsp; He felt like he'd been caught jerking off or something.<br><br>Mere moments later, his mood had done a full 360-, maybe even a 720-degree turnaround, once he realized Oscar wasn't going to "out" him for his wrongdoing.&nbsp; As his fears receded, J.D. felt his gratitude towards his senior teammate turning into the first real feelings of friendship he'd had towards the man.&nbsp; <em>'Maybe the old guy isn't so cold after all, even if he isn't exactly chummy ... Thank god! ... Sure, with all those years behind him, he's bound to have copped a feel or two himself, somewhere in there.&nbsp; Looks like I owe him one, if we ever make it out of this jungle.'</em><br><br>The sound of his name roused the teenager from his musings.<br><br><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"JD, start on the right and do that thing with taking their weapons again, but if you can knock them out as well, that'd be better, and head towards Oscar."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br><strong>"I can clock them close up, no problem.&nbsp; It's getting in close that's going to be tough.&nbsp; Cutting through the jungle, my powers are next to useless, remember?&nbsp; All it would take is one trip over a vine at 60 miles per hour, and you'd be carrying me home in a bucket.&nbsp; All three of you can probably make better time than I can, catching up to those mooks.&nbsp; Unless, you know, one of you could carry me or something."</strong>&nbsp; He made sure not to be looking at either of the women during that last line.&nbsp; He figured he'd pushed his luck far enough for one day, when it came to macking on the ladies.<br><br>Hoping for some analytical input, Happy motioned for the Doctor to come in closer and join their little consultation.&nbsp; Striding purposefully away from the crowd of villagers and in the direction of their foes, the quintet approached the treeline as they talked.&nbsp; Even Talpert was well behind them.&nbsp; Still, J.D. lowered his voice a little before continuing, as if the jungle itself might be listening in.&nbsp; <strong>'On the other hand, if I can get in close to that Talking Shit-Pile, I'd like to see how much of his mass I could strip away super-fast by hand, before he even knew what was happening.&nbsp; You gotta wonder just how much of him is nothing but goo.&nbsp; What do you suppose he looks like, underneath it all?&nbsp; If there's even anybody inside there, that is ..."</strong>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>23-06-2010, 07:01:23</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				OC: Sorry Athena, I misunderstood your intentions. I'm going to hold off for a bit on sending you into the jungle, as you posted, since JD is hesitant. So, this is a chance to modify your plan.<br><br>Voltaje was talking fast to the villagers, but they were listening. The initial euphoria of their rescue had worn off, and the fact that they were still in danger had settled in. Townspeople scattered, some hopping into ramshackle cars and speeding off, others on bicycles, and some just ran like hell. The little town square was a wreck, buildings riddled with bullet holes and a few structures completely demolished. There was plenty here to remind people about the danger.<br><br>As Voltaje motivated the townsfolk, Athena, Oscar and JD headed for the trees. Despite Athena's order to Dr. Wilson to find a hiding spot, she grabbed a rifle off the ground and walked alongside JD. "I'm tired of hiding," she said, gripping the gun tightly. "It seems to me we all have to pitch in."<br><br>Saying this last, she looked pointedly at Talpert, who looked like he did want to hide. With a grim expression, he withdrew his handgun and followed.<br><br>The heroes took up their positions at the rim of the jungle. Voltaje soon joined them, having done all she could to make the townspeople flee. Judging from the barren streets behind them, she'd done a good job. Jucuma was silent now, but for the barking of a dog somewhere and the sounds of the jungle. There was no more gunfire coming from the wilderness, which meant the mercenaries had discovered that Athena and Oscar were gone. They would be returning to the town, any time now.<br><br>"With any luck, they'll think we've fled. If that's the case, they might return without any tactical formation, just wander back," Oscar said, his eyes never leaving the trees before him. "Perhaps Athena, Voltaje and I should go in and pick them off. JD can handle any who get through and make it back here."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>28-06-2010, 06:04:44</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				OOC: Quick mechanics question because it's nagging at me, Cogs, but doesn't Hyper-running actually include a provision for altered perception (things appear slower to speeders) specifically so you can use it in, you know, cities and other sorts of constrained environments without killing yourself or innocent bystanders? I don't know if Happy 'bought' the power without that as well as without the friction resistance, but I'm just wondering. Very limiting, if you think about how cluttered modern cities are.<br><br>"Ideally I'd like to setup along the buildings here for cover, wait for them all to be in the open, between us and the treeline, but I don't want to risk it just in case not everyone has evacuated." Rachel stops and turns around halfway to look at everyone, nodding first to the doctor and then to Oscar. "We can perhaps split the difference, then. Doctor, Jon, that building there, the second floor windows have a good view. Get in there, and see if you can't put some extra funiture around the sides and base of the window in case the shoot back at you." Rachel gestures towards the building she means, perhaps not the best view of the treeline, but the sturdiest looking structure that does still have a clear line of sight.<br><br>"Happy, cover the middle ground. They don't know the trucks are disabled, so with luck we can use that and drive them out towards their vehicles. The Doctor and Jon will provide overwatch for you. That sound good to you three?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>29-06-2010, 23:44:56</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				J.D. nodded quietly in acquiescence to their leader's instructions, and set about kicking the caked mud loose from his shoe treads.&nbsp; <strong>"Alright, well ... get a few slugs in for me, okay?"</strong> he called to Oscar, before setting off after Jane and Talpert to help them fortify their hideout.&nbsp; When the pair reached the second-floor window Athena had indicated, they heard a very short, loud, high-pitched noise directly in front of them.&nbsp; It was the combined sound of half a dozen pieces of furniture being dragged in front of the window at super-speed and positioned there to protect them, as per the orders they'd been given.&nbsp; By the time they comprehended the source of the violent, brief sound, the work was already finished, and an unmasked Happy was leaning against the wall by the Doctor, catching his breath from his exertions.<br><br><strong>"I just don't get it, Doc,"</strong> he said to Jane.&nbsp; <strong>"Seems like all the others see sometimes is my age, instead of all the stuff I can do -- the ways I can help.&nbsp; I mean, I know Athena's got reasons for everything, and I am kind of a lightweight compared to them, especially when it comes to bigger opponents, but ... I just can't help but feel like I'm being protected a little too much, you know?&nbsp; <br><br>"Oh shut the hell up, you!"</strong>&nbsp; A few feet away, the PR flack had sprouted a grin while listening in on the others, and on Happy's mention of his frustrations, in particular.&nbsp; The youth took the smile as mocking and responded negatively without giving Talpert any chance to explain himself.&nbsp; <strong>"You're not much help either, you know.&nbsp; At least I know how to fight!"</strong>&nbsp; With the hammer pulled back and ready to fire, Talpert had let his arms drop again, so that his handgun was presently targeting his own toes.&nbsp; The speedster decocked the weapon gingerly before roughly lifting the other's arms back up to point the gun out the window, toward the forest from which their enemies would soon emerge.<br><br>To Talpert:&nbsp; <strong>"Shoot <em>out</em> the window, okay?&nbsp; Not inside it, for god's sake."</strong>&nbsp; Turning back to the Doctor and lowering his voice some:&nbsp; <strong>"Anyways ... Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.&nbsp; Don't let on that I was griping, okay?&nbsp; It's just pre-fight jitters, you know ... I'd better get in position."</strong><br><br>After a pause and a probing look into her eyes, J.D. moved up to her -- at normal-person speed, so as not to alarm her -- and planted a quick peck on her cheek.&nbsp; <strong>"'For luck!'"</strong> he quoted, glancing at her just like the movie princess had to the young adventurer.&nbsp; The heavy weapon sat just as awkwardly in Jane's arms now as the borrowed blaster had in the princess's arms, "a long time ago ..."<br><br>Darting back outside in a blur, Happy didn't stick around long enough to see if she got the reference.&nbsp; There wasn't time to explain if she hadn't, and either way, in front of Talpert, any further one-on-one conversation was sure to be awkward.&nbsp; <br><br>Instead, all of them turned their attention to the forest and the sounds of the battle that had just begun and would soon come thundering down upon them.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>30-06-2010, 06:41:26</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Pointing his weapon for him, Happy received from Talpert a tight frown, but the PR man didn't say anything. Even if he had wanted to retort to Happy's angry tone, Talpert looked too scared to speak, his eyes fixed on the jungle as he looked out the open window.<br><br>Dr. Wilson listened to JD as he spoke, and she seemed about to say something when he surprised her with the peck on the cheek. He had time to see her face blush, but he was gone before he could interpret that as a good sign, or a bad one.<br><br>Meanwhile, Athena, Voltaje and Oscar had fanned out into the jungle, moving as swiftly and silently as possible. They didn't have to venture far before they encountered soldiers on the return. The men were swaggering back, speaking loudly to each other without a concern in the world. As far as they figured, the fight was over for the day and everyone had fled.<br><br>Athena came upon a pair of men as they passed by. She broke a jaw before the other man even knew what was happening. When he turned to see what that snapping noise had been, he met a fist to his nose, and it was lights out for him as well. Voltaje caught three men as they happened to step through a muddy puddle, the electrical charge she sent into them frying them all at the same time. They dropped to the ground, smoke wisping from the singed ends of their hair.<br><br>The mercenaries were taken by surprise, and the three heroes did a lot of damage before an inevitable scream alerted the other gunmen. Gunfire returned as the remaining thugs began shooting at random, not sure where the attacks were coming from. Athena, Oscar and Voltaje began to fall back, taking out combatants where they could. A lucky bullet caught Voltaje on the shoulder, but the off target round zinged off her body armor, leaving a small bruise underneath.<br><br>JD, Jane and Talpert heard the gunfire from the jungle, a few yells, and a couple of screams. One mercenary made it out of the trees and came running into town, panicked. It took Happy less than a second to deal with him.<br><br>The jungle fell silent, there were no more mercenaries left to drop. Athena, Oscar and Voltaje emerged from the cover, seeing JD standing with his one catch. Talpert released a heavy sigh, and he and Jane came down out of the building to join the others.<br><br>"That just leaves the mud-man," Oscar said. They hadn't encountered him in the jungle, but it stood to reason that he had been to the rear of his men, moving slower. At the moment, there was no sign of him.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>01-07-2010, 01:20:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Being a part of a team is...a nice change from the normal pace of things.&nbsp; Against such overwhelming odds would have certainly taken at least a day to do by herself.&nbsp; Planning would have taken at least half of that day if not more.&nbsp; By that time the towns people would certainly have all been kidnapped and or killed.&nbsp; Hell, without this team she wouldn't have found out about it at all.&nbsp; Instead staying in the jungle and taking out the cartel's numbers one by one.&nbsp; Instead she finds herself with her fingers resting in a puddle of mud, waiting for the mercenaries to happen into it, and then sends so much electricity through them that their hairs stand on end.&nbsp; <br><br>Once the gunfire broke out she found herself pleased that they couldn't pin point where the attacks were coming from.&nbsp; Likely because they were spread out and coming from all around.&nbsp; Not to mention she, Oscar, and Athena were constantly switching positions leaving them all almost completely undetectable.&nbsp; Taking men out went from subtle tricks of electricity through mud, to less subtle arcs of electricity smashing into men's chests and flinging them to the ground.&nbsp; She'd been careful about falling back, waiting until it seemed as if most of the mercs were reloading, and then would dart from hulking tree to hulking tree.&nbsp; Unfortunately they don't all run out at once, which leave her exposed for just a sliver of a moment too long when a bullet slams into her right shoulder.<br><br>That hurt.&nbsp; Not as bad as it would have if she didn't have the suit on though.&nbsp; She's actually rather glad it was her and not Oscar, Athena, or any of the others.&nbsp; She'll get a bruise from that bullet-gone-astray they might have been wounded more seriously.&nbsp; Once out of the jungle and the gunfire stops she moves to regroup with the others, shapely hips in full swing once again as she rubs at her shoulder where she was shot.&nbsp; That'd be sore for a while yet, but hopefully wouldn't wear her down, or slow her down very much.&nbsp; She could work through it.&nbsp; "I believe they are gone, yes." She answers Oscar's assessment.<br><br>"But where is this--Mud Man?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>01-07-2010, 06:30:33</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Hey, guys," Talpert said, clearing his throat. "I think I know who this mud-man guy is."<br><br>He still held his gun awkwardly, as though it didn't want to be in his hands. His suit, which had been nice once upon a time, was spotted with sweat stains and jungle dirt. He had pitched the tie and coat at some point in their trek, and the dress shirt and slacks were beyond the skills of even the most talented dry cleaner.<br><br>"The Major had us do a lot of research on the Defenders. You know, their encounters, what kind of press reaction they got, that kind of thing. Well, I remember now they had a run in with a bad guy who sounds a lot like Mr. Muddy. He called himself the Elemental. He's a real bad-ass, even gave the Defenders a tough time. I think ... well, I think we should get the hell out of here."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>01-07-2010, 16:50:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her head swivels to Talpert when he speaks up, eyes landing on him and expecting a full debrief on this mud-man.&nbsp; Instead what she gets is the advice to turn tail and <i>run</i>.&nbsp; The Colombian superheroine bristles at the thought of it, moving over towards him, her hips in full staccato swing, leading her right up next to him, aiming to poke him in the chest and <i>hard</i>. &nbsp;"There are innocent people here.&nbsp; We have to go after them into a camp where this guy is going.&nbsp; It is better to take him out here and not when he can have the ah...cavalry drop in on us." She straightens, hands gliding down to her lovely hips as she pops them to one side.<br><br>"You will tell us everything you know about this El-e-ment-al," she has to space it out, she's not quite used to the word in English, which means sounding it out based on Talpert's speech is about as it's going to get right now, "and then we make decision on what we will do." Her eyes then flit to Athena hoping that she hadn't over stepped her bounds but it <i>irritates</i> her when good men stand around and do nothing.&nbsp; Though she's really beginning to question how "good" of a man Talpert really is.&nbsp; 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>03-07-2010, 23:27:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Rachel nods at Voltaje's statement, her pale eyes moving from the superheroine to Talpert, "She's right, Jon, we need to hear everything you know about 'Elemental', then we can decide if we try to take him now or withdraw. And don't worry too much about his cavalry, Voltaje; you're forgetting we have cavalry of our own." she grins slightly, dangerously.<br><br>OOC: Just a short one, sorry...need to hear Jon's reply.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>04-07-2010, 01:02:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Talpert takes a step back when Voltaje pokes him in the chest, a surprised look on his face. He glances from her to Athena, then back to Voltaje, his expression turning vexed. "Hey, cool down, jungle queen! I just told you everything I know, and that's it. He was a footnote in a file, but he was bad news for the Defenders which means he's bad news for us. You guys aren't prepared for a fight like this."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>04-07-2010, 19:07:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her eyes narrow on Talpert as the small trickle of information flows out so fast that she thinks that he may think she was going to kill him.&nbsp; "You do not know? You did not bother to see how they defeated him, or <i>why</i> he was so much trouble?" Her hands slide up from her hips; arms moving to cross along her chest, lifting her breasts slightly.&nbsp; She doesn't like that very much, a potential gold mine for what this guy's powers are just dried up.&nbsp; She turns more fully to Captain Keyes to see what kind of decision she'll come up with.<br><br>"We can see what powers he has.&nbsp; What does El-e-ment-al mean? I would assume with his nature he would be called Earth, or MudMan." The complex word, unfortunately doesn't ring a bell with Voltaje.&nbsp; Her eyes move to the others then the ground they're standing on.&nbsp; Unfortunately the weak-man may be right.&nbsp; If he can control mud outside of his body, they're practically standing in a trap right now.&nbsp; And who knows how far out he is.&nbsp; They would need to act soon.&nbsp; If fleeing the area then to do so now would be good.&nbsp; If staying to fight, they needed to take positions.&nbsp; 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>05-07-2010, 20:27:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">She straightens, hands gliding down to her lovely hips as she pops them to one side. ...<br><br>Her hands slide up from her hips; arms moving to cross along her chest, lifting her breasts slightly.&nbsp; </blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>Happy was just as surprised as the others to discover that Talpert had been sitting on valuable information, and he wanted to hear more, but he was also seriously distracted by Voltaje's curious physical mannerisms.&nbsp; She seemed to have a habit of, um, adjusting herself inside her outfit, perhaps in a way that most wouldn't notice, but J.D. was at an age when any detectable movement of foxy female flesh in his vicinity had a corresponding impact on the comportment of his trousers.&nbsp; He decided he needed to learn Spanish just so he could volunteer to spare her the trouble of making those little costume adjustments herself.&nbsp; <em>'Let me help you with that, baby!&nbsp; Oh my ....'</em><br><br>Getting his mind back to business ... <strong>"Shit, Talpert, there's gotta be something more you can give us.&nbsp; Who was in the Defenders when they fought?&nbsp; Any mention of what they tried against him that didn't work?&nbsp; Did somebody else take him down eventually?&nbsp; What was he doing when they ran into him?"</strong>&nbsp; The teen decided to play off Voltaje's "bad cop" and butter up the PR guy a bit.&nbsp; He ambled over to him and lowered his voice a little, but not so much that the others couldn't hear, in case one of the gals took the hint and chose to assist with the buttering.&nbsp; <strong>"Look, we've got a minute here, try to relax, focus a little.&nbsp; Like the boss said, you can help us figure out what to do next ... I'm sure the ladies would really appreciate the input, you know?"</strong>&nbsp; (The guy wasn't blind or gay, at least as far as J.D. knew, so he figured the goal of earning points with the ladies ought to help spur his recollection.)<br><br>In spite of what he said, though, the speedster wasn't so certain about how much time they really had to stand around chit-chatting.&nbsp; He decided to reconnoiter using the trampled, partially-cleared paths that the fighters had already made through the jungle.&nbsp; <del>Dashing from Talpert's side to Athena's, he paused just long enough to explain himself into her ear -- <strong>"Backinajiffboss"</strong> -- and then disappeared in an emerald blur, the direction of his travel indicated by the hazy after-image left in his wake.</del><br><br><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="bbc_size">EDIT Struck out the last line to fit with the next post.</span>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>05-07-2010, 22:38:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Footnote, hmm?" Rachel looked thoughtful for a moment, before sighing a little at the reactions of Voltaje and Happy, her arm coming up to try and grab Happy before he could run off.*<br><br>"Stand down, people. Happy, stay put! If he can control the earth, are sure you want to go running around on jungle trails that could turn into a quagmire under your feet?"<br><br>"We've dealt with the mercs, saved who we could, and learned a fair bit of what's going on around here, but our intel on 'Elemental' and Ramac is still shit. We're bugging out. It's time to report in, contact both our government and the local authorities, but if I have my way we'll be coming back." Captain Keyes nods to the group firmly, the finality of her decision certain in the way she's looking at all of them.<br><br>"Let's grab our kit and find a pickup or some other four-by-four and get moving. Double time; let's get out of here before this big bad pile of mud we know nothing about wanders back here!"<br><br>* OOC: I left it up to you if Rachel manages to stop Happy before he darts off, Rick! Your call. :-)
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>05-07-2010, 23:26:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>"As long as there are roads or paths away from here, there's no reason why I can't carry the civs to safety, boss,"</strong> Happy volunteered.&nbsp; <strong>"Even with regular rest stops, I should be able to get them to a larger town pretty quick.&nbsp; We can call home-base from there and relay whatever you want to tell them ... All you'd need is a safe place to wait while I make the two trips, for the Doc and for Talpert.&nbsp; Give me an hour, maybe?"</strong>&nbsp; Rocking on his heels, he waited for his superior's decision, while straining his ears for sounds of their foe from the jungle.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>07-07-2010, 03:54:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Happy's argument doesn't jolt any new memories from Talpert, who just gives a shrug; he's spilled what he knew.<br><br>After the speedster makes his suggestion, Dr. Wilson's expression grows alarmed as she realizes what he's saying. "Wait a minute, you want to <em>carry</em> us? Oh, I'm not so sure about that ..."<br><br>Talpert looks equally dubious, though Dr. Wilson's tone said it best.<br><br>A quick examination of town reveals that the mercenaries had all arrived in trucks, which were now disabled. There were some other vehicles, left by the locals, that could be hotwired given enough time. There was still no sign of Elemental.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>07-07-2010, 04:20:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I've made my decision, Happy. Get our things from where we left them. <em>Please.</em>", Rachel replied, giving him a stern look as she adds the please pointedly.<br><br>"Anyone who can hotwire, or find keys tucked up in the sun visor, find us a vehicle that can carry all of us and get is started. Let's not stick around even a moment longer than we need to. I'd like to find out what the Defenders can tell us about Elemental before we have to fight him."<br><br>With that, Rachel begins to look for a suitable vehicle. She can hotwire, always a useful skill for someone in special warfare who may have to spend extended periods behind enemy lines, and it's a good skill to learn in case you find yourself in a situation where you have to use your escape and evasion training. Getting lucky and finding a set of keys would still be so much faster though.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>09-07-2010, 16:48:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje lets them speak, picking up on most of what they want then clear her throat when they seem to be getting into it.&nbsp; Happy clearly wanted to take the "civs" which is completely lost on her, to a different town, but wanted to take an hour to do so. "Most roads are dirt here, Happy.&nbsp; If mud-man," such an easier pronunciation than Elemental, "can control Earth, then you may not come back." She didn't want to get into how long an hour really is when they're talking about something lumbering back towards their location.&nbsp; "Take truck and we can defend it if mud-man attacks, yes?" The last addressed to both Athena and Happy both, she wants to make sure she's on the same page.&nbsp; She'd offer more of her services, even thought about tapping into a phone line but what if they need her here?&nbsp; What if <i>she</i> got taken out.&nbsp; It would be better, as she just said, to have a team.<br><br>When they split up she follows Athena to find a truck, that and well, her butt is rather nice to take in.&nbsp; Her lips slide up into a smile as she leans in.&nbsp; Hoping to press her breasts up against Athena's back.&nbsp; "He just wants to help." If/when they find a truck with no keys and Athena begins to move on, Voltaje will move to place a hand to her shoulder.&nbsp; "This is good truck.&nbsp; We can use it." Her fingers move to press against the door, near the lock, and if it has power locks she'll unlock the door.&nbsp; Then it's just a matter of slide in, putting her hands under the steering column and starting the truck with the right electronic signature.&nbsp; Hot wiring a car, only far easier using her powers.&nbsp; 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>10-07-2010, 07:05:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Jucuma wasn't exactly a thriving metropolis, it was difficult to find a vehicle that didn't look like it would run better with a mule tethered to the bumper.<br><br>"What about this one?" Oscar called out. He had gone around the side of a dwelling and found a truck that looked decent.<br><br>(http://www.divingchristmas.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/christmas-island-jungle-truck.jpg)<br><br>Oscar opened the unlocked door and Voltaje slipped into the driver's seat. A slight caress of her hand beneath the steering column, and the engine suddenly rumbled to life.<br><br>"So, we're going to steal someone's car?" Jane asked.<br><br>"We can leave a note," Talpert said, opening a rear door. "Let's get the hell out of here."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>10-07-2010, 21:46:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Even if I were interested, this is hardly the time or place." Rachel says with cool indifference at the feeling of Voltaje's impressive breasts against her back. She doesn't turn around as she examines the dash, then starts to walk away before Voltaje's hand brings her to a halt. Turning to look over her shoulder, she half smiles, not unfriendly, "Not so good, no. Gas gauge in this one shows almost empty...there, let's see what Oscar found over there."<br><br>Rachel nods her approval at Oscar's choice, saying to Jane as she does, "If someone were here to buy it from, we could do that, but they're not, and we need a ride. Oscar, take the wheel; I think you're the most experienced driver. Everyone else in the back, I'll navigate for Oscar up front with the GPS. Now, where's Happy with our kit?"<br><br>OOC: I decided against igoring Oscar since he's a temporary NPC, I&nbsp; hope that's okay. If not, make some excuse for him, Cogs. :-)
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>11-07-2010, 00:15:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Happy was clearly not very at the moment.&nbsp; After Ramac, this Elemental made the second super-bad-guy they'd ended up running away from.&nbsp; Voltaje's reminder of the dangerousness of Happy's suggestions took the edge off his frustration, but not by much, and no better explanation seemed forthcoming from the team's leader.&nbsp; On the other hand, it appeared he was the only FFer raring for a fight, so he finally made a high-speed hop into the rear of the truck, crossed his arms, and settled in for a good stew.&nbsp; A little breeze kicked up inside the vehicle, fluttering the ladies' hair, as the team's gear magically appeared in the blink of an eye, piled in the rear next to the sour-faced teenager.&nbsp; The raucous racket from the engine effectively drowned out his less-than-polite muttered-under-his-breath griping.<br><br>Moments later, the five foreigners plus one local were enjoying the chiropractic torture that passed for roadways in this part of the countryside.&nbsp; J.D. kept an eye out the rear window on the treeline behind them, half hoping the Elemental would emerge and force a confrontation.&nbsp; Meanwhile his grumbling stomach and aching muscles reminded him of the upsides of getting the hell out of there and returning to civilization.&nbsp; A real mattress and a hot meal would go a long way toward soothing his aggravation over the team's strategy -- not to mention the desirability of a shower, as the sweaty stink inside his uniform reminded him.&nbsp; <br><br>Then again, he wasn't looking forward to the repercussions of the first deaths his team had failed to prevent:&nbsp; who would be held accountable? and what would be the future of the military's Freedom Force program, now that much of their support staff had been permanently discharged?&nbsp; One way or the other, the team's glowing reputation with the public was about to get seriously tarnished, unless their bosses were ready to hide the deaths from the media.&nbsp; For all his bad attitude towards the brass, however, Happy trusted that they wouldn't stoop to a coverup.&nbsp; <em>'And besides, my partners would never stand for such a thing ... would they?'</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>11-07-2010, 17:46:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her brow hikes up at Rachel's comment.&nbsp; "I respectfully disagree." Her lips purse as she eyes the woman then moves around to the driver's side of the car, looks at the dash where the gas gauge is, and finds it nearly on empty.&nbsp; "You are correct." It is not a good vehicle.&nbsp; She sighs about to say something more when Oscar hails them over to another truck.&nbsp; She eyes the blue beast then the gas gauge.&nbsp; She slips into the unlocked car, holding up an index finger to anyone that may protest then shoves her hands under the steering column.&nbsp; There's very little movement after that, and only a few seconds later she has the car up and running.&nbsp; <br><br>She eyes Rachel again while loading Talpert and Jane into the back seats where they could have seatbelts.&nbsp; She imagines that she and J.D. are more equipped to take a fall if they should get in a wreck.&nbsp; "Don't get too--" she paused and then gestures to the other woman's demeanor, "--flustered? about a situation.&nbsp; Never know when it may be your last." It's not said in a threatening tone, she knows all too well how close one can come to death out here.&nbsp; If she doesn't flirt now, will she ever get the chance to do it again?&nbsp; Her shoulders rise up then fall in a fluid motion, then turns towards the back of the truck, swinging her lovely hips all the way.<br><br>After the back hatch is opened she climbs in, sitting so she's facing J.D. with her back supported by the side of the truck, her feet next to J.D.'s rear end while his are near her own.&nbsp; Her lips purse suddenly figuring something out about the speedster.&nbsp; Or at least something to take his mind off of his grumbling.&nbsp; "Happy?" She attempts to get his attention.&nbsp; She then holds two of her fingers together so he can see them.&nbsp; "Can you--?" She shakes them really fast attempting to mimic a vibrating motion.&nbsp; Her eyes flit to the back of Jane's head, seeing how he's always swooning over her.&nbsp; Though she's noticed how he looks at her.&nbsp; Seems that he's the only one that will flirt back.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>14-07-2010, 04:08:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				True to his adopted name, Happy was as easily swayed from a sour mood as any dog would be, and also as given to horny impulses.&nbsp; Freeing himself from his mask and shaking out his tousled hair, he raised a bemused eyebrow at Voltaje's gesture and then exchanged his former grimace for a shit-eating grin, in spite of himself.&nbsp; He wasn't sure what exactly the Latin lovely was referring to with those two twitchy fingers, but he figured it had to be something naughty.<br><br><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Can you--?"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br><strong>"I'm not exactly sure if I can, Ma'am,"</strong> he said, putting on a show of graceful Yankee manners for her.&nbsp; <strong>"But I'd sure like to find out!</strong>" he concluded, the suggestiveness of his remark made clear by the lewd twinkle in his eye.&nbsp; It was nothing less than a relief to turn his mind away from mayhem and muck monsters for a moment, and enjoy a little harmless flirting.&nbsp; He didn't imagine a prime filet like this one could have any serious intent in flirting with a kid like him, so it kind of took the pressure off.&nbsp; At the same time, he didn't mind having a chance to observe Jane's responses to him cozying up to someone else, even if it was just play -- the teen was watching for any hint of romantic feelings from the Doctor, and a little possessiveness would fit the bill nicely.&nbsp; Anyone who wanted to speak over the engine roar had to raise their voice a good bit, so it was likely Talpert and Jane in the back seats could hear the conversation.<br><br><strong>"Tell you what, you show me where I should start --"</strong> he put up two fingers and shook them in front of Voltaje, just as she had -- <strong>"and I'll see what I can do ..."</strong>&nbsp; Still twitching them, he made his fingers dive airplane-like towards her feet, where they rested in the seat next to his, and he began probing for ticklish spots, careful not to move past her calves for the time being.&nbsp; With all the jostling and racket they were subjected to by the driving, it was hard to get in more than a few seconds of tickling at a time, but he was determined in the attempt.&nbsp; Besides, quick bursts of tickles at 30 MPH were enough to make just about anybody bust out, unless she was a totally non-sensitive type.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>14-07-2010, 07:01:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The truck rattles through the jungle on the "road" that is really nothing more than two bare streaks through the grass that have been trodden by enough tires over the years.<br><br>Happy is rewarded when he notices Dr. Wilson glancing back over her shoulder at him. She doesn't notice that he notices her, and for a moment her eyes linger on Voltaje, Jane's expression a curious mixture of envy and sadness. Catching JD's eye, she quickly turns her head toward the front and pretends to ask Talpert something.<br><br>Oscar is doing a pretty good job driving the vehicle, though the road seems to disappear at times. Athena watches her GPS; it will take some time, but she figures they can reach more civilized civilization before the end of the day, maybe even find an airport.<br><br>The truck hits a particularly hefty bump, jostling everyone inside roughly. It takes a split second for the passengers to notice that the truck is no longer moving, even though the engine is revving and they can hear the tires turning. The rear of the vehicle ascends, giving Oscar and Athena a good view of the ground as the truck rises halfway toward vertical.<br><br>Looking out the back window, Happy and Voltaje see mud and dirt, and realize they are looking at Elemental's chest as he stands behind the truck lifting it.<br><br>"Ah holy shit we're FUCKED!" Talpert suddenly screams.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>15-07-2010, 21:29:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Looks like you get your wish, Happy! Oscar, stay in; no matter what happens, try and get Wilson and Talpert to safety!" Rachel hollers, her tone grim, but not chastising. She knew being trapped in the vehicle could be a deathtrap, unless she and the other two could get Elemental to let go, or at worst jump out and force him to face them so he has to release the truck. One way or another, her priority remained the same, keep her people alive, non-combatants first.<br><br>With slick grace, hopefully, Athena swings herself out the open passenger side window onto the top of truck, calling back to the others as she does, "Happy, Voltaje, do what you do, we've got to make him let go!"<br><br>The simple orders given, Athena pushes herself forward out of the crouch she'd landed in, firing bursts from her rifle at Elementals head as she takes the few strides to cover the distance along the roof of the truck, finally swinging all that momentum into a heavy kick. Hopefully, if she connects with Elemental's face, in combination with whatever Happy and Voltaje are doing, it'll dislodge his grip.<br><br>Then Rachel will just have to hope she's as agile as she thinks she is when the truck suddenly finds traction...<br><br>OOC: I hope assuming Rachel could make that swing up onto the roof is okay, Cogs. I know she's really agile, so it seemed a no brainer, and I didn't want to stuff up a round if I didn't need to with waiting for something so simple to succeed or fail. Correct me if I'm in error, though, of course. :-)
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>16-07-2010, 02:05:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Happy's look to Jane is unmistakable he's trying to make her jealous.&nbsp; Not very hard when the woman he's flirting with is far more shapely, taller, and native to the land.&nbsp; Not to mention clad in a skin-tight body-sheathe.&nbsp; While she certainly could be flirting with a "kid" like him she is playing a little more to his advantage with the doctor.&nbsp; She thought she'd give him the idea with the fingers to back massage the woman, but as "kids" go she apparently was hoping for a little too much.&nbsp; She's even about to mention the back or shoulder massage when his fingers touch along her calves.<br><br>It's probably then that he'll notice the suit isn't rubber, nor is it spandex or anything else that he can really put his finger on.&nbsp; It's warm, like her skin, almost as smooth, but it does have a slight rubbery feel to it.&nbsp; Just it doesn't feel like rubber.&nbsp; She pulls her lower lip between her teeth while he searches on and off for a tickle spot.&nbsp; He doesn't make her bust out laughing though there is a grin on her face.&nbsp; He's using his fingers as a vibrator, essentially, that is a very good way to give a massage.&nbsp; She can only imagine what he'd be like in <i>bed</i>.&nbsp; Maybe he is young, but so long as he doesn't have a short stamina that might be a lot of fun.&nbsp; And for a second, she's a little jealous of <i>Jane</i>.<br><br>That second passes quickly enough as their truck suddenly stops and gets lifted off the ground.&nbsp; She tumbles off to the side, towards the back seat when she realizes they didn't just slam on the brakes but there's something holding them there.&nbsp; She swears in Spanish, eying the bulk of the Elemental's chest.&nbsp; Nothing can <i>ever</i> go as planned can it?&nbsp; Just as they're getting orders, Athena is off and stealing her unvoiced idea! She was going to take to the rooftop, though it would be hazardous now to even attempt it, two people up there? They'd get in each others way.&nbsp; <br><br>She's all business now, the flirting side of her fading the instant she realizes they're going into battle.&nbsp; Instead of chastizing Happy or telling him that he should be careful what he wishes for, she's attempting to lock eyes with him.&nbsp; "Do not touch him until after I attack.&nbsp; Try and...pull his bulk off of him." Did that make sense? Would he have tried that anyway? She's not sure, and she's not sure it's the best plan, but it might work.&nbsp; She'd already picked out a small spot where there's a little bit of metal exposed in the truck, touches it, and attempts to send herself through the side of the truck to the outside and land on the ground.<br><br>She's not sure how she'll get back <i>in</i> the truck if she needs to, she's kind of hoping that Happy will be able to zip out, grab her, and zip back in if they should choose to escape rather than stay and fight.&nbsp; "Athena! Jump!" She's not sure how this is going to react with him, and if it pushes through the metal of the truck everyone inside should be <i>fine</i> but those touching metal objects might get a little zapped.&nbsp; She braces then aims each of her hands at Elemental's wrists, and fires off an bolt of electricity.&nbsp; She's <i>hoping</i> he's just earth based, and the shock may make him dry out suddenly, which would then maybe make his wrists/hands fall apart.&nbsp; Hell she's really hoping to get lucky and there be some guy inside there that will fall to the electric shock.&nbsp; She's hoping for a lot of things, really, mostly that this will make him let go and that she can escape afterward!<br><br>It's really only too late that she realizes that Athena is kicking him.&nbsp; Right before her warning sounds out.&nbsp; Maybe Happy could grab her, or maybe they'd defeat him.&nbsp; Training together or going over some kind of exercise for teamwork would have really helped!
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>16-07-2010, 04:18:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">She'd already picked out a small spot where there's a little bit of metal exposed in the truck, touches it, and attempts to send herself through the side of the truck to the outside and land on the ground.</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br><strong>"Holy shit!"</strong>&nbsp; The disappearing act caught Happy completely off-guard, and it took him a second to realize Voltaje was now outside and hadn't been vaporized or anything.&nbsp; <strong>"Cool!"</strong> he noted, while reaching for the metal latch of Jane's seat belt.&nbsp; Only a few seconds had passed since the whole thing had started, just long enough for Athena and Voltaje to spring into action, leaving the "civs" for Happy to attend to.&nbsp; The shift in weight produced by the heroes' movements caused the whole vehicle to shift back and forth in the Elemental's grip, which tossed around the people inside, which in turn caused even more shifting and tossing.&nbsp; The truck had the very old-style waist belts that basically guaranteed that in the event of an emergency, the passengers would be held fast to their seats and would flop around in every direction like pieces of spaghetti.&nbsp; Both the doctor and Talpert suffered just that fate until their young companion managed to free them with a couple quick motions.<br><br>Being free made the flopping around get worse, of course.&nbsp; Happy seized both of Talpert's shoulders in a hard grip and held him still just long enough to look into his eyes and give him a single command:&nbsp; <strong>"STAY."</strong>&nbsp; It sounded like an order to the family dog, but his intentions were good.&nbsp; The speedster's limited ability to perceive movement more slowly as he himself accelerated made him an ideal candidate to help the civilians out of the truck -- as his teammates had perhaps surmised -- but it would be hard enough to accomplish that one person at a time, much less trying to help both simultaneously.<br><br>He managed to open a side door, heft Jane (a little roughly) out of it, and deposit her onto the ground, with a hard shove that sent her stumbling away from the fight area.&nbsp; He was climbing back in to retrieve the PR guy when his plans went a little awry.<br><br><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Athena! Jump!"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br><em>''Athena'?!?&nbsp; What about <strong>us</strong>?!?'</em> he had just enough time to think to himself (at higher-than-normal speed).&nbsp; A vision flashed through his mind of two charbroiled male corpses, arms wrapped around each other in terror -- the very last thing they'd had time to do in their lives:&nbsp; a sudden, unintentionally-homoerotic gesture ... It was kind of flattering that his teammates apparently trusted him to safely evacuate the non-powered bystanders, but he kinda could've used another <em>second</em> or two to do it in.<br><br>One <em>half</em> of one second later, both he and Talpert were balled up on the ground after a painful landing, rolling away fast from the combatants, even as Athena's foot rushed at the Elemental's face, and a ball of crackling white energy shot over their heads, bound for the automotive death-trap they'd just narrowly escaped.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>16-07-2010, 07:22:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Standing on the roof of the tilting vehicle, Rachel unloads her weapon into Elemental's blob of a face. The bullets plunk rapidly into his muddy flesh, disappearing in the muck. He scowls at her, as if the gunfire is an annoyance, but nothing more harmful than that.<br><br>In a sizzling flash Voltaje transports herself through the metal of the truck to outside. <br><br>Inside the truck, Jane and Talpert frantically tug at their seat belts, only to find them suddenly come undone as Happy does his thing. As Happy gives the stay order to Talpert, the pr flack stares back into Happy's eyes and nods once, willing to do whatever he's told if it will save his life.<br><br>Happy pulls Jane out, and he's back inside before the doctor even knows what happened.<br><br>On top of the truck, Athena takes a step forward and swings her leg at Elemental in a kick to what, on a normal human being, would be the jaw. Her boot strikes with a solid thud, but it only causes Elemental to tilt his head up slightly.<br><br>He grins at Athena. "Gotta do better than that, bitch!"<br><br>Happy and Talpert are hitting the ground in an awkward roll just as Voltaje fires twin bolts of electricity at Elemental, lightening dancing all around him.<br><br>"What the fuck?!" he yells, cringing as he lets go of the vehicle. <br><br>The bolts ran wide, however, and enveloped Athena as well. Rachel feels her whole body shake as electricity runs wild through her. Remarkably, she's able to maintain her footing as the tires contact the ground and the truck suddenly takes off, careening for a moment toward the jungle as Oscar tries to maintain control.<br><br>Happy and Talpert lie in a heap together, a disheveled Jane standing beside them as she stares at the scene in shock.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>16-07-2010, 07:40:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Rachel grins for a brief moment, despite the electricity coursing through her, when Elemental lets go. They'd managed it, gotten him to release them, now that can...wait, why is Voltaje behind him and why are Happy, Wilson and Talpert <em>not</em> still in the truck, speeding away? They were all supposed to still be getting away, or at least the non-combatants were. So much for any real chance of avoiding this fight. Rachel's a quick thinker, and all that took only a few revolutions of the trucks tires for her to settle on what now had to be done.<br><br>She leapt off the speeding truck, trusting Oscar would follow her orders, stop, and try to get Wilson and Talpert back in the truck so they could escape.<br><br>Feeling her best bet was to try and occupy Elemental and let Voltaje try to fry him, Rachel replied, "I just want you to feel like chance; wouldn't want to crush your ego by making it too quick, that'd be rude!"<br><br>Rachel kept up firing the bursts at him as she closed the distance again, picking her angle of attack to carefully avoid placing any of her teammates in the line of fire, either between her and Elemental or behind him. She planned to get into hand to hand, but to stick with being evasive, flashy, in his face and daring. Hopefully that would give her allies the chance they'd need to actually hurt the bastard.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>16-07-2010, 07:58:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Happy, no!" She cries out though by the time she does he's already out of the truck with both of the others.&nbsp; The metal cage that is the truck would have saved them all from getting any of it even if her bolts went awry and happened to hit the metal of the truck.&nbsp; Outside of the truck they stand a far greater chance of the bolts of electricity finding them and sending them into next week.&nbsp; She winces, even as Rachel gets surrounded and half tasered at the attack.&nbsp; "Sorry!" Yes, well she hadn't meant to hit the woman, it's just...well she didn't want to get in close on the bastard without getting the truck away.&nbsp; His wrists seemed like logical targets from the side. Even if it didn't dry him out, the muscle spasms alone should make him drop the truck.<br><br>Unfortunately she's <i>still</i> unsure of how her electricity will affect him.&nbsp; It obviously <i>scared</i> him to some degree, at the very least and he let go of the truck.&nbsp; The truck with only Athena on top and Oscar racing away.&nbsp; "Happy, get them to the truck!" She's waiting for the opportune time to get back in there while Rachel fires off bursts of gunfire at the guy.&nbsp; She shoots a glance to Athena then begins to move around the big lug.&nbsp; Hoping to get in behind him between bursts of bullets.<br><br>If she manages she'll dart to his back to sink her fingers in, and unleash a lot more damage into the mud man, hoping that he'll be too distracted by Rachel to turn around on her.&nbsp; Or at least, if he does, that she's still able to dig her fingers into him to electrocute him.&nbsp; Normally she might not be so eager to rely on her abilities, but so far bullets, grenades and rockets seem to do no harm.&nbsp; If this doesn't work, she's sure that Happy is going to be their last chance while she and Rachel provide distractions. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>16-07-2010, 09:40:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As he was rolling away from the fight with Talpert rolling near him, Voltaje's orders -- all of them -- registered in Happy's brain.&nbsp; Processing aural information could be a little iffy while moving at high speeds, he had learned; he had to separate out the bursts of high-pitched, wind-like noise that he heard whenever his body was moving and cutting through air at a high velocity.<br><br><strong>"Oh fer cripes' sake ..."</strong> he muttered to himself, feigning irritation toward his teammates for their somewhat-confusing orders, when in fact he realized that he'd fucked up and misinterpreted their intentions.&nbsp; <em>'Whatever, easily fixed ...'</em> he thought, picking up Jane without warning for the second time in about a minute, and racing with her toward the truck.&nbsp; It actually felt kind of nice holding her like that, but he wasn't in any hurry to hear how she felt about being manhandled right and left.<br><br>By the time he got back to retrieve Talpert, the latter was making his feelings on that topic known quite explicitly ... cursing up a storm, clearly directed in J.D.'s direction, for throwing him around like that.&nbsp; He was still spewing four-letter words seconds later, when he got dumped back into his seat inside the truck, and Happy came to a stop, having retaken his original seat also.<br><br><strong>"Um, sorry Oscar,"</strong> the somewhat red-faced teen said in a low voice.&nbsp; The thought occurred to him that he wouldn't mind making up for his gaffe by scoring some points against Shitface -- but then again, it looked like the guy wasn't making it easy for the others, which meant he may be way more than little ole' Happy Trails could handle ....<br><br><strong>"But no harm done, right?&nbsp; What's next?"</strong> he said to his senior partner, staring out the back window to try to make out the present positions of his other teammates.&nbsp; 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>17-07-2010, 10:32:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar slammed on the brakes, the tires sliding across the dirt a few feet. He turned in his seat to see what was happening, and was surprised to find Happy already back in the truck, with a startled Jane and a disgruntled Talpert sitting beside him.<br><br>"Kid, you take some getting used to," Oscar said stoically. "I don't know what's next. With some luck, Voltaje and Athena will take him down and we can go." <br><br>Rachel fired at Elemental as she approached him, the behemoth's full attention on her. As before, the bullets plinked into his thick, muddy flesh, disappearing as though absorbed.<br><br>"'Crush', my favorite fuckin' word!" he snarled, slamming a fist into his palm as he stalked toward Rachel.<br><br>Voltaje approached Elemental from behind, and she was right, his fury was focused on Athena. Voltaje thrust her hands at his back. Though he looked like mud, and felt like it, the substance was far tougher, preventing her fingers from actually sinking into him. Still, contact was contact, and she let him have it.<br><br>His body jerked straight as electricity danced through and around him, the crackling sound audible all the way to the truck.<br><br>Elemental took a big step forward and spun around, facing Voltaje. "You fucking BITCH!" he roared, swinging a massive arm at her. The shot was wild and high, easy for her to duck under, but just from the force of it passing over her head Voltaje knew she didn't want any of those punches to connect with her.<br><br>Watching from the truck, Oscar nodded slowly to Happy. "I'm an old fashioned guy, JD. I don't let the ladies fight alone." Oscar stepped out of the truck and gave the junior member a look, as though saying he could stay or go, up to him.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>17-07-2010, 20:01:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She was really hoping that it'd do more damage to him than that, though it did seem to irritate him she's not entirely sure she actually <i>hurt</i> the mud-man.&nbsp; Ducking under his arm is a piece of cake for the seasoned superheroine.&nbsp; &nbsp;Though the wind of him passing over her certainly <i>does</i> make her feel like she doesn't want to get hit by him.&nbsp; Fortunately he's about a slow as molasses in Antarctica.&nbsp; Rather than duck away though she plans to become the focus of all of his attention.&nbsp; She just has to keep track of all of his limbs.&nbsp; <br><br>While ducked down she thrusts a hand out towards his gut/crotch area striking with her palm to see if it'll hurt him at all, though immediately after touching down with her fingers to light him up again.&nbsp; Then within the same second she's thrusting her other hand directly into the spot where the man <i>should</i> have a liver.&nbsp; Not some glancing blow, but a direct hit on the sensitive organ, and again, using the palm of her hand for the most force while also allowing her fingers to touch down and light him up.&nbsp; <br><br>Hopefully the others will come in to help her out knowing that she'll stop with the electrifying attacks just as soon as the others want to make contact with him.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>18-07-2010, 01:33:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Awww, you hurt him! Keep it up!" Rachel said gleefully, pleased to see that at least on them could get a reaction out of the large...thing, that at least appeared to be a result of causing some harm.<br><br>Figuring that Voltaje's powers were perhaps their best bet, Athena decided to change tactics again. If she could slow Elemental down ever more, trip him up, maybe...it seemed like a good though, one with which Athena could use Elemental's own size and strength against him, and she didn't even really need to get his attention again. She maneuvered in behind him, following Elemental's steps closing, picking her time for when he made his next lunge to dart forward, try tangle his legs with her M16 - butt end down, so she hopefully would have less risk of plugging the barrel with mud - and kicking in the the back of the knee he'd be putting his weight on. With luck, Elemental would wind up flat on his face, nicely laid out for Voltaje.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>18-07-2010, 15:15:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"I'm an old fashioned guy, JD. I don't let the ladies fight alone."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br><strong>"He's just messin' with me, you know,"</strong> J.D. claimed, rather unconvincingly, to the pair in the rear of the truck, as Oscar took off in the direction of the fight.&nbsp; He didn't really expect them to buy his explanation of the other's vaguely-disparaging remark, but he felt a need to stand up for himself a little, at least in front of Jane.&nbsp; A bit of a flush came into his cheeks as the teen took off after his teammate, leaving the others in the relative safety of the giant vehicle.&nbsp; <br><br><strong>"Hey, I'm old fashioned too! -- I mean -- Oh, you know what I mean, you ..."</strong> he protested, finishing his statement under his breath to himself, as Oscar's attention was clearly on the task at hand.&nbsp; J.D.'s ego was a bit bruised by the mere suggestion from his older colleague that he would ever choose to hang back while the others did the dirty work.&nbsp; <br><br>It surprised him to realize that at some point he'd really started to care what Oscar thought of him, moreso than the others on the team.&nbsp; Though Flashcard had been fairly standoffish towards him and often seemed burdened with private concerns, he was the one whose opinion counted most to J.D., so far at least.&nbsp; With her rigid adherence to military mores, Athena came across as fairly inscrutable and too different for the easygoing youngster to identify with very much.&nbsp; The otherworldly qualities of her appearance -- her ghostly pallor, statuesque figure, and striking eye color -- didn't exactly help when it came to trying to relate to her.&nbsp; As for the other FFers, he cared a great deal what any attractive ladies in his vicinity thought of him, in a non-professional way at least ... but that was more about figuring out how to get into their pants.&nbsp; Those concerns didn't get in the way when it came to his male partner.&nbsp; <br><br>Approaching the startling sight of the grappling trio, the speedster's calculating mind started working overtime, weighing various alternatives of how best to contribute to the battle.&nbsp; Observing the ploys the others were attempting, he decided for the time being that it was a "too many cooks" scenario, and he'd just be in the way.&nbsp; He pulled his mask back on and hung back, waiting for an order or a clear opportunity to help.&nbsp; Meanwhile he scanned the nearby foliage and landscape for loose objects that might serve as makeshift projectiles or weapons.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>20-07-2010, 04:47:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje went for a crotch shot and nearly got clobbered as the big guy brought his thick arms around. He was mad, and raging to lay a fist on her. Voltaje was forced to back up a few paces as Elemental took some swings.<br><br>"Come on, bitch!" he roared.<br><br>He didn't notice Athena approach behind him until he felt the weapon between his legs and Rachel's heel in the back of his knee.<br><br>"Ah shit!" he cried as he tumbled forward, falling flat on the ground in front of Voltaje.<br><br>JD watched the behemoth go down while he was glancing around for throwable debris. Being the jungle, there were rocks and sticks of all imaginable variety close at hand, or at least close for JD.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>21-07-2010, 22:16:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje nimbly steps out of the way as his massive arms come at her.&nbsp; It almost looks like a choreographed fight the way she reacts so quickly to each of his movements.&nbsp; As she dances back to get out of his arms' range she spots Rachel coming in.&nbsp; She charges her fingers, something that's completely unnecessary but good for show and distraction, the electricity arcing from one finger to the next in rapid succession making it look like she's charging up.&nbsp; She smirks, and then...Rachel strikes.&nbsp; She winces sympathetically, watching the thing come down and face plant into the ground.&nbsp; <br><br>She crouches at the top of his head, aiming to place her fingers along where his scalp should be, and then aims to shock him through his head! Given that the brain and nervous system work on electricity, she's basically aiming to overload him and put him down for the count.&nbsp; While she's doing this her eyes flit up to Rachel.&nbsp; "Your...Defenders had trouble with him?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>23-07-2010, 00:40:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her hands laying atop the face-down giant's muddy scalp, Voltaje pumps mega wattages into the villain. Blue electrical arcs shiver down the hero's wrists as Elemental's enormous body shakes. Steam rises from his back and several spots along him begin to bake into hard clay.<br><br>It was looking like Voltaje had Elemental down and out, until with a roar he suddenly reared up. He swung an arm at her, bashing Voltaje in the midsection, forcing her to stagger back as Elemental rose to his feet.<br><br>"You are fucking DEAD!" he roared in a fury, charging after Voltaje.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>23-07-2010, 02:51:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her eyes fix on the mud-man as his body jiggles and writhes on the ground.&nbsp; Slowly turning from mud into hardened clay.&nbsp; Her full lips pull up into a smirk, starting to pull off of the electrocution of the man just as he leaps up.&nbsp; That should <i>not</i> have happened.&nbsp; He's down, in fact he's so down that he should be getting pretty close to the point where she needs to use her powers to <i>revive</i> him like with a defibrillator.&nbsp; <br><br>"Get BA--HUUUGGNNNNGH!" She's lifted from her crouch up into the air, a little off of her feet, then sent stumbling backwards as the arm connects with her lower belly.&nbsp; Voltaje coughs several times, ever glad that the suit can take a little bit off of that smack.&nbsp; She could feel the force spread out across her abdomen down over her groin and thighs and up across her breasts and shoulders.&nbsp; For those with the ability to see it (namely Happy), they might see the way the suit becomes <i>rigid</i> in almost a wave-type pattern before becoming flexible again.&nbsp; It all happens within a second, though, but definitely proves there's a good reason Voltaje is wearing her suit all the time.&nbsp; <br><br>She places a hand on her knee, the other arm holding herself across her stomach where the arm landed.&nbsp; Well, maybe they can go back with a distraction plan.&nbsp; The thing certainly seems to be focused on her!
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>23-07-2010, 12:16:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar watched the battle between Voltaje and Elemental with slight curiosity, wondering how the Colombian could handle herself in hand to hand. He saw her take a punch right to the gut, and regardless of whether she could just 'shake it off' or not, Oscar was done watching. He momentarily debated with the rifle slung over his shoulder, the special one he had salvaged from the airplane that could fire laser rounds, or going in at Elemental with old-fashioned fisticuffs.<br><br>It was a short debate; He didn't want to risk misfiring and striking anyone else. Talpert and Dr. Wilson were being helped into the truck by JD, but the kid could be back in action at any moment, and even he might not be fast enough to dodge a laser. Athena might be able to take a round, but he couldn't vouch for Voltaje, who was definitely in the way of such a strike. So he dropped the gun and cracked the knuckles in his hands, eliciting the most satisfying sound he had ever heard. Instead of thinking of some cheesy one-liner, Oscar simply approached the beast from his back and with as much strength as he could muster, he tried to check the big 'Elly-mental', as Voltaje had originally called him, to the ground, using the flat of his forearm like a bulldozer.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>24-07-2010, 07:56:33</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Happy couldn't help but marvel at the Latin Lovely's array of powers, which he seemed to understand less and less.&nbsp; <em>'What was up with that whole finger-sizzling thing?&nbsp; Maybe she's absorbing electricity out of the atmosphere or something?&nbsp; Plus that shimmery-costume thing was killer ....'</em>&nbsp; All he had was speculation about her abilities, and he was eager to learn more.&nbsp; He felt for a moment like Jane must have felt when she was studying the various Freedom Forcers and researching their capabilities.&nbsp; The prospect of investigating Voltaje had a certain appeal, he thought ... maybe he could volunteer to assist the doctor in subjecting Voltaje to a comprehensive battery of tests ... invasive physical exams ... some night when no one else was around, of course ....<br><br>The sight of Oscar entering the fray shook J.D. out of his reverie.&nbsp; Considering the difficulty the others were having, the speedster wanted to help, but he didn't want to suddenly find himself between the Elemental and one of Voltaje's power bolts, or one of Flashcard's fists.&nbsp; Instead he circled around until he was facing the monster from a moderate distance away and started grabbing fist-sized rocks to throw.&nbsp; As Oscar's forearm headed for a collision with the Elemental from behind, J.D. sent a stream of projectiles hurtling toward their enemy's shins.&nbsp; He timed his first throws so that the impacts would occur right after his teammate connected from the other side; if the hit from Oscar didn't completely flatten the villain, the nearly-simultaneous pounding to his lower legs ought to finish the take-down, or so the speedster hoped.&nbsp; <br><br>He also aimed for the shins so that if the creature evaded the rocks somehow, they would strike the ground harmlessly, rather than flying past the Elemental and possibly hitting Flashcard or one of the others.&nbsp; The ample supply of debris at hand and a short burst of speed allowed J.D. to send a half-dozen or so rocks towards each shin, thrown at slightly different speeds so that they would all arrive at nearly the same time, intending a cumulative effect for maximum damage.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>25-07-2010, 07:51:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar's forearm smacked Elemental's lower back with enough force to make a reverberating boom, and the giant staggered forward, but didn't fall. He turned to look back at Oscar, murder in the mud-man's eyes, just as a barrage of rocks pelted his shins from Happy.<br><br>The rocks hit, forcing Elemental to take a few more steps back as he was already off balance. The rocks struck and stuck in the mud for a moment before dropping to the ground. Elemental seemed hurt by the shots, but not wounded, and he remained on his thick feet.<br><br>"You guys are starting to fucking piss me off!"<br><br>He swung around, raising his enormous fist high and bringing it down like a hammer toward Oscar. The fist grew in size as it descended, and Oscar barely leapt out of the way as the fist slammed down onto the ground with a heavy thud.<br><br>Elemental was surrounded - by Athena, Oscar, JD, and Voltaje - but each attack just seemed to make him more enraged.<br><br>Jane had left the truck and watched the fight, cringing as the villain's fist shook the ground. With trembling hands she picked up the laser rifle that Oscar had dropped and she aimed it at Elemental, but she hesitated to fire for the same reasons Oscar hadn't.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>27-07-2010, 07:56:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Rachel thought the fight was looking to be tilting in her favour. She had to admit, she couldn't be sure of that, but in her mind losing your cool was never a good place to go, especially outnumbered and surrounded like Elemental was. The team, or Voltaje and Oscar at any rate, seemed to be able to hurt Elemental at least a little, so maybe they could wear him down.<br><br>Thinking Elemental might be so enraged so as to turn towards his most recent attacker without much thought, Rachel quickly stepped in behind him as he went after Oscar, once more using her momentum to lend power to her blow as she brought the butt of her rifle down, aiming for the same spot it looked like Oscar hit. If Rachel was right, Elemental would turn and go after her again, Rachel evading until he went after someone else and left his back open to her again...<br><br>Hopefully Voltaje would be left alone long enough to catch her breath, as Happy, Flashcard and Athena herself continued a classic wolfpack attack on Elemental.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>27-07-2010, 21:53:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Elemental indeed seemed fixated on Oscar, the giant raising his hammer hand looking to turn Oscar into a nail. Athena came up behind Elemental and smacked him in the lower back with the butt of her weapon, his hide giving off a wet-squishy sound.<br><br>He turned, as Rachel thought he would, and she began to back out of the way, ready to evade his blows. He reached out, as though to grab her, but instead a blast of mud and bracken fired from his palm like a high-powered hose full of dirt and garbage. Athena spun out of the way, the blast hitting the ground beside her with force.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>27-07-2010, 22:24:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar was alarmed to see that the Elemental was able to fire concentrated sprays of mud, dirt, anything contained inside of his muddy body at the time, and that he was doing so at the captain. However, she did draw his attention again, leaving his broad back once again exposed. Oscar cocked a fist back and charged the mud man, hammering him with his fist in the exact spot that he and Athena had been targeting.<br><br>"Cap, I don't suppose you grabbed any pineapples from the wreck yesterday, did you?" A grenade lodged into Elemental's back right now could perhaps cause a lot of damage, at the very least messing up the beast's exterior. Or maybe... "Let's get big boy out of the dirt!"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>28-07-2010, 03:35:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar slammed Elemental in the back, hitting him hard but not even staggering the enormous villain.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>29-07-2010, 02:00:52</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Another thought had occured to Rachel after her last attack, her mind drifting back to the way Voltje's fingers had sunk into Elemental's hide. What if it really was a shell, armour perhaps, of clay or mud? I warranted investigation.<br><br>She danced around, moving closer to Elemental, trying to stay just within his reach. She would either get a shot when he went after one of the others, Oscar probably, or when he took a swing at her; Athena wanted to try to get a handful of him, to scoop out a bit of the moist earth he was covered with.<br><br>If she could, they might have a way of taking Elemental down after all...
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>29-07-2010, 03:24:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje, after getting hit and needing to catch her breath, gets to step back for a second and do just that.&nbsp; But furthermore she gets to <i>observe</i> the way the others are fighting and what kind of effect it's having on Elemental.&nbsp; First Oscar hits him, and it really rocks him, then Happy hits him and it irritates him, but not as much, then Rachel, and Oscar again.&nbsp; Each, to her, it seems to lesser effectiveness.&nbsp; She licks her full lips, having gotten the idea of attack, move, attack, and move from the others.&nbsp; Which sounds pretty good, but if this guy is adapting?&nbsp; Not as good.&nbsp; Having mostly caught her breath she's thinking about this a little more clearly.<br><br>And clearly, great minds think alike.&nbsp; She watches Athena go in for a swipe, more than a punch, at Elemental.&nbsp; "Happy!" She calls out, casting her gaze around to try and spot the speedster.&nbsp; More than likely she'd just have to wait for him to come to her.&nbsp; She keeps her distance from the fighting, and calls to him again. "Happy!"&nbsp; If he could make passes at the monster, high speed and nearly undetectable that'd be great.&nbsp; The thing is slow enough that she's hoping he has the reaction time to get in and and get out before Mud-Man actually realizes that Happy has been there.&nbsp; If he could scoop the mud away from the Mud Man fast enough, maybe they could start to weaken him.&nbsp; Or if the mud-man is hard, possibly punch him fast enough that he cracks.&nbsp; <br><br>Though most of her plan requires knowing what Happy can and can't do, pretty specifically.&nbsp; It's not perfect, but maybe if the other three could continue to wolf-pack him, then they'd distract him enough from what they're really planning until it's too late.&nbsp; Maybe.&nbsp; She just wishes she could say it without saying it out loud.&nbsp; Her eyes immediately shift to Oscar, knowing that he touched her to see if she was okay around them.&nbsp; Could he also read thoughts?&nbsp; How does one <i>think</i> loud?&nbsp; She tries, at any rate, to do just that.<br><br><i>Oscar!!</i>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>29-07-2010, 09:51:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Usually, Oscar can only read thoughts in close proximity, but when he was being mentally shouted at... He wheeled towards Voltaje in surprise, and just barely had the clarity to leap out of the way of Elemental's fists. "Que?" he asked her, sending out a mental projection. He wasn't sure if his brief message would reach her, but it was worth a try.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>30-07-2010, 04:07:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Happy found the results of his first attack less than satisfying, and being a speedster, he decided to launch a two-pronged initiative for his next attempt.&nbsp; His first idea arose from the unexpected spray of earth that the Elemental had directed at Athena.&nbsp; Although he was too far away to be certain, J.D. hadn't noticed a corresponding reduction in the monster's size when he'd discharged all that material.&nbsp; The quick-thinking teen theorized that he was channeling the mud through his body, drawing from the limitless supply underneath his feet -- using the jungle itself as a weapon.&nbsp; The tactic got J.D. wondering if losing contact with the ground might weaken their foe, or at least prevent him from any more mud-blasts.<br><br>In a matter of seconds, the Elemental found himself no longer standing on the bare ground.&nbsp; Beneath his feet appeared a thick, continuous carpet of leaves, four- and five-deep, plucked from nearby trees and foliage, and arranged at super-speed over the area of the jungle floor around him.&nbsp; A few steps in any direction would restore his contact with the earth, but Happy was counting on his teammates' attacks to keep the villian more or less stuck in one spot.&nbsp; <br><br>The "teen tornado" had to get in really close to layer leaves under each of the Elemental's feet, when he raised each of them to take a step.&nbsp; Pocketing a thin, flat rock on one of his many leaf-gathering trips, he used the proximity to dig the rock into one of the monster's calves, to see if there was any hope of simply scooping off bits of his mucky mass.&nbsp; J.D. had wanted to test such an effort ever since he'd mentioned it to the others earlier.&nbsp; He overlooked their leader's nearly-simultaneous attempt to try the same tactic with a scoop from her super-powered hand. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>31-07-2010, 05:49:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				OOC: Unfortunately I'm not fluent enough in Spanish to keep up with her speaking.&nbsp; Just assume everything in bold-italic is both Spanish and thought. Thanks!<br><br>She's a tiny bit surprised to hear Oscar's voice in her head in Spanish.&nbsp; She jerks back but manages to stay focused on the task.&nbsp; She thinks for a moment, attempting to organize her thoughts for Oscar's benefit then ultimately gives up.&nbsp; Instead she attempts to shove a question in a shouting-thought like she did before.&nbsp; Rather than attempt to communicate in English, though, she tries to get what she wants across in Spanish.<br><br><i><b>Can you communicate with the others with your mind?&nbsp; If we can keep our communications to thoughts then we may be able to coordinate better between one another without the mud-man over hearing.</b></i>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>31-07-2010, 07:44:20</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Athena danced within Elemental's orbit, the behemoth turning on her. She shuffled to the side, then down and beneath his scooping arms, driving her palm at his sagging belly. Athena struck, her fingers digging in a few inches and coming back with a small handful of mud.<br><br>She had to quickly backtrack as Elemental tried to hone in on her, his bulk shifting as he looked for her.<br><br>"Fuckin' bitch, wait 'til I ram my swampy cock down ...," Elemental began, then paused as he looked down at the sudden carpet of green leaves beneath his feet. "The fuck?"<br><br>He didn't even notice the chunk of mud that Happy had scraped off of him.<br><br>Elemental's already short temper was just about shot at this point with the constant hit and run attacks. "I've had enough of this shit!" he yelled. <br><br>He reached out and his arm shot forward like he was a Rubber Man play doll, aiming for Dr. Wilson who had been standing near the vehicle at a supposedly safe distance. The doctor had enough time to let out a scream before the hand hit her, wrapped around her waist, and yanked her toward Elemental like a frog snagging a fly with his tongue.<br><br>He held her aloft like a trophy as she gaped in shock, dropping the laser rifle.<br><br>"How do you like this shit, huh?!" Elemental yelled at his attackers.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>31-07-2010, 21:05:42</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Despite any feelings of alarm at Elemental's action, suddenly taking the doctor as a hostage, Rachel smirked, and took a step back as she dropped out of her fighting stance.<br><br>Cocking her hip and resting one hand on it, Rachel gave Elemental her best I-know-something-you-don't grin and said, "I bet you think that was a good idea, don't you? But we're not cops...not to mention, she stays back not for her safety, but other peoples; her power is a little uncontrolled..."<br><br>Rachel took the pregnant pause there to shrug, looking away as though it didn't matter. In reality, she was trying to catch Happy's eye, to draw his attention to the handful of mud she now let go, giving her hand a shake to get rid the excess, hoping he'd get the gist. If they were right, with a speedster they didn't need Elemental to do more than hesitate before Happy could hopefully find the mud man's crunchy centre, and that's all Rachel was trying to do: to give Elemental pause.<br><br>Rachel looked back up at Elemental after that brief pause, smirking as she wiped her hand on her fatigues, "Go ahead. Give her a squeeze if you don't believe me...I'll regenerate, how about you?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>01-08-2010, 08:22:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Elemental regarded Rachel with a skeptical glare, then pulled the struggling Dr. Wilson close to his face to give her a look over. She, in turn, stared back at him with a hopelessly terrified expression.<br><br>"What a load of crap," he said. "She's about as dangerous as a wet fart."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>03-08-2010, 11:07:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar was ready to reply to Voltaje telepathically, but his attention was snapped up by the monster's sudden movement towards Jane. He somehow managed to stretch his earthy appendages far enough to grab her, and reel her in like a fish. "Jesu Christo," Oscar said once again, still thinking in Spanish. The battle seemed to slow down for a minute; Athena and Elemental traded barbs and remarked on the doctor's helplessness.<br><br>The mutant was expecting JD to come dashing by at any minute, his paternal instinct to protect a pretty, fertile woman stronger than his logic. Or at least, that was what Oscar was predicting. He took a few cautious steps towards the mud man, and spoke up boldly. "Listen up, dirtball. We're with the United States military; this place is going to be swarming with SEAL's and anti-mutant soldiers within an hour. We're here to put an end to your livelyhood; put the doctor down, and I never saw you. Comprende?" A bluff, all of it. By now, the brass had probably figured out that they had gone missing, and now they would hold meetings to ask for the appropriate materials to launch an investigation into their disappearance...
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>03-08-2010, 19:46:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Elemental regarded Oscar with what looked like a sneer, it was difficult to tell with his smudged features.<br><br>"You dipshits don't even know what's going on, do you? 'Freedom Force,' my ass! No one's coming because no one can, it's the end of the world, dumbass! Your world, at least!"<br><br>While he spoke, Dr. Wilson struggled in his grip to no avail.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>03-08-2010, 20:18:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Fuckin' bitch, wait 'til I ram my swampy cock down ..."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br><em>'Eeeeuuwww'</em> was Happy's immediate mental response to the image this phrase conjured up ... although he quickly realized he wasn't sure just what a "swampy" cock would look like, nor did he have any desire to find out.<br><br>These random musings helped to keep his mind off the disappointing result of his imaginative leaf-carpet ploy, which had turned out to be an enormous waste of time -- literally hundreds and hundreds of short sprints, for nothing.&nbsp; His spirits lifted momentarily, though, when his stone shovel successfully dislodged a small hunk of the monster's calf.<br><br>The move against Jane caught the speedster completely off-guard and made him stop short, to weigh the risks of attempting his planned assault with Jane in the Elemental's clutches.&nbsp; Her lack of a transformation upset J.D.'s expectations as much as it did Athena's, though he hoped it was an indication that Janet was becoming harder to summon; for his part, he preferred that the doctor's cute little bod was kept all to hims -- er, that is, <em>her</em>self.&nbsp; <br><br>While the boss-lady addressed Mudface, her fleet-footed teammate was scouring the ground nearby for a second rock of just the right size and shape to use as a scoop.&nbsp; <br><br>The hero counted on Flashcard's remarks to distract the villian from his attack.&nbsp; While Oscar spoke, H.T. darted in and started flinging mud everywhere, using the rocks in either hand to dig into the monster's body from behind.&nbsp; His rapid arm motions sent the loosened chunks soaring high into the air in long arcs, to prevent or at least delay any attempt to reassemble himself.&nbsp; Bits of the Elemental's substance were scattered in every direction, smacking against trees and ground foliage in a gratifying series of distant plops.&nbsp; To forestall his foe's efforts to retaliate, J.D. made sure to zip away after every dozen swings or so, only to zoom back in and resume the digging on a different part of his body.&nbsp; <br><br>He managed a dozen such trips before his senior partner finished making his offer.&nbsp; As long as he could get away with it, Happy had no intention of stopping his runs until he got down to the immobile under-stuff.&nbsp; He was determined to find out just how many licks it would take to get to the Tootsie Roll center ....<br><br><br><br><hr><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="bbc_size">OOC:&nbsp; For you youngsters who don't get the reference. (http://www.tootsie.com/gal_licks.php)&nbsp; :)</span>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>03-08-2010, 21:25:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje makes a slight gagging sound when Elemental spits out his rather perverted line of thought.&nbsp; Sticking a swamping cock anywhere is enough to make a girl gag.&nbsp; Especially since it seems like he might have been leaning towards <i>throat</i>.&nbsp; All she can think of is a cock that hasn't been washed in <i>weeks</i> forcefully sliding into Athena's (though her own as well) mouth and across her tongue.&nbsp; Getting mouth raped wouldn't be fun in the first place (save for the surprise of biting down or electrocution) but by that thing? <br><br>She shakes her mind free of the imagery that forces the gag reflex to take hold of her and raises a brow at everyone's attacks.&nbsp; From the leaves under foot, to the scoops, to Elemental taking Jane.&nbsp; Voltaje had been readying herself to get in close to attack him again when that happened.&nbsp; Pulling the doctor like that means she can't electrocute him without risking the electrocution of Jane.&nbsp; The Colombian superheroine freezes in her tracks, for a moment helpless to help Jane.<br><br>Yet the others seem to be on top of it.&nbsp; Distracting the beast and calling out on their government's help.&nbsp; She couldn't rely on any such force, not American and certainly not Colombian.&nbsp; Instead she walks forward, placing her hips into the best hypnotic swing she can muster.&nbsp; "Why would you want a skinny little girl like her when you could have me?" She levels her eyes on the mud monster, her lips curling up into a smile. &nbsp;"Ramac may even promote you for bringing <i>me</i> in." It's further distraction, she doesn't think he'll do much more than check her out.&nbsp; She's just trying to aid Happy in his attempts to quickly get the mud out and away from the mud-man...
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>03-08-2010, 21:40:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"You're not wrong; she's not the threat, it's what's inside her." Rachel said, maintaining her casual stance and demeanor. She drew her KA-BAR combat knife, using the tip to dig the mud out from under her nails in a most nonchalant way, though really she just wanted her knife in hand, ready to stab whatever part of Elemental that Happy could reveal for them. Or maybe just to try to cut the doctor loose, depending on how this all played out, with all these players. Keeping her options open, at any rate.<br><br>As before, the actual pause Rachel took in her speech was only momentary, and she looked up briefly, just a flick of the eyes while she blew on a clean nail before moving to the next with the knife, and said, "That petite little thing you've got there is the most dangerous of us, actually, for that unpredictability. This desperate action of yours couldn't have backfired worse, yet you don't even realise it." Rachel shakes her head, giving Elemental a wry smile, hopefully buying Happy the last few moments he needs, then Athena and the others will be able to strike, "Not even when I'm explaining why."<br><br>Of course, if this guess is wrong and Elemental's form is a transformation and not an armour shell of sorts, then things are going to be a lot harder. Rachel will have to try to cut off the hand holding Jane, and with just a knife...she's not sure she could do it fast enough.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>03-08-2010, 22:43:42</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				In a blur, JD began digging away at Elemental's backside. The giant was focused on Athena and Voltaje as they addressed him and didn't even notice the attack for a few moments.<br><br>"What the fuck now?" he growled, turning as he saw pieces of his muddy self all over the jungle. He turned to try and see what was attacking him, the blur that was Happy Trails difficult to orient on.<br><br>JD was finding the task difficult, as the mud wasn't just laying atop Elemental, but seemed to be a functioning part of him. Still, scrape after scrape pulled more off. Before their eyes Elemental became visibly smaller. He was still huge, of course, but he seemed to go from nine feet tall to eight feet.<br><br>He appeared surprised, then he looked down and stamped his feet on the leaves. He was trying to draw dirt up through his soles and was unable to because of the canopy.<br><br>Elemental swung his free arm at JD, but hit only the speedster's after-image.<br><br>"Fucking coward!" Elemental yelled in a fury.<br><br>With Elemental on alert, JD had to zoom in and out more carefully; the lumbering villain might be slow compared to JD, but a lucky strike could prove disastrous. Still, he continued to pick at Elemental a bit at a time.<br><br>"What trouble are we in now?" someone said. A bewildered and flustered Elemental turned to look at his hand to see that he was now holding a petite blonde woman who regarded him with open curiosity.<br><br>"My goodness, someone needs a bath," Janet said, crinkling her nose at Elemental's stink. She raised both hands and brought them down together on the mud-man's wrist with a tremendous smack.<br><br>"Ah SHIT!" Elemental cried in pain, dropping Janet as he clutched his arm.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>03-08-2010, 23:20:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				They were getting to him.&nbsp; She could see the size of Elemental diminishing as Happy takes his trips back and forth to scoop out from under him.&nbsp; Furthermore there's the fact of the leaf canopy that actually seems to be making him angrier.&nbsp; Presumably because he can't replenish himself.&nbsp; However the biggest thing is that he's now taking note of Happy and swinging at him.&nbsp; While her plan might make it a little more crowded for the speedster, it should also distract Elemental once again.<br><br>She shoots a glance to Athena then up to Jane as she's...changed and smashes through the Elemental's arm.&nbsp; Another glance is shot to Athena, then a gesture made to Elemental.&nbsp; If they could attack him from the front then it should give Happy the chance to scoop out from the back.&nbsp; She waits a half second then bolts in aiming to level a kick out at Elemental's hip, or if she can get to it, his groin.&nbsp; She dances away again, hoping he'll swing her way.&nbsp; There's no way to electrocute him, not with so many other people touch him, but she can hopefully get him thinking about other people than just Happy.&nbsp; <br><br>Normally she'd kick lower, towards his knees to make him fall down.&nbsp; Except this time she wants him to remain standing on that canopy so dancing in and out of his reach while delivering (hopefully) painful blows seems like the best option.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>04-08-2010, 01:35:01</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje rushes in, past Janet, and swings her shin up into Elemental's groin, if his jewels are actually in there somewhere. <br><br>"Mother-fuck," he growls, bending at the knee as he absorbs the blow.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>04-08-2010, 04:27:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				At this point, Oscar's best weapon was his body; when the big monster went down, Flashcard was already sizing up his suddenly smaller foe. The elemental was on his knees, looking up at Voltaje with murder in his eyes... Oscar found his target and rushed the big man to deliver a very solid kick to his chin. It would have killed a normal man... He only hoped it would work so well with muddy. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>04-08-2010, 06:11:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar ran in and delivered a solid kick to the chin, really solid. The blow lifted Elemental into the air, where he sailed in an ungainly flip for a good thirty feet until he came to Earth with a crashing thud. He lay on his hands and knees panting, and his fingers dug into the ground, ground that was not covered with a thick carpet of leaves.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>04-08-2010, 06:49:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She hadn't fully realized that Oscar could <i>kick</i> like that.&nbsp; She might have tried to stop him if she did, but as is the monster goes flying through the air.&nbsp; "Happy, the leaves!" The last thing they need is for all of his hard work to be wasted by this guy sucking mud up through the ground.&nbsp; "Big space this time." She motions with her hands by pulling them apart from one another. She just doesn't want the monster of a villain to be able to touch the ground again.&nbsp; So long as they could keep him occupied while Happy has at him, <i>and</i> keep him on that canopy then maybe they could defeat him.&nbsp; <br><br>In the meantime she rushes towards Elemental again.&nbsp; Aiming to get in close once more, kick out towards his ankle as hard as she can, maybe give him a limp, then slams her elbow towards where his kidneys should be.&nbsp; She's keeping her eyes out for his arms, but she's gone into full hand-to-hand combat mode, further spinning around Elemental to kick at the back of his knee, then planting that foot on the ground so she can rocket her knee up into his tailbone...or where it should be.&nbsp; Now knowing that he has normal pressure points, she's going full out on him!
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>04-08-2010, 23:53:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Rachel reacted quickly, her head turning at first as she followed Elemental's graceless arc through the air, her eyes narrowing when he landed and sunk his fat fingers into the ground. She darted after him, building as much speed and momentum as she could with the space allowed, calling to her companions, "We've got to keep him off the ground! Flashcard, Janet, try to pin him up against a tree, off the ground!"<br><br>At the last moment, Rachel dropped, falling backwards to slide on her butt and back underneath the behemoth and kicked up with both of her legs. She wasn't as strong as Oscar, she probably couldn't knock Elemental that kind of distance, but she was still quite a bit stronger than a normal human; she could probably at least get him off the ground for a moment, especially when that was the main focus of her attack.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>05-08-2010, 02:49:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar had no idea that the mud man would go flying... At all. He was smugly impressed with the spot on kick, but also recognized that his attack had sent Elemental into a more muddy area. The attacks had to be doing something, but they wouldn't mean much if he could regain most of his earthen shell that the kid had worked so hard to tear off chunk by chunk.<br><br>While Athena slid through his legs and kicked up at him, Oscar had formulated another plan of attack. While their enemy was distracted by the captain, he got right up in the monster's face and dug his fingers right into the monster's eyes... If he couldn't blind the bastard, he could at least try to tear some of his shell off of his face, and perhaps get one good punch into the fleshy parts. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>05-08-2010, 08:05:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				With Elemental on the ground, Voltaje rushed in with a flurry of blows. Despite the mud-man's reduced stature, he absorbed the strikes with barely a grunt, digging his fingers deeper into the ground as though gaining sustenance from it.<br><br>As Voltaje landed another rapid kick, Athena threw herself forward, sliding on her back underneath Elemental. For a second she was looking up at him, and him down at her, like a bizarre romantic moment. Then she gathered her thighs and thrust her heels up at his chest. She had to grit her teeth and shove, the guy must weigh at least a thousand pounds.<br><br>"Fucking bitch!" Elemental groaned as Rachel's legs straightened and she lifted him up, his fingers and feet losing contact with the earth.<br><br>With Elemental suspended on Rachel's legs, Oscar got up in the big-guy's face, slamming his open palm into the side of his head and digging his fingers in. It seemed to Oscar that the monster's tough exterior was not as solid as it was before JD reduced his mass. <br><br>Oscar tried to yank out a chunk but the mud was slippery and his hand pulled away with very little, leaving five finger holes in the side of Elemental's face.<br><br>"Asshole!" Elemental cried, throwing a punch at Oscar. This was no easy task while dangling horizontally on the business ends of someone's feet, but Elemental was properly motivated and landed a solid upper-cut right under Oscar's chin.<br><br>It was Oscar's turn to sail through the air as the blow catapulted him into the jungle where he struck a tree and promptly fell to the ground. He lay dazed for a moment, his jaw hurting like hell but thankfully nothing broken.<br><br>Janet walked around the melee, watching with interest. "Why does she only call me out when it's time to save her lilly white ass, never for tea," she mused as she leaned down to look at a sweating and struggling Athena. "Is he as heavy as he looks?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>06-08-2010, 22:11:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Rachel was more than agile and sturdy enough to handle fighting in the stiletto heels of her superhero costume, but right now she was once again glad she'd stuck with the fatigues and combat boots. It was more than just her personal comfort, psychological comfort, as she had to figure balancing this stinking pile of muck on her feet would be much harder, if not impossible, as pointy heels would probably just sink right into the mud. <br><br>By that same thinking, Rachel was prepared to ward off any blows aimed at her with the pointy end of her knife. The muddy form of Elemental was soft enough they could get their fingers into it, dent it with their fists, even pull parts of it off. Rachel would wager the tip of a knife would slip in even more easily, but since she'd prefer to take Elemental alive for interrogation, if she could get up and resume her attack, she'd try spear-hand blows aimed into places where vitals would be on a human.<br><br>If she could get up, Rachel though, her eyes flicking to Janet angrily, "Yes...fucker ways a ton..." she hissed through gritted teeth, "Little help...please, Janet..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>rick957</strong> on <strong>07-08-2010, 01:30:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Ah SHIT! ... ... Mother-fuck ... ... Fucking bitch! ... ... Asshole! ..."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br><strong>"Potty-mouth much?"</strong> the jaunty speedster opined.&nbsp; <br><br><strong>"There are ladies present, jerk!&nbsp; <em>Manners!</em>"</strong>&nbsp; <br><br><em>'What a rude cock-sucker,'</em> J.D. thought to himself.&nbsp; <br><br>He was feeling a little saucy since his attacks had proven somewhat fruitful; the tide seemed to be turning in the fight.&nbsp; Still, he wasn't sure it was a good thing that this one bad guy was taking so long for all four of them to take out.&nbsp; Then he reminded himself that the Defenders had supposedly had trouble with him too.&nbsp; <em>'Shit, wonder if the Hulkster or Doctor Strange went up against him ... I gotta look into that when we get home,'</em> he decided.&nbsp; Beating a villian who had given such heavyweights difficulty would count for major cred points, the teenager figured.<br><br>Thinking and moving faster than normal made it easier to sneak in random musings of this sort, in between actually making himself useful.&nbsp; While the others were piling on the abuse and improvising ways to separate Muddy from the ground, Happy Trails decided to help out with that task in proper speedster style.&nbsp; A few yards back from the present position of the brawl, he began covering the earth with anything and everything he could get his hands on that wasn't dirt:&nbsp; leaves, sticks, rocks, ground foliage of every kind, even baby trees that could be uprooted quickly.&nbsp; He took Voltaje's advice and went for a larger area this time.&nbsp; It didn't take him long to build a little carpeted field about the size of a tennis court for the others to play on.<br><br>Getting the guy over there, though, was up to somebody else.&nbsp; Happy stood by with his handy homemade hand-shovels, ready to start scattering the monster's mass again, assuming the others took the hint and moved the Elemental onto the carpet again.&nbsp; <br><br>Athena seemed intent on physically suspending the creature in the air and holding him there where he couldn't replenish himself, perhaps with Janet's assistance.&nbsp; That alternative approach had a certain charm ... J.D. would still be glad to resume shoveling away his mucky hide.&nbsp; <em>'Of course, in that case, I'd have to climb up the body of whoever was holding him ... claw my way slowly up their slippery curves ... maybe perch on their shoulders, piggyback-style -- hang on with my lower body while digging away at Muddy over their head ... sure, I could probably get a real good leg-lock around Athena's face -- er, head ... or upper body ... a good ... tight ... </em>hard<em> hold ... wouldn't want to get knocked loose, of course, gotta be safe about these things ... heck, even Janet would be alright, I'd make do ...'&nbsp; </em><br><br>He decided not to get his hopes up until he saw what the others would try.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>07-08-2010, 02:48:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje is feeling rather useless.&nbsp; There's nothing for her to do to get at the mud man.&nbsp; Her own attacks have proven feeble without some kind of covering on the ground.&nbsp; While he's up in the air on Athena's legs it's not the greatest time to attack him either.&nbsp; And she certainly can't electrocute him.&nbsp; Electricity has the funny habit of taking the shortest route to the ground, right now that'd be Athena, through her legs and body and right back into the ground.&nbsp; She sighs, then spots the ever-growing patch near them.<br><br>While she meant for it to be formed under them, she can also see the advantage to building it away from him, and then them punching him back over that way. <i>Oscar. I think Happy is ready for you to knock him back over that way.</i> Her eyes flit from Happy to Oscar, and then back to Happy and his tennis-field size coverage.&nbsp; In the meantime she runs back over to the field herself, waiting for Oscar, hopefully, to deliver the mud man back over their way.&nbsp; She'd be ready to distract the mud-man while Happy does his thing.&nbsp; "Get ready, Happy.&nbsp; Oscar is going to do his thing." She hopes.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>08-08-2010, 22:48:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oscar flew away from the mud man, in much the same manner as he had sent elemental flying before. He slowly found his feet, shaking off some of the butterflies in his head before slowly stalking back towards the battle, trying to stay out of muddy's sight. He was perhaps 20 paces away when he felt Voltaje's mind reach out to him, telling him about the area the kid had prepared. Oscar just nodded, and then charged the Elemental, trying to wrap his arms around his opponent in a full nelson. However, at the same time, Oscar was trying to probe the monster's mind, hoping there was a particular weakness he could expose.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>10-08-2010, 07:09:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Athena's legs were long, but they weren't that long. With Oscar knocked into the trees, the mud-man turned his full attention down at Athena, from whose heels he still drooped from. He reared back his arm and thrust a punch straight down at her, the blow landing full force on her chest.<br><br>The ground shook with the blow, blasting Athena several inches into the ground. Her legs buckled and Elemental came crashing down atop her.<br><br>"Shit!" he cried, standing up quickly. There was a criss-cross pattern across his muddy chest, Athena staring up at him from the ground with a mud-caked blade in her hand.<br><br>Elemental back on his feet, the speedster went at him again with his rock, scooping away. JD was a blur around him, dispensing more mud as Elemental turned one way then the other, getting smaller yet again. He was barely seven feet tall now and was looking quite a bit leaner.<br><br>"Now that's rapid weight loss," Janet said, watching the process with amusement.<br><br>By now Oscar had returned from his short trip to the jungle, approaching Elemental quickly. He went for a grab but Elemental blocked with his arms; though smaller than he was before, Elemental still possessed a good portion of his strength. The two of them were locked, grappling arm to arm on their feet.<br><br>"Oh hell, how can I resist that!" Janet said. "Hold 'im still, Oscar!"<br><br>Janet took a step forward and punched at Elemental's chest. Her fist struck him in the solar plexus, went through and erupted out his back, sending a spray of yellowish mud. Janet stood for a moment with her shoulder buried to his chest then pulled out her arm, now coated in muddy ichor.<br><br>"Now that's disgusting," she said.<br><br>Elemental gaped, as though he might say something but was too stunned to conjure words. Athena was on her feet, knife in hand, and JD was ready for another pass, but it was clear that Elemental was done. Oscar, still gripping the mud-man, felt him go mostly limp. <br><br>Gripping him by an arm, Oscar hauled him toward the greenbelt JD had prepared. Voltaje was there waiting, but it was clear there wasn't any fight left in the monster. Oscar tossed the villain down where he landed with a thud, his hands pawing at the gaping hole in his chest.<br><br>[OOC: Oscar, I took the liberty of having you carry him to the leaf-covered area. Elemental has had it, so it's up to you guys what you do with him.]
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>13-08-2010, 09:19:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Imagine what we could do if we had been given the time to actually train together. Great work, everyone." Rachel said with a wince as she wiped her muddy knife mostly clean on her pants and sheathed it. Her other hand was on her side, just under her left breast, and there was an audible pop as she brought her right hand up and pressed down hard, grunting through the obviously painful act. Turning to single out Happy she gave him an approving smile and said, "Outstanding work with the leaf carpet, Happy. That was really using your head."<br><br>She turned the truck, looking for Jon Talpert as she continued to make small adjustments to the accompanying sounds of a few more bones popping back into place, "Jon! Grab my pack and bring it here, please!" turning back to the others Rachel continued to explain, "We're going to wrap this fucker up in tarpaulin and take him with us; he's our first real intel windfall, at least once some interrogators have had a crack at him. We'll question him a little ourselves once he comes back around, but we still don't know if any of those mercs radioed in for support. We should get moving again ASAP."<br><br>OOC: Hope you weren't all waiting for me...I meant to post way before this but I got caught up, stressful couple of days. Stupid RL. Anyways, there's a post!
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>14-08-2010, 08:52:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Jon jogged from the truck with Athena's pack. He looked down at Elemental, or at least what was left of him; the villain was maybe half the size he had started out as, and he shivered on the ground in a state of shock.<br><br>"Looks like you kids have been up to hi-jinks since last I saw you," Janet said, wiping her slimed arm on a large frond. "Still in the jungle, though."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>17-08-2010, 00:22:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She witnessed the battle; hell she was a part of the battle and she's not even sure she believes what just happened.&nbsp; As with many things like this, there was the utter chaos before everything finally fell together.&nbsp; The doctor went from some meek little woman to a rather up-beat, if psychotic, super strong blond bombshell and then punched the mudman straight through the chest.&nbsp; She also witnessed Athena get <i>crushed</i> into the ground, yet seems to be doing relatively okay...even if she can hear the wet pops and squelches even from all the way over here.&nbsp; One thing she did notice is that once she removed herself from the equation that the team seemed to fall in together and get things done.&nbsp; <br><br>Whether it has anything to do with her participation or not is a moot point.&nbsp; She, for once, seems a little less determined and a little less flirty as the mud man, with brand-new hole-in-the-chest, is plopped down on the greenery.&nbsp; Her deep brown eyes shift from each of the team members, finally coming to a rest on Happy.&nbsp; She quirks the corner of her lips up, nodding to him.&nbsp; "We should have listened to you to begin." The sentence isn't <i>exactly</i> correct, but the Colombian accent makes up for it.&nbsp; <br><br>"Yucuma is not far." She answers Janet's quip, shifting a little awkwardly from foot to foot.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>17-08-2010, 02:51:20</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				With Athena's help, Oscar wrapped the fun-sized Elemental in the tarp that Talpert had so loyally fetched. Reminded of his aching jaw, Flashcard jammed a few fingers in the jagged flesh in the mudman's chest, quietly impressed the man survived Jane's massive punch. "To Yucuma?" he asked his captain. They had not ventured far from the town in their squabble.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>17-08-2010, 21:02:56</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Come on, let's get this asshole in the truck and get underway again. Janet, you mind helping Oscar while you're here? He hit me pretty damn hard; I'm still waiting on everything to really start knitting back together." Rachel said as she gave Jon a pat on the shoulder in silent thanks.<br>&nbsp;<br>She shifted as she started towards the 4x4, and visibly winced when she paused to pick up her discarded rifle. Brushing it off as she walked, checking it over to make sure nothing critical had gotten plugged with dirt, heading to take her spot in the passenger seat once more. "Let's try to find the embassy straight away. I really want Elemental secured so they can start figuring out how to approach his interrogation."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>18-08-2010, 06:47:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Freedom Force with Voltaje and a freshly bagged bad guy situated themselves back in the truck and hit the road, bumping their way through the jungle once again. With wheels and a halfway decent path to follow, they made good time, meeting up with actual asphalt within two hours. They began to see more traffic on the road, but something was wrong. People seemed frantic, driving too fast and packing too much, as though they were trying to get away from something, or to somewhere, in a hurry.<br><br>As they entered a real city, the roads became choked with traffic and emergency vehicles. In the near distance smoke could be seen curling toward the sky in various points. Turning on the radio didn't help much because all you got was static.<br><br>Slowing down to speak to a passing police officer, Voltaje was able to get a few words from the harried official. "There's no going through the wall," the officer said cryptically before rushing off. <br><br>The city was in a panic and soon they found out why.<br><br>It wasn't visible from a distance, but closer in they could see the "wall." It shimmered up from the ground in a solid, reddish curtain that reached toward the sky. The force field was nearly transparent, making it invisible from more than a mile away. It stretched in either direction as far as one could see. Pausing the truck to get a good look, you see a school bus cut in half, with each section on either side of the wall. Fires had broken out in some of the buildings that had been sundered.<br><br>People were in a panic and it was difficult to get news, but the team gathers that the wall had appeared late the day before, right around when their plane had gone down. The field was actually a dome that circled nearly all of Bolivia, and it went up as high as any aircraft had dared to venture. Though it looked ghostly, it was solid as any steel; initially several planes had collided with it raining fireballs down to the ground until air traffic was halted. It blocked electronic communications and most electrical systems failed as they neared it.<br><br>Wrapped tightly in a tarp, Elemental had regained some of his composure. He coughed out a weak laugh. "See? End of the world, assholes."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>19-08-2010, 19:37:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				On the way back she fills her empty stomach with a MRE, sharing with Happy should he need one as well.&nbsp; She'd used far too much of her powers during the fight, though a quick boost would go a long way. Once they start to hit traffic her eyes narrow and she sits up a little straighter. &nbsp;"This is not normal." She informs the rest of the crew in case they're not used to traffic here.&nbsp; Even though she's not entirely used to it, everyone going one way out of the city doesn't make much sense to her.&nbsp; <br><br>When they do slow down she climbs out of the truck to speak with an officer.&nbsp; She normally causes a sense of relief since she's a superheroine, but she can still see the panic in his eyes as she speaks with him.&nbsp; Finally she gets back into the car. "He said there is a wall that no one can get through." She informs the others when she finally gleans some information from a police officer.&nbsp; "Invisible from this far out." Her brows furrow though she sits back, looking forward to the city trying to strain her eyes.<br><br>Then they're within sight and her eyes become just a little wider.&nbsp; "Mi dios." She once again gets out of the truck when they get a jam where it'd be faster to walk.&nbsp; She goes from person to person to ask them what happened.&nbsp; Mostly she gets panicked replies and curses slung in her face, but there are a few helpful souls.&nbsp; She returns to the truck with the information then looks at the giant red wall. &nbsp;"Looks like blast from the jungle." Which explains her hesitation, but she also wants to take it down.&nbsp; "Maybe we go under it?" She doesn't know if it extends into the ground, but there's the possibility that they're only thinking about the surface.&nbsp; <br><br>"Rachel, I think superheroine Athena would calm more people than American soldier." She suggests but tries not to order the other woman.&nbsp; A superheroine just tends to claim more authority in this part of the world than a soldier, especially an American soldier.&nbsp; For now she's ignoring the big oaf in the back in favor of concentrating on the citizens around here.&nbsp; To her, they should find a way in to defeat this thing rather than spend all of their time rescuing.&nbsp; While the latter is great, without taking down the source it may prove to be an endless task, not to mention one that the emergency crews around here should already be taking care of at this point anyway.&nbsp; Of course the other option would be to leave this place and go back to the jungle where Ramac is said to be.&nbsp; <br><br>Her eyes fall to the floor of the truck, waiting for some kind of a suggestion or order.&nbsp; Whatever they decide, it probably needs to be quick.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>19-08-2010, 20:02:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"You're probably right, Voltaje, but I <em>can't</em> change in this truck...there's not enough room." Rachel looked...annoyed, more than anything else, as the sat in the truck looking at the faint wall of red energy. She replied to Elemental's taunt with a cold matter of fact tone, "Don't sound so happy, shitheap; you don't want me to decide you're too dangerous to leave unincarcerated if I can't find a place secure enough to hold you. I take it this is part of Ramac's plan? Hold that thought...think about how helpful you'd like to be, Elemental. Think about it hard."<br><br>She gestured for everyone to get out of the truck, gathering them where they could speak, hopefully without Elemental overhearing from inside the vehicle. As she looked over the maps, trying to decide where would be best to head to find local authorities, Rachel spoke to the group, "Hindsight is a bitch. All this way and now we have to head back...we're operating autonomously for real now. We're going to have to go back and try to find the source, and shut it down. This isn't a big change from what we were planning already, though, right?&nbsp; Except you, Jon, you're going to try to find a hotel so the moment this...dome comes down you can start trying to get in touch with command."<br><br>"I don't trust the government here, still, who knows if they're on Ramac's payroll or not...so we need to figure out what do with that pile of crap once we've gotten whatever intel out of him we can. Any ideas?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>23-08-2010, 20:02:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				At some point during the journey Janet had quietly turned back into Jane, who now sat placidly in the truck gazing out in wonder at the chaos outside. <br><br>"I think Jon should keep Elemental with him. I'd like to get him back to the lab when this is all over," she said, looking over at Jon, who didn't look thrilled by this plan but nodded his head.<br><br>"Yeah, okay. I've got some contacts in the area, too. Maybe while I'm holed up I can get some more information," Jon said.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>26-08-2010, 03:05:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"We should find a bathroom then, so that you may have your room to change." She explains simply, it would be rather awkward with the guys in the car for her to change into her tights.&nbsp; But around here it's going to be better for them to all be suited up rather than having to explain why some Americans just want to "help out".&nbsp; As a superhero group the explanation comes far easier and people are probably going to be willing to accept them.&nbsp; It's not guaranteed, of course, but it's <i>something</i>.&nbsp; It's also better than a soldier.<br><br>She crosses her arms over her chest, lifting her breasts slightly as they move from the truck to look over a map and exchange ideas.&nbsp; "I think we should keep him wrapped up and off the ground." It seemed like something obvious to say to her, but she doesn't know if they'd thought of it.&nbsp; In fact, she really doesn't know them that much at all.&nbsp; Her eyes flit from Rachel to Janet.&nbsp; "It is up to Athena, but I think it may be better if you stick around here.&nbsp; Someone with super powers to help keep watch over Elemental in case he should get free."&nbsp; The decision is a tough one, she knows.&nbsp; They could also use someone with Janet's abilities out in the field, also someone with Jane's abilities to help treat any injuries.&nbsp; Which is why she's leaving the decision up to Athena.&nbsp; She'll know Janet's and Jane's strengths and weaknesses better.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>26-08-2010, 23:03:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Dr. Wilson glanced at Athena before responding to Voltaje. "With all due respect to the Captain, it's not up to her," Jane said. "Strictly speaking, I'm not a member of the team, I answer to superiors in the Pentagon. My job is to stay with and observe the team, and that's what I'll do."<br><br>Perhaps realizing she may have come off sounding strident, Jane sighed and ran her fingers through her copper hair. "I'm sorry, I have a complicated relationship with the US government. Besides, I don't have any powers, they're all Janet's, and I'm not so sure Jon would be safe around her alone."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>26-08-2010, 23:20:33</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well, I guess that settles that then." Rachel said, looking at Dr. Wilson with a bemused expression. Turning to Voltaje she says, "Besides, she's right about Janet. Did you notice how long it took for her to actually help us out, even after I'd asked directly? She's a wildcard at the best of times, but who knows, Janet's power might come in handy again, and in the meantime, I'm sure the doctor's brain will."<br><br>What do you think, Jon, let's get you setup in a hotel to wait this thing out? You can keep Elemental in the bathtub, nicely trussed up, just give him some water now and again. If you even think he's really regaining strength then I want you to move, though, okay? Get out of there. Think you can handle this?"<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>26-08-2010, 23:23:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Hmm, let me think about this," Jon said. "Stay in a hotel room, or go charging back into the jungle full of bugs, drug goons and super-freaks ... yeah, I think I'll take the hotel room."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>28-08-2010, 18:27:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje looks to Janet then lets her shoulders rise and fall.&nbsp; "Only a suggestion." Though she doesn't know about Janet and how hard it is to get her to come out.&nbsp; She figured it was more of a panic attack thing and <i>then</i> she'd come out.&nbsp; Which would do well if Elemental got free somehow, she could see the doctor panicking and then shifting.&nbsp; Though if she's understanding this right then Janet is a completely different person from Jane and only does what she wants to.<br><br>Apparently it's not a panic attack that brings her out, but self preservation.&nbsp; If Jane dies then Janet dies and she can't have that.&nbsp; Voltaje settles her hands on her hips, moving to stand next to Rachel and bump shoulders with her before flitting her eyes to a nearby building that probably has a bathroom they could use for her to change.&nbsp; "I will be your guide back into the jungle and Ramac's territory if you will have me." She eyes Rachel then the others giving them all a charming smile, though it does fade.&nbsp; She knows how serious the situation is, they should be buckling down to invade a territory they know nearly <i>nothing</i> about.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>31-08-2010, 07:38:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				(If Oscar was supposed to be driving this whole time, completely disregard everything I say!)<br><br>Some time during the drive to the next city, Oscar had found the scratchy upholstery in the truck to be very comfortable, or, more likely, he was just so exhausted that his standards of comfort were lowered, and leaning against the passenger door, he had simply nodded off, the gentle bumps in the road mostly absorbed by the big truck's shocks and not disturbing him, the words being spoken by his team mates around him mostly fading into background noise. It wasn't until he heard a truck door slam, and then the musical lilt of Voltaje's spanish voice conversing to someone, who he guessed with his eyes shut must have been someone with a little authority or knowledge, about the cause of the city's disruption in traffic and excess civilian foot travel. Oscar reluctantly opened his eyes to see about as much panic on the streets as he could have expected from the exchange of words. It wasn't full blown Chile earthquake, but there were a lot of worried faces, some streaked with tears, and a lot of people carrying perishable goods between cars stalled in traffic.<br><br>"A wall?" Oscar mumbled tiredly as he sat up in his seat, self-consciously running a hand through his hair to make sure he was at least halfway presentable, although he need not be presented to anyone. Pangs of pain rang through his face still, the smart of Elemental's big punch still fresh on his mind.<br><br>As plans were laid out, the always skeptical Oscar found several red flags. "Okay, assuming that Talpert will be safe, guarding muddy rivers back there... Assuming he won't be able to break out of the tarp he's wrapped in... How do we know that this guy doesn't have anyone watching his back? What's to stop a few angry Bolivian guerillas from kicking down the doors? A hotel is not exactly a prison," he posited. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>01-09-2010, 00:12:20</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Worried that his cushy hotel room was now in danger, Talpert spoke up quickly. "I can pull some strings, get some local law enforcement to come by and stand watch with me. If push comes to shove, I can send some money their way; we have it in the budget," he said.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>02-09-2010, 09:03:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oscar's right, of course, about a hotel not being a prison. That said, given what we've seen of this guy at full strength, can we really say a prison would be all that superior to a hotel room?" Rachel offers, continuing, "If we're right about his connection to the earth, and we seem to be, then getting a room on the highest floor we can and stuffing Elemental in a bathtub might even be more secure. Ultimately, this has to be your call, Jon. We can't just leave him unattended, but keeping watch over him is very risky, so I won't make you either way. Your idea about hiring some help is good, too...don't suppose anyone knows any merc contacts of their own from around here? Maybe we could find someone Ramac hasn't hired. Maybe some locals that aren't too fond of him? Voltaje, any ideas on that?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>02-09-2010, 20:21:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje's one step ahead of her when the mention of law enforcement comes up.&nbsp; She knows Officer Pedrone would do it, he always comes through for her when the shit hits the fan.&nbsp; Though at the mention of contacts and mercenaries from Rachel her mind shifts gears.&nbsp; Pedrone is great, but he's human and while he could bring friends along for help, it may just be too much for law enforcement alone.&nbsp; Her eyes flit up from her gaze at the ground, giving Rachel a nod. "I do.&nbsp; I will go to contact her now." She pushes herself off of the car then moves to where there's an exposed electrical line.&nbsp; Not live at the moment, but it'd do for traveling.<br><br>"It will be faster this way." She explains then simply vanishes from sight.&nbsp; It takes maybe thirty seconds before she returns with her brows furrowed.&nbsp; "All of the lines are cut." She gestures to the large red dome then lets out a heavy sigh.&nbsp; Radio out, lines are out, she huffs another breath before something--and a big DUH moment for her--occurs to her. "Do you have mobile phones?"<br><br>As she waits for an answer or for someone to dig one out she goes on. "Sombra is a local heroine.&nbsp; She will be best suited to protect Jon in case of an emergency." Plus she's super easy on the eyes, and at her 5'2" height she's far less intimidating than the Amazon that is Voltaje. <br><br><br><br><div align="center">--------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>This is Sombra, the only difference is that she wears a black domino mask to hide her face.<br><br><br>(http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af130/ViciousTeddyBear/Shards/Sombra.jpg)(http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af130/ViciousTeddyBear/Shards/lauren_butt-1.jpg)</div>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>04-09-2010, 18:40:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Here." Rachel tosses her blackberry over to Voltaje. "I have no idea if it'll work with that shield up, though."<br><br>"Alright, people, it sounds like we've got a plan. Let's get going and find Jon a hotel with a nice sturdy bathtub." Rachel nods to the group and turns to head back to the truck.<br><br>OOC: Short, but not much to add since my last post with player attendance 'down' currently.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>05-09-2010, 00:33:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje catches the phone easily then pulls her shoulders up in a slight shrug.&nbsp; "Can only try." She then taps the number in that would look completely foreign to the Americans standing near her.&nbsp; She holds up a finger to them, moving slightly away so the group can speak with one another without feeling like they're interrupting.&nbsp; It only takes a few seconds before Voltaje actually seems rather happy, her lips pulling up into smile.&nbsp; Then there's the rapid fire spanish that even fluent speakers and natives have a hard time keeping up with.&nbsp; They'd be good to pick up on "inglés" when she asks Sombra how well she can speak the language.&nbsp; Oscar may be able to keep up a little better.<br><br>Not that it's all that cryptic, just asking if Sombra can meet up with them and help guard a high profile prisoner.&nbsp; After she gets her answer she grins and says her farewell before ending the call and tossing it back to Rachel. "She says she can make it.&nbsp; She will be in here in less than an hour."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>05-09-2010, 06:30:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				(OOC: I'm moving us forward, we've spent too much time standing here.)<br><br>While the group waits for Sombra, they get a chance to really feel the tension permeating the city. Citizens have had a day to adapt to the dome, so most of the craziness has passed, but fear is written on the face of every passerby. Members of Freedom Force milling about in the street would normally have garnered considerable attention, but today there were other issues on people's minds.<br><br>The female superhero shows up in forty minutes, seeming to appear out of nowhere. Sombra is clad in black, tight leather and a small mask. She greets Voltaje and it's clear they know each other.<br><br>It takes less than an hour to find a suitable hotel and hole up Sombra, Jon and Elemental, still wrapped tight. He grunts as he's hauled up to the room, but otherwise keeps his trap shut.<br><br>Sombra quickly explains that her abilities are to turn into shadow. She demonstrates by disappearing, but then you notice a distorted, womanly-shaped shadow sliding across the walls and corners. If you weren't looking for her, you would never notice her. The shadow slinks along the floor and instantly unfolds back into the smiling heroine. <br><br>If need be, she can transform Jon as well, keeping him from harm, she explained.<br><br>With Elemental taken care of, the team loads back into the truck and returns to the jungle, ready to take on Ramac.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>05-09-2010, 19:36:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As they leave her friend she tells her to be careful.&nbsp; Sombra can speak far better English than Voltaje, and seems a little perkier than the purple-suited vigilante.&nbsp; At the very least Jon will get someone interesting to talk to and share stories with while watching Elemental.&nbsp; <br><br>Back in the truck and finally back into the jungle, Voltaje keeps a lookout and guides the team back towards where they ran into Ramac and the path into the jungle.&nbsp; "Maybe we should go on foot." She suggests at one point so that they could perhaps infiltrate with a little more stealth.&nbsp; Other than that she remains surprisingly silent, getting her game-face on as she waits for the impending fights to head their way.&nbsp; This, in no way, shape or form, would be easy.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>07-09-2010, 01:16:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Given that they were headed back into the jungle, Rachel had opted to stick to her fatigues, the loose garments far more comfortable than her tights. She was thankful for this as she adjust the dragonskin armour vest she wore, replying to Voltaje, "I agree. We don't want to take the same direct route in, but I figure we should aim for the area between those two totems we identified. We should assume they are some kind of sensor, given what Oscar told us he detected from them, and try to give them as wide a berth as we can manage. Get your gear sorted, people, and full noise and light discipline from here on out. This is a covert infiltration; ideally, Ramac and his crew shouldn't know we're there till we've found out what's generating that energy dome and blown it the fuck up."<br><br>"Good think you thought to save a few kilos of semtex from the plane, Oscar." Rachel finishes, giving him a big grin.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>09-09-2010, 06:57:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				With Voltaje's aid, they made their way through the jungle, finding an entry point midway between the totems. Careful to avoid the sight of them, the team hid the vehicle, and proceeded on foot.<br><br>This time they weren't wandering from a freshly downed plane, disoriented and unprepared. They had experienced a taste of what the jungle had to offer, and were beginning to appreciate the scope of Ramac's activities. The world had seen some crazy stuff over the last fifty years as supers became more common, but a force field surrounding an entire country was a new one. Rachel could only wonder how the world's governments were currently handling this.<br><br>Jungle infiltration hadn't been one of the scenarios the team had trained on, but the previous few days hard march through the wild had been an excellent primer. They moved quietly and efficiently, even Dr. Wilson was keeping up.<br><br>An hour into the hike, they spotted a slim pillar of smoke rising from the jungle. Approaching it cautiously, they discovered a burnt out clearing, within which lay eight thoroughly fried bodies. The men were still smoking, though they seemed like they had been dead for at least half a day. The bodies charred beyond recognition, their gear and weapons lay scattered around them relatively undamaged. Lacking the coordinated uniforms of the mercenaries whom Elemental had led, the group looked like the drug runners the team had first encountered when one of their member had attempted to lure them into a trap.<br><br>Dr. Wilson knelt by one of the bodies and withdrew a knife. She began to pick away at the charcoal that had once been flesh. "These men had been alive when they were burned," she said. "And it wasn't slow, they went from fresh to this in maybe fifteen seconds."<br><br>She stood up and wiped her knife before replacing it. "I guess Ramac's serious about not crossing his totem line."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>12-09-2010, 06:51:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje leads the way into the jungle but falls back into more of a formation when they cross the totem poles that are lining Ramac's property.&nbsp; The last thing she wants to do is get picked off because she can't fall into a simple formation.&nbsp; The violet clad heroine also has experience in covering her tracks, or rather, not making tracks to begin with.&nbsp; It's impossible not to make any tracks, but they can be minimal in certain situations.&nbsp; <br><br>Upon reaching the site where they'd spotted the smoke she grimaces, eyes narrowing at the charred bodies on the ground.&nbsp; She runs her hands along her thighs in a nervous tick, but crouches down near Jane when she goes to inspect the bodies.&nbsp; It'll keep her still, plus it gives her hands somewhere to be other than making nervous gestures.&nbsp; Like on her knees and occasionally pointing out things while asking a question.&nbsp; After satisfied, though, she nods to Jane's assessment.&nbsp; "We knew that coming here.&nbsp; We should keep going, we do not want to stay in one place for very long."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>15-09-2010, 06:08:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The group moves on, leaving the smoky ruins behind. Several hours pass as they penetrate deeper into the jungle. There are no roads here, and no signs of human habitation. Also, no more totems have been spotted.<br><br>The birds in nearby trees suddenly take flight, and immediately after the ground begins to shake violently. It's another earthquake, and everyone instinctively tries to stay on their feet. The quaking increases in violence as the ground pitches beneath you, tossing everyone down. With a terrific wrenching sound, a portion of the jungle breaks free and rises like a wall of dirt, trees toppling. This creates a crevice in the ground with earth and vegetation sliding into it. <br><br>Voltaje is the only one close to it, and she finds herself sliding forward toward the widening hole. She scrabbles at the ground to halt her progress, but it's no good since the ground is sliding too. <br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>18-09-2010, 08:22:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Staying on her feet is difficult at best when the ground begins to quake beneath her heels.&nbsp; She reaches out for a tree to brace herself on, then moves a step forward.&nbsp; One step that proves to be a great deal more dangerous than she'd originally thought it would.&nbsp; The ground <i>lurches</i> and rips Voltaje's statuesque form down onto her side.&nbsp; "Augh!" she yelps, hitting at an awkward angle, though that's not the worst of it.&nbsp; Before she can blink the ground under her is pouring into a chasm while other parts of the earth are stretching towards the heavens.&nbsp; <br><br>She immediately starts to scramble, ideas racing through her mind about what to do.&nbsp; She could shift into her electricity form, but then she might just disperse into the ground.&nbsp; There's not a whole lot of conductive materials around here.&nbsp; The next thing that enters her mind is <i>impossible</i> and completely senseless.&nbsp; Having a grappling gun would be worthless for her, except in this <i>very</i> specific situation.&nbsp; The next one she tries, taking the sash from around her hips, and flings the end of it at a branch, a tree, really anything she can grab.&nbsp; Failing that she'll toss one end at a teammate for them to grab onto.&nbsp; <br><br>It's putting a lot of faith into a last-ditch effort to <i>not</i> fall in the fissure that's formed beneath her feet.&nbsp; "Help!" She cries out, finally, after taking a moment to actually translate in her head how to ask for help in <i>English</i>.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>19-09-2010, 07:53:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				(I imagine cogs will have to roll this, but here goes nothin.)<br><br>Oscar is silent through the whole hike, contemplative about not only their current mission, but also of his life, and more importantly, his condition. Risking his neck in this jungle better be earning him a lot of points with SHIELD and the rest of Washington in general. He scratched self-consciously at his chest, feeling the thick, bark like growths. One of their estimates, that Dr. Wilson and her colleagues had given him was that he would be completely immobile in 300 years... And considering that his lifespan was estimated well into the six digit range... <br><br>Oscar's worries of the future were shaken apart by a more present danger; the earth began to tremor again, quickly escalating into violent shakes, sending the members of freedom force pitching across the ground. Oscar fought to keep his balance, clutching to a tree like it was a lover, but he felt the tree itself being shaken from it's roots. A decent sized rift opened up in the ground, as if the earth was trying to swallow them up... And Voltaje lost her balance, beginning to slide towards the imagined terrestrial teeth. She unwound the sash that graced her hips and tossed it out towards them, begging for one of them to catch.<br><br>In a selfless act, mindless of the bulky pack on his back and forgetting his gun that he had discarded to the vibrating ground, Oscar dived at the latin superwoman, trying to scoop up her hand, or at least the garment she had tossed out like fishing line.&nbsp; &nbsp;
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>20-09-2010, 21:30:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				OOC: Sorry, with the slow down I fell into that trap of mine where I wander away from the forums here and forget about them as I get distracted by other things. I'll try to be good and get back into checking and posting regularly again.<br><br>Rachel led the team in silence, mixing a healthy measure of caution in while still trying to maintain a decent pace as they ventured deeper into Ramac's territory. She tried to keep far enough ahead to make good use of her skill and training, unsure of how well everyone else would do at moving silently and invisibly through the jungle, though she kept within eyesight of whoever was closest behind her.<br><br>This put her a few meters ahead of everyone else when the ground trembled, causing Rachel to lose her footing and nearly crack her head on a tree, but she was quick enough to catch herself, instead winding up on one knee and reflexively clinging to the tree for dear life till she heard the shouting behind her. Throwing herself back up to her feet, Rachel dashed back as fast as she could and quickly assessed the situation, undoing the clasp of her pack and shrugging it off, then diving to try to grab Oscar's ankles, trusting that he'd be able to get a hold of Voltaje, and praying they wouldn't all go in.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>22-09-2010, 06:34:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje is sliding toward the fissure. In a last ditch effort, she strips off her sash and flings it out. The end catches on a tree root and wraps, stopping her sliding. She can feel her legs dangling into the crevice that, from her vantage point, looks bottomless.<br><br>The ground is still shaking violently, and the tree that her sash connected with isn't looking al that stable. She's not sliding, but she dare not tug on the sash to pull herself forward either for fear of either the root giving way or the sash tearing.<br><br>Heroically, Oscar threw himself forward trying to grab a hold of Voltaje or her sash. He missed the sash, though, and slid on his chest, the ground thundering beneath him. Oscar felt himself heading toward the edge when something clamped his ankles, stopping him. Turning his head, he saw Athena behind him, her hands holding him by the ankles, her left foot draped over a root, the only thing keeping them from propelling forward.<br><br>They lay atop the roiling earth. Even stretched out, with Oscar reaching toward Voltaje, he's still about six feet short of her hand. As he watches, she slides another foot away, the root her sash is attached to about to come loose of the ground.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>22-09-2010, 06:45:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Augh!" she cries out as her sash grips the root and allows her to cling to it.&nbsp; That was a hefty amount of luck.&nbsp; Her sash, though, is like her costume in that it can stop bullets, so there's no risk of it tearing from her body weight alone.&nbsp; It may stretch a small amount but she isn't worried about it ripping.&nbsp; What she <i>is</i> worried about is how well it'll hold to that root.&nbsp; <br><br>She's dangling with her hips braced against a ledge, neither allowing her to fall nor giving her any sort of leverage to get back up without the sash.&nbsp; "Nyah!" As she slips another foot down she kicks her legs, trying to find a foothold in the wall.&nbsp; Immediately her eyes dart to Oscar, lying down and trying to save her.&nbsp; With the sash wrapped around one hand she reaches out for his, though finds herself well short.&nbsp; <br><br>She takes a sharp breath in, then tries to <i>think</i> in the chaos.&nbsp; She's going to have to save herself, the root is about to slip loose, and send her careening to a rather nasty fall and probably her death.&nbsp; She can't pull on the sash, or swing, but she <i>might</i> be able to use it as a conductor.&nbsp; If she can travel along it to the tree root and then reform on the other side of the tree that would at least get her <i>out</i> of trouble for the time being.<br><br>She takes another breath, shuts her eyes then attempts the maneuver, hoping to zip through her sash like she had the wires back at the city, and rematerialize on relatively solid ground.&nbsp; More solid, at least, than the bottomless fissure!
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>24-09-2010, 01:06:20</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje concentrates, which isn't easy given the shifting ground and gaping chasm yawning beneath her. Usually when she travels through a conductor, it's something simple and direct, like a cable. Moving through the sash and into a tree isn't as easy as it sounds.<br><br>She closes her eyes just as she feels the edge begin to give way, and suddenly she senses herself moving through the sash. A split second later she's squatting against the tree on the other side. To Oscar and Athena it appeared as though the woman disappeared in a flash with a scent of ozone.<br><br>Looking around the tree, Voltaje saw the earth where she had been lying moments before crumble and fall over the edge. That had almost been her. She is now behind Oscar and Athena, who are both still stretched out on the ground.<br><br>"You're faster than me!" a voice said beside her, and Voltaje turned to see a smiling JD looking relieved.<br><br>A moment later the earth stopped shaking, the earthquake over. Dr. Wilson got up off the ground where she had been knocked over; she looked disheveled but otherwise unharmed.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Doomsday</strong> on <strong>24-09-2010, 01:34:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				When the quake ended, Oscar wiggled out of Athena's amazingly tight grip on his ankle, and wiped off some of the fallen leaves and dirt that had clung to him during his reckless dive. He adjusted the straps of the pack on his back; he had never thought to drop it, because the precious seconds it could have taken him would have been seconds he wasn't spending trying to rescue his teammate, though it seemed that was all for nothing. Not that he cared, he was just glad they were all in one piece. The single-shot laser rifle had bounced... Somewhere, he was not entirely confident if it had fallen into the crevice, but he would collect it again when they had taken a full status report.<br><br>Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he sighed. "That was no coincidence. There were better odds of a shark attack, this far away from the ocean, than a concentrated earthquake that springs up right beneath our feet and opens up a very convenient, bottomless crevice."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>24-09-2010, 06:02:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She's out of breath and on the opposite side of Athena and Oscar.&nbsp; She takes a hold of her sash then quickly wraps it back around her waist.&nbsp; "Thank you." She nods to both Athena and Oscar.&nbsp; Despite them not actually rescuing her, she could respect the effort.&nbsp; Had she been able to swing to them she may have been a little better off, but she thought going through her sash would be a safer bet.&nbsp; Which isn't as clear cut a safer bet as one might think.&nbsp; It's <i>not</i> a metal cable, wire, or even the siding on a car.&nbsp; It's a sash and a tree-trunk.&nbsp; As she gets up she moves to peck both on the cheek for their heroic efforts.<br><br>She finally seems to register JD and grins to him as well. "Not exactly right.&nbsp; Only when I can move through something." And it's extremely risky in the jungle, a sudden downpour and she would have been scattered, or at least knocked unconscious if not worse.&nbsp; As she gets her sash settled into place she looks around the area.&nbsp; "No, not an accident.&nbsp; We should stay away from river beds.&nbsp; If they can cause an earthquake, then they may be able to cause a flash flood." Something that occurs naturally in the jungle, but she sure has shit doesn't want to touch a river bed if there's a danger of a flash flood being triggered on command.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>24-09-2010, 21:47:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Close call." Rachel says as she stands and retrieves her pack, slinging her pack back on as she continues, "We really don't know what caused this. If that energy field does go under ground, like a globe instead of a simple dome, then events like this could be happening all over. If someone did this do us just now, eyes on us, then I'd have expected a continued attack, especially while we were at our most vulnerable there a moment ago, or perhaps we found a trap of some sort."<br><br>Rachel picks her hastily discarded rifle back up, dusting it and checking it over quickly before gesturing for everyone to continue, "Really, it doesn't change anything, does it? We still need to push on, find what's causing this, and put a stop to it."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>26-09-2010, 09:40:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Gathering themselves together, the team pushed on through the jungle. The damage from the earthquake extended beyond their immediate area, and it was apparent that it had covered a wider scope. There were jagged gaps in the earth, pushed up soil and toppled trees along the way. The jungle had been difficult to traverse before, but now they often found themselves scrabbling up freshly formed hills and skirting around crevices that seemed to drop into nowhere.<br><br>Over the course of the next two hours, they felt the earth jitter under their feet several times, every time bracing themselves for another onslaught but the tremors subsided before escalating into anything dangerous.<br><br>"I need to take a break," Dr. Wilson said, slumping into a sitting position against a tree. "I'm beat."<br><br>JD had walked on ahead a few feet, but turned and came back with a tight smile on his face. "That's okay, because I think we're there, wherever there is," he said, gesturing over his shoulder.<br><br>Going to take a look, you'll see that the team had stopped on the rise of a small hill affording a clear view of a valley below. Nestled in the dense trees was a stone ziggurat that looked ancient. At the top of it gleamed an intense, red light that pulsed softly.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>27-09-2010, 00:49:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I can't tell from here," Rachel said, shading her eyes with one hand and reaching for her binoculars with the other, "but does that look like it's sitting on top or coming up from somewhere inside?"<br><br>She continues quietly as she brings the anti-glare coated USMC issue binoculars up to get a better look, "I think it's a good idea to take the time for a good rest before the next phase of the op. We'll find a good spot on the slope to dig in, build ourselves a proper O.P., a camouflaged shelter, from which we can safely keep watch and observe while we rest up. I think time is important here, but we don't want be too hasty. Might as well observe till we're rested and can have the sun at our backs as we make our descent; I'd say we go at night, but I don't think we have enough nightvision gear for everyone, do we?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>27-09-2010, 01:07:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Voltaje looks out as best she can, though doesn't have the aid of binoculars but still looks out to the light.&nbsp; "On top?" She can't see how it would be inside though at the same time she doesn't have the advantage of seeing it up close.&nbsp; She listens to the next plan and nods.&nbsp; "I can help with this." She builds shelters all the time out of nothing but jungle materials, which acts as a camoflauge all on it's own.&nbsp; She settles her hands on her her shapely hips before looking back at the others.&nbsp; "Can we not split into pairs and use the nightvision that way?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>01-10-2010, 06:25:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				From what Athena can tell, looking through her binoculars at the peak of the ziggurat, the glow seems to be coming from a hole. What exactly is causing the glow she cannot see.<br><br>"I could zip down there, take a quick look and come back," JD offered, pointing a thumb in the direction of the structure.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>01-10-2010, 08:53:49</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Hmm, looks like it comes up from inside. We'll need to try to locate an entrance, determine an approach..." Rachel let's the sentence trail off as she puts her binoculars away, deep in thought for a moment before she turn to the rest of the team. <br><br>"Good, Volt, that'll help. It's not as simple as that, but it's more a modification than doing it completely differently. To the trained eye, a simple lean-to made from jungle foliage just looks like a simple lean-to made from jungle foliage; it's not the materials so much as the shape that'll get it spotted, but that easily remedied. And no, Happy, not a good idea, not until we have had the chance to plan a route so we can properly cover you if you get into trouble, and all the best paths for running will be the ones with traps and security measures on them. Later though, I would like to have you scout the route we'll take. For now, let's find a good spot to setup our O.P. where it won't be silhouetted against anything glaring like the sky, dig in and settle so we can observe and rest up."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>06-10-2010, 05:13:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She takes her time in listening to Rachel explain her point of view.&nbsp; It takes her a moment to think how she wants to say the next part in English so that Rachel will understand <i>her</i> point of view.&nbsp; "I have a hard time believing that a trained eye can see any further than I can in the dense jungle.&nbsp; From experience, the only time you can see more than two meters in front of you is while you are in a river bed." She isn't planning on camping in a river bed, or anywhere near a river thanks to the flash floods that rip through them.&nbsp; She does take a deep breath though trying to see it from her point of view.&nbsp; Voltaje has lived in the jungle for long periods of time.&nbsp; Long enough, at least, that she knows how to hide. Though she'll be the first to admit that she knows how to hide by herself.&nbsp; In a group may be slightly more difficult.&nbsp; <br><br>"We should do this soon.&nbsp; Once the sun begins to fall in the jungle it gets dark very quickly." She adds on, then begins to walk away from the temple with the red light.&nbsp; "There should be rock faces near here that can help to hide us and get us off the jungle floor."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TanaSilver</strong> on <strong>19-10-2010, 00:18:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				With the sun at their backs, they broke into two teams - Athena and Voltaje, Oscar and JD - and headed down into the valley toward the ancient ziggurat. Dr. Wilson stayed behind at camp, watching their progress.<br><br>The two groups split apart and approached separately, moving cautiously. As they neared the structure, Athena heard a crackling in the sky. Looking up, she saw a human figure wrapped in flame flying toward the pyramid, disappearing inside through a high aperture.<br><br>They encountered one of the totems as they neared, but Athena and Voltaje felt they successfully skirted around it without detection. <br><br>As they reached the base of the stone structure, they saw a tall arch housing a stone door that could only be the place's front entrance. Closing in on it, they found for the first time a sign that not all was old here: there was a modern keypad set into the stone beside the door, a small red light atop it. The device was obviously for a coded entry to open the door.<br><br>They didn't have a code, but they had Voltaje. Touching the keypad, she disappeared through the electronics. A moment later Athena heard a metallic whirring and the stone door slid smoothly open, Voltaje standing on the other end. On the inside, the door opened with the simple push of a button.<br><br>A stone hallway lay open before them. Attached to the ceiling were flourescent lights that looked to have been recently installing, their cabling exposed and attached to the ceiling with metal clamps.<br><br>There was no sign of the boys, though it was likely they were on the other side of the pyramid by now, perhaps finding their own way in.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Anathanasia</strong> on <strong>19-10-2010, 06:18:49</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As Athena slipped inside she adjusted her rifle on it's strap so that it was slung across her back and drew her combat knife and .45, the latter already fitted with its silencer. She held her pistol in her right, braced over her left wrist with the knife in hand, blade pointed down. That way if anyone surprised them, she could knife them if they appeared right around a corner, or shoot them if they were on the far side of a room or down a hallway, hopefully silencing them before they could raise an alarm.<br><br>"Close that again, please." she asked Voltaje in a whisper, Rachel's eyes scanning the inside of the hallway. "Can you do anything to temporarily disable any cameras if we can't avoid them?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Freedom Force [Marvel SH RPG - EX]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darwishi</strong> on <strong>19-10-2010, 16:00:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Only if they are on... network." She gestures in the air trying to show if the cameras are connected.&nbsp; They should be, otherwise it'd be a large pain to keep them all organized, but there's really no way to tell.&nbsp; She does shut the door once Athena is inside, then takes up moving on her right side.&nbsp; Figuring anyone to the left of Athena would probably be knifed, and the woman's front would also be guarded by that gun.<br><br>Meanwhile Voltaje will keep an eye out for anyone coming at them from the right and occasionally take a look behind them just in case.&nbsp; After all they did leave the main entrance behind them.&nbsp; She's amazingly silent, just like in the woods, even with the heels on her boots.&nbsp; There's not a loud klack noise, there's barely the sound of her foot hitting the floor.&nbsp; And yet it doesn't seem to be anything she's trying to do, just something that comes natural to the Colombian woman.&nbsp; <br><br>Anyone coming up on the pair would probably be considered lucky to get shot or stabbed.&nbsp; Electrocution probably doesn't feel so nice, and to keep them quiet, Voltaje tends to clamp a hand over their mouths.&nbsp; Though more likely she'll just pull them, wrap that hand over their mouths and then snap their neck. <br><br>She also keeps a lookout for electrical devices, not just cameras, but any sort of wiring that she might jump into and futz with the feeds. She doesn't speak, instead tries to read Athena's movement as best she can.&nbsp; The last thing they need is their voices carrying into the building and alerting others that they're there. 
			</dd>
		</dl>
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