Chain Reaction

GM: Vulcan
Players: Kassandra, Orphen, Slinger, Stonewall
Synopsis: Gangers and a car crash leads to so much more.
Date: August 4, 2069


Business. It brings the world together. And the Catacomb Club is one of those places where people go to get business done. It's sitting in an area with lots of little, small, ill-reputed businesses like liquor stores, hotels that charge by the half hour, adult sim-chip shops and lots of alleys with mattresses behind dumpsters.

The one thing it has going for it is that it's not the Warrens and its on a main north/south road.

Slinger lights up a fresh cancer stick. "C'mon in with me. This shouldn't take too long. Just keep your mouth shut — doin' a small business deal. Oh, and reach back there and open that compartment." He describes how — though you might have seen it earlier when he tucked the items into their hiding place. "That little wooden box, yeah. Grab that… they'll figure I'd be carrying it, if anybody is watching," he explains.
He scans the area around the vehicle, summons a Watcher spirit swiftly to guard the thing while he is away and tell him immediately if somebody tries to move it or get inside, and then steps out of the vehicle — suddenly looking like someone else. A twenty-something punk kid, with a bright blue mohawk. Not inconspicuous in the slightest. And of course a cigarette hanging from his pierced lip.

Business, that's Silk's stock in trade. The elven fixer is here just wrapping up some business at the Stickit Inn, a local dive favored by prostitutes, drug dealers, occational RICO stings, and tonight a fixer and client. Stepping out of the Inn she adjusts the black watch cap on her head and glances to the sky as the wind picks up some. She hrms and extends a hand, palm up, searching for errant rain drops.

With a shrug she starts across the street towards a battered black van that she has 'liberated' for the evening, a trick learned from a friend.

Orph is here with Slinger.. No official business of his own to claim, but rather tagging along and at best offering visual dressing, as thought part of Slingers attire. An accessory if you will. He's dressed the same as Slinger, sans coat. He looks like your typical young punk; maybe even a little young for a ganger. He carries a sort of bored, perhaps cautious look on his face as he travels in the wake of Slinger, hands stuffed tightly into his pockets.
Following instructions, Orph grabs the small box in the back of the SUV. "This?" he says, and yanks it out. He cradles it under his arm for lack of anyplace else to hide it on his person. "What, you expectin' trouble?" he wonders, Spanish accent flaring lightly.

From Highway 83, comes the sound of squealing tires and high performance engines. "WHIOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Calls out one ganger, leaning out of the side of a black sports car, spraying his sub machine gun in to the air, the bullets cutting the night. "MOUNTAIN ASPS RULLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!" The car he's riding in jerks back and forth through traffic, two other cars running behind it.

"I'm always expectin' trouble," Slinger says, the end of his cigarette glowing brightly before he glances over at his friend. "You can light one u…" And that's as far as he gets, as he reaches out with one arm to grab Orpheus, pulling him away from the SUV — just in case one of those gangers loses control of the vehicle. And he eyes the trio speeding by — trying to determine if this is a race, or a pursuit, or just kids having fun on a warm summer's night.

Silk stops and backs up a few steps at the sound of tires, of machine gun fire. She waits at the curb and watches the black sports car with an air of caution; less concern for harm and more 'oh dear, what is about to happen."

Orpheus was just about to light up a cigarette, as per was usual.. the sound of squealing tires and shouting is enough to cause him to jump toward the nearest shadow and hide there a sec.. consequently, this yanks on Slingers hand a bit in the process. He squints a bit as he looks down the road at the departing vehicles.
"Maldtido Loco.. Mierda," he spits, and slowly climbs out of the shadows(wherever they were. Perhaps the shadow of an overturned trash can). "Yeah.. I see what you mean about the trouble," he agrees.

The Mountain Asps may rule, but they aren't so hot at -DRIVING-. Too much money on wasted ammunition, not enough money spent on driving courses, it may seem. "MOUNTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN AS*SPLUT*"

The lead car, the black one, sideswipes a van with the side of the car that had the ganger leaning out of it… leaving a horrifying red smear down the side of the city master. The larger van, the driver startled, slams on the breaks, turning the wheel. That manages to flip his vehicle, right in to the path of an on-coming Connistoga trailblazer rolling south at full speed.

"Holy drek!" Slinger barely has time to comment, upon seeing the wreck and the injures. He doesn't even hesitate beyond looking both ways — trying to figure out the role of the second vehicle; instead, he is already moving — and casting spells as he goes. Starting with a Levitate spell, floating upward. Depending on injuries, every second will count.

Silk winces as the ganger meets the City Master, wrinkling her nose and stepping another step back. Her eyes widen as the series of events continue and the Trailblazer and the other vehicle look to meet at high speed. She takes a step that direction, waiting to see if perhaps fate is kind and no one *else* dies tonight, at least here.

Orpheus' eyes widen a bit, and he watches carefully to make sure no harm will come to himself; or Slinger for that matter.. satisfied, he prepares to step into the Catacombs with Slinger.. "Huh. Crazy fuckers," he says, "Well.. Let's go ins-" But it's too late.. Slinger is already rocketing away at full speed apparently.. "!!!!" Orph looks left, right.. then stashes that box back into the SUV before he jogs over in the direction Slinger is going, muttering under his breath. Why were they wasting time with this?

About THAT time the Citymaster, in the wrong direction of traffic and flipping at full speed, introduces itself to the big rig. There's a moment of airhorns, air brakes and then the smashing, rending sound of metal being torn apart. The Citymaster, the feared lord of the urban combat environment, just -crumples- like paper around the front end of the big rig. Not that the rig is getting off Scott free, but right-of-way-by-mass is a tried, true and sound theory.
I guess that makes it a 'law' and not a theory.

Slinger's next spell is to increase his speed, casting into a focus. He's staying clear of moving vehicles, moving up and over the situation at a rapid speed to see who is injured, and who is most at risk. His first piece of interest is for that ganger — that red smear cannot be good — but if he can get to the man before he dies, he just /might/ be savable…

Oh no, that ganger? he's very dead. His legs are in the car, his torso is sort of spread along the road.

Thinking perhaps along the same path, Silk dashes towards her van instead of the wreck because, let's face it, they may not be done smashing into each other. Her speed is clearly preternatural, enhanced in some way. That, along with elven grace, allows her to clear the distance to the vehicle in a short amount of time. She keeps a weather eye out for other cars and wrecks and insane gangers.

Scratch that. Slinger glances back toward Orpheus, just to make sure his friend is out of the way of serious harm — and that things have stopped moving and scraping and generally being destroyed. His vision switches into the astral swiftly, to locate the signs of pain and suffering, if he is able. Only when the coast is clear does he beckon Orpheus forward. "Be careful!" he calls out to his friend… Slinger himself is up above the tragedy; Orpheus, though, is down at ground level.

Orpheus is skirting the periphery of the 'tragedy', making sure he's not going to step out in front of something moving and dangerous.. Satisfied, he comes closer to the heaping wrecks, trailing behind Slinger and probably Silk too, he's not got anything but his own grace to carry him forward, quick as he might be.. He isn't sure what Slinger hopes to accomplish with all this though.. But in either case, he'll look for the first wounded person he can find.

Total time elapsed: About 3 seconds now. Vehicles are still in movement. The first car, the one with the half-ganger, slams in to a light pole down the road, wrapping around it with all the resistance of taffy.

The bigrig, now mortally wounded, the driver perhaps dead, with a large truck wrapped around it, jumps the lane divider, its engine roaring to full power. Two more cars careen out of the way, one of them going under the rear tires of the rig as it plows in to SHAKEY'S PIZZA-SHACK, slamming in to it and burring the cab deep in the restaurant.

Oh yeah… then the screaming starts.

The door opens and Silk snags the backpack next to the driver's seat, watching the continued destruction with wide eyes. It's amazing the amount of damage and chaos that can happen in such a small amount of time. The backpack in hand, Silk slams the door to the van and starts back towards the path of damaged cars and blood and screaming.

Stonewall hears the first crash where he was taking his break, chewing lunch sitting on the curb back behind the Club. He comes tearing into view with a green satchel over one shoulder with a white cross on the side, skidding to a stop when he spots a big rig adding to the noise of metal wrenching itself apart on asphalt…

«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 3 + 7 (power focus) vs TN 10 for "TN 4 base, +3 for other, +3 for weight. Megakinesis, F4.":
1 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 10 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 3 + 7 (power focus) - 1 (succs) vs TN 10 for "TN 4 base, +3 for other, +3 for weight. Megakinesis, F4. KP 1/26.":
1 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 5 5 5 8 10 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 3 + 7 (power focus) - 2 (succs) vs TN 10 for "TN 4 base, +3 for other, +3 for weight. Megakinesis, F4. KP 3/26.":
1 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 9 10 10 11 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Willpower + Sorcery Pool: 5 vs TN 3 for "F3, +2D drain, 3D drain.":
1 1 1 2 2 4 4 5 5 5 9 = 6 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls 5 vs TN 3 for "KP 4/26 on drain.":
2 3 4 4 4 = 4 Successes

Slinger sees what is about to happen, and that is when he summons his energies, concentrating swiftly with his accelerated reflexes, and uses a spell of his own. All he has to do is move that Runabout a few meters, hit that truck enough to start it tilting — that will at least lessen the impact, he hopes. And he prays that the people inside have enough sense to /run/…

It's like something out of Karl Kombatmage. The out of control truck, the screaming gangers. The fire from the upside down Americar. The horror and mayhem.

And then the mage, one hand thrust out, a wave of power flowing off him like Magic Missile at the Darkness. The wave strikes the black Ares Cowboy pickup truck, the kind of thing ranchers buy, with its duel back tires and big body. The truck lifts up, seemingly picked up by a child and thrown. The rear end would just be a speed bump. No. The engine, that massive, solid steel engine, thats whats needed. It flips through the air, landing with a heavy, upside down (So the wheels don't give it too much play) thud in the path of the big rig…

The rig strikes the truck, riding up and over on the drivers side, tipping precariously.

«Auto-Judge[]» Vulcan (#3087) rolls 1 for "Does it TIP??":
3

Pausing to watch the truck suddenly rise and attempt to deflect the big rig, Silk only slows a bit. She keeps a steady forward movement towards the stream of chaos and destruction with a firm eye on big rig. Will it tip? Will it suddenly explode like they do in the trids? Will more gangers charge the area? With all that in mind she scoots forward, the backpack over her shoulder with whatever it was she thought she needed.

Stonewall pauses only long enough to watch… something his brain still can't comprehend, even after seeing similar displays of power throughout his life. He glances at the big rig as it rolls over the truck that just got tossed in it's path, and looks around, checking for a clear path, and also for whatever other vehicles have been involved so far…

Slinger has done all he can, and he concentrates on steering the doomed truck, on applying whatever small amount of force he can. Gritting his teeth, he hopes it will be enough to save lives. He isn't even thinking of Orpheus right now, or of how any of this relates to what he talked to the youth about the previous night. Instead, though, he is focused only on the people in that restaurant — people he can maybe /see/, trying to enjoy a meal. Children, most likely. The young mage winces, and redoubles his resolve…

For Stonewall: So far, it looks like… there's one car up the road, wrapped about a light post. A mangled Citymaster was smashed against the big rig and then fell away as it jumped the center divide. Two passenger cars swerved and crashed, one of which was a Ford Americar, now up side down and sliding to a halt, its engine spewing dangerous smoke and the first fingers of fire. The rig is up on two wheels, the front of the rig riding up and over the steel engine block of the smaller truck.

Orpheus can't do much to affect the outcome of the in-going collisions, so instead hes slowly making his way in the direction Slinger is going for the moment. He isn't stopping for anything else just yet, just looking on in wonderment.. mostly to Slinger, the orchestrator of all this magical mayhem.

«Auto-Judge[]» Vulcan (#3087) rolls 4:
2 3 3 4
«Auto-Judge[]» Vulcan (#3087) rolls 4:
1 7 11 17

The rig groans, the front tire climbing, reaching, clawing for that magical point where gravity does the work. For a long moment, a precious half second, it doesn't look like it will do as desired… but then, as if answering an unspoken prayer, it rolls on 3 sets of right side tires, then THUNDERS OVER to crush a small car as it comes down, sliding to a halt…

It's front bumper resting snugly against the front door of SHAKEYS PIZZA-SHACK.

With a little smile Silk watches the truck come to a stop and redoubles her efforts at moving forward, shifting the weight on the backpack as she looks to head to the driver's side of the big rig, or the passenger's side if that is all that is accessible.

Slinger whirls around as soon as the truck comes to a halt, and then takes just an instant to summon a water elemental from standby… he has a feeling he's going to need something to extinguish fires before this is over. Hopefully, the car that was crushed was unoccupied in the parking lot — if not, he may have just created another casualty, unintentionally. But he is swooping down to where he can see into that cab, his vision in the astral, looking for anyone still alive…

Stonewall looks back… wincing as the big-rig flattens another car like so much bread-dough under a rolling pin before looking back down the road… carrying the green medic-bag in one hand, he starts sprinting towards the car wrapped 'round a light pole, aiming for the most mangled vehicle first from his quick glance around, checking if anyone's inside when he reaches it…

«OOC» Vulcan says, "Kass: Perception. Slinger: Perception. Stonewall: Perception."

«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Intelligence:
2 4 5 5 8 8

«OOC» Vulcan says, "Meh. EVERYONE! perception!"

«Auto-Judge[]» Kassandra (#9777) rolls Intelligence for "Perception Test":
4 5 5 5 8 11 17

«Auto-Judge[]» Stonewall (#1297) rolls Intelligence:
1 2 3 4 4 5
«Auto-Judge[]» Orpheus (#3849) rolls Intelligence:
1 2 2 4 5

Orpheus continues toward where Slinger is.. Once hes in earshot the young elf shouts, "Slinger! What do you want me to do?" he asks, unsure what Slinger intends. This wasn't really a situation he was familiar with, at all, and felt a little lost. Normally, he would be at a safe distance watching such events unfold without interfering, but.. here he was.

Kassandra:

Climbing up on the rig, the tires still spinning, the engine still roaring at full power, is no mean task, but you've got the smooth skill and adroit dexterity to do it. The Big Rig's glass is shattered, making it easy to see inside, and inside the cab, it's ugly. The driver was killed instantly, one may suspect, by the bumper currently impaling him, pinning him to the accelerator. The smell of smoke is starting to infiltrate, along with the smell of fuel and… dung?

Slinger: There are no astral signatures from the cab, maybe it was drone run or the driver is dead, but you can't tell. What you do see is somewhat odd. Maybe.. uh… well, elephants? The truck's cargo has auras! 4 of them! Massive auras, massive… ANGRY auras.

Wait. Just three now. One just died.

Stonewall:

The car under the rig? Yeah. There was a prostitute in it, and she was giving a gentleman a hummer. One hopes she was well paid for her time, because it's sort of the last thing she or he ever did. But, if you gotta go, go with someones lips around ones shaft.

Orpheus:

The scene is chaos, but the cars have stopped moving. There's injuries and screaming everywhere, from the scared to the injured to the mortally wounded. The Americar, upside down, still burns while others are still in shock.

"Save people's lives!" Slinger calls back, hardly even looking down. "We're first on the scene. We /have/ to help!" Have to? Perhaps by Slinger's definitions of the way things work. To walk away from this is, to the elfin mage, utterly unthinkable. Then he turns around, seeing two familiar people. "Back of the truck has big critters, alive, and angry! Be careful!" And then he thinks of something. "Channel two-seven!" he calls out, to those who can hear him, digging his comm out and attaching it while his eyes survey the damage.

The first step is that fire. He swoops over near to it, and calls to Orpheus, pointing toward it — while he prepares to command his water elemental.

Damn. Silk looks at the dead driver for a moment, waving the smoke away irritably. She sniffs the air and turns her head to look at the trailer questioningly. Dung? With perhaps more concern than even for the driver the nimble elven girl starts bounding towards the back of the vehicle, eyes searching the damage. Something may be trapped and scared in there, or even hurt. The driver she can't save, but maybe, just maybe she can help whomever is back here.

Hesitating before she leaves the cab, Silk leans in and murmurs an apology to the dead driver, reaching for the kill switch to the big rig. "Sorry, neighbor, but I can't have your vehicle blow up. That would make this even worse."

Well, the first thing Orph does.. since Slinger asks, is looks for someone to 'help'. Life-saving wasn't normally something he did.. Even so, he'll head to the nearest tipped or wrecked vehicle he can find and look over those inside, quickly checking to determine their level of injury before making his next move. Meanwhile, hes doing this while trying his best not to accidentally immolate himself or impale himself or end up in similar shape to the other people around here.

Stonewall looks up when he hears that voice… shouting over his shoulder, "Get that fire out, I'll check the light pole car while you do your funky mojo!" as he barrels across the street, hopping over any obstacle he can't simply stomp across, getting to the car that's pretending to be a taco-shell and setting the medic-bag on the ground before peering in and around the folded-up econobox.

The rig shut down, Silk resumes moving quickly towards the back of the rig, towards the big doors on the trailer. She moves with surprising agility and speed for those who assume she is just another pretty face, the normally languid(at least in public) fixer moving like a squirrel over wreckage and damaged vehicle parts towards her goal. She looks worriedly at the trailer, muttering to herself as she surveys the damage.

Immediate notes as to the trailer: it's not a cargo trailer. It's a livestock trailer… only this trailer isn't stock for cattle. It's built strong. REAL strong…

Slinger turns around — and /now/ he sees the flames licking hungrily at the upside-down Ford Americar. Cursing, the youth commands his water-elemental: Put out that fire, but do not spread any fuel. And then he looks for the most injured people he can find — performing astral triage as he swoops down toward the field of greatest injury, leaving Silk to competently deal with the truck. He has his comm on, and hopefully somebody else will have heard him call out the frequency. Being able to communicate may just save someone's life.

Commlink-Slinger> Slinger says, "Check. Anybody here?"

Well, in that case.. Orpheus heads to the nearest vehicle and inside finds a severely wounded woman. The car is up-side down and she is limply hanging in her seatbelt - yeah seatbelt, imagine that? Orpheus carefully presses himself into the cab of the vehicle and looks the woman over real quick. He's no combat medic or anything, but he did have at least basic training in how to determine level of injury.. and he can quickly see this woman is in bad shape.. Her leg is crushed between part of the engine block that crunched through the passenger compartment, and her seat.. Her arm is broken.. It's bad.
Orpheus has rarely had to deal with situations like this, admittedly.. but on the field, he did have to take care of some wounded comrades before.. but he was always trained that in worst case scenarios, you had limited time to complete your mission as efficiently as possible.. part of that training meant knowing when someone was unsavable. Orpheus' had a tough time of it sometimes, but hes been a mercy angel once or twice. He shakes his head and reaches for his silenced sidearm, turning off the safety and checking the chamber.. he couldn't waste time on the doomed woman, he figured.. other, more likely to survive people could use his help. He gently presses the weapon to the womans forhead and gently squeezes the trigger.
He didn't like it much.. but thats how he was trained.

Commlink-«Silk» "I read you."

Commlink-MOUNTAIN ASP> WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MOUNTAIN ASPS! DID YOU SEE THAT DREK? WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

«Plot» Slinger says, "Slinger is indeed looking for somebody who needs a Heal spell to save their lives, to start with."

«Plot» Vulcan says, " Well, Slinger could PROOOOOOOOOBABLY have saved that woman Orphus just ended…"
«OOC» Vulcan says, "But try the passenger of that same car. She's hurt."
«Plot» Slinger says, "Yeah. Question is, did Orpheus see that?"
«Plot» Slinger says, "Er, did Slinger see that?"
«OOC» Vulcan says, "Gimmie an int check"
«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Intelligence:
2 2 3 3 4 5
«OOC» Kassandra is going to not see that.
«OOC» Slinger says, "Slinger hopes to God he did not."
«OOC» Vulcan says, "Well, you definitely heard the gunshot, and can see the 'after' math."
«OOC» Vulcan says, "Whether or not you do the mental math, thats on you."

«OOC» Orpheus notes the weapon is silenced, if it matters.
«OOC» Slinger says, "Silenced round? On the other hand, Select Sound filters, Hearing amp…"
«OOC» Vulcan says, "Not terribly with the amps I know slinger has."
«OOC» Orpheus says, "Also considering background noise"
«OOC» Orpheus says, "If you are that worried about seeing it, make a roll?"
«OOC» Vulcan says, "he did."
«OOC» Orpheus says, "SSF would give you more dice, too."
«OOC» Vulcan says, "He's actively looking for the wounded, he's got lots of mods, he's on alert for threats… I am going to say: GM says yes, Players call if he wants to hear it."

She's distracted by the possible hurt animals inside and so misses the silenced gunshot. Silk peeks in through the slats on the transport trailer, looking to see if she can see what sort of animals are inside and if they are hurt. Opening the door on a pissed-off cougar is a good way to get mauled!

Stonewall curses when he's done trying to look over the taco-car… fluently in Mandarin in fact, as he fights with one of the shattered doors on the car for what seems ages to him before he manages to get it open. This one's in some ways worse than the gal Orpheus found, likely spine injuries from how the seat is twisted up from the impact, their face mashed up so Stoney can't tell what gender it is, only that it's an Ork. Once he has any form of access to the still-breathing body, he pulls up the medkit, unfolding it and hurriedly plugging the injector-cable into their one uninjured arm, praying in Italian that the blasted thing works for once…

«Auto-Judge[]» Stonewall (#1297) rolls 1 for "1 or 2 means medkit resources consumed after the test.":
5

«Auto-Judge[]» Kassandra (#9777) rolls Quickness for "I am nimble!":
1 1 1 3 3 3 4
«Auto-Judge[]» Kassandra (#9777) rolls Quickness for "I am nimble!, karma reroll kp 1/22":
2 3 4 5 7 10 20

Slinger sees Orpheus going toward the vehicle, and turns his attention elsewhere. And that's when he hears it. The sound of a silenced gunshot. Slinger whirls back around in time to see… blood where there was no blood before. Spattered on the windows of the car. Slinger whirls around, suddenly, fiercely enraged, and he swoops down toward Orpheus, bringing the full force of his Levitation spell to careen him toward the other youth in a fierce, aggressive tackle. "What the /FRAG/ do you think you're /DOING/ you /FRAGGER/!" Slinger /screams/ at Orpheus.
The Hispanic boy has never seen Slinger this angry. This… /enraged/ before. He is literally shaking with rage. "Get the frag away from these people, if you are going to /MURDER/ them!" he snarls, with a tear running from his eye in anger and… intense regret. "I have /work/ to do here."
And with that, the young mage swoops over to the car — but the woman is very definitely deceased. And now, Slinger curses, shoots a /glare/ at Orpheus — and then launches himself toward the next person he sees who needs saving.

«Auto-Judge[]» Stonewall (#1297) rolls 6 (Savior Medkit) for "-1TN to First Aid on the ork-in-a-can.":
1 2 4 4 5 8

Kassandra:

You peer in to the trailer, and you see an eye. A massive eye. And then it glows RED. A bellow, and the, you jump away as a massive, solid horn of gnarled bone PEIRCES the steel, shaking the entire trailer. The beast bellows again, then punches another hole. Then more bellowing from inside, several 'voices', at least 3.

Commlink-«Silk» Kassandra back peddles with accelerated speed, eyes wide. Holy crap! She keys her comm, "Slinger! We have .. rhinos or something over here! And they are /mad/! Can you do the trick with a car again to block off the back door? We don't want them getting out and causing more damage!"

Commlink-Slinger> Slinger says, "Are they awakened? If not, I can zot 'em real easy. I'm a little busy here." His voice is rough and aggressive as he speaks into the comm."

One of the beasts inside the trailer slams in to the back doors of the trailer, the metal of the trailer groaning, rivets popping, welds bending. They won't stand up long like that.

Orpheus is just pulling himself out of the cab of the vehicle, a bit shaken at what he had to do, but confident that he did the right thing.. Or at least, confident in the mind of someone as deeply troubled and strange as Orpheus. Unfortunately, Slinger doesn't seem to agree, and strange as it may sound.. Orpheus has no idea why that is.

Watching Slinger come barreling toward him is a sight.. so much so, he gawks stupidly for several precious moments, and only by the grace of his elven heritage, athletic training, and combat sense does he manage a backwards roll away from the tackle which he kips back out of a second later.. He takes several steps back, a look of.. horror? Fear? Confusion on his face? Maybe a combination of these things. He has no answer for Slinger.. No response. There was nothing he could say. Sorry probably wasn't going to smooth anything over either.. So he simply keeps stepping backward, until he trips over something and almost falls… finally, he turns away from the scene and begins quickly heading back to the SUV and will simply let things take their course.. He figures he would only get in the way, it seems.

Orpheus, back at the SUV, reflexively goes to get his ruthenium cloak which he stashed with some of his other things before coming here.. he was going to use them on a new hopeful job prospect. Maybe not anymore.. He dons the thing and activates it, feeling safer, more secure when hes invisible. The world might be better off if it didn't see him at all, perhaps.

«OOC» Orpheus says, "We can call that my exit"

Commlink-«Silk» "They are destroying a reinforced steel trailer and have glowing red eyes. I am going to go with 'yes'.

Commlink-Slinger> Slinger says, "Frag… I've got dying people here. Lemme try again…"

Slinger exhales fiercely, trying to regain his calm, and then focuses on trying to lift another vehicle — hopefully an unoccupied one — in front of that door. He's trying to save people, trying to push his personal feelings to the side so he can focus on this crisis. But he keeps thinking about that woman… the one he could have saved and now will never have the chance. He wipes his eyes aggressively on the back of his trench coat, and then launches a spell toward the nearest vehicle, trying to work fast before more people die around him.

CRASSSSSSSSH! The next slam of animal on steel door rips the bottom hinge right out oft he surrounding steel.

The main scene has three separate scenes.

Scene 1: The rig. The big rig hauling 4 JUGGERNAUGHTS for the Denver Zoo has flipped on its side due to the heroic actions of the Magi, but one of the beasts has died and its mate is enraged, trying to get out of the small space. Its anger is infectious, and the other two are growing angry and about to bust out as well. Kassandra is here.

Scene 2: The Americar. The driver is dead, but the fire is out. Slinger and Orpheus were just here.

Scene Three: The Taco Car. Stonewall is here, rendering aid to the driver, who is now stabilized.

These scenes are arranged in a line. One full action is required to move between them.

There are now a LOT of unoccupied cars that Slinger could use to try and bar the door. Something huge, something heavy. That would be good. Hey look, theres that mangled Citymaster!

They are rhinos, damnit! Silk doesn't know what it is, but they are loud and angry and look to be ready to come out to play. She speaks soothingly towards the trailer, "Now come on, just relax guys. I mean .. I don't know what Rhinos eat but I bet we can get some of that .." She looks arouhnd for the flying car to come block the door while pulling out a cellphone and hitting the 911 key.

"All operators are currently busy. Please Press 1 if this is an emergency."

Stonewall watches the displays on the medkit cycle through all sorts of messages before it finally stops… the display finally settles on 'Pulse Stable, Store Cable' and he nods, doing just that as he looks up… blanching at the sound of more metal being wrenched asunder and thinking… "Wait… MORE wrecks?!?" as he looks over towards that other end of the street… cursing and scrambling towards the once-burning Americar instead, missing the gunshot in the chaos, and with no Orpheus in sight near the car he assumes Slinger did 'something' and has other issues he's dealing with now… so, baseball sliding to a stop beside the window… he pauses. Dead in his tracks from someone dead in their tracks, but not from the accident… the sound of metal giving way distracting him again as he pulls his eyes away, no time to investigate the dead, the wounded are more important…

"AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGH!" Imagine that's the sound of a very very pissed off Juggernaugt.

The Citymaster… Slinger will first check it for signs of life — then use his spell to work on prying it loose from the front of the semi truck. And then he moves it around the back to block the door. That won't trap a beast who can just as easily go through the sides — but it might very well buy a little time. And then there is that MPUV to gather his attention, with people who need saving, who might just be salvageable. Saving lives is something that Slinger takes pride in — and does with an eager passion. Something utterly without moral ambiguity, where he can know that he did… good.

Silk glares at the phone and stabs the one button. Looking up at the sound of the very angry Juggernaught she chooses to back up another meter or two. "Come on, come on." She looks to the trailer and takes yet another step back, considering her options.

The driver is dead in the Citymaster, impact was something like 105 miles an hour combined, and thats not counting the rollover.

"Lone Star Municipal Emergency Response, please state the nature of the emergency." Says the level one automated response system.

"Giant paracritters running loose and eating people." When in doubt, exaggerate. Silk watches the now reinforced by Citymaster door and looks around. Cover from rhino-sized creatures … hmmmm.

The city master settles in to place just in time. The next THUD brings the doors right off their hinges, slamming then in to the citymaster. It rocks, moving several inches, but Slinger can easily move that back… it's buying time. Precious time.

After a few moments, the phone picks up.

"This is Emergency Operator 393. I see you have listed 'paracritters running loose'. Can you state the nature of the paracritter? Is it 90 feet tall, knocking over buildings?"

Looking for the information she needs, Silk says into the phone, "Not quite. I have multiple iterations of some sort of magical rhinos being transported in vehicle ID #12568AEPM8. That vehicle is current incapacitated and the driver is dead in some sort of horrible car wreck. The creatures seem REALLY angry and about to get loose and eat everyone on this street. I am at Highway 83 North, in front of the Catacomb Club. I suggest you hurry!"

Stonewall watches a vehicle slide anew to block… the back of the big-rig?!? He's confused now, and starts looking around, calling out, "Someone with a clue, where ya' need a medic! I'm running blind between the wrecks here!" at a volume loud enough to (hopefully) be heard as he looks around, cursing yet again that he doesn't had a comm still after he lost his last one…

"Vehicle #12568AEPM8… Yes… your… oh. oh." A pause. "OH!" Says the operator. "We've received your call and are dispatching an FRT to your location. Please stay on the line."

Slinger growls and keeps the thing in place while he swoops down to check on the injures that the woman and child sustained. The first step is to figure out how to free them; the second step is to heal them, if at all possible. The Citymaster takes concentration to keep in place, but the young mage uses his Meditation abilities to center himself against the drain — and the emotional traumas he is keeping under tight control.

"I understand and thank you." Silk curses and looks to the sky, covering the receiver and comming, «<Sling, if you are carrying illegal stuff or don't want to talk to the cops, you may want to leave REAL soon.». That done, she heads towards away from the damaged trailer, giving herself room for when the black helicopters show up.

Stonewall gets a mix of 'please god, help me, my arm is broken' and 'I am NOT letting a troll do medicine on MY child!'. At this time however, most of the critical injuries seem to have people (either PC's or background) people working the situation…

ARRRROOOOOOGH! Says one Juggeraught, punching another hole in the top (Side) of the trailer. Soon, that top is just going to be so thin they can push their way out.

The elven girl watches the trailer. Yeah. They should have reinforced the roof too. Silk considers the location and the relative air traffic currently versus the size of creature trying to bull its way out. For once, she is actually hoping the cops get here in time.

Stonewall looks around… listening for several seconds, shaking his head finally. Folks are being tended to… but that shredding-metal sound just can't be good… if something's about to explode, better if he's there to catch the blast at least, so he starts moving towards the trailer, shouting towards it, "The hell's in there, a slow-motion bomb exploding?" as he trots over, the grimy medic-bag slung back over a shoulder.

Slinger starts with the woman, whose injuries seem to be more severe. And he sends his own healing energies out, centering his spirit to withstand the distraction caused by trying to maintain his spell. First the woman, then the child, as he heals them as well as he can, given his time constraints. They will be spending some time in the hospital, no matter what, but perhaps he can prevent them from dying or being maimed for life with his magics. Little enough for him to do after that woman was shot earlier. His fault. Completely his fault.

Another prudent step back. Silk calls to Stonewall, "Angry magical mutated rhinos. With glowing red eyes and armor piercing horns." She adds helpfully, "Lone Star is sending a Fast Response Team to help out though, so .. with luck, they can airlift these guys to a new home."

And then, the horn comes up again, shoving its way through the holed-steel to bring its head above the line of the new roof. "ARRRRRAAAAAAOOOGH AND OTHER RHINO-LIKE NOISES!"

No, this will not do at all. The creature is just about to break through once Slinger gets done with the child, and he launches himself upward, hopefully out of range of the thing's horn. And that's when he eyes the thing, launching out with a bolt of energy. Maybe it will work, maybe not, but at the very least perhaps he can calm it down just a little bit. Make it drowsy. Or at best, let it take a nice, restful nap."

«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 4 + 7 (power focus) vs TN 10 for "Stunball, F6, TN is 10 for creature's willpower.":
1 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 9 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 4 + 7 (power focus) vs TN 10 for "Stunball, F6, TN is 10 for creature's willpower. KP 5/26.":
2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 7 11 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 4 + 7 (power focus) - 1 (succs) vs TN 10 for "Stunball, F6, TN is 10 for creature's willpower. KP 7/26.":
1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 7 8 11 = 1 Success
«OOC» Slinger says, "Targeting at S, by the way. Shoulda mentioned that."
«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 4 + 7 (power focus) - 2 (succs) vs TN 10 for "Stunball, F6, TN is 10 for creature's willpower. KP 10/26.":
2 3 4 4 4 4 5 7 7 7 8 8 9 10 11 = 2 Successes
«OOC» Slinger says, "Stand at 4 succeses for now."
«Auto-Judge[]» Vulcan (#3087) rolls 10 vs TN 6 for "Resist. Givign beasty KP of 5":
1 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 5 9 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Vulcan (#3087) rolls 10 - 1 vs TN 6 for "Resist. Givign beasty KP of 4":
1 2 2 3 5 5 5 7 10 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Vulcan (#3087) rolls 10 - 3 vs TN 6 for "Resist. Givign beasty KP of 2":
1 2 3 3 5 5 20 = 1 Success
«OOC» Slinger says, "No effect."

Slinger lashes out with his magics toward the creature — sending a wave of energy down that would be sufficient to flatten most humans who were not mages. However, this creature is not human, and he curses, preparing to attempt that again once his power focus recharges..

The spell slams in to the Juggernaught, the angry male pushing his way through the roof. He stumbles, eyes dimming only for a half moment, He comes back now, his mouth opening in a scream of rage, eyes locking on to Slinger as it scrambles (Its odd, but it works) its way up on to the side of the trailer now. Like an angry four footed hulk that wants to smash.

«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Willpower + Sorcery Pool: 4 vs TN 2 for "F6, -1(DL), 2S drain.":
2 2 2 3 4 5 5 9 9 11 = 10 Successes

«Auto-Judge[]» Stonewall (#1297) rolls Intelligence for "Not a para-vet, that's my OTHER troll…":
1 2 4 4 7 7
«OOC» Vulcan says, "2 7s, yeah. THATS A FUCKING JUGGERNAUGHT (bitch)"
«Auto-Judge[]» Kassandra (#9777) rolls Intelligence + 1 (Magical.threats):
1 1 2 2 3 4 5 11

«OOC» Vulcan says, "Kassandra: Thats a juggernaught. And while Slinger can fly? You cannot. And nor can they."

Rapidly into the phone, Silk remarks, "Operator? They are getting out of the truck!" With that, she takes several steps back and then stares in awe at the creature, the size and power of it. She shakes her head at the majesty of the being, the way it moves and shreds steel like tissue.

Stonewall cries out, "Get clear! I might be able to slow that damn thing down!" almost on reflex when it finishes climbing up on top of the trailer, shoving the green bag into Silk's hands… or just letting it fall to her feet as he actually rushes _towards_ the Juggernaut, calling out, "Green Harley behind Catacomb, left bag, seven five three!" at top volume as he actually… yes… rushes towards the frakkin' huge armadillo.

Gunfire. Lots of Gunfire, as a Lone Star Wasp Helicopter slides in. The chin-mounted LMG opens fire… the bullets strike the hide of the beast.. but bounce off, pancaking against it or otherwise seeming to have -no effect-. Another scream, and now its clambering down off the truck.

The bag falls to her feet as Silk watches the creature, the Juggernaut, one of three I might add, get struck full on by automatic gun fire. She hits the deck in mind of any stray rounds and bounces. She moves back to a crouch, finding a little cover to stares at the being a long moment.

«Auto-Judge[]» Stonewall (#1297) rolls Aikido vs TN 3 for "Throw Maneuver, +1 Dice, -1 dice for initiating combat. +1 Reach used for leverage.":
1 1 4 5 10 = 3 Successes

«Auto-Judge[]» Stonewall (#1297) rolls Aikido - 3 vs TN 3 for "Throw Maneuver, +1 Dice, -1 dice for initiating combat. +1 Reach used for leverage. (KP 1/2)":
3 3 = 2 Successes

«Auto-Judge[]» Vulcan (#3087) rolls 4 vs TN 4 for "Thank god for small favors.":
1 1 2 5 = 1 Success

«Auto-Judge[]» Stonewall (#1297) rolls Strength vs TN 11 for "Just one success, please… Daddy wants the Juggernaut on it's back, where's that Prone modifier…":
1 2 4 5 10 11 = 1 Success

«Auto-Judge[]» Vulcan (#3087) rolls 15 vs TN 2 for "We'll say Str+4 for damage. You are a puny fucking troll.":
1 1 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 5 10 13 = 13 Successes

Stonewall storms past Silk, and manages to grab a'hold of one of the beast's forelegs just as it steps down onto the car that was serving as a 'door' for the trailer… he yells out what can only be called a 'Ki-ya!' and twists… bracing against the car and somehow managing to pull the beast's footing free, making it slip on the sheetmetal and across his own back… a moment in time later, suddenly the beast is in mid-air, and *WHAM* there's a new crater on the ground as it lands on it's back. Utterly uninjured, except for it's pride, and on a Juggernaut that's the WORST thing to hurt. Stonewall doesn't even wait to admire his handywork, he turns to Silk, and shouts, "MOVE! RUN!" to her and everyone else nearby as he barrels straight at her, trying to scoop her up as he runs then before the para-critter can get back to it's feet.

Blinking as the troll attempts to kung fu fight the Juggernaut, Silk shakes her head in wonderment. She tilts her head curiously as the creature falls over and roars, the troll turning this way and running towards her. Eyes widening, the elf mutters something under her breath and goes the only direction that seems plausible at the moment .. up. Gaining altitude she'll eye the situation with some curiosity, frowning at the creature.

"STEP AWAY FROM THE CREATURE!" Calls the loudspeakers of the Wasp.

"Well look at that, Jim. Fucken trog can run."

"No drek."

"Loudspeakers still on."

"Fuck. Maybe no one heard."

Yeah. So. Slingers flying away. The Helicopter is flying away. And now Silk's flying away. The Juggernaut comes back to its feet, snorting angerly and tossing its head.

Have you ever had the impression an animal just said 'oh HELLLLLs no'? Well. You do now.

And then it starts to charge. After Stonewall.

Is Slinger flying away? Well, maybe not /away/, but definitely /up/. He still has his Physical Mask up, but he's not going to let the thing attack his ally. Nope. As soon as it charges, he has another stunbolt ready to go. Knock it out. Nap time for beastie!

Stonewall obediently makes many, many steps away from the creature. He has a little bit of a head-start, but nowhere near enough time to jump on his bike. He hears the rampage behind him, and does his level best to pour on the speed then, trying to lead the thing on a buffet-course of wreckage and buildings between he and it.

«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 6 + 7 (power focus) vs TN 10 for "Zotting the creature. Stunbolt, F6, targeting at D damage. This is gonna hurt!":
1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 9 23 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 6 + 7 (power focus) - 1 (succs) vs TN 10 for "Zotting the creature. Stunbolt, F6, targeting at D damage. This is gonna hurt! KP 11/26":
1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 10 11 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 6 + 7 (power focus) - 3 (succs) vs TN 10 for "Zotting the creature. Stunbolt, F6, targeting at D damage. This is gonna hurt! KP 13/26":
1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 15 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 6 + 7 (power focus) - 4 (succs) vs TN 10 for "Zotting the creature. Stunbolt, F6, targeting at D damage. This is gonna hurt! KP 16/26":
1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 8 8 9 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 6 + 7 (power focus) - 4 (succs) vs TN 10 for "Zotting the creature. Stunbolt, F6, targeting at D damage. This is gonna hurt! KP 20/26":
2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 11 13 = 2 Successes

«Auto-Judge[]» Vulcan (#3087) rolls 10 vs TN 6 for "Gonna need 6":
1 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 9 14 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Vulcan (#3087) rolls 10 - 2 vs TN 6 for "Gonna need 6 KP 5/5":
1 2 2 2 3 4 5 8 = 1 Success

«Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Willpower + Sorcery Pool: 2 vs TN 2 for "F6, -1(DL), 2D drain.":
2 2 2 5 5 5 9 9 = 8 Successes

«Auto-Judge[]» Stonewall (#1297) rolls Athletics vs TN 4 for "Now to pretend to be a sulpherous chiroptera… just in case the other two are just as pissed off.":
1 2 3 4 5 5 7 = 4 Successes

With a grunt of fierce effort, Slinger lashes out with his energies. That THING is going to cream THAT troll if he doesn't do something. The cops aren't going to like this. They aren't going to like it one bit. On the other hand, he's licensed for such things, if it comes down to it. The youth narrows his eyes, and sends all of his energy down the pipeline from his own spirit, activating his power focus at full blast, and targets as much energy as he can toward the creature.

The Juggernaught charges after Stonewall now, lumbering, shaking the ground with every rapid step, closing the gap between them. Quadrapeds are simply faster in all respects, than bipeds. Stonewall can almost feel the beasts breath (And that very much WAS spittle) on the back of his neck… and then a strange sort of 'urk' sound from him. And then the train just sort of derails.

Silk watches the creature fall over with a look of profound sadness. She sighs and shakes her head, staying at a comfortable 5 meters in the air above the street. The elf seems inclined to keep out of harms way and observe, gaze going from the downed creature to the trailer and the others that were moving around.

And with that… Emergency services start to arrive, a few moments behind the air support. "CIVILIANS CLEAR THE AREA!" comes the loud speakered command.

Hey! I'm a civilian! Silk closes her phone after telling the nice operator that the calvary has arrived. She'll put herself down on the ground well away from the scene and, if not asked to answer some questions, begin moving off to find a taxi and clear the area.

Civilians. Slinger snorts up in the air, definitely, eying his vehicle down there. Of course, the plates on it are relatively legal right now, and its shade is a rather uninteresting shade of dark green that really doesn't stand out in the slightest. Civilians. He's seen more action than most of those cops, he'd wager. But even so, the youth moves off — and then stealths, going invisible. He has to find Orpheus… and figure out what he's going to do with the lad. His heart is heavy when he thinks of that, a hint of the anger returning.

Stonewall keeps going, all the way down to the end of the wreckage littering the street, and further… as the song lyrics go, he's "Going the Distance, going for Speed," until the emergency services are between him and the street. That's when he skids to a stop (literally) and turns down an alley, circling back towards his motorcycle to make sure it's secured safely before waiting for… whoever… to come talk to him. No way he's getting to just walk away from this without some questions, he knows better.

Slinger right now has one concern — and that is finding Orpheus before he can do something… well, unpredictable. The youth waits until he's a bit away from the situation — and then lights up a cigarette, inhaling fiercely while he summons up a Watcher spirit. He gives the thing Orpheus's aura… and tells it to Search for it.

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