ZippyWharrgarbl

OOC: I'm just laughing so hard. Flood, my child, nooooooooo

Quark's gonna have to go pick up ANOTHER of her rabble-rousing Heroes pretty soon. At least this time she has another Alpha Team member to blame. I'm gunning on Stormer flying over and they can work together on their Grumpy Team Leader Lecture to the both of them. Tag teaming it, even.

IC: Wilbur Flood - Estuary

Flood gave a whoop and a fist pump. He heard the call just afterwards, and radioed back, "Yes, this is Wilbur Flood, with William Furno. We've been dealing with some brained creatures in the ocean. You just missed the real action, though; some villain put a spinning death machine down here, and we just dealt it a blow for the environment! It's not going to be hurting anything else."

He felt so proud right now.

OOC: Billade is allowed on Team Will because, while he does not have 'Will' in his name, 'Bill' is an acceptable shortening of Will-containing names and so he is welcomed with open arms.

~

IC: ??? - With Vex

He glanced at the pool of water, and said hopefully, "So... we are going around this, correct?"

OOC: Can't remember if there's been a reply to this yet.

IC: Wilbur Flood - Estuary

He quickly fetched another rock and sent it through again. This time, he could almost get close enough to touch the turbine. He hoped this thing was expensive, that would make it slightly more satisfying.

OOC: Hopefully this thing stops soon or else this is quickly going to become Rock Simulator 2015.

~

IC: Eloise Thumper - Hanging Out With Her Rebellious Friend

Thumper fumbled with the seatbelt. "I'm happy people liked it. Well, most people did. One of them seemed really angry for some reason. Maybe they were a T. Pecs fan?"

She glanced to the side and noted her friend didn't seem to be listening, instead grumbling about Quark. She smiled kindly. "Don't worry. Quark's just... in a bad mood today. Well, I mean, she's usually... she just... okay, she's usually like that, but she's really nice when you get to know her."

IC: Dorothy Quark - Market

Quark gave a very long, very drawn out sigh. "Fine. Fine! I am sick of this mess. You have your options, pilot. Get on the ship or stay here. I don't care. But touch the controls and I am arresting you for theft."

She stomped away, reactivating her mic. "I hope you have some answers for me, Zib. Any hits on who could have called Thumper? I'm not sure how our voice recognition software works for impressions, but hopefully there's something."

~

IC: Eloise Thumper - Not A Secret Agent After All

Thumper turned to the pilot apologetically. "I've made quite a mess, haven't I? But the message sounded real... I guess I should have known no one would call me for a secret mission. I'm sorry you got dragged into this. I still appreciate you taking the time to fly me here, even if it was for a fake mission."

IC: Eloise Thumper - Confused And Slightly Concerned

"I got a call about a secret mission," Thumper explained to the pilot. "I thought I did have clearance! I mean, missions usually give you clearance, right?"

"There was no mission, Thumper," Quark groaned.

"Are you sure it wasn't Zib's personal number, or-"

"Yes. You were called by another party. What have I told you?!"

"Always check the caller ID. But-"

"What if they were calling you here into a trap? Or you got kidnapped?!"

"I'm sorry, Dotty... I just..." Thumper's shoulders slumped. "I was really excited to get a secret mission..."

Quark sighed. "We'll talk about it later."

She turned to the pilot. "Now. Are you telling me you had no idea she wasn't on an official mission?"

IC: Dorothy Quark - Market

Thumper gave a cheerful wave in reply. Quark scoffed and ignored the question.

"You may know how to fly one, but that doesn't mean you should. Or that you will. I don't care if you flew that craft through a solar flare blindfolded. Your options here, pilot, are to stay on the planet until someone picks you up, or take a seat in the back of the ship. You are not flying."

"Did T. Pecs hit us?" Thumper asked, the thought finally clicking. "We were really high up when we started falling. Was he in another ship?"

Quark raised an eyebrow at the pilot.

OOC: Dangit Thumper you're gonna make Jade look bad >:u

IC: Dorothy Quark - Market

"So, it's not even an evac." Her icy glare could freeze flame. "Get in the back and pray I don't have you officially reprimanded for attempting to commandeer my vehicle without a proper reason. Goodness help you if you were the one to bring Thumper here with no clearance or mission. I will be driving. From the look of the Hero Factory ship you presumably flew in on..." Her gaze shifted to pass over the crashed ship nearby before locking on the pilot. "I would say your flying skills leave much to be desired."

Thumper, unbeknownst to Quark, tried to hand-gesture at the pilot in warning. Quark was not a Hero to get in an argument with, especially over who was going to fly the spaceship.

OOC: Whoops didn't realise Jade was talking to Quark

IC: Dorothy Quark - Market

While waiting for a response, a pilot approached her trying to commandeer her ship. She scowled.

"You are not," she snapped, turning her mic off temporarily so Zib couldn't hear. "There's nothing requiring an evac here. If you need a ride, sit in the back and shut up. I'll be flying back in a few minutes."

IC: Wilbur Flood - Estuary

"Oh, uh, right." Where was his head at today? He made short work of the turbine with a second boulder, and was able to steer it more accurately, since slowing the turbine made the pull weaker. He swam away once the rock was on course, just in case.

~

IC: ??? - Underground Lake

"Well, that's... unfortunate," he said, noticing the lake. He glanced between the two Heroes. There was definitely something off about the way they talked with him. He was growing increasingly concerned that he wasn't fooling anyone here- that would be a first. He'd need to see about that next time he was able. Had something come up fairly recently that would give him away? Or perhaps they were just certain of where his counterpart was? It was probably the latter; it was pretty much a requirement that he keep himself in the loop, and he had been trawling the internet for news on the ride over. Before he crashed, that is.

For now, his best option was to continue to play his part and slip away the first chance he got, before these Heroes decided to attempt arrest, or something. The most important thing was to keep polite and friendly, to stay on their good side.

IC: Wilbur Flood - Estuary

Flood grinned, covering his ears. When the noise settled somewhat, he radioed Furno. "Could you send down one more? That should do it."

IC: Wilbur Flood - Dropship

Wilbur had climbed out of his chair and taken a position behind the rock closest to the doors as Furno started counting. Thankfully, some of the puddles left from him walking around earlier made the rock easier to push out the door, and he followed it, shoving it towards the turbine. When the pull was getting uncomfortably strong, he pushed away using the stone, sending it into the turbine's blades.

OOC: I didn't mean to make you think your post was totally wrong or that there was any rubble, sorry about that confusion. Just that there wouldn't be any smashed carts or anything like that. Fair enough, though, it's pretty much over and done with now anyway. Don't worry, I'll take heed of what damage there would be. And it'll be dealt with, too. Thumper's getting one heck of a pay dock to cover all these damages.

OOC: I was pretty sure I explained this all pretty well to you last time you brought it up, Nato, but if you'd like me to explain it all again on the topic, that's fine too! Probably better this way, in case other people are wondering the same thing.

The match wasn't illegal, and was premeditated. T. Pecs was slapping up posters for it- in illegal places, sure, but the match itself wouldn't be illegal because of that. Civilians were even discussing the match earlier in the RPG! Naturally, if you have posters, you'd want to have a location. Presumably, T. Pecs would have made sure an open area was available for when his adversary turned up. Thumper was not aware of any of this, first because she wasn't on Antropolis and second because she's been on a mission, so would not have heard anything of it. T. Pecs likely told the market people 'Yeah she's totally cool with turning up here' even though she was unaware of the thing altogether. Thus, though likely the pavement is pretty smashed by this point, people would probably have cleared their stalls out of the way- and anyone milling in the area would have moved to safer areas upon seeing a crashing dropship and/or the giant T. rex milling around. I mean, wouldn't you?

But, the most pressing issue is: if you had a problem with any of this, it's... a little too late to do anything about it. The fight is over. Next time, make sure to bring up any issues earlier, so maybe we can write in "T. Pecs threw Thumper into fifty stalls" or something. Fact is, as the fight stands, they kept it pretty self-contained in their clear space. The pavement and a chair are pretty wrecked, along with a pretty nasty dent in someone's car from the dropship's door. You can play the debris being churned up concrete, if you want, since there'd likely be a good amount of it wrecked.

IC: Dorothy Quark - Market

Quark immediately marched over, temper flaring. "Eloise Thumper, you get over here right now, young lady!"

The larger Hero turned brightly upon seeing her leader and grinned. "Hi! Are you here for the, uh..." she dropped her volume, still smiling. "Secret mission?"

"Secret mission?" asked Quark, dumbfounded.

"Yeah! I got a call for a secret mission here! But, uh, I ran into another wrestler and they challenged me so naturally I-"

"You... got a call."

"Yes! From Zib! On the Secret Number!"

Quark pinched the space between her eyes. She cycled one breath, then another. Finally, she looked back. "There is no Secret Number. Everyone gets their missions- no matter how low-key- on the same number."

Thumper frowned. "But-"

"Give me this 'Secret Number'. I want to hear the message."

Thumper relayed the number to her leader, who immediately put a call to Zib. "I need you to go through Thumper's calls to this number. Apparently, there is someone with a very convincing Zib impression making calls to Heroes."

IC: Dorothy Quark - Market Square

Quark narrowed her eyes. "Thumper is a trained Hero. She battles in a very hands-on manner. She has saved more lives than I could count, and though her fighting style is unorthodox, it stops crime just as well as a blaster. Now, where is she?"

IC: Dorothy Quark - Landing

The craft landed with practiced smoothness. Quark all but kicked open the door, consulting her arm-mounted computer. Thumper was last seen in this marketplace, but where? She was certainly not in the mood to go looking without some general idea of where to search.

She spotted a sour-looking civilian wandering about and approached them. "Quark, Hero Factory. Have you seen another Hero around? Large build, wearing a wrestling belt, was wrestling a dinosaur."

IC: Wilbur Flood - Dropship

"Nothing like this one, no. Just having one is a little odd, though. Perhaps they thought more than one would be easier to notice, with all the damage it would do." He sighed. "That spinning death machine makes me uneasy. To put something that dangerous and harmful right there, for the purpose of causing harm... the sooner it's not posing a threat, the better."

IC: Wilbur Flood - Dropship

Flood buckled himself in. "They'd have a time with it, with only one-"

He stopped as a realisation dawned on him. "This... may not be the only turbine. This one was relatively close to shore, and there are places farther out to sea that Beasts could hunt in. There could be turbines further out, doing the exact same thing. But to attempt to cause such extensive environmental damage for something as petty as ruining the Hero Factory's good name... that's... abhorrent."

IC: Wilbur Flood - Dropship

Flood nodded. Furno knew what he was doing. He climbed aboard the ship proper. "I wonder what the turbine was put there for, anyway. It wouldn't have spun for very long with the debris gathering on the blades. It didn't seem to be gathering energy for anything more than producing its own electric field- unless its energy reserves are kept underground. Even so, just one turbine? It's very odd."

IC: Wilbur Flood - Beach

Flood glanced at the ship's pontoons, too. "Can it still fly safely with the extra weight? If not, we could move a few stones out onto the beach and take them a few at a time."

~

IC: Dorothy Quark - Ship

Still grumbling to herself, Quark launched the ship and was clearing the atmosphere within seconds. She sincerely hoped there was a very, very good reason behind all of this tomfoolery.

IC: Wilbur Flood - Beach

Flood had slipped on his gloves again to prevent the possibility of the rock slipping out of his hands. Once they had carried enough stones to effectively jam the turbine into the ship, he said, "You mentioned earlier that you wanted to avoid getting the ship pulled in to the turbine. Should we just drop these at a safe distance and roll them in, then? Or possibly hover the ship over the turbine?"

~

IC: Dorothy Quark - Hero Factory

Quark marched out of her quarters and towards the launch bay, fuming. None of this made any sense. Thumper was a good Hero, she had never tried to avoid Quark's punishments before. Granted, her behaviour rarely warranted discipline, but it was still a valid concern.

She snapped at a worker who tried to ask if she had clearance for launch and glared at another until he meekly handed over the keys of a ship. She climbed aboard the ship itself and started going through pre-flight checks immediately.

OOC: If Breez needs a ride she can go with Quark, if she doesn't mind dealing with a lot of grump on the way over. Quark can drop her off on the way to the Epicentre of Confusion. Or Breez can sit in awkwardly as Quark drags Thumper on board to unravel the mystery on the way to her stop. Either way.

IC: Dorothy Quark - Hero Factory

"Well, she told me that someone called her on a mission. And Thumper wouldn't lie about that. Or at all, she's a very poor liar. Give me a minute, I'll call Flood. He's on the planet, perhaps he called for help."

~

IC: Wilbur Flood - Beach

Flood was eyeing a rock when his communicator went off. He gave Furno a sheepish grin and answered the call. "Yes, Team Leader?"

"Did you call Thumper for help?"

Flood frowned, puzzled. "Why would I do that? Ellie can't swim all that well, and this is an underwater mission."

There was silence for a few seconds. He asked, "Why? Hasn't she gotten back from her mission yet?"

"She got back. But she left again, saying something about a mission, and according to the local news, ended up wrestling a dinosaur in the city of the planet you are standing on. But no one has issued her a mission and she was very, very grounded."

"That doesn't sound like Ellie at all. Well, except for the wrestling part, that sounds like her. I'm sure there was a misunderstanding. I'm sorry, Quark, but I've got to go."

"Right. Quark out."

Flood turned back to Furno. "Sorry. Sounds like there was a mixup with one of my teammates. Anyway, we were getting this rock back to the ship, right?"

~

IC: Dorothy Quark - Hero Factory

Quark was seething. She hoped that Thumper had a good reason for all of this, else she was going to take her wrestling mask for a year. What was up with that girl lately? She was such a sweet, polite Hero; all of this was nothing like her. Was she going through a phase? Was she upset about something? She cursed Bulk under her breath. Makuro himself wouldn't be able to put him back together if Quark found out he had any direct, conscious influence on Thumper's recent behaviour. He'd already- unknowingly, but still- caused the girl to run off without a word to her team leader. Maybe he was the source of the acting out.

She called Zib again. "Quark again. Flood hasn't called her. I will go find Thumper and sort this all out. So help me, if she has made this all up..."

~

IC: Eloise Thumper - Ignorance Is Bliss

Thumper was still in the market, talking to fans. She did, however, feel a strange wave of unease, like a storm was brewing. She shrugged it off and posed with a citizen for a photo.

IC: Wilbur Flood - Beach

Flood scrutinised the rocks from the dropship's door before stepping off the ship. He pointed. "Those should do. If we work together, we should be able to roll some of them back here. Do you think they can fit in the ship? We could fly them over and dump them."

OOC: No idea how big 'larger' is.

~

IC: Dorothy Quark - Hero Factory

Quark waited rather impatiently, sitting in her chair and thinking. It wasn't in Thumper's nature to lie, and even in the rare occasion that she attempted to, she was horrible at it. Still, Zib had sounded confused when she brought up Thumper's mission. Zib was never confused about who was assigned to what. Perhaps Thumper had misheard something about a mission? Or went to the wrong mission altogether? She couldn't find anything about a mission brief for Thumper.

She called Zib. "Quark here. Do you have Thumper's mission brief? I'm unable to locate it, and it does not appear to have been sent to me."

OOC: BREAKING NEWS: Blue One Hates Water, Population Baffled and Amazed

IC: Wilbur Flood - Dropship

"I could get by the electric field," Flood said thoughtfully. "But I don't know how strong the pull of the turbines is up close. The Jaw Beast I was fighting was stunned on the electric field and I had to struggle to pull it out from there. I could get close enough to make sure whatever we're sending in there goes in the right way, but any closer and I might be pulled in along with it."

He glanced towards land. "Jamming it with rocks seems the best way to go. Trees usually float, after all. If we put enough rocks in it, hopefully we will be able to investigate it up close and either find a way to destroy it or wedge it in place for someone who can destroy it."

IC: Wilbur Flood - Dropship

Flood considered that. "It's... worth a shot. We could also try getting something stuck in the turbine to stop it. If we gum it up, it would be easier to destroy- and it wouldn't pose a threat anymore."

OOC: Why wouldn't blasters work, just out of curiosity?

IC: Wilbur Flood - Dropship

Flood smiled. "I am up for that. It's nothing but a death machine, definitely not a civilian structure. But it will be hard to get close to it without getting sucked in. Do you have any ideas?"

IC: Wilbur Flood - Estuary

Flood watched the beast swim off with a sense of pride. He'd made a mistake, but had remedied it before he could do any harm. He felt fairly proud of himself, though he had the strangest feeling he was forgetting something.

His harpoon!

"Agh!" He dove down and snatched it from the ocean floor. He doubted it would be enough to jam the turbine, as big as the spinning death blade was.

He kicked upwards and met up with the ship. He climbed aboard. "There's a big turbine generating an electric field. It's scared off the Beasts, but it's drawing in other creatures looking for an easy snack from the poor fish corpses stuck on the blades. I definitely do not think it's authorised to be here. It's a safety hazard in every sense of the word. Why, I can't imagine what it would do to the ecosystem if there were fish that spawned upstream here!"

OOC: Assumed he was able to get on board. Let me know if that needs to be changed, like if Furno has decided that he has had enough of fish facts and locked the door or something.