we have the get inside! Sterne shouts into the blistering wind that slams into him as he struggles to stay on top of the train, the difference between movie physics and the real world painfully apparent.
After the long ride the night before and the hours spent in the punishers lair Sterne was tired, dog tired and any moment now he felt his grip would fail and he would plummet off the back of the train.
Gritting his teeth he edged toward the edge of the freight car and attempts to climb down,
As Ebon passes him Sterne reaches out and lightly touches his bare ankle, the brief physical connection allowing him to create a mental one and he absorbs a fraction of the martial artists skill.
For an instant Sterne was transported somewhere else, he could see a vast drop below him but he felt no fear only a calm surety in his own ability. Looking upwards he could see a rough cliff face before him, could smell the moss that clung to the rocks and somewhere high above he could hear the cry of an eagle as it soared between the great mountain peaks and reaching out he began to climb with deft confident movements his fingers finding the smallest of cracks to cling onto.
Snapping back to reality Sterne began the hazardous climb down from the roof of the train.
Spore's concern for the others kicks up a level as they start flailing around. Unwilling to risk a second test of acrobatics today, he instead forms a sharp, wavy edge with one of his arm-vines– not dissimilar to one he'd seen in Castle's hideout. Sizing up the seams in the metal, while holding tight to the rail with his left hand, Spore makes an aggressive cut into the train.
The roof buckles badly under Spore's assault. He pounds his bark-covered fists down onto the steel but doesn't quite punch his way through yet.
Napalm and Trystt try to climb down but the powerful winds rip at them and both lose their footing almost simultaneously.
Success
Fail
Napalm topples off the edge of the train but he reaches out at the last moment and grabs out at something, anything. He catches a rail that runs along the roof and his arm is almost ripped out of it's shoulder socket as he is bashed and bundled against the side of the train but somehow, he keeps hold.
Trystt is not so fortunate. Despite her mastery over winds and elements, she is pulled off the roof of the train like a ragdoll. The last the group sees of her is her pale hair disappearing over the edge in a halo of blue.
She hits the ground hard and it is only through some miracle that she isn't pulled under the train to her death. As it is, she bounces and slides along the gravel in which the tracks sit, her skin torn and bruised as she scrambles to a halt.
Spore continued to assault the train roof, making significant progress. He sees Trystt and Napalm struggling, but continues, trying to make them a way inside the train and away from danger. The wind seems if anything to have gotten faster, or maybe just scarier, and it whistles as it blows through Spore in parts, separating his vines in places and pulling them back and up into the sky trailing behind him. 'Come on Trystt...' he thinks, pleading that she's OK.
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Trystt is not so fortunate. Despite her mastery over winds and elements, she is pulled off the roof of the train like a ragdoll. The last the group sees of her is her pale hair disappearing over the edge in a halo of blue.
A long moment passes, and a long mane of blue hair appears over the edge of the train, followed by the smudged, but beaming face of Trystt. She is clearly flying and ecstatic. "Well, that's new," she tries to quip, but her joy ruins the attempt at dry humor.
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Pain shoots through Napalm arm and shoulder right before his body slams into the side of the train. He tries to pull up with his arm only to have a blinding pain rip though his shoulder, nearly making him pass out. That might be dislocated...Should have at least activated the vest. Stupid!
Slowly, he presses his feet against the side of the train car, just enough to give him self some leverage. Using his super-serum enhanced quickness, he swaps arms just before he's carried off the train by the wind. He pulls himself back up to the roof in time to see Spore tearing open the roof. Napalm tries to launch himself down into the hole.
Spore looks back for Trystt after he widens the hole he started, hopeful that his friend was able to manage something to stay on the train. He worried about her often, sure, but he knew she was more than capable. Catching a glimpse of her as she rises on the wind, he smiles, relieved.
Ebon stomach drops as he sees Tyrstt flung off the train, just as quickly as she is flung off she appears again flying back into the train. "A handy trick." He shouts over the sound of whipping wind. "Let's get in there!" He shouts again.
Trystt is not so fortunate. Despite her mastery over winds and elements, she is pulled off the roof of the train like a ragdoll. The last the group sees of her is her pale hair disappearing over the edge in a halo of blue.A long moment passes, and a long mane of blue hair appears over the edge of the train, followed by the smudged, but beaming face of Trystt. She is clearly flying and ecstatic. "Well, that's new," she tries to quip, but her joy ruins the attempt at dry humor.
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With Spore ripping a hole in the roof, tearing the steel back like it were tin foil, Napalm and Ebon drop inside.
The car is full on all sides with wooden crates all tethered together and lashed to the sides of the car. A narrow space runs along the middle allowing access to the door that sits in the far wall.
Having seen Trystt faring well, Spore tumbles into the container, after waving to Sterne to follow them down inside.
When he lands, he moves out of the way so the others can fall in safely. Then, with a diligent eye, he scans up and down the aisle of crates, looking for residual traces of anything mystical or alien.
Dropping down from the roof Ebon moves quickly to make sure the area is clear and safe.
"Let's make sure we're safe and then we move cart by cart." He looking around and waits for the others to drop in.
Distraught that after he finishes scanning the crates Trystt hasn't shown up yet, Spore charges to the back of the train, kicking through the door separating them from the last car. When he moves to the back of 'that' car and throws open the door, he brings himself to a stop just in time, grabbing onto a railing that (thankfully) holds against his weight and momentum). From there he looks up, and sees Trystt struggling to hold onto the edge of the last car's top corner. Most of her weight seems to be held up by the winds she commands, but still, between the speed of the car and the vibrations in the vehicle, she can't seem to pull herself into safety.
"Trystt," he rumbles, "down here!"
Eschewing careful aim in favor or timing and instinct, Spore shoots a vine forward form his arm, extending it wrap around Trystt's flailing ankle JUST as her hands slip from the edge. Pulling her down over the railing and onto the car's small landing, Trystt lands on top of him and they both fall in a heap. When she groans and begins to move, Spore smiles his big grin.
"Got you!"
Napalm kneels down on the floor of the train car as the others file in. He winces at the pain in his shoulder, then takes a deep breath. He suddenly grabs his arm and yanks it hard, letting a small yell out. The mutant slowly rises gingerly lifting the arm of his previously dislocated shoulder. "Well, that was fun."
He presses a button on his vest, activating the impact foam in it. "Ok, let's see what is so important about this train."
Trystt whips back and forth on the end of Spore's tanglevine, the wind pulling her hair back like a streak of watercolour.
Sterne climbs down into the space between the two cars as Napalm and Ebon take a moment to catch their breath.
There is the sudden pounding of boots from west of you in the car behind.
Napalm pulls a canister from his vest, then sinks back among the crates on the train, trying to keep out of sight. As he hears the boots coming closer, he motions to Ebon for the man to get down as well.
Ebon takes a deep breath in and out channeling his ki. Focusing all his energy, as his chest tattoo glows for a brief moment. When he is done he seems to vibrate subtly.
Nodding to Napalm he attempts to hide about the boxes climbing in amongst them.
Climbing down between the carridges Sterne breathes a sigh of relief both for himself and for Trystt who was now tethered in mid air by spores vine like rope.
damn that was close, Pretty quick thinking Spore he says as he moves back behind him, putting some distance between him and the people approaching.
get her inside quickly, we are about to have company
Moving back behind Spore he reaches out to the group and uses his abilities to boost their adrenaline and sharpen their focus as they await the trains guards to appear.
The sound of boots continues to reverberate up the train - still from the last car. You would estimate three people by the sounds.
You begin to hear voices but not clearly enough to make out what they are actually saying.
Shuffling back into the main part of the penultimate car from its platform after securing Trytt and sharing in her excitement, Spore ducks into the stacks of boxes, hopefully providing some cover to himself. Preparing for the worst, he concentrates, hardening his skin to provide protection and reforming his right arm into the blade-shape.
Moving to the back of the carridge Sterne tries to open the opposite doorway, making sure they have a way out should they need it, all the while he maintains his mental grip on the party, enhancing their focus.
Ebon nods to Sterne as he moves past him. "Keep an eye on that door Doc." He then continues towards the back of the cart, as he moves he it seems like he is almost leaving a blur behind him.
"We need to move and breach if they have firearms they won't come to us. I'll go in first. So get ready." Standing at the door he takes a few deep breaths and brings his fists together again channeling his Ki.