Spellbinder will drop down onto the boat and hope to block off the sub from the ship, gesturing his hands towards the side of the ship closest to the sub as he creates an opaque wall across the railing of the yacht
Coldwar skates over the water and drops Fragment and his motorcycle on the boat remaining at a safe distance from Manta and his goons. Then, he covers the submarine's con in a foot of ice.
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Ghost grabs a handful of wires and yanks them loose, hoping to pull something critical. Isikos tries to slip Manta into shadow but the villain proves too strong-willed. MINOTAR brings the Javelin in low, allowing the others to egress. Straightjacket tries to lay hands on Manta, but the super-villain barely manages to evade his grasp.
Having him somewhat disracted by his equipment shorting out, Arcfire attempts to hit Black Manta with a current of electricity pitched to overwhelm his nervous system.
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Manta easily dodges Arcfire's blast. He snarls at the hero and dives into the water. Fragment steps out of the javelin onto the repelling line and slides down to the deck as the Manta-Men, seeing their boss leaving, also abandon ship (the yacht, that is). The sub starts to pull away, still on the surface. Coldwar seals the entrance to the sub in ice as Spellbinder puts up a wall across the front of the yacht.
Feeling the sub begin to move, Ghost decides to attempt one more thing before he books it. Racing back toward the engines of the sub, running through hatches and walls, he decides to attempt to jam up the turbines and prevent the sub from maneuvering under power.
Having half-expected Fragment to monkey-chain down to the deck, MINOTAR turns on the external speaker once he sees Manta's men dive for the water.
"WARNING: This is the Justice League. All civilians please NOTE: Please gather on the main deck safely, but try to remain under cover. The Coast Guard has been alerted and will be here soon. We are attempting to apprehend the pirates, but your safety is paramount."
MINOTAR then starts checking the Javelin's systems to see if it has any sonar buoys or tracking devices he can launch at the retreating sub. Mainly he is just trying to make sure Manta or his men don't try to scuttle or sink the yacht full of civilians.
Straightjacket leaps to the sub and gets into one of the hatches to keep it from closing.
The Fragment drops to the deck and pulls his pistol, "I am going to need you men to put your hands behind your heads and drop to your knees. Your boss is gone and you are going to jail one way or the other, take the easy way"
Coldwar slides toward the back of the submarine and dives into the water. Then, he tries to freeze the water surrounding the dive planes and rudder attempting to prevent the sub from turning or diving.
As Coldwar deposits The Fragment's bike on the deck of the yacht another wood-be pirate comes up from below. The Fragment moves to engage.
A viscous kick to the leading knee pitches the henchman forward and a armored elbow meets his temple. As he sags to the ground The Fragment keys his radio. :clear:
Without looking over his shoulder The Fragment looks at the others. "Anyone else for the hard way?"
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The Fragment drops one of Manta's men as the others jump overboard abandoning the ship with all speed. Coldwar hits the water and attempts to disable the sub's steering and dive controls, but the ice shatters under the stress of the machinery.
Fragment, Arcfire, Straightjacket, Isikos, and Spellbinder, please make Perception checks.
"Guys!" he calls out "Do boats beep? 'Cause if they don't I think we've got a bigger, more explosive problem"
How far away is the yacht?
Actually he moved to the sub to hold a door open.
So a more specific question is how far is the yacht from the sub?
"If this thing is gonna blow, we gotta get the yacht clear!"
Having done as much sabotage as he can, Ghost teleports to the top of the sub, and says, "Back on comms. What's the situation?"
MINOTAR responds, swinging the Javelin back for the yacht and opeing the bay doors again.
"Tactical Update: It appears as Manta rigged the Yacht to explode shortly upon his leaving it. Obviously, this is a tactical distraction so the submarine can get away. Our priority is the people on the yacht, especially since we have no way to track the sub currently. Ghost...Isikos, try and teleport below decks to see how much time we have and see if you can disarm the device at all. Dump it in the ocean if you have to do so. Coldwar, start making lifeboats. Fragment start herding the people on deck and I will attempt to take on board as many as I can. Please begin exfiltration of innocents as fast as possible so they do not become...sea pizza?...I believe is the term."
He then turns on the Javelin's external speakers again.
"Alert: All passengers please begin moving toward the Javelin on the main deck immediately! There is no time to hesitate!"
Before he moves back to the yacht Straightjacket will attempt to rip the hatch he is by from its hinges.
"Got it."
Ghost teleports over to the yacht, then begins running through the boat, looking for the bomb, not stopping to open doors and just running through walls.
Coldwar shrugs when his when the subs mechanicals snaps his ice. He swims to the surface and forms an ice slide. Sliding toward the yacht, he struggles to his feet. Near the yacht, he starts creating icebergs in the shape of lifeboats.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, no need to panic. The Justice League is here. Please proceed to the life boats that Coldwar is creating.
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The people on the yacht take to the lifeboats as instructed, still not quite aware of the danger or what is happening. Straightjacket attempts to rip the hatch free of its hinges but only succeeds in straining himself. Ghost, you soon find the explosive device, attached to a wall in the main hold. There is a timer that reads 12... 11... 10... You might be able to disarm it (Technology at -5 or Knowledge (explosives)), but you can't be sure that tampering with it won't set it off! It appears to be attached to the wall by a sticky substance (DC 18 Strength check to overcome). The sub is still pulling away from the yacht and is now about 30 feet away.
Ladder extended!
With a mighty heave, Ghost attempts to pull the device off the wall. It resists, but the sticky substance yields and the explosive comes free in his hands. With the device in his hands, Ghost then teleports straight up as high as he can before throwing the explosive away from the yacht.
After his futile effort to ruin the hatch, Straightjacket will jump for the Javelin so he can get clear of the area.
Unable to do much else at the moment, Arcfire buzzes through the yacht, looking for any injured or missed in the evacuation, or any other surprises left by the sub's crew.
Coldwar creates ice to connect the Javelin ladder to the ice lifeboats.
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Ghost pulls the explosive free and disappears, reappearing high above the scene of the battle, and hurls the bomb as far as he can away from the yacht. There is a loud explosion as the device detonates, but thanks to Ghost's quick thinking, no one is harmed by the blast. The passengers finish disembarking in an orderly, if somewhat frightened, manner.
On board the Javelin, a man dressed in a smart business suit approaches Straightjacket and MINOTAR. He seems somewhat taken aback by the robot, but speaks in a calm voice, "I guess that we have you folks to thank for rescuing us. I'm Senator Robert Garret, Los Angeles, California. My wife, daughter, and I, not to mention the rest of the passengers, are very much obliged to you for your timely intervention."
Arcfire finds no hidden peoples or surprises aboard the craft. The sub limps away, trying to escape under emergency power. Black Manta is nowhere to be seen, though several of his men float in the water.
Ghost, realizing he's falling from the sky now that he's thrown the bomb away, teleports down to the water so he lands with a much lower velocity than he would have if he'd just fallen, albeit getting quite wet in the process. He then teleports to the deck of the yacht, and looks about to make sure no one is left.
Coldwar slides over and collects Manta's men on ice. Then, he'll ferry them to the authorities on shore.
Over the comms, MINOTAR congratulates the group's success.
"Statement: Well done everybody. Let's get these civilians to shore as quickly as possible."
MINOTAR remains at the Javelin's controls as he acknowledges the Senator by barely turning his head.
"Agreement and Acknowledgement: No thanks are necessary. The coast guard should have your ship in hand shortly. We were at a local press gathering in LA nearby when we were alerted to your situation. We got here as soon as we could. 'Luck' would seem to indicate that things could have gone much worse if we had not arrived when we had."
Turning more to the Senator, MINOTAR continues.
"Query: Do you know why the agent known as Black Manta attacked your ship specifically? Or do you believe it was just a random event?"
Nervous about talking to a powerful politician, Straightjacket keeps his yap shut and lets MINOTAUR handle the dialog.
Nodding MINOTAR turns his attention back to the Javelin's controls.
"Respectful Suggestion: Understood. It may be tactically necessary to request additional protection from the government or even the JLA for you and your family, at least for the near future. This may help prevent such things from happening again any time soon. Please do me the favor Senator of helping Straitjacket make sure everyone is strapped in safely and that you find a seat as well."
Now at least reasonably sure that the ship is safe from immediate threats, Arcfire merges with the control system, and pilots the otherwise unoccupied Yacht to the nearest Coast Guard marina for a proper police or other government agency inspection.
Using the coms he signals the others, "This is Arcfire. There is no one remaining aboard the yacht, and no other immediate threats. With the passengers safely aboard the Javelin, and Coldwar escorting the prisoners to shore, I will take the Yacht in to maritime authorities for a full safety sweep. An investigation may also reveal or confirm what they were after here."
Straightjacket stretches out like Gumby and makes sure all the buckles are closed without leaving his seat.
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The passengers are tucked safely into their seats and the trip back to shore is relatively quick. Most of the passengers are still somewhat in shock and don't say much, but those who have found their words are appreciative of your rescue. Back at shore, the Coast Guard and local police are waiting to take over and take statements from everyone.
"Thank you, heroes," the local police lieutenant says. "As Black Manta is a supervillain, we'll let you folks handle him, but we'll take his men into custody."
Again avoiding the limelight, MINOTAR reminds the others to be careful and let's them know he will await their return to the Javelin when they are ready to leave.
"Obvious statement: It is now obvious to me one of us should monitor things from the Javelin and be on call for immediate maneuvers as needed. I am the most obvious since I do not need sleep or rest."
He then carefully pilots the Javelin back to its landing pad and downshift the aircraft into standby mode.
"Request: Computer, play something called 'Jazz Music', any random selection is fine. I'm told its something I have to hear to understand. Also immediately alert me if there are any JLA alarms or local needs for us."
Coldwar drags the last of Manta's men into the custody of the local authorities. He looks around for anything suspicious, because the raid seemed too easy, too straightforward.
After a dramatic pause, he creates an ice slide up to the Javelin for a ride to his new base. He finds a seat and buckles in for the ride. He observes the technology of the Javelin.
His new team operated well enough. They had diverse set of powers and skills, so Coldwar was cautiously optimistic for their future success.
He wondered what Black Manta was doing, while he reminisced about his friend who wore that same helmet. They said that his world was destroyed, but he had seen stranger things happen. He hoped to see his friends and family again.
Ghost rode into shore with Arcfire on the yacht, attempting to dry off. Once on-shore, he looks to the lieutenant and says, "Thanks for your confidence, but none of us is an Atlantean. We'll look for him, but I suspect Manta's gone deep. If we do find him, though, we'll make sure to book him a one-way ticket to Belle Reve."
Returning to the Javelin with MINOTAR and Coldwar, he says, "Let's do a sweep of the area and try to scan for Black Manta. If we don't find him, we'll head back to base."
MINOTAR shakes his head in the negative.
"Disagreement: The Javelin has no capability to scan or journey underwater. Manta has escaped unless someone can swim at speed, or has a fast sub handy."