Closed RP The Higher They Fly, The Farther They Fall

This RP is currently closed.
illirica

illirica

Failed Sanity Check
Staff member
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[div align="center"][div][attr="Style","font-family:'Sigmar One';color:#d2d2d2;font-size:250%;"]The Higher They Fly, The Farther They Fall[/div][/div]

The city was stratified, as all cities were.

The buildings made it obvious, skyscrapers reaching towards the stars, a place for social climbers, for the wealthy, for the special. CEOs in their glass-windowed offices and boardrooms, trust fund heirs in their penthouses, looking down on everything else, everyone else - if they bothered to look down at all. Most of them kept their eyes on the horizon, so they wouldn't have to see the meek and miserable that they had trampled on to get where they were.

Pittsburgh.

She had lived in New York, once. She had lived in one of those dazzling penthouses, sure that she was the darling of everyone looking up at her. Sure that she deserved it - and for what? A moment in time, a moment that had been taken away as soon as someone had found out that someone like her had dared to climb too high.

Oh, he hadn't suffered. Her 'fiance', although given that he'd been married at the time, she didn't know if the word was fitting. There were a lot of words she could have called him, and did at times, in private. She couldn't call him any of those things in public, though, because apparently that was 'slander'. He had his lawyers to hide behind and his money to keep him comfortable, and so nothing had happened to him, and she was back to living with her parents in Pittsburgh, because she couldn't even afford an apartment of her own here.

It wasn't right. None of it was right, and plenty of people knew it was wrong, but the wealthy didn't care. Or, rather, they only cared to make sure that wages were too low so that all she could do was spend every moment going between multiple jobs, trying to afford what little she could scrape together.

She'd done it, for a while. She'd tried - until she'd seen him with a new 'fiancee,' one just as young as she had been, one who probably didn't know he was married either.

Things were going to be different, now. She had power now. Not wealth, no, but power, and she was going to see if power was equal to money after all.

She was calling herself ChromeWrecker. She could thank his wife for the idea. Some day, she'd get back at him - but he wasn't in Pittsburgh, and she wasn't in this entirely for revenge. No, she had a world to change, and she might as well start here.

She stood on top of a skyscraper - it had a name, but the name changed every five years or so when some other wealthy patron bought it out, so no one remembered. She'd chosen it for two reasons - the first, that it had enough cement in its composition that she didn't have to worry about bringing it down accidentally, and the second because it was directly beneath the takeoff flight path from the airport.

A few giant international flights had gone by, high overhead, but she ignored them. Someday, maybe - but she didn't want to start with terrorism. Not that sort of terrorism, anyway. People would miss the point. Instead, she waited, until a much smaller plane appeared - a private jet, no doubt owned by one of the ultra-rich. Maybe going to a meeting to discuss how to steal wages from the workers without getting caught, maybe taking heirs for a pleasure jaunt, maybe to go and meet a mistress who might or might not know about the rest of his family.

It was flying low - they usually did, to show off how special they were. The top of the skyscraper was just close enough to put her in range.

ChromeWrecker stared up at the sky, focusing on the bright spot of metal haloed by the sun - and pulled it apart, into nothing but dust. A cloud of it scattered - and the fabric and leather-covered chairs that remained would quickly plummet to the ground with the passenger or passengers, leaving an impact on at least the pavement, if not the world.

It was a good way to start things.

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OC:

If you're not used to sandbox-style stuff, this is an event. It is currently open, which means you can join full, which means the person running it thinks there are enough people for a good event and you should look for another one. It's usually polite to check in first and make sure there's space for your character and that your character fits in (you don't need someone who can destroy a planet showing up to stop petty crime).

Remember that all characters need to have bios up on the characters area before they can join the event. While metagaming (using OC knowledge IC) isn't allowed, it can be a good idea to check the bios of others in events and see if that's something you want to throw in on.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask on Discord!
 
[div style="background:black;box-shadow:8px 8px magenta;margin:auto;width:80%;margin-bottom:10px;color:white;padding:10px;"][font face="trebuchet ms"]Everyone wanted their shining city on a hill. Nobody knew where to look.

It was just a flyover. Here today, gone tomorrow. A quick detour on a nationwide crusade, blazing a trail through every club, lounge, and bar in America's trenches. A bit of an audacious pub crawl, but Katerina had earned her fill - and the sort of places she liked to have fun were the same sort of places she could take out the trash. Right now, though, it was all pleasure. Some loan refinancer she'd met at a party last night liked the way she mixed her drinks (twirling finger with a special touch), and they'd spent the night in a sinner's tango fueled by dust and cranberry mojitos. Normally, she'd have dipped come sun-up, but he wanted to take her on a private jet over the city, and well - it seemed a little exciting, at least.

Thirty minutes in, and she was regretting it. The people were all boring, talking about business and deals and who's who in the city. Even when the talk turned to gossip, they treated it like church boys reciting their hymns, like the very act of interesting conversation was drawn out from duress. Worst of all, though, was when she sat back a bit and closed her eyes - fancying she'd nap away her hangover and boredom - and Mr. Refinancer reached out to squeeze her hand. That was gonna be a hard break. The man was sweet and all, but he liked to think he knew how to get what he wanted, and he had skin as thin as a peach.

Question was, get it over with now, or wait until they land? Well - former couldn't make the conversations any worse.

[font color="magenta"]"Listen, Murry,"[/font] Katerina began, pushing his hand away. [font color="magenta"]"You're nice. Very nice. But please, sweetheart, we -"[/font]

The plane rattled. Just a little rattle. Easily taken for turbulence, if nothing happened next. What happened next, though, was the plane vanished. Straight up poof, dust stinging her cheeks, the leather chairs beginning their arc towards the ground.

Fuck.

What to do. She had to think quick, here. Debris flew around them in a halo, bits of plastic, windows, carpeting, rubber. A bottle of Dom Perignon spun past her head, no doubt sent careening from the bar cabinet in the back, if the bar cabinet was even still there. Resisting the urge to snatch it, she continued to pick through the miasma, until her eyes settled on a black backpack about twenty feet below her.

[font color="magenta"]"Let down easy if I save your life?"[/font] she shouted at Murry above the wind as she wrestled to undo her seatbelt. Murry screamed in reply. Typical men - he probably wasn't even listening. Gritting her teeth, Katerina braced her legs against her seat, clinging white-knuckled to the handles, then - as the chair dipped forward - limbs going straight, arms outstretched - she kicked off in the direction of the pack.[/font][/div]
 
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Her music choice wasn't for everyone a mix of dubstep, electro swing and anime. Well most just thought anime tracks, it was actually carefully selected rap or rock songs. It had Japanese in it though so nope just anime. She liked it however and more importantly she had spent a crap ton on licensing rights to be able to use it. It was the Tazer play list though so it had to be perfect. Especially because today she was giving a tour!

Live the hero stream first of its kind! Or well she was going to tell herself it was and nobody could convince her otherwise. And Ellie was sure she had the sizable fan base to help argue that case. [font color="#00FFFF"]"Welcome Stunners to Pittsburgh! Look at it it's beautiful this looks like a place for a hero! Your hero specifically me! Don't know if we'll get to find much on patrol but this is the first it's historical. I won't just be saving the day you'll get to live. It's like a ridealong but way more cool because we are stunning!"[/font] She had her doubts on the performance but the hype was there!

Then she saw it a coffee shop! A pause a poll was put in. What drink was the drink of a hero! It was a vital question and helped give her team time to look for a lead. They had rented a place her team would help her find where to go as a hero. The channels open to the public had some delay it was not perfect. But she could make up for that time thanks to speed she figured. Now if they could just find something to do. Ellie enjoyed time with chat, just hanging out. Games and discussing the few videos of her efforts of heroism and stuff though that wasn't what the lightning bolt wanted. Her goal was to be the peoples champion and make it a experience they were apart of.

The vote was leaning toward lemonade at the moment. [font color="#00FFFF"]"Leave it on that. A lemonade is more refreshing and totally healthier."[/font] That probably wasn't true but she liked to think so. She also just didn't like coffee as much, energy drinks were her thing. The pull was going off but then she saw it!

[font color="#00FFFF"]"What's that? A bird? A plane? A ultra dude?..."[/font] The camera she had turned to the spots against the sky. Not a good view zoom in. [font color="#00FFFF"]"It's people! Raining homies. Uh um...if you've photosensitivity this may not be the stream for ya."[/font] She attached the camera to her armored chest piece. A body cam perfect for viewers to be apart of the action. [font color="#00FFFF"]"Tazer and the Stunners versus the crumbling plane. Thought the passengers would become rain. But this act of villainy is in vein!"[/font] Being the ever energetic and quick hero she was the words came fast but she was being told to speed it up anyway. And she agreed!

Steps pick up dashing through the street. Move towards stepping up the side of a sky scrapper into a wall run! Exciting!

She really hadn't practiced trying to sprint up buildings yet though. Something to work on maybe? For now though just help for build up. Inside the building lights flicker! Monitors freeze! She was a hero she wasn't going to break them but she needed the charge to shoot herself into the sky! A sonic boom to tease the building as Tazer took flight as if riding the lightning! Or being the lightning for others to ride!

Shooting through the skies her hand caught the shirt of a pilot. She pulled him in close to hold onto her, she was able to make a catch safe. It did however mean enough static to make ones hair a wild mess. She also wasn't carry people one handed strong better to hold tight. This would free her hands to catch another! In a flash Tazer could save two lives! With a trail of azure arcs she curved through the air! A spear of light to snag a passenger! A awkward carry as that person was still in their seat or what remained of it!

That was her limit though she had to drop towards a building to let these two down. More passengers and a pilot to go and she had to help. There was more people to save and even if she moved like a bullet she didn't know if it would be enough. Perhaps other heroes would show up, she liked to think so, not as flashy as her of course however. The job took priority but it'd be a buzz kill to lose all her audience in first stream. She helped the civilians to their feet, with the body cam it was like her hand was the audiences. Concerned or not letting people live the moment with her she thought helped secure her greatness. [font color="#00FFFF"]"Don't be shocked of course you're worth saving. And if you like and follow my channel you to can join the stunning work of heroism!"[/font] She didn't want to leave them just up here but people were falling so she needed to move toward the ledge. Looking to line-up her next rescue bringing arc!

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She had managed to catch some sleep on the leg between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, but it hadn’t been particularly productive. Her backpack made for a decent enough pillow, and when she pulled her jacket’s hood up it was almost like she had a blanket. Still, it wasn’t really comfortable (which wasn’t exactly a new feeling) and she couldn’t help but constantly peek at the faces of her fellow travelers. It was silly to believe that he could have tracked her halfway across the country, but she could just hear him asking if she wanted to know how he pulled off his latest trick. So, she spent her time dozing in that muddled space that existed in the mind between dreams and reality until the bus finally arrived at the station.

Eli sat up in her seat as the bus began to stir, people gathering up their things as they began the shuffle out the door. She stretched in place, not bothering to stand quite yet. She was near the back, it would be a few minutes before it would be her turn to join the exitus. Instead she just looked out the window past the reflection of her own sea-green eyes into the bus depot. She couldn’t really see the city through the overhang meant to keep it from raining on travelers, but it definitely wasn’t San Francisco.

She stood with a yawn and as she absently rubbed the imprint of her bag’s zipper across her cheek, she followed the shuffle off the bus.

Around an hour and two different convections later and Eli was finally downtown, which was in all honesty further than she actually expected to get meaning this was about as far as her plans went.

So, now what?

A grumbling stomach urged her legs in the direction of a cafe, past a lady with extremely blue hair who was making her way out as Eli entered. She didn’t make more than a few steps inside before a scream pulled her back to the door. The sky above was full of debris and… falling bodies. She felt her heart lurch in her chest as she reached out and grabbed the arm of an older man standing on the sidewalk.

“Get out of the street!” She yelled as she tugged the man into the cafe.
 
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[div style="font-size:18pt;color:#fadfad;font-family:VT323;text-align:left;padding:8px;"]Days like these were, often times, deemed watershed moments.

Declan had heard the term a few times before in high school, where there were quite a few instances of these watershed moments. The Richmore Survivor Class of 2019 had come to earn its fair share of hardship and bloodsport, and it seemed that Pittsburgh was a new addition to this brave, emerging category of exceptionally unlucky group of individuals. Like— a private jet? Breaking up that close to the ground? He’d looked up once he heard the scream of a nearby pedestrian, and only after people began to shoulder him out of the way on the sidewalk did he grasp what he was looking up at.

Bodies. Falling bodies, like dust caught in the draft of compressed air. Too high up to be a group of tower jumpers, and the debris around them seemed to suggest some sort of mechanical failure of some catastrophic proportion.

Only… they were visible. If a plane had broken up, then they’d have been vaporized ash riding the jetstream by now. No, they were somehow perfectly preserved. Declan had some time to think on that as he immediately took to Twitter, flipping through the various accounts who were offerng their perspective on the event. One person had been on the observation deck of a skyscraper as it’d happened— something about something weird happening up there. Vague, opiniated, and ultimately useless, as tweets often were. Bell made sure to duck into the building’s restroom and fish his helmet out of his head in case security was already closing off the area.

Something was going on, here. He didn’t know what, but it required investigation. The little kid in him was just dying to sate that curiosity.

When he was sure he had the right building, the newly-christened Basskicker began to wade his way through the swarming crowd that began its exodus from the lobby. Security was too busy herding sheep to pay attention to the jagged orange figure carving his way through, raising the ambient noise of the trample around him to repel fleeing civilians from him in a suitably biblical fashion. The elevator was being used as a safe haven for a few patrons, doors kept open and resplendent to the anxious passerby; blaring the elevator music with a subtle rise of his hand was enough to force them out of the cabin, though, and he stepped into the booth as the doors automatically sealed behind him.

His gloved finger pressed the button for the highest floor. His steel coffin began its ascent. The music stayed loud, just as he liked it.

Time to see what all the fuss is about.
 
Quetzalcoatl sat on a park bench enjoying the warmth of his creation and watching people mill about. He was on his phone too, actually part of someone else's live stream about mythologies. Most people on YouTube thought he played a character and that's where they got much of their entertainment from him. Since that's what they thought, he let them continue to think so. It was harder to convince people of one's godhood than just about anything else in the modern world. He'd have more luck convincing some people the earth was round. He'd given up on the whole, telling everyone he was a god all the time thing, awhile back.

"Yeah-yeah I know. People? Oh yeah. So I was sent to the underworld to get some bones, as you do, and let me tell you Mictlanteuctli and Mictlancihuatl were not happy I was there. They were LESS happy when I side stepped their stupid 'you can have these if you do this impossible task game' and just absconded with the bones. You should have seen the look on Mictlancihuatl's face. He was absolutely furious and then he..." he trailed off. He'd been watching a plane when the thing just--vanished.

"Uh, sorry guys, I gotta go. I'll finish the story next time alright? Cool, see you around."

He exited the stream.

Manipulating the wind he stood and blew himself towards the scene of the accident. To anyone not in the know it would look for all the world like he was flying. He was, in a manner of speaking, except that really he was violently hurling himself somewhere with a massive building leveling gust of wind localized on himself. It wasn't as pretty as flying when he had all his powers, but it was better than walking and it was a lot faster. It'd taken a lot of practice to not flail his arms and legs while hurtling through the air, but he had it down by now.

When he arrived someone was trying to get people out of the potential impact zone. That seemed like a good place to start. Countering the initial wind gust with a series of carefully timed, carefully placed ones he turned his 'flight' into a flawless landing no one would appreciate the real talent behind.

Pointing a clawed hand toward a woman he had no idea was named Eli he shouted. "Can you help get everyone out of the impact zone? I'll see if I can do something about the sudden stop at the end."

Quetz closed his eyes and focused. At first it would appear as if nothing were happening, but then the increase in ambient wind would become obvious, leaves and dust whirling around as he gathered the winds with his mind and harnessed them, bending them to his will. He made the largest area of wind he could, but it probably wouldn't catch everything. Carefully controlling speed and direction, he created a cushion of counter blowing air and made it as tall as he possibly could. Anything caught in it would find their fall gradually arrested until they were buffeted around by the wind. It wouldn't be extremely pleasant, but it was better than slamming into the pavement at terminal velocity.
 
[div][attr="style","background:linear-gradient(to bottom right, rgba(255,255,255,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(255,255,255,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(255,255,255,1));margin:2px;padding:4px;border:2px #000000 solid; "][div style="background-color:#000000;border-top:2px #741b31 solid;border-bottom:2px #741b31 solid;padding:10px;color:#d2d2d2;"]Oh, there was another one here.

Chromewrecker didn't think she'd really met another one of Them before: People with special powers, people like she had become. Of course, it wasn't as if she went around advertising the fact, either. People didn't like change.

Well, they needed it, whether they liked it or not. The people inside the plane were plummeting towards the earth at a high speed, but the Other Supranormal had grabbed a couple of them out of the sky. One of them had been the pilot - Chromewrecker actually felt a little better about that. The guy was probably just doing his job. He wasn't the sort that she was after - but sacrifices had to be made in the name of progress, and she'd decided she had to accept that if she was going to change anything. She didn't see who else the electric hero had grabbed - probably another of the passengers.

There were a lot more of them than Chromewrecker had expected. Usually these planes just flew with a pilot plus one or two, which was half the reason she hated the whole private jet phenomenon in the first place. This one... well, there had been at least half a dozen passengers, hadn't there? Private party, maybe? Some collection of rich socialites off on their way to a private island or something like that, escaping from having to face the rest of humanity.

Just like always.

The people down below had started to notice, one of them pulling another into a coffee shop. That was a good start - she hadn't really wanted to destroy everyone on the ground, but... again, sacrifices must be made. She couldn't wait for the opportune moment, because the perfect moment was something that never existed. It was about making the most of the moments that were real - and the more people that saw this happen, the more publicity it would get. People had to know before they could care. Some of them would see what happened and wonder - really wonder - about all these private jets and why things were different, way up there.

Some of them would understand. The rest of them were falling, and she made her way to the edge of the building and crouched, looking down. There was someone else down there too, she couldn't quite make out... A glimpse prompted a frown, what the hell was that? A cosplayer? Some of them were pretty odd, to be sure. Probably well off, too - cosplay was not cheap, at least not high level. Well, it figured that the rich would try to save each other. They had to maintain their superiority, after all, didn't they?

But the wind hadn't been cosplay... that was something else. Some sort of ability... What were the odds of there being three of them in Pittsburgh, of all places? Pittsburgh was one of those places where nothing ever happened, kind of like Indianapolis or Milwaukee.

She missed New York. She'd been someone in New York.

Except... no, she hadn't been. She'd been someone's arm candy, and he'd been just another filthy rich scumbag. Some day she'd get back at him - but not yet. No... first she wanted him to see it coming. Let the rich be afraid for once. Let them wonder what would happen if their private jet broke and they couldn't afford to buy another one this month.

It really just didn't have the same punch as what happened to normal people on a regular basis... but she had to start somewhere, didn't she? That's what this was - a start. Every revolution had to start somewhere. Chromewrecker stood up again and walked back to the doors to the building interior, crossing to the elevator and pressing the button to head down with a gloved hand.
 
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[font color="#00FFFF"]"pilot copilot and...six passengers? Stewardess to? I've gotten two think I can manage two more."[/font] Her words came with a haste to them, shame she didn't remember to rhyme it might of came out like bars. Somewhere behind the persona and care for presentation though was someonenwho did want to be a hero. Even with how her body worked she wasn't going to waste time in a moment like this. She spoke cause it helped her think. Her footage may have helped her audience feel apart of the team, but those hand motions was her trying to line up the shot.

She could fly yes, do it fast to. But catching things at that speed required a technique to them. She was hardly a scientist who could break the moment down this moment. She just new catch them right she's a hero, catch them wrong and she might be more bullet then savior. Mind firing off was something that probably could charge someone's electronics. Swiftly piecing a plan together.

Two hops back the rescued pilot and passenger were a mix of confused and praise still. She liked this, the speed the fast pace nature. It encourages a rematch. The praise, it's a good reminder why she does it. Most people were kind of chill they didn't deserve to splash on concrete. Right got to move, jumps back help make room to dash forward. Maybe one day she could be swift as lightning right now she was the rate of a bullet. The sound barrier protesting against her moves. A trail of azure light dashes down then up as a stewardess is caught. Angle down for the next.

The stewardess to her credit had tried to lay flat it helped slow the fall. Not that terminal velocity of that was exactly slow. The passenger in his nice suit though was flailing. In his flailing he had angled himself downward more now despite more flailing he was only climbing in speed. Ellie could tell she couldn't stick the landing like she wanted. A hero pose would have been cool but her second rider wasn't going to help. They were to far from windy guy? She didn't have the best view from up here, fast stunning blue eyes didn't necessarily mean far seeing ones. She did know however trying to course correct that way might be to much force against the body.

Building it was, she was pretty sure she had seen someone on top of it. But it was raining homies right now lot of eyes were looking up. She was sure if she really looked she could find other roof watchers, or fire escape spectators. And snag! The second person was caught. She'd have to hope others would catch the rest. Because now she needed to land!

Her flight lances towards a building. Windows for something this high up were a resilient thing they needed to endure the weather and stuff. If she was going to break through she had to go fast. Ideally she could zap it to soften it up. Hands were full right now, needed to think. Wasn't much time to think...

A heavy [font color="#00FFFF"]BZZZT[/font] would sound off!

Like the sound of a hundred bug zippers! Or one scaled up by a hundred and two!

Shooting electricity was something she so far did by hand. But generating it came to her easily. So what Ellie did was flood her back with electricity. Her armored chest piece glowed with the heat along her back. It was a intense white that helped heat the area she moved to. She stuck her hands out and locked them in place. Make most the force rattle her instead of her riders, have it also go into her back. And from a window hopefully softened by the proximity of her supercharged backbone! A hero had to have a good back bone!

A booming crash! A window shatters! Then a desk...and another desk...and a shelf...and a copy machine...a wall? Computer now to lot of things hurting but things are slowing down. Let go of her passengers or perhaps to say she threw them was more accurate. It was a counter force they skid to a halt, bottoms little sore from the slide along the hallway but they're okay. Ellie though she's still going zapping on down the long hall until thumping against a door.

It bursts open briefly revealing janitor closet before it swings back. A hand bolts upward to catch it. [font color="#00FFFF"]"You need to stop."[/font] Because a door was totally going to take orders from the power outlet. The hero tries to put her other hand, left to be exact down. She figured she could use it to help herself up, sparks shot off her for trying. A brief outburst as her arm screamed against it. [font color="#00FFFF"]"Dislocated shoulder, ha your hero is fine. How's my hair?"[/font] The hero remarked briefly holding up her phone from its sucere body cam position. Her viewer count had gone from the original twenty something she started with, to a fifty something. There was a lot of people talking about messaging their friends, but really not much time had passed. Other comments were saying she looked a little banged up.

Turned out their was a number of small cuts about her costume hinting at worse beneath. The stream wasn't going to be canceled but she was getting some "band aids to be a fashion statement next couple weeks" vibe. If she found a good power source she could maybe help that some this was an issue for tommorw though. She didn't feel those like her arm and there was still heroism to do. Taking a moment to secure her phone she uses her good arm to pick herself up.

The stewardess was borrowing a office workers phone. The suit however was stopping her way. "I know in your tent cents get up you don't know what this is like. But this suit cost six grand. You've cut it to ribbons and scorched it entirely." It had a total of three cuts Tazer could see. There also was no burns, just torched paper work sticking to it. "And what of my laptop? That one costing more then your entire home?!" Tazer blinked in confusion a few times. "I'll have you know this meta stunt cost me a bottle that'd take your whole paycheck to afford a shot of. All so you can drop me in this mockery of a high rise?" The world was catching up to her, and as it did she got the feeling that shot would have cost her two paychecks at least.

[font color="#00FFFF"]"Hush. You are really loud and I just used myself as your back support in a crash..."[/font]

"Don't you hush me! And I'm not paying for your injuries either. Try actually landing if a sky diver can why can't you?" She considered mentioning weight distribution. How his panic during the fall made her struggle to straighten the course for any amount of time. But those weren't going to help, he was in shock.

A grunt escapes her as she gets to her feet. She needed to get to the window check on the others. [font color="#00FFFF"]"Sorry. Uh what I meant is I wouldn't ask you to cover anything. It's my job to cover citizens like the clouds do this city...Dang it forgot to rhyme. Head went through a wall needs some time. Anyway see to those cuts, don't think this is over I can feel it in my guts."[/font] Ellie was obviously still a bit dazed but she tried to keep the Tazer spirit alive and well not let the pain of her arm show. She was always energetic it wasn't exactly an act but her training didn't include the energy use like this had been. Tests here, and thugs there it didn't compare.

[/font][/div][/div][/div][/div][/div][/div]
 
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[div style="font-size:18pt;color:#fadfad;font-family:VT323;text-align:left;padding:8px;"]What was he going to say, when he came face-to-face with whoever had done this?

There was a chance that this entire thing had been a freak accident. Tragedies occurred all the time, and he was no stranger to that. Life was cruel, as he had been led to believe by everyone around him— accidents happen, and everything happens for a reason. They were ultimately correct, in a way. Suffering did have meaning.

But he, of course, knew something they didn’t. That was why he had shoved his way through the crowd to get up here. That was why, against all reason, he was ascending countless floors to follow what was essentially a rumor and hearsay. He knew something most of the world would only dream of believing to be true. What would he say, then, if he were correct? He’d obviously have to make a first impression. Would he, or she, or they feel the same way he did? Excited? Empowered?

After all, both of them knew something the rest of the world didn’t— until today. That was what this was, wasn’t it? A demonstration.

The elevator doors opened, and he saw her. Face-to-face, as if his instinct had been destiny guiding him here. Basskicker gave a smile beneath his helmet and silenced the elevator music with a pinched-fingered conductor’s cutoff, letting a beat pass betwen the two of them before he finally spoke.

[div style="font-size:20pt;color:black;font-family:VT323;padding:4px;text-shadow:0px -1px 1px #ff8f00, -1px 0px 1px #800000, 1px 0px 1px #ff8f00, 0px 1px 1px #800000, 0px 0px 2px #ff8f00, 0px 0px 5px #800000;"]”It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”[/div]
He began with assuming the role of an ally. She’d be hostile— aggressive, if he made any sudden movements. He slowly extended out a gloved hand, masked visage obscuring his seemingly friendly intentions. She wore a mask herself, but it’d probably be a bit easier to tell if she was about to kill him. Not to worry— it wouldn’t come to that. He’d done elevator pitches before. Now— what to say? How to entice? Keep it simple, but keep it clear.

[div style="font-size:20pt;color:black;font-family:VT323;padding:4px;text-shadow:0px -1px 1px #ff8f00, -1px 0px 1px #800000, 1px 0px 1px #ff8f00, 0px 1px 1px #800000, 0px 0px 2px #ff8f00, 0px 0px 5px #800000;"]“I’m here to help. Want to get out of here?”[/div]
His hand remained extended, fingers gesturing towards the elevator for a moment before settling once more. He stepped a bit to the side, gave a tilt of the head, and waited.

Here goes nothing.
[/div]
 
[div style="background:black;box-shadow:8px 8px magenta;margin:auto;width:80%;margin-bottom:10px;color:white;padding:10px;"][font face="trebuchet ms"]Things got very weird very fast. And like - not in the way plane crashes usually got weird. She hadn't been in a lot of plane crashes, but she was pretty confident updraft didn't cushion the plummeting victims enough to send them soaring up past her, nor streaks of lightning whisked people away to safety midfall. She never really assumed Pittsburgh would be like this - the 'weirdest' thing they had was an annual furry convention, for fuck's sakes. It was a sleepy, post-industrial city that focused more on business and growth than any of the quirky 'Keep X Weird' mantras a lot of the more artsy places spouted.

Murry, unfortunately (or fortunately?) was one of the people rescued by the strange weather, so her mind went from saving him to saving only herself. Wrapping her arms around the pack, she - with a bit of struggling - managed to slip her arms through, and - not bothering to fasten it fully - she clung to the straps tightly and tugged the cord. The force was enough to nearly yank her arm out of its socket. A canvas sheet erupted from the back, parachute billowing out to arrest her fall. She swayed in the direction of one of the building fronts, chute catching the edge of one of the pillars of wind, and (was that tearing sound serious?) pulling her upwards and over the edge of the roof. She was now being dragged sideways across concrete, which wasn't a particularly enjoyable sensation. Struggling with the straps, she managed to untangle herself from the parachute, getting to her feet and brushing off what was left of her dress in a decidedly professional fashion.

There were two people standing on the rooftop near the elevator, one wearing a helmet, the other in a flimsy silver mask, no doubt some of the superpowered rescuers who had come to the scene. She flashed them a smile.

[font color="magenta"]"Er. Hello. Just dropping by,"[/font] she said, picking up her purse and slipping it on her shoulder. [font color="magenta"]"Lovely view, isn't it?"[/font]
[/font][/div]
 
“Please stay inside!” Eli called as she pushed the man deeper into the store. The man said something, but those words were little more than sound as she ducked back out of the shop door. People in the street were scattering, though there didn’t seem to be much direction as to where they were trying to go. Away was probably better than not away when things were falling from the sky. She had scarcely made it a few steps out of the door when a man with talons pointed them in her direction and ordered her to help get people off the street.

“I— what— right!” Eli’s words caught in her mouth as she hopped away from the man. He was clearly trying to do meta things, which meant she needed to be out of his way. Instead Eli dashed to a nearby car and she scrambled up onto the hood. She raised her hands over her head and waved them in hopes of catching the attention of some panicked eyes.

“Everyone!” Eli yelled, half cupping one of her hands over her lips in the hole of might make her a little louder. “Get off the street and take shelter in the nearest doorway! Help the nearest person to you to get to somewhere safe!” Was whatever talon man was doing working? She hadn’t been squished by an errant suitcase yet.

“If you cannot get inside please get under an awning or get to the end of the street! If you can’t move please call so we can help you!” Eli could feel her heart quicken in her chest as she cast her gaze around the scene in the street, looking for anyone who needed help moving to somewhere safe.
 
[div][attr="style","background:linear-gradient(to bottom right, rgba(255,255,255,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(255,255,255,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(255,255,255,1));margin:2px;padding:4px;border:2px #000000 solid; "][div style="background-color:#000000;border-top:2px #741b31 solid;border-bottom:2px #741b31 solid;padding:10px;color:#d2d2d2;"]It seemed as if the people who had fallen from the plane and the innocent bystanders who had been beneath them were going to be fine, one way or another. The same could not be said for some of the local infrastructure, as crashing into, onto, or through buildings seemed to be just another everyday activity for the superheroes around here.

Chromewrecker still couldn't get over there being quite so many of them out here in Pittsburgh, but that was something she'd have to think about later. Right now, she needed her faculties about her so that she could focus on this evening's plans.

Plans, however, rarely survived first contact, and Chromewrecker was very surprised by the presence of a man on the elevator she'd been expecting to get into alone. By his costume, he was probably yet another metahuman, bringing the total up to a minimum of four.

By his words, though, he was either not entirely opposed to her cause, or he was a duplicitous bastard. Of course, it was entirely possible that both was an option here. He had extended a hand - gloved like hers, with a gesture towards the elevator, and a conversation that was somewhat aborted by another person just crashing in.

She was dressed... ah. Chromewrecker knew all about how she was dressed, right down to the brand of expensive shoes and her now-ruined dress. It was quality, but it wasn't tailored, which meant that either she wasn't as well off as she would have liked to pretend, or that someone was giving her money to purchase things off the rack.

Yes, Chromewrecker could pretty much sum all that up with a glance. After all, she'd been in the same position once. Well... not precisely the same position, as her experiences had never led to unplanned skydiving onto a cement rooftop, but there were no doubt some similarities involved.

[font color="A4a4a4"]"Take whatever you can get from him and get out before he kicks you out."[/font] A few words of unsolicited advice, probably worthless. Chromewrecker turned back to the man with the insincere pleasantries and gave him an equally insincere nod. [font color="A4a4a4"]"A pleasure as well. Thank you."[/font] The saying was it pays to be courteous, but really, it did not. Still, she was used to being polite: Societal pressure and all that. Politeness was a default at this point, a conditioned response to the unexpected - and he was certainly unexpected. He must have gotten on the elevator almost as soon as the plane started to fall.

She gave him a sidelong glance, and then stepped into the elevator, balancing gloved hands on the railing and letting her eyes drift upward. [font color="A4a4a4"]"One stupid move and I'll destroy the cable, just so we're clear. I'm sure you wouldn't have it any other way."[/font]
 
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[div style="font-size:18pt;color:#fadfad;font-family:VT323;text-align:left;padding:8px;"]Declan was limited in expression because of the voice-modulated helmet, so he instead gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up towards the terrorist-to-be.

[font color=#ff8f00]”Relationship advice and egregious acts of terror. Aren’t you a real renaissance woman.”[/font] His little chiding joke came out as a pinched whisper, softened just enough for the ears of his unlikely partner. He gave a small titter at the not-so-whispered threat she’d offered in return, raising his hands defensively.

[font color=#ff8f00]”Of course, of course. Only thing is, you don’t know what I can do. That makes way more interesting, though, doesn’t it?”[/font] Declan gave a coy tilt of the head, arms crossing as he leaned against the cabin of the elevator. [font color=#ff8f00]”Got ourselves a real Mexican standoff here. Well—”[/font] Then, he paused. The doors chimed and began to close, only for Basskicker to uncross an arm and put his hand through the gap to stop it.

[font color=#ff8f00]”— we need three for that, actually.”[/font] He looked out the elevator, to the survivor of the wreckage. It’d be rude not to include her, wouldn’t it? After all, her would-be killer was right here next to him. That was a neat little bout of situational irony, he thought. [font color=#ff8f00]”HEY! You wanna come with, or are you gonna fall from a building next? The capacity on this thing’s, like, 3000 pounds.”[/font]
 
[div style="background:black;box-shadow:8px 8px magenta;margin:auto;width:80%;margin-bottom:10px;color:white;padding:10px;"][font face="trebuchet ms"]"Take whatever you can get from him and get out before he kicks you out."

Not exactly the most caring words for someone who - at least a few seconds ago - was plummeting unchecked to his doom, were they? She wasn't exactly versed on the bedside manners of colorfully masked vigilantes, but that didn't exactly put to mind the same 'hero' image you came to expect from the comics these folks doubtless modeled themselves after. The odd pair slipped into the elevator, and as the doors were swinging closed, she caught another hushed sentence, quiet enough that it'd slip past a normal ear.

"Relationship advice and egregious acts of terror. Aren’t you a real renaissance woman."

Ah. Aha. She was beginning to think her supposed saviors weren't so savory after all. After a threat of snapping the cable and a little quip about a Mexican standoff - really, a bit of a stretch, if you asked her - the helmeted man pushed open the door, beckoning her inside.

[font color="magenta"]"Well, I don't think this ratty thing is ready for round two, so I'd say I don't have much else a choice, hm?"[/font] she replied, kicking back at her fallen parachute. With a wink, she skipped into the elevator between the duo, waiting for the doors to slide shut before speaking again. [font color="magenta"]"I've got to admit, I'm a big fan of your work here. Saving innocent lives, after such a disaster - I mean, it's like the plane just vanished! Really odd. Makes me wonder what sort of terrible mishap might've caused that."[/font][/font]

Her hand slipped for her purse, wrapping around the handle of her pistol.

[font color="magenta"]"I mean, I saw something kinda like that in a Bond movie once. Cabin depressurization or something like that. The plane was still there, though, it's just that everyone that was in it ended up out! Maybe that's what happened? We all got sucked out the rear, and the plane just - neeeroww -"[/font]

She waved a distracting hand above her head, hopefully enough to hide her pulling the gun out and into the fold of her cardigan.

[font color="magenta"]"- on its way without us!"[/font]

She grinned back and forth between the two.[/div]
 
Quetz's great idea actually worked, which mildly surprised him. He let everyone down and dismissed the whirlwind, quickly escorting everyone to the same building Eli was taking advantage of. Only once everyone was safe did the ancient South American (badass) God turn to her.

"Glad that's over! Did you see what happened? I don't think airplanes make a habit of just falling apart in mid air like that."

If there was someone behind this, and he suspected there was, they'd have to confront them, of course. He looked forward to that idea to some extent, but on the other hand his heart fluttered a little. What would a fight be like, how powerful would someone capable of tearing apart an airplane mid flight? At least he had help here, they could find and confront whoever it was together. There might be others as well, he thought he'd seen someone heading for one of the nearby buildings, but that could have easily been someone trying to escape.
 
[div][attr="style","background:linear-gradient(to bottom right, rgba(255,255,255,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(255,255,255,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(255,255,255,1));margin:2px;padding:4px;border:2px #000000 solid; "][div style="background-color:#000000;border-top:2px #741b31 solid;border-bottom:2px #741b31 solid;padding:10px;color:#d2d2d2;"]This was... unexpected. Chromerecker wasn't sure what she had expected, but having three people in an elevator somehow wasn't it. The man was right - she had no idea what he was capable of. It was entirely possible that he could survive just fine if she dropped the elevator. She didn't think she could, but he didn't need to know that.

There were a lot of things that people didn't need to know. She'd been much more open, once. It had been nice. She missed that version of herself, the young woman who'd given her all to everything - who'd been enthusiastic and cheerful and convinced that everything was going well and would work out fine.

Things were different now, though. She'd changed. Older. She didn't know about wiser. More jaded, anyway. If nothing else, she'd learned that things didn't work out unless you made them - and if you were just going along with the flow, someone else was going to change things up and you'd be the one taking the fall for it.

The elevator door closed again, with the young woman entering as well. Her voice was chipper. Easygoing. She reminded Chromewrecker so much of her younger self that it was painful. She glanced down, then up again when the woman started, quite surprisingly, waving a gun around.

Well, not so much waving it; she was keeping it hidden under her shirt. It was possible that it was something else, but it was metal and gun shaped and full of things that were metal and bullet shaped. Chromewrecker's metal sense wasn't 100% by any means - people tended to think of those sorts of senses as able to do anything. Hers was more like any other sense - you'd probably see a car barreling towards you at high speed, you might not see a nickel on the ground. You'd hear someone talking right behind you - more so if you listened in - you might miss someone talking at a crowded concert. The closer it was or the bigger it was, the easier it was to spot. Some shapes stuck in her memory better than others, kind of like some things attracted the eye or the ear more than others.

To this knowledge, Chromewrecker responded with only a smile. It seemed the girl wasn't entirely helpless. She'd have liked to know how the girl got it on the plane though. There were plenty of people who'd turn a blind eye in a private jet, but that was usually for the owner's sidepiece, not his sidepiece's sidepiece. Still, she didn't want to out the girl right now - or herself - so better to keep her mouth shut.

Guns didn't scare her. She could have gotten rid of it if she'd wanted to, but there wouldn't have been any point in that. Besides, she wasn't going to let the girl walk into whatever this was unarmed - that just seemed wrong, somehow. She moved, calmly, reaching forward and pushing the elevator button for the ground floor. It shuddered around the three of them, and started its descent.

[font color="a4a4a4"]"So, Standoff... what can you do?"[/font]
 
Okay. This was good. She didn’t get squished by an errant seat which was something to put in the plus column for today. The street looked like someone had spilled the contents of an office out onto it, only offices didn’t usually have this many bottles of liquor, right? Normal offices, anyway. Maybe an office was the wrong thing to compare it to, it was more like the contents of an airport bar. This was a silly thing to get hung up on, wasn’t it?

The reptile-man had already busied himself with directing the shaken passengers of the not-anymore-jet into the lobby of a nearby skyscraper by the time Eli had finished scanning the street for anyone who looked too injured to move. She didn’t see anyone which was definitely a relief and hopefully didn’t mean they were just under a suitcase. Satisfied, the girl hopped down from the hood of the car she had been using and turned towards the lobby of the building she had directed people towards. She didn’t make it too far before the meta turned and addressed her.

“Oh… yes, thank you for your help,” Eli said with a polite bow of her head. “I only heard the screaming after… uhm, everyone was already falling. But it’s like the outside of the plane was just gone.” That wasn’t really helpful was it?

“I think I saw someone in uhm… dressed up in some armor head into the lobby during the panic.” She added, trying to be helpful. The girl swung her backpack off one shoulder and patted it with the back of her hand. “I was going to head in too, I’ve got a first aid kit in here.” Eli took a step towards the man who’s name she probably should have asked about, but immediately thought better of it.

“Oh, right sorry, it’s probably for the best if I don’t get too close to you, sir.” she added, motioning for him to lead the way.
 
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[div style="font-size:18pt;color:#fadfad;font-family:VT323;text-align:left;padding:8px;"]So, she decided to join them both. Basskicker moved to the back corner of the elevator to accommodate both ladies, standing opposite the terrorist and leaning back to give himself a breather from all the running he'd done to get up here. And what a reward for his efforts, too-- he hadn't felt this alive since the talent show. There was something in the air-- something in her words that seemed to suggest an electric tension, compounded only by the presence of the woman who'd started this accident to begin with. Had their polite hostage seen through their ruse already? What would he do, then, if she figured it out?

Best to wait and see. Too late to back out, now. The doors had closed, and they were plunged head-on into the unabashed mediocrity of elevator music. Basskicker tapped his finger upon his arm in an idle motion, lowering the volume just a bit. He wanted to be able to hear them well, after all.

[font color=#ff8f00]"Don't mention it."[/font] Declan replied to the newcomer, doubling down on his lie regardless of her own knowledge. [font color=#ff8f00]"I imagine you had some quick thinking yourself, pulling a parachute like that with so little warning."[/font] At that, he let his head tilt to the side, almost as if he were looking her over from his little corner of the world. [font color=#ff8f00]"I'd say it was a miracle, but-- I think we all know better, yeah? Things like this have to happen for a reason. Has to make you wonder."[/font]

Philosophy aside, it was very interesting the girl had managed to emerge relatively unscathed. [font color=#ff8f00]"I'm guessing you don't have much experience falling out of planes like that, so it was either luck, or... something more?"[/font] He waggled his fingers for dramatic emphasis, then gave a lazy turn of his head to the other woman in the elevator. [font color=#ff8f00]"Perhaps... something extraordinary?"[/font] It was sarcastic, sure, but also carried a deliberate undercurrent: Something's up with her. If a woman could disintegrate a plane, then it was entirely possible that another one could possess some sort of ability that allowed her to survive said disintegration.

[font color=#ff8f00]"Me, though? I think telling you would ruin the surprise."[/font] She wouldn't be able to see it, but he winked underneath the helmet. [font color=#ff8f00]"I'm big on surprises, I think."[/font]

Then, his hand returned to his arm, dormant. [font color=#ff8f00]"What about the both of you? Anything we should know about before we kick some ass?"[/font]
 
[div style="background:black;box-shadow:8px 8px magenta;margin:auto;width:80%;margin-bottom:10px;color:white;padding:10px;"][font face="trebuchet ms"][font color="magenta"]"I've actually been skydiving before!"[/font] Siren replied jovially. It wasn't a complete lie. A bit of a difference between a controlled HALO jump and - whatever this was - but the experience transferred over. She didn't really like whatever Helmet seemed to be implying, though. If he had suspicions about her, it meant she lost a bit of an edge. It meant jumping into a possible fight without the pretense that she was some hapless socialite who, as he put it, got lucky.

Her grip tightened on her gun, her smile tightened on her lips.

[font color="magenta"]"I've got to admit, though, I was scared out of my wits. I'm going to have to give my therapist a house call after this one. If it weren't for you all, people could've gotten hurt!"[/font]

Laying it on a little thick, there, but she was 60ish percent sure they saw through her bullshit anyway, and hamming it up always made things like this a lot more fun. Leaning against the wall, she tried to look as harmless as she could manage, and - well, that was uncomfortable. There was a twinge in her ankle as she shifted back, a quick little flash that ran up her leg. Everything looked distant, for a moment, sounds muted, colors dull, before everything seemed to return to normal. Hopefully she didn't hit her head somehow on the way down. That'd suck big time. Probably nothing, but - she pumped herself with adrenaline just to make sure, smothering the twinge in a rush of jittery euphoria.

[font color="magenta"]"Kick some ass?"[/font] she gasped, returning to the conversation. [font color="magenta"]"So it wasn't just an accident, then? Someone actually tried to kill us?"[/font][/font][/div]
 
[div][attr="style","background:linear-gradient(to bottom right, rgba(255,255,255,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(255,255,255,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(0,0,0,1), rgba(255,255,255,1));margin:2px;padding:4px;border:2px #000000 solid; "][div style="background-color:#000000;border-top:2px #741b31 solid;border-bottom:2px #741b31 solid;padding:10px;color:#d2d2d2;"][font color="a2a2a2"]"Turns out I'm also big on surprises."[/font] Chromewrecker gave the man with the hidden face a charming smile, the sort one used with CEOs when really laying on the bullshit ego stroking while trying to end up getting through the night without a coke habit she couldn't afford. It was somewhere between oh, gosh, you didn't have to do that for little old me and you show me yours and I'll show you mine. Or maybe it was something else: sometimes expressions were easier than words. You could let people read whatever they wanted into them and still have plausible deniability at the end of the day.

The girl was putting out some pretty serious airhead vibes as well. Chromewrecker could respect that. It was a defense mechanism just like any other. Powerful men didn't want threats - whether to their person or to their power or to their intelligence. A lot of them worked so hard to become rich and powerful because they were little cowards, raised behind the walls of their parents' money and terrified of the outside world.

Chromewrecker was going to tear those walls down. Of course, people with money always wanted to build more walls, so she'd have to tear those down as well, but she'd get through them. A little bit at a time, there would start being cracks in those walls, cracks where other people could peek in and see what sort of things the rich actually got up to in their hiding places.

The girl asked about an accident, and the fake smile turned to something more genuine.

[font color="a2a2a2"]"Oh, no, the plane was quite intentional. Things like that don't just happen... except now they do, don't they? Shame the bastards lived, though. It would have been nice to get a kill and really give the rich something to fear... maybe next time."[/font] A quirk of her expression, a glance towards the girl. It wasn't apologetic, merely acknowledging.

[font color="a2a2a2"]"You, though... you were more collateral."[/font]
 
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