2014.02.14 - Failure to (rocket) launch

It's a field. Out in some unclaimed land area away from New York and everything. The sort of land that exists conveniently in plots, comics and much to the annoyance of a surveyor somewhere. He's probably twitching over his morning coffee, thinking of the dame who brought him in that deed. Better bring extra... PENCILS, she said. And the land remained unsurveyed. There wasn't even a name for it on maps, on Google Earth. it was simply a convenient, wide open space that perhaps once served as a range or something for someone in an era long gone by. Happily, the cold keeps away most people this afternoon.
But Lunair is not one of them. She has a hot lunch and a battery powered water warmer nearby, as she glances around. "This should do." One of the hazards of having a potentially horribly (What potential? She's got an alarming, medal-worthy body count already!) lethal power set - sometimes it's tough to practice without tons of property damage or injured people. She may well have a violent job, but she's not completely thoughtless or evil.
If Gabriel wishes, he is welcome along. She'll even give him a lift in her rather nice car. "Okay, so..."
"... better try a simple rocket launcher first." And she does. That clump of bushes never saw it coming. Ka boom!
Cal was flying to... somewhere. From over there. At least until he heard the explosion. At that point he's flying to here, swooping lower to see just what's going on out in the middle of nowhere where there should be no demolition. At a thousand feet up or so, he circles to look for a cause.
Good thing Lunair decided to bring along food because the only thing that Gabriel thought about bringing, typical almost 20-something that he is, is a field chair. As soon as they get out into the field Gabriel unfolds the chair and sits down behind and to the side of Lunair, "Hey! You didn't check to see if there were squirrels or partridges or anything else in there! But come to think of it if there were partridges then we might have a fancier lunch than expected..."
Explosions in the middle of nowhere shouldn't draw much attention, right? Weird thing is Nate was also up there, miles from the ground, flying back to New York, and saw the flash of the rocket. Since he is ever curious, now he dropping fast, landing loudly just a few yards of Lunair. He was maybe going too fast. Fortunately, not quite supersonic. "Hey, what is going on?" He says as greeting.
It's people. The cause is PEEEEEEEOPLE-- wait, that's soylent green, nevermind. It's just Lunair. Kinda practicing. Although, someone else seems to be flying around. Lunair is, for all of her shortcomings, gifted with an alarming sort of foresight now and then. She even brought enough for Gabriel, too! "And really? I thought New Yorkers hated squirrels." Pause. "Although, I guess if there were partridges, they're cooked, too. Guess I should see." She didn't see any people or larger animals, so it should be okay, yes?
And it's funny how these things work out. Suddenly, a Wild Nate appears! Lunair jerks, startled. "Hi! Practice? You?" Go with it!
It's people. The cause is people. Seems they get into everything and in this case, explosions? Probably illegal explosions. Gun trade? Drugs? At just under the speed of sound, he flies down to the edge of the field has some trees and larger bushes then walks out toward Lunair. "Hey, be careful with that!" he calls, brushing his sleeves off.
Uhoh... Unexpected people. While Lunair is speaking with Nate Gabriel keeps his seat. He does, however, pull out what looks like a small photo album out of his coat pocket and starts leafing through it and stops a few seconds later at the image of a large, raging yeti. Instead of waiting for Lunair to answer Calvin he nonchalantly calls out, "She was being careful. That's why we're in an open field, miles away from any people. We thought."
"I was just going back to the city," replies Nate, "without making anything explode," because it might be important to clarify. Also there might have been some explosions involved in simpler things he did way back. "So, eh... practice, I guess that is good." Never mind that rocket launchers are rarely legal in the USA. Details.
But weirdly enough, flamethrowers, mini guns and rail guns /are/. Legal is a strange field to walk in. Lunair pauses. "This rocket launcher is spent, but don't worry! I will!" Cuz it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Or a limb. She dismisses the launcher, and it simply disappears. She looks to Gabriel and Calvin now, too. She nods. "Yeah... it's hard to find anywhere to practice," She admits.
... practice what? "And oh. Um." Awkward. Lunair gives a sort of sheepish expression now. "I see. I don't think I've met either of you? And really, I didn't want to cause trouble for anyone."
Cal gives a tug to the bottom of his jacket as he walks over then adjusts his sleeves. No, he wasn't just flying at high speed. Really. "Practice? Practice... demolitions? Isn't that illegal? I was just out for a run when I heard the explosion."
"I am Nate, Nate Grey," replies the young man with the white streak in his hair. "Scion, if you want official registered name. And yeah," he glances Calvin, "probably illegal. But can't see she is hurting anyone, so whatever," he offers Luna a half grin. "Just don't blow up anything important. You could get in trouble. Happened to me a couple times." That is all the Nate-advice he has to give. Which shows his superior mastery of the obvious. Then he is gone, flying up and then back to New York.
Gabriel keeps one hand on his photo album while leans over and digs in the food bag Lunair brought and comes out with a long strip of beef jerky. After biting a piece off he looks both Nate and Calvin over before finally waving at them and muttering a reply to Calvin's comment, "mhmmm... Running..."
Running? Lunair's eyebrows lift. Then one kind of furrows, as she ponders this. "Must be off-road jogging or something. I guess I heard about a bunch of people saying you should just go barefoot, but - there's so many burrs and bugs and glass and..." Shiver. Her dainty feets do not want! She pauses. "I'm not sure. I figured if no one was here, and it wasn't belonging to anyone, it's a nice space to practice?" She really has no clue.
She smiles politely to Nate. "Scion slash Nate. Pleased to meet you." She beams at his half grin. "And yeah, I can imagine. People get super super upset. I accidentally dropp--" Pause. That's not story for the public. "Be careful!" She waves to Nate. "He seems nice.
And an amused look at Gabriel.
Yes, running. In boots. To avoid all those burrs and bugs and glass. He's about to answer then just tilts his head upwards to watch Nate fly off. "Well, that's interesting." Then he's looking back to Lunair and Gabriel. I don't think firing off explosives in a populated area is really the best idea even if it looks empty. There are mountain bikes, joggers, homeless..." He looks around the field then shrugs. Whatever. "Just not a good idea."
Gabriel is usually pretty easy going but Calvin's holier-than-thou attitude is starting to bother him so even thought he's still chewing on a piece of jerky he speaks around it, "Well, considering we're miles from any civilization, in an acres wide cleared field, and considering that we checked the area for people before my friend started practicing I don't think there's much of a risk. Except maybe to the partridges. We didn't check for those. She does need a moving target to practice on. How fast /do/ you run?" But he's smiling so the last comment has to be a joke. Right?
Lunair seems less ruffled, if at all. But then, she really seems to have problems handling conversation and emotional processing at the same time. It's a hazard of - her past. Ahem. Then she looks up after Nate. "Oh, we checked. I didn't see any of those and no one feels bad if you blow up hipsters. Unless I was lied to." Ponder. "No one should be around here for miles." Smile. "It is just hard to work out my powers without -" Pause. "I don't want to sign up for the military," One eye closes. She looks to Gabriel. "I was going to look for some of the partridges." Now she looks kind of guilty. Are they a cute bird? Apparently at least a tasty one.
"And seriously, you must be hardcore to run all the way out here..." She's less joking and more surprised. Oh dear.
"Fast enough to stay alive till the police get here when I call 9-1-1." Can answers, gazing at Gabriel. He still watching him as Lunair talks until she uses one word guaranteed to get his interest. "What?" he asks, now looking at her. "Powers?"
Nate Grey goes to: Global Anywhere Rooms.
Gabriel's chuckle in response to Calvin's answer has a slight edge to it but over all its generally genuine. But just to make the scenario clear for Calvin he says, "To have them come out here and find a couple having a picnic? Wouldn't that be embarrassing." Calvin's sudden interest in Lunair's comment about powers makes him narrow his eyes a little bit and glance down at his yeti picture. But Lunair's a big girl, so he waits to see how she decides to respond before saying anything else.
One might notice that Lunair's rocket launcher? Gone. No trace of explosives, the rocket itself, nothing. That's a bit /eerie/. Lunair is going to do her best to defuse the situation. She senses some sort of vague tension, even if she can't quite register it. "Huh? Oh. I'd go home then. And yes." She takes a deep breath. "I hate to out myself here, but - watch." She doesn't need to gesture, but dropping things is awkward. A rifle out of nowhere. Then it vanishes and in her and appears a genuine, working light saber. "I can't exactly practice in a dojo or something." She turns the light saber off and it, too, disappears completely.
A forensic nightmare. "So. An empty field it is!" No one wants to create grenades when startled, after all. "Could you please keep that quiet? It would be marvelous."
Cal just watches when the rifle appears and disappears. But "Was that a lightsaber? A real, working lightsaber?" Cool! "How? Technoglogy doesn't exist for that yet your powers can duplicate fictitious weapons? That's so cool. What else can you do?"
Gabriel arches an eyebrow at Cal's reaction. Then the eyebrow lowers into a small frown as he asks, "Wait a moment... You're not government are you? Never did trust that superhuman registration bit and now this whole New Horizon's thing has made it even worse. How do we know you're not just seeing if my friend is just another person for you to kidnap?"
"Yeah," Lunair smiles to Cal. "I ... create weapons and can uncreate them as I need. It's not as epic as flying and eye lasers and stuff, but it's fun to do things like light sabers and dubstep guns." A wry smile. "Fireworks rockets are kinda fun, even if they're old school." She seems quietly flattered. And a look to Gabriel. "New Horizon?" Headtilt. She seems uneasy for a moment. She seems uncertain. "Well, if he is, I guess I'll just deal with that when it comes up. I know that one day I will probably be killed one way or another." She doesn't seem to think she's going to have a long life. There's a tinge of - is it sadness? A sort of resignation to her fate?
Cal seems more than willing to ignore Gabriel completely given his past comments but he does say one thing of interest. "New Horizon thing? What's that?" he asks, looking from him to Lunair. "And no, I"m not with the government. Do you think I could try out the lightsaber?"
Gabriel arches an eyebrow. Really, neither of them knows about it?? Pulling out his phone he taps at the screen for a few seconds then offers it up to Lunair. Calvin can read over her shoulder is she wants, "This is what I'm talking about. The government kidnapping mutants and experimenting on them."
On the phone's screen he's pulled up the Mannheim Truthfinder post that speaks to the New Horizon's scandal. (OOC: +BBREAD 15/41) 
Lunair pauses. She looks apologetic. Then smiles and nods to Cal, "Sure. What color do you want?" Hey, color is important! Or it could be Lunair showing her slightly more youthful side. Once he states what color, Lunair will hand him over a light saber. She will look to the phone screen and peer at it to read. She frowns deeply. "Well, I'm not a mutant... but that's pretty ominous. A few of my friends are, though." She seems unhappy about this news.
"Green." Cal answers. Just like Luke's. When Lunair hands it over, he examines it closely but is delayed from playing with it by what Gabriel says and his handing over the smartphone. Walking behind Lunair, he does read over her shoulder. "Huh. Good for whoever it was who rescued them. We don't need more of that racist shit here. And you might not be a mutant but I doubt they'd care. But if you're not, what are you? How'd you get that power?" Once he's done reading and asking his questions, he steps back and carefully points the light saber away from everyone before turning it on and slowly swinging it. So very, very cool.
Ok, so that was a better answer. Followed by some rude questions. Instead of answering though Gabriel just chomps down on his beef jerky strip, tearing at it a little more aggressively than necessary. At least Calvin had the decency to trust in Lunair's abilities and treat the lightsaber like what it is, a real weapon that will slice through pretty much anything this side of a blast door. And even the blast door, with enough time.
Lunair apparently trusted Calvin enough to treat it like a weapon. "I -" His questions catch her off-guard. Her expression seems pained, before she manages a weak, uneasy smile. "... medicine," Not apparently a kind taken for fun or voluntarily from the tone of it. In other words, likely a metahuman. "And green is a good color," She nods. "I am glad those mutants were rescued," She frowns faintly. "I don't know how I got it per se. One of the other kids was able to turn into a dragon. It startled me, and I had a sword out of nowhere," Lunair recalls. "I was afraid he was going to eat me because he was always pulling my hair, or pushing me into things." Ah, to be young again. Either way. She doesn't elaborate further.
She does seem concerned for Gabriel. "Are you okay? Is the beef jerky alright? I didn't know if it was too tough."
"So the result of an experiment given to you as a kid." Cal's watching the light saber as he swings it around and listening for that humming sound. He drags the tip through the dirt and some stones to test it and grins as it performs as expected. "Are they permanent? Cause you could make a fortune selling these. Which would be a really bad idea, of course." Pause. "Can you make permanent ones that don't actually work? No manufacturing expenses." Shaking his head he turns it off then offers it back. "Thanks. An experience I never expected to have."
Gabriel is chewing a rather larger than normal piece of jerky so this time there's really no speaking around it. Instead he answers Lunair with a nod and a "mmmm mmmnmnmnmn." while he watches Calvin play with the lightsaber. And ask something he doesn't know the answer to either...
"..." Lunair falls quiet and nods. "Sadly, not permanent. I don't think I'm quite that powerful." Also, one time Deadpool said something about hax and game balance and what have you. "I guess I could build a model sometime," She considers. Then she carefully accepts the light saber back, before dismissing it away. She smiles. "You're welcome. I'm glad."
As far as Gabriel's response, she pauses. "Okay, if you're sure." She tilts her head. She goes quiet a moment. "That's about it. It's why I came out here. Sorta tough to - y'know, stretch my metaphorical legs in other places." And from the sound of it, she wouldn't really want to. Property and people damage. Not to mention all those cops.
Cal nods his understanding, gazing around at the pretty deserted field. "Yeah, I can understand that." He turns back to consider Lunair. "So, what do you do with your powers? You'd make a damn good cop, being able to conjure up tasers, beanbag guns, or even net guns like I've seen on some cartoon or other. Can you do things like flak jackets? Riot shields? I noticed you make each disappear before making another. Limited to one at a time?" In his home reality, Cal led the X-Men and trained them and recruits. He sees these things.
Gabriel finishes chewing through his overly large bite of jerky and asks Calvin, "So if you're not government why are you so interested in my friends powers? A lot of people would consider all these questions to be kinda personal and all."r
Lunair is quiet. "Freelance work, mostly. And hee." She just smiles at that. "I try to keep out of trouble," She shrugs. Generally speaking. Does hunting down mobsters count? She keeps it vague, really. "I am not sure the cops would trust someone like me much, if at all." She shakes her head. "And um, no. Just weapons and explosives. Armor would be awesome though," She admits. "I can make plenty more and even hand them off. Ammo's no problem, either. I just do it that way to be tidy," Lunair replies easily.
She does pause at Gabriel's words. "I figured he's just curious. A lot of people get weirded out when they see it," She admits. "Sort of like seeing someone fire eye lasers, you ask about those? I don't know. He doesn't look like a murderer or kidnapper. Even in disguise, you get a feeling about them." She's - attentive.
"I am curious. It's not often you get to question someone who can make weapons appear out of thing air. And I'm also hoping she uses her powers to help people." Cal answers, glancing briefly at Gabriel. Which is probably not the case considering her answer of 'freelance work'. Translation: mercenary. "Because you could if you wanted to." he tells her.
Gabriel sits up straighter in his foldable chair and tilts his head over to the side a bit to take a lazy bite of jerky, "If she didn't I wouldn't hang out with her. And she's pretty good at dealing with things in a non-lethal way too."
D'aw. Lunair smiles a little at Gabriel. "... I do! Usually. Mostly. Depends on who you mean. I tend to chase after people like mafiosos and stuff. And yeah, he's way more of a hero." Lunair - doesn't really elaborate why. She tilts her head. "I just - sort of - like working my own way." But then, given her past, that might not be a shocker. "That's all! I do a lot of gardening." Yes indeedy. "If you're thirsty, there's hot cocoa powder and tea, too, by the way. It's kinda cold out here," She remembers now. Though, she seems amused as Gabe sits.
"Can you make a tank?" Cal asks out of the blue. "Even if you couldn't drive it, it would let people hide behind it." He's obviously been considering how to make weapons into defensive items. "Thanks for the offer but I should be going. I just wanted to see what the explosion was."
Ooo! Hot cocoa! Now that he's finished with his jerky and feeling fairly sure that Cal's not going to be an insta-threat Gabriel puts away his photo album and busies himself with making hot chocolate.
Lunair smiles. She lets Gabriel make his stuff and shakes her head at Cal. "Not really. Although, there are things like the dubstep gun or I could shift things away with the portal gun." She offers. "And you're welcome. I understand. Have a good afternoon," She waves to the man. She does seem fairly clever about not outright offing someone at least.
"Nice meeting you." Cal tells her. He does sort of glance over at Gabriel as well so it's possible he's including him in that. It's even more possible he's just being polite. Giving Lunair a grin, he flies off just under the sound barrier to avoid a sonic boom.
Category:Log