Fantasy Code: Feral

[SilverFlight]

Alec propped himself up on his elbows as Leandra came to him with her concerns. His face lost it's easy smile. Her concerns were serious.
"Its definitely a possibility. I'm not going to deny that." He was slightly taken aback by Leandra's shouted statement as he hadn't heard the phoenix' mind voice.
"Hey, we do have a few things on our side. For one, we know a lot of animals went missing, and some of them were big. That really narrows down how they can be moved, and I've already slimmed the choices down to just a few places, they also have no idea we're on to them, their main concern is going to be the control officers to get the animals out of the city."
He got to his feet slowly, a layer of sand painting his back and making him look even more comical, but his tone was serious, and he tried for reassuring too.
"We did good work with the whales, that's twelve lives saved, and we're going to find the animals Feral took. I promise." Lioness075 deer

Their laughter rung together in the cooling evening air, Amber felt giddy with that much happiness rushing through her. Simon's arms around her was the best feeling in the world, so when she finally returned to the solid, earthly restrains of her reason some part of her even then begged for it not to end. She blinked in realization about when Simon too woke from the dream and when he let her go she turned away from him and crossed her arms, unable to meet his eyes.
zCrookedz
"Simon's right, but unfortunately we can't wait. The buyers from Feral aren't the type of people to reschedule. We still have our missions."
His voice caught her again and she turned, letting the concern for Simon's partner show on her face.
"I'll have someone come up soon with something for the pain. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." With one decisive turn she addressed her team again.
"In one hour I want you all spotless and down in the lobby. Let's move people!"
Alec seemed slightly chagrined, he had been hoping for a bit more time to themselves. He sighed. "I guess it's going to be takeout."
zCrookedz Lioness075 deer Bolts Flutterby

 

[Flutterby]

Totus ducked his head, and scooted closer. He pulled the large piece of sea debris off of her shirt tail, and then set about picking off smaller pieces from his clothes. It was an odd bit of pruning, with the owl hopping back and forth around his, leaving little prong shapes in the sand.
Beth kept her eyes closed and face upturned, listening to those around her. She missed the joyous moment between Amber and Simon, happening behind her back, but Totus caught it as he bustled about her.
Beth only opened her eyes when she caught the sound of a half-familiar canine gallop, and Falarion appeared at her side. She leaned over, and ruffled some of his fur affectionately, as he babbled questions at her. He deflated instantly when Manjano reminded him of his mute status, and Beth gave her friend a chiding look as she turned to answer his companion's questions.

"The cannon was really cool, but not very easy to control. It completely dunked me at one point. My arms feel like soggy noodles." She smiled, and then added, "Don't worry Falarion, after this mission, you and I can chat as much as you want. We could even send the two moody ones off together to pout." She smiled at Totus, who snorted through his beak, and then at Manjano.
Lioness075

After a little bit of shouting from the direction of Leandra, they were summoned to get themselves up and ready to return to their original mission. Beth glanced down at herself as she stood up. She tried to brush the sand off her wet clothes, but decided it was entirely futile after only a few brushes. She ignored Totus chuckling at her.
"I need a hot shower. I am.. over-salted. And cold." She glanced down at her pants, which already had a film of white forming over them as they started to dry.
"Like a day-old french fry," Totus laughed, and hopped back up on her shoulder for the return to their hotel room.

 

[deer]

Before Xiao Hui knew it, all of the volunteers, the coat guards, the firemen, and the team were able to successfully and uniformly work together as a unit, finding a steady rhythm in the midst of all the chaos. As a chorus of cheers echoed on the beach, Xiao Hui couldn't help but smile at the scene, taking a moment to watch those around her. It had been a long time since she felt as if she aided someone and the feeling in the pit of her stomach only reassured her that she was a part of something, no matter how little or small. Her heart beated frantically against her chest as she took a deep breath, sighing softly as she used the sleeves of her suit to wipe the moisture on her face, relieved. As the volunteers swarmed the team, Xiao Hui smiled widely and thanked them instead for their hardworking. It was a joint effort, after all.

However, at hearing Alec's voice a few feet from her, Xiao Hui headed towards him. Soon, she stood next to Leandra at the same time she neared Alec, turning to look at her friend. But, at seeing her expression, Xiao Hui tilted her head to the side before brushing it off as Leandra spoke of the animal rescue team's mission. But, what caused Xiao Hui to be even more concerned was Leandra's outburst. Nevertheless, Xiao Hui quietly listened, mind-linking with Laohu to tell him to come back, wherever he was.

Soon, Amber's voice rang in the midst and Xiao Hui nodded as she turned towards Leandra and Alec, "Since Alec was able to narrow down possible places to hide the animals the Feral took, we can start with building a plan on how to timely check those places. We can't think about the "what ifs", can we? It'll only tear us apart even more and right now, we should believe in not only ourselves but each other." Xiao Hui softly spoke, giving a slight smile as she realised there were more to her statement that she expected.

Without wasting too much time, Xiao Hui waved towards Alec, Leandra, Luness, and Duirk, "See you in the lobby in an hour." Xiao Hui finished before turning the opposite way to head into the lobby of the hotel. Laohu, on the other hand, had been waiting inside the lobby for her as he sighed, "Another re-do?" He questioned, looking between both him and his companion, seeing the sandy and wet state the both of them were in. Xiao Hui laughed softly, before petting Laohu's head as she sighed.

tags: SilverFlight , Lioness075

 

[zCrookedz]

Simon listened and nodded with Amber's orders for the refresh on the mission, but his mind still lingered on their embrace. Amber was avoiding his gaze, which meant she had returned to her "normal" self. Simon didn't take it personally, he had known her for far to long and he understood. He was grateful for her acknowledgment of Jimbo's pain, and once the orders were given Simon began heading for the hotel once more. He turned back only once to give Amber one of his patented smiles and thumbs ups before re-entering the hotel and heading for his room.

Simon was pleasantly surprised to find that the hotel room was still very much intact. When he entered, the signs of Jimbos trail were evident. The S.H.I.R.T. lay on the floor of the room in a crumpled heap, obviously tossed against the wall. A few feet away, the top of the leather couches left arm had been ripped open in a sudden burst spilling fluff onto its cushioned seat. The trail then headed into the bedroom where Simon found one of the bed posts had been broken off and thrown through the mirror that now lay shattered on the fllor on the far wall. Simon could hear the sound of the shower running, the obvious sight of warm steam drifting from the open door, and the smell of burned hair that he hadn't noticed until entering the bathroom. Inside the giant, one man closed shower sat a giant black blob of soaking wet fur the seemed to be shivering under the hot water. Simon first let his mind wanders to Jim, which he found barred behind a wall of pain. When the wall recognized Simon's touch, Jimbo looked up from under the shower at Simon with anguish filled eyes. Simon sat with his back against the wall so he would be facing Jimbo and began to notice the inflamed red marks that covered his partners body. Simon had managed to get away with some minor skin irritation that cleared up within a few day of treatment with a special lotion. Jimbo however, looked like he had been poked whit a car cigarette lighter on ever major muscle on his upper torso.

Simon couldn't hide the pain on his own face very well, as Jimbo shifted under the water and let his head fall backwards against the shower wall.
"I wasn't expecting it to burn quite as bad. I'll be lucky if I get hair back in those spots."
Simon nodded as he continued to stare at the welps.
"Maybe? Maybe Nigel can get you some of that "hair in a can" that the TV infomercial boast about."
Jimbo smirked
"Or I can just wear Hawaiian shirts for the rest of my life. I think I would prefer that."
Simon couldn't help it at that point. He began to chuckle to himself at the thought of his brother wearing flowery button ups all the time, which obviously made Jimbo feel a little better as he two began to chuckle. Pretty soon, the pair were laughing from their bathroom at nothing at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A room service maid had come by about 10 minutes after Simon had arrived carrying a first aid kit. A cleaver disguise at The Watch paramedic began to administer skin ointment to Jimbo's burn marks. As she worked on Jimbo, Simon found his back up suit and slipped into it. Once the paramedic was finished, and Jimbo looked like he had been been pelted with marshmallows from all the cotton balls and gauze that covered him, he too slipped into his back up suspenders and white button up with some help from Simon. The pair headed back out, a little slower so Jimbo was a bit more comfortable, back down tot he lobby to find the others.
When they arrived, it seemed like they were the first to show back up. Simon glanced across the lobby to the lounge area and nodded towards the bar.
"I don't know about you, but I could use a drink."
With a satisfactory grunt from Jimbo, the pair headed for the lounge and up to the bar. Simon ordered them both a scotch, and then gave the man behind the bar his room key to charge it to it.
"I don't think so. After what you guys did out there. Drinks are on the house."
Simon gratefully lifted his glass to the man, and then to Jimbo's before tipping it back in silent appreciation.

SilverFlight Lioness075 deer Bolts Flutterby

 

[Flutterby]

Beth shivered as she stepped back into the hotel lobby, its air-conditioning making her shiver. She and Totus took the stairs back up to their room, even though it was six flights. The carpet itched the bottom of her bare feet, rubbing away any sand that had dried enough. She would have been able to track herself all the way back to the room, just by following the trail of little sand piles.
Once inside, Totus went to perch on the back of the chair and catch a nap, while Beth started the hottest shower she could bear.
~~~~~
She got a strange feeling of deja-vu as she stepped into the lobby again. She was wearing a near-identical suit, had managed to recreate the intense-eyeliner look from the makeup team, and even found her lost heels. The only things different were the slight ache in her back, and the fact that she had opted to put her hair in a sleek bun to help reduce the 'could be an escort' vibes.
Totus tutted in her ear, and nodded toward Jimbo and Simon at the bar, the only ones currently in sight. Beth leaned on the bar as she ordered herself some bourbon, and then looked at Jimbo and Simon.
"You guys did great work out there," Her smile matched her warm tone, and Totus nodded, with a fake seriousness.
"Never fails to amaze Beth when heavy things are lifted by shirtless men." The owl held his expression, and then had to chuckle when Beth glared at him. She chose not to say anything back, but shook her head with a smile and took a sip of her drink.
zCrookedz

 

[SilverFlight]

"Drinking before a job?" Calista grinned her sharp-toothed smile at Jimbo and Simon, then she squinted at the gorilla, her black glass eyes narrowing.
"You look like shit monkey boy." She noted tactfully. "You sure you're up for this mission?" zCrookedz

It didn't take long before Alec and Duik stepped back into the lobby. Alec looked as if he had never once set foot on the beach that day: his hair was perfect and he was dressed in his official under cover costume now, a simple blue cotton collared shirt and jeans and a name tag that read: "Jason Bell, security technical support"
He was on the phone with a szechuan restaurant across the street, ordering the afore-promised takeout. Lioness075 deer

Amber was next to appear. She wore her usual thin-lipped indifferent expression together with a fitted suit that was the deepest black anyone had ever seen. Her blouse was deep navy blue but even that looked light compared to the blazer and pants. Her heels clicked intimidatingly on the stone floor and went silent as she stepped onto carpet.

It seemed someone had been waiting for her because as she came up to the bar a man in shorts and a coast guard vest came up to them.
"'scuse me, have the time? I don't have a watch."
Amber glanced over at him and nodded.
He continued, meeting the gazes of the gathered party each in turn. "Those whales you saved today, there's something else you should know: Our agents in the coast guard have some marine companions, one of them's a whale not unlike the ones that got beached. Around two hours before the beaching he said he heard a horrifically loud noise under water. It dazed him, and nearly sent him into the reef. Once we got that report we sent scouts out to investigate the area and...we found something."

Amber looked at him seriously. "You found something?"
"It's better if I show you, we got it out of the water and stored it in a warehouse not far from here."
Amber exchanged glances with the others, then tapped her wrist watch and raised it to her face. "Have the cars meet us at the point I'm sending to you." She looked back at the agent. "Lead the way."

The warehouse was only a few blocks down the beach boardwalk. The agent pulled open a sliding garage door just enough for them to duck inside. Once they were in he shut the door and hit the lights.
The object in question was about the size of a kitchen table and looked, for all intents and purposes, like something that produced sound.
"It's like a crazy, tricked out speaker." Duik assessed excitedly.
"This is the thing that produced a concussive sound so loud it beached a whole pod of whales." The agent explained. "I checked it's numbers, it's not registered with any company, or any country."
"Black market then." Amber concluded.
"But why would someone risk something like this just to beach whales?" Alec asked, not quiet convinced.
"We calculated the range this thing could reach, and came up with about 60 miles. That's 55 more than the distance the whales were from the point where they beached."

Flutterby zCrookedz deer Bolts Lioness075

 

[Bolts]

As the team was given the opportunity to freshen up for the hour, Barry retired to a room along with BB sleeping in his pocket. The small bird had tuckered herself out quite a bit on the whale mission. He prepped an energy boost for her when she would wake up, but for the while, the soft snoring filled the room as he went back to fixing his make up and clothing. Straightening his shirt, the sudden stirring of the small bird became apparent. The lightly fluttering wings hummed and small feet clanged on the glass full of food for her. She took deep sips like a tried person taking their first sip of coffee in the morning. "Morning" She uttered Discontented. "Who knew time zone changes and a major work out would kill a bird." She took on last dip into the cup and perched there staring off into the distance. "Good thing i'm a goddess!" She blurted out, launching off the cup into a spin. Barry, stood there, smirking, watching his companion regain her normal self once again. He had to admit he was a bit jealous at how quick she bounced back from exhaustion. "Alright love, time to freshen up my feathers and meet with the others. God knows you need reminders and that is why I'm here." She said smugly with a wink. Barry rolled his eyes as he put a hand to her head and lowered her to the table where he could recolor her feathers. Not too later, they made their way back down to the lobby. Glancing at Jimbo, the pair winced at the thought of what that S.H.I.R.T did to him. He looked pretty rough. Not too soon after, it seemed the watch was tipped off about something. With the sudden order to head out, Barry and BB packed into the car to the warehouse.

As they ducked under the door, and made their way inside, Barry noticed a large object in the center. It wasn't till the lights turned on did they see the strange speaker. "OOOOH BOY! This thing could put on quite the show eh, Duik? We could put on quite the show for the Watch with this." She said perching on Duik's head. Barry did a circle around the strange object. It seemed like a hefty thing to set up, especially underwater. Quickly writing down his concern. He handed it off. "Would they suspicious that the object is gone now? Or was it a one time use that they can leave behind? Maybe we could set up an interception group from the Watch if they were to come back." BB turned to the Watch agent and tilted her head. "Wait, does this mean they got some secret underwater base? This is turning into one of those superhero villain hideouts... WHICH IS HECKING AWESOME!... but I don't know how to swim.." She finished disappointed.

 

[Flutterby]

Beth finished her drink quickly, and followed it with an order of french fries from the bar. She doused them in salt when they came, and seemed like she might inhale the whole basket, as quickly as she was eating. Her face held a look that bordered on disgusted- the fries weren't even that good, but she was grossly hungry. Totus watched her closely. With the extra plumage glued to him, one could almost see the way his face scrunched up with concern.

She was one of the first to jump up to get to the warehouse. Totus opened his beak to tell her to slow down, but then thought better of it. This level of focus was new, and it scared him a little.

~~~~~

Totus was less interested in the sound-thing than he should have been, considering the circumstances. But it really did just look like a giant speaker. It wasn't until the agent mentioned its range that the owl let out a surprised churr. That would make for one heck of a concert. His ears hurt just thinking about it.

Beth tilted her head to one side, then the other. It was big, but somewhat inconspicuous other than that. It had physically beached an entire pod of whales and dazed a sentient animal. And that was underwater. What else could this thing do? Beth glanced down at her hands, which had a couple blisters from handling their own big-ticket weapon.
"Could this thing be on the Feral's shopping list, too? Maybe we interrupted someone else's show and tell."

 

[zCrookedz]

Jimbo drained his glass quickly and set it on the bar as Calista commented on his appearance. He smirked, and simply rolled his shoulders as if to stretch but stopped as the sores on his body protested.
"Nope. But I gotta job to do, so I'm gonna do it."
Simon drained the contents of his glass as well, glancing over at the door as Amber walked it. Simon, along with several other bar patrons, eyed her as she made her way over to the bar where she was approached for but someone using the secret phrase that Watch members used to identify one another. Simon listened closely to the man, speaking of the whales and something that effected them in the water. That was more than a little concerning. When he heard Amber call for the vans, Simon patted Jimbo on the shoulder where he knew there were no burns, and followed the rest of the group out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Simon followed the group inside, and once everyone was in and the lights were thrown on, he starred at the device before him with utter confusion. Duik was right, the large device looked like a car stereo speaker had been jacked up about 20x's and strapped to a bunch of hardware that Simon had never seen before. Jimbo got a little closer to the device as well, and began to poke and prod at the speakers themselves looking for anything that might seem familiar.
"Jim, Nigel ever show you anything like this?"
Jimbo sat back on his back legs, trying to ease the strain on his torso as he scratched his head.

"Together like this? Nope. The speakers look like a way bigger version of the one's in the Sonic Canon, but that's about it."
Simon's arms crossed over his broad chest as he to tried to contemplate the device. As the agent exsplained what they had learned about it, Jimbo's brow furrowed.
"Why in the world would it need to send out a sound wave into the ocean THAT far? That's ridiculous."
Simon took a few steps closer still looking at the device.
"Has anyone contacted HQ about the device yet? Nigel in RD might be able to tell us a little more about it and what it's purpose was."

SilverFlight Lioness075 deer Bolts Flutterby

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Manjano	Companion: Falarion
Manjano's Attire: Red-Brown Hair Dye, Dark Green Eye Contacts, Maroon Suit, Black Shirt, Black Dress Shoes	Falarion's Attire: Dark Brown Eye Contacts, Maroon Scarf around Neck, Dark Orange Fur Dye, Black Fur Dye on Mane and Legs, Cream Fur Dye Underneath Snout and on Belly and Tail
Location: Singapore Hotel Beach
Tagged: zCrookedz (Simon and Jimbo), Flutterby (Beth and Totus), SilverFlight (Calista, Amber, Alec, and Duik), Bolts (BB and Barry), Killerclown (Jim and Artemis), deer (Xiao Hui and Laohu)

Their moment was quickly ruined as Amber shouted out that everyone only had an hour to freshen up and be ready to continue on with their mission.

Falarion perked up at Beth's response and he gave her a quiet bark, which was very hard for him to do, before he too heard Amber's announcement. Almost immediately, his ears dropped to his head.

Sighing, Manjano glanced down at Falarion apologetically, but the maned wolf merely huffed before trotting towards the hotel. Rubbing the back of his neck, Manjano glanced sideways at Beth to hear her already talking to Totus. The two seemed to be getting along better now and Manjano hoped the same would be true for him and Falarion sooner than later. Manjano was not the best at mending relationships in a timely manner.

~~~~~

An hour or so later and the pair were back downstairs. They were both pretty much the same as before, though Manjano had thought to wrap a scarf around Falarion's neck. It could possibly help with his mute status and it also helped make him look a bit different than before. Sometimes small changes could help make a difference. Manjano himself had been lucky that he had been given a second suit. While his dirty one was being laundered by the hotel staff, he could wear his spare.

Manjano made a beeline for the bar, though he barely had enough time to enjoy a drink before the group was being called back together. He downed it while Amber spoke and soon the group was moving on to a mystery warehouse.

Once they arrived at the warehouse and saw the object, both Manjano and Falarion tilted their heads to the same side. Neither had any idea what to make of it and Falarion merely blinked at the explained concept.

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Leandra Sinciato	Companion: Luness
Leandra's Attire: Dirty Blonde Hair Dye, Hazel Eye Contacts, Khaki Traveler's Jacket, Grey T-Shirt, Light Jeans, Cream Tennis Shoes	Luness' Attire: Crimson Feather Dye, Dark Orange Eye Contacts
Location: Singapore Hotel Beach
Tagged: deer (Xiao Hui and Laohu), SilverFlight (Amber, Calista, Alec, and Duik), zCrookedz (Simon and Jimbo), Flutterby (Beth and Totus), Bolts (BB and Barry), Killerclown (Jim and Artemis)

Leandra tried to remain serious when she saw the nice layer of sand on Alec's back, but it was getting rather difficult. Chewing the inside of her cheek, she merely nodded at his response and then looked away. She really disliked that they could miss some important clue with the kidnapped animals. It was so wrong for anyone to be kidnapped and these animals could not communicate with anyone yet. It made it all the more dangerous for them. She could not imagine how terrified they must all be.

Luness hummed to her again and then sighed to herself. Leandra was worrying rather excessively and there was only so much Luness could do for her until she got her own worrying under control. This was going to be a long mission, no doubt.

Hearing Amber's announcement, the pair quickly headed back to the hotel and cleaned themselves up. Leandra mostly needed the cleaning, but Luness would not turn down a quick wash in the sink. Leandra got out of her shower and had just dried off when Luness dunked herself and fluffed up her wings, sending a spray in Leandra's direction.
"Hey, watch it, Lune!"
Chortling, Luness popped her head up from the water and merely smirked at Leandra, which always looked weird on a bird.
Smiling slightly, Leandra merely shook her head before drying off again.
Luness was disappointed by the lack of a response, but a smile was better than an angry response entirely.

The pair soon went back to the lobby in time to see the group gathering to listen to Amber. She was about to approach when she saw some Chinese delivery person looking a bit lost in the lobby. Curious, Leandra walked over and after a brief discussion, she was able to get the delivery since it was for Alec, and ultimately for herself and Xiao Hui. Her mood almost immediately lifted at a free Chinese dinner and Leandra hurriedly joined the meeting so she could sit down to eat. She saw no sign of Xiao Hui yet, but she kept her friend's food out for when she would surely join the group.

Unable to finish all of her food in time for when they left to see the mystery object, Leandra opted to take her box of rice and egg roll with her and nibbled along the way. Luness helped with the rice, keen to enjoy the delicious meal as well.

When they arrived at the warehouse, neither Leandra nor Luness knew what to make of the device and they decided to continue enjoying their meal instead of voicing any ideas they might have.

Just as Leandra finished off her egg roll, she moved towards Alec and once she was within speaking distance, she said, "Hey, Alec, um, thank you for the dinner. It was amazing and I was way hungrier than I had originally thought."
Uncertain of what else to say, Leandra stood there a tad awkwardly while Luness chimed in, "Oh yes, it was wonderful, dear. Thank you."

 

[SilverFlight]

Duik walked around the machine several times while Amber looked to the watch agent who had brought them to see if he had actually called it in. When he shook his head she took out a small device an gave it to him.
"Scan it, send it to HQ." She ordered.
Meanwhile the hyena kept circling, assessing every small part and wire. "I dunno much about super spy tech, but to me, this looks like it was just supposed to make as much obnoxious noise as possible." He shrugged, "I can't imagine why anyone'd want to. Maybe it's a repeller? Like those sonic mosquito thingies!"
He paused for a small moment and continued examining the machine, as if he'd found something new to explore.

Alex grinned at Leandra, "No worries, gotta keep my team fed and happy."

"That's a good idea Barry," Amber said after reading what the agent had written. "We'll get a team to put it back, if it's the sellers, we'll still have some information on--"
"Hey, boss?" Duik interrupted loudly, there was a hint of worry in his voice.
"Dunno if this is important but like, there's a tiny clock down here. It's counting down. It's at like, five seconds."
zCrookedz Lioness075 Flutterby Bolts deer

 

[deer]

After washing up and changing into an all-new attire, Xiao Hui felt relieved and better. Laohu, on the other hand, was still feeling annoyed at having to touch up his coat once more. But, Xiao Hui felt it was well worth the hassle as she laughed to herself remembering the scaredy cat's antics. Once the duo found themselves in the hotel lobby, Xiao Hui looked around seeing that everyone had gathered before they did.

"We are late." Xiao Hui stated, a frown appearing on her lips.
"Not late, everyone is just early." Laohu countered back, swaying his tail side-to-side as he trotted over towards the others.
Shaking her head, Xiao Hui rubbed her temples. Troublesome cat.
"Heard that, loud and clear!" He called out, turning around to give Hui a toothy grin.

It wasn't long before Xiao Hui found Leandra with Chinese to-go boxes. Tilting her head, Xiao Hui waved towards her, smiling. "For us?" She asked before her eyes landed on Amber's signal. Shrugging her shoulders at Leandra, Xiao Hui took her meal with her as Laohu saddled up next to her. Soon, they arrived at the warehouse and Xiao Hui looked over towards Laohu in confusion. But, as they both listened to Amber and the other Agent, Laohu sat on his hind legs, not wanting to get near the equipment.

"Is it safe to have taken that here?" Xiao Hui questioned out-loud as she walked forward, inspecting the technology. She had never seen such a loud speaker-like object, but Laohu on the other hand winced at the mentioned of the sound beaching the whales on shore. "That could blow out someone's ear drum, especially a sensitive one." Laohu commented. However, at the comments her teammates were making, Xiao Hui could only tap her chin in wonder as well. There were so many questions unanswered.

"Can it also be used to hypnotise someone? If there is something as loud that could have a far-off range, it could very well be hidden and used among a big crowd, maybe?" She asked, not sure whether if what she was saying made sense. Xiao Hui was never good at technology so anything regarding wave signals or mechanics could be wrong interpretations and far off.

Laohu, on the other hand, found his hair grow on his back once he heard Duik's shout and concern. "What?!" He growled loudly before quickly jumping into action, grabbing Xiao Hui's shirt from behind as she fell on-top of his back. "Move away from that!" Without any time to waste, Laohu quickly ran to the corners of the warehouse behind a pillar, shielding Xiao Hui as she fought the urge to move Laohu, fearful for everyone. Is it a bomb? Did the Agent know? No, she had to help her friends!

"Laohu, I -"
"Don't say a word."
And at that, Xiao Hui hugged Laohu, her eyes frantically trying to find the others, her heart quickening within each second as bit her lips, hoping and waiting for the result.

tags: SilverFlight , Flutterby , Lioness075 , Bolts , zCrookedz

 

[Flutterby]

Beth wandered forward, as the others continued talking, following Duik around the machine from a few feet back. Totus had hopped off her shoulder, irritated that they were wasting daylight on this machine. Especially since they had established that it wasn't all that useful. He had settled on a nearby crate, keeping his eyes half on Beth, and half on Agent Strong.

Beth gave a small chuckle at Duik's sonic mosquito repellent idea, but failed to notice when his attention honed in on a detail on the machine. She was more looking for a control panel of some kind, but it didn't seem to have one. There were a few knobs, but they seemed randomly placed. Was it controlled wirelessly? Or was it really just that simplistic?
She had rounded another corner, when Duik spoke up again. His worried tone caught her ear, and she leaned back to look at what he was referring to. There was indeed a clock, and it was very close to zero.
Was it going to explode? Was it going to sound again? Was it going to send out a location beacon to whoever owned it?
There wasn't really any way to know for sure what would happen at zero, but Beth didn't really want to find out.

Her blue eyes darted up to Totus's face, who was already preparing to fly toward her. With a small shake of her head, she said, "Go," and started her own movement toward the door of the garage. Being on the other side of the machine, she wasn't convinced she would make it with time to duck behind cover, but her owl would if he was smart.

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Manjano	Companion: Falarion
Manjano's Attire: Red-Brown Hair Dye, Dark Green Eye Contacts, Maroon Suit, Black Shirt, Black Dress Shoes	Falarion's Attire: Dark Brown Eye Contacts, Maroon Scarf around Neck, Dark Orange Fur Dye, Black Fur Dye on Mane and Legs, Cream Fur Dye Underneath Snout and on Belly and Tail
Location: Warehouse
Tagged: zCrookedz (Simon and Jimbo), Flutterby (Beth and Totus), SilverFlight (Calista, Amber, Alec, and Duik), Bolts (BB and Barry), Killerclown (Jim and Artemis), deer (Xiao Hui and Laohu)

At hearing the mention of the device having a five second countdown, Manjano did not waste any of those seconds. He immediately sprang forward and snatched up the lanky Falarion, who yelped in surprise. As awkward as it was to carry Falarion, Manjano held him close to his chest and sprinted for the nearest crate that was big enough to hide behind.

Reaching his destination, Manjano unceremoniously threw Falarion over the crate and he yelped yet again as he crashed behind the cover. Vaulting over the crate, Manjano narrowly missed stepping Falarion's tail before the pair were hidden behind the crate that would hopefully take most of the potential blast.

Harrumphing at Manjano, Falarion muttered, "A warning would've been nice, y'know."

Manjano opted to ignore this, as he braced for impact.

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Leandra Sinciato	Companion: Luness
Leandra's Attire: Dirty Blonde Hair Dye, Hazel Eye Contacts, Khaki Traveler's Jacket, Grey T-Shirt, Light Jeans, Cream Tennis Shoes	Luness' Attire: Crimson Feather Dye, Dark Orange Eye Contacts
Location: Warehouse
Tagged: deer (Xiao Hui and Laohu), SilverFlight (Amber, Calista, Alec, and Duik), zCrookedz (Simon and Jimbo), Flutterby (Beth and Totus), Bolts (BB and Barry), Killerclown (Jim and Artemis)

Eyes wide at what Duik said, Leandra wasted no time in implementing one of her new skills from her year of training. She had always been skilled at acrobatics prior to her Watch service, but Leandra had honed it even further when she realized she had an entire year to learn new skills or master ones she already possessed.

With a squawk of surprise, Luness was quickly airborne. She had seen Leandra's plan in her mind and it definitely required Luness to get out of the way.

Hunching over, Leandra suddenly vaulted backwards and did two successive back handsprings before she paused to do a backflip over a crate. It was rather convenient that crates had been placed sporadically surrounding this device.

Luness glided overhead and quickly followed Leandra behind the crate, landing lightly beside her panting companion.
"Wow, that was awesome, yet surprisingly exhausting."
"Well, you performed quite a feat there, dear!"
"Oh, heck yes, I did!"

Leandra glanced to the side and noticed her brother and Falarion had both taken cover in a simpler fashion.

 

[zCrookedz]

Simon and Jimbo were on opposite ends of the device when Duik piped up about the clock on it. Before the hyena had even finished, they were both moving. Jimbo, immediately snagged Callista under his arm against the protests of his shirt rubbing his bandages. He then took several long strides around the machine and his other arm went for Amber to pull them both in and away from the device. The gorilla was making for the far side of the room, looking for anything to duck behind when he saw Leandra bounce behind a crate. He too dove for a large stack of crates with Amber and Calista in his arms . He reached out with his mind and touched Simon's. As he did, his eyes went wide as he realized what Simon was planning.

Simon had gone in the complete opposite direction that Jimbo did both physically and rationally. The second Duik mentioned the clock, Simon was closing the few feet on the machine in the blink of an eye. There weren't any obvious hand holds, so Simon grabbed the rim of one of the speakers and hefted the machine. It was about as heavy as a small cars motor, something Simon was intimately familiar with moving around his shop. Still, he heaved the device, and letting the momentum carry him he spun with it and aimed for the back of the warehouse. He heaved the device as hard and as fast as he could, following through with the throw by diving to the ground and covering the top of his head and neck with his arms. He wasn't sure how far he had thrown the thing, or if he was even out of the blast radius, but he had at least gotten it further away from the rest of the group.
SilverFlight Lioness075 deer Bolts Flutterby

 

[Bolts]

BB was day dreaming about what they could do with this kind of tech. So many shows for the Watch. Boost moral since it had been a while since Feral activity. It wasn't till those dreams were dashed by Duik pointing out the tiny clock inside. "A bomb? Really? A bomb inside a speaker!? That's just playing dirty!" She thought to herself as she looked down at the device. She Couldn't help but hover in place. As fast as she is, her reaction to shock wasn't.

Barry nodded as his idea was taken into consideration. There was only so much pride he could hold before the news was reveled to everyone that the speaker could very well be a bomb. A bomb with five seconds to be exact. Everyone seemed to be taken actions to get out of the way, everyone besides BB. She seemed shocked at the news. Quick on his feet, Barry jumped from a table to snatch the little bird from the air. She made a small peep, inaudible over the louder noise from Simon moving the device. Barry didn't have time to check if it was far enough away for them not to be hurt. He landed back down, flipped the table full of tools, and ducked behind it. Noticing now that Simon was on the ground, possibly in danger still of the bomb, Barry took the legs of the table and dragged it as fast as he could to cover as much of Simon as he could. The guy was pretty big after all. With BB in his pocket, he put his back to the table and braced for impact.

 

[SilverFlight]

Alec froze for one terrified moment, then the warehouse became alive with the team scrambling to take cover. Alec grabbed Duik by his collar and bodily tossed him under the garage door. The hyena gave a strangled yelp before he tumbled headlong out of sight. Alec then cast about frantically for Xiao ( deer ) and found her huddled against the big tiger behind a pillar. He dove behind it as well, shielding Xiao's other side.
Amber did not have time to react when Jimbo ( zCrookedz ) scooped her up, and she had little chance of breaking the gorilla's hold. She watched as Simon ran for the device, and screamed his name before she was dumped behind the crate.

"Cover your ears!" Amber yelled, just before the explosion wracked the building.
Splinters and shrapnel went flying, embedding themselves an inch in every exposed surface. The area filled with smoke and fires sprang up in several places. The sprinkler pipes leaked water as the few undamaged heads began to dump water on them through the garbled sound of a fire alarm.

As soon as it was clear Amber peered up over the crate, trying to catch Simon's (@zcrooked) form through the smoke. Her ears rang badly, things sounded muffled, but she hauled herself over the cover, surprised to find she had not sustained a scratch.
"Simon!" She called, rushing over to the center of the room looking for him.

Even though he had covered his ears, they still rang. Alec groaned as he sat back. "Y-you ok Xiao? Laohu?" ( deer ) He asked in a groggy voice. Slowly he brought his legs under him and tried to stand, only to feel a sharp pain just above his ankle. He fell back with a yelp and looked down: A sliver of metal had lodged itself in his leg. It took a moment for the injury to register.
"Damn." He said flatly. "I guess they didn't want that thing back after all."

"Sound off!" Amber called, worried as she was for Simon, her priority was the team.
"Here." Alec groaned.
"What the heck?!" Duik barked as he poked his head back into the smoky warehouse.

((I'll be time-skipping to our journey to the missions in 1 or 2 posts))

zCrookedz Lioness075 Flutterby deer Bolts

 

[deer]

Time froze still for a moment as Xiao Hui braced for the impact of the bomb. It wasn't until Xiao Hui's eyes found Alec's silhouette hovering over her that she had let out a sigh of relief she hadn't known she was holding onto. But, Xiao Hui was still tense as Laohu lowly growled under his breath, the vibration slowly calming her mind for that split second. Xiao Hui closed her eyes, leaning closes against both Laohu and Alec, heart beat erratically thumping against her chest. On the other hand, Laohu kept still, determined to used himself as a shield, covering his friends from the impact as much as he could. Five seconds passed and the explosion shook the warehouse as the sounds of the screeching alarm pierced through the air. The booming sound of the explosion caused the alarms and sprinklers above to break loose. A slight hiss escaped from Laohu as he felt a piece of metal from the sound equipment hit his back. Smoke filled the warehouse and Xiao Hui found herself quickly covering her nose when the the smell came. However, the pungent smoke was able to filter through as she started coughing into her suit. The ringing of her ears never lessened as Laohu shook his head, finding himself irritated of the loud noise. His coat was getting dewy as the sprinklers above continued to leak above them.

Opening her eyes, Xiao Hui's vision blurred as she tried to find Laohu or Alec's eyes. Her coughing fit stopped momentarily though the buzzing of her ears never lessened. Laohu, on the other hand, felt his ears pop as everything continued to fall deaf on his ears. His eyes noticed Alec's lips moving, but couldn't hear sound. Instead, of trying to listen, he tried to read his lips but to no availl. Xiao Hui gently rubbed Laohu's head, seeing he had been on his hind legs when he covered her.

"Thank you." She mind-linked Laohu as she looked towards him worriedly, "Are you alright?"
Laohu puffed his chest but another hiss escaped as he shook his ears, "Nothing but a nice nap and ice could fix."

Once the threat ceased, Laohu quickly went back on all fours as he groaned, moving his shoulders back as he leaned against the pillar for support. Xiao Hui sighed, still looking at him in concern before turning to see Alec trying to get back up but failing. Narrowing her eyes, Xiao Hui waved her hand in the air, attempting to move the smoke away from her eyesight. However, as the smoke slowly cleared her way and she saw Alec's predicament, Xiao Hui looked alarmed and quickly knelt down, placing a small hand on Alec's shoulder,

"D . . . don't move, Alec!" She hoarsely gasped out, narrowing her eyes at him for a moment. "Please. The question is are you okay?" She continued before taking in the sliver of metal that lodged itself in Alec's leg. But, hearing Amber's voice, Xiao Hui's eyes never left Alec's as she pursued her lips. "Here! And we may need a first aid kit . . . soon."

Laohu, on the other hand, drew closer as he pawed at the ground near the metal that was lodged into Alec's leg. "I am sorry." He said, downtrodden, feeling as if it had been fault that he couldn't protect Alec from sustaining any injuries no matter how small. "Use me to help lean against? Hui, get his other side and we should move slowly."

"Right. We do not want to put any weight on that leg in case it goes inward more." She stated before looking towards Alec, "Looks like I will be putting to use what I have learned from you, Doctor." Xiao Hui said, trying to lighten the mood before going next to him and extending her hand towards him.

Hearing Duik's voice, Laohu breathed a sigh of relief and Xiao Hui smiled softly before her eyes looked towards the small fires inside the warehouse and the destruction of the place. Laohu, knowing Xiao Hui's thoughts, called out after Amber as well, "My sentiments exactly! How is everyone else?" His voice boomed though sounded much scratchier than usual as he scoped the place in wonder as he went to stand close to Alec.

tags: SilverFlight , Lioness075 , Flutterby , zCrookedz , Bolts

 

[Flutterby]

Totus flew out under the door, and arced high up, racing into the sky even though his entire being screamed to turn around. Beth had been clear. When the explosion happened, it rang in his ears more than it should have, and he knew that Beth hadn't gotten as far away as he had hoped. Smoke leaked out from all the new punctures in the building as he flew back down. The owl landed next to Duik, trying to peer through the smoke. He could feel her, at the back of his mind, but she seemed distant and muffled.
"Beth? Where are you?!"

For a moment, Beth wondered if she was running the right way. Because Simon was running toward her.
"What-" She started to shout at him, her feet slowing to a pause. And then he scooped up the device and hurled it past her, toward the back wall. Others were diving behind objects, and she had just wasted valuable time wondering what Simon was doing. Not the thing to focus on. The thing to focus on was the table that Barry had just tipped over. He shifted it to help cover Simon, and she scrambled to take cover by the other side, managing to stumble over the top and land mostly on her hands and elbows. She threw her arms over her head and neck like she meant to, and then it went off.

The sound of the blast was still deafening. She could feel it in her ears more than hear it, and felt the table hit her feet and then fall backward a little. It felt like all the air and all the sound had been sucked out of the room for the longest heartbeat of her life.
Pieces of metal and wood started to patter down on top of her- at least the table blocked the ones that had become projectiles. The metal was hot though, and she rolled over quickly to get them off before they burned. The motion made her head spin a little. It seemed safer to stay down there for a minute, so she watched the smoke billow around until the sprinklers started to sputter on her face. She blinked the mist out of her eyes, and slowly sat up, wincing when her scraped palms got poked by the debris on the floor.
Beth faintly heard her name being shouted, and Totus was banging around at the back of her head like a lunatic. She coughed softly, and called out. "I'm fine Totus!" She brushed herself off a little, and then leaned over to check on Barry and Simon.
"Barry? Simon? You good?"
Her voice didn't sound right to her own ears.
Bolts zCrookedz

 

[Bolts]

BB clenched tightly inside Barry's pocket, unable to make sense of what was going down. There was way too much information for her to process. She could hear the muffled yelling of everyone around, including Amber shouting to cover their ears. She shook her wings up and covered her face, only to feel Barry's hand gently yet firmly wrapped around the clothing. "Barr-" She began to question before the explosion happened. She felt the thrust of pressure upon her body and for the slightest moment she was certain she died. Her head was screaming with noise as the aftermath of the bomb settled and alarms and sprinklers alike played their course. She could feel the grip from Barry still holding true, yet it was open enough for her to wiggle out. She was dissented, unable to take off just yet as it would take a minute to regain flight. "Ugh... My head.. Barry. Barry, you good?" She said looking up. Her eyes widening.

~~~~~~~~
Barry balled up as best he could, poking an ear with his finger while the other braced his companion with the other. He knew this was going to suck, but it was better than BB taking more of the shock wave than she had to. In the last second, he heard the table shift as Beth flipped to their side. He took a deep breath as to say something but blast took over. The room flashed for a split second, nearly blinding him beyond his closed eyes. Then the large thud and pressure to follow. His chest felt empty of air and the table shoved forward slamming into his head. Moments later, alarms rang and water fell. He heard ringing in one ear and saw red running and dripping from the back of his skull. He scrunched his face to fight off the dizzying feeling overtaking him. His eyes opening wide now and then to make sense of where he was. As the ringing from his ear settled to a low hum, he looked down to his friend who sat shocked on his lap. Though pained, he took a deep breath and signed "OK". He patted her on the head before hearing Beth speak out. Shakily, he stood up, walking towards her drunkenly and reached out with a hand to pull her up. "Uhh, Barry, don't push it! You don't look so hot. Oh! Uhh, Yeah, Barry, Beth, and I are up and running Amber! Now seriously, sit down!" Barry looked at her with tired eyes and nodded, sitting down next to Beth with a sigh. Pointing towards the direction he saw Simon, BB got the idea. "Y-yeah, of course. I'll check on the big guy. Take a breather. Probably don't need to say it, but look after him Beth?" With that she fluttered over to Simon, fluttering an inch away from him. "Hey big guy. You good? Anything wrong or feel off? I'll yell out for you if you need assistance. You know... since I can't lift like you heh..." She spoke softly with a half hearted joke.

zCrookedz Flutterby SilverFlight

 

[Flutterby]

In the moments before Barry started to move, Beth assessed herself more closely. Her hands were deeply scraped from catching herself, and one knee was throbbing from whacking it into the floor when she fell. She could feel a warm wetness on her cheek. She ignored that feeling, as Barry stood up. He stumbled and swayed like a drunk, but still stuck out a hand to help her up. He had blood on him, behind his ear. Beth shook her head, motioning for him to join her on the floor. BB's chattering was muffled and strange, but Beth ignored that.
"Take it easy, let me see.. your head." Beth held out her hands in case he stumbled when he sat down, but he made it safely down. When she crouched next to him to look at the back of his head, she frowned.
"Okay, so you're bleeding, and maybe concussed, but it doesn't look too bad, I think?" Even though she had no idea medically, she tried to speak to him soothingly while she looked at where the table had hit him.
"Just hang tight, okay? BB, how's Simon?"
Bolts

Totus couldn't see to get into the building- smoke was still flooding out right into his face. The owl sputtered crossly, hopping back and forth trying to see Beth from the door. He heard her call out, and could still faintly hear her voice, but he hadn't seen her and he could tell she was in pain.
"Beth, you come out here!" He shouted into the smoke, with an annoyed clack of his beak. After a few more sideways hops, he finally huffed loudly and started into the building, a few wing-flaps at a time.

 

[zCrookedz]

The explosion happened so fast, and in an instant it was over. Only the soft subtle ringing in Jimbo's ears from jamming his fingers into his head was all that could be heard for a moment. The silence seemed to stretch on for much longer, as Jimbo tried to shake the force of the blast wave and the dust and debre that has fallen from the ceiling above off of him. He looked turned back towards the back of the warehouse, mentally and physically searching for Simon through the cloud of dust. He couldn't feel anything. Panic began to sink in as he lifted himself from behind the boxes and began to lumber over towards where he had seen Simon drop down. A

Amber's call for a sounds off didn't coax a peep from Simon, which made Jimbo move faster into the cloud of dust. He could just make out a large rectangular shape through the dust and dim light, and as he approached he was able to make out the scene. A table had been laid on its side and been used as a shield against the explosion for Berry, BB, and Simon. Jimbo could see BB hovering over Simon, who was sprawled out on the ground still with his hands over his head and neck. Jimbo reached out with his hand and grabbed Simon by the shoulder with a firm grip. Simon's arms fell to the side of his head as he his head lifted and he could see the table in front of him. His face was a mixture of disable, and looking close enough, the fading signs of fear.
Simon lifted himself onto his elbows and looked from Jimbo, to the table, and then looked back towards Barry with a very grateful expression.
Simon continued to his knees and then his feet, gripping his head as the ringing from the exsplosion made his head ache suddenly.
"Easy ya moron. You just had a first date kiss with a bomb."

Simon smirked, and gave BB a thumbs up as he too headed for the group behind him. He coughed a few times to clear his throat of the dust before calling out.
"We're alive. Little shaken, but alive."
As Simon began to walk towards the group, he felt a incredibly sharp pain that erupted from his back and raced over his shoulder and down his arm. He grimaced and reached for the origin of the pain, and found something protruding from right beside his right shoulder blade. Jimbo saw him whence and went to his side. He found a piece of wooden shrapnel protruding about 3 inches out of Simon's back right between his shoulder blade and his arm. It was wet with blood, but it looked like it might only go into muscle but not past to the bone of his ribs. Simon growled as he sat down beside Barry and he lifted his arm to see the piece of wood sticking out of him. Surprisingly, Simon began to chuckle to himself and leaned his head back as he took several breaths to see if it had punctured his lungs. His head turned to Barry as he laughed.
"That.....haha......could have been so much worse...haha."

SilverFlight Lioness075 deer Bolts Flutterby

 

[Bolts]

Barry winced as Beth inspected his head. Just some shallow wounds but a fierce knock to the head for a light concussion but still stung all the same. "Thank you" He signed with a sincere expression. Sitting down and focusing on someone talking soothingly seemed to help him regain some composure. A quick check up for some pain pills and a rest after the mission, he should be up and running like new. He inspected Beth as well, seeing her knee and palms as she retracted them. The room began to spin once again so he gently took one of her hands and made an effort on getting any debris and rock off and out. Slowly, the room came back to normal. "Not too bad, Anything else feel off that I could check? It... helps keep things still." He signed with minor pauses.

BB inspected him as he rose is head. Zipping from side to side to see any head trauma. When he gave her the thumbs up, she twirled in the air. "Oh good good! I think everyone made it out pretty unscathed! Glad you made it out unharmed! She said cheerfully before her head began to sink into her body. Seeing him walk away left a pretty good look at the wood sticking out of him. Once again, she was in shock and couldn't move for the moment. "Right, right. Okay. So, big guy has a new arm. Yeah.. A new wooden arm. Probably not removable at the moment. Not that I could. Oh dear, yeah, that's not an arm at all. What was I thinking. Who am I kidding? Big guy is hurt bad." She thought to herself as Simon joined the table crew.

Barry was too out of it and trying to focus on Beth to notice Simon approaching. It was hard to ignore after the sudden drop from him and the arm lifting close by. Shaking his head from focus, he turned towards Simon with a pained smile. Seeing the Wood sticking out of him sent shivers up Barry's spine. Once the random laughter bellowed out, he leaned back towards Beth. He furrowed his brows before realizing why Simon was laughing towards him. "Don't mention it. You'd have done the same for me. Lucky your toss was good enough to get Beth behind here." He managed to sign, his dexterity picking up. He felt the second rush of nausea and spinning coming on. Putting his face into a hand, he leaned somewhere in Beth's direction. Whether on her or on the ground, he didn't know since his sensations were out of line. He figured Simon didn't need a head possibly pushing on his own wound.

BB managed to take to the air once again, flying to her companion laying down. "Well, I gotta say everyone. That could have gone a bit better. Guess we are all a bit rusty on Feral traps after a year huh? Also, I don't think we will be putting that back in the water now or scouting people going back for it. On the bright side, I'm perfectly fine! You're all also not dead which is also good. I'll go get Toto for you Beth. Where ever he went." Fluttering up and gently making her way towards where Totus flew off to, she called out. "Hey, Toto, where are ya? Having trouble with the smoke?"

Flutterby zCrookedz