ic Torrential Troubles (IC)

[Brown Dynamite]

Thursday November 14th, 5:00 P.M.

 

A few miles offshore from the dockside.

 

The hustle and bustle of the dockyard was in full display.  Despite the large number of scheduled deliveries in and out of the city not a single shipment had been late yet.  It was clear example of how efficient the Waterfront could be when all the cogs were in working order.  With the day winding down many a sailor was looking forward to finishing up and heading home.

 

And if it wasn't for the freak storm that came out of nowhere they might have gotten a chance to do just that.  The sky over the water began to darken to an unnatural degree.  The wind violently raging pushing waves to crash against the shore.  The sound of thunder echoed overheard with the stray bolt of lightning coming down to emphasize how dangerous the situation was.  A maelstrom forming from beneath as if to match the typhoon.

 

And caught in the middle of this catastrophe?  Two freighters each incapable of doing anything to combat against the raging storm.  The crewmembers unfortunate enough to be in attendance could only watch on in horror as the disaster began to unfold.  All the while a shrill cackle could be heard in the wind itself.  To the keen observer the storm seemed completely self contained with the not even a speck of the violent gust reaching the shore.

 

Edited November 16, 2013 by HG Morrison

[thomasdm3]

What was going on with the weather  Fulmen thought as he flew through the air. it was like nothing he had ever seen. It seemed contained almost like there was some sort of shield keeping the storm from effecting the rest of the world. It seemed like some sort of weapon. He arrived at storm and he took in the full disaster. He closed his eyes and reached out to the water and air of the storm taking it in, examining it trying to find a source or a reason. The winds rotating around in a giant circle and  then bombarding the freighters ; The currents, turning and building up momentum, puling the giant ships like toys.  The rain drops flying through the air and clattering arose the deck. In less then a second he saw it all.   

[Brown Dynamite]

Fulmen's senses found themselves tested against the storm that seemed practically alive.  Every slight variation as the wind danced all around did not escape his touch, a lesser person might have been driven mad by such overstimulation.  Not that an ordinary person could even hope to come near such sensations.  Fulmen couldn't quite pinpoint how fast the water was moving as the raging maelstrom seemed to transition erratically.  His senses at the very least alerted him to the fact that the water speed never lowered in knots to a speed safe enough for  a crew member to even consider taking one of the lifeboats.  The two vessels  are currently victims to the whirpool, even their anchors have failed to stall the ships respective momentum.  Fulmen was only able to discern that one of the two freighters was hauling foreign cars the other ship's cargo being of less than ideal shape.  With no idea of the cargo inside it becomes harder to decide how dangerous the potential risk of the freighters collision could be.

 

The slight variations in the air alerted the hero to the fact that a total of two dozen crewmembers were in need of aid.  All through the while he couldn't trace back the source of the weather.  The center of the storm could barely be considered safer than the rest of the mayhem, but Fulmen couldn't feel a presence that would actually explain what was going on.

[thomasdm3]

Fulmen flew to the center of the of the raging storm the air suddenly coming alive as he passed though the invisible wall that seemed to keep the tempest contained. The Wind and rain was almost calming like listing to an elegant symphony. when he arrived at the dead center he stopped  bobbing sightly on the air. He exhaled and cleared his mind, his his thoughts and emotions melting away. he reached out and begain to work moving the air and water in an attempt to slow the momentum of the storm. he Push and puled it, placing resistance on the  spiraling storm.     

Edited November 17, 2013 by thomasdm3

[ImpliedSpider]

A series of sonic booms ripped through the air as Starchaser arrived on the scene, a blur of white light against the deep grey of the storm clouds. A storm of this magnitude was dangerous enough so close to the docks. That it seemed so contained only flagged it as more of a threat - clearly, this was the work of one of Freedom's all-too-numerous supervillains. 

 

Streams of cloud spun around him when he suddenly came to a halt, surveying the chaos before him. Two colossal ships, caught in a vicious whirlpool, being dragged inexorably towards a terrible collision. Starchaser focused his vision, analysing the contents of each ships. One filled with automobiles, the other stacked with canisters filled with some kind of compressed gas. Well, that's not something that you want rolling about on the decks. 

 

Starchaser dived towards the gas carrier, touching down lightly and calling out to the crew. "All right folks, let's get you all into the lifeboats. You might not want to put them into that," He said, pointing down into the vortex, "But I can get you to safety!" It would be tough flying a carrier's lifeboat through a storm, but it would be significantly easier than trying to push the freighter out of the current. At least this way there was a decent chance of saving everyone on board. 

[Brown Dynamite]

The crewmembers on the freighter carrying the unknown gas were in awe at the sight of Starchaser.  His imposing presence gave them a unified sense of a reassurance as they proceeded to try and raise the lifeboat onto the deck.  Unfortunately the process was a team effort and expediency could not be afforded over efficiency leaving them to wait until they were able to finish raising the small vessels before they could be proceeded to saved.   The violent waves continued to crash against the ship peppering on with a persistent furor.

 

On any other day the man known as Tempest would have been able to twist and manipulate the storm as if it were putty in his hands.  On this occasion, however, try as he might the storm actively refused to listen to the weather controlling hero.  In fact it almost seemed as if the storm itself was actively refusing his commands.  But that couldn't be possible, could it?  The wind began to pick up in intensity the gale bursting through every which way almost sounded as if the storm itself was roaring.  Soon the largest cloud in the center of the commotion would send a lightning bolt straight towards Tempest.  Actively refuting his interference.

 

From beneath them jagged rocks would begin to surface to the top of the sea level.  If one were to give it a quick glance they could be forgiven for assuming that the water had suddenly sprouted a set of teeth.  The two ships were of course still slaves to the current.  With each navigator doing everything in their power to avoid hitting the newly formed obstacles.

[Brown Dynamite]

The waves continued to rage during the savage storm.  As if the whirpool had a sentient single minded drive to attack the vessels the water current's speed continued to increase somehow creating an even more hazardous environment.  The vessels found themselves tossing and turning slaves to the forces of nature that battled against them.  The crewmembers despite being trained for difficult conditions couldn't remain upright.  Even airborne hero whom had recently touched down on the vessel was knocked off his feet due to the turbulent whirlpool's wrath.  Luckily no one was lost to the sea, but the raising of the lifeboats was delayed ever so slightly.

 

The frightened screams of the crew began to resurface fearing the worst as one of the rocks almost scratched at the side of the gas freighter.  Luckily the stones missed their mark...this time.  But it wouldn't be long before the ship eventually crashed into the seaborn teeth.  A thought that almost made it appear as if it was bringing a grin to the whirlpool.

[ImpliedSpider]

Starchaser took a moment to scan the skies as the crew began hauling one of the lifeboats onto the deck, and quickly caught sight of Tempest, a figure of calm amidst the chaos of the storm. For a moment, Starchaser thought he could see the storm abating around the other hero, bending to his will.

 

And then it seemed to fight back, as though alive. Storm clouds gathered like a fist before Tempest, and flung a bolt of lightning into the weather controller.

 

The sound of rock grating against rock drew his attention then, and Starchaser dashed to the side of the ship, seeing the ocean’s teeth rising up into their path. He looked up at Tempest for a moment, taking a half-second to plan a course of action.

 

The half second cost him, with the whirlpool beneath them suddenly raging against them suddenly intensifying. A wave forced the ship teetering to one side for a moment, shaking the vessel beneath them all. Starchaser’s feet slid out from under him, and he slammed into the deck, nearly sliding under the guard rail before the freighter righted itself again. 

 

Reaching up, he grabbed the guardrail and pulled himself to his feet, immediately noticing the still rising rocks, the ship right on track to collide with a fresh set, having narrowly missed one already. I might not be able to do something about this storm just yet… But I can deal with those! His eyes blazed with white light, and he projected the full power of a star into the new reef. The high-intensity light sheared straight through the rocks, cutting them apart. The water churned and boiled around them as Starchaser sheared a safe passage open for the ship, seeking to buy some more time for the crew readying the lifeboat.

[thomasdm3]

There was a sudden shift of polarity in the air. The warning was just enough for him to counter and reduce the force . Lighting struck him but the thin  covering ice coating his skin With stood the impact. A sudden burst of realization deluged through him. The storm was alive. He looked under neath him sharp  rocks were arising from the whirlpool. He was immediately Remind of a the myth of Scylla and Charybdis. One a many headed monster that Struck form above the other a Massive mouth that drank in the ocean and any thing unfortunate enough to enter its reach. It would be much essay to rescue only the crew. Also it would probably be a bad idea to mess to much with the storm again. He refocused and began to Search for the breath and the blood of the all the member of the crew on the two ships finding there whereabouts and basic vitals. Wile doing this he took in how the air flowed within the ship preconceiving the basic layout of the complex interior of the ship. While doing this he Set off and flew towards Star Chaser. He stopped next to him hovering a few feet of the deck. Getting ready to relay the findings of his search.       

[Brown Dynamite]

GM

 

Even in the midst was of a deadly gust the wind was a friend to Tempest.  He knew the location of every crew member strewn about the ship.  All of which were struggling to become upright once more as the waves battled away at the ship.  Despite their fears adrenaline was still pumping through their veins, the crewmembers were experienced sailors in a foreign environment.  The boatswain, captain, and navigator were all by the wheel on the upper deck.  Four men were on the starboard side near an almost fully raised lifeboat.  Four on the portside doing very much the same.  A woman was on the bottom level of the ship checking the cylinders of gas, most likely the ship's chief engineer as they were transporting a chemical.  Most importantly, Tempest was able to tell that only air was flowing about the cabins in the ship aside from the added precipitation as the rain poured overhead.  Meaning that there wasn't a gas leak or anything of the sort yet.

 

On the other ship the layout was much similar.  The floor that stored its cargo kept the automobiles all bolted to the deck.  Two seamen were hiding inside a sports utility vehicle.  An act that would normally get them chewed out for if the rest of the crew wasn't having a tough enough time recovering from being tossed around.  The captain was in his cabin alone.  With the navigator at the wheel which stood at the helm of the craft.  The rest of the crew was strewn in various positions across the upper deck.  Still trying to crawl to the floor beneath as they hadn't seen the heroes touch down on their vessel yet and fear was a strong enough motivator to hide.

 

All in all despite being stuck between a rock and a hard place Tempest could at the very least confirm the situation hadn't gotten worse since they arrived on the scene.  Meanwhile, the waves generated by the maelstrom began batting away at both ships.  A small one slammed into the side of the vessel, but went largely unnoticed.  However, it would no doubt be only one of many.

Edited November 25, 2013 by HG Morrison

[ImpliedSpider]

The lifeboat was finally fully raised just as the waves around the ship began to intensify, a small wash of water across the deck reminding everyone of the ever-worsening circumstances. Starchaser was floating slightly above the deck now, unwilling to leave himself open to being knocked off his feet again. 

 

As the lifeboat was lowered to just above deck level, the paragon gave a shout, loud enough to be heard even over the howling winds, "Everyone who wants off, into the lifeboat now!"

 

The deck cleared relatively quickly as those who had been working on raising the lifeboat clambered into it. Despite the chaos surrounding them, the crew followed the evacuation procedure with a speed and efficiency that spoke to extensive training for emergency situations. Starchaser assessed the number of crewmen clambering into the lifeboat, and was certain that there were some who were still about the ship, remaining in peril, but there were other lifeboats, and he couldn't bring himself to put more lives in danger by waiting too long. 

 

He glanced up at Tempest as the other hero flew down towards them, and called out to him. "See if you can get everyone else on deck while you fight this storm. I'll get these folks out and then come back for the rest!"

 

With that, he stooped beneath the raised lifeboat and set his shoulders against it. His fingers dug into solid steel, his grip denting it. One of the crew deactivated the locks, and the weight of the lifeboat settled down onto his shoulders. It was heavy, but far from too heavy for him to handle. "Alright everyone," he said, "Hope you're strapped in!" He kicked off from the deck, shooting straight up from the ship before changing directions, setting off towards the docks with all the speed he could muster. The storm couldn't keep up with him, not even reacting as he blew through it. The sailors were no doubt terrified, shoved right back into their seats in a vessel that, while hardy, had not been built with mach speeds in mind. Fortunately, their seat belts would prevent them being flung about like ragdolls within the boat.

 

Starchaser touched down on the dock within seconds, setting the boat down by a row of ambulances that had been called to the scene. Then, having given a quick nod to the paramedics, he leapt back out over the water, flying back to the beleaguered ships at breakneck pace, only hoping that the storm had not lashed out again in the time he'd been away. He was back beside Tempest shortly, searching the ship for further crew as they spoke. "So, what's your read on this? Any idea what's causing it?"