ic Winter Wonderland

[Brown Dynamite]

Erick had decided to make his way back to the stands the lack of any other possible assailants in his line of sight didn't add to any comfort.  He knew he had to get his hands on Blonsky.  If only the location wasn't too inopportune.  For his part Erick hadn't expected K to double back with anyone in tow.  That was just a bit of unpredictability that he would have to work around.

 

When the odd pair came into view.  Erick made a shh motion in the distance.  And that was what it appeared to an outsider looking in.  Very much how Erick would like to keep it.  However, Dee was receiving an entirely different sort of context.  Seeing that despite having far more to risk than him reputation wise, Dee already shared the secret of her heroic activities with him.  Besides she had a prying mind so to speak.  As such, Erick ante'd up and put his own cards on the table as well with a quick passing thought.

 

It seems every time we see each other there's another doped up Russian being taken down.  I trust filling in the blanks my secret's safe.  But, clearly your brother has made a stubborn enemy.

[Supercape]

GM

 

With a bang of a starter pistol, Edward was off, making good pace. With the Russians out of the game, he actually stood an outside chance of a medal. The Swedes and Norwegians had top men competing, and would almost certainly battle it out for Gold and Silver. The Bronze was up for the taking - there was no doubt that Edward would have competition, but he was not outmatched. 

 

As he sped away, making good time gliding through the snow, Foreshadow was struck by another vision, again, of Edwards demise. 

 

Further down the track, two of Blonsky's buffed goons were waiting in the snow, faces fixed with concentration and devotion. With them, Blonsky himself. 

 

The track official seemed to have stopped, his face blank. 

 

"They got us into this... They can get us out..." muttered Blonsky. He snapped his fingers in front of the track official who continued to gaze into oblivion. "I have to hand it to the Sleeper, he is well named..." he chuckled. 

 

Into the snow...into the track, Blonsky placed what could only be an old Russian Army Mine...

 

....

 

It hardly took any special power to see what would happen next, but Foreshadow saw it anyway....Edward Farrington, skiing straight over a mine in the snow...

[Brown Dynamite]

Sometimes a metallic taste lingered in Erick's mouth after a particularly bad vision.  Almost like a bitter aftertaste from a horrible meal.  Which was appropriate as the events set in motion were a tough pill to swallow.  Apparently his rounds around the area checking for a second shooter hadn't accounted for the possibility of obstacles added to the course while the event was in motion.

 

"Mine!  I mean mind, would you mind getting us a private booth in one of the outside dining areas.  Would be problematic it if one of Blonsky's gorillas caught sight of you at this moment K.  And Miss Farrington might require my assistance in breaking away from her security detail.  We'll catch up as soon as we can."  His eyes shooting over in Dee's direction afterwards.  Hoping to transplant the urgency of the situation without verbalization.

 

'If you're still listening, get ready to move. Specifically to beat the racers down the course.  Unless you want your brother to test who would win in a fight between a skier and an old probably soviet mine.  Little hint the results make for a closed casket.  Blonsky's really dedicated on going after your brother for whatever reason.'

[Thevshi]

Don't worry, despite what the tabloids might seem to imply, I tend to be rather discrete.  Dee mentally replied to Erick, slightly surprised to learn that the Olympic level gymnast was also the current Foreshadow, although she realized that should probably not be too great a surprise.  But before she could fill him in on what she had managed to learn, Erick seemed to tense slightly, his eyes taking something of a faraway look, then he sent the Russian police officer away and "told" her that her brother was still not out of harm's way.

 

The Englishwoman felt a chill run down her spin.  This was just what she had been afraid of when the race started up once more.  When I went digging in Nevsky's head, I learned that Blonsky is acting at the direction of someone he called the Dcotor, and there is someone else, the Sleeper, that is also working to pull of this Russian sweep of metals, and they are not afraid to eliminate people like my brother that are speaking out.

 

Dee frowned slightly at the thought about how to try to get ahead of the skiers as she began to glance around.  I do not have any particular means to get us out ahead on the course, but perhaps we can scrounge something up?  She was hoping there might be something they could use, like a snowmobile...

[Supercape]

GM

 

Mere moments later...

 

"A snowmobile? Are you the mad?" said the Paramedic, as he put his hand over his snowmobile protectively. 

 

It was the obvious choice: accidents happened on ski slopes, not often, but often enough. And when they did, the paramedic teams had a couple of snowbikes and slower mobiles to scoot away to the rescue.

 

Today looked like it would see an accident of historic proportions. 

 

Was it coincidence that Blonsky had chosen this year to cheat with his pumped up athletes? It was fortunate, that was for sure. Any explosion or assassination could easily be put down to terrorism in the wake of the highly tense political situation. 

 

"We cannot just give these away! They are for the medical teams!" protested the man. He was being slightly precious, of course - they had more than enough (barring a full scale terrorist attack). The only other option would be the security services at the games, who would not give away anything other than a pair of handcuffs delivered straight to the wrists. 

[Thevshi]

Dee was not particularly surprised by the paramedic's reaction when she had lead Erick over to one of the emergency snowmobiles and asked to borrow it. But, her bother's life, along with the lives of other competitors in the race, was on the line, and she was starting to get a bit annoyed with this Russian conspiracy.

So, the Englishwoman reached out with her mind, seizing control of the man's mind. <"Come now, I know you can spare one of these."> She said in flawless Russian, and the man nodded in agreement, mentioning that there was one he could spare as he gave Dee the keys.

Straddling the vehicle, Dee nodded behind her as she looked over at Erick. "Get on, and be sure to yell when you spot the area we need to get to." She said. As soon as Erick was behind her, she revved the vehicle's engine, and shot off down the course.

[Brown Dynamite]

Grabbing a snowmobile helmet Erick would hop aboard behind Dee.  Safety first, makeshift disguise second.  Making sure to search for a rear grip to hold onto  and if one was lacking would just grab Dee.  Promptly resuming their earlier conversation as soon as he was on board.  "So Blonsky's not the top man of the food chain in this operation.  That sucks.  We could have put an end to this whole affair if he was.  At least insane patriot was an easier motive to predict the outcome."

 

It did explain why he wasn't giving up on Edward Farrington yet.  He couldn't give up.  Not if he was under orders.  "After we prevent them from planting the mine.  We'll have to get them out of view before the racers, and camera crew get to us.  Otherwise the competition will be interrupted again, likely restarted with yet another opportunity to rub him of.  Which would be bad.  I assume I don't have to huff and puff for interrogation if you would be so kind to just probe around in their minds."

 

If they acted quick enough there was a chance they could reach the pair while they were en route.  It'd be a chase on unfamiliar terrain of course.  But that was favourable to the alternative.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The snowmobile swam through the snow with might acceleration, as Dee turned it left and right, following the course at unhealthy speeds. The course twisted, and trees threatened to unhorse the two heroes, clutched together like lovers. With violent turns, snow was thrown up in a stylish flurry. 

 

Unfortunately, it was also noisy. With a start, Blonsky turned to see the snowmobile heading their way. 

 

"You...you...stop them!" he said to the two musclemen on ski's by his side. The spandex clad athletes turned on their skis and unslung their weapons, the classic AK 47 Russian Assault rifles. 

 

"Do not let them get me! You know your orders!" barked Blonsky as he hurried to his own Snowmobile...

 

The chase was on!

[Brown Dynamite]

No small part of Foreshadow was enjoying the adrenaline as they shot downhill pursuing the armed Russian thugs.  They were still too far for him to actively engage.  But there was more than one way to skin a cat.  If he couldn't break their bodies.  He could break their will.  The actual possibility of being riddled with bullets clearly not entering the forray for consideration.  Raising the lens on the helmet so as to make his voice clear, Erick would begin to shout at one of the muscular men.

 

"Hey, big guy.  I'm sure you've have to be worried about job security by now.  Everyone that's been sent to do this dirty work has either been broken apart or made to have a psychotic break on televised viewing.  Do you really think this game of cat and mouse is going to bode well for you?  Might want to just give up now and save yourself the broken bones.  Not like the Sleeper or the Doctor care a lick what happens to their expendable pieces.  That's right we know about them too.  You're just a bunch of expendable lab rats to them."

 

There was no hesitation in his voice.  His barbs intent on shaking the man's confidence.  And judging by the fact that the AK-47 was no longer being held so steady.  He might just have hit his mark.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The Athlete crunched his neck muscles stiffly at Foreshadows verbal assault. 

 

"Not true...Serve Mother Russia...Superior...Superior..." he said back like a robot. A shaken robot, however. The brainwashing and chemicals had not done much to limber up his cortex, it seemed. It was hard to say the bag of muscles flinched...it was more likely that he stiffened with tension at having to compute such foreign concepts with a limited amount of brain power. If he had been closer, Foreshadow could have sworn the mans eyes crossed as he tried to wrap his head around strange and inexplicable ideas. 

 

A barrage of gunfire from both athletes silenced further conversation. Foreshadow and Synapse heard the bullets whizzing past them, and digging up puffs of snow around their ride. None hit either of them. But they heard a ping as one bullet hit the Snowmobile. Nothing exploded or seized up, but they could both detect the faint odour of gasoline...

[Thevshi]

Dee felt a slight bit of fear grip at her as the automatic weapon fire impacted nearby, with one bullet hitting somewhere on the snowmobile.  But the young Englishwoman did not have time to worry about that, as she continued guiding the snowmobile down the course, pursuing after Blonsky.  She took a few dangerous short cuts, but managed to keep the snowmobile from flipping, and managed to close the distance. 

 

As they went, she activated her forcefield, with red psychic energy forming around her.  Glancing over at one of the Russian athletes, she sent a blast of red psychic energy right at his brain.  The attack certainly seemed to succeed, as he seemed to stagger and seize up after the mental blast hit him.

 

As they drew close to the luge right behind Blonsky, Dee glanced back over her shoulder at Erick.  "Do you see where the mine was?  You should probably go and deal with it, I can keep after Blonsky."    

[Brown Dynamite]

"Yeah, I see it.  And it's a good idea.  But, there might be more on the track.  So I'm going to make some alterations to that and get my own ride back up to that mine.  Catch you on flip side good looking." Standing up on the high speed vehicle Erick wouldn't hesitate before risking grievous injury and flying through the air performing a picture perfect somersault to land on Blonsky's snowmobile.  

Sliding down into the seat he would grab Blonsky by the back of the head and slam him forward into the steering system. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance we have much to discuss.  Sad to say that all is gonna have to wait as I'm commandeering this vehicle."  Blonsky may very well not have heard the last part of Erick's statement judging by that faraway look on his face before he was seen careening off the snowmobile.

Of course it still meant Erick had to act fast. Just because the snowmobile had lost it's previous drive did not mean it had stopped it's momentum. And there was still the little tidbit about them being continually shot at. At least a stray bullet hasn't hit a mine. Or set off that fuel line.

[Supercape]

GM

 

It was all happening so fast. Blonsky tumbled, rolled and slid in the snow ass he was knocked off the vehicle. Foreshadow could hear some choice Russian expletives as he tumbled. He was struggling to pull out his gun, but stunned as he was, it was only his years of military training and reflex that stopped the gun slipping from his grip - or worse, firing off a shot. 

 

The snowmobiles trajectory was taking them well off course from the Biathalon track. The treeline was passed, and the ground began to slope, all helping Blonsky roll and tumble besides the two heroes in their bikes.

 

The Russian Atheletes had not forgotten their orders. Two full bursts of automatic fire were loosened, but the victim of Synapses Power could hardly aim straight. He seemed to be shooting at the sky and then at the snow beneath his feet in an almost reflex way. As his body convulsed from the psychic attack, he let off jerking bursts of bullets. It was a miracle he didn't shoot off his foot, but he certainly wasn't aiming at the heroes. It looked like he had gone cross eyed. 

[Thevshi]

Dee could not help but grin as Erick gracefully made the daring leap over to Blonsky's snowmobile and quickly proceeded slam the Russian's head on the steering wheel and send him tumbling to the snow between them.  But that was short lived as more gunfire echoed from behind them and several bullets hit the back of her snowmobile, damaging it some.

 

Keeping herself alongside the tumbling Blonsky, the Englishwoman looked back over her shoulder once more and sent another mental blast at the massive athlete she had brain blasted before.  The red psychic energy streaked up the slope, once again finding the man's brain.

[Brown Dynamite]

Erick slid forward into the seat taking helm of his newly acquired snowmobile.  Without braking he'd jerk it violently around.  Making a beeline straight for the mine.  "Stay Frosty boys.  See you soon."  Course you have to stay conscious for that.   Which stood less and less likely the way that red energy was flying around.  Giving a slight two finger wave, Erick moved back up the slow.  Snow being kicked back as his snowmobile worked against the grain.

 

The sun reflected off the faint metal in the distance.  Erick's eyes narrowing from behind his helmet as he focused solely on his target.  Hoping that he wasn't shot from behind.  Of course he didn't have to rely on mere instinct when it came to avoiding gunfire.  His precognitive intuition went a long way towards that ends.  A comfort when one was speeding to try and disarm an explosive device buried beneath the snow whilst unaware athletes sped in their direction.

[Supercape]

GM

 

One of the Athletes was on his knees, in the snow and empty shell casing, looking cross eyed. There was no doubt these brainwashed men had a fury of purpose rattling in their heads, but despite all efforts they could not resist the power of Synapse. 

 

But only one had fallen. 

 

The other blazed with a kind of ecstasy at the thought of a tussle with Foreshadow. He hefted his Assault rifle, spent of bullets, and used it like a cricket bat, knocking Foreshadow heavily as the two men clashed like knights with lances. 

 

Blonsky was blissfully unaware of the bone crushing frenzy, sliding with what might pass for grace down the slopes of snow and ice, gripping his gun and propelling himself, partly from the force of Foreshadows previous kick. 

 

The slope was gentle, for now. But as he rolled to a stop, he heard a whistle blow from an official. 

 

"<Security! Get this man off the luge track!>" roared an indignant Olympic official. 

[Thevshi]

Seeing Blonsky slide to a stop, Dee turned her snowmobile into a sudden stop, skidding to a halt with a spray of snow.  She glanced back up the hill where Erick was now in melee with one of the brainwashed athletes.  At least the man seemed to be out of rounds for his assault rifle, so she trusted for the moment that Foreshadow would be able to deal with him quickly.  So she instead focused back on the other athlete, once again sending a mental blast at the man.

 

As before, the psychic energy reached its target, but while it clearly effected the muscle bound Russian, it did not seem to have near the effect of the previous two mind blasts.

[Brown Dynamite]

Erick was seeing spots momentarily as he was reeling from the blow.  If he had his escrima sticks he'd be confident in coming out on top in a power struggle.  But he was still a fairly muscular gentleman.  And he didn't actually need his weapons to bring physicality.  Pushing down on the throttle Erick would swerve and perform an u turn with the vehicle.  Once again the two figurative jousters would engage in another charge for one another.  Only this time Erick planned on getting the better of the exchange.

 

Actively supporting his weight on the handlebars of the snowmobile he would lift his body up so as to perform a sort of drive by kick.  Slamming his feet as hard as he could aided by the vehicle's momentum in doing so.  Almost immediately afterwards the shooting pain in his legs made Erick think twice about attempting such an endeavor again in the future.  But there was little time to waste, Foreshadow's legs would land back in the driver's seat recoiling after the exchange.  His head snapping to the side to check what if any damage had occurred.

Edited May 26, 2014 by HG Morrison

[Supercape]

GM

 

The Athlete took the blow solidly, his balloon muscles flexing from the shock. His eyes started to roll, but then snapped back. 

 

"<No pain. Just obey>" he snapped like a reflex, trying to shake the cobwebs to swing the rifle, like a club, clumsily, at Foreshadow. He was fast, he was strong, and he knew what he was doing. But all the brainwashing in the world couldn't help his brain snap back to full power after Foreshadow's blow. Any other man would have crumpled in a heap. 

 

"<NO PAIN. JUST OBEY>" repeated the other athlete, clambering up, his eyes glazed from Synapses psionic attack. The gunfire was less wild this time, shooting overhead. Only a grunt came from the huge athlete, as he tried to bring his eyes to a more normal position. 

 

Blonsky was back on track, however. Quite literally. He ran towards the nearest 2 man luge, kicked off the back man and stuck a gun at the temple of the first man. 

 

"Get going! Luge like you have never Luge'd before. Your life depends on it!"

[Thevshi]

Dee heard the gunfire echo from up above on the slope, though thankfully the shots missed Erick.  While she took a moment to glance back up hill, Blonsky had moved to commandeer a luge and start off down the track.  The Englishwoman smirked slightly as she revved the engine of the snowmobile before glancing back up the hill.

 

Another red blast of psychic energy streaked through the air, once again finding the mind of the man she had targeted three times before.  Once again he was clearly affected by the attack, but he was still on his feet.

 

But Dee had little time to worry about that right now, as she turned back to the luge and started off at near full speed.  A moment later she had jumped over an edge along the luge track and landed the snowmobile on the track, quickly righting it once more and speeding down after Blonsky.

[Brown Dynamite]

"Great.  So you guys aren't going to be lively conversation."  He took note of Dee speeding off.  Putting him on babysitting duty with the two surprisingly sturdy scientifically enhanced zombies.  See this is less fun if you're not just a little bothered by my captivatingly annoying snark.  Spinning around with the snowmobile, Erick would try and make another pass at the Beefcake.  Propelling the vehicle forward this time extending his arm out to try and hit the beefcake in the stomach.  Instead he made contact with the butt ofthe man's rifle.

 

Apparently cognizant enough to wield the weapon as a shield.  Foreshadow would have been impressed.  If it didn't hurt to an excruciating degree.  His arm seared with pain momentarily his focus lingered from the Beefcake.  As he clutched his arm tightly.  This wasn't what one would call an ideal defensive posture.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"<Obey! Obey! For Russia!" intoned the Athlete in a powerful voice, his muscles flexing like a sack of walnuts. He took his rifle, now battered beyond use, and once again swung at Foreshadow with power and speed. A crunching blow to the head was the result, a follow up from the blow to Foreshadows arm. Tough as Foreshadow was, the Athlete was strong beyond belief, an olympian power lifter. The force knocked Foreshadow away, into the snow, out cold. 

 

"Faster! Faster!" yelled Blonsky at the Luge driver who was sweating despite the chill. Blonsky risked a look back to see Synapse tearing after him in the Snowmobile. 

 

"I don't believe it!" he conceded at the outrageous stunt by Synapse. Believe it or not, he fire off a crack crack crack of three bullets, all hitting snow, before jamming his gun at the temple of the Luge driver again. 

[Thevshi]

Dee had veered to one side when Blonsky had aimed his pistol back and fired off a series of shots, causing them all to go wide.  The snowmobile continued to hurtle down the luge course, following after the Russian coach and the hijacked athlete.  If not for the seriousness of the situation, the young Englishwoman would likely be having the time of her life right now.  But of course, Blonsky and his superiors were deadly serious with their ambitions for Russian domination of these games.

 

So, Dee had to remain focused on stopping them.

 

Reaching out with her mental powers, she found Blonsky's mind, forcing her way in past his rather formidable will.  Once she had seized control, she sent him a telepathic command.  Drop the pistol.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Struggling against Synapse, Blonsky shuddered and jerked. He was a KGB agent, trained to resist interrogation and even mind reading, but Synapse was simply too strong for him. 

 

"<Damn you witch!>" he grunted before Synapse finally got inside him. Even then, he was fighting, but fighting was futile. Like an electric shock down his arm, his hand opened and the gun fell from him, spinning up the luge track and narrowly missing Synapses Head. 

 

The two athletes, having "stopped" Foreshadow, started on their ski's, following Blonsky and Synapse. They were unable to match speed, but on the other hand they did not bend and curve like the luge course. 

 

Synapse looked at the snowmobile, and saw the fuel counter at zero...the engine started to splutter...

 

Meanwhile, Edward was holstering his rifle and started to cross the next part of the course...where a hidden mine lay...

[Thevshi]

As the snowmobile started to run out of gas due to the damage inflicted earlier, Dee quickly looked for a safe place to try to steer the vehicle off the luge and crash it safely.  As she did, she struggled to keep her mental control over Blonsky, managing to keep a firm grip on the mind of the former KGB agent.

 

Spotting a good place to ditch the snowmobile more or less safely, Dee dropped the telekinetic forcefield that surrounded her, instead pushing the power as she had never done before.  At the last moment, as the snowmobile headed to where it would launch off the luge course, Dee rolled off the back and towards Blonsky and the athlete on the luge.  As she did, she grasped both herself and Blonsky with her telekinesis, lifting each of them up into the air in the glowing red power.  In seconds, they were close to two hundred feet up in the air.