482/Best Day Ever

Best Day Ever
Date of Scene:	24 August 2014
Location:	Cybertron-2
Synopsis:	Jonothon Starsmore is chased by a crazy taxi driver, trapped on an alien ship, stranded on a dead planet, and almost eaten by giant mechanical bugs. BEST DAY EVER!
Cast of Characters:	27, Blurr

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Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Are magical goods really at THIS much of a premium? Jono happened to buy a book about basic psychic techniques earlier in the day. He happened to be reading it on his way to where he'd parked his motorcycle. Urbania was large enough that he'd had to call a taxi to get where he'd parked his bike at. Suddenly the taxi driver spouting something about Jono being his 'Evil Master'.

Why? Because apparently Jono had reached up to scratch his face while he'd been in the taxi, and in doing so, had moved his wrappings enough that the flames peeked out from under his wrappings. He hadn't managed to get to his bike. But he did manage to get out of that taxi. Now he just had to worry about the crazy cultist chasing him.

He didn't even care where he went. Jono just wanted AWAY from the guy. God why did people have to be so damn crazy!? He managed to get to a spaceport in Urbania, and crawled in the first cargo hold he could find. Just long enough to let that weirdo go away.

But it didn't look like luck was on his side with this either. Because he got LOCKED IN, and now he can't get the door open! So, for the time being, Jono's rather stuck until the hold gets opened. ('Great. Just bloody GREAT.')

...At least he's got a book to pass the time?

Blurr has posed:
    Indeed, the doors to the cargo hold had suddenly sealed themselves. locking him inside. It's a good thing he doesn't need to breathe, because there probably isn't going to be any oxygen in here pretty soon. The roar of the engines can be heard--it sounds like they're directly below the hold.

    Small windows line the sides of it, and as the engines fire up to full throttle, the vessel lifts off the ground, shooting up into the sky. Urbania gets smaller and smaller, faster and faster, until the curvature of the planet is visible from sub-orbital altitudes. Just who does this ship belong to? Humans? Aliens? He'll have to hope they're friendly...

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
('...')

So first he gets chased by a crazy guy who drives a taxi, and now he's managed to abduct himself. Can this day get ANY BETTER!? Jono shakes his head, shifting around until he's semi-comfortable. Probably going to be a long trip, so he better settle in for it. Loud engines though, jeez.

Still, at least the scenery is nice! And there might be enough light to see by without him having to get the flames out. All he can really do is read until the craft touches down. And then hope someone opens the boot when it does!

Blurr has posed:
    The craft seems to slow down a bit, and then there's another massive roar from the engine rooms below. Suddenly, it shoots off, and the stars outside turn into streaks of white light. Yup, they must be traveling at FTL speed.

    Some time passes, maybe an hour, before the ship slows down again, and begins to enter the atmosphere of another planet. A planet that looks like it's been dead for years. The cargo hold heats up as the vessel travels through the atmosphere. The closer the surface gets, the more it looks like a -not- very nice place to be.

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Gah. Thank God temperature extremes don't bother him. Otherwise this would be REALLY unpleasant! Now, a cargo hold would have to have a little bit of heatshielding and temperature control otherwise it wouldn't be very good for cargo. But it's only just enough that he doesn't burst into flame! It's still not a great way to make the trip, though.

It also results in the death of both his gloves and his long coat. Once these two start MELTING he has to remove them. Alas poor gloves and coat, I knew thee well. At least the rest of what he's wearing is either cloth or somehow mysteriously survives the trip.

Nearing the planet... and Jono sort of wishes the craft wasn't. What kind of planet is that, anyway? Is there even AIR? Not that he needs it, but if there's no air that means there probably aren't friendlies there! Then again, ther ehas to be SOME kind of atmosphere, or it wouldn't be so hot in here!

Blurr has posed:
    Well every planet's bound to have some kind of atmosphere. Whether it contains oxygen or other gases is another question altogether. The ship finally touches down...

    Yeah, this place does -not- look like a nice place at all. Where civilization once stood, only ruins remain. Some time passes, but it's difficult to determine from his position if anyone had disembarked or not. Either way, the cargo hold doors remain closed.

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Nuts. Doors aren't opening. So Jono does what any self-respecting human being stuck in the boot of a vehicle would do. Hit a wall! Hopefully the sound of his fists, and possibly feet, hitting the door will attract attention. And hey. Telepathic speech isn't heard, after all. Maybe it can get through here and contact a mind. After all, a listener doesn't have to have a human brain. Just a mind capable of understanding.

"'EEEEEEEY!" He 'shouts' through the door. Unless the metal blocks telepathic transmissions, this should get someone's attention. "'Ey, lemme out!"

Blurr has posed:
    Oh, the noise and telepathic transmission got someone's attention, all right. Whether it was the -right- kind of attention is a different question.

    It probably wasn't.

    Especially since just moments after he'd started pounding and 'shouting', strange, twisted creatures come scurrying out of the darkness. Immediately, they latch onto the doors of the cargo hold where the sound was coming from, and begin to...well, devour it. Their mandibles sink into the metal and they start tearing it apart. Well he wanted out, didn't he?

    It isn't long before they've gnawed their way through, and before Jonothon's eyes is a horde of gigiantic, twisted, terrifying-looking insectoid machine things. Despite the fact that they just ate the entirety of the cargo hold doors, they look mighty hungry. After all, they've been roaming the surface of this energy-depleted planet for a long time, and all that energy in this unusual fleshy creature's body is practically like an energon buffet. Not another moment passes before a group of them lunge at him, with the full intent of stuffing their faces full of pieces of Jonothon Starsmore. Or at least, what passes as a face, anyway.

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Jono's not surprised. Miss Grey did tell him once that he lit up her psionic senses like a Christmas tree. Which ended up in some rather awkward explaining, both to a class of teenagers and to Mr. Summers, that she didn't mean it THAT way! If these things are capable of understanding him, or picking up telepathic transmissions, it would only be a matter of time before they noticed him.

Regardless, now Jono has a bunch of metal bugs trying to eat his face. Or well, what's left of it. Which is exactly why he quickly reaches up, pulls the wrappings down from his face, and blasts at the bugs leaping for him. Because he's got little enough of a face, the rest kind of needs to stay intact. And as soon as he can clear a path, he's getting out of that ship. Staying in close confines with these things can't be a good idea.

Blurr has posed:
    The one in the lead takes the full brunt of the blast. It is thrown backward into its fellow bugs. And disintegrates. However, more of them can be seen coming up behind the initial group...there are -hundreds- of these things. Who knows if it was the telepathic transmissions, or if they picked up on his energy signature, or if they just smelled him. Well he probably doesn't have much time to be thinking about that right now.

    One is about to pounce on him, while another lashes out with a giant claw-arm. The others are starting to chew away at the ship's hull, ripping it to shreds as well. At this rate, both he and this ship are going to be bug-lunch before long. There are just too many of them!

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Jono does not have time to dodge all the attacks. And he can't run on foot as fast as these things can scurry. They're very large, six legged creatures, and he is a human-sized, two-legged creature. He's a convenient bite-sized snack, it seems. Oh but even as he falls he's not going down with out a fight. He can do area attacks, too. Which is exactly what he does. It's a massive explosion. Very loud. And it might even rock the ship!

BOOM!

Hopefully this will clear out a big enough group of them to let him get back up.

Blurr has posed:
    The explosion sends the Insecticons flying, and causes the already damaged cargo hold to crumble. Pieces of ship begin to fall all around, crushing the bugs under their weight. Fortunately they're larger and are thus more likely to get hit by the falling debris.

    UNfortunately, there are just too many of them. But that explosion had attracted the attention of the ship's owner, and he comes running.

    He does NOT like what he sees.

    Cursing, he dashes forward, guns blazing. A shot cuts through the air and blows up a particular large one that had been lunging at Jonothon at that very moment. Shoot that one in the face, punch that one into a still-intact portion of the hull, rip that one's head off...and so forth. Who needs a team when you can move as fast as Blurr can? Finally, the bugs are in pieces on the ground, and they aren't getting back up.

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Jono's raised his hand in what he knows is going to be a useless attempt to ward off that massive metal bug leaping at him. His eyes close, and the thought that he's probably going to die here crosses his mind...

And then suddenly something's blasting the bug away. What? He pauses, opens his eyes... and sees Blurr. Briefly, before the Autobot goes into full-on Pietro mode!

His unexpected savior being fast as lightning (minus the kung-fu part) doesn't stop Jono, either. He does have to take a few to recharge after a blast like that, but he should recover fast enough to at least help out from the back row-- fire at one attempting to latch onto Blurr's foot while he's distracted, fire a blast to break up a group, etc. He can't use any more of those massive blasts like what got Blurr's attention, though. Not until he can rest.

Once the bugs are in pieces, Jono seems to 'breathe' a sigh of relief. Though there's no sound, just a relieved slumping of his shoulders. After a moment, he ventures wryly, "...Maybe yer need ter call an exterminator. Looks like yer might 'ave a bit o' an infestation." Pause. Less wryly, and more gratefully, "...Thank yer." Because he knows he was almost bug chow.

He's also still radiating psychokinetic energy. Doesn't seem to be something he can help.

Blurr has posed:
    It certainly helps. There are a LOT of them, and even Blurr can't get through them all completely unscathed. But at least Jonothon's blasts keep him a bit less scratched up.

    Needless to say, though, the speedster is not exactly happy. "TheSLAGareyoudoingherehuhwhathowdidyougetonmyshipyouattractedtheSwarmandnowwe'restrandedherehmph!"

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Jono winces as the speedster explodes. Thankfully, though his interactions with Pietro are limited, he has interacted with THAT speedster enough to know how to figure out what's being said. It does take him a few moments to piece it together, though. Stranded? Great. Chased by a crazy taxi driver, trapped on a ship, almost eaten by bugs, and now STRANDED on the planet the giant metal bugs are native to. Great. Man, this day just keeps getting better.

Still, he does have the grace to look sheepish. He raises his hand to rub the back of his neck. "Ah... s-sorry 'bout that..." He knows it's a pitiful apology. "This daft bloke was chasin' me around Urbania. I needed a hidin' place, an' didn't realize it was the cargo hold. Got stuck in there, so I was tryin' ter get someone ter let me out."

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr groans, and makes a sound akin to a sigh, as he assesses the damage to the ship. Nope, not salvageable. At all. "Good Primus..." he mutters. "They must've been attracted to your energy signature. Probably smelled a lot like energon to them." Finally, he seems to slow his speech to a more normal pace. "Well I activated the distress beacon, at least the comms array is still functioning--just barely. We'll just have to hold out until the extraction team comes, and hope more of them don't decide to show up."

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Jono does look pretty upset about the damage, so there's that. At least he's contrite. Though contrition isn't going to fix the ship. Or keep them safe. But he doesnod to Blurr's words. "Make sense. But I can't turn that off. I'd probably die." Of course, the question of how he's surviving without breathing could be asked too. Then again, with the fire on full display, it might be partially answered.

He does have a question, though. It's regarding staying alive. "These bugs. Do they 'ave functioning weapons? Or are they just chewin' machines?"

Blurr has posed:
    "Then we'd best find somewhere to hide, where they're least likely to pick up on your signal." Blurr examines something on a datapad, then puts it away. Suddenly, his body begins to appear as if it's folding up on itself, panels shifting and gears turning. Finally, he's no longer standing on two feet but hovering just above the ground as what looks like a high-tech hovercar. "Come on, Helex is nearby. Or what used to be Helex. Anyway, we might be able find some place to lie low in the ruins." The driver's side door opens, inviting him in. "And about the weapons, I don't think so. At least I've never seen any. They chew, and they claw."

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
"...Whoa."

A talking car wouldn't have been a surprising thing. It's the fact that this is a talking, sapient, SHIFTING car that's the surprise. But the door is open, so... Jono gets in. "Yer drive yourself, right?" Like that weird movie about the talking cars that TOTALLY DIDN'T transform. The mention of the bugs gets a 'hmm'. "I s'pose tryin' ter salvage a weapon wouldn't've worked, then. Probably betta ter go someplace safe, if there is any place."

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr gets that reaction quite a bit. The door shuts, and his voice can be heard inside, as well. "Yep. And trust me, if there were weapons to salvage I would have already tried it." Lights on the dashboard move in sync with his voice. "Like I said, we can find some better cover in the ruins of Helex, about half a kil from here."

    And then, ZOOM. The hovercar takes off at an insane speed. And he doesn't even use full acceleration, because if he did well Jonothon would have been flattened by G-forces. This is probably somewhat how someone would feel if Pietro were carrying them...

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Oh yes, Jono is definitely going to be mentioning this to Pietro next time he gets a chance. The acceleration gets a surprised jolt from Jono. But thankfully the whole 'no internal organs' thing makes it a little easier. His chest isn't pressurized, either. Though missing most of his ribcage means his torso has a lot less structural integrity. Even if he'd survive having his chest crushed, it wouldn't be PLEASANT.

The trip might not be too long given Blurr's speed. But Jono will still ask questions. "What planet's this?" He knows he's not in Kansas-- or, likely, even in the Sol galaxy-- anymore. So he might as well learn what he can about the situation.

Blurr has posed:
    It isn't long at all. Blurr quickly approaches the ruins of what was once the city-state of Helex. Dilapidated and crumbling buildings are everywhere. They look like they've been abandoned for centuries--probably more. The speedster quickly finds an old, half-collapsed warehouse filled with crates. Some of them are empty, while others are just full of depleted power cells. Finally, the Autobot answers the young man's question. "It's my homeworld...Cybertron."

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Alien talking cars, dilapidated buildings, abandoned cities, and mecha-bugs. The pieces aren't too hard to put together. Jono's not going to make the Autobot relive it by telling him about it. Instead he just asks, "'They' happened? The bugs, I mean." Once he's able to, once Blurr has stopped and the door has opened, he'll get out and take a few steps away from the now-car. Since he assumes robot has to... un... car. Whatever he calls it.

Blurr has posed:
    "More like civil war happened." Blurr answers. "But the Swarm sure didn't make it any better." Once inside, and once Jonothon has disembarked, yes, he 'uncars'. That is, he transforms again, this time back to his biped form. The speedster takes a quick look at a holographic map that appears to come out of his hand momentarily, then moves to a hidden door in the floor under a pile of crates. It slides open when he touches a keypad. That at least appears to still have power. "Looks like we're in luck. There's a bunker down here. One of the safehouses I used to hide in after any particularly risky assignments. Runs on its own energon reserves, but it hasn't been active for vorns."

    Inside are a few ladder rungs in a wall that goes straight down. "Climb on my shoulder." he says, holding an arm out on the floor.

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Jono doesn't want to make the Cybertronian talk more about that, no. He's also not going to ask about 'vorns', but rather, assume it's a REALLY LONG TIME. But yeah. He climbs onto Blurr's shoulder when requested, and hangs on. Oh, but he remembers something! "Oh. I forgot. Name's Jono." After all, it's only polite to introduce yourself to someone who's allowed one to ride inside one right? "Thank yer. I appreciate the help. I'd've been bug food if yer hadn't been 'ere."

Blurr has posed:
    "Blurr." The speedster carries him down, and they enter an elevator at the bottom that takes them down to the safehouse. It doesn't exactly have much in the way of human accomodations, but at least it's safe from the Swarm. For now.

    He sighs. "Just...next time you're looking for a hiding place, be more careful?" he asks. "And you're lucky there was that explosion, otherwise I wouldn't have even realized what was happening." The speedster checks the communications systems to confirm they are still working, and thankfully they are, so he can inform the others of his location when they come to fetch them. "Look, why don't you get some rest? I'll watch the perimeter surveillance. I don't have any human food here, but...you don't look like you need that anyway."

Jonothon Starsmore (27) has posed:
Jono suddenly looks sheepish again. "Sorry. Also that explosion was me." He points at the fire that's coming from where his face is still uncovered. It's climbing up around his head, but seems to burn much slower. One could call it 'liquid fire' if that wouldn't be a contradiction in terms.

He nods to the mention of getting some rest. "Probably a good idea. I need ter recharge after that." Apparently yes, he /does/ have batteries! Sort of. Who knows if it's closer to Blurr's idea of batteries or what humans mean when they talk about 'batteries'.

He'll have all that fire back under control by the time their rescuers get there, though. He just couldn't be arsed to do it when they were traveling. Jono didn't burn anything, anyway. No harm done, right? At least, not by that!