3920/A Wild Ride

A Wild Ride
Date of Scene:	16 March 2016
Location:	Tokyo-52605 <NXC>
Synopsis:	A bunch of ghostly bosozoku are haunting the highways of Tokyo, and it's up to Reiji, Xiaomu, and some of their friends to put a stop to the spectral shenanigans.
Cast of Characters:	Deelel, 255, Reina Kinney, Reiji Arisu, 707, Corona Arclite, Sanary Rondel, 847, Yang Xiao Long

---

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
It seems to be a constant of the Multiverse that wherever you have both vehicles and laws regarding them, there will be SOMEBODY who flouts those laws for the hell of it. It doesn't even have to be specifically motorized vehicles, really - anything that was meant to get people from one place to another independently of human footpower, whether horse-drawn, engine-driven, or simply willed into motion through literal magic is just as prone to being used outside of legal limits by those who love their means of transportation *that much*.

(There's little evidence of rickshaws or palanquins being used that way, probably because the motive manpower wouldn't stand for it beyond a reasonable limit.)

In Japan, the bikers, hot-rodders, and rough-riders were collectively referred to as bosozoku, or 'the unruly tribe'. Unfortunately, the name was mostly superseded precisely because of the romanticized image of the bosozoku, but whether you call them bosozoku or chinsodan, the principles are the same: they soup up their vehicles (motorcycles, cars, whatever), they go out on the roads to have tons of fun ... at the expense of everyone else on the roads.

There's been a recent upswing in bosozoku activity along some of the main highways in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area of Japan-52605, and the regular police have been running into substantial amounts of trouble - mostly because they don't have handcuffs that will hold ghosts, but since nobody who likes their job is going to write THAT on an incident report form, the matter was covertly brought to the attention of the relatively-secret government agency 'Shinra,' in the hopes that they can deal with it. instead.

From there it was assigned to the elite two-person unit consisting of Shinra agents Reiji Arisu and Xiaomu ... and the duo have determined that they're gonna need some help with this one. Thus the request to the Union for some high-speed support - although you'll have to bring your own vehicles. (They're not turning away non-Union help, though ...)

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang heard the call-out, and thus, comes roaring out on her motorcycle. It's not the /fastest/ thing on the roads, but it has plenty of oomph to keep up with most civilian vehicles, and has the endurance to keep pushing long after other vehicles have given up. She even has space for a passenger, if someone needs a ride!

Deelel has posed:
Deelel would get along with the Bosozoku pretty well given she was connected to group akin to them back home in Argon City. Though certaint hings were different but she loved the peed and she was more than happy to poke into things here. The Shinra has done her world some major favours in the past so here she was more than happy to help she also did have a ligh rod visable on her thigh which was just holding to the cargo pants she was wearing, how did she /do/ that.

The other noticable thing was the discmount on her back but otherwise she might just pass for a more odd local in terms of vashion.

"You know Xiaomu? Reiji we should talk abou the Argon Race, It's comming up and it might be fun ... if your into stuff like this."

Reina Kinney has posed:
Call them bosozoku, call them unruly, call them whatever you want. Reina wants to refer to them as being taken care of, as in right this minute! Unfortunately for the bosozoku, but fortunately for those who are after them, Reina's been working in the workshops and tinkering with tools in order to build herself a custom ride for ground-based assignments. And tonight will be the night that her new ride is put to the test. Given the nickname of 'Flamebird,' Reina's motorcycle is definitely made for high speed chases while giving her enough room to take cover if need be. She's even got a 'cruise control' built in so she can leave the motorcycle going at a steady rate while she focuses on firing if need be. Then again, Reina is ambidextrous with her handguns, but still...

    Nevertheless, as Reina comes into the area, her ponytail can be seen flying behind her head as she does so. She grips the bike with both hands, carefully taking each turn and corner as if she's trying to save the main action for later.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
Sanary's not one to turn down a chance to stretch her legs, even if it means getting involved in something that the Union's... Wait, how'd she even get called in for this job? She's not all that fond of those that would desecrate the dead (if they're not Confederates), so news of a a roving undead biker gang in one of many Japan's isn't going to go ignored. But where's her ride?

     She's wearing them. The AANS have been her transportation of choice lately, although she'd probably be moving faster if she wasn't carrying shields nearly as big as her on each arm and on her back. It's better than trapping herself in one of those four-wheeled deathtraps, at least, and she won't have to worry about getting any glass in her eye if she crashes into anything.

     She just has to worry about crashing into literally anything else.

Corona Arclite has posed:
There's an old proverb about having to fight fire with fire. This proverb also applies to motor vehicles. It's hard to catch someone with a high powered, suped up ride if your own cruiser isn't also top of the line. It's the reason some big cities have Lamborgini or Mustang customs for pursuit cars. But that doesn't do much for the fact that police still can't break their own rules or take the risks the lawless would to escape them.

That is when you turn to something a little more... on the side of unorthadox speed.

And the wild ride the cosmic cowgirl comes roaring up in definately counts. For the most part, the vehicle's chassis is what many would classify as one of those high speed, hard running off-road buggies. Complete with the oversized back wheels, wide stabilizing spoiler, and metal rollcage over the seating area.

Then you get to the matter that almost the entire back of the buggy is made up of engine, with two exhaust stacks puffing out oddly green-blue exhaust angling back from it, and that the front 'hood' is instead a metal sculpture of a longhorn bull skull, with headlights beaming from within the eye sockets. The back wheels are actually metal coated with rubber for durability, and by splatter of mud and warning hashmarks covering them the wheel guards also came off some piece of heavy machinery. To top it all off... The contraption doesn't even have front wheels! Instead it extends out into a single fixture like a tri-wheeler, except instead of a wheel the front pod is a heavy duty halftrack tread.

As it pulls to a stop with the others Corona leans out a bit, tipping her hat to the gathered. "Heard y'all need a extra bit of speed."

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
Konoe is from Gensokyo. She doesn't need a ride, thank you very much. Instead hitching a ride, she soars through the air, just above vehicle altitude, and eventually comes flying alongside Sanary. "......" She glanced aside at the healer, arching a brow at...all of that equipment. In the end, she couldn't help but speak up.

     "Do you seriously need all of those shields?" The miko asked in a mildly incredulous tone. Right now, she was wearing her Shinra gear, consisting of a short, black skirt, a red button up, white sandals, and a tie. Around one of her thighs was a small pouch with cards in it. Likely spellcards or something. All in all, she was dressed way lighter than the one eyed flying tank beside her.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Out of deference to this particular world's vague semblance of a masquerade, Setsuko has responded to the call with a relatively mundane vehicle.

    We won't discuss the fact she actually carried it most of the way here while flying. She's riding it now, and that's what's important.

    It's a sleek and sporty one, too; a jet black street bike, matching her outfit to an extent. And while it's not really a high-performance model - in fact it's pretty 'cheap' as far as motorcycles go - her ability to fly can give it a little extra push that allows her to more than make up for that deficit, and to weave through traffic easily besides.

    Of course, then she looks up, sees Konoe and Sanary overhead, and quietly wishes she'd brought the hoverbike instead. Or just flown.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Fortunately for the general public, most of the on-ramps to the highway have been closed; one of those ramps is currently cordoned off as a staging area, readily identified by several large transport trucks that can't possibly be fast enough to keep up with bosozoku. And sitting on a lightcycle which Deelel would recognize on sight is Xiaomu, her usual qipao and vest replaced by an impressively form-fitting leather jumpsuit, black and red with some highlights in silver. She's also wearing sturdy biker's gloves, and a customized red helmet sits on what would be the lightcycle's gas tank ... if, y'know, it ran on gas.

Biker Xiaomu looks around at the others as they arrive, nodding and/or waving, occasionally quirking an eyebrow at someone's choice of vehicle. Sanary's, for instance. "So is this everyone?" she asks as the group gathers at the base of the on-ramp. "Remember, we aren't quite sure what we're getting into up there, but emergency services are standing by at other on-ramps. They may not be able to do much until the chaos goes past, but we'll have something. Right, Reiji?"

Sanary Rondel has posed:
At least Sanary's dressed for... Something! Kimonos are regular Japanese clothes, right? Perfect thing to wear on an air-to-ground combat mission. "Of course I do! How else do we stop those bikers once we knock 'em off their... Bikes?" She wobbles a bit in midair while responding to Konoe before righting herself again, actually managing to maintain a good top speed in that odd getup. She won't be making any hairpin turns or even outmaneuvering a helicopter with a drunk pilot, but at least she can go fast!

     Not too fast, though. At least not for now. She's not racing anyone, and the healer much more comfortable sticking closer to the few people she does know (particularly Setsuko) instead of taking the lead. Although... She's definitely thinking about it. For now, however, she'll just gather with the rest of the group, using her shields as counterweights to keep herself steady in the air.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
Reiji Arisu does not do leather.

    Sure, he probably got offered some combination of chaps* and biker-jacket. He might have been given a pair of sweet shades and a fake beard. But just because he's been handed a costume doesn't mean that he's about to put it on just like that! The pride of the Arisu family demands that he at least look like he's trying to get the job done while he's at work.

    Which is why he's in his usual Shinra uniform, and is presently straddling Xiaomu's very own Light Bike. She gets to drive today. He's taking the back seat. Except that 'back seat' in this case means 'right up against the driver.' To his credit, Reiji's expression is about as serious as it usually is.

    "Hopefully," Reiji answers his partner. "Unless we end up driving through a rift or something like that. Just stay alert, and aim for their wheels and motors if you can't get a good shot at the drivers. We should do fine."

(*The exact nature of these chaps may explain why he's not presently wearing them.)

Reina Kinney has posed:
"Well, I'm here and so is Flamebird," Reina comments with a smirk, gesturing to her new motorcycle. The motorcycle is mostly red with some black parts, designed to make it look like flames in some parts. Indeed, it does live up to the flame part. The only thing that it could make it live up to the name even more is some nitros, but Reina's not authorized to use those yet. Besides, she's here to take out the bosozoku, not to race them!

    "I can cast a healing TECHNIC if need be, also," Reina adds. "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that though." She plants her boot clad feet on the ground to keep her balance as she revs the engines of her cycle. "At any rate, I'm ready to go when everyone else is!"

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang takes off her helmet for the briefing, setting it on the Dust-tank for the time being, and pulling the goggles she was given by Kyle Katarn up and onto her forehead. "So we're chasing these guys down, and disabling their vehicles before they can cause more damage or get someone killed?" she asks, just to clarify it in her own mind. "Good thing I brought Impulse instead of Impact rounds." she says, deploying her left-side gauntlet for emphasis, before retracting it again and putting her helmet back on. Goggles down, and she thumbs up. "Ready to go when you are!" she calls, before giving the deep, growling engine of her motorcycle a rev.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Pulling to a stop at the on-ramp, Setsuko plants one foot, and gives the two exorcists a brief nod in greeting. "Arisu, Xiaomu. Do we know how hostile they are? Is lethal..." She pauses, frowns, and then continues, "Is exterminationary force on the table?" There's also a Sanary there, to whom the demigod gives a faint nod. "Rondel." Known Confederate, but... not a bad person. Someone Setsuko can respect, by this point.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
"......"

     Sanary got a weird look for her answer. And for her getup. A kimono with shields. All of the shields. Well, she shouldn't rag on other people's choice of gear. No, she's just going to do her job. It's been a while since she's been out to do *this* sort of job. After all that fiasco in Gensokyo, it was kind of nice, actually.

     "Hello Miss Xiaomu, Mr Reiji." She greeted her superiors, coming to a float nearby. Setsuko already asked the pertinent questions, so she would just stay quiet at that and wait for them to confirm the details.

Corona Arclite has posed:
"Doncha worry none, Xiaomu. We'll have this roughrider road rodeo rounded up in no time... And yeah, took the possib'lity of the riders not bein' shootable, bein' ghosts and what not, into account." Though rather than elaborate on how that has been taken into consideration Corona just pats the side of her buggy before dropping back down into the driver's seat.

And grabbing her tail to make sure it gets pulled inside. One of those things only anthro type people have to worry about.

She takes a moment to adjust her hat, not bothering to swap it for a helmet. The stetson is already reinforced with a metal frame and bronze plates riveted to it, after all. Pulls on her own goggles, and when she sits back the brief clicking of gears can be heard as a harness clamps down into place. So at least she's got proper safety precautions going. Gloved hands grab the control bar and give the motor a few revs, which is followed by a hiss and whistle of pressure of some sort being released. Though by the green-blue, faintly glowing fumes that puff from the exhaust pipes and the nostril ducts of the bull-skull, it's not normal steam.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel grins widly as everyone else starts to show up and then she pulls the rod off her leg and gives Xiaomu a wide grin before she takes the rod and hunches over. Those who have not seen this before would get quite a show as it also takes shape the wire lines form out glowing a golden yellow as they do. One can see the internals take shape inside the hull of the craft. It doesn't take long as it moves Deelel's body into a full on riding postion and takes fully solid shape she guns the engine once or twice and seems to be ready now as she looks over to Xiaomu.

"Right no cubings, got it, besides users leave a mess when they go down."

A little grim humor on Deelel's part but the basic is quite chipper and also getting ag ood look at Yangs bike.

"Ooo a User made bike? This should be ... good Yang."

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Xiaomu shrugs, "Our main goal is to drive them off the road; just killing a ghost tends to mean they bear a grudge when they reform, *if* they reform. Given the way they've been driving, they'll probably respect the fact of getting beaten and leave the mortal world alone. At least, that's our operating theory. But if we have to go on full offense, then we use whatever we've got. I'm not above putting magic into my trailwall if that's what it takes, but I can't make it selectively permeable so that's kind of a last resort, or a 'finish off one who's been separated' deal so I don't block --"

There is a *distinctly* unearthly timbre to the howling engines approaching along the highway; Xiaomu grimaces and pulls her helmet on. "That's our cue, folks! Reiji, hang on tight!"

She gives her partner about two seconds to follow instructions as she fires up the lightcycle's engine, and with a shout of "HIGH SPEED XIAOMU!!" she's off, leading the way up the on-ramp as if she means to be at full speed before she reaches the main roadway.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
    "That'll mostly depend on them," Reiji answers to Setsuko. "We're not usually in the business of killing people for traffic violations. But if they leave us no other choice, then we'll need to do what we'll need to do." After all, it's not like these ghosts are particularly malicious, in the grand scheme of things. They're just... Rowdy. Very, very rowdy.

    Konoe's return doesn't go unnoticed. The exorcist gives her a warm (or as warm as Reiji can manage without pulling a muscle) smile. "Welcome back," he says, settling a helmet of his own onto his head. "We can talk more once we're done here. I think we're about ready to start the opera--"

HIGH SPEED XIAOMU

"-TIOOON."

Well, at least he's got a decent grip on Xiaomu. That could've been bad, if he didn't.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    "Understood." That's all Setsuko needs to hear. Her bike gets one rev, two, and then she's off with Reiji and Xiaomu down the highway. Her handling of the motorcycle is smooth and precise, and she's already pushing it as hard as it will go - both in the sense of cranking the throttle to max, and in the sense of adding her own push with her ability to fly. First step is to catch up to them. Second will be to remove their ability to keep driving. They'll have to decide from there if more steps are necessary.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    And the chase is on. Yang nods to Deelel with a grin, revs the engine, and wheelies after Xiaomu's high speed set-off. Bumblebee isn't the /fastest/ bike in the Multiverse, but it's got some decent oomph to it. The deep, growling engine is build for endurance over speed, but it's kicking out a good amount of power regardless.

    She falls into formation beside Xiaomu once she catches up, hunched over the tank to maintain aerodynamics. Anyone able to see into the large wheels, would spot the mechanisms inside rotating to maintain balance. She keeps her eyes on the road ahead, presumably the targets will come screaming past them and the chase will then be truly 'on'.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Revving the engine a couple more times, Xiaomu nonetheless has Reina's attention as she listens to the instructions at hand. She nods attentively, before waiting for Xiaomu to take off in the lead. Then she's off, following not too far behind her. Inside her communicator, she's tuned it to a playlist of high intensity tunes to get her adrenaline going and give her a big grin on her face. "Whoo! Ain't this something!" She yells out, apparently having never ridden a motorcycle like this at high speed before. "This really does wonders for my hair!"

    After a moment, though, Reina's attention shifts back to the highway at hand. She knows she's here on business, and Xiaomu and the others aren't gonna like it if she keeps this up most likely. "Now then, where are those biker goons we're supposed to be looking out for? Because while I'd love to say I'm taking them out on a date... with the local police!" She can't help but laugh at her own sarcastic one-liner.

Corona Arclite has posed:
Corona Arclite's ears actually slick back a bit beneath the brim of her stetson at the unearthly roar. "Holy hells that sounds like somebody redone Riders In The Sky on badly tuned motorbikes."

All the same she lets the the engine roar loudly and takes off up the ramp. The cockpit of the vehicle is actually a bit on the cramp sided, considering she's surrounded by several levers or pull-handles that one can only assume control whatever gadetry she's rigged into it. On top of the handlebars and pedals used to actually drive the thing.

Since the Tri-Buggy is a bit bigger than the others' rides Corona hangs a bit back for now, letting the smaller cycles get into position first.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
"Kaminagi. Good seeing you again." Sanary flashes the demigod a brief grin before kicking her boots together and accelerating again. "Sounds like I'll be on healing duty with... Uh. Technic-lady if anyone needs us for that, then." She calls out, glancing over at Reina for a moment. "And if things get real dicey, stick near me! Got all these shields for a reason."

     Konoe's getting a bit of a grin at that last part.

     And then it's time to fly! Working those magitech anklets much like one would handle a pair of jet boots, Sanary's legs are getting quite the workout as she rockets forward along the highway, trying to keep her pace steady with Xiaomu's and Yang's rides. She opens her mouth to say something, but sputters before bringing one of the shields up in front of her face and tilting her head away from the rush of wind.

     "Pfftah... We're trying to avoid-grk... Collateral, too, yeah?!" She really should have brought a helmet.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel says "Right right, ghost data got it." Deelel does seem to b e in good spirits. "So beat them at their own game and they will respect that? Sounds better than cubing to me." She looks the fox woman over for a moment. Before she makes ready to head out with everyone else. There's a strange noise and Deelel figues it's the ghosts. IT takes a moment as she powwers up her own cycle and takes off with Xiaomu and the rest. She'll see how Yang does with this.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
Konoe nodded to Reiji. "Yes, of course. Don't abou-" HIGH SPEED XIAOMU. "...Nevermind." She mumbled, turning and bursting forward through the air, following after the others as they kick their rides into high gear. People and their rides. Everyone should just fly. ...Okay maybe that was a bit unrealistic to expect.

     Racing down the highway now, the miko kept entirely silent, and instead produced several ofuda in each hand. Both sets were deployed with the character for 'Sharpness' written on each of them. Wonder what she planned to do with those.

     For now, they revolved around the youkai in two distinct rings, waiting to be shot off. But first, she'd wait and see what their targets were like.

     And yes, Sanary. Konoe saw your grin. And she just frowned.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
As the living riders merge onto the main highway, they're already nearly getting sideswiped by the ghostly motorists - motorcycles, hot rods, even a jeep and a couple of 4x4s, their 'drivers' shrieking and gibbering and war-whooping ... and that's BEFORE they realize that fresh meat has joined their revenants' race.

"AAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" a blood-curdling laugh rises from the lead motorcyclist. "Looks like we've got a rival gang tonight, boys! SHOW 'EM WHO OWNS THESE ROADS!!"

The chorus of shrieks and whoops redoubles in intensity, a few motorcycles pulling further ahead as if their engines aren't limited by horsepower; the speaker and another biker try to take the lead, with a third biker attempting to slide in between the three lead bikers (Xiaomu, Setsuko, and Yang) and cut them off from the rest of the living group. A fluorescent green low-rider hot-rod swerves around a bit next to the remainder, its driver leaning on the horn ...

(Did you know how unspeakably obnoxious the classic Macross theme song can be? Well, you do now.)

And then another hot-rod, this one not riding QUITE as low, just tries to sideswipe whichever of the living 'racers' is closest.

Needless to say, Xiaomu is now a bit too preoccupied to answer Sanary, instead jockeying for a chance to overtake the ghostly 'leaders' of the race. If anyone has a clear enough head and attention to take a count, though, it looks like there's about a dozen of the undead roadsters. Just over a dozen, to be exact.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang narrows her eyes. That's how they want to play it, huh? Fine by her! The side-swipes are returned in kind, a powerful kick sent into the frame of the vehicle trying to take her out. "So you guys wanna race, issat it!? C'MON THEN!" she roars over engines and shrieks and that DAMN OBNOXIOUS HORN.

    She guns the engine, and flicks a switch on her controls, dumping a whole Fire Crystal into the converter. The engine takes on a different timbre, and she surges forwards, trailing flames from the exhausts and leaving a short-lived trail of what looks like napalm in her wake. "SEE YOU GUYS AT THE FINISH LINE!" she crows, as she comes up alongside the cycles trying to cut her and the others off, and starting to pull ahead.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Setsuko's hands are steady and sure. Even with a ghostly biker gang bearing down and trying to scatter them, she doesn't panic or lose her cool. One of them's sliding in and trying to cut them off, but he seems to have missed a rather important detail, or perhaps he just hasn't realized how meaningful the katana sheathed at her side is.

    The answer turns out to be 'very meaningful', because of course it is.

    With her left hand to steer, the demigod reaches her right down to her side, drawing Zanjintou in a smooth motion. There is one very simple solution to this, which carries no risks for the driver because the driver is already dead. She simply pulls forward, and swings the blade in a simple bid to cut the front wheel right off the bike. Hers is a blade that can shear through steel easily.

    Whether that works or not, though, she guns the engine and pulls ahead, trying to push herself up towards the leader and his riding buddy. If he looks back, she'll point Zanjintou right at him in challenge.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Reina's too preoccupied with keeping her focus on the road so she doesn't suffer a massive wipeout, lest she be cleaned off the road with a squeegee or something similar. She's caught by surprise by these gang members, and she veers to the side slightly as she hears them coming up from behind. "What the Falz?!" She exclaims, looking to see who's arrived, and then in a fraction of a second, it's all put back together again. "Oh great." Reina is genuinely embarrassed by this, but she doesn't let that get her down.

    "So, you guys wanna play like this, huh?" Reina revs the engine a little then lets it fly as she increases the speed on her motorcycle. "I was only warming up Flamebird. Now let's see what happens when she's at full throttle!" She tries to pull up behind the bosozoku goons (in her mind that's what she calls them) and hopefully attempts to flank them to show that she's here too, and she's not taking any nonsense tonight!

Corona Arclite has posed:
Metal rattles against metal and sparks fly from the two vehicles end up griding together.

The thing is, that's mainly due to instead of trying to swerve away from the hot-rod, Corona veered her own vehicle right -into- the sideswipe. Partially to keep it from actually getting to her allies on the smaller motorcycles. But this is exactly why the tri-buggy has rubber-encased metal wheels with their own rail guards, so they can take this sort of beating.

At first glance one might expect the buggy to be on the losing end of the match-up. But it's built out of the same heavy duty alloys Brimsteel uses for its super strong super-locomotives, so it's throwing back just as much as its taking. Espectially when Corona veers hard into the hot-rod a second time, trying to push the hot-rodder into the guard rails on the other side of the highway and tear his car from -both- sides.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
And then it's time to race! Or stop the race. Same difference! Sanary's making sure to keep high off the actual road to avoid getting hit by anything, but she's still rather wary of the vehicles. They could have guns or something in there, after all, or even a mage! Unless... These ghosts aren't the sort being controlled by a necromancer? Whatever the case is, she's got a job to do, and her gaze locks onto the jeep as it zooms by. She'd be grinning if not for the previous wind issues she's been having, but it doesn't hinder her maneuvering too much more.

     "I got this one!" She calls out as she picks up speed, aiming to land right on top of the vehicle and wedge her shields into the roof to anchor herself. With any luck, she might even hit the ghost driver! Or... Something.

     She's not quite sure how any of this really works. Then again, she's seen ghosts fight people before, so maybe this shouldn't be too much of a surprise for her. "Hey! You in there! I'm taking this ride!"

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
"Oh boy..." Konoe muttered once the noise started up. Her ears twitched every which way, picking up all the sounds and it made her wince. Dam it why was everything ever so damn loud? Why did everyone have a hard on for making as much noise as they humanly could manage? Who endorsed this? Not her!

     And so, as several of those ghostly motorbikes pass, with all of the hooting and hollaring, the miko decides to set her sides in that general area. Directing an arm forward, the two rings of ofuda revolving around her flying form went rigid, sharpening to a razor's edge before firing forward.

     They shot out in a high speed spread, aiming to strike tires and throw the vehicles off course along with their riders.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel does not even stop it, Deelel actually like the song she's hearing but she sees the various ghost riders comming in. She calls for a moment.

"Oh do you got game?! Let's see what you got!"

There's a roar from the light cycle engine as she takes off a head trying to do what she can to get a chance to go after the leaders, though for the moment she does not turn on her light wall at all. She know sthy are trying to not take out the ghosts so much as beat them but if she's got an idea, though she catches sight of Sanary, this could be a very big problem.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
How do you make biker punks even more obnoxious than they usually are?

Make them ghosts and give them an over-inflated sense of personal invulnerability.

In other words, make them teenagers. Mostly Dead Teenagers.

    Under the present circumstances, Xiaomu is too busy steering to properly defend their position. But that's fine. That's what Reiji's here for. The exorcist's arms unfold from his partner's waist and sweep back to unholster a pair of familiar firearms. GOLD glints in the dark. HOLLYWOOD clatters with ominous noise.

    "These roads are owned by the Tokyo Municipal Government," Reiji drawls, his guns snapping out to either side, "And you're trespassing. All of you are under arrest!" Bullets and buckshot tear into the mean streets. The exorcist isn't actually aiming for the ghosts themselves; these ARE anti-spirit rounds, after all. Rather, he's aiming to shoot their bikes out from under them! Gold's stopping power and Hollywood's raw volume of fire should do more than just knock a few riders off balance!

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Yang's Bumblebee is fast enough to keep pace with the lead motorcycles without too much trouble; when she tries to get ahead, though, their engines' screams actually rise further in pitch, fighting YAng and her custom motorcycle for every single inch of road. The biker who spoke earlier is noticeably faster, though, and his companion starts dropping back. Meanwhile, Setsuko is taking even more direct action; a single slash of Zanjintou separates a wheel from the rest of the motorcycle - and the wreckage crashes out immediately in an all-too-material fireball and an ethereal scream. One down, but everyone who was behind that is going to have a bad time if they weren't fast enough to dodge.

Corona's efforts against the hot rod prove rather effective; the driver may be a ghost, but the car is apparently still a car, and just grinding it against the guardrail tears speed away as brutally as the paint gets abraded off of that side. Too bad the hot rod's driver has buddies; one of them swoops up and tries to crush Corona into the guardrail the same way!

Konoe's and Sanary's efforts are just as viable, albeit lesser in scale and thusly in effect as well. The riders shriek in pain as ofuda or shields gouge into their ectoplasmic bodies; Sanary finds a crowbar being lashed at her through the very openings her shields are making. They don't seem to have anything to throw, though, so Konoe is relatively unmolested ... for now, at least.

Xiaomu glances over her shoulder briefly as she feels Reiji letting go, then focuses on the road and her steering once again. She can't afford to swerve too sharply or her partner might fall off, and hitting the pavement at this speed would be, if not fatal, then at least far too injurious.

Two down, although the hot rod might recover and rejoin the chase; eleven to go - make that ten when Reiji opens fire and blasts one of the other bikers out of the run, a similar fireball and shriek rising to when Setsuko sliced a wheel off.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang is enjoying this, as she takes the lead rider on. She glances over at him as he keeps pace with her. A grin is given, and she pushes her bike to the limit. If it's a fight he wants, it's a fight he's going to get!

    "This guy's /fast/." she says, transmitting to her allies. "This is gonna be /good/."

Reina Kinney has posed:
Reina picks up the pace and gets closer to the other bikers. For a moment, she considers going for her gun, although it might be hard to do so with one hand. Then she remembers she can use her TECHNICs as well. She debates which TECHNIC to use first, before she settles on Zonde. It's ironic, considering that she's weak against electricity and things of that nature.

    As she gets closer to one of the bikes, she points at it and says, "This is going to be a bit shocking for you!" She doesn't know if the rider hears her, but they will notice when their bike gets electrocuted as Reina calls out, "ZONDE!"

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    The bike being used by the leader is apparently faster than most of these vehicles. Even giving the motorcycle she's using an extra push, there's only so far she can take it before it simply can't keep up. There's a simple answer to that, one she'd hoped not to dip into... but with all the people flying, and with the freeway empty of civilian traffic at the moment, she might as well.

    For a moment or so, the black street bike she's on slows down, as she swerves it off towards the shoulder... and then she leaps clear of it, landing boots-first on the road and launching into a dead, full-speed sprint.

    And moving /faster/ than she'd been on the bike.

    With one hand on Zanjintou's sheath, the other returns the blade there and rests on the grip, keeping her in prime quickdraw position. Silver hair flying behind her, the swordswoman hurtles down the freeway, still focusing on the lead rider, pushing herself to her maximum running speed to catch him up.

    She has no plans to attack the other rider, the one now falling back, but if he's foolish enough to go after a woman who can sprint as fast as souped-up motorcycles can drive, well, she'll have no problem delivering consequences.

    Meanwhile, her bike is probably skidding or tumbling to a stop some ways back. But at least it's on the shoulder.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
Sanary does not like crowbars. She does not like them in her legs or in her torso, no she does not. Pulling herself back onto her feet with her shields as anchors, she bites down on her mouth to suppress a yelp of pain at her shin taking a direct hit from the crowbar. "Son of a...! Oh, screw it!" She draws one of the shields out before slamming it back into the jeep, trying to smash it right into ghosts themselves before...

     Her brain starts working. Bashing a car apart is one thing, but she just needs to disable it, right? What better opportunity to try doing something a little different? Focusing her energy on a distinctly non-healing purpose, Sanary starts directing her energy into the interior of the jeep as a grayish mass. It's not very dense, but it is very opaque and feeling like an odd mixture of plastic and shaving cream.

     If left unchecked, it also spread through the jeep very quickly. She's trying to just overflow the entire vehicle with the gray gunk!

Deelel has posed:
Zoom zooom, Deelel has yet to get into a real scrape with the various ghots but they need to force them off the road right? She's checking speeds and that's when the light wall comes on she's not trying to knock out the ghosts with it but she's trying to use the glowing wall for area control as she zips along the roadway she doesn't leave it on for too long though, plusing it on and off as she goes.

"Come on I been racing for hundreds of cycles lets see what you who refuse to let death keep you off the road can do!"

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
Konoe is left uncontended for now. That left her time to focus on other things. Like the fact that her fellow flyer was being crowbarred. Ouch. She produced a single ofuda and the character for 'healing' inscribed itself on it. She tossed it out towards Sanary and it flew over to her, attaching to her wounded leg and releasing waves of restorative energy.

     "Try not to get hurt so much, would you?" The youkai grumbled, eyes narrowed.

Corona Arclite has posed:
Normally Corona would lob a bomb or something back to make sure that hot rod stays down, but that would be a bad idea on the highways of a major metropolis. If he does manage to catch back up, we will deal with that when it arrises.

A ghost biker gang wasn't too different from phantom outlaws back home that often used steampunk bikes or jeeps in place of horses. So it's not like Corona was riding this rodea without experience. When the other hot-rodder roars up beside her and tries to pull the same move she just did on his gang member, Corona does what could be the last thing the speed demons would be expecting in middle of a intense chase.

She hits the brakes.

More accurately, she pulls the emergency break, which drops the wheel guards down against the rear wheels as well as the normal brakes to make a sharp drop in speed. The loss causes the tri-buggy to jerk backwards with the loss of momentum and the hot-rodder careens forward into the space where the cattlepunk buggy had been.

Which was now right in front of it.

Corona pops the brake off and hits the throttle as soon as the guards click back into place, and yanks on a different lever as she's now the one chasing the hot-rod! The devices swing up from the sides of the vehicle chassis, revealing a pair of gearwork gatling pods spinning to life. Fortunately Corona still took urban warfare in mind, and as the weapons open fire they're not gatling off normal bullets, but shells that explode in globs of sticky highly viscous tar. That's going to nastily gunk up any exhaust or moving parts it gets into.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
Eventually, a situation might grow so dire that you're left with no other options but the most extreme measures imaginable.

This is not one of those times.

Reiji Arisu likes to live dangerously.

    "Xiaomu," he says, suddenly on his feet. Somehow, he's standing ON TOP OF the motorcycle. His guns are back in their holsters. In their place is his trusty MOBILE ARSENAL. His free hand hovers dangerously about the hilts of his blades. "I'm going to jump."

What, right here, right now!?

EVIDENTLY.

    Reiji doesn't wait for the bikers to get any bright ideas. He leaps from the saddle, sailing through the air at incredible speeds. His heel drops onto the back end of one ghostly bike, pushing him forward onto the next, then the next after that. The bikes have become to him what the eight ships were to Ushiwakamaru at Dan-no-Ura.

And on the eighth, Reiji leaps one last time.

    Reiji draws. Karin erupts from its sheath with a sudden flare of flame and heat. Fire showers the street in sparks as Reiji tries to use the blastwave to unseat the target of his ire! Then he'd fall right into the saddle and take over.

CAN IT TRULY BE DONE!?

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
"Stupid gaijin bitch!" screeches the lead biker. "You're up against Tokugawa of the Coast! Do you actually think *you* can outrace ME?! I'll take your bike out from under you, and --"

And he should have been paying more attention behind him, for multiple reasons. Let's go down the list, shall we?

Deelel's light wall tactics are super effective; the ghostly riders react quickly enough to avoid plowing into it, but the jeeps and 4x4s have to shed speed to avoid getting broadsided off the road. And the oversized monster truck which was bringing up the rear winds up getting tilted right onto its side; whether intentionally or otherwise, Deelel didn't leave enough room for something THAT size to get past on all of its wheels. Sanary's jeep is summarily gunked up by that conjured goop, and its engine dies in short order, leaving its ghostly driver flickering in and out, hovering on the very edge of visibility, never mind tangibility.

The hot rod which was giving Corona some trouble swiftly finds that Corona's more than capable of giving trouble *back* in spades; the tar-bullets start stripping miles-per-hour (or more accurately, kilometers-per-hour; Japan is metric) off in a hurry. Presumably she can swerve around the car without too much trouble ... ?

Meanwhile, Reina's electrical tech shorts out the last of the racing motorcycles. That just leaves Tokugawa, who's pretty badly distracted from trash-talking Yang by the fact that Setsuko is keeping up with him ON FOOT. Plus Reiji is hopscotching from one bike to the next, finally perching on the rear of Tokugawa's seat and slashing through the ghostly rider, dissipating the ethereal form. Claiming the now-vacant saddle is no real trouble after that. Taking over ...

Well, how good is Reiji at steering a motorcycle which is now veering wildly all over the road like the motor-vehicle equivalent of a bucking bronco? The motorcycle itself does NOT want him riding it, and the engine's shriek takes on a gutteral quality .... actually, no, not gutteral.

Try 'sepulchral'.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel was not expecting to get the monster truck but her tactics seem to be doing a pretty good job on things Still there's a lot of them and she's gong to keep going zipping about as she goes so. Still that was a heck of a stunt. "Still got it!" She calls out and she is taking care to not get the way of her own allies. She guns the engine to full blast now and zips ahead trying to go fior as much speed, and her inhuman reflexes are starting to show. She's admitted to her friends she's not made for combat by her User. What are high end combat progeams like in a fight if she can do this? She also will start deploying the light wall once more.

Corona Arclite has posed:
The Tri-Buggy swerves aside to avoid rear-ending the tar-slogged hotrod, and then Corona lets up just enough on the throttle to come up along side the slowing vehicle instead of speeding right ahead. She turns to flash a grin at the driver, and raises a finger in a wagging motion. "By the way, Ah wouldn't light no demonic fires or nuttin' in there iffen Ah was you. That tar is sticky -and- flammable." With the advice/mocking given Corona shifts back into gear.

There's the audible click-clack as she yanks up a shotgun, one-handed pump action and all, which she then flips back into firing grip, sticks out the side of her buggy, and cracks a shot off at one of the remaining vehicle's tires.

Then leans out herself to shout with questionablly helpful advice to Reiji and an encouraging whoop. "IFFEN ITS GONNA BUCK LIKE A BRONCHO BOY, BUST IT LIKE A BRONCHO! YEEEHAH!"

Sanary Rondel has posed:
Feeling that ofuda wrapping around her leg, Sanary can definitely feel the healing effects even if she doesn't look directly at it. She does spare a grudging nod towards Konoe, however, acknowledging the assist with a light grin before turning back to the jeep in front of her. She keeps pouring magical gunk into that jeep even as the engine putters out, waiting until the vehicle has actually stopped moving before yanking her shields out and taking to the air again.

     "Sanary here. Got this one down!" She calls out before taking off once more, seeking out another functional ghost-vehicle to... Try something else. That something else? Ramming into it from the side with her shields. She's strong, but is she strong enough? Only one way to find out!

Reina Kinney has posed:
Reina uses some swift moves to avoid being hit by possible debris or things like that, while keeping an eye on any remaining enemies. Her electricity did a good job of taking out the biker she was after, and it led to her laughing quite a bit. "I'm the queen of shock treatment!" She says, before looking for any possible targets. She frowns when she sees just one remaining, and it's already being tended to. Sighing, she looks behind her to see if anyone else might be coming up behind them.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
Sigh.

     It felt like babysitting now. Rather than facepalm like she really wanted to, Konoe created another set of ofuda, the character for 'Force' inscribing on them. And then she spun in the air, flinging that set past Sanary and towards the side of the van she was tackling. Upon contact, they would immediately release a strong force aiding Sanary's efforts with a burst of momentum and energy.

     "Do you do this sort of reckless nonsense often? Because if you do, I'm surprised you're still alive." She spoke after flinging the seals, brow twitching in exasperation.

Reiji Arisu has posed:
Turns out that ghostly motorcycles tend to have a mind of their own. Who'd'a thunk it?

    Reiji grunts as the unliving machine beneath him starts bucking and swerving like some kind of angry stallion desperately fighting to remain WILD AND FREE. Unfortunately, while it may be a motorcycle, it is still just a ghost, and Reiji Arisu is still Reiji Arisu.

    The exorcist's arms go stiff as the thing underneath him struggles against his control. But it's not through strength alone that he'll tame this wild beast! No. The key here is one of spirit, and Reiji has a whole lot of that. Contrary to everything that they teach you in driving school, Reiji closes his eyes at the wheel. He reaches deep down into the seat of power burning at his very core and allows it to expand to fill the world all around him. Dark, blue light begins billowing from the exorcist's body like flame from a torch. He widens his spiritual focus, causing the world to fill with raw, supernatural pressure.

He drives it against the bike's spirit, looking to subdue it with force of will alone! Ideally BEFORE it drives off the side of the highway.

Xiaomu (707) has posed:
Reiji's co-opted motorcycle isn't going to be suppressed without a fight, and it's putting up a big one - but Reiji's spirit, while still mortal, is naturally powerful *and* strongly trained, so it's like a back-alley brawler going up against a wizened kung-fu monk.

Meanwhile, the last of the 4x4s - and the one with the strongest 'ghost' in that class of vehicle - loses a tire to Corona's shotgun, slewing and teetering and skidding to a halt as its engine roars in impotent fury. Sanary similarly repeats her performance on the last jeep, which is also putting up a massive fight - but the spirit possessing it just can't supersede Sanary's tactical abuse of the laws of physics.

Reina looks back over her shoulder at just the right moment to see the final hot-rod trying to rear-end her! On the other hand, another dose of Zonde - or any other Technic she might have - to the right part of its engine will disable the vehicle quite effectively.

Xiaomu hunkers over her lightcycle, murmuring a quick incantation ... and her lightcycle puts on a surge of speed, catching up once again with Tokugawa's motorcycle. Her own trailwall is active, but it's a VERY short trail, dissipating too quickly to pose a navigational hazard to either friend or enemy. She hasn't quite caught up with the motorcycle (and Reiji) when he finally forces the ghost out of the motorcycle -

Which is exactly the moment when its engine just completely dies, as the spirit is banished from the physical form to which it had been clinging. No possessing spirit means nothing compelling the machine to stay in motion, so unless Reiji's REALLY quick to react he's liable to take a tumble that he's not really dressed for.

Fortunately, besides Xiaomu herself, Yang and Setsuko are close at hand too; Reiji should be spared the aforementioned tumble.

Reina Kinney has posed:
Someone's trying to rear-end Reina? Bad idea, especially considering how much she loves her new motorcycle. "Hey, pal, no tailgating!" She exclaims angrily as she points at him. "But since you seem a bit intent on doing so, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take care of your hot-rod... Namely cool it off a bit!" She grins this time and calls out, "BARTA!" A chilling blast of ice shoots at the hot rod. "Next time, just chill out already!" She adds while laughing.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
"Hey, hey. I'm a healer, too. Gotta be tough to have survived this long. Besides how else am I supposed to do it? I can't just throw these and call 'em back." Sanary gives Konoe a grin at first, although she eventually just stares at her for a moment before looking towards her shield, then that mass of gray mush that had been used to disable the jeep. It's time for an experiment! She projects a small dense hoop around the handles of the shield, then steadies herself in the air before flinging it at the second jeep that her ramming and Konoe's ofuda had just disabled.

     On the plus side, her shield throw does clear a few feet. For a regular human, it'd be impressive if they could even throw it a few inches with that heavy weapon! Alas, it's not the sort of throw that'd really be dangerous to anything that the shield wouldn't just end up falling on instead. Still, having that hoop in place means the shield does (slowly) float into the air enough for her to pick up while speeding along in mid-flight.

     It's a start. "How many do we have left?"

Corona Arclite has posed:
That seems to be all of the posessed vehicles.

Instead of persuing farther Corona pulls up next to the 4x4 once it's stalled out, putting her buggy in park but keeping the engine warm, just in case. The vixen tucks the shotgun back into its safety rack, undoes her saftey harness and pulls herself up to peek out of the rollcage. Pulls out her analyzer, and after adjusting it's settings to 'Paranatural' tries to scan the 4x4.

Let's just say after some other recent events back home she has more than a passing interest in forces capable of animating heavy machinery.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
Konoe just gave Sanary an umimpressed look. "Really? You? A healer? Could have fooled me." Really, what with all the shielding and tackling and being in the enemy's faces and all that. Still, she rolled her eyes and watched as Sanary acted on her own theory.

     ...Well, it went a few feet. And it managed to float. That was a start.

     Konoe just sighed again and followed along. "It's done. There aren't anymore." Someone had to keep count here.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel own lightcycle slows down a bit now as she seemns to think hings are finally finished or just about she however does star to slow down, weave and then try to make sure she doesn't catch anyone on her side but she's not about to let hings just get well worse but it seems things things are finally done as she starts to slow down to rejoin the others as it seems to be over...