4135/Kind of Like Speed, But the Sequel.

Kind of Like Speed, But the Sequel.
Date of Scene:	15 November 2020
Location:	Atlantic Ocean
Synopsis:	Hercules, Hyperion, Human Torch, and Starfire ruins the naming scheme of all H names. Luckily they were still victorious in their battle against bio-organic marauders.
Cast of Characters:	Thor, Hyperion, Hercules, Johnny Storm, Koriand'r

---

Thor has posed:
    7 minutes ago...
    "I say again, Holland Sun, you have passed tertiary warning marker. Reduce your speed to twelve knots and begin your turn, repeat begin your turn. Your speed is too high."
    In the office of the harbormaster, James Wynn turns his head to the side, "Still nothing, Paps."
    Which gets the older man with the grim features to lean over the radar display as well as the data link that shows the Holland Sun's course, its projected course, and the various points where it crosses danger thresholds. The red gleaming lights on the LED monitor definitely look angry and make 'Paps' O'Houlihan even angrier.
    "Alright, kid. Set the maritime alert, put word on the wire. Get the tugs moving." He straightens up and yells out, "ETA on my tugs? Where the fuck are those things!"
    Another voice across the control room calls out, "Sherman 4, 6, and 9 are still out of commission. 1, 3, and 8 are still returning from the Sound."
    "Fuck me," says Haps as he takes the steps back and grabs the old black phone without the dial face, grabbing it and letting the tone ring through. The Coast Guard is going to need to earn their paycheck today.
    Which might be what causes the signal to go out across the emergency frequencies. Quick rushed communications, suddenly escalated, and for those key systems they'll send out notifications to all other agencies in the vicinity. Police scanners kick off, sudden calls to evacuate the dockside areas near the East River side of Long Island, a call for emergency responders, as well as to the hero community as it becomes apparent that Holland Sun has not only gone dark, but it's apparently accelerating.
    Across Long island sirens are heard, vehicles roll out as the emergency begins.

Hyperion has posed:
    Odd that Hyperion doesn't carry some sort of communicator. I mean he has a small earbud he can use to talk to his hosts. But he is not a -member- of any superteams. He's just been living at the Avengers headquarters. He helps out where he can out of a sense of obligation for them saving him from being an eternal energy battery for AIM. . . Long story. Anyway, he hears the alerts, the alarmed tones of voice. He was in the park, working on some cartoon artwork to submit as a portfolio. Maybe he could get some work with a local paper. He was also going intentionally slow because.. let's face it, he -enjoys- it that way.
    Just using the buildings across the street as a backdrop to use in his cartoony works.. he was just inking his fourth frame when he heard the panicked voices and the situation.
    A few moments later, his easel and the rest of his supplies are stowed behind an AC unit on the roof of one of those buildings he was observing, along with his civilian clothing. The flannel overshirt that is intentionally baggy... because come on, hiding a cape under tight clothes? SERIOUSLY!
    Anyway, it's not long before the black and gold clad Hyperion finds himself slowing to a stop at the edge of the shoreline. He looks to those herding others out of the area and asks, "Can I be of assistance evacuating people?"

Hercules has posed:
"And so I could stand the gloating of the mad, Nazi Bastard no longer! So with a stroke of genius that has beggered the wits of Athena herself. I donned a pair of green underwear and lept out. Declaring myself to be Namor, I threw down his fascist contraption and the Submariner has been taking the credit for it to this day!"

The bar erupted in cheers, jeers, and laughter. Several men received phonecalls or alerts. The situation was conveyed. Hercules quaffed the last of untold beers and he rose... the room spun and he staggered towards the door.

Moments later, Hercules stand shakily upon a warf... He glowers, "Still can't fly." he jeered to himself before he took a runing start, leaping from the sweet stability of land and hurtling himself in the terrible, cold, black water. It would be kind to say the cold, wet, slap of the water sobered him... but he was just cold, wet, drunk, and a bit more alert.

He swam, arms wheeling through the water, legs kicking. The spray in his wake plumed up to ten feet. He created a wake.

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storm was just about to go out for the evening when the giant "4" shaped light on his wall starts blinking. "Emergency." HERBIE's voice says, "Trouble at the docks! Out of control ship! Look out, Johnny!"

"Honestly, thank God." Johnny says, "If I have to hear about Dorie Evans's kids one more time...flake on!"

"Sir?"

"Shut up, HERBIE. Flame On!"

The Human Torch blazes out of Four Freedoms Plaza, a rocker through the New York skyline. He does a few flips and swirls because why bother flying if you're going to be boring about it; Johnny uses his fireproof Fantastamunicator (patent pending) to tap into the emergency bands, trying to get a sense of what the hell is going on. His teeth grit, a bit, as he considers the most obvious suspect for something horrible happening to a boat.

It's been a while, since he's fought Namor. Johnny tries not to look forward to it; there's no one else here to tell him not to leap to conclusions. He might have to be the responsible cape on arrival, which is a nightmarish prospect. After listening to the com bad for a bit, Johnny takes a quick look to see who else has shown up.

Herc is swimming. "Goddamnit." Johnny whispers to himself, but rubs his face because the Prince of Power has the right idea. "Okay, anyone strong enough to, like, lift a boat, get over there! Be careful, this whole thing could be a trap, or a bomb, or a robot, or a ghost, or a ghost robot made of bombs looking to trap us. I'll use my temperature control to try and look for body heat aboard!"

He does so, then, because that seems like a reasonable way to look for survivors.

Koriand'r has posed:
    What's Koriand'r doing in Long Island??
    Enjoying a hot dog, obviously!
    It has all the fixings. ALL OF THEM. It requires a tin jacket to keep them all contained to the bun and meaty dog that resides between, and even when she takes a bite of the massive thing, all of the toppings pipe out into the foil bagging. Which is disappointing to her, but does little to dim her enthusiasm for the dog itself. And so, between each and every bite, she stops to rearrange the toppings the best she can to get a little bit of everything in each bite, so that each bite is a testament to the dog's greatness.
    She wears clothing, just like the humans do! And hers are extra cute--a pink sundress with little floral prints, and a gored waist. Today was meant to be an assimilation day--enjoy the sun, maybe meet some new people, and enjoy New York culture to its finest. Hence the hot dog. Already, she looks forward to the ride home in an -Uber- vehicle. She only just downloaded the app on her phone and found herself considering its use more than once--and in her excitement of the idea, she'd been looking up Youtube videos on Uber experiences.
    And had, in fact, reached for phone to pursue more when she hears an abnormal amount of sirens.
    Moments later!
    Koriand'r arrives at a wharf overhead. Two boys have already thrown themselves into the waters. Soaring lower to the waters like a gull looking for a snack, Koriand'r passes over head of them, gaining speed on them with relative ease. The hot dog is gone, but she's still licking her fingers as she greets them below, "Hello, friends!"
    And then she speeds on ahead of them. Because she can.

Thor has posed:
    The Holland Sun continues to steadily churn water, casting a white wake from its bough as it cuts through the low chop of the waves. It's a freighter, or a container ship to be more precise, several dozen shipping containers line its deck as it steams steadily forward. One tug boat is in pursuit, trying to catch up as it pushes itself and its hefty high horsepower engine trying to get as much speed as it can to reach the larger ship on its port side.
    Distantly, ahead of it, is Long Island, and in turn the great city's skyline resplendent against the evening sky. Though one can see the lights of the emergency vehicles as they start to spread out through that borough. Distantly a few news helicopters take to the air to start to head toward the ship's reported location to get what they can of the story.
    Yet there near the ship when the heroes arrive and are within eyeshot, they can see it rushing across the waves. For those with powerful eyesight they will see at first merely the ship, seeming with little of remark to it save its appreciable speed. But then for the perceptive they'll see what looks like scorch marks upon the roof of the bridge, and... holes cut out of the top. No sign of crew, no hint of activity, no movement until...
    One of the containers, this one red, seems to sloooowly tilt over the side of the ship and then crashes into the water with a heavy splash, enough to force the tugboat that's trailing to swerve to the side to evade the now floating cargo.

Hyperion has posed:
    At first he was considering just helping evacuate people, but Hyperion turns his head to look towards the oncoming ship at the sound of the large splash. His eyes go wide for a long moment, and then he says, "Forgive me. The evacuation will have to continue without me."
    And then he is heading towards the ship, sharp eyes shifting through different EM-bands as he goes. But he aims himself for the front of the ship, intending to slow it down to let the others handle things like boarding. He has a sneaky super strength cheater cheater trick to use too.
    So when he reaches the prow, he doesn't just put raw strength to work. His strength is augmented by the subconscious manipulation of anti-gravitons. This lets him lift ginormous objects without them buckling under their own weight. It also lets him disperse his force out on the front of the ship so that he does not just cave in one small part of said ship. But he -does- exert a tremendous amount of force... forcing the ship to slow itself.
    He uses voice activation on his earbud, "Jarvis. Please patch me in. I believe I see the Human Torch approaching." A pause and he adds, "Mister Storm. This is Hyperion. I am at the nose of the cargo ship you are approaching. Be aware, there are many heat sources aboard the ship that cannot be seen with the naked eye. I have also noticed holes on the rooftop of the bridge. I do not know what this means, but I believe there are stealth units aboard expecting to go undetected."
    A pause, and he tilts his head to one side, "Also... these beings appear to be speaking in a language that processes too fast for normal hearing, but also in a language I am unfamiliar with."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Guys." Johnny says, and looks at who's available. Herc, some kind of dollar store Superman, and...

Johnny takes one look at the flying teenaged girl who's hair seems to be literally on fire and finds himself trying to guess her age and who, exactly, he was flirting around with at the time. No, there's no way...okay Krystal probably wouldn't have called him, but she was CRAZY.

Shaking his head, Johnny gets his head in the game. "There's something alive on there!" Johnny says, "I can pick up body heat, but...oh okay Atomic Joe got the jist across. Bunch of invisible assholes who killed the crew. I've got an idea."

Johnny rockets closer to the ship, and calls up a ball of fire into his hands. He sends a blast of mostly heat and a little fire into the bow of the ship, trying to use the fire and heat to try and create enough steam and pressure in the air to try and force the strange creatures visible. Sort of like how you'd use smoke or steam to make the outline of an invisible opponent temporarily visible?

Hercules has posed:
As he turns his head to breath, Hercules basks in the glow that is Koriand'r... and not even the chill water could put a damper on him being a lout. He rolls onto his back, arms wheeling in the same stroke, his speed slackening just so when he calls up, "Hail fair friend, I have met many a naiad, nymph, and dry-!" his is drowned out by the rushing water split by the Holland Sun's prow... and by the sound of the Holland Sun hitting him. There is a garbled explitive as he flounders and bounces along beneath the ship until he sinks his fingers into the hull like a cat climbing curtains.

He drags himself above the water and hauls himself upwards, digging his fingers into the ships hull and hauling himself over the edge.

He took a moment, collecting his wits, wiping the water out of his face. "Invisible... oh yes, let them try to hide from the Lion of Olympus if they wish-!" he mutters as he sets his hands upon a bit of railing, wrenching off a length of it to be used as a cudgle. "for even if I cannot find them with the naked eye, I will still bestow upon them the gift... OF BATTLE!" and oh god he just clobbered one of the shipping containers before stalking off towards the towering structure of the bridge.

Koriand'r has posed:
    That flying, teenaged looking girl in a pink dress gives Johnny Storm and Hercules an /extra/ dazzling grin. A, "Meet you there!" is tossed out at them before she drifts off.
    Koriand'r reaches the Holland Sun. She hesitates as she hovers above, her eyes curiously fixated on the tug boat that is chasing the freighter, but ultimately she is drawn to the bridge, and the sizeable holes that have been cut into the top. She notes Hyperion mounting the vessel at the prow. She offers him a wave! She also calls over, "I. AM. GOING. TO. INVESTIGATE."--But there is a lot of wind. A lot of water wake. And while she is an alien, super sonic voice is not one of her strengths, and so whether or not she is heard is perhaps doubtful.
    Promptly, she allows herself to drop so that her feet touch the roof of the bridge.
    Feet decked in white strapped heels click, click, click across the hull as she approaches the biggest hole. With a bend, she slaps her hands on her thighs and leans forward over the gaping puncture wound to give the insides a good peer with bright, green eyes. It takes her mere seconds to make up her mind on what to do next, before she leaps into the hole and lands on her feet inside the bridge.
    "Hello?"

Thor has posed:
    With a rush across the water, the see foaming and then bursting into a brilliant cascade of spray behind the hero known as Hyperion, he makes his way straight to the bow and suddenly /leans/ into the large freighter, his hands grabbing the sides of its prow and energy flowing from him into the ship allows him to begin to accept some of the tremendous kinetic power of such a gigantic vehicle. There is a slow /crreeeeak/ as the grand ship is decelerated, then slowly turned partially. Miniscule amounts at first, then ranking up.
    Meanwhile Hyperion and Flash espy those subtle differences in temperature that let them realize that the ship is indeed not empty. To Kori and Hercules when they get close enough it seems as if the ship is empty, whatever Hyperion might have been speaking of perhaps invisible to the eye. Yet as they draw closer they can at least make out the curiousity...
    Of ninety, perhaps one hundred heat shimmers of various size all just /crawling/ over the ship. All turning quickly and breaking apart in seemingly random directions, abruptly made more prominent when Johnny uses the copious amounts of ocean water to create the steam needed to wash forth a great cloud of white vapor that starts to cling and contour to the various shapes of whatever it is on that ship.
    Flickers of sparks and flashes of electrical discharge are seen as across the ship some of those figures flicker and come out of whatever camouflage they had...
    And it reveals monstrosities. Creatures of seeming flesh and steel twisted together in some nightmarish conglomeration though more metal than skin. Outlandishly shaped, like a crescent or a disk that has a triangular head raised from the center on a curious mix of struts and piping. Sharp arms with jagged blades stand out underneath the crescent shaped main body, while backward canted legs twist and contort to propel them forward like a malevolent bird of prey.
    From the back of the ship there's another loud /splash!/ as a second container is dropped into the ocean, though thankfully not the one smacked by Hercules which merely skitters across the deck and collides with another with a resonant /CLANG!/. Though the one falling into the water will likely register to Johnny and Hyperion's senses, for inside that container are heartbeats and the heat signatures of humanoids.
    Yet time is suddenly of the essence. As the revealed bio-organic attackers round and several break into groups of six that begin to rush toward the heroes. Hercules will be beset by the now revealed creatures, crawling and leaping over the containers, clinging to the walls, using talons in their arms and feet to latch onto surfaces as they rush forward spitting what seems like purple flame from their arms.
    As Koriand'r peers into he bridge itself she will see neither hide nor hair of the crew though she'll see the elaborate controls at work, several flashing lights, most of them red and angry, but then she'll hear the click-click-skitter of those now visible creatures as several /crawl/ over the top of he roof and brandish weapons in her direction. In the next moment they fire.
    Another group crawls over the side of the hull taking aim and starting to send burst after burst of weaponry toward Hyperion as he seems to be the source of their ship's sudden loss of momentum.

Hyperion has posed:
    "Shit." mutters Hyperion. Apparently some curses are multiversal. But he hears the voices and heartbeats of the crew in that container. HE hopes he's slowed the ship -enough- for now as lives are at risk. He releases the ship and plunges into the water.
    Moments later, he emerges holding the container above his head. He glances towards the nearest tugboat and drifts to set the container on its deck. A deck not designed for such things, but a deck just the same.
    He rips the doors open effortlessly and says to the crew within and the crew on the tugboat, "These are crew members of the Holland Sun. Some may need medical attention." That said, he lifts back into the air and looks to see the direction the ship is pointing. He nods and then heads for the bridge.
    Any potential attackers are ignored for the moment. He simply arrives on said bridge and reaches to disengage the throttle. No sooner does he actually do this as he is attacked from seemingly nowhere.
    Truth be told, he knew they were there. He dismiessed them as non-threats. So just stood there manipulating the throttle as their mildly enchanted weapons strike his body. He is sent tumbling through the breaking glass of the bridge windows... leaving a bit of blood on the console.
    He strikes the deck outside, lying on his back after rolling a bit. He stares upwards at the sky and mutters softly, "Does everyone have weapons such as these in this universe? Damnit." as his hand reaches to feel his wound, and comes away with blood on his palm.

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Hey, kid, maybe don't rush off like that!" Johnny says, and he is already on fire so the irony cannot set him ablaze. "It's dangerous!"

"Oh no." The Human Torch says, seemingly more concerned by what he just said than the army of strange aliens about to attack him, "Did I really just say that? Am I turning into Reed?!" Shooting fire at Johnny is a bad idea. If it works anything like normal fire, Johnny simply winks it out of existence the second it gets close enough to challenge him. If not...well, magical or no, nothing HOT can bother the Human Torch, and these things seem to be made of metal.

A familiar, cocky smirk eases over Johnny's face. "Man you ugly little turds are in trouble."

Johnny sets out a wave of shimmering heat, hoping to force any swarmers back with all the power of a really nasty day out in the sun. He sees that Hyperion's penned down and reasons that Hyperion's their best bet to save the crew. Also, you know, bleeding. Johnny hovers off of the ground, assuming Herc is handling things fine himself, and almost lazily points a finger at the hunk of weird little redcaps shooting fire and shot at Hyperion.

A fireball screams at the creatures, hot enough to heat up their metal parts; Johnny isn't looking to rip these things apart quite yet, so much as make them realize just what this floating fire man could do to them if they don't back the hell off.

Hercules has posed:
Hercules welcomed the sweeping, warm steam. Walking around in a sash and a skirt on dry land was one thing. To do so while soaked was another! He breathed it in, "Friend Johnny, you are truely a blessing!" he praised the burning man, rolling his wrist and twirling his make-shift club. He waded into the fray, swinging left, right. Some whistled through the air while others bore the weighty impact of striking the unseen. His club struck etal with a harsh, 'CLANG!' and Hercules was taken aback momentarily.

"Clang?!" he blurted blearily The mystery of their attackers faded and Hercules found himself surrounded. His mind worked, slowed by drink but any memory connected to a story was not far from his mental fingertips at any time.

"I... could never forget such creatures as you had I bested you once before... but these-!" one fired, a flachet or a dart of some sort, ensorcelled. It punctured even the flesh of a God! Protruding from him like a nettel! "Gah, yes, these! These I know!" he barked, pricked and aggitated as he plucked the thing from himself and wagged it at his aggressor as if it contraband! "I'll beat the answers from the last of you yet, you gruesome brigands! Now the battle is joined andknow that you face-

    HERCULES
PRINCE OF POWER!"

He just laid into them, gouging eyes, stomping feet. There, right there, he's just giving that one a noogie! May the gods be kind enough that he never finds their nurples lest the be vigorously purpled!

Koriand'r has posed:
    "I am uncertain of which of these control panels should be accessed," Koriand'r talks to herself out loud, trying access her own thoughts and set them straight as she stands amongst a room full of human nautical devices. "But I have a very fishy feeling about this situation..." And the she smiles brightly to herself. Just a momentary pulse of pride in herself. A pun! She made one! But then her lips quickly drop the smile as she walks the length of the bridge, shouting more loudly, "Hello? Is anyone still on board? Hello?"
    And verily! She is greeted from above! Her head jerks up at the sound of large feet over the top of the ship's hull, when the shimmering monstrosities look down beneath to see the young red-head peering back up at them.
    They do not look like friends to her!
    It's in that same moment that Hyperion busts into the bridge with her. He finds the throttle, the very thing she'd have most likely never found. There is a, "Look out!" As the creatures from above target him. And just like that, Hyperion rolls out and over the console back onto the deck.
    Leaving Koriand'r--no, Starfire--to deal with the creepers that were peeping in on her from up above.
    Those on the deck will see a bright, brilliant burst of green flash inside bridge! Before it escapes the holes on top of the bridge in hot flashes of light. Starbolts! If the creepers don't skidaddle out of the way, they eat a face full of them.
    Starfire later emerges from the window that Hyperion busted out of, sporting what appears to be a very nasty burn underneath her collar bone--at least her dress is untouched! Anyways, she comes out saying, "Guys! There are monsters on deck!" only to realize, wide-eyed, that there's already a party going on!

Thor has posed:
    The Sherman-5's deck is definitely not the best place for it as the container is opened and it hangs precariously a little off the side of the tug boat. The crew are rushing out of the conn and pause in front of Hyperion, expressions widened with amazement as they stop a few feet from the man, "You got this..." One starts to say.
    But the hero is already gone.
    Meanwhile the contorted creatures continue to fire their weapons, purple flame lashing out in Johnny's direction as he abruptly comes up and hovers there for a time, then exerts his will with a slight summoning of focus and abruptly those flames cease to trigger. No more thorns are hurled from the weapons with that propellant stifled...
    And then the fireball /crashes/ down onto the deck between the kill team that was designated to target Torch. It sends them scattering, all moving like a school of fish breaking apart into six different directions, then almost instantly they realign, come together, and /rush/ toward Johnny, instead brandishing the spines and blades on their extended arms, seeking to bound up containers and the bridge tower, trying to leap at the Fantastic Four member.
    Below Torch, however, the scene of battle was a scene of carnage. Indeed, Hercules would remember creatures similar to these, or perhaps the particular sting of the weapon that struck him so. For it is an age old memory perhaps a thousand years old or more. Yet the pain, the hint of poison that is not enough to affect an Olympian... it is not something one would easily forget.
    Though that does not stop him from making them pay. The God of Strength lays about himself with the power and precision he is known for. A wide-limbed spider-like creature leapt for him, only to be swatted away with an almost casual back hand. Another sought to impale his legs with long spines only to have its body smashed into the deck where it became one with the wood and metal there. It was a dance of mayhem that left many of the monstrosities torn and broken, though the battle was not yet won.
    One thing may well be noticed, thanks to the efforts of Hyperion, the ship is slowing even as it has had its course altered to he side, not quite yet clear of its course from Long Island, but a good strong start. Another push from a hero would likely do it and give the vessel enough distance and time to decelerate.
    Inside the bridge proper, after the brilliant green lights illuminate the vessel's control center, Kori will peer out upon the grim spectacle of battle. It does seem clear that Hercules and Torch are winning, for no small number of fallen creatures litter around the Prince of Power's feet, and Torch is somewhat beset. But from her angle she has a clear line of sight...
    For right in that moment throughout the entire vessel there is a loud /KLONG!/ as abruptly the vessel tilts back and towards the aft, the deck suddenly lurching a good twenty degrees, more, causing _many_ of the containers on deck to shift and jostle and some start sliding down the way as a great claw the size of a semi-truck reaches over the side of the ship and grabs hold of one of the central cranes/masts and begins to pull itself onto the large freighter.

Hyperion has posed:
    Okay... gotta get up. Hyperion growls under his breath. "Thanks." he calls up to Johnny before he lifts off the deck and looks towards the giant being... and then towards Long Island. He makes a decision then and takes a breath before launching himself towards the front of the ship once more. Battle is battle, and he heard that the Prince of Power is here. So the battle is in good hands.
    He goes to make sure the ship doesn't strike land or hurt anyone... by turning it more.
    Along the way of course, he flashes out a blast of power or two from his eyes to slam into the bigbad(tm). I mean come on. The guy's practically begging for Atomic Vision blasts. But then Hyperion goes down to do the right thing and prevent the crash.

Johnny Storm has posed:
Swarms. Why did it have to be swarms. Johnny takes a few nicks from the strange steel thorns, which manage to cut him despite his plasma shielding, and grunts, flying up a little higher as the creatures.

As the insectoid, gruesome creatures,

the endless hordes of annihulus rip and tear into each other, forming a living bridge to get at him the bug monster laughing with its impossible mouth.

"Get away!" Johnny shouts, rocketing into the air away from the living bridge of monster men, hurling a more serious blast of fire at them, one crackling orange and blue with sheer heat, hot enough to warm up the steel embedded in their bodies to white hot. "Get away!"

Johnny tries to shake out of his fugue, knowing that his sheer power could be more dangerous to this ship and any crew aboard it than anything else here, but he might need a little help getting his head back on straight!

Hercules has posed:
Hercules knew from poison. Many a foe was felled by an arrow yet still crusted by the dried blood of the Hydra. He himself met his ultimate end because of it. Hot irons shoved between every bone, his pyre was merciful next to it. The ache and the sickness that rose up in his belly was nothing compared to it... Of course the fact that he was rip, roaring drunk did not hurt in the slightest.

He was just bludgeoning one with another one when a claw emerged. The ship pitched and Hercules, wearing a pair of hobnailed sandals on the battered, soaked deck. He goes tumbling, ass over tea kettle into the surrounding mess.

Rising, sluffing off a discarded limb, the son of Zeus casts his eyes upon a sight he has not seen in far too long. "JOHNNY, FRIEND JOHNNY, LOOK!" bellows the Lion of Olympus, arm waving franticly to catch the attention of the living flame. Johnny rockets away... there isn't just anger or the zeal of battle in the voice of Storm... its a sobering moment... but Hercules recovers and picks up a shipping container, hoisting it over his head.

"A decade has it been since the Scion of Olympus has faced a creature the size of thee!" he utters as he kicks or simply walks through lesser threats, his eyes set on that tractor-trailer size paw and what it leads to. "I have coveted such a day when I might face a Monster once more! Know now that you have my thanks beast! Til my last day, I will tell the tell of the beast that rose to challange us here. Come now, bellow your roar and let your last rage be known!" he prattles as he begins his charge, and then leaps, shipping container drawn up and then down in a tremendous blow!

"HAVE AT THEE!"

Koriand'r has posed:
    At the abrupt CLUNK and sudden lurch of the deck and all of its cargo, Starfire actually stumbles and falls into a discombobulated hover--
    /THUNK/
    One of those cargo things collides directly into the Tamaranean princess and bulldozes her solidly into another container with a LOUD crunk of metal. Rather than going splat between the two containers, they crumple against her withstanding form, and it is with a hefty shove of legs and arms that she is able to pry herself out between bent metal. She squeezes through, escapes free, and then stares back at the cargo momentarily before besetting her vibrant green eyes on the monsterous claws that are pawing at the deck!
    Only to watch Hercules use one of them giant shipping containers--the very same as the one that tried to off her--and use it as a fly swatter for the big creep's hand.
    SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
    The sound is followed with blinding flashes. Added to the Torch's fireballs, to the Atomic Blasts from Hyperion, and the BRUTE STRENGTH of Hercules and the amazing shipping container, is a brilliant blast of burning green lazer into the knuckles just above where those claws dip, grip, and crunch at the side of the ship. They come straight from the Tamaranean's hands as she holds them straight out from her not-dressed-for-the-occasion body.

Thor has posed:
    Hyperion's laser vision slices across the distance, through Johnny's steam cloud and into the side of what appears to be a larger version of the smaller monstrosities, though its 'head' is tucked down against the hull. Yet when the lasers connect they seem to play across a shimmer of energy, some form of carapace or shield manifesting roughly six inches from the hull of the larger robotic creature. For a time that shield flares and grows brighter in color as its energy is sapped from countering the blast, yet it is able to endure. For now at least.
    Another burst of 'traffic' is heard from the larger creature, Hyperion's enhanced senses catching a final transmission which recalls the smaller ones. All of them /leap/ off the ground as their legs retract into their bodies, the arms fold shut underneath the crescents, and the heads retract down becoming floating saucer-like things that fly across the distance toward their mother-ship.
    No longer do those creatures menace Johnny Storm as he suffers from the traumatic memories beset upon him. The remaining surviving robotic organisms all hurtle across the distance, some flying into an open maw in the underside of the larger organism, others attaching directly onto the hull.
    A second claw holds the large enemy to the ship, while a third clicks and clacks and whines as its servos bring it into place to grasp one of those containers off the deck.
    For a moment twin lasers slice out across the surface of the ship, trying to perhaps push Hercules back as he menaces forward even more against the ship and its efforts. It rears back on its twisted abomination legs as a bright crimson gleam shines from what one could consider its 'eyes'. Then Hercules' large container /crashes/ into the side of the ship's supporting claw. Its gleaming carapace shield flashes again, going through the colors of the rainbow until it ends on violet, glowing... surely a titanic battle is in the offing!
    Until.
    With no preamble, the large ship releases its grip and drops into the ocean with a heavy /SPLASH!/ that sets the freighter rocking again as it recovers its buoyancy. A heavy wake washes across the ship, and perhaps fouls Hyperion's grip for barely a moment, yet the hero is able to right the vessel and make sure its course is back on line and clear of land.
    The water seems to wash over the monstrous alien-like ship as it disappears beneath the water, chased by the repeated emerald flashes of energy sent after it by Starfire. Each bolt sizzles intot the vehicle, its shield _flaring_ with its own power as it compensates for each blast. Another. Another...
    But the last slices through and seems to cause a short sharp explosion in the upper right shoulder of one of its legs, smoke billows out shortly before the entire ship disappears under the water, burbling with large bubbles emerging to the water's surface as well as a greasy oil slick that spreads.

Johnny Storm has posed:
Herc yells about something.

Johnny breathes. He has to be the responsible one. Okay, okay. Johnny takes a look, and everything is the fuck on fire. Great job. There's a bizarre, alien ship that's slunking away, but the ship itself seems to be alright. So...

"HERBIE!" Johnny shouts, as he follows the alien ship, hurling a half hearted fireball at it.
    he nervous little robot appears, having been hiding behind an Applebees. "Is it safe, Johnny?"

"Safe enough. Get some samples of that gunk-yo did anyone get a piece of the shop or those little cyborg guys?" Johnny exclaims, visibly upset that he lost himself for a second. "Whatever that thing was, our best bet at tracking it is to find as much gunk as possible and drop it in my brother-in-law's lap."

Another look at the orange girl who is kind of on fire but Johnny shakes his head, got to be a coincidence. "...you're not from Nebraska, are you?"

Hercules has posed:
He was already punching the story up in his head. Their foes were seven times as large, the monsterous ship was ten times its own monsterous mass. They were yards from shore, many more things were on fire and Hercules, Hercules was not covered in biomechanical goo, nor had he bounced off the ships prow.

The container came down, thousands of LexBox 5s were destroyed in the collision... but the beast was not.

The beast released the ship and the ship pitched back, water surging, flushing Hercules and his battered crate back against another teetering stack. He topples beneath his own weapon, momentarily buried.

He emerges, sullen! Sulking! Shifting the container away as if it weighed no more than a wet blanket. "BAh, another fish story of the one that got away!" he jeered as he tried to steady his feet on the pitching ship!

Koriand'r has posed:
    Hyperion is somewhere in the background being heroic. Probably making sure that tug boat is still unaffected by the big massive THING, and hasn't been capsized in the wake of everything.
    Starfire? She's still in the air. The ship pitching to and fro does not affect her. She learned her lesson already about that. The crunched shipping containers that had nearly squashed her like a tiny insect serve as her visual reminder.
    As she floats in the air her hair licks around her face and her shoulders like errant flames, hued and saturated by the sun's rimming. Her eyes are aglow, skewing her kindhearted face into a force that might be more intimidating if she were wearing her actual uniform instead of a pink sundress that flaps wildly in the sea breeze.
    "Nebraska?" She asks Johnny, her eyes wide as she inches in closer, curiously. "I have heard /terrible/ things about Nebraska," she says gravely. "Such as that. People measure distance by hours in Nebraska. And they call lunch 'dinner' and dinner as 'supper.'" In short, no she has not been.

Thor has posed:
    The water hisses and sizzles as Torch blasts it, even as the bubbles continue to surge to the surface and the oil slick continues to grow. Yet then eventually there is a sudden rush, a glow of what looks to be... rainbow light from far below, barely perceptible in the murky brackish water but if one is looking in that direction at the time...
    Then there's no missing it.
    With that, however, it does leave the heroes in the relative peace of the still slowing vessel. Hyperion continues to guide its course until the tugboat crew is able to catch up sufficiently and take charge. It leaves the heroes with victory. Some salvage perhaps from the fallen and shattered robotic organisms, but also perhaps questions to be answered over the course of time.