5843/THE SAVAGE LANDS

THE SAVAGE LANDS
Date of Scene:	04 April 2021
Location:	The SAAAAVAGE laaaAAAands
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Rogue, Jean Grey

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Rogue has posed:
Not all of the X-Men missions are straight up COMBAT in nature.

Case in point...

Charles Xavier has a colleague who works in the field of anthropology and philanthropy. This man, Dr. Collin Martinson is on expedition in the Savage Lands helping a tribe of indigenous people get established with water and food supplies... it hasn't been easy, but Charles has volunteered to help deliver supply to the remote village deep in the jungles of the mysterious and dangerous savage lands.

This is where our heroes are now, on the Blackbird, Jean and Rogue have been swapping out who flies during the trip and currently Rogue is in the back of the vehicle checking on the pallets of supplies. One of them is a bunch of refrigerated goods. Food and medicine.

Rogue is wearing a black X-Men bodysuit, not one of her normal ones, but one of the default 'standard' uniforms that is zipped up to her collar bone. Her brown hair is tied in a bun on the back of her head and her white bangs are loose against the sides of her face.

She's moving back to the front of the plane now with the tablet computer in a black gloved hand. "Still checks out." Rogue says to the current pilot of the jet. "Beast said it shouldn't have any issues, guess he was right." She says with a sly grin. "Designing 'batteries' is kinda cool. Literally in this case." She makes a bad joke! har har..

Jean Grey has posed:
As wide-reaching as Xavier's public interests are, from his mutant advocacy in various forums, to his philanthropic efforts and participation in the academic community, Jean often finds herself going on these sort of things as his representative. She's met world leaders, members of various NGOs, attended prestigeous academic conferences, and so on. When she first started accompanying him, it was *very* exciting, particularly for the rather tryhard teacher's pet of a student she'd always been.

By now? It's pretty routine.

The degree of excitement varies a lot between the individual trips, of course. Some are dull, or tedious. Sometimes, it's just a matter of how nice a hotel she gets to stay at. But as this particularly outing goes, a visit to the Savage Land is definitely in a whole different category. The discovery (or perhaps, rediscovery) of the Antarctic land out of time, largely sealed away from the world at large, has fascinated researchers and drawn opportunistic business interests and villains alike, alongside more well-intentioned folk like Dr. Martinson. Plus, the place is full of dinosaurs.

So despite it being a simple drop-off, Jean is taking it all pretty seriously, wearing her own typical mission suit, lightly armored for the convenience of a person not so indestructible as the amazing Mighty Woman. And as they make the approach, she's focused on her flying, something she's only learned as a necessity, compared to some of their more expert pilots. Fortunately, the VTOL jet makes most of it pretty simple.

"Glad it's all in one piece. You double check the tie-downs? I'm gonna bring us down in just a moment." She starts pushing buttons to this effect! "Isn't this whole place wild? Just imagine, all of it tucked away all this time..."

Rogue has posed:
Yeah, Rogue never even uses her crash webbings when traveling ont he jet because she can control her own gravitational pull, why would she wear those things?

She slips back in to the co-pilot seat and lifts the tablet computer up, a black tablet with a bright screen, she smiles at what Jean is saying and then interfaces the tablet with the jet so the info can be sent back to the X-Base where Hank (or someone) is likely watching it from the security room.

"It's all good back there still. Properly chilled t'the levels that the Doctah said t'keep it all at. The pallets are still tied down and lookin' good. Hopefully this is gonna be a big happy delivery for these folks."

Charles had said that he'd purchased some of the items, but a lot of it was donations from their collection of friends who all were supporting Dr. Martinson's endeavors here.

Rogue sets the tablet down in the charging port designed specifically for the blackbird's computers. She looks up at the viewport to the fore of the jet and tries to look outside to see the jungles.

"Dinosaurs and such, yeah?" Rogue asks. "I don't know much about any'a that, but I'd... I'll be honest, it is kinda exciting. Like that Jumanji movie." She grins over at Jean. "You wanna go on a adventure with me, Headmistress?" She asks playfully.

Jean will know that the Doctor was informed of their arrival, and given a radio channel to contact him on to let him know when they were at the coordinates.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean's inquiry is probably mostly rhetorical, since Rogue specifically went back there to check on things and she'd no doubt report if there was any kind of problem. So Jean continues the process without precisely waiting on the answer, and by the time her copilot comes back to retake her seat, they'll both begin experience the shift in momentum (although Jean probably moreso than Rogue, given the afforementioned freedom from gravity) as plane slows it's forward progress while simultaneously engaging its descent thrusters to prevent them from simply falling like a rock.

"Dr. Martinson? This is the Blackbird. We're beginning our descent now, at the designated coordinates."

For a few moments after this, Jean seems to focus her concentration on this whole process, staring at various lights and readouts on the instrument panels...

But then she looks over with a grin, even as the viewport ahead begins to fill with the greens of the vast jungles and the vast mountains beyond. They've come under the field that hides the whole place from outside view, and the sky above, from this angle, looks amazing clear and bright. "Dinosaurs and such," she agrees. "Oh yeah. You know I kind of look like that one girl, don't you think?" The one that's actually a dude?!

Moments later, and she's touching more controls, extending the landing struts before at last they set down, in the center of the coordinates they'd been provided. There is a bit of a metallic thunk and a vibration through the whole plane, but nothing out of the ordinary, and by the time she has the engines fully shut off, they can already begin to hear the sounds of the jungle filtering in from outside, all around the plane. "I'm not sure about an adventure, but I'd love to take a bit more of a look around. See what we can see without getting eaten by any giant lizards." Soon she starts unstrapping herself, before leaving her seat and beginnning her way back toward the cargo bay.

Rogue has posed:
Dr. Martinson's trans-Atlantic accented voice chimes in over the radio an affirmative and that he and his group were on their way to meet the X-Men at the landing point. Their village was apparently just down the hill in a small clearing near a river that runs in to the jungle.

Rogue's eyes had been on the controls as Jean made her descent, she'd idly watched with intrigue because part of Rogue's mind was still mixed with Carol Danver's who loved jets to an arguably unhealthy degree. One of the benefits of Rogue joining the X-Men, in fact, had been that even at 18 she was an expert jet pilot... because of what had happend with Carol years before. Of course, Anna-Marie herself had never stepped foot in a jet like this, so there was a period of time where she had to get comfortable inside the thing, even if she already knew how to fly it... it was weird!

She shakes her thoughts away from the routine landing and nods in approval. "Nicely done." She says as every pilot loves to hear compliments on a good landing, VTOL or otherwise. (Try having memories of landing on an aircraft carrier without ever having actually done it! It's terrifying! #RogueProblems)

"Well then." The Belle says. "Guess we're here." She looks over at Jean then. "You mean Ruby Roundhouse?" She asks with a laugh. "She wasn't a dude... Wait, is she now? I didn't hear that." Celebrity gossip!

Stepping up out of her chair, Rogue walks toward the back of the jet as the ramp in the aft settles down to let the gusts of warm jungle humidity in. "Holy... jeeze, it's like August out there.." She says, instantly reaching up to unzip her suit down a bit, relax though, she's not making it scandalous.

Waving herself with the collar of her suit, Rogue steps down the ramp to look around. Mountains, jungle trees, tall untamed grass. "Welcome to Jurassic World..." she mutters.

She might need to be reminded to start helping with the pallets too, damn kids...

Jean Grey has posed:
"I'll take that as high praise, coming from our resident expert," Jean offers back, although hers is more of a look of pure relief than pride, at simply having managed the whole thing without any disasters. It's rarely her job, when it comes to actual missions, so part of this whole plan /may/ just have been concocted as a way of sneakily making her keep up with her flight hours. One can get lazy about all those real-world things when you can do so much with your GIANT BRAIIIIN.

"Oh! No, not the actress, well I don't think so, but no I mean- uh, I think I got it backwards. It was Jack Black who was a girl, right?" She is not actually a Jumanji movie expert, but perhaps the body switching bit might have stuck with her. Heck, it's relevant to both of them, with all the potential for Freaky Friday situations with their powers.

By the time they reach the cargo, Jean's laziness is on display, as she pauses to think slightly harder at the lines of pallets, causing all the carabiner clips to, well, unclip from their mountings on the floor of the jet. It definitely goes much faster than doing them each by hand. But yes, while she's doing that, Rogue seems to be getting ahead of herself on the 'vacation' part of this. "Come on and grab one of these, huh?"

Naturally, another one rises from the floor on its own, and begins float float floating its way down under her telekinetic sway.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's gloved hands are on her hips in that black jumpsuit, her eyes scanning the landscape. When she hears Jean call back to her she walks back toward the ramp like she'd forgotten about the cargo pallets all together.

"Jack Black was the cheerleader girl in the first film, and I think he was... mmm, I don't remember the second movie very well." She flashes a grin at the redhead as she moves toward one of the pallets nearest to the ramp. She reaches out to grab the metal hook on the top of the web-netting that keeps the cargo secure in transit and she just... lifts the whole damn thing up. It's probably 300 pounds and she lifts it up like it's literally nothing...

She does have to balance it though, leaning it against her thigh as she raises her hand up good and far...

"I think I can hear trucks." Rogue says descending the ramp again. When she sets the load down on the grass she looks around again, raising a hand up to hold it over her brow. "Yep. Three big trucks, headed this way." She tells before looking back to Jean. "Are they cool with us usin' mutant powers out in the open?" She asks.

Jean, wouldn't be sure about this answer!

Dr. Martinson was a friend of Charles' though, so surely he was a Mutant rights advocate or at least a sympathizer, right?

Either way the three trucks are on their way and will be pulling up behind the jet soon, there are lots of men visible on the backs of each one all standing up to look at the Blackbird parked ont he grass, cause well... who the hell has seen a SR-71 up close in their life, let alone a SR-77 that isn'teven a publicly known thing!

Jean Grey has posed:
"I don't know, I've only seen the new one!" And she calls Jean old!

Obviously, Jean doesn't need to worry too much about the specifics of balancing the things, as however the precise mechanics of telekinesis work, the forces she exerrts seem more or less equal around the entire object, holding it perfectly steady as it glides through the air and eventually settles to a rest on the space out in front of the ramp. Of course, the'll presumably need to load it all into whatever vehicles are being used to pick it up, but they might have the manpower or equipment for that themselves? And if not?

"Well, we're here with the jet, and in uniform, so I'd call this official business. It shouldn't really be a problem, I think?" Jean is not a huge 'secrecy' person herself, obviously, any more than many of the X-men who go about without masks. Even if at ONE time she might have had a very regrettable one. Of course, she frequently is one the main REASONS they're able to do that, as a little mental manipulation can make them forgettable to a crowd, make a familiar face blend in with so many others in one's Mind's Eye.

Even still, she makes sure nothing is actually floating around in the air by the time the trucks pull up. If nothing else, it can startle or concern people a bit! "Shall we go and say hello?" The large group on the trucks doesn't seem to worry her out of hand, as the Doctor would probably want a crew to help him with everything. Even still, she does - by habit or reflex, as much as conscious suspicion - reach out to get a sense of them all, as they come closer.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is there standing beside Jean when the trucks pull up with the men hopping off and the doctor stepping otu of the lead vehicle.

The introductions occur, along with some casual banter. Jean and Rogue are both introduced to the rest of the Doctor's team, and they're all very nice... nerdy types. They're the kind of people you'd expect to come from a university setting, some of them in their late 20s while others are in their early 20s and still students. The bulk majority of the people though are actual locals who've begun to adapt to a more outside world level of life, wearing 'normal' clothes mixed in with tribal stuff still.

Jean doesn't pick up on any odd stuff from any of these people, even if some of the males are a bit impressed with the looks of their supply delivery women... but that's a given, right?

What really gets their collective goats is when Jean and Rogue start to load the trucks for the men. THIS is unexpected and there's a level of happiness, excitement and celebration at watching Rogue just carry the pallets over to the truck, or Jean hover them over.

By the time its all loaded, the collective gathering of people are settling in on their butts on the edges of the flat bed trucks, chatting amongst each other.

The Doctor approaches Jean and Rogue then.

"This is a very big help to us, you've no idea." He tells them both. He looks between them. "Must you leave so soon though? You'd be welcome in the village, we could take you out on a bit of a jaunt through the jungle? There's a large collection of local wildlife that I think you might be... well... impressed to see." One of the nerdier guys responds to this by doing T-rex arms and making dinosaur noises.

Of course Rogue is laughing lightly at this and glancing to Jean...

Do they have time for such a thing?

Jean Grey has posed:
THAT kind of reaction is one Jean has learned to expect, basically without fail, since not long after her powers even began to manifest. To say that it's been one of the the things she's had to learn to deal with, growing into her powers, would be a tremendous understatement. But in cases like this, she can take it as unintentional compliment and without much further complication, especially since their arrival is guaranteed to be a bit of a novelty.

And besides, that gaggle of college sorts are pretty much her exact peer group. She's kind of a nerd too!

"I've only heard a little about your work from Charles, but he seemed more than happy to help, and personally, it seems like anything we can do to help the people here re-enter the world on their own terms is a worthy mission." Speaking with their host, she's quite enthusiastic, ever Charles' best representative and, dare we say cheerleader in the field, although she certainly agrees with all of it herself. And their surroundings are rather spectacular. "Well, we are expected back," she then continues, before turning slightly to observe the T-Rex impression alongside just how amused by it Rogue seems to be.

"... but it would seem like passing up a wonderful opportunity to head back straight away. I think we can manage a brief tour, at least." She can hardly turn her friend down. And it is a fascinating place! She taps a little wrist-remote to raise the Blackbird ramp back into position, and then looks back to their new hosts. "Lead on!"