673/Flying High

Flying High
Date of Scene:	21 March 2020
Location:	Metropolis
Synopsis:	Caitlin's flying experiment crashes and burns, but Heidi swoops in to save an experiment gone wrong.
Cast of Characters:	Caitlin Fairchild, Heidi Ingerdottir

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Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"You know there was a whole special section of our military that tested parachutes?" Caitlin informs Heidi. She's busy strapping herself into some kind of exoskeleton; there's not much to it aside from bars that reinforce her back, shoulders, arms, and legs. A cumbersome looking thruster is attached to her back. The green leotard she wears is tight-fitting athletic gear that's clearly built thick enough to be durable and tear-resistant.

"It was a whole thing they did for years, figuring out how parachutes work. I can't imagine doing that," she confesses. "Falling five hundred feet off a tower and hoping the thing someone invented works for you." A beat. "I can't imagine /building/ that, either," she admits.

Caitlin steps to the edge of the roof of the Stark Industries building and peers off the edge of the helipad with a nervous expression. "We really can do this another day if you want," she says, and pauses the task of strapping thrust guides to her palms.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
"Are you scared, friend Caitlin?" Heidi is smiling, fearlessly as she looks over. "I can understand being scared of an item. They fail. Sometimes things happen. But... to trust in a living creature is a beautiful thing." She turns slightly, beckoning the pegasus nearby closer. She stomps a hoof and moves closer. "Eira is a creature to be trusted. I have trained her and she listens to me... mostly. She has a little work to be done yet."

She grins, moving to stand on the edge of the roof as well. "I have spent countless years working with flying horses, learning tricks, keeping them able to understand how and when to return, how to move... you can trust that Eira and I will not let you fall."

Heidi gestures downward. "I can demonstrate, if you are worried, that Eira will catch me. Then, you will know that if you fall, Eira and I will catch /you/."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"I'm not scared of /falling/, I'm scared of /landing/ on someone," Caitlin points out to Heidi with a wry expression. "I weigh as much as you do, I think." Still, Heidi's fearless accomodation helps Caitlin find some backbone and she firmly straps her gear into place.

"And the Iron Man armor weighs as much as I do, so... yeah. This is fine. We're fine. All fine."

A helmet's put on and the windscreen visor lowered over her eyes, angular and tinted a subtle yellow that washes out the green of her eyes.

"Just... unless I land -on- someone, try to save the gear. I'll be working for Mr. Stark for free for a decade if I break this thing."

Caitlin taps a few buttons and drops into a ready stance; there's a thrumming noise then a crackling surge of ion exhaust, and the redhead launches a dozen meters skywards. "W-woah! Woah!" she yelps, and pinwheels her arms around until she gets the stabilizers on her calves and hands aimed in the right direction. "Criminey this thing is-- it's like trying to ride a greasy horse bareback!" she yelps.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
"If you land on someone I should think your attempts to dodge them and still hit on target would be extremely impressive," Heidi comments, a small grin creeping over as she watches Caitlin carefully. "You will be fine. Just yell very loudly and I am certain they will run far away from you."

She watches with utter amusement as she begins to get everything turned on and set up. The comparison has her nodding in agreement. "Oh, I am certain it must be very difficult then. Yes, I would say that is an experience I would not repeat." ... what.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
It takes Caitlin a wobbly few seconds to get her balance, and she ends up in an awkward forward-pitched position with her knees and arms bent like she's on an invisible motorcycle. The shifting and flailing of her hands and feet suggests purchase is coming less instinctively than she'd hoped.

"Okay, in the air, not falling," she mutters. "This is a lot easier in an airplane," Caitlin tells Heidi, and raises her voice to be heard over the ion thrusters. She wobbles around with her trim all askew and finally aims her face eastwards. "C'mon, let's see what the weather's like over the Bay," she calls down, and starts a slow, creeping pace that direction which gains in momentum as she levels off and arrows her feet behind her for maximum thrust. The backpack seems to be doing little more than idling, which is perhaps fortunate given her lack of control over the machinery!

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi takes the opportunity to show off. As Caitlin is in the air, she rushes off and takes to the air as well... sans horse. She simply swan-dives from the edge of the building. It isn't but half a second later that Eira, leaps majestically off as well, her wings angled down as she swoops in and catches the aspirant Valkyrie as if it were nothing, as if they'd done it thousands of times.

They probably had. The pair climbs upward, gaining height as she moves to catch up to where Caitlin is. "Lead the way, then, my friend! If you are capable... that thing seems more tempermental than some of the steeds I've trained." She'd had some tricky ones, too.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Heidi!" Caitlin screams in panic-- but then the magnificent steed is swooping down to catch the Asgardian, and when they level off with one another, Caitlin sticks her tongue out at her new friend with a petulant expression that blossosm into a grin.

"Showoff!" she accuses. Hands and feet wobble as she levels off, finding a position that gives best thrust and a little lift. It's pretty far from aerodynamic, but she's doing the opposite of crashing, and that seems to be a win in Caitlin's book.

The flight does start stabilizing once they're over the Island and by the time they're crusing over the harbor, Caitlin's looking almost competent with the contraption.

"Okay, here's the tricky part," she tells Heidi, and arrows her face upwards. "Boost main thrust, half per cent interval per second... ignite!"

The ion pack starts rumbling and a steady stream of white and blue radiation burns out the exhaust port. Caitlin starts upwards at a sharp angle with no trajectory, gaining speed by the second as the machine pours on the energy.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
"If you think that is me showing off you should see what else I can do," Heidi's tone is both a threat and a promise. She knows very well she's showing off. You don't spend that much time in the air not to be familiar and comfortable with every aspect of it. She keeps a close eye on Caitlin, watching what she does to try and keep just close enough but not enough to crowd the flight.

When Caitlin speeds upward, Heidi does her best to follow. While Eira is a strong and powerful creature, she does have her limits, and upward flight speed tends to be one of them. Still, the pegasus does her best to keep up, circling upwards with increasing speed to follow the powerful burst of energy.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin starts gaining speed at accelerating rates, until even Eira is starting to labor to keep up. The air starts to thin, too, not in a way that would affect either of the superhuman women but does start to take a toll on the psyche. No one likes to be breathing thin air, whether or not they *need* that much of it.

"Hold thrust at twenty-five!" Caitlin yells at her computer. "Stabi-- w-woah! Stabilize! Yes I know about the air currents, I-- aiee! Compensate, compensaaaAAAAte!!!"

It's like watching a whirligig destabilizing. It was all going so well for a few moments and then there's some shuddering, some juking, and Caitlin's abruptly flying in violent horizontal circles like a demented firecracker fallen on its side.

"Cut thrust!" can be heard, and then she's plummeting to the ground with arms and legs flailing violently to try and stabilize her descent against the massive rotational momentum her gear has given her. Once in a while an ion stabilizer kicks on but it seems to do little more than add another tumbling axis of motion to her descent as she plummets to the lapping seas below!

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi and Eira have been prepared on the offchance that something happens. While climbing may not always be the fastest, the pegasus can swoop with the greatest of ease. So watching the Caitlincracker flying around, while amusing, does cause Heidi to worry a touch. Still, she's ready just in case. While Heidi is full of playfulness and fun, she's also ready for such situations.

The second she starts dropping, the pair are diving down, quickly moving in an intercept course. "Do you need help?!" She calls loudly. After all, if Caitlin is just showing off, there's no need for a rescue!

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin's got good instincts and a level head; instead of continuing to flail she arcs her back and pins her arms and legs in place. It straightens her flight out and she starts extending her limbs out once more into a skydiver's pose. The ground is getting close /awfully/ fast, but there's a determined look on her face.

"I got it, I can fix this!" she says with desperate uncertainty. "This is how we learn, right? We fall down and, uh... don't... die."

One arm crawls in front of her face so she can make some fast commands on a wrist-mounted computer, and then she takes a few fast breaths to stabilize herself. The way the wind indents her cheeks is almost comical despite the wild look in her eyes.

"Okay, here we go, three, two... one!" Hands and legs extend and a blast of ion energy explodes from the repulsors.

It would have worked perfectly had Caitlin accounted for all the possible thrust vectors; unfortunately there seems to have been a mistake in her math, and the burst of force simply sends her pinwheeling out of control again.

"Heidi haaaaaaaaaalppp!~" Caitlin cries out, and once more tries to stabilize herself in a freefaller's poise.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi is ready. Any second now. She lets Caitlin do her thing with the device, waiting for her to get things under control. So when it doesn't? She's more than prepared for the rescue. It's going to be bumpy, especially if she ends up spinning like that, but Eira's already in a course to get below Caitlin to try and slow the decent.

"Do not fear! I will certainly catch you." Hopefully it'll be a clean catch and not with Eira having to fly everywhere to get a good angle.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin manages to get her hands and feet out again so she's free-falling properly. To her credit the redhead's not looking at the fast onrushing water (at least she's not staring at it and screaming); she's trying to keep stable in the air and not go swimming towards Heidi as the much more experienced Valkyrie swoops down and towards her. She extends her hand as far as she dares without breaking into another tumble. Only a few hundred feet to go; a fall from this altitude probably won't kill Caitlin, but it's definitely not going to feel like a picnic to belly-flop into the Atlantic.

And it's a long way to swim back to New York when you float like a rock.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Thankfully, with Caitlin not spinning it's a lot easier to maneuver the pegasus to an angle where Heidi is actually able to reach out to grab her. The good thing is, riding without use of her hands is something she's incredibly skilled at--archery is hard if you have to control a horse, after all. She reaches to pull Caitlin in close, ready to signal Eira with the slightest movement to slow things down.

"Come on, I've got you, I promised, did I not? I never break promises!"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin grabs onto Heidi with a controlled fear and hauls herself closer hand over hand, until she's able to straddle Eira's back behind Heidi's saddle. Legs clamp tight and she squeezes Heidi once she's sure she's where she ought to be. At Heidi's signal they level off and moments later they're soaring on an even keel back towards the coastline.

"Well, that was a big fat failure," Caitlin confesses in Heidi's ear. Her massive heart can be felt thundering against Heidi's backbone with the adrenaline of the near-crash. "I was really hoping I'd be better at that than I was. I didn't crash my simulator the first time I tried it," she complains. "That jetstream really messed me up! How do you deal with those shears?" she demands of Heidi. "Or is your horse just awesome and has totally earned a whole bag of red delicious apples?" she croons, and reaches back to vigorously scratch Eira's haunch.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
"What? No!" Heidi seems surprised at the suggestion that the effort was a failure. "You did very well. For someone who has not spent hundreds of years honing this very practice, I would say that was an excellent effort." She peeks back to make sure that Caitlin is, indeed, alright given the fact that a fall like that is pretty terrifying.

"Eira is also just that skilled. I take pride in the skill in which these horses can move with the air and the wind. You learn to understand how they move and prepare for them in advance and learn the different types of gusts... a lot of it is practice, and some of it, honestly, is luck. The wind can be fickle." Another grin. "Eira will certainly enjoy those apples. She's more than happy to eat those up."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"That's really what I was testing," Caitlin calls back over the rush of wind through Eira's wings. "Well, I mean, the learning and stuff. I'm working on a... uh... oh golly, how do I explain this," she mutters. "I'm building a computer, you know? Computer? But it's a smart computer. It thinks like a horse, or it's supposed to. I fed it a lot of flight data from the Iron Man project and some other power suit systems. It should have learned how to fly in simulations, and corrected itself for me here. I guess it didn't work," she says with a weary exhalation. "So back to the drawing board on that project, I guess. I gotta figure out something soon or Mr. Stark's gonna fire me for sure."

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi is trying to follow. She nods along slowly with each bit, then offers a sheepish smile. "I don't quite understand what you mean by any of that, but your flying was impressive so far and I am certain if you put your mind to it you will get to where you want to be with your project. Setting your mind to it is the most important step of the process.

She brings Eira around to head fully to the top of the tower again. "I am sure that your employer will understand that you are trying your best and that you are risking life and limb to achieve those results you desire. If he does not understand your passion, then he is certainly missing out."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin dismounts carefully (minding Eira's pinfeathers) and walks around the horse with one hand trailing so as not to spook the intelligent critter. She moves up to the steed's muzzle and clucks and croons at her, offering generous affection to her ears and chin.

"I'm sorry, I made that sound really complicated," Caitlin apologizes. "Mr. Stark isn't, um... big on 'attagirls'," she explains. "He's about performance and results. I told him I'd have a dro-- a really important machine built in a couple months. I'm way behind schedule. He told me-- well, kinda told me," she amends, "that I need to figure out how to make the machine smarter. But he won't help me do it, so I figured, well..." Her hands spread and flop. "I'd push it to do a bunch of complicated stuff and see if I could force it to get smarter. I guess I'm still not on the right track yet."

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Once Caitlin is on the ground, Heidi dismounts as well, letting her do the petting of the pegasus. Eira would get spoiled with double pets if she did! She nods, slowly, her gaze thoughtful. "It sounds as if he knows that you are capable and believes you to be able to achieve your goal. Perhaps he is lax in his encouragement, but I have found some people have a different approach."

There's a wide grin. "I think you can do it, just keep trying. I have found the more I fail, the more I learn. Knowing what I did wrong so I can try it differently next time allows me to continually move forward." And she's smiling like a ray of sunshine again.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin beams back a smile at Heidi's boundless confidence. "It does help to remind myself of that," Caitlin agrees. "Mistakes are the bricks on the road to success, said someone smarter than me. At least that's how I think it went," she amends. She sighs, then. "I do wish I could do what Mr. Stark does. He doesn't make mistakes. He just jumps from the first to final step. I bet he could figure this stupid drone thing out in no time at all."

She removes her helmet and carefully covers the visor, then sets about the task of untangling hair whipped around by the wind in freefall. "Maybe I can come be a stable girl in Asgard, if I get fired," she tells Heidi with a rueful expression. "You know. Wouldn't be so bad. Pet the horses. Feed them. Muck the stalls out. I don't think I've got enough of a lifespan to train to be a Valkyrie, but I could be a Valkyrie-in-training-in-training. Who knows, I might even live to be a couple hundred years old. I could be a stooped little old lady teaching all the four hundred year old Asgardian kids how to brush a horse down."

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi shakes her head. "Caitlin, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but everyone makes mistakes. Some people make theirs a little more quietly than others, some people have just practiced a lot so you might not even notice the mistakes they make... but they do. Do not think someone perfect because they appear perfect. We are all beautifully flawed. We all make these mistakes."

There's a grin offered in a very tender way. "It is a very endearing idea. I am not so certain it would work, but I like it none-the-less. I fear that you are discouraged in your own work far more than you should be. I am certain you have made progress and you have determination, but do not let something slow you down. If there is something you want, you have to go for it. You have to keep trying. I have never let anything stand in my way. If you are having trouble with your goal... just want it harder."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin gives Heidi a quizzical look, then just laughs gratefully for the advice and steps over to give the blonde Asgardian woman a firm hug. "Thanks, Heidi," she tells her. "Maybe you're right. I just need to do more to put my back into it." Her green eyes suddenly brighten and give gives one of Heidi's hands an impulsive squeeze, gaze darting back and forth in thought.

"Actually, you know-- you've just given me a good idea. I should stop trying to work these halfway solutions and just go for the right tool for the job," she remarks. "Mr. Stark's going to be upset with me if I don't meet the deadline anyway. If my idea pans out it'll solve my programming problem -and- it'd be a lock for more funding. Why mess around with baby steps? I should just go for the brass ring and stop messing around with these partial solutions. I think I can do it, and if it works out, he'll be thrilled. If it doesn't work out, well, I won't be in any more trouble than I am right now. Right?"

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi, thankfully, is fond of hugs and willingly accepts, hugging her back with an equally firm motion. No flimsy hugs here! Even the squeezed hand is gently returned. "I would not have gotten as far as I have if it weren't for pure dedication when things got rough."

She does, however, seem to think deeply on the suggestion. "If your idea does not harm anyone in the process, I don't see why you shouldn't try hard for something you want. If you fail, you know what you did wrong and could perhaps work on your original idea. The safe route is not always the best. Sometimes risks must be taken, but I caution risk-takers to know their odds. There are some risks that are far too costly."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Oh golly, no one would ever get /hurt/," Caitlin says. Her eyes widen with shock at the very notion. "No no. It's nothing like that. It's, um..." She rubs the back of her neck awkwardly. "It's really kind of a question of just getting my hands on some things I'm not really authorized to have. But not to steal them!" she adds, hastily. "I just need to build something particular. And Mister Stark can keep what I build, I mean, it's his tools and building. I just need to make this one project work, and I need to use some stuff that's outside of my department to do it. And I don't think anyone would give me approval... and honestly some of 'em might just steal my idea if I brought it to them."

She frets her lower lip, wincing. "Does that make me a bad person? I know it's not really stealing, but I'm still breaking the rules."

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
"If they are his tools and his materials for a project that you are building for him, I do not believe it to be stealing, that much I can agree on. But sometimes rules are not well-created or established with certain circumstances in mind." Heidi nods slowly, as if all of this were just coming to her with no real thought to it.

"If he does not understand that all you need to achieve greatness is some freedom to shoot for the stars, then perhaps you should make him understand that he needs to change his rules a bit. I am always down for a little rule breaking for a greater cause."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin pinks a little, but lifts her chin resolutely. "I ... I mean, that makes sense," she agrees. She already seems to be thinking better of the proposition now that it's been said aloud-- but then again, Heidi's intrepitude seems to be forging ahead with Caitlin in tow at this point. Backing out would be the height of cowardice.

"Well, al-alright then," she says, with a deep breath to settle her nerves. "I guess that clinches it. I'll go into the labs tomorrow and see what I can do to get access to the warehouse. I already kind of scouted where I can work, I just was..." She tugs a fistful of hair to slide through her fingers, grimacing. "I guess I was just talking myself into it. Thanks for the pep talk."

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi blinks for a moment, then offers another of her bright smiles. "Whatever you do, do what you feel is right. Sometimes it is right to push an idea, and sometimes, no matter how hard you want something, the time is not right. You'll know it when you see it." Maybe she will, maybe she won't.

There's a gentle pat to the shoulder. "If you ever need help of any kind, I have figured out text messaging." There's a pause. "Mostly."