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[@Zoey Boey][@Hitman][/center][hr]
[color=fdc68a]"The aquarium, eh? I've seen some mighty strange marine life. Once, I saw the Kraken tear a ship apart in the north Atlantic ocean. Terrible thing. Those poor sailors. Our ship managed to escape, but I wouldn't be surprised if that creature was still lurking beneath the depths. Twice as big as a whale."[/color]

Travis nodded his head as he listened to the story, picking up cards as they were dealt to him. He had been on a little fishing boat before with his friend Scales, so he could believe that a squid sank a boat. Of course, Travis didn't know that Pandora was probably remembering an event that occurred decades ago, or even a hundred or two years ago, and the ship was most certainly not a small fishing boat.

[color=f26522]"Sound scary. I'll keep that in mind if I'm ever traveling the Atlantic."[/color]

The conversation, along with the game, stopped pretty quickly after that. Almost as soon as the cards had been dealt and the game was starting, an explosion sounded nearby, and the train silently began to stop, causing numerous free objects to clatter about the car.

This included anyone not buckled in, and Travis somehow managed to hit his head against the wall behind him. The wood exterior cracked with the force, but the damage to the car was superficial at best. And it wasn't even that for Travis - the sound of the impact was far more uncomfortable than the actual 'injury', causing Travis to wince slightly. Not even damaging enough to activate his power. Pandora grabbed the cards in Travis's hand quickly, silently returning them to their case before leaning back into her seat, seemingly undisturbed from the sudden halt of the train.

Grumbling slightly, Travis briefly forgot what could have caused the explosion. It wasn't until Pandora spoke up again about their 'guests' that he remembered - oh yeah, he's here to fight pirates and protect the Thorium, not to play card games. The thought quickly brightened his mood, and Travis climbed to his feet just as the train began to fully stop. Quickly after that, two heroes from the rear storage car entered, running to the point the explosion from earlier sounded. 

Normally, Travis would immediately join them - not only would he get to show off in front of other heroes, but it would also be a good chance to save some civilians and look even cooler. Maybe get a medal or something!

...But Travis honestly had no clue how many heroes were actually in the Storage room with the Thorium. He only really remembered the big guy that had blown smoke in his face - for all he knew, the safe was completely undefended! 

Travis didn't really care about saving civilians in the first place - the only reason he'd even want to is because they would thank him for it. But if he helped keep the Thorium safe and beat up some pirates... then everyone would totally think he was super reliable, right?

Maybe [s]Alexandra [/s] Director Steele would even respond to his email about instituting 'Free Ice Cream Fridays' on the Paladin!

[color=fdc68a]"You'd better not keep them waiting. I'm sure you'll do fine. Failing that, I'm sure you'll at least survive."[/color]

[color=f26522]"Surviving is pretty good at least. Nice meeting you guys - I owe you two a game of blackjack later."[/color]

Despite some strange sounds coming from the adjacent car, Travis immediately began running to the back of the train. Worst case scenario, he would end up getting ignored and have to sit out the entire fight... which would really suck, actually...

At least he wouldn't be the only one - Pandora didn't seem eager to get into a brawl, considering she hadn't even moved from her seat. Maybe she just had some really long-range power? Travis didn't really think to ask before leaving.

Thankfully, it was too late for Travis to reconsider doubling back - he was already running at full speed to the back of the train, and after passing a few cars, managed to burst through the door. The lingering scent of strawberry smoke was still thick in the air, but thankfully it was fading quickly now that the source was gone. Travis could probably handle it... Well, he'd actually have to, since he noticed that a hole had already been carved out of the storage car, and pirates were already beginning to storm in.

Perfect! Travis's plan had worked! Now he just needed to beat up a dozen or two pirates, all of whom were armed, and could probably just fly away with their jetpacks and shoot him with their weird rifles...

Okay, it might have been a bit optimistic now that he was thinking about it. Maybe he could bluff though! What would Scales say in a situation like this...

[color=f26522]"Alright, good job guys. I'll give you guys one chance to sur-"[/color]

A sonic blast ripped through the air, colliding with Travis's shoulder and sending him careening into the side of the car. A miss - they were probably trying to pop his head like a grape. Time seemed to slow as Travis slammed into the wall - the collision didn't hurt enough to build a resistance, but that sound shit was pretty crazy. Thankfully his arm wasn't broken. Would probably be bruised later, but he would heal it in an hour or two. 

What mattered more was what began happening to Travis's body. Hairs sprouted from his injured shoulder radially, spiraling from the wound until they covered every inch of his body. Stiff bristles, more akin to small spines than actual hair. They were tightly packed, causing Travis to look more like some macabre pincushion. If someone missed them growing, they might think he had gotten a few thousand splinters somewhere during his landing.

3 seconds have passed. Travis got to his feet, seemingly unbothered by his now injured shoulder. He was right-handed anyways.

[color=f26522]"That hurt, asshole."[/color]

Travis leaped forwards, yanking the wooden sword from his pant loop. The guy that initially shot him had been the one to carve out the hole - and as a result, the closest guy to smash over the head. He shot once more, but the second blast only paused Travis for a fraction of a second. The direct chest shot was even less damaging than the glancing blow from earlier, only causing a slight increase in the number of spines across his body. The shooter was rewarded with a powerful blow to the helmet - the armor might keep him up, but even the best helmet in the world wouldn't protect someone from what was a glorified baseball bat to the skull. 

[color=f26522]"I'm still walking, bitch! Woooooh!"[/color]

Travis was definitely out of his league - the fact he hit one of them so hard was really just blind luck and surprise. Considering the Rocketeers had access to his dossier, then they probably had some tranquilizers or gas to take him out.

Or, y'know, other guns. Gross roach spines sure as hell wouldn't stop a bullet, and a well-placed one could probably take Travis out before he could adapt.