Dusty

Miraculous America

The sudden lack of resistance sent Serpentine tumbling backwards rolling head over feet twice before coming to a stop at the feet of the frozen students. Jumping upright Serpentine staged herself to continue the fight before realizing the incapacitated state of her opposition. Confused Serpentine stood down looking around the expanse of the mall. Fruitta was further away looking exhausted, and Talon seemed to be dealing with the still furious Mr. Johnsen. Apparently breaking his whip had been the solution after all, the man was devoid of his powers and his minions were stilled. A sigh of relief escaped Serpentine and she relaxed, a cheery smile working its way onto her face. Who knew what they would’ve done if their desperate plan failed. All three of them together really struggled taking down just one bad guy. They might’ve been defeated altogether if the fight had continued unchecked.

Serpentine’s roving eyes caught a tiny fluttering movement emerge from the whip’s broken pieces. It flew like a miniature black bird but flitted madly about drifting away towards the mall’s exit like a smoky apparition reminding Serpentine of a flying mouse. Mentally noting the thing’s departure Serpentine limped over to where Talon stood over the defeated Mr. Johnsen only then realizing just how sore the brief clash had left her.

“Fruitta, Talon. I think I saw his kwami escape out of the mall. It looked kind of like a rodent, but it had wings. So some kind of bird, I dunno what it has to do with a military drill sergeant though. I'm drawing a blank on the correlation.” She drew to a stop next to the others, placing her hands on her hips. “We did it, I think…” Serpentine gave the other heroes a thumbs up, not entirely sure what they were supposed to do from thereon out. However the sounds of rapidly approaching police sirens adequately answered her unasked question. “We ought to leave him for the authorities to handle, uh Fruitta, is that your necklace beeping?” Serpentine recalled from her earlier conversation with Ossar that after using her ‘special’ power the kwami contained within the Miraculous would be depleted and after five minutes the suit would give out and the kwami would have to eat in order to recharge. Perhaps the beeping was a warning, meant to inform the wearer of this impending possibility.

Intergalactic Space Adventurers- [ISA]

Mac walked over to the young man with sharp eyes, his expression guarded as he took the man’s hand tightly. Not tight enough to hurt him, but tight enough to imply he would. He gave three shakes before letting go, his deep voice was cold as he purposely ignored the comment on the name, “Nice to meet you. Name’s Mac. As for our captain, she’s tied up in a trade deal down in the city. She should be back in about an hour or so. Are you looking to trade?”

His steel gray eyes looked down at the man,not trusting him for a second. Ursa made it abundantly clear that she had no interests in friends or relationships outside of this ship, so that left two kinds of people who would look for her. People looking to make a deal or people looking to turn her in. Instinct and history made him think more the latter when looking at this cowboy. The fact that he got this close to the ship, and knew about Ursa’s name was just their bad luck. He had to be smart in his approach if he was law enforcement.

“Well not exactly, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here Mac.” Taking up a relaxed pose the sheriff looked around, admiring the outside hull of the Ranger, taking the freighter in with undisguised admiration. “See, I ain’t here so much for trade as I am about another, more lucrative style of business. I wouldn’t be asking to much if we could take this somewhere more private and get to know each other a little better would I? At least until Captain Ursa shows up. if it ain’t too much trouble of course? Cause we wouldn’t want th’ locals getting the wrong message now would we?”


Was it mere chance he’d happened upon not only one of the most high profile smugglers in the galaxy, but also the suspects in a much larger case involving the Theonia system? There was a massive amount of profit to be made even if Ursa wasn’t involved in what was going on there, but if Jean could rope two buffalos with one lasso, well he wasn’t going to complain. Idly Jean reached up and scratched at his vest pocket, feeling the reassuring weight of his audio recorder hidden inside the stitching, using the guise of insignificant itching he flipped a small switch turning the device on.

Mac nodded, his expression unchanging as he turned to look at the ship, before his eyes turned back to the cowboy, “I don’t know what other business you would be referring to other than trading. We are nothing more than a respectable trading vessel and I have the documents to prove such if need be. However, this conversation should continue more privately. Follow me and we can see what we can do for ya.”

He headed into the ship without a second word, knowing the cowboy would have to follow him if he wanted to continue taking. He turned as he entered eyeing Takashi, who was sitting just inside the hatch on a brown crate, a cigarette stuck in between his scaly lips. Mac nodded to him before heading down the hallway towards one of the rooms. He opened the door and walked in first. The room was small and very tidy. It was the captain’s quarters and contained both file cabinets, disc’s, bookshelves and a wooden desk that had two tablets set into the wood. The only thing out of place was Ursa’s western which sat just to the left of the large leather swivel chair on the opposite side of the desk. Mac turned pointing to a seat just opposite, before pressing a button on the wall, “Anna, can you bring some water to the Captain’s quarters. We have a guest on board.”

He waited for an, “Alrighty!” before he hung up and looked evenly at the cowboy, “Is this more to your satisfaction. I can assure you, that this room is highly secure.” He moved over to stand by the door leaning against the wall as he eyed the young man, “Interesting accent you have there, Mr. Wylder. Texjas?”

“Naw, you’re almost right there Mac. Its Tejaxs. You must get around a lot to know that, even if ya pronounced it wrong, Tejaxs is ‘ardly a well known system. Backwater n’ out o’ th’ way. And ya picked it out by my accent. Haw, I couldn’t claim to do that.” Jean reclined into the proffered chair, kicking up his boots so that they rested on the desk. He wasn’t in any rush to get to his business, even if Mac was First Mate chances were he wouldn’t dare say anything incriminating without Ursa’s permission. Maybe he could wheedle something out of the tough looking Mac, but he’d have to relax the man, convince him he was no threat.

“I saw th’ crewman back there smokin’, do ya mind if I?” Jean pulled a small pack of smokes out of his jacket pocket, rolling one between his fingers. “Y’all do seem like a respectable tradin’ crew. One I could trust with transportin’ something very valuable, an’ tha’s with minimal reportin’ to authorities thrown into th’ mix as well. I am talkin’ to th’ proper folks about this, right?”

Mac kept his tone even as he responded to this new fellow, “I get around. Tends to happen in my line of work and I am a lot older than I look.”

When the young man pulled out the cigarette, Mac waved him to carry on before he responded to the last question, “I’d rather you speak to the captain about matters of business, but on this ship we take the law very seriously. I don’t know what ship you think you are on but we focus entirely on trade. Legal trade as much as any vessel in this port.”

Suddenly Anna walked in with the water placing it on the desk before eyeing the cowboy with curious eyes. She gave him a small smile before turning to Mac, “Sorry if I was interrupting.”

Mac gave her a warm smile, “Nope. Not at all. Thanks beautiful.”

She winked at him touching his arm before leaving. Mac turned his attention back to the young man, “I won’t lie to you son. Our Captain already has an extensive clientele of trading partners. We don't take on new ones often. Especially small fry. So you may just be shit out of luck. Water?”

“Well, once Miz Ursa finds ‘er way back to her ship we’ll know for sure.” Jean lit up one of his cigarettes taking in a long draft. He eyed the stolid Mac with approval respecting the man for his tact and loyalty. If this was the kind of personnel Ursa kept close it explained quite clearly how she had managed to avoid the authorities for so long. Good help and unflinching loyalty was a rare sight in the galaxy now days, with criminals selling each other out for data slider with a mere hundred kredits on it, sometimes they’d do it just out of spite. Jean could tell even in his short conversation with the dark skinned first mate that Mac wasn’t the type of man to stab his captain in the back. At least not willingly.

Giving Anna a big smile Jean accepted the humble liquid raising the glass to his lips when a thought stopped him just before he drank. Only a day earlier he’d been foolish enough to wet his throat from the offerings of a young lass, only to end up helpless on the floor drugged and beaten. The signs of that brutal punishment still showed, though Jean had been careful to wear gloves and makeup his eyes to conceal the bruising from the casual observer. The idea that he could’ve been caught in the same trap twice in the space of twenty five hours would be beyond embarrassing. Without lowering the glass from his mouth Jean cast about, his eyes landing on the loaded bookshelf. “Which one o’ y’all is the big reader? Ursa sounds like a smart gal, I wouldn’ be surprised if’n she was a page turner herself. Say, what’s th’ titles of all them books y’got there?” In the process of distracting Mac Jean dropped his hand holding the glass of water out of sight below the desk, emptying it into his boot. The movement was swift and seamless, and Jean placed the now empty glass on the desk as if he’d just drunk it, his face the perfect expression of innocence.

Mac gave the young man a shrug as he watched calmly the young man pick up the glass. At the mention of the book shelf he looked over looking at a few titles, “Ah... Our captain is quite the arduous reader. I would like to offer up a genre but she reads everything. Even Plasmogon’s Bible 12th testament. That tomb took her three days and drove the crew half mad when she wouldn’t stop talking in ye old english. Feel free to look at them if you wish.”

When his eyes turned back he saw that the young man had finished his water. He smirked walking over to the jug to pour himself a glass. He did it slowly making sure the cowboy got a good look as he brought the glass up to his lips and drank. When it was fully downed he smiled, “Nothing better than quality water. A luxury many people don’t fully appreciate.”

He was about to say something else when Takashi came in and whispered something into Mac’s ear. Mac’s expression didn’t change but he did move away from the cowboy to stare Takashi in the face, “Are you sure?”

Takashi looked at the cowboy before nodding, “Of course.”

Mac turned back to Jean and gave a small smile, “Sorry. I have to deal with something. Be back in a few minutes.”

Jean waved Mac off reassuring his host of his intent to wait patiently in the office, going so far as to take a book off the shelf, leafing slowly through the pages. Mac headed towards the door, turning once more to show his steel grey eyes, a sinister smirk highlighting his words, “I hope you are comfortable. I promise this won’t be long.”

He exited the room, shutting the door behind him with a soft click. Once the door was shut, thick metal covers slammed over the one small circular window and the door on Jean’s side. Leaving whatever occupant that was inside completely secure. Takashi leaned against the wall of the hallway, “Idiot shouldn’t have come on this ship. He was trapped the moment he went in that room. By the way it was hell and a hassle getting that beast onto the ship. Damian almost lost a ball pulling him inside. What are we going to do with them. ”


Mac pushed the little lizard man towards the cockpit, “We wait for Ursa to decide. If it were a few years ago I would say plug him and get it over with but she will probably say to desert him on an abandoned space port or something. You know how she is with cops. Now tell me more about her text...who the hell is Bob and why the hell would Ursa want us to search him now?”

Miraculous America

Lol I sure did. Maybe I should have Tonya keep calling her Fruitta just to set that conversation up.

Miraculous America

Rocking Strings and I keep accidently misspelling Furitta's name. I actually find this kind of amusing, as its almost like our characters have been mispronouncing Furitta's name the entire fight. Anyway I figured out how to spell it now and wont be calling her Fruit-ta anymore.

Miraculous America

The battle was starting to get desperate within the mall. Furita was forced to abandon her hold on Mr. Johnsen to escape allowing the bewitched students to turn their capturing attitudes back on Talon and Serpentine. Fending off the encroaching minions Serpentine clenched her teeth feeling the rising fear bubble out into her actions. The off balanced and uncontrolled attacks becoming even more so as she fought to stifle her fear.

“Catch!” Talon’s voice sounded, and Serpentine reacted just in time to catch the handle of the whip, the barbed tip still clutched in Talon’s hand. “Give it a pull, we gotta break it!” He instructed tightening his grip on the thin end of the whip.

“The barb!” Serpentine protested, concern flashing in her eyes. “If I tug on it it’ll catch in your hand and you might be turned!”

“SURRENDER TO ME MY DISCIPLINE APPARATUS GIRL!” A thoroughly furious Mr. Johnsen pushed his way through the crowd of zombiefied students making a clear course for Serpentine and the whip’s handle. At best Serpentine only had seconds to respond. Taking the handle in both hands Serpentine braced herself dodging backwards out of the way just as Mr. Johnsen’s hands reached to snatch her up. The whip stretched to full tension tangled in his legs and he stumbled and fell connecting hard with the mall’s tile floor. Using Mr. Johnsen’s legs to hold the tension while pinning his head to the floor under her boots Serpentine pulled to her max trying to snap the whip. Hoping desperately that Talon’s gloves were thick enough to stop the dangerous barb from penetrating and enlisting the hero into Mr. Johnsen’s army.

Wrath of Darkness

Ah okay, I missed that.

Wrath of Darkness

Are they up in the treehouse, or are they all staged down on the ground?

Animorphs: The Reckoning

“I don’t know if what happened to the natives is a great analogy to compare too.” Mason crossed his arms hugging them tight to his body as the horrible realization sank in. “Actually, it might be too perfect! Whether it seemed like magic to them or not they were soundly defeated in the end. I can’t believe this, we can presumably morph into animals. What good will that do us? Any old human could take us down with a gun, much less an advanced alien army!” He rounded on Adrian a lamented tone in his voice. He knew the other boy fairly well sharing several classes with him and meant no real disrespect. They’d never been close friends, at least not on a first name basis but Mason held Adrian, and Tammy and Stephanie and Emma in fairly high regard. And yet his fraying nerves and short temper set him on edge, eager to use his fists and regain some control over his life. Even if it was something as baseless as physical dominance.

Struggling to keep his temper in check Mason wheeled about ready to march off when Emma’s terrified cries and transformation caught his attention. Blanching the young man took a step back, morbidly fixated by the scene playing out before his very eyes. It was as if some great invisible hands of a mentally deranged god had descended from heaven and began molding Emma’s body into that of a deer. Her flush bubbled and writhed emerging into strange shapes, fur sprouted like weeds across her body, and her bones and joints crackled as they snapped into shape. Emma’s clothing, made for the human form stretched to its limit and then tore, falling forgotten onto the hiking trail. Mason recognized the shapeshifting from the previous night, when the menacing Vissor Three changed form to consume the andalite prince. However here, watching it occur to someone he knew, there was something terribly different and more terrifying about the morphing.

Then she bolted.

Seeing that the others were equally shocked by this occurrence Mason made an off the cuff and irrational choice. Leaving the others talking Mason ran in Emma/deer’s footsteps crashing through the close-nit trees and snatching brambles, brushing aside bushes and plant life that got in his way. For a moment he kept Emma’s upturned white tail in sight, but within seconds even Mason’s swift pace couldn’t compete and she vanished between the trees. Struggling on for another hundred meters more Mason finally gave up, leaning against a tree and huffing and puffing to catch his breath.

“Emma!” He yelled casting about for some sign that could direct him on. Mason was no tracker, and he’d never bothered wandering the woods out behind the school to any extent. Turning this way and that Mason realized in a heartbeat he’d gotten himself lost. “Emma where are you? It’s not safe out here, there’s wolves and hunters and God knows what else. Emma come back!” Two hours, that’s how much time they had before they became permanently entrapped. Sure Emma had only been in the morph for a few minutes, but why did she run away? She could be lost and killed out there on her own, an easy target for any predator. Setting his jaw Mason pressed on attempting every once in a while to call out her name, trying not to think about how much more lost he was becoming by the second.

Animorphs: The Reckoning

“You don’t know that for sure.” Mason said, arguing against Tammy’s reasoning and gesturing towards Lalna in a meaningful way. “Are you guys listening to yourselves? Aliens, invasions, and super powers? That’s crazy talk, that sort of thing doesn’t happen. But you know what does happen, freaks like him exposing kids to dangerous drugs because he’s wandering around free as you please and not locked up in the loony bin where he belongs!” For a moment Mason’s anger grew to the point where he felt like striking Lalna, and removing a few teeth from the egocentric man’s big mouth. Curling his hands into fists he took a step forward but was almost immediately halted by Emma’s sudden movement. Awestruck Mason watched in disbelief as the young girl stepped forward and laid a gentle hand upon the deer’s upturned head. The creature seemed frozen, as if turned to wax, not even blinking as an invisible energy passed between acquired and acquirer.

The spell was broken by the deer’s rapid exit. Mason sat down hard on the dirt path, clutching his head as a fresh migraine permeated his consciousness. Whatever he had just witnessed, it was real. There was power there, a power he’d never really imagined to be truly possible. No amount of rationalization could really allow for comprehension with this new reality and at last Mason accepted that there may be some truth in the unexplainable. Faith would have to accommodate where reason fail to provide.

“I – How – I don’t understand…” Mason moaned still somewhat unwilling to believe that, even though Emma could touch and hypnotize the deer, she could now morph into it. Although it only made sense that if one part of the equation fit, the second part should function properly as well. “Elfangor, he thought-spoke to us didn’t he. He told us to focus hard on the creature we acquired and we would change…” Mason sighed, squeezing at his skull to try and rid himself of the pain. “I’m not sure we should do this, if it is real. How much could five kids and a nut-job scientist really do against what we saw in that construction site? We’d end up getting killed, or worse getting our families killed. And I can’t lose another family, not again.”

Miraculous America

Unbeknownst to Serpentine the duo heroes had managed to lessen the tide of oncoming students with their ravenous assault upon the evil teacher. The small army suffered from a distinct weakness which the three heroes continued to exploit, as the bewitched kids reacted unanimously to their master’s commands, flowing like a powerful tide rather than cooperating entities. Even as Serpentine wavered at the mercy of her foes, they abandoned their attack, instead rushing to the aid of their commander and leaving Serpentine to her own devices.

Still dazed Serpentine staggered to her feet trying to focus on the situation playing out. Talon seemed to have successfully secured the teacher’s weapon, effectively disarming him of his most potent power. That being said the uniformed professor still posed a significant threat with his immense strength and speed, though he paled in comparison to Fruitta on the latter, as she was moving at incredible levels. But how long could she keep it up? Hopefully for an extended period, in the meantime Serpentine imagined it was up to Talon and her to figure out how to fix Mr. Johnson.

But what if he was like this permanently now? What if there was no way to change him back to his old self?

There was no time to think about that. They needed ideas, and fast. Serpentine wished Ossar was here to give some sort of advice, but he was trapped in her necklace until Serpentine deactivated the suit. Serpentine’s eyes widened. Of course, they had to destroy whatever was giving Mr. Johnsen his abilities and his suit and powers would vanish like smoke! Darting forward Serpentine waved her arms trying to get Fruitta’s attention.

“Hey, see if there’s any jewelry or charms or something on him! He must have a miraculous item like us that’s giving him power. We can break it to stop him for good!”