Players: David and Kisha
Summary: While repairing the Blackbird, Kisha experiences a new aspect to her power and a mystery mutate sets off the animals.
Date: January 20, 2011
Log Title: Going Ape-S**t
Rating: R
Africa - Clearing in the Rain Forest
The terrain isn't level, and so neither is the Blackbird. It sits in all of its majesty like strange monument to another culture in the green high grass of the clearing. The door is down, allowing passage to and from the monolithic plane. The breeze sweeps across the grass, warm and inviting even during the winter months. Great birds of prey hunt the field mice, large cats visit to investigate the disturbance on their territory. It's best not to wander too far, this beautiful country is also very dangerous.
Night has fallen and the sun has risen, David has been up all night working on the Blackbird. He is in the cockpit testing the control panels. For once David is relying on his own skill, which is alot considering he had taken the Xavier's class on the Blackbird. The only one from his group. Hank McCoy was a great teacher and so David is up on front. This would be easier if he had his cybershades, but for the safety of the students, he gave them to Hilde to guide the students through the African bush. He has removed his trenchcoat, so is dressed in his gold and white sleeveless bodysuit. He is also sweating profusely. No AC and the African heat can make any man sweat. The com systems are working and he hales Kisha, "How're things on your end?"
Having spent about five minutes in the village before declaring that she'll take her chances with the gorillas and see what good she can do at the Blackbird. "I'm feeling a little… odd…" she replies from a tiny little compartment in the fuselage, where she's been working on trying to fix one of the few systems David might not be able to handle by himself. "But I'm getting a pretty good idea of what needs doing down here. Maybe five or ten minutes before I'm attuned at magnitude two."
"Good to hear. Everything in the cockpit is fine. I think once the problem at that end is done, then we should be good to." David finishes up in the cockpit and makes his way through the cabin and ruffles through an open box and pulls out a nutra bar. He grabs one and heads back towards Kisha, "Here. You should eat." As he walks through he is keeping a mental inventory of all the supplies and food and is thankful everything is stil; there and nothing is damaged from the emergency crash landing.
« Conversation in Shi'ar! » Kisha replies, poking her head out from a little compartment which is small enough that even she finds it a little cramped. She frowns at David and babbles something else. It's about this time he might well notice that not only does he not have Russian in her skill list but his other source of English has quite simply vanished too….
David blinks a moment as Kisha begins to speak in Shi'ar. David recognizes the language, but for himself, he cannot speak it. He also notes the change in skillset from Kisha. He ponders a moment, "Kisha? I can't understand you. I think you are speaking Shi'ar?" He looks about and tries to attune his skillset to see if anyone else is about, but aside from the animals outside, he can sense no one else and is suddenly perplexed as he stares at the young Russian girl. "Can you understand me?"
Kisha looks at David, then glances at the nutra bar. « More Shi'ar! » she replies, scowling at the writing on the bar. Which seems to be written in gibberish. She tilts her head mutters something and then sighs, reaching for the bar. With her other hand she grabs for her cellphone and almost drops it when she spots the writing on that has also gone all funny looking.
"This is weird. Why Shi'ar?" David looks about to see if there are any large pumpkins or alien Shi'ar nearby. He runs to the cockpit to have the systems of the jet check for anything within range that can explain the sudden change in Kisha. Finding nothing, David returns to Kisha, "Calm down, Kisha. Not sure what is happening? Or why you are suddenly speaking or writing Shi'ar? I don't sense anything alien. The only Shi'ar stuff near us is the technology on the Blackbird." He mentally curses at yet another strange occurrence happening to Kisha under his watch.
Kisha chomps on the nutra bar. She seems remarkably calm all things considered. Or maybe it's just that something about shi'ar cursing looks very nonchalant? Who knows! Once the food is gone she sighs, then resumes attempts at getting her message across. She grabs her cellphone and from memory manages to bring up a folder of stock images. Which she shows to David in the following order. A picture of herself, a roll of duct tape, a catscan of her own brain and one of the blackbird.
Seeing that she is calm, David calms himself down too and will mention this to Jericho and Hilde. He surmises this may be a new aspect to her power. Her ability with machines and technology and being around the Shi'ar technology. He shrugs to himself as he looks at the cellphone and looks through the images. An image of herself, duct tape, CAT scan of her brain, and the blackbird. He scratches his chin a moment and he attempts to figure out what this means, "Your brain is stuck to the Blackbird?" He hmmmns, "You are in tune with the Blackbird. Is the Shi'ar technology making this happen to you?"
Kisha chews at her lip, then wriggles out of her little niche. Once she's free she walks further and futher away and sits herself down on the ramp. There she begins repeating the same bit of Shi'ar over and over until eventually it snaps back into English. "Can you understand me yet? Can you understand me yet? Can you understand me yet?"
Watching Kisha make utterances in Shi'ar and as she moves further and further away, how it becomes English. David blinks, "I can." He moves towards her and pats her shoulder, "Wow. That was weird. It may have been some kind of odd aspect of your power in contact with the Shi'ar technology. Has that happened before? But more importantly, are you ok?" He ponders different theories, if it is from contact with Shi'ar technology why has this not happened in the Danger Room or anywhere in the Institute that is full of Shi'ar technology and he ponders if something similar may have happened to Theo, even though different powers, they have somewhat similar abilities.
"Once I understood how to repair the component nothing you said made any sense," Kisha states, blinking a few times and rubbing at her forehead. "You're saying that wasn't made by a Human? Weird, I wonder if the only way for my power to understand how something works is to think like the people who created it?"
"That is an interesting theory. I presume this would have been the first time you have come into direct contact with alien technology. So it makes sense. Even though the Danger Room is full of Shi'ar technology, you have never directly interfaced with it." David ponders and makes a mental note to inform Xorn, her Alpha Squadron advisor, of this possible new aspect of Kisha's powers. "Were you able to understand me though?"
"Not a word. I couldn't even read my cellphone," Kisha admits with a scowl. "And I get the feeling it'll happen again if I try work on any similar bits of the Blackbird. Although I am certain that with my tools and a little time I could fix any bits that need working on, but the repairs won't be pretty and /might/ make the plane illegal to fly. No more than the stealth coating and dubious military grade bits though."
"Um, don't worry about the repairs then. I should be able to get the plane flying or at the very least, once I get my cybershades back from Ms. VonReginleif. I can translate or at least understand what you are saying. Though it won't be a quick translation." David looks about, "We've done enough work for now and since you were able to get back from the village. I think we have enough to at least transport these supplies." He lets out a yawn, showing he is very tired. "So how was the village?" Suddenly a loud pounding can be heard from the outside as if there is something pounding or raining down on the Blackbird.
"I don't mind working on it now," Kisha says cheerfully. "It was quite enjoyable working on something that exciting." She waves her hand dismissively. "The village was a slum. I don't think it could be made much worse without someone burning it down and salting the ground it was built on. I'm so very glad I picked up one of those hand cranked cellphone chargers. Because if I had to endure being here without my phone I would kill someone."
David blinks a moment as he realizes she probably really would kill someone with access to technology and he remembers how she was in Tegu-Haaz before being eaten by the pumpkin. He is about comment when he hears the pounding and raining down of something about the Blackbird. He gestures for Kisha to keep quiet as he closes his eyes and looks about and suddenly takes a more primate like posture and stance, "Something has some monkeys and a gorilla upset." He points to the hatch, "There is a gorilla pounding on the hatch and there are monkey pelting rocks…And something else." He opens his eyes as he gets the skillsets from the primates, but is uncertain of the other living thing. He moves to the hatch, "Kisha, stay inside, but head up to the cockpit for a better view. I'm going to see what is causing this." He is about to open the hatch as he peers out the window to see a ferocious gorilla pounding on the door. "Kisha, do not fire on any of the animals." He looks to her to make sure she understood him, but you never know with Kisha and toys. He opens the hatch and in a primate-like display of agility he bounces out and away from the gorilla, which is now charging towards him. When Kisha reaches the cockpit, she will see numerous monkeys like almost 50 or so just pelting rocks on the Blakcbird and off on the distance, there is someone, who can be seen though hidden by some of the plantlife.
"Well…. That's not something you see every day," Kisha remarks idly as David makes like a monkey. "And now really. Does he really think I'm stupid enough to try fire aircraft weapons against monkeys? The cost benefit analysis for that makes me cringe." Of course this doesn't stop her digging around in the metallic backpack container unit her tools are kept inside and pulling out a rivet gun, which clips neatly to a laser measuring device. "Not when I can improvise a mild personal size weapon from my toolkit anyway."
Dodging a blow from the gorilla, David is careful not to get hit or to hit the gorilla. He is not strong enough to hurt it, but he himself doesn't want to get hurt either. For now, he is gracefully avoiding getting him as he weaves about close to and far from the gorilla, which swings wildly at the mutant. Monkeys continue to throw rocks but now at David. "Kisha there is someone making these primates go crazy." The mutate remains hidden as he is using his powers to make the animals lash out and attack the new arrivals to Nigeria.
"And you want me to do what about that?" Kisha wonders, peering out through the windows. "Can't you locate his skillset and go beat him up? Or would you like me to make the animals harder to control by somehow triggering natural flight responses?" By which she means make the plane be all noisy. "I could fire off a few bits of chaff? Or some flares."
"I can't get a good reading on them. They are partially blocked.from me." He falls back as the gorilla is about to pound down on him, but David counters with a quick kick to its face. "Yes, do that. Stop the monkeys from throwing stuff at me?" A few rocks hit him as he scramble to put distance between himself and the gorilla and he moves in the direction of the mystery mutate.
Kisha ponders for a few moments. "I don't actually know which buttons do what just yet. You might need to direct me to the appropriate commands," she suggests innocently. "Or you could wait an hour or so. Then my power will kick in enough to help me out."
"That's it! When we get back I am teaching a class on the Blackbird!" David is still being pelted with rocks though is successful in dodging the gorilla's attack. "Press the green button!" He shouts as he is a few yards from the mystery mutate making the gorillas and monkeys go ape-shit.
Kisha yawns. "There is /already/ a class like that," she points out, tapping the button in question and sending a shower of burning hot chaff flying out around the plane. "I just wasnt included on the class list. To be honest I thought I would be able to build my own plane, but now my ability has changed I may need to rethink that plan in the short term."
David is far enough away to avoid the chaff flying out, but it is enough to get the monkeys and the gorillas to flee away screaming. Reaching the point where he suspects the mutate is, David arrives just in time to see what appears to be a black bald teen with a blank stare looking at him and then teleporting away. David lets out an annoyed howl and kicks at some dirt. "Whoever it was disappeared!" He sulks and starts to make his way back to the Blackbird.
"At least /someone/ can get away from this dump quickly," Kisha offers indifferently. "No doubt this means some kind of hostile natives will attack in the near future. Another typical Xavier school trip. It's a wonder that we even /have/ alumni."
Laughing, "Yes. I guess I am lucky to have survived." David enters the blackbird and closes the hatch, "and now back to fixing this bird." He makes his way towards the back of the cabin to check on things there.
"I was hoping you'd say that," Kisha says cheerfully. "And not something unpleasant about heading down to the village and risking an early death from poorly treated water." Compassion is her middle name… Honest… "I call dibs on fixing the weapon system!"