1622/A Volcanic Uproar

A Volcanic Uproar
Date of Scene:	24 July 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Terra, Power Girl

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Atlee (1034) has posed:
    No one saw it coming...least of all the inhabitants of the small island of Kao, in the Tonga Islands, far out in the Pacific. Normally, a volcano would give warning days, if not weeks in advance when it started to go active, giving people on the island plenty of time to evacuate to an neighboring island.

    Today, it started rumbling this morning, rapidly building in strength, the initial tremors setting off a landslide that came down on the thankfully mostly unoccupied fishing boats at the docks, but sinking them all in the process, with those crew who were aboard managing to swim back to shore, but trapped. At the same time, they discovered some sort of wierd field was disrupting communications...radio, even the few people who owned satellite phones, nothing worked.

    Which means one of the few people who could hear their cries for help boiled down to two people. Those who had a natural connection to the earth and could feel when things went wrong, and those who had the kind of enhanced senses to actually hear what was going on as they happened to be flying past nearby.

Power Girl has posed:
    The sounds of the volcanic eruption are unmistakeable, and the interference field has a unique electromagnetic signature Power Girl can see like a wall of tangled threads clashing on a background of neon rainbow colors in the microwave end of the spectrum. Interesting, but not the point. The point for now is the island's inhabitants. She spots a fairly hefty shrimping boat a few miles out from the shore and soars down from the stratosphere to land on the deck with only a mild thud of boots striking metal, explaining tersely, "I need to commandeer this boat. Shut off your engines to save them wear and tear." Without waiting for an answer, she leaps backward over the bow fifty feet away, arcing in midair as her flight kicks in and she seizes the boat in both hands to lift it out of the water, turn it around to face Tonga, and push it toward the islands.
    It's a problem of speed. The Flashes have anti-friction auras that prevent them from creating sonic booms, but Kryptonians have to deal with the effects of their speed. If she moved fast enough to scoop up each sailor from the ocean and fly them to shore, she'd almost definitely suffocate them, and there's a fair chance she'd rip their skin off in the wind tunnel. Better to bring something like the shore--or something like it--to the sailors. It adds thirty seconds to the response time, but once she's there, she can start scooping sailors up with alacrity and depositing them on the deck of the Bubba Gump or whatever the ship's name is.
    That electromagnetic field is really dazzling. Nauseating, even. Power Girl forces her vision to slide down the scale to just visible light, but... urg.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    The crew doesn't object, just blinking at you, then letting out startled cries as the boat is picked up and starts flying rapidly, hanging on tight to whatever they can grab hold of. "Wait, where are we...holy crap!" can be heard from back on the ship as the crew spots the rapidly developing volcano.

    Lava has started gurgling out from the top of the caldera, running down the sides of the mountain at the center in slow, glowing orange rivers, fires having already started in the jungle where the molten rock pushes its way through. This has cut off quite a few people at the docks, who are overjoyed to see you as you start loading them aboard the boat.

    More interesting, your sharp eyesight will detect two things.

    One is very obvious...there's currently a very long spire of rock that's extending out like a bridge from one side of the islance. It's not huge...maybe three people could walk abreast on it, but it's pretty long, and extends to Kao's neighboring island, away from the volcano. There's currently a wash of lava flowing towards it, and you can see people running along the top towards safety.

    The other is a bit weirder, as you clearly see what looks like little tan figures about four feet high wearing carved stone masks that are capering around the top of the volcano, some riding stone down the lava like they wer surfing. They're sort of converging on the bottom of the bridge, though a few have noticed you and are making their way towards the docks. As they run along on normal ground, they leave burning footprints behind.

Power Girl has posed:
    The people on the bridge will have to fend for themselves for another minute. They have a better chance running away from the lava monsters across the bridge than the sailors do trying to stay afloat in saltwater while wearing clothes. Grimly, Power Girl keeps working to save the sailors for the bay while doing the only other thing she can think of: using her superbreath to freeze a big chunk of water that she cuts into logs with her heat vision, which she sends to some of the sailors to hang onto while she keeps rescuing people. It's cold, but it will keep them afloat, and the cold won't last long in this tropical heat anyway.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    There isn't a huge amount of people left at the docks, fortunately, mostly just the crews for the boats and their families. Very soon between the logs and the ice, you've managed to collect up all the people in the water and still on shore, even as you can see the houses beyond starting to catch fire as the little figures run around distractedly inside the town itself. The boat is a bit strained to capacity, but the crew, when they realized what you needed them for, have dumped their haul as best they can to lighten the weight, reaching out to help people aboard as you drop them off.
    

Power Girl has posed:
    Right. Now it's time to work on the monsters. The heat they throw off is immense, but Power Girl can withstand being caught by a solar flare, so it's not too bad. From the bay, as she drops off the last sailor, she gives their bodies a telescopic X-ray scan, looking for signs of internal organs or machinery inside them: proof they're not organic will decide how she proceeds here.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    Your gaze sweeps over them, as the first poke their heads out from among the town. Their masks are lovingly carved, not the least bit crude, but the sign of a real artisan in their shape and the fine work of the carving. All fantastical, monstrous even, though some look like they might be stylized animals of some sort. They have spears, that look like they're tipped with obsidian, with stone shafts. But they ARE alive...they appear to be living creatures, and intelligent from the way they move, though you've never quite seen someone with an internal organ setup like that. Alien maybe? DEFINITELY not human or related.

    One waves his spear at you. "Off our island! Ours!" he squeaks in a voice that sounds like he inhaled a liter of helium.

Power Girl has posed:
    So much for punching them to gravel. Power Girl tries not to look disappointed as she lands in front of the invaders, arms folded across her chest. "You can't hurt me, and I'm not going to hurt you, so let's talk. These people have been here for generations. Why are you trying to kill them?"

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    They start speaking all at once.
    "They mess up island!"
    "All smell funny!"
    "Stupid humans and dropping things in volcano!"
    "Going in mountain uninvited!"
    "Earth girl is not good to listen, just wants us to stay inside, is OUR lawn! Get off!"

    Meanwhile, the lava has reached the bridge, and you can hear the distant chattering of more of the creatures there. You can also make out a strained female voice. "Nonono...you shouldn't do this, I can talk..ungh...to them...they don't mean it!" Followed by a sharp pained gasp. "Please, just....let them..go over th-then..."

Power Girl has posed:
    It's authoritarian bordering on fascist, but Power Girl doesn't care. She just advises the little lava men, "Lay down flat on the ground," then lifts up in the air and sucks in a deep breath to blow. The force of her arctic exhalation is tornadic, not just freezing the lava solid but blowing it backward, so the flow pushes against itself and builds up, forming a trough to catch more of the lava that trickles down the mountainside. With that done, she warns the lava men, "I hear someone being hurt. You better not attack anyone while I'm gone," before soaring in the direction of the injured voice.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    The lava men look at the gust of wind as it hits the lava, stumbling back at the wind, then they all look up at you with PERFECT attention. "...yes." "Okay..." "Right here." They hit the ground in general, figuring it's better than being frozen or something.

    You soar upwards easily enough, flying over the now smoldering forest, the flames snuffed out by the arctic winds as you approach the dully glowing lava near the base. You can see several of the other creatures scampering back up the lava flow for the safety of the lava.

    At the base of the land bridge you can make out a figure in a white and black outfit. From the look of it, she was trying to defend the bridge to cover the last of the people who are about halfway across at this point. From her position, she likely had something to do with the stone bridge, and that she apparently kept holding it even when the lava flow arrived...as she's dripping with molten rock. In fact, she wobbles, then collapses forward into the lava completely as you approach. Fainted, from the look of it. She's burned, but not nearly as bad as you'd expect for someone touching molten rock. Still, there are unpleasant looking red welts along her pale skin, and droplets of lava still glowing fitfully where it's splashed over her uniform and body when the wave hit.

    The bridge holds, for the moment. Some of the lava men are apparently in pursuit of the islanders, still jabbering and waving their spears towards them, though they're a ways behind the main group. Short little legs.

Power Girl has posed:
    Power Girl scowls and flies over to the collapsed girl, scooping lava off her with her bare hands and suppressing the urge to fling it at the rock monsters (she can't prove they'd survive it), instead flicking it toward the mountain itself. She inhales deeply and blows again, freezing any more of the approaching flow, before firing a microscopic glance down at the girl in her arms. She... looks like she'll survive. Okay. Power Girl gently lowers the terrakinetic to the ground and dashes along the bridge to collect the rock monsters; monsters she can move quickly with because they have no skin to peel off their bodies, dragging them back two at a time toward the lava flow's edge until the islanders are safe. Once the monsters are collected, she levels a blue-gauntleted finger at them, warning, "I've had enough of this! You're all going back where you came from and you're going to stay there until I settle all this, hear me?!"

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    The group is pretty easily caught, though one tries to run away and falls off the bridge. Meaning you have to catch, of course, because a rock mask does not make for good swimming. They're extremely hot to the touch...you can see how they might find the volcano comfortable, honestly. Though they do not seem to like heights, the way they cling to you before you drop them safely back on the ground. They sort of mill around a little, with one starting to say. "But is our island and..."
    

Power Girl has posed:
    "LEARN TO SHARE," Power Girl roars in her best regal voice, with a stamp of her foot that causes a spray of gravel to explode upward like she stepped on a landmine. "It's their island too and they deserve to live here! I don't have time to deal with your crap right now, there's a hurt girl here," she scoops up the girl in black and white, "and I have to get her to a doctor! When I get back, I better not have found you hurt her!" She glares at them, giving them a chance to answer.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    The speaker squeaks and hides behind the group as they all back up as the gravel explodes upwards. If their mask eyes could widen, they totally would as they all nod furiously at the order. "Yes!" "Right!" "Not again!" "What are we agreeing to?" one asks confusedly, then gets smacked in the back of his head from another. "Ow!"

    The girl is limp against you as you pick her up. At least her tailor is top notch...her costume is completely undamaged, the stone flaking off as it cools down. She's got a burn on her right cheek and cross her neck and the tops of her breasts at the open top of her outfit, and along her legs. She stirs slightly as you pick her up. "...gonna talk...to 'me..." she mumbles.

Power Girl has posed:
    The girl she's holding would have to weigh at least a hundred more tons before Power Girl would need both arms to cradle her, so she holds the girl in a fetal position in her left while her right peels the red half-cape off her uniform and wraps it gently around the girl like a shroud. It'll serve as a windshield and keep the girl's breath from getting lost in the slipstream as Power Girl lifts into the air and flies a little bit below sonic speeds toward the nearest hospital.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    The nearest major hospital is in Hawaii, on the big island, which you get to in minutes. However, the problem rapidly becomes that when they try to run an IV, they have a hard time piercing her skin. Luckily in a metahuman world, they can get something brought in. At that point, the girl has lapsed into what they think might be a coma of some sort, or a least she goes completely unresponsive. The doctors, who aren't quite sure what's happening, but they peel her out of her uniform, setting it to the side and make sure her burns are treated then use a special laser drill to cut her skin enough they can get a blood sample to test, making it a rush job as they leave her resting under a sheet on the examining table with you, as the...well, responsible adult here, as they have no idea who they should contact, so you're the best bet.

    After about fifteen minutes, the doctor comes back, looking uncertain. "Ah, miss...Power Girl? Could I speak to you for a moment?"

Power Girl has posed:
    Power Girl nods. "Just Power Girl is fine. What's on your mind, doctor? How is she?" Power Girl was a little overbearing during treatment--she kept offering to use her X-ray vision and just tell the doctors what there was to see--but she was eventually talked into stepping out of the way and letting the professionals work.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
The doctor will frowns, then says. "We ran these blood tests through the JLA database, to see if there was anything we could find on the young lady, but...ah.." He looks a bit helpless. "We did find a match, but it...also doesn't match." She pauses a little "...and that would be because the young lady with this DNA tag is listed as dead. Though she looks...very different than this girl does." She shows you a picture of a blonde, slightly Russian or Eastern European looking girl in a brown and gold costume.

    About that point, there's a suddenly crash from in the room. "What...where...." a female voice says from inside. "How did..." Yup, that would be her waking up.