111/Dogfight

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Dogfight
Date of Scene: 22 April 2017
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: Summary needed.
Cast of Characters: 74, Miss Martian




X-O Manowar (74) has posed:
It's a sunny, cloudless day--the kind most people dream of experiencing.

Up in the sky, there's a small shape soaring overhead. While it's difficult to make out many details, it's clearly a bipedal figure taking flight.

What's more, it's possible to hear the figure's thoughts. There are human concerns--a bit strange, perhaps, in terms of referent points--but there are also very clearly /alien/ sentiments as well.

Miss Martian has posed:
M'gann notes the armored figure taking flight. She gets out of sight of any humans and then she turns herself into a copy of the armored person, externally, except in green with white and red trim. She takes to the air and starts Ghosting him. She needs to learn flying, so copying another flier, copying their reflexes and mental patterns associated with flight, will make gaining her own reflexes easier.

X-O Manowar (74) has posed:
The armored man corkscrews in the air, rising and falling dozens of feet. He slows somewhat in his velocity, the head turning in response to some thought by both human and non-human:

"Stranger."
"Enemy?"
"Like you/unlike you."

Twisting about, the figure continues its flight path, but does so with its eyes back toward the twin that's appeared.

"Who are you?" the armored man calls out.

Miss Martian has posed:
M'gann copies the maneuver, like a shadow or a reflection and replies, "The call me Miss Martian." She detect the fact there appeares to be a human and also an alien mind, and is uncertain if it is hostile.

X-O Manowar (74) has posed:
The armored man continues slowing, dipping a bit as he does so, his mind seeming to grasp that there's an imitation happening. "You...Martian?" he asks.

Internally, he thinks: 'What is a martian?' 'Alien,' comes the non-human reply.

Aloud, the man asks, "Are you a scout for the Vine? How did you come to wear that armor?"

Miss Martian has posed:
M'gann can sense a increase in hostility associated with the knowledge she is Alien to this world. She decides to answer the questions though, "Yes, I am Martian. I may well be the last of my kind. I am not a scout for anyone but myself so far. As to this armor...it does not really exist, I created it from myself so I could better emulate you."

X-O Manowar (74) has posed:
"You...deceive me?" the man asks. "You mock me? I..."

He trails off, his thoughts a swirl of indecision between outright attack and intense aversion to the mimicked appearance.

Finally, the man speaks again. "If your armor is not real, then what about you is?"

His final question remains unspoken, but is all but shouted in his mind: 'Why should I believe you at all?'

Miss Martian has posed:
M'gann says, "On Mars, long ago, we evolved from creatures in some ways like the Earthly Octopus, able to change our color and body texture to mach our environment. Over time, we mastered this ability, allowing us to become a match in form for those creatures that would hunt us, or which we ourselves would hunt. I do not MOCK you...there is an Earth saying, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I flatter you by wishing to learn from you."

X-O Manowar (74) has posed:
The first question that seems to run through the man's mind is, 'What is an octpus?'
The alien presence in the armor replies, 'A curious sea creature.'

Aloud, the man's eyes narrow just slightly. "Learn from me?" he asks. "And what sort of student are you? A novice? A master, seeking competition? What, precisely, would you learn?" His voice is pointed, but there's no overt sense of anger or hatred there--not like the resonance from asking about the Vine.

Miss Martian has posed:
Miss Martian responds, "I am a novice, I only learned I can fly a fortenight ago. However, I am able to emulate other whhom I am near to. As long as I am not prevented, I can be just as skilled as whomever I elect to copy. I will remember having done what I did, and can thus learn to copy it."

X-O Manowar (74) has posed:
The man purses his lips in thought for a moment, his mind revealing an intent to test the truth of M'gann's claim. "Perhaps," he finally says. "We will find out. Keep up, if you can."

With that, he races off in the air toward the east, picking up speed at a considerable pace. His blue-and-gold armor glints brightly in the sunlight.

Miss Martian has posed:
M'gann follows the other flier. She can keep up with him...but pauses and elects to stay below the speed of sound. She can go faster she knows...but the damage from the sonic booms could be considerable. Also, she remembers the detail that her powrs are reduced with the amounf of oxygen available, which limits her flight ceiling.

X-O Manowar (74) has posed:
As he flies, the Manowar looks back to see how closely the other follows him. "Easy enough in a straight line!" the man calls. "But how well can you maneuver?"

In demonstration, he changes direction sharply to dive toward the earth until he is perhaps two hundred feet above the ground, when he arcs back upward, spiraling as he ascends toward a lone cloud some distance away.

Miss Martian has posed:
M'gann has emulated the flight systems of the armor as well as she can, in general she is as close a copy as she can physically manage to Manowar. As she is also emulating his mind and reflexes, she can copy nearly anyhing he tries. She gives him a telepathic message, *I will not be damaging the people or environment if possible. Nothing supersonic unless required...though I can do it." She copies his manuevers.

X-O Manowar (74) has posed:
As he continues flying toward--and then, when he reaches it, through--the cloud, X-O Manowar allows himself a slight smile, his thoughts of a grudging respect.

"Maybe so!" he calls back to Miss Martian. "But which direction will I go next?"

As he disappears inside the cloud, the armored man comes to a halt, attempting to use the cover as a confusion tactic--a goal his thoughts betray.

Miss Martian has posed:
M'gann can see perfectly well through the cloud...but has tricks of her own. She adjusts her colors and refeactivity to various sensor frequencies, becoming virtually undetectable as she hovers right beside him.

X-O Manowar (74) has posed:
Waiting for M'gann to fly past him, the Manowar frowns. "I wonder..." he asks idly after a few moments of waiting. Then, he slowly floats up above the cloud to look for his competitor. "Surely she is not so fast as to have already outpaced me." The nonhuman presence in his mind replies: 'Unknown.'

Miss Martian has posed:
M'gann fades into sight, "I mentioned I can match my background, stealth capabilities are simple for me." She is not quite the master at it an adult Martian would be, but is very good.

X-O Manowar (74) has posed:
As M'gann grows visible, Aric is visibly surprised. "Impressive...!" he gasps, eyes wide. "Now that, I confess, is a skill any scout would desire."

He folds his arms across his chest. "Do you require looking like me in order to perform such feats? After all, I cannot escape others' sight..."

The Manowar thinks of weaponry, though still not in any antagonistic sense.

"What of this?" he asks, extending one arm out to his side. There, a blade of energy that crackles like lightning suddenly appears in his hand. "Armor is useful. Arms are even more so."

Miss Martian has posed:
M'gann creates a blade of the same size and shape out of her own matter, "I can not exactlky do that. My emulsations are somewhat limited by my own capabilities. Matter wht I look like, I am still me. Right now, I kave to look like you to emulate what you do, bcause I am still learning. Once I learn how it is done properly, I sould be able to do it in any form."

X-O Manowar (74) has posed:
With a nod, X-O Manowar allows his blade to dissipate into nothing.

"I see. Well, at least there is some comfort in knowing you are not teasing me with existing skill--you do not seem deceptive enough for that." He floats in a position that suggests relaxation.

"Are you a mighty warrior where you come from? Or are all of your kind so talented?"

Miss Martian has posed:
M'gann has been learning to enulate humans and so she laughs, "Me? Mighty? I am a child, not even old enough in human terms to be away from my parents home. I have not met any of my kind in years, but I know that my abilities are only average for my age and experience...lett than that in many way because I lack proper training." She morphs her own blade back into her body.

X-O Manowar (74) has posed:
"I see," Aric replies. "As someone who has fought since a young age...I encourage you to enjoy what time you can in a life of peace." His voice grows a bit cold. "Time passes by far too quickly for any enjoyment to be long-lasting, so it should be appreciated in the moment as fully as possible."

He shrugs. "I am not much of a philosopher, so I will not bore you with much of that. But you wanted to learn--this is a lesson I can teach."

Miss Martian has posed:
"Joy...I am not really familiar with joy. There is so much I have to learn," M'gann does not cry, but if she were human she would probably be crying now. Self-pity is not really pretty, but she realizes how much she has missed that even this person has experienced.

X-O Manowar (74) has posed:
"Perhaps," Aric replies. "But joy is not something I can teach. I can only suggest appreciating what joy you know you have." He flexes his fingers, his gaze down toward his left hand.

"Perhaps..." he repeats, "perhaps when we meet again, you will know something of joy. And, if not, I can teach you something of dealing with regret."

Miss Martian has posed:
M'gann sighs, "I have the feeling, that is a lesson I will be learning all too much about." She is learning what regret is, her greatest regret being that she was not born a Green Martian back in the days before the telepathic plague...