1182/Eco Terrorable!

Eco Terrorable!
Date of Scene:	28 June 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Starfire, Aquaman, Superman

---

Starfire has posed:
    On the surface, it may seem like a pair of fishing boats - not too far off of the shore of the island. They had licenses and everything - they could catch as many fish as they may desire - do what they wish within the confines of their licenses, but something far more sinister lurked beneath them.

    They were no ordinary fishermen.

    They had been out here for days, for weeks - and out the back of their boats, a toxin had been released. This particular toxin was designed to lay dormany for several days, and be carried on the currents to be taken far and wide before becoming active - poisoning reefs and sea creatures alike.

    But these particular boats - these huge fishing ships that were designed for deep sea fishing - were not staffed by fishermen. Indeed, their catch was terrible. They had no fish in their hold - just grim-faced men who moved with a purpose, who loaded secret openings in the side of their boat with this terrible toxin.

    And this current they were dumping into?

    It might be important to know that this current would go right by Atlantis.

    No doubt people on the edges of Arthur's domain have been getting sick, and the wildlife, and the creatures - but it would be all too easy for a man who lives within this oceanic environment to trace the source of this malady to here. To these fishing trawlers.

Aquaman has posed:
It is likely this has been noticed by Atlantis for several days now, though the extensive traffic of shipping along the eastern seaboard has made the task of locating the culprits responsible for the poisoning of the waves difficult, but not an insurmountable task.

An Atlantean scout ship has been dispatched to the waters off of the coast of Nassau county, a stealthy submersible with some degree of stealth equipment on it, and most importantly the suitable sensors that would be needed to sniff out the vessel (Or vessels) Releasing the poison into the water. The first indication that this vessel was present would be when it rose from beneath the waves and illuminated the lead fishing boat with a spotlight, and over the loudspeaker one of the Atlantean soldiers will address the trawler "Stand by and prepare to be boarded."

Meanwhile, Aquaman has been alerted of the situation by his team and is currently on his way to the location, a hypersonic torpedo jetting through the waters at incredible speeds. He is likely only moments away, a minute or two at best, zooming over to assist with the detention of these two boats.

Starfire has posed:
They had been planning for this. Far enough away so that the Coast Guard - if the Atlanteans would even choose to let the Coast Guard deal with this issue - far enough away from the shore so as to make it in international waters, of a sort - or at least muddy the waters a bit, so to speak, that the Americans would have more trouble responding.

Plus, they had their ways of stopping the Americans. But we need not get ahead of ourselves.

But they were expecting this.

The vessels themselves would seem empty, lifeless. Ghost ships, from the outside - swaying with the tide that tosses them from side to side. There were two of them - two large fishing trawlers. One was slightly smaller than the other - one - the 'Patty Annie' - was the larger of the two, the deep sea trawler proper. The smaller - the Carina - was a more mid-sized trawler.

The Carina was taking point, and when the lead fishing boat was illuminated - it would see no one on deck. What would the scout do? Wait for the king, perhaps?

Aquaman has posed:
A hatch opens in the side of the Atlantean ship, and a team of four marines, dressed in their battle armor and air breathing apparatus jump into the water and make their way to board the lead boat of the two.

The scout ship remains hovering in the air, it's spotlight continues to train on the Patty Annie, the powerful flight engines creating violent ripples in the water beneath, looking really not like any vessel commonly seen on the surface of the earth.

A short distance away Arthur Curry emerges from the water, clad in his gold and green royal armor, trident in hand, and blonde hair tossing back a spray of water as he looks upon the two ships, surveying the situation first hand with his enhanced senses and tactical eye.

Starfire has posed:
And there, it would happen. A 'thump' from the larger Carina - and a canister is launched up into the air - not very far, just enough to push it in an arc away from the boat. And that canister, slow-moving and heavy, seeks to land in the water - a bit aways from the boat proper.

When those marines finally step foot on the Patty Annie, that's when things get bad.

Hatches open, and men in dark armor - eyes of a glowing red piercing the night from full-faced helmets - pop up from hatches, and out of doors. What might be curious is that on top of the armor, these men were wearing long fishing coats - similar to the sort one might wear during a storm at sea, complete with the typical yellow hat.

And they knew what they were dealing with, as well. They had weapons - little snubnosed rifles that were loaded with the latest and greatest armor piercing rounds and silencers. It sounded like a whisper of birds, barely audible above the normal ocean noises. Barely sninkting through the night, they open fire on the marines. And one might notice that they were wearing thick rubber soles with their armor.

At the same time as their ambush, electricity courses over the wet deck of the boat.

At least, that was their plan. Perhaps the watchful eyes of their king could see through their deception in time to warn them - either way - they were in trouble.

Aquaman has posed:
Up from the water comes Arthur, "Watch out!" he calls, sending a telepathic warning to the marines as well, and to their credit the Marines react quickly, an energy weapon discharges, catching one of their attackers in the chest, sending him flying, but the electricity does hit before they can fully escape from the ambush, immobilizing the Atlanteans on the deck.

Not far away is Aquaman, having taken to the air and seeing what's going on, a premeditated attack on his people from the deck of the fishing boat. The skies start to darken as he raises his Trident aloft, and the seas begin to swell about him as he invokes Poseidon's blessing.

Appearing rather suddenly, and with the aid of the almost mystical control of the water is a large wave which rises from the sea before sweeping in at the lead fishing boat, crashing across the deck with enough violence to knock the Marines overboard, and possibly the the Fishermen as well.

Starfire has posed:
The waves crash into the ship as before - both of the vessels bobbing dramatically with the wave. Some of the attackers are caught off guard - the one who was caught with the blast in the chest in particular. He was still alive, their strange dark armor seeming to absorb most of the blast.

But the man seemed wounded, dropping his weapon and staggering forward - just in time to be caught by the wave and washed off into the ocean.

Add to that another one of the men, the glowy red eyes of his helm turning towards the wave before the wave crashes into him.

The marines undoubtedly - limp as they may be by the electricity, wash them into the water.

But you remember the canister from before? As soon as it hits the water, it twists - the sides of it popping open as it continues to sink. And from it blasts a supersonic sound, carried by the water. Frankly, the men on board had no idea if such a thing would work. But they expected Aquaman - and they wanted to neutralize his advantage they best they could.

The men who didn't manage to get swept overboard - either by bracing themselves or ducking back beneath the deck - as the wave subsides a bit, they pop back out - firing round after around at Aquaman. But the shots, admittedly, were more than a bit wild. They were frightened.

But the larger ship, Carina - men were quickly walking on the deck, filing out and making a fuss, spotlights coming on to search the waves. They didn't have the armor of the smaller boat. They had on plain-clothes beneath those - perhaps goofy - fisherman's coats of before. And perhaps his senses could pick up a conversation: "It's like we told you before - pirates! You have to help us!"

And a moment after - from below decks - an orange and purple shape bursts out into the stormy sky - her dark red hair tossed by the winter winds. An alien - Tamaranean, if Arthur had any clue as to what those were.

Starfire.

Aquaman has posed:
Unfortunately for the black armored men, Aquaman has the little known ability of flight thanks to the blessings bestowed upon him, though many overlook this given the public image the media has given him? a man who swims fast, and can talk to fish.

The bullets fired his way do little more then bounce off his muscular chest, the ones that actually hit that is, even with their state of the art, armor piercing technology. "Throw down your weapons!" He shouts to the men, "You are only making it worse for yourself!"

The appearance of Starfire however does get his attention, his gaze shifting towards the blazing woman in the purple costume, whatever form this current outfit might take on. "You are in league with these villains?" he asks, his stance going defensive for the moment, and attention largely on the Tamaranean woman.

Starfire has posed:
You see, her entrance was dramatic now - but moments before...

Starfire was sitting in a cabin with a group of men, playing cards - making small talk and laughing about things. If she was more in tune with Earth behaviors and mannerisms, she might have realized they were hamming it up a bit - small problems with their stories - realizing that all the plays to her sympathies such as showing her pictures of all the children they had at home, and these superpowered pirates (who were robbing fishing vessels?) swung by and hurt them - and oh, they would make believe that they were being hurt, but they warned them that they were going to kill them all.

But you see, even for being... not quite in tune with Earth culture, even Starfire was starting to see the problems here. The men on the other boat - wearing armor - perhaps for protection. She knew nothing about the poison, so she was on a ship, now - that had just been attacked, as far as she knew, by no one in particular.

Aquaman called these people villains. From what she could tell, they were happy, friendly, peaceful people with families. The Tamaranean lifts her palm, face out towards Arthur. "I can tell that you are making a mistake! These people are peaceful - they mean you no harm! Stop at once, or I will stop you!" she calls out at Arthur.

She was putting every ounce of regal affect in her voice.

This was probably made worse by the fact that the men on the Pattie Annie had thrown down their weapons, and were currently holding their hands up in the air.

Aquaman has posed:
The sky is growing more stormy, angry gray clouds forming on the horizon, with winds starting to whip up, a sign of the Atlantean King's anger, perhaps? Arthur's attention remains completely upon the orange skinned woman with the nimbus of energy surrounding her, "These men are poisoning the seas, attacking the sovereign lands of Atlantis, and they will be brought to justice." He states to Koriand'r.

The shockwave device is having an impact on the Atlanteans that have fallen overboard, however, stunning and disabling the already injured men, who luckily are at no risk of drowning, but the scout vessel shifts to rescue operations to attempt recovering the four men now that the King is here.

Arthur remains several yards above the water, still, his trident in hand, soaked through with water,his hair sticking to him in clinging little lochs. "Tell me, do you seek to stand in my way, or will you see justice is done, and these men held accountable for their actions?

Starfire has posed:
Starfire was having to make a choice here.

And frankly - it was getting just a little bit spooky out here. They were attacking Atlantis? They were poisoning the seas? It was clear to her that she was out of her element - and a good sovereign knew when to hold back - and when to act.

"I have been with these men! And they are the most pleasant of men, with many families and children at their homes! I have seen no poison in my time with them! And I cannot let you commit the piracy upon their boats!" she says. They did say that he would try to twist her with strange words.

And Kori was the kinda woman that often became frustrated with talk, far too easily. That green nimbus of energy shifts, and she darts forward, diving down towards the floating King of Atlantis. "I seek for justice to be done!" she cries - as she leads her little charge with a flourish of starbolts that would fire towards the floating form of Arthur Curry, the green fire not held back at all by the growing storm.

Superman has posed:
It's alwasy peaceful in low orbit. There are radio stations and television broadcasts and police bandwidth and CB radio and that's an oddly forming storm. Superman looks down as he absorbs the radiation from on high. His eyes narrow as he zooms his sight in on ...

Arthur facing off with an orange skinned woman while Atlantians go overboard from a ship. He's saying the men are poisoning hte seas, and from Arthur's point of view, he's not wrong. The woman seems to be trying to 'protect' the men on the boat from the Sea King's wrath, also not a wrong move, but it's clear that tensions are rising even as the barometric pressure falls.

Superman dives down just as Koriand'r starts her charge - FOR JUSTICE!! - seeking to put himself between the two. One warm and calming hand seeking Arthur's shoulder, the other held out in hopes of 'cathcing' and staying the green nimbused Tamaranean charge.

"Surely we can talk this over?" offers the Man of Steel in his Big Blue Boy Scout tone.

Aquaman has posed:
The searing blasts of Starfire's solar beams hit Aquaman squarely, his arm coming up to partially shield his face, and they are quite potent, potent enough to destroy part of Arthur's Royal armor, leaving the Atlantean King's chest partially exposed, though largely unmarred from the force of her onslaught.

The timely intervention of Superman comes shortly after, likely preventing any further violence between Starfire and Aquaman. "That is what I was trying to do, Superman." Arthur says to the Man of Steel. "These men here have been launching a covert attack on Atlantis, my scouts had only just pinpointed them as the source, but it seems to have been a trap to lure me to them."

Starfire has posed:
So. Starfire was pretty new to the planet. Aquaman - was popular and otherwise to a certain extent. But Superman - well... Superman was something else.

In a heartbeat, Clark was there, and while Starfire's warrior training kicks in - reflexively rolling her shoulder and bringing up a stiff arm to try to push that arm away to free her shoulder. And maybe she meets that arm with enough superpowered force to do just that, combined with the technique.

But she blinks a few times, pointing at her own nose, then pointing at Arthur - a lot of the ferocity draining in moments away from her features. "He is a pirate - and he is... hoping to pirate these poor fishermen?" says Star - her voice sounding entirely uncertain of this whole thing, as she hovers in place above the water.

Superman has posed:
Superman listens to Arthur, hand falling away from his friend when its clear he will attack no further. As Arthur says the ships were a trap luring him, Superman turns his gaze to scan one ship then the other, finding nothing yet on the upper decks. The stiff arm does indeed push Superman's arm aside. Technique plus strength plus Superman looking at the ships. Ships that make him frown as he gets to the lower decks.

"He is no pirate. He is the King of Atlantis, a kingdom of seafolk who live in the oceans of this planet. And the ships are loaded to bare with weapons against his people. Excuse me. Looks like they are going to try to get rid of the evidence," Superman says, hand falling from Koriand'r fully before he rockets himself at the larger ship, the Carina, seekign to zig-zag his way below deck to knock out those crew members just as gently as he can... and anyone else who puts up a fight or tries to cover their wrong doings.

Aquaman has posed:
Arthur turns his attention back to the scene at hand, with Superman off below decks and sorting out whatever he's seen, he turns his attention then to the device that they launched into the water. A whirlpool of water starts to form, latching onto the sonic device before it starts to invert into a cyclone, bringing it up to Arthur where he takes a few steps to disable it, likely by breaking the thing.

"I am Arthur, King of Atlantis as Superman says, or Aquaman as the newspapers call me." Arthur says to Koriand'r, his armor still in tatters from her powerful solar blasts, his hand holding out the device to her, "This is one of the weapons they hoped to use against me. And they wired the deck of that vessel to try to electrocute anyone who came aboard." He adds with a gesture.

"These men wish harm to my people, and are attacking the very seas to accomplish this, I would like to know why. They will be handed over to the proper authorities, I would not even think of the diplomatic nightmare it would create if I tried them in Atlantis, and you have my word that I shall not harm them except in defense of another.

Starfire has posed:
Starfire pauses, running her tongue over her lips as the torrents of storm lash against her hair, sticking it to her face and body. Eyes widening, she glances from Arthur, back towards the boat as Superman disappears within it, the Tamaranean slowly swiveling back around to face Arthur again.

She seemed - not quite docile, but she had wide eyes, and an almost sheepish downward cant to her shoulders. "You are not the pirate?" she says, her voice sounding likewise a bit hollow.

That docile look only lasts a few seconds more - now, her brows furrow in a sudden surge of anger, and Starfire turns back towards the ship. "They have deceived me!" she says, sounding fierce. "They are liars, and terrors, and they are...!"

Starfire lifts her hand, flinging a starbolt at the side of the ship. Unfortunately or not, it pierces the hull near where Superman was inside. It doesn't go near enough to strike him, but the inside of the hall he was in lights up with a flash of green for a moment.

And that might show that one of the men - wearing plainclothes - but his raincoat opens up to reveal a gun. That bit was less threatening to Superman, as he dips his hand into his pocket, and displays a detonator - closing his eyes and gritting his teeth as his thumb lashes quickly towards the button on the same...

But outside, Star was still stormy. "How were they attacking you with this boat! I have been inside, it was empty!"

Superman has posed:
Zipping through the ship, Superman gently taps people as he goes in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious quickly. It's the flash of green that illuminates the most pressing threat yet: detonator. Clark knows these. He knows them far too well. A red and blue blur races toward the man, snatching the device from him with careful fingers before the button can be depressed. A light flick and Superman knocks that man out as well.

"Arthur, please get her to stop blasting the big ship. This one's got a petty big bomb in it," Superman says into his community while he gives the ship a quick survey. This one clear, Superman flits to the smaller vessel, zips below deck, knocks out those men in the armory that the smaller ship held.

Aquaman has posed:
Already moving to do just that is Arthur, his hand reaching out to grab Koriand'r by the arm and pull her towards him, "Careful." Arthur says to the woman, "There is a bomb in there that you nearly hit!" He says, a bit on the severe side, but not overly scolding. "Do not give them the service of destroying the evidence for them." His grip is suprisingly strong one might find out, though he is not exerting his full force by any means, and it is the sort of grasp she could escape from without a ton of effort.

"I do not know exactly the method they are using to disperse the toxin, I trust the evidence is on the ship, but my men." He gestures at the flying submersible, "Has sensor data that corroborates these ships as the source of the toxin. And all of the men may not be liars, some may have been deceived as well."

Starfire has posed:
On the screen... a wind-battered picture - distant, as if shot through a telescope or a drone, perhaps.

"Superman," intones a voice - deep and resonant - the shadows of the room he sits within obscuring his impressive figure. Another voice - higher pitched - sharp - a woman's voice full of ruthless cold adds on. "This doubles the price. You never told us Superman, only..." A sharp hiss from the first voice, as if drawn through a respirator. "This is a setback. This is not an ending - and they achieved what they set out to do - those men are expendable. We know more about the King of Atlantis, and his allies."

"And as for Superman..."

"I know what to do about /him/, as well."


And here, at the scene of the crime...

Starfire flexes her wrist, caught in the grip of Aquaman. Whatever kindness the woman had about her to begin with was gone, replaced by a stern-lipped glance of fury. And at what Aquaman says, she pauses once, glancing back towards the boat proper... and snorts once.

"They have hurt you and your people - I have only sorriness that I was a part of this thing. They are yours, they and the ship," says Starfire, pulling her arm from Aquaman's grasp - sharply, if she has to, the warrior-princess of Tamaran folding her arms in front of herself.

"And if I myself need judgement, I will submit myself to this." A beat. "I am Koriand'r of Tamaran - but I am known here by my friends as Starfire, yes?"

Superman has posed:
Second ship clear, Superman takes a moment to ensure that the ship captains will not be trying to sail away any time soon, before he searches for the thing electrofying the decks. A quick and heated glare sets the control boxes alight and when the electrofication fails, any fire set is blown out. Then, and only then, does Superman return to Koriand'r and Arthur.

The detonar held out to Arthuer.

"Okay. Ships are safe for your men to board now, Arthur. The only ones conscious are going to work with you and the captains wont' be setting sail. If you need the media involved on this, I know a guy," he offers to Arthur with a telling nod of his head. He looks then to Koriand'r, the seriousness of the situation and what he had to do drawing his smile a little tigher than normal.

"Everything okay out here now?"

Aquaman has posed:
"Koriand'r and I have introduced ourselves and shall be great friends in the future." Arthur says to Superman, nodding his head faintly at the man of steel, his grip on Koriand'r was released as soon as she tried to pull herself away.

"My men have already alerted the coast guard, and I have another craft coming in to assist with watching them until the Americans can take custody of these gentlemen. Thank you for the timely assist, Superman, they likely would have destroyed the evidence before Koriand'r and I could have sorted out our differences otherwise."

Arthur gives a nod of his head towards the woman, "Who are your friends, if I might ask, Koriand'r of Tamaran?" looking over the orange skinned one a little.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r pauses a moment, looking over her shoulder towards Superman. "Yes," she says. "I have met your ah... brother. He is... interesting. We shared the most delicious of Earth treats - the pizza!" she enthuses. Or tries too. One could almost sense the bubbliness ramming against the sternness of the moment.

What further chases away the enthusiasm is what Arthur says of the men in the boat. "They are not my friends!" she says. If one knew Koriand'r, one would know the gravity and seriousness of such an accusation. A moment still, and she breathes out.

"They approached me seven days ago, and told me of pirates who would attack their ships and kill some of them to steal their fish," she says. "And the last time, these pirates, who had powers - threatened to kill all of them the next time," says Koriand'r, bringing up her hand to push some of her sodden mane out of her eyes.

"And if I would be willing to fly out and meet them, and wait in the evening, in case they came - to chase them away. They saw me on TV, you see, with Superboy - but wanted to keep this quiet in case the pirates uh..."

Koriand'r furrows her brow. She actually... didn't get why they wanted to keep it quiet from the pirates. She purses her lips. "But they have children, and families, perhaps..." There was softness there now. "They were not lying about those - and they did seem to fear you."

Superman has posed:
With differences resolved and detonator handed over, everyone has been saved from the bullets and the explosions. Superman gives a saulte.

"I'll leave you to it then, Arthur. Again, let me know if you want me to have my media contact at the Planet call you," Superman offers once more before giving Kori a nod. A moment later, Superman flies off to the next thing that needs him.

Aquaman has posed:
"I didn't mean the villains, or to offend you with insinuations you were their friend." Arthur says to Koriand'r as she goes off on the injustice of being associated with them, "I meant your friends who call you Starfire, Superboy and the like, but I suspect that has answered my question for me."

"And one who does ill can still have a family, a wife, children, and have a soft spot in his heart for them." Arthur adds, "Family is the purview of all, whether they are law abiding citizens, or the most villanous of criminals, we must always think before responding with all of our force, of those others our actions might impact."

Starfire has posed:
"Oh," says Starfire, calming down from another one of her easily sparked tantrums.

Clearing her throat, she breathes out another sound. "I am with the Titans, yes? I landed on Earth not too long ago, so... I am still learning the ways here." A few moments more, and her lips purse tighter. "It is difficult, sometimes," she says.

The rest of what Arthur says is listened to - Star owes him the respect of that, at least. "And your friends are Superman, apparently," she says, the twin boats still rocking soundlessly on the waves. "This must have been very... upsetting for you."

Aquaman has posed:
Another Atlantean ship emerges from the waves, this one much larger, and more of the soldiers emerge to go and take control of the ships.

A distinctive member of the Atlanteans, one of Arthur's personal Royal Guard moves over to the water beneath the two, "We have things in hand, King Arthur." He says, Arthur nodding his head slightly towards the man, "Thank you, there is a bomb in the larger ship, here is the detonator." He tosses it down to him. "See it is handed over to the Americans and they are briefed properly.

Arthur turns back to Koriand'r and nods his head, "My friend and confidant, Tempest, is a Titan." He says, "I work with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and them, we founded the Justice league together. There is a lot of hatred and mistrust towards my people, I am used to it being twisted against us. People fear what they don't understand. But, let me take you back to your home if you would like, you don't have to stay out here with us until the Coast Guard arrives, it could be hours."

Starfire has posed:
Starfire bobs her head once in a nod, those glowing green eyes of hers turning down towards that member of the Royal Guard as he appears. Curiousity now abounded in her features, but Arthur turns his attention back to her, and she returns the attention. "If I had spoken to Tempest more before this, I would not have made this error," says Star, chewing on her lower lip.

"But... I did not know that your people were mistrusted, as well. May we speak of this, on the way back to the shore? I can fly back, however, if you do have other things - kingly things to be done."

A beat, and she leans forward, sharing a whisper. "I was a princess on Tamaran, at one point," she says. "So I know how busy it can be to be royalty, yes?"

Aquaman has posed:
"He is kept busy by other duties, I am not suprised you have not met him if you are such a recent addition to the team." Arthur says, gesturing for Koriand'r to follow him, off towards the shore, but down towards the water.

"I was once a normal man myself, I did not know I had this birthright for a very long time." Arthur replies, "But you are right, Princess, it can be a heavy burden to carry." He plunges his Trident into the water, creating a portal that will lead to the waters near the Titan's Tower, should Koriand'r decide to accept that means fo transport. It will, of course, mean getting a bit wet, most likely, such is the curse of Hydroportation!