1630/After The Gold Rush

After The Gold Rush
Date of Scene:	24 July 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	87, Superman, Booster Gold

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Vorpal (87) has posed:
The silver ship appeared across the Metropolis sky three minutes ago. The sighting began with a wave of social media alerts before the more alert media outlets began broadcasting. As far as anyone knew, it had simply winked into existence without much noise or fanfare- no grandiloquent declarations or ultimatums delivered to Earth. Just silence while the silver seed-shaped ship (try saying that three times faster!) glided across the sky.

And then, the collecting began.

Two dozen sleek, functional-looking drones came out of the sides of the ship and flew into the city proper in fast, efficient rounds. Some civilians were instantly captured in energy bubbles, wafted gently upwards with surprising care... for abducters. Other things were also being claimed: some trees, bushes, birds, a schoolbus (full of children). Panic is almost immediate and people rushing through the steets to find a hiding spot makes it very hard for Vorpal to get to one of the nearest drones, which is currently in the process of capturing a grandmoher and her two granddaughters.

"Everybody, be calm! Move in a calm and orderly -augh!" The Cheshire cat is pushed against a bench by a fleeing pedestrian, ends up flipping over and landing on his back in a planter. "Manner." The cat sighs and tries to extricate himself from the begonias. The ship flying over the street is not as big as some of the alien action Earth has seen. It looks to be about as long as a twenty storey building is tall.

"Okay, let's try this agai-"

Vorpal doesn't get a second try, as an energy bubble forms around him. "HEY! What's the big idea!"

The walls of the bubble become semi-opaque and he feels himself getting wafted upwards as the construct bubble is towed by the silver drone.

Superman has posed:
The moment this came across his aleets at The Planet, Clark dashed to the roof just in time for Superman to leap away. The kryptonian flew toward the ship, bkue eyes attempting to peer through the hull and the bubbles so he can get an idea of what he coukd do to save the day.

Booster Gold has posed:
"Never fear, citizen!"

A blur of gold and blue soars towards Vorpal-- it's BOOSTER GOLD, here to save the day! He flies with remarkable ease, fists ahead of him in a classic heroic posture of Awesome Flying, and swoops up next to Vorpal, priming the photon blasters built into his gauntlets.

"Or... weird... cat thing," he says, blinking at Vorpal. "Man, you're like some... trippy kinda space-cat, aren't you?" he asks, tapping a finger on the sphere.

<<Sir! You need to rescue this trippy space-cat!>> Skeets blurts, the small gold drone sweeping up next to him.

"Oh, right! Hero-time!" Booster dodges backwards ten yards, aims his blasters at Vorpal's sphere, and fires a bolt of high-powered photo energy at the shell levitating him skywards.

Vorpal (87) has posed:
She ship is sleek without any visible windows. The only openings that are currently visible, outside of the docks out of which the drones emerged. Looking deeper into the ship itself, Superman will see multiple holding areas in which multiple life-forms are stored. They look like stasis pods. The drones that return to the ship quickly pass through several corridors and swiftly deposit their loads into the stasis pods, which immediately become active.

The ship itself seems completely uninhabited, but there is one area, presumably where the bridge would be, that cannot be clearly seen.

Vorpal gives Booster Gold a look. The kind off look that would kill, when he calls him trippy space-cat. The bubble disintegrates, but not before Vorpal leaps out and tries to latch on to Booster. Because he can't fly. But also because he is feeling particularly vindictive for that remark.

"Thank you, Green Lantern! But we've got to do something about these... robot things."

Even as they speak, drones rise from the city, carrying various energy bubbles with, presumably, more captives.

Superman has posed:
Drones. Superman presses his lips together faintly. wait... green lantern? Kal takes a moment to look around, failing to see the tell tale green comtrail. What he does see is a cat surfing on a very flashy flying guy. Right then. Superman zips to them. "The bridge of the ship is something I cant see into. we have to keep the drones from harming civilians and the ship must be disabled while those trapped inside are released."

Booster Gold has posed:
"...I'm not Green Lant-!" Booster's objections are cut off when Vorpal's claws latch onto his armor, scrabbling for purchase like a cat convinced he's going to fall off of someone's shoulder. "Ack! The claws! Don't scratch the gold, man!" he yelps, his trim and flight pattern going all to hell as he tries to adjust for Vorpal's additional weight and very feline, mercurial center of gravity, which seems to be all over the place.

Then he's stunned into stillness when Superman zips up. Because it's /Superman/.

"Holy mahoney, is that Superman?" he whispers at Vorpal, eyes big as blue dinner plates. "That's Superman. I'm talking to Superman!" he whispers, paralyzed with nerdly shock and awe.

He completely fails to react to Superman's booming commands, though.

Vorpal (87) has posed:
Vorpal finally finds purchase on the golden-pants one. "Of course that's Superman. We've spoken before. Hi, Superman!" the cat grins and waves. Because, while he is also in awe of Superman, it would be totally un-cool to show it in front of the man who called him trippy space cat.

"Roger, so we need to get the drones out of commission first, rescue civilians, then break into the bridge..."

He trails off, and then looks at Booster.

Nothing.

"Green Lantern, focus!" the cat hisses in Booster's ear, "You're looking like a total dorkus majoris in front of the man of steel! We need to get those drones out of circulation and the civvies on the ground!"

For good measure, he digs his heels into Booster's side, as if he were riding a horse- though not hard, just to get his attention.

"If you can destroy the bubbles, I can open a Rabbit Hole to catch the civiians and deposit them on the ground. C'mon!"

If Superman joins them, the roundup shouldn't take too long, since there's only two dozen of the things and they do not move quickly once they tow the bubbles (almost as if they were trying hard not to jostle the captives).

If Superman decides to head for the ship, though, he will find the walls of the ship quite easy to punch through.

Superman has posed:
Superman just regards Booster for a moment before his eyes shift to Vorpal. Because the feline is being hte responsible one here. Superman understands start-struck. But there are people at risk here!

"Hello again. Good plan. I'll clear the drones, so you two can focus on the bubbles and the civilians. Then we'll see what we can do in the ship. There are more pods in there," Superman tells the cat. "And.. that's not Green Lantern, by the way."

Up up and away! SUperman flies away a bit and begins eyelasering drones.

Booster Gold has posed:
"I'm not the Gree- and WOULD YOU STOP SCUFFING MY ARMOR?" Booster says, trying to shake Vorpal off-- but to no avail! Vorpal hangs on tighter, and Booster mutters under his breath and zooms towards the bubbles, priming his lasers.

"Wait, what's a Rabbit Hole?" he asks-- but then he discharges a photo burst at the first bubble and yelps in worry, realizing he just popped the bubble with the occupant fifty feet above ground!

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Then who are you? The Golden Retriever? Don't futz around so much!" The Cheshire cat quickly opens his dimensional portals, setting them so that the captives only fall a few inches. "Keep it up with the bang bang and we'll have this done in no time!"

It is done fairly quickly, since the drones do not seem to have any offensive capabilities at all. Nor the ability to defend themselves.

"Am I being picky, or does this seem... too easy?"

With the hostage situation quickly finished, there iss nothing for it but the silver ship.

Superman has posed:
The last of the drones eye lasered, Superman trusts Vorpal and Golden Retriever to finish the bubbles and then join him at the side of the ship. Not wanting to accidentally eye laser anything on the other side, Superman goes for the seran-wrap technique of just shoving his fingers into the ship's hull and ripping a man-sized hole in the side. Drones just within? Those get eye lasered.

"Once we clear the civilians, I'll take out hte engines and fly this thing back into space..." Maybe. What is this thing even?

Booster Gold has posed:
"I'm BOOSTER. GOLD," the gilded fellow says, jabbing a thumb at his chest. "Okay? The Hero of the Future!" he adds, like he's reciting a slogan.

"I'm gnna have.... cat hair all over my uniform, it's gonna take FOREVER to clean," he mutters, grumbling a litany of complaints at the giant purple cat-man clinging to his back. He soars towards Superman with some wide-eyed apprenhension, hovering a respectful distance away. "Er... Okay, so... like, what do you want ME to do?" Booster asks the Man of Steel, squinting at the machine and studying it with his high-tech goggles. "It's just... sitting there. Emitting... uh.... energy. Waves."

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"... your name makes no sense," Vorpal says in between Rabbit Holes, "And stop complaining. Hotter men than you have felt honored to have my fur all over their armor- that makes no sense. I thought I was going somewhere with that but it turns out it was a dead end, so let's forget it, okay?"

When Superman opens a way in, the cat quickly climbs up onto Booster's shoulders and leaps off and through the hole.

"There's only one way to find out, and that's by going in. C'mon, Boozer!"

Vorpal either is very brave or very, very reckless.

The inside of the ship turns out to be somewhat disappointing- the holding areas are cramped, just enough for the captives. There are only a few humans captured there... the rest are trees and vegetable life gathered from the city and its surroundings.

"They seem to be... I dunno. Frozen. But not with ice," the Cheshire cat says, reaching out to touch the stasis barrier but stopping right before touching it, sensing it might be a terrible idea. "We need to get these people back to the surface... why do you think this ship was nabbing people, though? And is there anyone at *all* in here? Who's flying this thing?"

Superman has posed:
Superman hovers back, eyes peering through the hull to make sure Vorpal stays safe. He even lets Booster in before he flies in, looking around again, getting a before view this time.

"You said you were from the future. Is this merely alien technology or future tech also?" the kryptonian asks of the future hero.

"I'm not sure, Vorpal. They've taken plants and animal as well. Not just foodstuffs either," Superman comments before pointing in the direction of the one part of the ship he can't see into.

"I'm going to hazard a guess, that way. But only because I can't see into it. Usually means something important or something that needs protection from radiation is that way."

Booster Gold has posed:
"Look! It's BOO-STER. BOO-STER GOLD. Say it with me," Booster tells Vorpal, jabbing the cat in the shoulder like a petulent teenager, as he lands inside the hull of the ship. Skeets flies up next to him, hovering, and starts scanning the area.

He squints, looking into the shadows, then kicks over a box full of what looks like hyperspanners. Not that anyone knows what a hyperspanner is, but if you were in the ship and kicked the box over, you'd look at them and go 'Those sure look like a hyperspanner if I've ever seen one'.

"Some weird kind of wrench, huh?" Booster mutters, walking around.

<<Sir, preliminary scans are done. This ship has been on autopilot for many years. Possibly centuries. The design is very outdated; they're using wavepoint sublight engines, which have been out of design for several millennia,>> Skeets announces, in his upbeat robotic chirrup.

Vorpal (87) has posed:
The cat smirks at Booster's reaction. "You're alright, goldpants," he says, teasing Booster. He blinks and looks at the tools the hero of the future has upended. "Huh.... so this is an old ship?" his imagination quickly starts running away with him. "Holy hell... what if we're in the space equivalent of the Flying Dutchman? There's no way anyone could have survived flying this thing for millennia unless..."

He looks towards the area where Superman pointed. "Unless they, too, froze themselves!" He deserves a Scooby Snax for that.

When they make their way to the isolated section, if they were expecting resistance, they don't get it. The end of a long corridor opens up into a circular chamber with a large door at the end. But this door opens effortlessly as soon as anyone approaches it, revealing the bridge.

The walls are incredibly thick here, and shielded, which is why Superman couldn't see well through them. The bridge itself, though, is a gloomy affair: Things that look like they could be chairs for beings with *very* unusually shaped bodies are overturned near consoles. At the very center of the circular chamber there is some sort of floating orb of light- a holographic display that appears to be the operating system of the ship.

There are no signs of life. In fact, the only sign that anything was here is a pile of cloth by what appears to be the captain's chair. When spread out, it will look like a tunic of sorts, by which one may be able to divine the shape of whatever creatures once piloted this ship. The clothes won't last very long after being disturbed, though, disintegrating quickly.

"Okay... this is... creepy."

Superman has posed:
Superman takes the lead. Because if something were to jump out and shoot them, unless it's kryptonite or magic, he feels he's best equipped to tank surprise actions.

Of course, there are no surprise attacks.

There's naught but empty ship. And a shielded bridge.. and Skeet's comment that the ship had been on autopilot for a long time.

"Can you access the ship's computer? Find a mission file or some way to belay the collect order?" Superman asks of Skeets. Not Booster. Sorry, pal!

Booster Gold has posed:
"Hop to it, Skeets!" Booster says-- unnecessarily, because Skeet is already going <<YESSIR, Mister Superman! Happy to help!>> and zipping towards the bridge. He flickers a scanner against the optical interface, and there's some churning, whirring, and burning as an ancient equivlant of the coffeemaker kicks back on.

<<I've engaged surface discussion with the ship's computer. It's... not quite even sapient. No AI here,>> Skeets remarks. <<Dense, old machine code. It seems the ship was assigned here roughly two thousand Earth solar circuits prior, but was damaged during a boarding incident. Memory files are corrupted.>> Beep, whirr, bzzzrt. <<I have restored partial power and disabled the ship's automatic navigational systems.>>

Booster folds his arms and scowls at Skeets. "Yes sir, Mister Superman. No Superman. Three bags full, Superman. Myeh myeh myeh," he mutters under his breath, as Skeets helps ever-so-much.

Vorpal (87) has posed:
The cat smirks and elbows Booster slightly, "Geez, do all guys act like they're twelve in the future?" he says quietly, and then pays attention to Skeet's report.

"So this is a ghost ship. Creepy. Assigned here two thousand years ago... to do what, I wonder? With your little silver football controlling the ship, we can deactive those force fields and take people back down. But... what do we do with this ship?"

The cat looks at Superman, because of course Superman knows what to do with spaceships, right?

Superman has posed:
Skeet's reply makes Superman grin faintly, though the amusement expression fades the moment the reports are in.

"A ghostship is right," the kryptonian agrees with the feline. He turns to Booster, reachign out to put a warm hand on the other man's shoulder.

"Help Vorpal get the rest of the people out along with the plants and animals from Earth," he asks of Booster Gold, blue eyes shifting to Vorpal.

"Anything non-terristral leave here. We'll have Skeets kill the engines and I'll carry this to the Fortress. I'll see if I can figure out who sent this ship, why, and if they need help," Superman says, mind already flagging this for the Actual Green Lantern. Intergalatic Police force, right?

Booster Gold has posed:
Booster really wants to glare at Superman, but... well. C'mon. It's Superman. That's like trying to be mad at your dad, if he were also your favorite childhood labradoodle.

"Okay," Booster says, a little awed by Superman's presence again. "Er... Skeets, kill the propulsion," Booster tells Skeets.

<<Yessir!>>

The ship immeditaely starts plummeting. "NOT THE SUSPENSION SYSTEM!" Booster screeches. The ship slows its descent rapidly, and Booster bangs off the roof, then the floor, his personal kinetci shield flickering but not protecting his noggin from getting bruised.

"Gah. Everything /but/ the suspension field," he tells Skeets, rubbing his head and clambering hastily to his feet.

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"... I think I hate you..." comes Vorpal's voice from somewhere around Booster's right calf, after he plummets from the ceiling and impacts the floor. For a moment, he feels like he's going to yark. Fortunately for Booster's gold armor, he doesn't.

"Come on, golden buttocks, we've got people to save," the Cheshire cat gets to his feet, rubbing his bruised head.

Superman has posed:
Booster and Vorpal tumble about while Superman hovers himself away from walls and floors. He was ready to zip out and catch the ship but is more than a little innerwardly happy that he doesn't have to. Ships like this tend toward heavy.

"Can you tell what language or what race, Skeets?" Superman asks as the feline and the future hero collect themselves. There's no danger for them, so he'll stay here, workign with Skeets and Seven so that the ship can get piloted to the Fortress once people and plants are clear.

Booster Gold has posed:
"Would-- get off my foot, furball!" Booster says, kicking at the cat who's hanging onto his gleaming gold armor for balance. "I'm sure I'm allergic! And you smell!" he says, with the taunting derision of a pre-pubescent wit. He pushes Vorpal's shoulder.

Vorpal pushes back.

A slapfite ensues behind Superman as Skeets resumes his scanning.

<<They call themselves the 'Safekeepers', but their database is very corrupted,>> Skeets tells Superman. <<I can project a star chart of their astrological travels.>> He throws up a heavily data-corrupted star chart array; it's written in an unfamiliar alien tongue and tracks a bizarre, zig-zag course through the galaxy. Big chunks are missing. And the origin point, once overlaid with a modern map, is just a huge, messy field of cosmic debris.

Booster tries to mush his hand against Vorpal's face, trips on a hyperspanner, and falls on his ass instead. Again.

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Gityermittensoff-" Vorpal tries to slaps Booster's hand away and push back against him. Thus, when Booster lands on his ass, the cat also falls and lands on Booster's lap. "... this is a fine mess you've gotten us into!" the cat mutters, trying to stand up. "Are you sure Skeets isn't the hero and you're not the sidekick?"

Superman has posed:
"Gentlemen. Civilians," Superman calls out, voice filling the space between them. His arms folds over his chest and a very unimpressed frown graces his features before he turns back to Skeets and the star chart.

"Hmm... Their home system is gone. Safekeepers. Seven, run a search on Safekeepers," Superman says, resuming his puzzling out of what this all could mean as he waits for Tweedles behind him to finish up.

Booster Gold has posed:
"GERROFAMEE--"

Then Superman's barking at the two of them in his totally-not-yelling way, and Booster shoots to his feet standing next to Vorpal.

He steps on Vorpal's foot when Superman looks away again.

"Skeets, download everything you can in the databanks," Booster tells his droid, walking forward. "Er... mister Superman, er, sir..." He clears his throat. "Uh... you guys at the Justice League, you don't have mineral deposition drives yet-- is there some kinda... storage medium Skeets can download the information into?"

Vorpal (87) has posed:
The cat's tail frizzes and he manages not to give out a yell. He stays very, very still while Booster talks to Superman, and then he says "I'll be helping with the civilians, whenever you feel like joining us."

Vorpal can be terribly vindictive. Horribly so.

The reason this is mentioned is the fact that he casts a very subtle illusion on Booster. Namely, he makes it look as if Booster's armor has suffered a wardrobe malfunction by means of having the seat of his golden pants sliced off. On plain sight, it will look as if Booster's twin moons are sticking out there, for all to see. The upside? The illusion does give the Hero from the Future a tuckus that even Nightwing himself might envy. The other downside? That Booster will, basically, moon Supes when he walks away and towards the ship corridor to help Vorpal with the civilians.

Because cat can be total bastards.