[Action then Video] Newscast for SY 614/10/20

[thatannoyingnewsguy]

[Early in the morning a loud rumble shakes the west edge of the central part of the city. The explosion rips through a large section of housing and apartments. Sirens will be heard by those in the vicinity a short time later, as the local law enforcement heads out to play the part of fire department and emergency medical team.]

[An hour later all comm drones will pop open their screens to show a familiar reporter. He looks grim. Behind him, the air is thick with smoke and the ordered chaos of people trying to put out fires.]

Just this morning a terrible tragedy has torn through our peaceful city. An explosion of unknown cause has destroyed several housing units; as of yet the total number of injured is unknown. Our last count was fourteen in critical condition, and another nine with minor injuries.

[Thillens shifts and motions behind him.] Our brave police force has stepped up to the plate to put out the fires and move the injured to the hospital.

But this is where the tragedy gets worse. Our Guardian Medic, Paian, seems to have gone missing!

Please, if anyone can get in contact with Guardian Paian, let him know we need him at the hospital.

This has been Eric Thillens with a special HVNTV Emergency Report.

Comments

[Action] Any one for fighting fire with fire? X3

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea had been far enough from the explosion to avoid any harm. But he'd definitely been close enough to see it. And hear it. His apartment was a block down and on the opposite side of the road so he was mostly safe, and would have been, even if he wasn't fireproof.

The same could not be said of others and it would take time for fire crews to arrive, even with the system of portals that dotted the city. with a quiet curse, Lea rushed downstairs and outside, heading for the site of the explosion. The fires there were natural ones, wild and fierce. He couldn't control them with the precision he could his own flames, and he knew it.

But still he mentally latched onto them. Tried to bring them to heel. He was the Flurry of Dancing Flames and they. Would. Obey him. It was really all he could do to contain them, though, and keep them from spreading; they were too many, and too fierce.

So focused was he on the various fires that he didn't really notice that he'd been surrounded by a flurry of activity in the form of rescue crews until containing the fires suddenly became easier, and he was able to divide his attention a bit more. Enough to talk, at least, if someone addressed him.]

[Action] Wing will stick to fighting fire with water, thanks.

[knight_light]

[He wasn't part of the crew, but he arrived shortly after. This was his new home, people were hurt and in need of help, and he would be there for them.]

[He arrived after the crews and was glad to take command of one of the large hoses. It was small in his hands, really, but he could control it better than any human could.]

[And then he spotted a familiar face.] Lea? [What in the world was he doing?]

Oh sure, do it the *easy* way. X3

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea glanced up at Wing briefly when addressed before turning his attention back to the fires. When he responds, he sounds distracted, and his voice slightly strained with effort.]

Hey, Wing. Thanks for the assist.

Of course! XD

[knight_light]

[Wing smiles.] You've got some impressive abilities there.

Play with fire often?

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Wing gets a smirk/smile in return.]

Matter of fact I do. And thankfully mine listens. It was all I could d to keep this under control before help showed up.

[And speaking of which, he has to refocus briefly as part of the blaze starts breaking free of his grip. His next words are obviously not directed at Wing.]

No you don't...!

[He reins it back in with an effort.]

There... [Glances back at Wing.] See what I mean?

[knight_light]

Obedient fire, never thought tat was something I'd ever say.

Natural ability of yours? [Here, he'll turn that hose over where those flames are trying to escape to try to finally put them out.]

[hotheadwarmheart]

I'll have to show you sometime, then. Once we're not dealing with this kind of mess.

And it's not entirely natural, but I've had it for awhile. Long story.

[Lea holds onto the fire aiding in suppressing it as Wing puts it out. Soon, that particular blaze is dealt with and Lea sighs slightly.]

One down, lots more to go...

[knight_light]

You know I'm up for a good story. At all related to your other one?

[With that fire out he'd follow Lea. If the young man would take control over a blaze, Wing would put it out. Good teamwork!]

[hotheadwarmheart]

Most of them are related to that. Short version is that becoming a Nobody is a great way to awaken any dormant magical potential you might have. Though trust me, the whole 'lack of a heart' thing isn't worth the power boost.

[He grapples with the next nearest blaze, bringing it to heel so that Wing can put it out. This one's stubborn, and when he speaks again, his voice shows the strain of the effort.]

Just glad... I got to keep the powers... when I got my heart back.

[knight_light]

[Wing will attack the flames with water from the borrowed hose.]

Well, sounds like the power was within you from the start, so it makes sense you kept it when you got your heart back.

[hotheadwarmheart]

Maybe... though that doesn't explain... the other part of it.

[Lea relaxes slightly as this blaze begins to die off as well, Wing's hose having the intended effect.]

Don't know why I can still use Dark Corridors. Unless that was inherent in me somehow too.

[He's not sure what to think about that possibility.]

[knight_light]

Now that does sound curious. You'll definitely have to tell me the whole story once we've cleaned up here.

[Another blaze tamed he'll turn for another.]

[hotheadwarmheart]

I'm sure we can arrange something.

[Til then, Lea continues to wrangle blazes for Wing to help put out.]

[Action] I really need to load some more icons 9,9

[ye_olde_engineer]

[One of those he'll notice is a Cybertronian that others seem to be deferring to, even though he doesn't seem to be in charge of any one department that's shown up. He's helping triage patients for the most part, and working on one severely injured mech just yards from Lea's position. He glances up and puts out an arm, a nozzle springing into view from his wrist, but then Lea's got control of the tongues of flame that had swept too close.]

Thanks, pal. That's some power you've got.

[Said as he ducks his head to get back to work on his patient.]

[hotheadwarmheart]

[It takes a moment for Lea to respond, during which he's making sure the rogue tongues of fire were firmly reigned in. He frowns at them half in irritation, half in concentration.

His expressions softens slightly and he even manages a bit of a smirk when he looks up at the mech.]

Heh... you should see what I can do with my own fire. It listens. This is like trying to rein in a pack of angry, half-starved wildcats.

[ye_olde_engineer]

Heh . . . looks like it. If ya can at least keep those "wildcats" off my patients long enough for people ta get 'em moved ta safety, that'd be great.

[As much as he'd like to greet the young man "properly" - names and all that - emergency comes first. Pleasantries in a minute. Or four.]

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea nodded.]

I can handle that. Specially now that I've got some help.

[Already some of the smaller blazes have been extinguished. And the others were being gradually weakened. He could still feel the fire fighting him, fighting them, but now it was losing. It was only a matter of time til it was put out.]

[ye_olde_engineer]

[The last of the immediate patients were triaged and dealt with, each moved as soon as it was safe to do so. Finally, the area was cleared and the broad-shouldered mech climbed to his feet, nozzle popping out again and hosing the fires with white, foamy fire retardant (wow, who builds THAT into their systems? Unless it's something they regularly need, oops?) Finally, the fires in that part of the wreckage being to die off in earnest.]

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea breathes a sigh of relief as the nearest flames begin to die off. They weren't done there yet, but the strain in Lea's expression and voice is significantly reduced when he looks up at the nozzle-weilding robot again.]

So... who can I thank for the assist?

[ye_olde_engineer]

[The broad-shouldered mech is a bit on the smallish side for his kind, though that still means that Lea only comes to maybe mid-thigh on him. He's scuffed and scorched from helping pull people from the burning rubble, his hands covered in blood and mech fluids. Not that any of it seems to bother him at the moment.]

[The mech too seems to relax a little as things start to calm in the immediate vicinity. He shifts to look down, giving a nod as the nozzle folds away and he straightens. His face is rigid, unable to express like most people's, but the warmth in his tone helps make up for it.]

Nah, thank you. But yeah, hi, name's Wheeljack. I'm the Chief Engineer an' one'a the Guardians here. Pleased ta mee-

[He starts to stoop and offer a hand - though it'd wind up more like a fingertip - but then he notes the gore on his hands again. He hesitates, the straightens again, tone taking on a hint of sheepishness.]

Uh, I mean . . . yeah, pleased ta meetcha.

[hotheadwarmheart]

So you're the Chief Engineer I heard about! Been meaning to ask you; why do you put Bulkhead's name on all those gates you made?

[Yeah, Lea side-eye's the offered hand a bit, though he smirks a bit as Wheeljack apparently realizes why and pulls it back.]

Hey, I just kept things in check til help arrived. You guys are the ones actually knocking this fire out.

Name's Lea, by the way. Got it memorized?

[ye_olde_engineer]

[Y-yeah, he realized it about the same time Lea noticed. Haha, sorry, he's not always as mindful as he could be. He nods with a chuckle.]

Lea. Got it. An' yeah, that's me. I designed an' oversaw the construction of a lotta the machinery an' automation in the city. Most'a the drones around are mine too, like the comm-drones.

[He waves at the scattering of thick-bodied "flying saucer" like constructs, including the one that follow Lea now. Then his head tilted in confusion.]

As for the Gates, well . . . that was the name that was on the schematics when they were found. I finished 'em - mostly just tweaked a few things - but I didn't come up with 'em. Didn't feel right not givin' due credit ta the company that did. Or . . . person . . . ?

[Thoughts and ideas - and other people's words - circle through his head at least three or four dozen times before they settle, and sometimes a thought or an aspect of something occur to him belatedly after the second or third pass. Like how Lea's wording made it sound like it was maybe an individual. And his tone like this was someone he knows??]

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea nods as Wheeljack seems to cotton on to the fact that Bulkhead is the name of a mech, not a company.]

Yep, person. One of us that came in with the last batch that the Miasma dropped in. He's around somewhere, if you wanted to meet him. I'm pretty sure he'd be interested in meeting you.

[ye_olde_engineer]

. . . wait, if you guys just got here, how's your friend's name on blueprints I found a few vorns ago?

[hotheadwarmheart]

Because we were here before, way back when the First Forged were still in charge and Haven wasn't much more than a collection of temples, the Hub, and a big pile of junk. I dunno how long a 'vorn' is, but from what we were told that was hundreds of years ago, at least, by this point.

[ye_olde_engineer]

[The old engineer's optics /brighten/ at that revelation.]

You . . . wha- . . . really!?

Uh, I-I mean . . . well, first, a vorn is . . . well, a vorn. It's what we call a solar cycle, the length of time it takes the planet ta circle the sun. If you're from Earth, it's about eighty-three years - our orbital path is much wider'n yours.

Wow . . . I've been here almost six-hundred earth years, but I've never met anyone from before that. We knew-

[Jack, you've still got work to do. He remembers their surroundings and what's going on, glancing around before focusing on Lea again.]

Listen, now's not a great time - obviously - but if you'd be willin', I'd really love ta get ta sit down with you an' maybe some of your friends sometime an' hear about all that. Sound good?

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea smirks a bit, amused at the reaction.]

Really.

[He keeps smirking right through Wheljeck's explanation, but then he too recalls what they're supposed to be doing.]

Sure, I'm up for that. Just buzz me later, let me know when and where you wanna meet up, and we'll see what we can work out.

[Action] Fight fire with hammer?

[neverputincharge]

[Bulk arrived not too long after as well. He couldn't help with the fires, but he was putting himself to work freeing victims. He worked along side the rescue crews, breaking down debris, and freeing victims with his forge hammer. Using his construction knowledge as well, to know where to hit. He'd been relieved to find out the hammer still worked. Thank you, momma Solus.

When he's not using the hammer, he's using just his sheer strength for heavy lifting]

Works for me! XD

[hotheadwarmheart]

[All that broken down debris had a secondary use too, namely helping to smother some particularly stubborn blazes and block them from spreading. Which was exactly what Lea needed at the moment.]

Hey, Bulkhead! Mind dropping some of that stuff on the far side of this fire? Wind's shifting and I don't want it to get any ideas about spreading that way.

[neverputincharge]

[Bulkhead didn't have the abilities to fight fires like Lea, but he could understand about creating a barrier for the fire. They certainly didn't need it spreading to other buildings.]

On it!

[He calls back to Lea, and shifts his focus to workng the debris, and help suppress the fire.]

Don't need to be losin' more buildings to these.

[hotheadwarmheart]

Thanks!

[Lea does his best to keep the fire back from Bulkhead while he works. Bulk's tough, true, but best not to take chances given the medical situation.]

Nope. Not when things are just getting under control here. There's gonna be enough of a mess to clean up as it is.

[neverputincharge]

[He's grateful for the fire beingheld back. While he's been hit with hotter fire, namely Predacon fire, it doesn't make it anymore of a good prospect to want to work in it. Plus the whole not healing thing.

But he does his best to work quick, so Lea can get to other parts. It's fortunate he's got volunteers who jump in to help with some direction from him, and they quickly make the barrier.]

How's that look, Lea?

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea gives the newly constructed barrier as much attention as he can spare. He's no engineer, but it looks pretty solid to him.]

It should hold. Thanks!

[neverputincharge]

[He nods and glances around.]

Anywhere else we oughtta put one?