Kate looks around and does some quick counting before sending a private comment over to fishgivinggirl "There are five of us, and we're people so technically we just have to find the camp, not rescue anyone.  But I bet sore pants there wouldn't let us claim victory that way."  Despite being now suddenly soaked to the bone Kate doesn't seem to be in a bad mood, the humor of her thought buoying her spirits.

"So um, anyone know how we could find them?  It's a little too wet to smell, but we could follow the drums?"

"Geez," Frank said as he stripped off his soaked sweatshirt. He considered tying it around his waist, but then decided to just toss it aside. He'd find it on the way out, he assumed. "This place is incredible.

"I've got ten bucks that says following the drums puts us in contact with angry natives. That's how this sort of thing usually plays out. We should try to find the missing people before they do.

"Victor, Barnell... can either of you fly in this downpour?"

As the world changes from creature comforts to just creatures all around her, as a bucket of warm water is haphazardly dumped on her head, as her flip-flops sink into the moss and mud, Zoey can only make one indignant exclamation:

"Oh what the green fucking Hell is this?!"

A billion objections raised through her mind. Chiefly, that this simulation was not realistic; in the real world they would have known in advance that they would be traveling into a jungle and been provided with, at minimum, appropriate apparel. To be fair, she had neglected to ask about the setting of their training... as had everyone else, so at least she was spared from feeling like a total idiot.

This heat was intense. Zoey was used to (and loved) the rain -- she was born and raised in Seattle -- but had always been a godless northerner where even the summers rarely went above ninty. It took her a moment to even remember that her zip-up hoodie could be removed, a realization she immediately acted on, tying the garment tight around her hips. Unfortunately, the frilly pink cotton blouse she had underneath was scarcely any more appropriate for the environment and immediately went nearly transparent in the downpour, revealing to all interested parties that her bra had little pink flowers on it. Whatever. Modesty was never one of Zoey's virtues.

As she got her bearings, Zoey listened to her classmates doing the same. Tabby Cat had even less appropriate footwear than she did -- that is, none at all. "Tank" over there likely didn't care about foot injuries. Barnell, who even knows. And she didn't know the others well enough to even speculate.

Zoey pulls her replica Master Sword out of the sheath on the side of her backpack. She'd been expecting combat training, so having something to defend herself with had seemed prudent. She experimentally tries cutting through some of the choking underbrush, though she doesn't have high expectations; the ideal tool for this would have been a machete, which is more like an axe than a sword.

She hated this environment, but at the moment she had some muted enthusiasm for trying to solve the seemingly impossible problem put in front of them. She gave it... ten minutes before it wore off.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:02, Wed 16 Dec 2020.

"!No manches!" Ana Sofía exclaims as the scene changes. She just stands there a bit with the water pouring down and soaking her, marveling at it an appreciating that the clothes she's wearing handle being wet well... except the shoes and socks.

She snaps out of her amazement after a bit with Frank's question, only having barely reacted to Mr. Summers' comment that came too soon. "Already on it. I'll let you know what I find, if I can actually find anything." She stands still as she concentrates to see if there are actually minds to detect.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:41, Thu 17 Dec 2020.

In reply to Ana Sofia Garcia Mendez (msg # 54):

As the rain keeps pouring down and soaking her further Kate contemplates the incredibly thick jungle around them.  "I don't know if flying will really help that much.  Especially with the rain."  She does shoot a look to Scott before looking back at the others.  "At least we probably don't have to worry about the important things like shelter or fire if we have a time limit."  And with that said she starts to strip off her tights.  They wouldn't do much in this environment other than get more ruined.

That done she starts to look for a way forward.  Fishgivinggirl and her sword might make a path, but that would probably take forever to get very far.  They needed an animal trail so that's just what she started to look for.  As she circled their little starting cleared area she used a cupped hand to try drinking some of the rainwater.  Curious if it was actual water or super magic holodeck stuff.

  The apparent shifting of time and space was jarring enough but the sudden atmospheric shift was just as dramatic.  Heat he could handle, it got above 105° in the shade during the summers where Victor was from, but the sudden swamp of humidity and hot, wet rain surprised him.  His clothes quickly plastered to his body and hair stuck to his back, face and arms.  Knew I shoulda braided today... Victor grumbled as he corralled his hair and tamed it as best he could with a hair band he retrieved from around his wrist.
  Glancing around it looked like just about everyone else was just as surprised by the realism of this 'simulation'.  The rain was loud but they could all hear the drums Frank remarked on, Yeah, I can fly in this but I can't see much.  It'd be easy to get separated in this downpour without having good bearings.  Best to see if Ana Sofia can make contact with Perez before heading in any direction.  Jungles like this are deadly if you try to blow through them blindly...Nature isn't all fluffy kittens.  Frank might be okay but the rest of us aren't as tough.  The scene seemed like the beginnings of an old black & white movie from the 50's.

Barnell examined his outstretched arm.  Much like a bird, the water rolled off his waterproof feathers, protecting the skin underneath.  Yes, he could fly, but like Victor pointed out, he wouldn't be able to see farther than the tip of his beak.

"I'm sorry" he shook his head "If I fly over the treetops there's a good chance I won't be able to find you again"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:32, Thu 17 Dec 2020.

Ana scan detects a multitude of primitive minds around them, but she does manage to eventually lock in on the conscious ones.  She has a bearing, which unfortunately would take them right through the thicket.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:31, Thu 17 Dec 2020.

"That way," says Ana Sofía, while pointing. "I can't do much about getting us there, though. Victor, can you make a path through that?" she asks while still pointing through the thicket.

"If he can't, I probably can," Frank said, still looking around in amazement. He would love to get his hands on some of the tech that went into the making of this room, and learn from it. Maybe Doctor McCoy would teach him a little of it, if he asked. And beyond just the tech, Frank was preoccupied by the highly improbable structure itself. Although it couldn't be seen anymore, the dome was an engineering feat unlike anything else on Earth. Built from the purest unobtanium, no doubt.

He shook his head. Focus on the mission, he told himself.

He stood back and let Victor go first.

"Oh, and it's worth noting that there don't seem to be any people making those sounds we were worried about." She makes sure she's out of the way before clearing a path starts.

Zoey abandons her efforts fairly quickly. She doesn't know what this Victor is capable of or even which of them it is, but she did witness the Tank demonstrating some degree of superhuman strength back in Manhattan. He might be super strong, but he'd need a sharp edge to cut through some of the more troublesome vegetation. She approaches him and offers him her sword. "Here," she says simply. "I think it'll do more good in your hands than mine."

"Thanks," Frank says, taking the sword carefully. He'd had a friend once whose father was a sword nut; they were all over his house. He'd heard 'a sword is not a toy' so many times he couldn't even begin to guess. But the lesson had been learned, and he treated the blade with an appropriate respect. "I'll try not to damage it."

Zoey watches Frank's handling with a critical eye. The girl was known for complaining at the drop of a hat (usually yelling about social issues no one else really cared about) but she seems satisfied with what she is seeing for once. "Eighty dollars at a flea market, damage it all you feel necessary."

In reply to Zoey Fujino (msg # 64):

Starting to droop a little from all the rain Kate let out a sigh as her toes squelched in the muddy foliage covered ground.  "I hope this doesn't stick in my fur..."  and with that slightly cryptic comment she immediately proceeds to answer the question it raised.  Her balance shifting forward as she went up on her toes, tawny fur sprouting along her arms legs and head  as she grew into a kind of hybrid cat/fox girl, though she appears more cat than fox as the tail now poking out of her fashionable skirt is thin and bedraggled by the rain rather than fluffy with a white tip.

The lack of shoes clearly isn't going to be a concern for her as her feet have grown pads.  It's clear she want's to get started but hangs back, wisely not getting in the way of the man with the sword.

  I can try to push it flatten a way through all this but I'm not sure it'd be any better than letting Frank hack through all the weeds with that sword...  It'd be easier to just pick everyone up and fly if there was something you all could ride on. Victor wiped the streaming water from his eyes and looked around for something he could use to carry everyone.  Frank, you think you could hold onto everyone else while I pick you up?

"Er... I've only got two hands," Frank replied, trying not to sound snotty or condescending. He really didn't mean it that way. But to grab everyone and hold on would involve an enormous bear hug that would probably crush a few rib cages, so that was out. And if they just held onto him, it probably wouldn't work because they'd be dangling under their own strength. "I think I'd better just hack our way through the jungle."

And so he began to do just that, swinging a sword like it was a machete.

"I just figured, no matter how strong Frank is, it's still one tree or plant at a time and only so long as the sword holds up. But if Victor can only affect one thing at a time, it's not much different... What if we take a different approach: cut down one good-sized tree, cut a wide log from it, and use that to bulldoze a path? Regardless, walking through is going to be a pain. Maybe we cut down a tree to make a log we can all ride, and Victor moves that log?"

Zoey's eyes widen a little. "He's not that strong... is he?" She gives Tank a sidelong glance and expands her safety margin considerably.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:36, Fri 18 Dec 2020.

"Not yet, no," Frank grunted, shouldering a mid-sized tree out of his way. It tumbled to the ground with a resounding crash. "I'm still getting stronger, but I'm not that strong yet. One tree at a time is the best I can do... and even that'll exhaust me eventually."

"So what if we ride a log that Victor fliest?"

  It's not that I can only do one thing at a time.  It's just that if anything happens it's easier to try to grab one thing that everyone is on than grab multiple people before they hit the ground. Victor explained.  That's why I suggested we hijack that van back in New York...except it had already melted.  Either way, we're wasting time debating instead of looking for Perez.  Between Frank and I, I think we can clear a reasonable path as long as Ana keeps us on course and someone else keeps a lookout for trouble.
  Victor concentrates on pushing a swath through the dense jungle foliage in the same direction as Frank's clearing efforts.

A sword wasn't a very practical tool to cut through the bush, mostly because of the length of the blade which made it bulky and clumsy to be swung repeatedly. Unless you possessed supernatural strength, that is, which 'Tank' did.  Effortlessly Waving the sword from side to side, he brought down the bramble, branches and tree trunks with his sheer strength. Assisted by Victor, who snapped the wood with his mind, the two slowly cut a direct path through the jungle.

After ten minutes of grueling work under the downpour, the party broke through the foliage and made it to a fast running river.  Easily twenty feet across, and god-knows how deep, it served to be their next obstacle on their way to Perez and his lost expedition.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 73):

Kate took a moment to look up and down river, checking to see if they might finally be in luck and find an animal trail to follow.  She wasn't sure if she could jump it, or swim it, but figured that with everyone here who could fly or lift or whatever getting across wouldn't be the issue, the delay for trailblazing would be.

Then again, maybe they wouldn't.  "Can you lift us all over to the other side once we find a good spot um, Victor?"  the beast girl asked, looking quite odd and out of place.  The fact that she was effectively a drowned cat person in a completely soaked blouse and skirt adding to the surreal situation.

Zoey followed along in the wake of plant-based carnage, observing. Super strength was another one of those powers Zoey had always thought was low effort to wish for, but she coundn't deny that the Tank was putting in some serious work. She is also able to identify Victor through his strained expression. Telekinesis, that's a pretty good one. Ana's mind powers put a little direction to the brawn, as well.

Feeling inadequate, Zoey falls into step beside the cat-ified Tabby and offers a small, understanding smile. The smile lasts for but a moment before Zoey once more starts trying desperately to dry her face. The hot rain reminded her of the unpleasant times she had tried swimming in a too-warm pool as a child, simultaneously submerged and still somehow sweating. "You're lucky cats are well-adapted to the heat," she mutters with some jealousy.

The sounds of deforestation stop, and Zoey advances to see what fresh new hell awaits them. Seeing the running water Zoey approaches cautiously to soak her hoodie and try to get some cool water on her face.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:02, Sun 20 Dec 2020.