xp_logs | Dangerous Load: Fireworks (backdated)

Julian, Crystal, Angel, John and Nathan take care of the propane spill.

Chaos, albeit an organized chaos, was the only word that Julian Keller could think of to describe the accident. The derailed freight train was scattered on either side of the elevated track and the faint shimmer in the atmosphere left no question to what had spilled out. Chemistry might not have been his best class, but he recognized the tell tale signs of a dense gas that was pooling around the ground. Of course, the fact that he'd been at the briefing for what Nathan, Crystal, John, Angel, and himself were about to attempt also tipped him off to that fact.

His nerves were giving him some trouble as they approached the crash. He'd never tried anything like this before and despite not being a telepath, he could sense Nathan's apprehension over the feat they were about to attempt. Regardless, he walked along side his mentor, past the barricades and into the grassy ditches they were about to ignite.

"This is going to be a little tricky," Nathan said, in a conversational tone that did a good job of hiding his own concern. Not so much for himself, but for Julian and the others. "We are not going to be catching an explosion, per se - I wouldn't do that to you." Not for at least another five years and several hundred hours more of very specific training. "What we have to do is contain the gas. Crystal will help regulate the pressure, then Angel and John will burn it off."

Julian nodded, suppressing the urge to gulp as he put on his breathing mask- pumping a concentrated mixture of oxygen over nitrogen into his system. The sudden rush was like a surge of adrenaline. He tried to picture what he looked like, with a pack with a tank on and a cleaher mask over his nose and mouth; like something out of a sci-fi movie. Despite the local fire department being well equipped they didn't have microphones in their breathing masks, so Nathan was going to have to pull double duty acting as a telepathic relay for this particular job.

'Alright, so we're directing this upward, right?

He didn't mind going over the basics again. It would be reassuring for Julian, if nothing else. #Think of an cylinder with an open top,# Nathan sent back. #I'll create the shape, since I've done this sort of thing before. You can back me up, John and Angel will ignite it from the top, and Crystal will mind the air pressure for us. That way, what we have is basically a giant roman candle.# He didn't repeat the warning about what would happen if they ignited it from the bottom. It was enough that it was said once. Besides, he was reasonably confident they could avoid a fuel-air explosion. Yes, he thought privately. No nuke-equivalent explosions. Not today.

Nathan 'tapped' lightly on Julian's mind to warn him of the link incoming - they'd done this often enough in training - and then showed him the mental image. #It'll be all right. Just keep the image in mind, and think of it like helping me to push a car.#

Beneath his mask Julian scoffed slightly, 'Yeah, except a car has weight and mass- not so much with fire.' He examined the cylinder as it settled in over the wrecked train cars. 'Are we burning around the cars or including them in it? There might be some stuff still in those cracked tankers.'

#We're gathering it all in - or I am, rather. Don't worry. I've done this with gas before. I'll even tell you the story afterwards, if you want.#

Whatever tiredness had been dogging Angel around the time she'd gotten the call from friend of a friend of Paul's had now been drained off. The briefing had woken her up but the sight of the train wreck had shaken out the remains of it. Nerves and adrenaline flowed through her, like her skin was tingling, and she took a deep breath as she ran over all the training she'd received from the guys at the station and the few times she'd been taken out into the field.

It didn't make her any less nervous but it helped her keep her focus.

Sir, she thought, hesitant but not as much as she should have been, should I be airborne or ground level for this? It wasn't like the explosion could hurt her if something went wrong but Angel would do as Nathan told her to do.

#Ground. Absolutely ground,# Nathan sent back. Very firmly, as a matter of fact. #When pulling off new and exciting powers tricks, one is well-advised to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground. Someone might not be there to catch you, otherwise.#

Gotcha. Ground it is. She turned her head to look to John - she'd been following his example for years now and it was a bit odd to be on the same playing field, as it were. "Just remember!" she shouted to him. "Whatever I do is totally yours and Shiro's fault, now." She grinned tightly under the mask, trying to unwork the ball of nerves.

John returned the grin with a smirk before returning his attention to Nathan. Just one damn thing after another, he thought. "Let's just get this over and done with," he muttered, exhaustion from the day already threatening to overwhelm him.

Crystal glanced at the other four mutants nearby and nodded, ready to begin. She was masked as the others were; her powers were needed here for the task at hand, not for her own breathing needs. It is a good group we have assembled here, the young woman thought to herself, everyone having powers that can help here, in different ways, but ones that will work together quite well. "Shall we begin, Nathan?" Crystal asked, looking to the older man for confirmation. While she was the Red X Field Leader in the group, it just seemed right to check with Nathan first.

#Remember,# Nathan sent to the four of them, #ignite from the top. If any of you wind up giving me a nosebleed today there may be detention.#

With the connection still active between them, Julian could see what Nathan was doing and did his best to mold his own force around his mentor's. His primary worry was the fact that he had, what Nathan called, a tactile connection through his TeeKay. He glanced over at Angel who looked relaxed, as if this was the most natural environment in the world; then he remembered that if she went into fire-form, she was nearly impossible to hurt. Turning his attention back to the task at hand, Julian tapped back against Nathan's mind to give him the ready signal.

Nathan immediately started to pull in the propane. It was challenging, but not the hardest thing he'd ever done; it didn't really push back, which was something. His eyes unfocused as the cylinder started to fill smoothly, every last bit of the spill gathered securely. Just call it telekinetic hoovering...

In a way, Crystal's job here was simple, at least to her, but it was still important. Julian and Nathan had the propane contained, but the propane needed to stay as it was. All movement in the air around the small group ceased, from a noticeable passing gust of wind to the subtle shifts not noticed by most people. If anything went wrong, she was prepared to help, but for now, it was best to leave the ignition part to those who specialized in fire.

To Julian, Angel might have looked relaxed but inside she was vibrating. Bringing up fire, throwing it around? Oh, that was easy. But now she had to force the microwave energy without the flames and toward one particular direction - that was hard. Harder than she thought.

She clenched her hands at her sides and stared up at the floating cylinder of roiling propane above their heads. No one could see it now but a wave of invisible microwave energy was streaming in through the openings, washing over the propane inside.

#John,# Nathan sent, turning his attention to the other pyrokinetic. #Remember what I said about igniting from the top.#

Being unable to create fire, John cupped his hands and ignited a spark from his lighter. The tiny ball of flame floated upwards toward its intended target. He realized that if either of them lost their focus or concentration at this point, they'd cause a massive explosion. Taking a deep breath, he increased the size of the flame and ignited the contained gas from the top as instructed. Now came the tough part. They were supposed to keep at this and burn it all off. Thankfully, the fire seemed to spread pretty quickly but it still needed to be contained. He helped to increase then regulate the temperature and maintain the shape of the flames, making sure it wouldn't spread elsewhere.

Even through Nathan's barrier, Julian could feel the pressure and heat pushing out from the otherwise invisible cylinder. The flames flickered between orange and blue, a true testament to John's skill with his abilities. Keeping the temperature low would keep this situation from turning into a true disaster- from what Julian had heard, so far no one was hurt. As the flame continued to erupt into the sky, fatigue began to set in and Jules could fee the telltale tingle that meant that his eyes were starting to glow. Not wanting to be the weak link in the operation he forced himself to endure and concentrated on backing up Nathan- fully aware that the shape of the cylinder was starting to become visible as well in the sky as a pale green erected around the bellowing flames.

Angel was having her own difficulties. She hadn't practiced with just the microwave energy as much as she had the full out flame and the strain of just doing that was surprising to her. And it wasn't a matter of letting the microwaves go and do their own thing - she had to concentrate on where, how and she had to keep it going at the same time.

John's created fire was mixing in with the heated microwaves, eating through the propane in the floating bubble above their heads. She just hoped it was going to be hot enough to get everything.

It did look like a giant Roman candle, Nathan thought, watching it. Crystal seemed steady, and he sensed only minimal strain from John, but he was glad for Julian and Angel's sake that the propane was burning away as quickly as it was. #Almost there,# he sent calmly. #Everyone's doing fine.#

Oh ... good, Angel thought weakly, watching in tired fascination as the propane kept going up. It was very pretty. Ow my wherever my powers come from.

#Not to worry, kiddo,# Nathan sent calmly. #There's plenty of aspirin to be had after we're done. And we're almost there.#