xp_logs | GBOW: Enter Sandman (Reply)

Jan, Garrison and Kyle run across an interesting, if dangerous, part of the convoy.

"You sure your nose isn't fucked up? There's been trucks and shit with fuel cans on them everywhere around here." Garrison hissed quietly to Kyle, who was carefully scenting along the ground. Warren and Logan had gone ahead to scout the area for new targets, as by now, the snarled mess of the artillery lines were too brightly lit and full of guards to make any more sneak attacks on. While they hunted targets, Kyle had announced a new scent; gas, and lots of it, pulling them to the east and over the terrain. Fortunately, it was rough enough to make good cover, and the enemy had the same idea as the Indians were deploying mesh netting to provide air camo from planes. "Wasp, can you see anything up ahead?"

"Not from here I can't," the tiny girl told Garrison. "I'll have to get closer for a better look." Jan wasn't much for distant anything, having powers better suited for up-close-and-personal rather than long distance. She began to ponder the idea of tiny binoculars and maybe even tiny night vision goggles. Things like that could definitely help in the future. While she had superstrength when she was insect-sized, her eyesight didn't improve at all. But Jan didn't have to be able to see anything to know they were on the right track; Jan trusted Kyle and his nose.

"My nose can tell the difference between some gas and a whole fucking lot of gas." It smelled like the Turnpike to him. Or like Cammie's room after a Exxon-spiked margarita. More than just engines, which burned the fuel, this smelled like gasoline, without the carbon or oil or other smells of vehicles. Those were mixed in, but not as much as he'd expect. The smell was harsh and the inside of Kyle's nose burned, and he'd had to stifle back a few sneezes already. "Or like the hanger when we get new fuel for the 'bird in." Kyle muttered, half to himself.

"Well than, Scoobs, let's check it out. Yoiks, or something." Garrison said grimly, picking his way carefully behind the younger man. Fuel was what the tanks needed most. If they could knock out their ability to get gas up here, the entire invasion might run dry for a couple of days.

Jan zipped ahead, then darted back. She still wasn't about to throw herself headfirst into an unknown situation. Scouting ahead was one thing, being reckless was another matter entirely. Right now she was going to let people who had more experience than her take the lead. Jan knew she wasn't leader material right now. Maybe in the future she could do that and would want to do that, but right now she wasn't planning on trying to come up with her own ideas on how to proceed.

"That makes you Fred, and he's the gay one." Kyle said. Picking the strongest scent of gas out from all the other smells wasn't exactly easy, it was like finding the drunkest guy in the bar. He continued to push ahead, leading them around a stopped group of supply vehicles, only stopping to lift his head up once they were well past any risk of being spotted. "Anyone else hear engine noises up ahead?" He asked.

Kane cocked his head, and could faintly hear a distant rumble. "Sounds like it. Wasp, you think you can get a look up ahead?"

"Sure thing." Whatever was up ahead, the insect-sized woman was sure the people there had more important things on their minds than keeping watch for tiny spies. Her ability to change size was definitely an advantage in situations like this. Delicate-looking wings moved rapidly as Jan flew in the direction of the unidentified sound. The tiny X-Man surveyed the area, pausing here and there momentarily and then quickly moving on to the next spot of interest. "I knew Wildchild's nose wouldn't let us down! I don't think you'd be very happy standing over here. OK, they have this whole setup going on over here, all hidden away. Tanks, pipes, trucks... and a whole lot of gas, of course."

"A fuel depot. Now that's interesting." Kane said in response to her intel. He considered the situation. Bastion had explained that a modern mobile army guzzled gas at rates like a drunk with a pitcher at last call. If they could find a way to chop off their access to fuel, they could stop the advance dead. "So, I'm thinking there's two parts to this, eh? Those trucks are running the fuel off to the different sectors to refuel the tanks, and the depot is where the pipeline is advanced to from the border. Disable the trucks and no fuel for the tanks. Hit the pipeline, and no fuel for the depot. The Indian army runs out of gas, and we all go home for drinks."

"I'm no good for blowing stuff up." Kyle said. "But trucks with flat tires don't go anywhere, and stopped trucks are just gonna be there waiting for you to come be all Canada-zilla on them, right?" He was definitely liking the way Garrison was talking though, stop the army in it's tracks by taking out the fuel. That seemed sensible and like a good way to stop things without a lot of people ending up dead, and also like a hell of a lot of fun.

"I can blow stuff up!" Jan volunteered through the comm, sitting on top of a truck. "Do we need to blow stuff up? Obviously there's a ton of gas around here, and I don't think we want to blow the whole place sky-high."

"Yeah, maybe we'll hold off on the apocalypse of fire for now. I don't feel like getting my face burnt off." Garrison said, considering the options. "Right, Wasp, those are haulers; major tanker trucks for gas. Big diesel engines in most of them. Think you can get under the hoods, fry some parts so they aren't going to be moving? Wildchild, you and I are going to ind their pipeline. If we can mangle their inset that they're laying the line too, this little gas station is going to be closed for a couple of days."

"Sure thing," Jan said agreeably, quickly standing up to get ready to work. Garrison's plan sounded good; they'd inflict enough damage, but not too much, and they'd still prevent the transportation of the fuel needed for the tanks. She didn't particularly wish to be burned to a crisp; unlike the other two X-Men close by, Wasp didn't possess a healing factor at all. Being superstrong while tiny didn't mean she had any sort of invulnerability. At her size, Jan guessed there wouldn't even be the tiniest bit of her left were she to be caught in an explosion.

"Go for the battery, it'll be big and look like a car battery only -big-." And most importantly, probably not near anything that would blow up, Kyle hoped. And then promptly put that thought out of his mind in favor of thinking about the best way to end a pipeline. "You smash, I keep guys off you so you can smash?" He asked Garrison.

"Sounds like fun." Kane said, his voice clear that he considered it anything but as they moved out. As Wasp disappeared into the truck pool, Kyle and Kane angled off to the side, avoiding contact and using the bulk of the trailers to shield themselves somewhat. Kane squatted down next to the truck and motioned to the group of men working on the massive interlocking collections of pipes, hoses and induction motors that made up the portable transfer link.

"Right, I need a minute or two and that area clear. Can you get them to chase you, get them away from the area for a minute?"

"Does the pope shit in the woods?" Kyle was off without waiting for an answer, racing along the ground like a greyhound. He skirted around the men, close enough for them to see him, and then doubled back as they shouted for him to stop. Or whatever they were shouting - Kyle was as monolingual as they came, but he was pretty sure they were yelling at him to stop. He ran past the man, making a wide oval around them, slowing just long enough for them to see that he was not some kind of wolf or lion or something, and not long enough for any of them to get a clear shot that wouldn't put holes in one of the pipes.

Jan hummed to herself as she moved around under the hood of the first truck, seeking the best place to let out a burst of her special bio-electricity. Making sure she wasn't physically touching the giant battery itself, a large "spark" left her hands and hit her target. Quickly, Wasp darted away, on to select her next automotive victim

Kane noticed the smoke starting to stream out of the hoods of several of the trucks, obviously Wasp's work. As the soldiers began to chase Kyle, he took hold of the frame of the truck he was beside, and began to strain against it. Slowly, the massive vehicle began to rise, and Kane groaned as he hoisted it up so it was tilted on one end. It was at the very limit of his great strength, and with a grunt, he hefted the truck from the ground and propelled it over. It tipped over drunkenly, and the massive vehicle slammed down like a multi-ton hammer on the complex pumping gear, smashing it flat and sending shattered piping venting fuel everywhere.

In the back of his head, Kyle had to admit to himself that this would've been fun, if the people chasing him didn't have guns and wouldn't likely shoot him several dozen times if he was caught. It was a balancing act to keep close enough to the soldiers that they would know exactly where he was - and far enough away that he had plenty of warning when one fired off a shot.

The chase lasted only perhaps a minute before Kyle heard the crackle of a radio. He skidded into a u-turn, kicking up dirt as his claws dug into the earth to steady his turn and he loped head on towards the soldiers, racing towards them on all fours at his top speed. The radio - and the soldier holding it - barely had time to get his weapon up before Kyle tackled him at full speed, dragging the man another dozen feet before he slowed to a stop.

"Oh shit..." Kane said, as he noticed the brief scuffle between Kyle and the Indian forces. What the younger man hadn't seen were two other men coming up, shielded from view by another truck. The Canadian scooped up a piece of twisted metal and scored a direct hit on the side of the head of the first man, knocking him cold. Shots stitched around him, and Kane dove for cover, grabbing his baton from his uniform and throwing the collapsed tube end over end to catch the second man in the temples.

It was only then he saw the cigarette in the man's mouth tip over into the air, and land into the gas saturated tangle of broken machinery that had been the main pumps. Kane lifted his comm. "Wildchild, Wasp. Run. Now!"

"I wouldn't get very far if I ran, now would I?" Jan quipped. As she spoke, she was already pushing up the hood of of the latest truck she had rendered useless. She wasn't quite sure where she was supposed to "run" to, so she quickly shot up into the air so she could see what it was that Kane wanted them to get away from.

Kyle was already running, and at first, he was confused. What in the hell did Garrison want him to do? And then the smell of the spilled gas reached his already over-taxed nose, renewing the harsh burn that had filled his sinuses. He tackled past two soldiers, knocking one to the ground and dragging the other along several yards until the man let go of Kyle's jacket.

Jan saw Kyle running down on the ground. She darted down, tiny hands grabbing the collar of his uniform. "Going up!" she announced once she had a firm grip, and they both rose into the air, flying away from all of the gas, pipes, and vehicles. "Wasp Express, at your service. Thank you for flying the friendly skies."

"The fuck?" Kyle had barely enough time to realize what the hell had just happened when the gas went up, the vapors igniting with a blast of heat that rocked both him and Jan in the air. The landing a few seconds later was the very definition of rough, as Kyle plowed feet first into brush and came up sputtering leaves and twigs. He only gave "where is Jan?" a moment's thought until he was sure the buzzing was her and not actual bugs, and then hit his comm. "Dominion, respond. You okay? The fuck just happened?"

Kane coughed and tried to quell the burning feeling in the back of his throat. "An object lesson for why smoking is hazardous to your health."