Society of Justice 3: Crisis on the Earth

[Pm0n3y]

Jason tussled Renton's hair once more before rising from the couch.

"Just imagine Taryn, one day, you and Levi will have a little Renton of your own!" He told her excitedly, leaving the lounge. Crossing through the hallway, he caught glimpse of Tommy talking to one of the recruits.

"Yup. Believe me, if you think he training's gonna be bad, just wait till winter rolls around. Shit will definitely hit the fan." He added to Tommy's testimony with a smirk.

 

[NeoAC]

"Hell, winter's my favorite time of year!" Brian said, lounging back in the chair as he waited for...whatever it was they called it, that was taking them to this testing thing. "That's when the ice finally comes out and you can get out onto the ponds and actually do something! I mean, yeah summer is great, going out into the highlands with the guys camping and stuff, but winter? That's hockey season, byes. That's my season."

 

[blaze96]

"I'm going to change into my other suit. I'll meet you guys over there if you leave before I finish. See you all at the training grounds, hopefully it goes better than last time." Richard said as he started to walk down the hall. He entered his room and began to change into his armor.

 

[Lizmichi]

Alex just nodded and watched him walk out then turned to the group. "So Lil how does it feel to be a married mother?" Alex asked her adjusting the holster to her guns Jason gave her. "Hell maybe I'll have a kid soon. Not like Richard and I are trying or preventing it." Alex said a hand resting softly on her hip.

 

[RBMidknight]

Taryn waved to Levi while keeping Renton balanced and upright. She didn't even notice Jason until he reached over to mess with the baby's hair.

"Just imagine Taryn, one day, you and Levi will have a little Renton of your own!"

'We'll what?' Taryn jerked her head up to stare at Jason but he had already turned toward the hall. Blushing, Taryn looked down at Renton who was inspecting his own hands. She tilted her head and looked at the boy with a speculative gaze. For a few seconds Taryn imagined a small child with dark hair and green eyes. She smiled slowly. Renton chose that moment to look up, and he echoed the smile. Then the small boy decided to go exploring. Rocking his small body back and forth Renton abruptly fell forward and began to crawl over the sofa cushion.

"Woah...where are you going?" Taryn picked up Renton and stood in a smooth motion. She held him close to her chest as she looked around for Garrus. Renton reached up to grasp the zipper of Taryn's jacket and made a small noise of protest when the zipper didn't come off. Taryn walked carefully toward the kitchen and peered around the corner.

"Hey, Garrus?" she called. "Someone's a bit restless." Taryn glanced down at Renton and grinned.

 

[tsatoma]

"Ah he's probably just a little tired then. He might fall asleep when we head over in the Merriweather; he enjoys sleeping in cars so I don't see how the ship can be any different," Garrus replied as he picked up the container of food in one hand and took Renton in the other, "Thanks for taking care of him for the few minutes I needed."

"Alright everyone, let's head out to the front. Levi should be waiting for us. Recruits bring anything you need, this will be a combat-oriented test so weapons and such are allowed," he told them as he headed out the lounge doors.

 

[CounterAttack]

"All right, sweet! Sooner we get this started, the better," Rowan said to no-one in particular as he practically jumped up from the couch. "So we're using weapons, eh? None needed on my part, it's all in here," he added, tapping the side of his head. He grinned at his own in-joke, about which he figured only those who had read his application would know. With that, he began to follow Garrus out of the lounge.

[hr]

Katie simply hurried after Garrus, in full knowledge of what was to come. Unless, of course, there had been some upgrades or improvements to the training exercise's core component. If there was, it was most likely due to Levi, Taryn or Richard's tinkering with it. They'd restored the Merriweather to working condition, so she figured they had probably redone the construct as well.

 

[NeoAC]

"Oh wait, we're bringing weapons?" Brian asked. "One sec then, I'm gonna be right back." He dashed down the hall to his room and went to his duffel bag. Rooting through it for only a second, he found was he was looking for. He pulled out his trusty hockey stick, the one he had used since his first professional game, it had never broken on him, and it had scored many goals. Wasn't planning on this, but I should bring something. And if it can stand up to all my slap shots, it should be able to slap some idiots around.

He left his room and returned to the lobby, the hockey stick resting on his shoulder. "All right, let's get McSorley on this course then."

 

[elementsoul]

"That sounds pretty insane. I've done and have been stuck in some insane shit before, but I don't think I can top either of those." Tyson said to Tommy. "Jason, when did I say that the testing would be bad. I figured it would be extremely hard, therefore making it extremely fun." Tyson continued with a wicked grin.

Upon hearing that they were leaving and should bring their weapons Tyson zipped open his bag and removed five magazines placing them in the pouches on his ammo belt. Then Tyson removed his C8TC and gave it a once over for any visible damage and malfunctions and saw none. Tyson then checked that chamber and inserted another magazine from his bag into the C8TC. Tyson then slid back the bolt loading the first round and swapped the magazine out for another full magazine for maximum ammunition possible in his C8TC. Tyson then put his C8TC back into his bag and started to follow everyone else up front.

 

[socialtangent]

Levi entered the Merriweather, heading up the boarding ramp into total darkness. He slapped a button on the wall that activated the lights, illuminating the space with bright light. The room was a somewhat spacious cargo area, currently empty. As Levi stepped through the cargo bay, the sounds of his footsteps clanged and echoed throughout the empty ship.

The door on the other end opened automatically as Levi approached it, revealing the cockpit. It was a somewhat spacious room, with enough seats to house every member of the team. The pilot and copilot's seats stood towards the front of the cockpit and the remaining seats were behind them in neatly organized columns, leaving a central walkway. Levi headed down down the walkway and made his way to the pilot's chair and inserted his communicator into his ear.

Quickly, he pushed a few buttons on the dashboard and ran a few quick pre-flight diagnostics. Gauges and meters began to fluctuate and eventually steadied. Good to go. He pushed another button that opened the massive door of the hangar that at Richard's suggestion was installed onto the Promenade's garage. The Merriweather's state of the art engines whined as they gained power and lifted the ship off the ground.

Grabbing the yoke, Levi eased the ship out of the hangar and set a course for the front of the Promenade. "This is Levi, the Merriweather is on her way. You guys better be ready," he said into the communicator as he carefully piloted the ship around the perimeter. After a few months of practice runs, Levi was confident he was a capable pilot. Approaching the clearing in the front, he set the ship down carefully, the rear facing the entrance of the Promenade. He pressed the button that released the boarding ramp and powered down the engines for the time being.

 

[Pm0n3y]

"Really? You sound like me. Even though, you'll probably have a different outlook on testing after they're complete. Ask any of last year's recruits, they'll give you a nice, happy, sunshiney tale about violence and bloodshed. Also, that is one bitchin' gun." Jason replied to Tyson, black tendrils spreading from his body from all directions, solidifying into armor, stopping at his neck. Casting the only article of clothing he had on from him, Jason tosses the shorts onto the nearest couch in the lounge be coming back to Tyson and Tommy, hearing Levi's announcement through his comm.

"Alright you guys. The fun's about to begin." He said to them, eyes mostly focused on Tyson since he'd be one of those that'll participate in the training.

 

[blaze96]

"Well Alex, it feels pretty damn good to be honest. Being married to Garrus is...trying at best sometimes but on the whole he is a great guy." Lillian replied with a laugh as she looked over to Renton.

---------------

Richard was already changed into his Blue Steel armor and walking back out to rejoin the others.

"Jesus I would have though you people would have left by now already." He said as he walked back into the ship.

 

[RBMidknight]

Once freed of baby duty Taryn straightened her jacket and headed to her room. She checked the wall of security monitors to make sure everything was still in working order. A few typed commands set a series of subprograms to run automatically once she was gone. Taryn retrieved a small subnotebook[footnote]Something like this: Link [http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=n1cnZPE6vk5gJo2b][/footnote] from her desk and slid it into her inner jacket pocket. She zipped the pocket closed while she surveyed her room.

Two of the monitors blinked into screen-saver mode as Taryn completed her check. She nodded to herself and walked toward the door. After a few seconds of digging for keys Taryn shut her door and engaged the lock. Taryn walked to the second door and repeated the procedure. The second deadbolt set with an audible sound of metal on metal. Taryn turned and began walking back to the group.

 

[Lefthandofgod]

Steven was first to board the air-ship, excited to see the mechanics of the new ship. "I'm surprised you have time for building such an intricate ship, what with all the super-heroing and having Taryn on your arm all the time. You two married?"

 

[NeoAC]

"Well I was just waiting for everyone else," Brian defended. Although that was hard against a man wearing something ripped out of the latest space marine game. "But if you say so, then yeah. Guess I'll be heading on there, now."

He headed onto the looming airship, looking around for a place to sit. He found an unoccupied seat near the door and sat down.

 

[socialtangent]

Turning around in his seat, Levi faced Steven. "We didn't necessarily build it from scratch. This beauty was sitting in our museum for the longest time until Richard, Taryn, and myself got around to repairing it," he explained, turning back quickly to check the engine power. "As for Taryn and I, we're not married. We're taking things at our own pace. If it happens, it happens, as far as I'm concerned". Thinking for a moment, Levi couldn't actually ever remember marriage being discussed between the two of them. In any case, he didn't really feel that now was the time to discuss it. There's a time for everything, he thought.

 

[Lefthandofgod]

Steven's face seemed to loose all emotion as he spoke to Levi. "You shouldn't let things slip away. You'll always regret it. It will always haunt you. It'll drive you mad when you realize it's your fault she's gone." As he spoke, his armor began to form around him, encasing his chest and arms in glowing silver light. He seemed lost in thought, but his face betrayed no emotions. "I think I better wait at the entrance for the others," he spoke quietly to Levi. "Nice speaking with you."

 

[Lizmichi]

"Meh the baby slowed everyone down. Cute can do that." Alex said shortly after join Richard in the air ship with Eric soon after. "God I remember my training day." Alex said shivering.

Eric laughed some. "I wish I was there for it." he said having heard stories about it. "So is that when you and Richard fell in love?" he asked.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Um no it was after that Eric." she said.

 

[RBMidknight]

Taryn leaned her shoulder against the front door to force the heavy wood to swing open. She grinned as she stepped onto the front lawn and saw the Merriweather waiting for everyone to board. Having worked on the ship for so long Taryn practically had its features memorized. But seeing the ship ready to fly, and knowing that it would finally get the chance to fly, was exciting. Taryn walked up the ramp quickly. Once inside the ship she navigated through the cargo bay and toward the cockpit with ease.

After sliding the door to open Taryn stepped into the cockpit. She spotted some of the Society members and one recruit but her gaze fixed on Levi who was looking at the controls. Taryn smiled as she walked closer. She placed her hand on Levi's shoulder gently.

"Hey there." Taryn said quietly. She stepped back a bit, toward the co-pilot's chair. "How are things?" she asked.

 

[CounterAttack]

At the sight of the Merriweather at the front of the Promenade, Rowan gave a low whistle. It looked like something out of the sci-fi novels or the comic books he read frequently. Even without being compared to the fictional vehicles the Merriweather was an astounding sight. "Dayum..." was all he said as he boarded the airship, eyes wide and taking in the interior as he took a seat opposite Brian and strapped himself in.

"I know, right? She's certainly something," Katie said to the shapeshifter, sitting down with one space between herself and Rowan. "Just be careful not to accidentally touch anything you're not supposed to." She had done that herself during her second time on the airship; judging by that experience, the boarding ramp was not to be opened in mid-flight.