Blip walks silently into the cockpit area, followed shortly after by Ping, as she closes the door behind her. Some muffled chatter happens, than yells in a foreign language unknown to anyone else. Ping slips out of the door, and removes her hat to reveal her short and messy black hair. Either she is a nova, or she's the prettiest damn baseline in existence. She smiles at each of the passengers.

"We're about to commence take-off, Rome to Tokyo non-stop flight. The duration the of the flight will be approximately eleven hours. If you will please buckle yourselves in until the light above my head turns off, we can begin. If you have any requests, please, ask me anything." She smiles again, than repeats the instructions in Italian, with a flawless accent, than once again in Japanese perfectly.

Ping travels to each person, asks how they are doing with a friendly smile, and makes sure they are buckled in properly before moving to the back of the plane and using the phone. Again, she speaks in a foreign language, and the plane starts moving for the takeoff.

Virago shook her head at Ping before opening a comic book entitled Stormwatch and going over it with the sort of scrutiny saved for a fine-toothed comb.

"I speak Japanese fluently", Ingot says with a confused look on his face, as he looks at the two checkered figures now running his jet.

He had no idea when these two were brought into the fold, but it would have to wait. He didn't have time to look for his normal pilot at the moment. It was obvious that someone in management had been making decisions while he was gone these last 6 months.

"What seems to be the problem Ingot? Aren't this your usual employees?" Vajas relaxed on his seat, propping his feet up and lazily sinking into the comfortable jet seat.

"I don't remember these two being a part of my organization. Sometimes, while I am away, I will have someone make vital decisions for me. Changing my personal crew, isn't something I consider a vital decision." Victor says, leaning slightly into the aisle, to sneak a peek at Ping. "I can't remember who I put in charge of making those decisions. I fact, I don't even remember who my accountant is. It's all a little embarassing."

Dougal curses under his breath and leans very close to Ingot and whispers in the quietest voice possible, "I can't fly, and I'm not about to leave the ground with unknowns at the controls. If you don't know these clowns, then we are going to have to take action before takeoff and replace them with someone we trust. We'll exit the plane incase they are hostiles, that way your plane doesnt' get trashed if there is a scuffle, besides we will need room to manuver to be effective." He will repeat this converstaion quickly and quietly to the other novas, then he will move to the door and quickly exit the plane hopefully followed by the others.

"If you are really worried Dougal..." Vajas focuses his node, looking at what appears to be the prettiest Baseline in the world and tries to forcefully enter her mind, as to be able to hear the echos of her mind.

Closing his own eyes, Vajas exudes a small quantum aura as his powers activate and his node flares.

Virago, half-listening to the conversation, lowered her comic book and looked up with warm brown eyes as she waited silently for results.

Ping smiles at Dougal while he gets up. "Excuse me sir, but the plane is about to take off.. I'll ask you.. " She is cut off by Vajas. His aura flares, and she looks at him for a moment. Her smile fades, and a look of confusion comes over her face. She looks around the cabin to find all eyes focused on her. She gives forced and overly friendly smiles to each of the passengers.

Vajas's aura dies down almost immediatly, he props his feet up again. "She's fine Dougal, thank's for wanting to take care of us you big baby!"

From the overheard compartment, Vajas takes out a book that reads 'Comlexities of statistical comparison between minorities for a better democratic system' it's a thick book, probably some 1,500 pages long.

Vajas proceeds to put it over his face as he tries to go to sleep.

Dougal looks curiously at Vajas. "What do you mean she's fine? Did you scan her somehow?" He still looks worried. "No offense my friend, but in the military we were trained to not overlook little things like last minute substitutions in personel, and as I mentioned, I cannot fly. Unless you can absolutely vouch for this strange person, I would rather take a commercial flight and meet you in Tokyo."

Ping looks at Ingot, than at Dougal. "This isn't a last minute change. My brother and I have been the crew for this plane for four months. I guarantee that you will be safe while upon this aircraft." She reaches into the back of her pants, and pulls out a wallet. "And if it helps any.. "

Ping rummages through the wallet, and pulls out a photo ID. She holds it up to Dougal, though still having kept her distance. "Card carrying member of the Aeon Society. You will be safe upon this aircraft."

Dougal relaxes somewhat as he looks at the ID. Turning to Ingot he says, "If this plane goes down I expect a gentle ride to the ground." He gives the man a half serious half apologetic smile.

"Do you know who authorized the change?" Ingot said to Ping, raising his eyebrows. "What happened to my normal pilot and crew?"

He looked over at Dougal. "I understand your trepidation my friend, but I think in this case, we are OK." Then whispering to him. "I have several parachutes on board..just in case things do get nasty. Give me a minute, and I will inspect them. If you wish, I can bring one to you."

Ingot gets out of his seat and heads towards the back of his plane. There, in a wall-locker, are 20 neatly packed parachutes. Ingot will take one out, and inspect it.

Dougal will inspect one of the parachutes as well, then replace it in the locker once he assures himself that it appears to be untouched. Afterwards he will return to his seat on the couch and sit in complete calm prepared to enjoy the flight to Tokoyo.

Virago stayed where she was, turning her attention back to her comic book, secure in the knowledge that her athletic ability could dampen any fall she took.

From behind his book/facemask, in a half sleep voice Vajas waves in Dougal and Ping's general direction "Yes, I did scan her, thank you very much."

Rolling his shoulder to further sink into the cushioned chair, Vajas voice keeps getting lower and lower, invaded by yawns. "I...'m the information...specialist,....remember?"

As soon as the plane reaches cruising height Rapido releases his seatbelt and begins pacing. While never making a nuisance of himself you get occasional snippets of cell-phone conversation with his agent, mother, and several girlfriends throughout southern Europe. He maintains the cover that the are still in training at an undisclosed location. Any sharp eared companions will note that he makes one small concession when talking with his mother, telling her to "keep an eye on the news for the next few days".

At 30,000 feet, Ingot got out of his seat and headed to the bar. He looks around at his teammates, and asks "Does anyone want a drink?"

Ingot makes a drink for anyone who wants one. Not being a bartender by trade, and remembering that he had not hired one to run it, he used "The Complete Guide to Cocktails" to make any drinks his associated want.

After playing the roll of host, Ingot excuses himself. He returns to his seat and makes a phonecall.

"これは勝利者McWilliams、私ほしいと思う東京空港で待っているリムジンがである。 はい、規則的な記述を満たすことができる。 オハイオ州および運転者は慎重でなければならない。 私はまた彼がKamisamaの従節でないことを確かめたいと思う" Ingot says in Japanese.

Ingot makes three other phonecalls, all of them in Japanese. He then returns to the bar to get himself another drink.

Dougal will accept whatever kind of single-malt scotch Ingot has stocked in his bar. If it is aged over 18 years, he will not only thank Ingot for his hospitality but compliment him on his taste.

"Vino per favore, Lingotto" Rapido says distractedly still in the middle of a call with a girlfriend. This one from Firenze (Florence). Only late in the plane trip does he finally relent and collapse into a seat, saying to no one in particular...

"Amanti, amici di ragazza. I break the sound barrier but I still cant keep up with all of them.

Victor tunes the others out as he puts on his headphones, making his way through one of the magazines in an hour, then delves into the translation program. After another four hours he marks his place and the closes his laptop and leans back in his seat, and falls asleep. He wakes up about three hours later feeling fairly refreshed. Without much preamble he returns to his program for the remainder of the trip. It isn't that he's sociable, he just doesn't really want to have to depend totally on Ingot to be the sole go-between for the group.

He looks up from time to time, noticing where his teammates are, what they're doing and the like. It's different to see everyone relaxed, kind of nice too for a change.

As Eisenfaust closes his eyes, Dougal isn't far from him.
The plane ride goes by uneventful. If someone requests a conversation with Ping, tell me about it. If not, heres some Tokyo!

When the plane gets in sight of the compact city, it is nearly night. The entire city seems to be a neon light from a far, and doesn't change much in the approach. As the plane touches down and comes to a complete stop, Ping moves to the door and opens it. "Thank you for flying Blip and Ping Air, as brought to you by Mr. Ingot! Have a wonderful visit, and we will see you back here in three days!" She stands to the side, and after a moment, Blip exits the cockpit, and stands by her.

Virago swept up her comic books, stretched out the kinks in her spine, and stood up in one graceful movement. She stuffed the comics into her duffle bag and swung that over her shoulder.

When the jet lands, Ingot goes to the weapons locker and returns any stored items. Once he finishes, he retrieves his briefcase, and heads down the stairs and into the boarding area. As he passes the secrity at the terminal entrance, he gives them a firm bow and the Japanese greeting. "Ohio" The two guards on airport security give him a stiff bow, and return the greeting.

Once inside the airport, a well dressed Japanese man is holding a sign in English. He is obviously a limo driver. On it is the name Victor McWilliams. Victor walks up to the man and bows to him and speaks a few words of Japanese. The man reaches out and shakes Ingot's hand.

"Where will you and your party be staying in Tokyo, sir?" The well dressed Japanese limo driver says in excellent, but accented English.

Ingot replies to the man in English. "I can't speak for the rest of them, but I believe we want to head to the Nihonbashi-Ginza district. From there, we can get our hotel rooms, and hit the nightclubs."

Blip and Ping exit the plane immediately after each of the others exit. They move into the boarding area, and disappear into a crowd.

As the players are speaking to te Japanese man, they have a clear view of the plane through a window. The are several planes docking, and others scurrying about. Immediately after Ingot replies, a thunderous explosion deafens everything, and glass shatters into the airport, cutting everything in their path. Screams take over the large airport, of both fear and pain. Ingot's personal plane is scattered about, now flaming piles of wreckage.

Virago's jaw dropped for a long moment before she pulled herself together using instincts honed by training. The redhead automatically changed her turtleneck and denim to slinky crimson as she began to get civilians out of the way. She'd leave the investigation to Vajas and the others, and do what she could.

He turned and saw his $10,000,000 plane in pieces. He felt a sick sensation in his guts, as he realized that they could have been on board. The explosion had blown out most of the wndows, and people were injured. Ingot felt helpless towards them; he could finance the construction of a hospital, but he couldn't heal the wounded.

His eufiber switched to that of a one piece gold and while outfit. He ran over to one of the blown-out windows to get a better look outside. As he did, his mind raced through a series of questions: Were other planes in the same condition? Were there injured trapped outside? Is there any sign of who did this? What am I going to tell my insurance company?

The scene was so much to take in at a glance. People were scattering everywhere, and far off sirens can be heard. Other planes seemed to take very minimal damage. The shockwave seemed to push one against a boarding tunnel, and some others took minimal shrapnel. The scene is much less tragic than it easily could have been, as no one seems too seriously injured.

Dougal reacts quickly to the scene changing his eufiber to the usual combat fatigues configuration. "Alright team, that was obviously meant for us. Don't wander off by your self, lets stick close together, but I think we should help clean up the runway and investigate." With that he begins by using his telekinesis to pick up chunks of flaming wreckage that might cause a problem or disrupt airport operations and moves them to a pile in an empty area. As the others begin to move out toward the plane he will move with them but continue moving the wreckage around.

"They couldn't have..." Vajas, awe-struck at the flaming wreck that was their plane, and only 'free' ticket out of Tokyo. As he saw Dougal, Virago, Ingot and Rapido react to the explosion, and feels sligthly powerless besides them.

"It's my fault..." Vajas can't help but make a connection, between Blip and Ping, the exploding plane, and Ingot/Dougal's suspicion of them. I was the only weak link in here

Vajas quantum aura flashes up as a slight wind picks up Ping's mind, where is it? They can't be gone, I will find them no matter where they are hiding!

Victor makes his way out to the tarmac and frowns. Victor's eufiber reforms into his black and silver Eufiber as he himself shifts into his metallic form. The tarmac holds up under his increased mass and he moves towards the flaming wreckage. What Dougal doesn't grab he does mentally assessing the damage to the plane and the other planes. He shouts to the others.

"We need to get the other planes out of here, The heat from the flames could set off the fuel in their tanks." As he speaks he takes ahold of one of the Boeing-737's and begins moving it further from the wreckage.

With a crackle of blue-white energy Rapido leaps into action. He appears to drop his his closed weapons pack but by the time it reaches the ground it lies wide open, two knives missing He quickly secures a perimiter around the explosion, his super speed kicking up a trail of dust in a rough oval around the destroyed plane.

He returns to his teammates with his report. He nervously fingers his knives looking confused and bewildered. "But we...shouldnt we...I mean, we're supposed to be undercover!"

Warren: Im assuming he finds nothing.

People who were hurt are even beginning to quiet, watching the spectacle happening before their eyes. Its almost completely silent, with the exception of fire blazing. Amateur cameras are rolling, along with a single news station. Everyone is quiet as the team assembles to do the job for the greater good, until a child shouts "Novas! Look! A there's a entire team of them!" The crowd begins to cheer, evidently people aren't that injured.

In a matter of minutes, the scene becomes safe. All local televisions that aren't destroyed are playing a live feed.

During the rescue operation Rapido makes up for his relative lack of raw strength. He seems to appear everywhere at once, speeding the injured to approaching trauma crews and removing what dangerous wreckage he can so the Eisenfaust can save himself for what those pieces that demand someone of his talents.

" Mi amici, we have a problem" he nods to the encroaching media. An unpalatable vision of his own testicles mounted delicately upon a platter for Director Mercury's enjoyment swims before his eyes. Although he seemed largely unaffected by the rescue operation he really begins to sweat once cameras start flashing.

After the team gets the all the flaming wreckage piled up he will turn to Vajas. "I think we should find a p