The More things Change [Open-ish, Pre-podpop]

[governmentninja]

Leon was, somehow, 900 kajillion light-years away from everything and everyone he ever knew. But what was he doing right now?

Walking through a ruined city that was crawling with raging infected in an attempt to locate and rescue any survivors. Again. Not that this work wasn't his stock and trade, but one would think that fate would have something

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[not_philistine]

Little more than an hour to go before he turns to stone again, and Goliath is still waiting for Rhiow atop the Vatican, keeping an eye out for infected to immobilize. To that end, the steel bar in his hands isn't a weapon.

It wasn't practical to ask Stacy for a wind to glide on when there was a virus to be contained, so, limited to running and climbing, he is facing the challenge of how to approach the human down below - the scarred prince who has retained in his rage the ability to produce fire, but not to control it.

If he is burned, sleep will cure him - but if a fire starts in the city, they may not have to worry about the virus anymore, but they might have to mourn the infected their lives.

[found_myway]

The scarred human down below lurches, not for lack of coordination, but because he is so full of anger and has no-one to unleash it on, and part of what's angering him is the loss of control of his firebending. Flames erupt from his fists where he flails them and occasionally he expels a flaming breath. His clothes are already singed from where he's accidentally set himself on fire a few times - not good for his temper.

If only someone would arrive - someone for him to punish for making him this angry -

[on_errantry]

Rhiow had been to the Vatican before, although not to its roof - it was simple to modify the spatial coordinates to pop out on the roof instead.

She appeared with a bang of displaced air and got up, shaking herself off before trotting over to where Goliath sat. "Shall we?" she asked, putting her whiskers forward. "I'd like to get to the podpop soon - there's been another one-"

That's when she smelled smoke, and other charred things. She leaned her head over the roof to look down below. "Sweet Queen Iau - I take it he's been infected?"

[not_philistine]

Forgive him if he's not as excited for the podpop, Rhiow. There's only one person he hopes to see when he attends them, and all these rounds of not seeing her there has dulled his enthusiasm.

"Yes, and I need your help to restrain him. We mustn't allow him to start a fire that spreads through the city. I hope you have magic for these circumstances, because all I have is this."

He hefts the steel bar. Good for clubbing people, good for restraining people . . . not good for stopping pyrokinetics from setting whatever they're restrained to on fire.

[on_errantry]

"I can probably work out something," Rhiow said, bending her mind to the equation. She had the neural inhibitor, but who knew what it would do to someone infected with the virus. She could- ah.

"If you would be so kind as to do the actual restraining, I can make it so he can't produce fire any longer - but you'll need to act quickly."

She bent her head to the roof, her tail flicking back and forth, as the spell materialized around her feet. It would remove the oxygen from the area - no oxygen, no fire, but also no breathing. "And hold your breath," she added, just before she began to speak the spell.

[not_philistine]

That's a long jump down, but that's what Goliath has wings for. He lunges across the rooftop on all fours, leaps off, and spreads his wings to slow his drop enough to land without killing himself.

[found_myway]

Zuko, who is suddenly disoriented by the lack of oxygen, just manages to dodge getting flattened by several hundred pounds of gargoyle. He dodges again when Goliath makes a grab for him, but the minute he tries to firebend, the lack of oxygen dampens the effects of his chi at work. His attempt to simply punch Goliath doesn't go well, either. It's like punching a brick wall, AND it gives Goliath an easy opportunity to reach out and grab him.

[not_philistine]

Which Goliath does, spinning the human to the ground with such force that whatever breath remained is forced from the prince's lungs, and he lies stunned on the ground long enough for Goliath to bend the steel bar into shape, wrapping it around the stunned human like a very large twist-tie.

Not breathing is starting to make him feel light-headed as well. He steps back as soon as he's sure Zuko is restrained and inhales a breath of fresh air.

[on_errantry]

Rhiow, watching from above, yowled a word of release. The oxygen - temporarily turned into harmless but definitely not flammable nitrogen - came flooding back. But with his hands restrained, hopefully Zuko wouldn't be able to cook them.

She muttered another string of words and appeared on the ground next to the prince with a bang. "Feeling sick?" she asked. "I thought we asked you to turn yourself in to contagion."

[found_myway]

Goliath tries to shout a warning, but in an instant, the flailing prince turns his head towards the cat, inhales deeply, and roars, a wall of furious sound and aimless fire.

[on_errantry]

It was lucky - more than lucky - that Rhiow kept her personal shield loaded at the back of her mind. One quick word - mental, not verbal - and it sprang to life around her. The fire licked harmlessly at its edges, surrounding her in a cocoon of flame until it died away.

"Charming," Rhiow said, pretending like all her fur wasn't standing on end. "Perhaps I should get you to contagion where the nice medical staff can sedate you until you drool."

[not_philistine]

Goliath pulls an iron bar off a fence nearby and begins bending it into shape to bind Zuko's legs - the prince has started kicking.

"The sooner, the better," he says, flipping the prince over and pinning him while he binds his feet. Zuko exhales again, but with his face pressed into the ground, the fire only has one direction to go, and that isn't at Goliath or Rhiow. "I have nothing to stop him from doing that, and I will turn to stone soon."

It's night in the city, but the false sun is very close to rising.

[on_errantry]

"And I can't keep him from doing that if we want him alive," Rhiow said. She put her head down next to Zuko's ear and said - quietly, in case Goliath objected to threatening one's prisoners - "You're not really endearing yourself to me, so I don't have very much incentive for you to stay alive."

She didn't know if it would penetrate, but she flicked her tail, another circle materializing around them. "I'll have to go with him, but you shouldn't - I don't know if the virus effects your species, but I know it doesn't effect mine. I'll come back and get you in a second."

She glanced down at the spell, watching Zuko's name slot itself in. It was vague - tons of placeholders - and she didn't like that.

[not_philistine]

Goliath steps back from the struggling prince, who is shouting things now about being one. His words are so garbled by fire, rage, and the road in his face that they're barely intelligible. Not that he's really saying anything Rhiow or Goliath need to hear.

"If it does, it has very little time to manifest."

He turns, looking back to the Vatican. "If I'm not here when you return, look to the rooftops. If there is a statue in my likeness, assume it is me."

He'll thank her for her help later. Right now they're in a hurry.

[on_errantry]

Rhiow spoke the spell rapidly - not so rapidly that she would stumble over the words, but rapidly enough that Zuko likely wouldn't get another chance to breathe fire on her. The two of them disappeared with a whump.

Seconds after dropping Zuko off in containment, there was another bang and Rhiow re-appeared, yet another spell circle beginning to materialize around her. This would be the last one for a while - she was panting a bit with exertion. "Ready to go? I have it set for observation."

[not_philistine]

"Yes."

And just in time. Goliath was continuing to feel lightheaded - probably not the effects of the oxygen depletion. Sleep will cure him . . . probably.

"Perhaps you should make it Contagion," he says, reconsidering. He doesn't want anyone hurt because he put too much faith in his natural ability to heal.