We're a League of Heroes

"Alright, let's go!"

The Log Cabin

The detective leads the way outside to where he parked the vehicle. Thankfully, no trees fell on it unlike the poor cabin.

It's a rather large vehicle, easily can hold at least 12 people with all the storage space it has. Its large tires has the vehicle be high above the ground. It has two stories, with the second story being the smaller one and is located towards the back for aerodynamic purposes. Its black metal exterior is quite smooth to the touch and sleekly designed, with fortress-like jagged spines sticking out of the sides to damage enemy cars. The surface of the vehicle glows with ever-changing rainbow lines that flow around the curves of the vehicle.

This is the Black Dragon. I got this vehicle a few years ago after I beat a group of villains and obtained some of their property as a trophy. Wouldn't be the first time I acquired cool things from a villain that way and probably won't be the last.

The Plane

The plane is covered in ice thick enough that one can't see the identifiable marks on the plane. The crash did however break parts of the ice that a few windows are visible, some covered in a thin layer of ice while others are broken. Besides the sounds of the smoky ruins of the plane settling down, one could faintly hear people inside.

A woman with long blonde hair would be flying around the plane, trying to find an entrance point. She'd notice Elise in the distance and fly over, and you could see a red dress of sorts, with wing symbols on her hands. "Ah, good. Someone who can possibly help. Any ideas on how to get in there?" The woman would ask, flying beside Elise as she turns to face the plane.

Luke looks at the vehicle. "Wow... Should we start going now? Or are we waiting on the others?"

Elise turns to the unfamiliar blonde. "Well, I have one idea." She gently takes hold of the other woman's wrist and blinks them both inside the plane.

The blonde didn't expect it, so she jumped back in surprise. "...Note to self. Figure out the position for a teleport spell." She'd start working on rescuing the injured.

The Log Cabin

The detective gets behind the wheel.

We'll wait a bit, then we'll leave. May want to prepare yourself a bit, I can be a bit of a crazy driver in the times when I don't have to obey the rules of the road, such as this situation.

The Plane - Passenger Side

Inside the plane it becomes apparent that the plane has an unusual design. The front half of the plane is two levels of passenger seats, and the back half is nothing but cargo space. All of which is helpfully labelled in case one ever gets lost.

From the interior decoration of the plane showcasing design elements from various locations and artifacts around the world, it gives off a sense that the plane is built for expeditions.

The passengers were a complete mess. Some were unconscious, some were stuck in debris and fallen luggage, and the rest were in a daze like they're trying to collect themselves.

If one were to try the doors to the cargo bay, they would notice that the doors are sealed in place from the impact warping them. The same goes to the door leading to the cockpit.

The Plane - Cargo Bay

Meanwhile, a man wakens from a rude slumber, rubbing his hurting head. He's wearing a green outfit fit for an explorer. He checks a large wooden crate and carefully opens it to check on the contents, then carefully seals up the crate back to the way it was.

Whew, it isn't damaged. I'd rather not have the embodiment of evil killing me if it was.

He then goes to one of the two doors to the passenger side and tries opening it. No luck. After trying the other one he looks around for another exit. Seeing that all the windows were covered in ice, he starts hollering to the passenger side.

Hello, can anyone hear me?! I'm trapped in here!

"Yes, I can hear you!" Elise responds. "Are you injured?"

The Plane - Cargo Bay

Other than a mild headache I'm fine. Seems like the cargo here is intact, which is good as that would take a hit to my world-renowned reputation. I don't recognize your voice as one of the expedition members so I guess you're a rescuer then?

"Yeah, I'm —" Elise suddenly smacks her forehead. "One of the rescuers. Navi, what's my position?"

"Elise, your current position is..." and her phone rattles off a series of digits.

"Uhh, ctrl+C that for me, will you?"

"Copied."

And then Elise sent a mass text to the rest of the team saying "GO TO HERE! <numbers>"

The blonde would quickly go by Elise's side. "Make that two. We'll get you out of there somehow."

"I think I've dealt with crazy drivers before. I'll be fine." Luke looks back towards the cabin. "I'm sure they'll be fine, too."

The Log Cabin -> Woods

The interior of the Black Dragon was just as sleek and high-tech as the outside, built for comfort and utility. Like the exterior, it's mostly black. There are pockets and compartments in and around all the seats and sides of the vehicle. Searching said pockets and compartments would reveal various supplies that would be great in an emergency, though some of said stuff is merely things that were forgotten and weren't taken out. Each of the seats can recline back far enough to be a makeshift bed in case of emergencies. In the middle of the back third of the vehicle is a retractable staircase to the upper level that extends from the ceiling. In the dashboard is a multi-use computer that not only serves the same function as dashboard screens in modern cars, but can also be used as a regular computer. All of the seats have a series of helpfully labelled buttons next to them, showing a variety of services such as a seat massage.

After waiting a bit for the rest of the group to board, the detective receives the text message from the dashboard computer of the vehicle.

Ah, so that's where the plane is.

He opens a new tab and puts in the coordinates, which the computer then locates via GPS. An arrow appears on the screen, which points in the current direction of the target relative to wherever the Black Dragon goes.

If any of you want to use the radio, go right ahead as there's one built in near all the seats. Just press the appropriate button near you to reveal it if you're not in the front seats. The radio this vehicle uses covers just about any music you can think of, not just the ones found normally on the radio.

And with that the Black Dragon went off-road and drove off into the forest, creating a fair bit of turbulence as it went over logs, rocks, and uneven ground.

The Plane

The man would nod in response to his rescuers but doesn't as he knows they can't see him.

What are the conditions of my crew? Also, mind if I ask what are the names of my fine rescuers?

Allora would look backwards, not seeing any of the crew members. "I don't see any of your crew, but if they're here, I'd assume they're alright. The rest of the passengers should be fine."

"And if you ask, the name's Queen Allora. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

She's a queen!? Not necessarily. Queen is a name. Some people are named it. "My name's Elise. If everything's okay in there, I'm going to check on the rest of the plane."

The Plane

The man gives a small chuckle.

Heh, guess I should've specified that the passengers are my crew. Oh well, anyways I should probably introduce myself as well. You won't recognize me anyways thanks to my current predicament, but I'm the explorer Rick Wilderness. If you haven't heard of me I suggest you watch the news or check a bookstore, new editions of my exploits tend to show up in the media every once in a while.

Luke doesn't even think of touching the radio. He hadn't been able to enjoy music since the accident that resulted in him using a hearing aid. He was mildly worried about the other heroes back at the cabin - Glass and the robot especially. He remained mostly silent throughout the journey.

The Forest

The detective constantly swerved the Black Dragon left and right of trees as the vehicle went sharply up and down the steep hilly terrain at high speeds, thus giving the ride a roller coaster feel. It even occasionally went airborne a few times before safely landing on an opposite hill. Every time it looked like the Black Dragon was about to crash into a tree, the detective quickly used a clutch that caused a few of the eight spines along the sides of the vehicle to jut out and push the vehicle away from the tree to safety.

Then a deep stream that's directly in the way to the plane appeared as they turned a sharp corner. Knowing there's no way around it since time was of the essence, the detective simply drove the vehicle into the water, causing the Black Dragon to be completely submerged in dark murky water for a few moments before rising out from the other side of the stream no worse for wear.

Unfortunately, being submerged in water you can't see through hid that a skunk became in the path of the vehicle on the opposite shore until it was too late, scaring it into spraying the Black Dragon point blank. The interior of the Black Dragon now smelling of skunk, the detective quickly rolled down all the windows to air out the vehicle.

The vehicle went airborne over a hill one more time and landed on the impact path that the plane carved itself, with said plane now in sight some distance away. However, since the windows were open, a beehive fell into the back of the vehicle when it was knocked loose from its tree from that last jump. Now some angry bees are starting to stir.

Elise is looking through the plane to see if anyone is in need of immediate attention.

Queen Allora would be working on caring for the crew members, as she couldn't think of a way to set Rick Wilderness free. She hoped people would be able to come by and help soon.

Luke hears the bees and calmly approaches the detective. "Looks like we're on time. A beehive fell in, though. I take it we're not dealing with that just yet."

Outside the Plane

The detective notes the bees through the rearview mirror.

Ignore them for now until they come close to stinging, I've been in more dire situations than this.

It wasn't long before the Black Dragon stopped next to the plane. The detective calmly put in a command to the computer and exited the vehicle.

Two panels on the Black dragon opened up and robotic arms extended towards the side of the plane. The arm whose "hand" looked like the tip of a flathead screwdriver embedded itself into the ice as the other arm that had a huge mallet for a "hand" started hammering the other end of the flathead stick. This did indeed chip away the ice into a door-shaped hole as the arms moved around, however the arms moved a tad too vigorously as the plane was wobbling back and forth as a result.

The Plane

Quite a few passengers were in need of medical attention, having suffered some wounds from the impact.

Suddenly it felt like an violent earthquake inside the plane as the sound of something hammering against the plane rang outside.

Allora, semi-frightened, hurried over to some of the passengers. She'd close her eyes, and the cyan wing symbols on her hands would turn into a pair of light-green crosses. She'd put her hands on a passenger's shoulders, slowly but surely healing their wounds. "Don't worry," she assured the crew member whose wounds she was slowly healing. "I'm here to help."

Elise is tending to a passenger with her healing magic when the plane suddenly starts shaking around. "Argh, what the hell?!"

The Plane

Now that a hole in the ice has been cut, the detective stops the computer and takes out a megaphone from one of the Black Dragon's many compartments, calling out to those inside the plane.

Hey, if any of you inside can hear me, I need you to clear a path from the port side of the plane, specifically the place where I just cut a hole in the ice. That was the cause of those tremors you felt, so sorry about that, the machine still has some kinks to work out. Anyways, once the coast is clear, I'll be cutting a hole directly through the hull of the plane with some big blades. However as this is a two-story plane, I'm gonna need your help to remove the hull piece as it would still be attached to the floor in the center of the plane.