The Story!

You could also not take the call! That's an option, soz forgot to mention it. It would be pretty awkward after that strange request.

Outside, stepping onto the beach

“Mr. President, I'm impressed to hear from you so soon!” Logan didn't think he'd made that much of an impression on the world leader, despite their assurances that cooperation between the Uniteds would be forthcoming.

Sounding cool as he usually did, the older gentleman answered, “I'm surprised I'm in a situation where asking for help would be appropriate so soon. I'm sure you've been fully briefed on the ecological disaster, so let me be brief.” The minor play on words wasn't lost on its recipient. “We're not sure what we're dealing with. Satellite footage isn't giving us the information we need, and we're reticent to send aircraft to investigate when the only private craft to head out to sea hasn't returned.”

“Such tragic news...” Logan briefly waved at the three undeniably cool teens that were congregated at the pizza shop that...  Jenny was it? was part of the family that owned.  “That makes what I'm about to disclose even better: we're currently working on a plan to possibly resolve the problem and save Delmarva's sea.”

A relieved inhalation could be heard over the phone, followed by, “Logan, that's what I wanted to hear. I assume it's connected to the Gem aliens or the Repulsa gang? Tell me it's not a new Breach made especially for us on the East Coast.”

“It's Gem-related, yes. We think it's being done by a previously unseen individual with access to magical energies.”

“God, magic...” President Perez sounded unsurprised, but also unthrilled. “I was pretty used to the notion that giant robots walk the Earth, and now this. Will you be needing backup for this solution?”

“Hopefully not. If I do, can I contact you?” The last thing he wanted to come across as was desperate.

“Absolutely. In fact, if there's no change on the seas in a few days, I'll have to take it into my own hands. We've gotta protect our country, and our fair coasts are equally crucial.”

“Understood. I'll get back to you soon one way or another. Was there anything else?”

“Nothing that can't wait until your mission is complete. The United States Government wishes you good luck and godspeed. Take care, Ambassador.”

“You too, Mr. President.” Before making the walk back to the house, he placed a few dollars on the counter of Beach Citywalk Fries. “Large fries to go, please.”

Back Inside the House

“I got a cup of fries for us to munch on!” said the greyhead enthusiastically as he entered.

“Excellent. They're my guilty pleasure,” said the handsome car-stud known as Kevin, who ambushed Logan and helped himself to some fried taters.

“'Fuck are you doing here, Kevin? When did you even get here. Do you even know this guy?” Logan asked Steven, who was sitting with Sonya and Amethyst on the kitchen couch.

“Yeah. He's a guy.” Steven didn't elaborate, he just shrugged and frowned.

“It's cool, Ambassador. I'm here to pledge my services and car to the cause. We're gonna save Beach City, right? I know what you and the Gems do.” Kevin tapped on his head and smirked. He had a way with scarves, 'twas true.

“I'm not sure about that. I'm not sure about that at all. What I am sure about is that it's time to eat these potatoes and get down to brass tacks.” As Garnet and Pearl walked out of the back room, he addressed everyone. “I am declaring this to be an official United Arms joint mission.”

“I could use a joint,” offered Amy.

“That means that we'll be going together, as a unit, to confront Lapis. Between the Wonderchild and any vehicles or fusions you want to travel as, we'll be forming a convoy and heading through the territory that would have been ocean. Shouldn't be tough to find her from there, assuming that she's at the nexus of this phenomenon. Does everyone like this?”

A sea of nodding heads confirmed it, and another voice pitched in, “Whoever wants to can ride my van! She'll get us where we need to go. Plus if Steven's going, then I am.”

“Oh, thanks Greg!” Logan identified the source as Greg Universe, Steven's balding, oddly tanned father who he had come to recognize as stunningly dependable. “I'd be glad to have you as part of this.”

“Pause, though. You're taking that guy out to sea? What if it gets unstolen midway through the mission?” Sonya sounded concerned.

“I am well aware that the W-E is no Jaegar when it comes to water operations, but I trust you and my repair team will be able to cook up a solution to make me water tight.”

“That response shows a stunning lack of understanding of engineering and development. I'll need like a week to even come up with a prototype.” Sonya sounded more serious than usual.

“You have a day from the end of this meeting.”

“Don't fuck with me,” she sneered.

“I'm not.” Logan wasn't.

Realizing that this was indeed the case, Sonya nabbed a few of the cup's salty sticks and groaned. “You fucking owe me!”

“This is sounding like my kind of plan,” approved the fashionable one. “Three-whip convoy with a giant robot, a rock star van, and my slice of mechanical heaven. I can't imagine a better hero team.”

“Who said you were coming? We need to put some thought into who all is going, since obviously at least someone has to be available to protect Beach City in case of any other insanity. That can't be me, since otherwise we lose our mecha. I guess, to make things easier, I'd like to ask what Fusions we have access to.”

Garnet smiled, but it was the sort you'd miss if you weren't watching for it. She gathered her team together, then gestured between herself and Pearl. “Sardonyx. She's a showwoman and wields a hammer big enough to level skyscrapers. Nice lass.” She did the same between herself and Amethyst. “Sugilite. Wields a flail on a cord. A bit out of control.” She gestured between Pearl and Amethyst. “Opal. Precise, agile, and great with a bow. Forgetful, but she'd never forget her archery lessons.”

Logan butted in. “Hold on. Opal wields a bow? How big is she, because I was once assisted by a giant archer in California. It was way too dark to identify them – was it you?!”

Amethyst answered. “Nope! Dude, that must have been Alexandrite, we fused as her and went out to the left coast to handle a corrupted gem not too long ago!”

Logan's jaw had fallen thanks to the pleasant surprise. “Holy shit! Thanks so much for that! Wait, Alexandrite?”

“All three of us. Our 'all-in' battle Fusion. If she can't get it done, we have problems.” Garnet elaborated, but not too much.

Steven smiled widely like he hadn't been lately. “She's my Cosmic Horror Mom! Sugilite is my Badass Mom, Sardonyx is my Celebrity Mom and Opal's my Hindu Goddess Mom! Ah, Giant Women. Truly some of the greatest of all women.”

“You're not kiddin' about that, Shtuball.” Greg said as he ruffled his kid's hair, which was much appreciated.

“Garnet, you forgot about two of the best fusions! Stevonnie and Herkimer Diamond!” At the mention of the name 'Stevonnie', Kevin perked up and started paying extra attention.

“Oh. However could I have forgotten those two.” Garnet said flatly. “Steven, it's important to explore who you are with other people. But it's also important to stay safe. Unless a miracle happens, this fight is gonna be pretty bad.”

“All the more reason for me to be there! My shield can protect you, and Herk's is even bigger!” Steven looked at least a few smidges more determined than usual.

Logan's throat caught – he hated having to let the smolchild down. “Steven, we can't fuse into Herkimer Diamond. Even if it was crucial like last time, it doesn't work for this mission because I need to be in the mech.”

“Hmm... Maybe someone else could ride your robot?” asked Steven innocently. “Pearl's a good pilot!”

“Oh, Steven.” Closing her eyes out of self-satisfaction, she conceded, “It's true. I am pretty brilliant.”

“Pearl, you're not piloting the United Arms' top Action Frame. It's actually a lot trickier than you'd think, and besides me and the other Ambassador, nobody has even operated this since it came off the line.”

“That's actually...” Sonya almost held back what she had to say, but she blurted it out. “That's actually not true. I've been practicing in the Wonderchild in between repairs.”

Logans stared blankly at his friend as an awkward silence came over the room. It was broken fairly quickly by Kevin whispering, “Oh, damn.” and from there the diplomat yelled, rather undiplomatically, “Fucking what?! Sonya, you've been piloting the fucking Wonderchild?!”

“Lower your voice, Lo. It sounds way worse than it is.”

Trying to refrain from goin' apeshit, Logan beseeched her, “Please explain how this could possibly be less problematic than it sounds.”

Unashamed, Sonya confessed, “During repairs, I got into the cockpit to test functions like cameras as I helped fix them. That developed into running the machine through its paces with basic mobility – kinda unavoidable to make sure the repairs would hold. That evolved naturally into practicing combat maneuvers – attacking, dodging, things that you'd need to trust not to break the whole mess. And by then Adam had resigned to helping out, so we were going to plan out some tactical lessons. As you can tell, I did nothing wrong at any point in the process.”

Logan had his head in his hands, Amethyst and Kevin were snickering and whispering something, and the others weren't exactly sure how to react. How the fuck could she have possibly not only broken into his cockpit, which she'd had trouble with before, but also gotten his computer in cahoots with her? Obviously, words were needed for Adam. In a more immediate sense, the organizer of the mission had to get back on track. This wasn't helped by Steven's next statement.

“That's not so bad, is it? If Sonya can operate the WE, then Herk is back on the table!” He had stars in his eyes, and clearly liked the idea of spending time as that four armed drink of water.

“It's... physically possible, depending on how good she'd gotten.” Logan didn't want to come across as degrading to his friend, but he'd already all but discounted the notion of her officially piloting the Action Frame. One way or another, he had to pitch a squad to sortie.

Choice Time!!!

>Logan had to compose a convoy to head out and handle the Lapis situation.


People the team can be composed of (pick as many or as few as you want):

Ambassador Logan in the Wonderchild (prevents the use of Herkimer Diamond)

Engineer Sonya Ortiz in the Wonderchild (prevents the use of Logan in the W-E)

Steven Universe, Lapis's Beach Summer Fun Buddy and component of Stevonnie and Herkimer Diamond

Connie Maheswaran, swordswoman in training and component of Stevonnie

Greg Universe the doting rock-father (required if Steven goes)

Garnet, lightning bruiser and component of Sugilite, Sardonyx and Alexandrite

Amethyst, shapeshifter extraordinare and component of Sugilite, Opal and Alexandrite

Pearl, space samurai and component of Opal, Sardonyx and Alexandrite

Kevin – The Driver, the Dancer, the Legend


People who are eligible to remain in Beach City to protect it in case of emergency (pick as many or as you want):
Steven
Connie
Garnet
Amethyst
Pearl


People who are outright unavailable for the team:

NERV pilots, including Shinji Ikari are all currently located in Japan and likely occupied.

The Shatterdome's Jaegar Pilots haven't built a relationship with Logan, and are all located along the pacific rim

Most Power Rangers are unable to travel at the same speed as Kim's Pterodactyl Zord


People who could be called upon to either protect Beach City or join the team, should you feel the need to ask for extra help:

Kimberly Ann Hart, the Pink Power Ranger has a Dinozord capable of traveling long distances very quickly, and if called soon could easily reach Delmarva in time to be ready

Coop, the prodigiously brutal and silly pilot of Megas XLR, is reasonably close, being located only a state away in New Jersey

Kiva from the Space Coalition has her own mecha, which is slimmer and more restrained aesthetically compared to Megas


Vehicles on hand to travel inside of:

The W-E Wonderchild (Sits One, additional riders can accompany but this is dangerous in battle)

Greg's 'Mr. Universe' branded Custom Van (Seats 2, but has room for more in the back)

Kevin's Souped-up, Beach-Friendly Himitsu X-12 – KSBFMRC (Sits Two)

Umm going to need time to look at that post Punk sorry for no immediate response.

Good choices. Generally I'd move forward but this is pretty crucial, just making sure Yoshi is cool with it.

If we stick Sonya in the thing, then Logan's stuck in, like, the van if we don't fuse with Steven. And... she Lapis kinda probably doesn't like Logan.

Yeah, let's send Kiva into the town. She needs a chance to be the cool guy.

Steven's House

Logan gave the rest of the fries to Steven to hold before clapping his hands together with a smile. “I have a good idea of what we'll do. For one, we're going to call up some people I've met in New Jersey.”

“What's new about Jersey?” asked Pearl.

“Hell if I know,” admitted Logan. “What I do know is that these are some high-end adventurers. One of them is a tactically and technically excellent soldier, and the other has the most powerful robot I've seen. Well, one of them.” He corrected himself as he recalled Eva-01 that time it went apeshit at the airport.

“Another robot?” asked Steven with stars in them peepers.

“Two. One's big and bulky, while the other is slim and sleek. Which one do you want to work with?” asked Logan, even though he'd already made his decision.

“The big one!” yelled the excited early teen.

Logan smiled. “Then it's settled. Megas XLR will be part of the team. As will I, traveling with no passengers inside the Wonderchild. The third vehicle will be-”

“My car, of course. It's a two seater, but Steven can sit on Greg's lap,” Kevin chimed in and explained. “We'll save the ocean together and be Delmarva's saviors.”

“Actually, I need you here in Beach City,” Logan said somewhat dishonestly. “The third vehicle will be the Mr. Universe Van, which will have three passengers: Steven, Greg, and our heavy hitter, Garnet.”

“Baby, I'm not about to sit on the sidelines while others are doing the important job. Kevin's meant for greater things, and he won't wait to be saved.” The well-dressed guy landed on a sort of resting bitch face.

“Kevin, don't knock holding down the fort. Crazy things happen in Beach City, and two of its greatest heroes are heading out to a large, public distraction. Not to degrade Pearl and Amethyst, who will also be staying,”

“Are you out of your mind?!” screeched Pearl.

“No, but you are if you think there's an appeals process. I doubt you or Kevin will like the fact that the leader of this defacto defense alliance will be another outsider – Commander Kiva of the Space Coalition. She's both a pilot and a leader of troops in her home, so I trust her skills will be more than adequate even if shit hits the fan here. The stakes are too high for any of us to start questioning our roles.”

“Easy for you to say when you rush in and save the day,” instigated Sonya.

“It's a good plan.” Logan was sure of it.

The Following Day, assembled on the Beach

Logan was dressed to the nines in his freshly pressed United Arms uniform, and feeling good about it. Arranged in a row of sorts on the warm Desert City sands (for what was a beach without water?) were some of the best people he knew for a scrap. Inviting the car-headed unit wasn't difficult – he actually answered the phone with “Sup bro, wanna go pick a fight?”, and despite his slovenly appearance, Coop had arrived bright and early for the mission. Megas wasn't known for its restraint, but as he stared up at it, he knew that its heavy firepower and hard-hitting style would be a tremendous boon.

“You dudes ready to get this convoy moving?!” asked the tubby asshole who had already boarded the car-headed machine.

“Just about!” yelled Logan from his position on the ground. He proceeded to open up the side panel of the van to check on those inside first. “Everything all set in here?”

“You bet! I live in here, so I'm set to go any time!” Greg was plucking at his guitar as he answered, his son happily watching.

Logan shared a thumbs up with the two riders. “Wait, didn't I ask for a third person to ride the van?”

“Garnet said she was gonna ride in the car,” Steven answered casually.

Logan's grey eyebrows shot up. “Wow. That's unexpected.” Climbing into the van, he flipped the switch to turn on the CB radio that Greg had shown him the previous night. “Am I right that there are three people up there?” he asked into the receiver.

“Oh yeah. Big guy and I are in the front seat....” Jaime's smooth voice started...

“And I'm in the back. Gotta get to know someone if we're going to fight together,” Garnet finished.

“I love it! Know what else I'd love? A ride up to my cockpit!” Logan had initially descended to ground level with Adam's help, expecting to ask for exactly what he just had on the return trip.

“Why yes, good sir. We're glad to offer a helping hand,” said Coop in what was his attempt at a fancy voice.

Just as the giant blue robot extended its hand out to Logan, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Sonya.

She wasted no time jumping into conversation. “So, I couldn't help but notice that you didn't have a spot for me in the plan.”

“Oh fuck, is that right? I guess I assumed that since I decided to stick with the proven pilot that you were going to stay here.”

She frowned. “It doesn't have to be that way. I could ride with you, and when it looks like we're getting close, I can hot swap a replacement battery in so you have full energy going into the encounter.”

“That sounds incredibly useful, but what if it goes downtown? It's not safe to be inside that guy with me during a fight.” Logan looked worried.

“I'll get in the van, lock the doors and stay out of the way. I'd feel better being involved.” The small woman crossed her arms across her chest.

Choice Time!

>Sonya, you're staying.

>Sonya, you can come.

>Do you insist on sticking your ass where it doesn't belong, you damnable shrew?!

>Other