-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; [email protected] <[email protected]>; [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Tue, Jan 12, 2021 12:43 am Subject: COH Story - Hunting for the Ice Age part 1
Here is another Super Fox story set in the MMO City of Heroes. It is a side peice really and doesnt follow the main plot i have going but its a fun story. To understand you should read the story A Visit To The Islands first. It explains a lot. And it's also a fun story. Part 1 is here: https://www.deviantart.com/captfox/art/Super-Fox-story-17A-Visit-to-the-Islands-part1-387225260 My Thanks to Leo for his endless help with this! ChrisThe Lurking Fox ******HuntingFor The Ice Ageby Christian OKane It was snowing when they arrived. But thenagain it was always seemed to be snowing here. The air always had the crispnessand cold of winter and the moisture that foretold of a coming storm or one justpast. They had gone through a long list ofquestions at the airport in Bangor Maine. Have you had any of the followingissues: influenza, typhoid, cold (of ANY sort) and a long list of issues he hadnever heard of. Also they had to confirm they had been vaccinated against animpressively long list of diseases. Most he had also never heard of except fromthe previous list. Finally they had to sign a release form thatabsolved the U.S. Government of any liability for injury or transformationoccurring during their visit. Then the four people and a hundred pounds ofcamera, sound gear and even a camera drone and their personal possessions wereloaded onto a S76 helicopter. Theflight in had been rather boring at first. It had been sunny and warm Augustday when it took off and headed out to sea. Quickly the sky grew overcast andit got noticeably colder. Then it started to snow quite heavily. They notedthat the pilots were flying using radar as the wind grew worse and the snowfalling heavier. The view outside the window was completelyobscured by driving snow and ice. He placed his hand against the now ice-coveredwindow. The cold ran thru his hand and he pulled it back. “Wow that’s cold!” “Be careful. The cold is really bitter herebut it lightens up once we get closer to the lodge,” the pilot warned. “How much further?” The man asked. He wastall with short, reddish blonde hair that told of Irish heritage somewhere inhis family tree. A smile readily came to him in most times but at the moment helooked nervous. Seated across from him was his team. Theblack man wielding the camera was Allen Miller. He had been with the host formany years and they had gone all over the globe together. The brown-haired woman next to him was alittle on the short side but had a body that was well toned. It spoke ofsomeone who exercised but not overly so. She was holding the mic that wasrecording everything the host was saying. Like Allen, Barbara had been with theshow since the start. Usually for a show like this there was ahalf dozen other people doing all the myriad tasks needed to film. Butconsidering the extreme situation it was decided to go with a bare minimum ofpeople. So aside from Barbara and Allen there was Fred Mason. His officialtitle was Technical assistant. Which meant he dealt with anything the otherthree couldn’t. All were bundled up heavily in parkas,gloves and arctic, cold weather gear. Back in Bangor it seemed like an overkillbut now he wondered if it was enough. The helicopter slowed and there was a soft bumpas it landed. “All out,” the pilot commented. “We’re here.” “Where is here?” One passenger asked. He triedto look out the window but it was frosted over. “The ice age,” the copilot responded. The side door slid open and let in a blastof frigid air whipped through the compartment. The leader stepped down andfound himself standing on a concrete platform partly covered by snow. Thepassengers and their luggage were quickly piled on the ground. In a spot nottoo covered with snow. In addition to the camera and recording gearthey had 2, large, arctic tents, 4 heaters, enough survival rations for a week andtheir own personal gear. They were experienced enough to limit themselves to asingle bag each for their personal items. The wind whipped up as the helo took off; turningthe air into a raging blizzard. It was several moments before the blowing snowhad settled down. It revealed a landscape of deep snow and deeper wilderness. Thearea around the landing pad was clear of vegetation aside from a few smallshrubs. Beyond that all he saw was tall, coniferous trees towering up andcrowding close around. What impressed him the most was the silence. Once thenoise of the helicopter had faded they were left alone in the silence of aforest. Only the soft whipping of the wind and the rustle of the trees. He wasn’t sure where he was but it certainlywasn’t the same world he had just left. “I’m glad I remembered to bring along my thermalunderwear,” Allen muttered. "Dr. Livingstone I presume?" He turned in the direction of the voice. The last of the wind finally died down revealinga figure standing close to him. It was not human. The powerfully muscled body of a primepredator was sitting barely ten feet from him. His fur was a grayish whitecolor that blended into the snow easily. His body had the lines and shape of alion but without thick mane. The feline examined him with the gaze of a hunter. “Hello,” he said trying to remain calm. “I’mJonathan Williams.” He pointed to the three people with him. “And this is mycrew. We’re here from the television show Great Expeditions.” “Welcome,” the feline said in a powerful,male voice. “I’m Dr Philip Ferguson.” “And I’m Dr Samantha Ferguson,” A femalevoice said. “We’re big fans of your show. We watch it all the time.” Jonathan turned in the direction of thevoice and saw a female feline seated a mere ten feet away. She looked like alioness but larger and her fur was gray but with spots of black scatteredabout. “Th – thank you for meeting us,” Jonathansaid trying to stay calm. The lioness gave a cough that might havebeen a laugh. “I’m sorry if we frightened you.” “You’ve been waiting to do that for a longtime. Haven’t you?” Jonathan asked. “Welcome to the Ice Age,” the lion said asthe two felines slowly came towards them. It allowed Jonathan a better look atthem. The lioness was some 6 feet long from noseto base of tail and stood at least 3 feet tall at the shoulder. She weighedaround 800 pounds. The male was even longer taller and heavier. Bigger. He wasat least 1000 pounds and some 7 feet long. “You’re a cat. A BIG cat!” he stuttered. “Wow!” The lion said sarcastically as helooked at his body. “I hadn’t noticed!” “When they said you had gone native I didn’tthink they meant it literally,” Jonathan joked. “The best way to learn about something is toexperience it firsthand,” the lion explained. “We’ve learned so much already,” Samanthacommented. “Let’s get all of you over to the main lodgeand out of the cold,” she said. “Thankfully it’s not too far.” The new arrivals picked up their gear andthe group with it’s feline guides headed out. **************
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