Impulse taps his feet impatiently...it sounds like a jackhammer, kind of far away. He's looking out the window, and he starts to hum a little song. The Atom continues to pilot the shuttle upwards, until finally they clear the atmosphere, and he relaxes somewhat and begins to look over the controls, changing a the monitor to an external view. "We should catch up to them in just a few minutes." You ascend to the Ionosphere. Ionosphere This layer of Earth's atmosphere is a blanket between the planet and the empty void of space beyond it. The air is near-freezing, and impossible for any mortal human to breathe. Most man-made crafts cannot fly in it, unless pushed by rocket engines. The stars are like diamonds sprinkled behind the thin veil of ethereal gases that make the atmosphere. During daylight, the sun's rays are intense and unyeilding, with no protective layers to shield from the different waves and radiation that are normally blocked at ground level. Obvious exits: Eastcoast Seaboard Earth Orbit In this cold vacuum, direction becomes almost meaningless. There is no 'east' or 'west', nor even an 'up' or 'down'...the mortal mind can only reference by the planet that has you held in it's gravitational pull. The continents of Earth look almost dwarfed by the slate-blue bodies of water that surround them. Even more impressive are the swirling weather patterns which sweep across the globe like random phantom images. The next reference point is the Sun, which shines blindingly bright, though it's millions of miles away. The Moon's ghostly image is much closer, as the pock-marked satellite makes its monthly trip around the Earth. Obvious exits: Solar System Earth Impulse pokes SB. "We're going to -your- house!" Superboy bobs his head back and forth, cheerfully blissing to his favorite tunes. At Impulse's poke, he starts, slowly (speed is for suckers) turning his gaze to the young man next to him. "Huh?" he asks, pulling his earphones from his ears. You see a tiny speck among the stars, that begins to grow as the shuttle approaches. It glimmers with the reflected sunlight peering from around the Earth. As the shuttle approaches, the object suddenly veers off from orbit, and turns away, moving away from the sun. Impulse looks irritated at the fact that Superboy's moving deliberately as slow as drying paint, and says a little quicker, "We're going to your house, Step-And-Fetch-It!" He points out the window at the stars. Has Impulse finally snapped? Is this the end for the Titans before they even begin? Has his speed finally taken its toll? Find out next week, on ... Superboy! patiently says, "My house is many, many, many miles below us. I don't know if I could survive in a vacuum. Nature abhors them, you know." Impulse gahs. Impulse says "Gah!" The Atom looks up at the departing spacecraft, and says, "Hang on, I'll change course to pursue." He fiddles with the controls some more, and the shuttle lurches out of Earth orbit and on a path towards the quickly fading alien craft. Impulse says "Not your house. Your...gah." Impulse says "I...nevermind." Impulse goes into a funk, and sulks out the window. Superboy watches Impulse with the patience of Yoda. "C'mon, man," he says, gently nudging Impulse's shoulder. "What's on your mind?" Impulse mutters something inaudible. Superboy frowns, holding out his headphones. "Music?" he offers, "Gauranteed not to annoy." Impulse raises his eyebrows. "Ska?" Superboy nods slowly. "A mix," he says, gesturing at the tape. "Ska. Punk. Electro. Goth. Skapunkelectrogoth." Impulse says "Goth?" Impulse looks interested. "Goth like Batman-goth? Or goth like vampire-goth? Or goth like black nail polish?" Superboy squints his left eye. "Well. More industrial than goth, really." He pauses. "No, the .. umn, all three. And add in metal and big combat boots." Impulse says "Really? Like the people at the mall? They have weird hair." He's completely oblivious to his own hair, of course. Superboy squints his other eye. "Somewhat. Difference being that the people in these bands tend to mean it. The people at the mall tend to want to be seen." He glances down at the music, and holds it out as a peace offering. "Music," he states, simply. Impulse's face lights up. "Sharp!" He hands Superboy a container of pixie-stix. You have NO idea where he was hiding it. Think Wile E. Coyote. Impulse asks "Do you think Green Day is real punk? Or do you think they're poseurs?" The Atom follows the aliens, and increases the speed to keep up with their rapidly moving ship. He makes some minor adjustments, and shakes his head lightly as the two banter about trivialities. "I'm not sure where they're headed. Let me plug some things into the computer here." You pull away from Earth's orbit. Solar System: Inner Planets The black void of space is an interesting sensation, even for those who are immune to its devastating effects on the body. There is no air-pressure, and no climate. The pinpricks of light denoting stars and galaxies are scattered in every direction, though the outer band of the Milky Way the Solar System inhabits is faintly discernable by a higher concentration of celestial bodies. From this point, the inner planets that encircle the Sun are reachable: Venus, Earth, and Mars. Mercury is also included in the Inner Planets, though currently it is on the other side of the Sun. Obvious exits: Outer Planets Earth Superboy takes the Pixie Sticks container with both hands, peering at it closer. "Green," he states, happilly, before looking up. "Neither. They're not real punk -- they're not punk at all, really. They're just annoying. But, you know, they're not poseurs, either. They really _are_ sell-outs, and aren't just acting like it." Impulse hees! "Genuine sell-outs?" Impulse offers Atom a wire to plug into the computer. He doesn''t say or show what it's connected to. The Atom raises an eyebrow, then shrugs and takes the offered wire. He plugs it in without asking, then says, "Alright. What did I just do?" Impulse presses play! The shuttle is suddenly filled with and engulfed in some extremely loud Bim Skala Bim! Superboy raises his hand to his forehead, his palm smacking into his forehead with a resounding *smack*. Impulse falls out of his seat, having taken off his buckle, and rolls on the floor, laughing hysterically. "Bwahahahahahahahahahaha-hahahaha-hahahaaaaaa!" Superboy nudges Impulse with one foot. "Buckle up," he says, "it's the law." He glances up at Atom, attempting to catch his eye with a tilt of his head and an apologetic shrug of his shoulders. The Atom raises his hands to his ears and yells back to Imp to turn it down, and then reaches up and pulls the plug. The music ceases immediately. He turns and looks at Imp, anger showing in his eyes, then turns without a sound and returns to piloting the ship. Impulse climbs back into his seat and snickers. He buckles up and chuckles. He glances at Atom and giggles, and puts the headphones back on and laughs! The alien craft continues to travel out towards the farthest planets in the solar system, but seems to stay at a steady distance from the shuttle. Impulse seems to have settled down, and falls silent. The Atom looks up from the computer, and nods. "They're on a direct course for Saturn." He makes a small adjustment to the ship, and then puts it on autopilot. Impulse hmms, "Ooh, ooh, like the telepaths? And...wow! Like us, SB! Titans!" Superboy pulls one leg up, crossing it over his other. "So it seems," he says softly, musing, before loudly speaking to the Atom, "We going to intercept?" The Atom shrugs. "I'm more concerned with watching them, than catching them. Especially since it looks like they are stopping near here." He watches the screen. "It looks like they're heading for one of the moons." Impulse hums 'Voyage to the Moon', by the Saturn Five. "And don't sink my ship, like you sunk the Maine, and the Lusitania! Don't crash my boat on the rocks...and don't succummmmmmmmmmmb - to egomania! Oh, Titanic, oh, Titanic, you're a noble ship.." He holds his thumb up to the window, and blocks out one of the moons. "Many moons..." Solar System: Outer Planets The light from this solar system's sun looks more like a bright flashlight rather than the huge giant that it truly is. Here it is the planets that seem like the giants rather than the sun. Where the mighty Jupiter and it many satilites are the kings, matched only by Saturn and its rings. These planets rule the cold space which includes other subjects such as Uranus, Neptune, and tiny Pluto. Obvious exits: Titan Moon Alpha Centauri Inner Planets The Atom looks at the computer screen and says, "Titan. They're headed for Titan. And..." he pauses. Superboy chuckles at that. "The forest moon planet of Titan .." Impulse duhs. "Like I said. Like the telepaths." An explosion occurs from outside the shuttle, sounding a lot like a laser blast from one of those star wars movies. Atom grabs the stick and pulls it hard over as they roll quickly to the left, away from the sound. "And... I think they've spotted us." Impulse asks, rapidfire, "How did we hear that? Is there air in space? Can I go outside? Please?" Superboy rolls with the blow, clutching onto both the seat and Impulse's shoulder simultaneously. "That's a problem," he says, and then glances at Impulse. "You could go outside, but you'd regret it." He grins. The Atom shakes his head quickly. "There's no air outside, but you can suit up if you think you could get them to stop firing." He motions to the locker. Impulse notes that there's a hole in the plastic arm of the seat, where he's been rubbing it like a worry stone. Superboy leans forward in his seat. "We've got weapons in this?" The Atom looks over the board rather quickly and nods. "Some, but I'm not sure if they'll be enough. Their armor is pretty thick on that ship." He pushes a few buttons on the console and some lights go on pertaining to the ship's weapons. The Atom shakes his head, thinking about what's going to happen to him if he returns the shuttle damaged. He continues to pilot the shuttle away from the fire, and it seems that his opponents are notoriously bad shots, anyways. Impulse makes faces out the window. "Thppt!" Impulse considers mooning the aliens, but decides against it. It'd make a more visible target, methinks. Superboy rubs the side of his head, the sweat glistening on his temples. "That," he noes, "is one hell of a scary situation. So they've seen us, eh? I think we should wait for a few before heading in. I mean, other than that brief attack, we've no _knowledge_ that they're dangerous." "Outside," he notes, "of common sense and years of experience." Impulse grins at SB. "'Course. Can't count that. That's useless skill and knowledge. Book learnin' and lofty ideology's the way to go!" Superboy laughs softly. "Maybe I should become a pragmatic," he muses. The Atom looks out at the attacking ship and mutters, "Not going to let them just keep shooting, though." He pushes a button on the stick and lasers shoot out towards the aliens. The first shots miss terribly. "Damn. I've gotta remember to practice this more often." Impulse tries to bounce up and down on his seat, and somehow manages to get yanked back into place by his buckle -and- hit his head on the ceiling. How, you ask? Comic-Book Physics, of course! "Ow! C'mon, Atom, let's go kick their butts!" Impulse says "Wait, what do I say? How'd it go?" The Atom wonders if maybe he hadn't practiced this before, and just forgot... Impulse racks his brain... Impulse ose! and grins at SB. "Titans Together!!" "Titans together," Superboy echoes with a concentrated look on his face, sliding out of his seat and rising to a stand. .oO( God, ) he thinks, ( we sure got one campy motif. )