Hop To It - Advance 21

[Iota]

The final badnik was a Circus--a sort of updated Kiki model, it seemed. A navy-colored robot monkey that, rather than tossing bombs, juggled a large metal orb. Apparently this constituted an attack.

Iota crushed it under his fist, sighing. He wished Eggman would stop modelling his robots after animals. It upset him to have to destroy them.

With that, all the badniks that got left behind when Mecha Sonic left were eliminated. Iota didn’t know why Mecha had left them idling instead of attacking, but he wasn’t about to argue against it. And with the robots destroyed, he was able to turn his full attention to making sure that everyone was alright.

A loud metallic drill started up somewhere behind the main house. Iota looked over; Humi was preparing something, no doubt. He’d seen her expression.

Analytics: Running worst-case scenarios.

Tactical: It hardly matters, she won’t be aiming it at us. 

Analytics: Rage and collateral make frequent bedfellows.

AdProg: I trust Humi to not harm me, but getting in her way right now will not be welcomed. I will focus on the village.

Damage report: Shelldon’s shack has been destroyed again. The gastropod was missing one antenna, but had assured Iota that it would grow back in just a few days. Currently he was sitting at his one remaining barstool and nursing a drink from one of his surviving barrels.

Fry’s truck had acquired a few dents but was largely unscathed. The gator was passing food around to everyone. His picnic tables were reduced to kindling however.

Laid out on a length of bench from one of the tables was Waxer. He had been shot down by a Stinger while defending Honey, and one of his wings was bent at a right angle.

Iota strode over to him. “Concern: How are you holding up, mate?”

Waxer looked up at him with a pained smile. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be grounded for a while, but--” He winced, having shifted enough that his wing touched the wood underneath him. “We might have to pay a visit to Honey’s parents back at the Apiary. They know how to fix a wing.” He frowned, muttering. “I was really hoping to avoid going back there…”

“Waxer!” Honey emerged from their house carrying a first aid kit shaped like a honeycomb and flew over; she attempted to shove Iota aside in her haste and ended up bouncing off him instead. “I found the kit! Roll over!”

Waxer groaned and flopped onto his stomach. “Be careful, dear.”

“I know what I’m doing.” She poked his bent wing gingerly.

Waxer flinched. “Be careful, dear.”

“I’m being careful!” She grabbed the thin membrane, and Waxer’s hands clenched in the grass.

“Honey--!”

The bee woman sharply bent the wing back into its proper alignment, and Waxer hissed painfully while she tied a lightweight splint around it.

Iota watched, morbidly curious. As far as he could tell it was an effective splint, but then he didn’t know much about the differences between insect and Mobian insect anatomy. Another gap in his knowledge needing correction.

Waxer stood up shakily, aided by his wife. “...I think I need to lie down.”

“I’m sorry, love…”

“It’s fine, we’re fine…”

Iota raised a hand to ask if they needed help, but found Fritz running up to him before he could. “Mr. Iota!” The young fox was wide-eyed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Mr. Spud, I think he’s having some kind of attack!”

Iota straightened and hurried over to the badger’s hole; he retreated into his tunnels as soon as the attack ended. He’d been one of the few who had actually fought back against the robots. Aside from Humi, Heyu, and Iota himself, the only other defender had been Razor, once he arrived, and with a toddling Chao in one arm and only a knife in the other, his efforts had been limited. Shelldon had tried a little too, but when his corrosive ‘soda’ ran out there wasn’t much else he could do. Spud, meanwhile, had managed to keep his crops nearly untouched.

Iota approached the hole to Spud’s chambers and considered it. His widest point was just barely too large. “This presents a problem.”

“He’s right below the ladder,” Fritz said, lifting the trapdoor. “See?”

Iota leaned down. The badger was curled up into a ball on the ground below. “Mr. Spud, are you well?”

Spud didn’t respond.

Sharing a worried look with the young fennec, Iota called down again. “Are you injured?” No answer. “...I am about to retrieve you, just to ensure you are alright. Please do not panic.”

Extending his arms down into the hole, Iota gently grabbed the badger by the sides. He felt Spud tense at his touch, but after no further reaction he slowly lifted him up and out of the hole, setting him next to the corn stalks.

Spud was holding his scarecrow ‘wife’ like a security blanket with his eyes clenched shut, mumbling incoherently to himself.

“Geez. He’s really shaken up,” Fry said, walking by. His tray still had some food on it; just some hot dogs and a basket of fries.

Iota hesitated, unsure of what to do. “Spud?”

“...nooo, no more robots, I can’t… I can’t…”

Iota backed away, hoping that it might help him calm down. Looking around, there were still quite a few destroyed badniks lying around, though as he watched Cavendish appeared and began carting some of it back to the house; what was Humi doing?

Shelby the Cat approached, looking a bit worse for wear with her torn sweater and black eye. She tapped Spud on the shoulder. “Hey, old man, the bad robots are gone. You’re fine, we’re fine.”

“We are not fine,” Razor growled, leaning up against the Vespas’ house. “That blowhard took those kids and the rabbits!” The Chao in his arms whined piteously.

“You are not helping,” Shelby hissed.

Spud shuddered. “The kids… no…” His fur was starting to get tear-stained. “I can’t go through this again, I can’t…”

Iota beeped. “Again?”

Spud’s eyes snapped open. “Again?!” He stood up, leaving the scarecrow on the ground. “I can’t do this again! I thought I was safe here!”

“Apologetic: It came as a surprise to all of us, Spud.”

“Yeah? Yeah?” Spud spat in Iota’s direction. “I bet you’d like me to believe that, wouldn’t you, egg droid?”

“Hey.” Fry handed his tray to Shelby and walked between them, hands up placatingly. “Iota hasn’t done anything wrong. You saw him fighting the badniks, right?”

“A convincing ruse…” Spud muttered, but his heart wasn’t in it. He sat down in the dirt with a thump and rubbed his eyes. “Sorry, tin man, I… I just can’t believe I have to go through this again.”

“You said that. You’ve been attacked by Eggman before?” Shelby asked. Holding the tray with one hand, her other hand twitched towards her pocket. Somehow her camera had survived the battle.

The badger nodded. “Few years ago now, out in the islands. Used to be called the Holehills, the village was. We did mining and farming. One day, Robotnik came through. Raided the mines, stole all the crops, burned everything else.” He sniffed. “I was out foraging in the woods when it happened, and it was all over by the time I got back to the village. My sister Twig and her husband Rocky, I found them huddled in the collapsed mill.” He shook his head. “Never found my niece’s body at all.”

Shelby’s ears folded back. “...wow, that’s--I’m sorry, Spud. I knew Eggman was bad news, but…”

“The mad doctor can be unpredictable in certain ways,” Iota agreed, morose. “Some days he is a clown, others he is a monster. Usually he is somewhere in between.”

“I was supposed to be safe here,” Spud said, pulling his knees up to his chest. “I heard Eggman’d already been and gone from this place. I didn’t think he’d come back.”

Iota nodded slowly.

Encyclopedia: Eggman dislikes retreading his steps, always wanting to move forward. Assuming he wouldn't come back is not unreasonable.

Analytics: But there are assets here. Not just the Final Egg and the downed Carrier.

Tactics: He came here for us. Tails, Amy, US.

Iota pondered on that, electing not to say his conclusion out loud.

“Well…” Fritz began, then faltered. Seeing Spud’s misery, he tried again. “At least Sonic’s already on the case. He’ll save the day, right?”

Spud snorted. “Fat lot of good he did me back then. But maybe you’re right…” He stood up with a grunt, picking Jackie up off the ground as he did. “...Where’d that hedgehog girl go?”

Shelby blinked. “Amy?”

“I think he means Tamara,” Iota corrected. “She ran off after Eggman targeted her, thinking she was Sonic. I don’t blame her.” He took a few steps towards the village entrance, trying not to notice how Spud warily tracked his movements. “She likely went back to the train station.”

“Makes sense,” Razor grunted. “...Mouse is making a lot of racket.”

They all turned to the warehouse. The sounds of construction had only gotten louder while they’d been talking; more of the broken badniks were missing.

“Do you think she’s making something big?” Fry asked. None of them seemed willing to go and check.

Iota was worried about her.

Razor pushed off the wall he was leaning on, hoisting the Chao in his arms up onto his shoulder, where it grabbed one of his head-fins. “I’m going to go check the station for that Tamara girl, and maybe fill in Waverly if she’s there. She’s gotta be confused about what happened.”

“Good plan.” Iota looked around, assessing the damages again. “...I think we should tidy up a bit. Fry, would you help me move the badniks over to my home so that Humi can get to them easier? It will get them out of the way as well.”

“Oh, uh, sure. Shelby, you can just leave that tray on my counter.”

“Aye aye.”

Spud’s brow furrowed. “What’s the mouse girl doing with all these parts?”

Iota had several guesses. “I’m sure we’ll see soon enough.”

--------------------------------

[Starr]

Linus adjusted his uniform, attempting to find the most flattering ratio of wrinkles possible (since none at all clearly wasn’t going to happen). He couldn’t wait until their preliminary training was over and he could finally get to the customizable uniforms their squad was promised; the ‘hero’ units Tower was trying to create were being given greater freedom to personalize themselves due to some idea that uniformity was anathema to the individualistic nature of heroism.

It reeked of nonsense to Linus, honestly. Was Tower getting his ideas out of a comic book? No matter.

As satisfied with his appearance as he was going to get, Linus turned to his guests with a barely-visible frown. “Almost showtime. Are we ready?”

Antoine nodded stiffly. “Oui, I will wheel her out at your signal.”

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, sugar,” his test sub--his patient responded.

Starr regarded her coolly. D’Coolette had failed to mention that in addition to missing her entire left arm, she was also paralyzed below the waist. To the untrained eye, her legs were just as thin as any the average Mobian’s, but Starr had medical training sufficient to see how weak and withered they were. Her remaining functional limb was at least still strong, and she was otherwise as healthy as a woman confined to a wheelchair could be. 

Starr might have preferred to be told she was paraplegic before she arrived for the demonstration, but thankfully he was a genius, and he’d made it work, even if it was going to be embarrassingly crude.

He nodded back. “Very well.” Without further preamble, he opened the door and entered into the assembly hall.

His devices were already present and under a tarp, and didn’t seem as though they’d been disturbed, excellent. He checked it over anyway, taking note of the buzz of voices quieting down as he stepped onto the temporary stage. Only after he was satisfied with the state of his showcase did he turn to face his audience.

To Starr’s immense displeasure, Percival was among those assembled. Look at him with his stupid outdated hat and formal shirt and vest. Another example of how the Specials were given a chance to customize their outfits. The older teal platypus saw him looking and nodding genially. Oh how Linus hated him.

Agent Rouge was there as well, thankfully not in her obscene jumpsuit, though the casual tracksuit wasn’t much better. Starr wasn’t sure why she was there, Agent Perry at least had seniority.

Smithy was a surprise, but on reflection not much of one. The lion had expressed interest in his work previously and knew his way around tools, even if he didn’t care as much for theory as Starr did. 

Tower was there, seated directly in the center of the row of chairs with his arms folded. Palisade and Bunker sat nearby, and that was everyone Linus recognized. A few more officers, a few men and women in labcoats. There was no way of knowing who all would have a say in whether his proposal passed or not, as it was an open assembly.

No matter.

He folded his arms behind his back and waited until the murmurs finally ended. Palisade stood and stepped up in front of the stage, addressing him and the audience as one. “The Guardian Units of Nations Scientific Assembly for Forwarding Expertise recognizes Private Linus Starr of the S.C.O.P.E. Program. You may begin.”

Linus gave a shallow bow. “Thank you all for coming, and I promise that you will be impressed. I entered the ranks of G.U.N. seeking scholarship for my doctorate studies, as some of you may know, and because I have radical ideas that only the advanced technology of G.U.N. can make possible. In specific, I have a specialty in cybernetics and prosthetics, which is what I shall be focusing on today.”

He stepped over to his covered project.

“It is a fact of military life that someone, at some point, will get injured,” he stated. “If you’ll forgive me for saying, I do believe someone in my audience has a wooden leg.”

An older gentleman sitting behind Tower scowled, shifting so that his foot was no longer visible through the chair legs.

“I apologize. But to continue, soldiers have lost legs, arms, and eyes to combat, career-ending injuries that rob G.U.N. of otherwise competent personnel. At best, they get trapped behind a desk, at worst they end up discharged and forced to rejoin the civilian population. Even if they do manage to get themselves a prosthetic, in the vast majority of cases it isn’t enough to restore them to full function. Well,” he said, grinning. “No more. Because now, G.U.N. has me.”

He waved at Antoine offstage, and the coyote began pushing his friend into full view. The audience made some noises of surprise, though no one was so impolite as to make a scene.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to present you with Miss Bunnie Rabbot,” Linus said grandly. “Mr. D’Coolette introduced me to her as a friend of his that was in dire need of my services. Ms. Rabbot, would you be comfortable telling the audience about the nature of your injury?”

The rabbit looked out over them with a confidence that Starr could admit was admirable, given her situation. “No problem, hon. Ant, if you could--thank you kindly.” Antoine rotated her to fully face them. “As y’all can see, I’ve only got the one good limb. I lost the others in a barn fire when I was thirteen; a beam fell and broke my spine, and my left arm got so badly burnt before I was rescued that it had to come off.”

That set the audience murmuring again, vaguely spouting off sympathetic platitudes. Linus took the reins back during the lull.

“As you can see, Ms. Rabbot’s injuries are both extensive and old,” Linus said. “But I, if I may be so bold, am a genius.”

Dramatically pulling the cover off his invention, Linus paused to let them bask in his glory--before catching himself and dialling it back. He picked up the first device and held it up so that everyone could see.

“This arm was created from a base and then altered to fit Ms. Rabbot. She has previously worn it so that I could ensure that it fit her properly, but this will be the first time she has worn it powered on. These belts keep it secured, Ms. Rabbot if you please.”

Demonstrating the ease of use, Bunnie took the arm from his and slung it into place herself. It seemed slightly heavier than she would prefer, but that was fine, it was a prototype. Looping the belts over her head and right shoulder, the prosthetic fit into place over her empty left shoulder.

Linus held up the remote. “Are you ready?”

Finally looking nervous, she nodded, and he turned the arm on.

There was a pneumatic hiss, and the arm, previously locked into its pose, fell limp. A beat passed, and then the fingers twitched.

Bunnie gasped quietly, and slowly raised her new hand, looking at it with a fully justified sense of awe that Starr couldn’t help but smirk over.

“How does it feel?” Antoine asked. He rested his hand on the arm of her wheelchair.

Bunnie took his hand with her metal one. “I can feel you,” she breathed. “I didn’t expect ta’ be able to feel.”

“But of course,” Linus said. “The prosthetic is capable of detecting pressure and sending the appropriate signals to the brain, even if that pressure is as light as brushing up against something; though, the sensation only applies to the hand itself, not the rest of the arm, yet.” Turning back to the assembly, he continued. “I am working on a way to restore full sensation to the patient, but I haven’t fully cracked the formula for the synthetic skin yet. A proper chemical laboratory will be necessary for that.” He strode over to Bunnie and rested a hand on her metal shoulder. “The arm uses a technology of my own design to directly interface with her nervous system, forming a far smoother and more natural connection than anything else on the market. And it is far more articulated than anything else, either. Ms. Rabbot, do you know how to shuffle cards?”

“Well, a’course I do, or I did.”

Linus reached into his pocket and pulled out a standard playing deck. Blinking, Bunnie took it and raised up the tray attached to her wheelchair before demonstrating her arm’s dexterity. “Observe how she’s able to handle to thin cards as fluidly as if her fingers were flesh and blood, all while maintaining a delicate enough force not to bend them more than she wants to--”

“Doc, this is incredible!” the rabbit interrupted. “I--I dunno how he did it, but it feels almost like I got my old arm back! Ha!” She giggled happily.

Linus forced himself not to scowl. “Yes, well. Don’t get too excited just yet, because this is only half of the demonstration.”

Returning to the cart with his devices, Linus lifted, with some difficulty, what looked for all the world like a pair of metal pants.

Bunnie grinned and started fidgeting.

“Mr. D’Coolette, if you would assist me?”

“Of course.”

Together, Linus and the coyote lifted Bunnie out of her chair and delicately slipped her useless legs into the trousers.

“Ms. Rabbot, this one will sting for a moment, so brace yourself. It has to connect to your spine.”

Bunnie blinked. “It has ta wha--YOW!”

Linus winced at the reaction. Perhaps he should have given her more warning than that, but no matter. As soon as he activated the legs, the needle planted itself just above her tail to form the connection… and then Bunnie nearly fell over once they let her go.

Only nearly, because she managed to catch herself, and stood on her own two feet. “...Heh. Heheheh. Ant, lookit me. I’m…” She took a step, and then another, gaining confidence as she went. “I’m walkin’!”

“I see it!” Antoine said happily, and the two of them pulled each other into a hug that ended with Bunnie actually lifting him off the ground.

Linus ignored their antics, though they were probably a good thing judging by the smiles on some of the assembly’s faces. “As you can see, the interface is as natural as can be. Ms. Rabbot hasn’t stood on her own two feet for nearly five years, and now it’s like she never stopped. But that’s not all.”

Bunnie stopped in the middle of an impromptu waltz with her… ‘friend’ to give him a look. “It ain’t? You didn’t mention this, Doc.”

“Allow me some surprises.” He pressed a button on his remote, and Bunnie gasped as the leg harness extended itself to attach to the arm’s shoulder harness, forming a plate of metal along her back. “You see Ms. Rabbot, gathered assembly, her arm is actually capable of much greater strength than her original, though it is usually locked down so as to not put more strain on her body than it can handle. However, with the trousers providing her with greater support…”

He trailed off, and as he’d hoped Bunnie got what he wanted her to do when he gestured to her now-abandoned wheelchair. With just the one metal hand, she grabbed the chair by the handle and lifted it over her head; she even spun it on her finger, laughing.

“As you can see, I’m not just capable of bringing crippled soldiers back to the front lines, I can make them better than they were before.” He couldn’t help but grin. “And, truth be told, it doesn’t have to be limited to the injured. I’ve got plans for powered armor, strength-enhancing implants, and so much more.”

He could see it in their eyes. He had them. “And I would like to remind everyone that Ms. Rabbot’s gear, her legs especially, are merely prototypes. With a proper budget and more time, I can do even better, which is why--”

A droning buzz suddenly filled the room. And then a second, and third identical buzz. Tower, Palisade and Bunker reached down to their belts and pulled up a communicator. The latter two allowed Tower to answer first.

“What’s the emergency?”

This time Starr really did scowl. What could be so important as to interrupt his dissertation?

Tower scowled and stood. “Private Starr, I’m very impressed by this. With Ms. Rabbot’s permission I’d like to take her to the training field to put your prosthetics through their paces, but I’m afraid it will have to wait.”

“Commander, what’s happened?” Perry asked.

“Dr. Eggman has been reported as having passed over Station Square.”

…Ah. Well, Linus supposed he could forgive it this time. He was suddenly far more interested in this.

---------------------------------

[Humi]

Stinger blaster, torn apart and repurposed. It’s overpowered. It’s going to overheat, and it won’t take long. That’s fine. It only has to last long enough.

Tesla coil, embedded in each arm; should create a net of electricity that can be thrown a short distance once deployed. Hm, maybe not; if it fries too much of the target I can’t reuse their components. Dial it back; short-range directed EMP instead. Will drain the battery less, too.

Flamethrower. Disregard; it works but it’s not efficient. Keep in reserve for now.

One of those Circus robots’ giant metal balls. Just a metal orb. Attach a chain and turn it into a wrecking ball. Hide away inside an expanded space.

Humi grunted, using her remaining chaos shards to expand the inside of the structure she was making so that the flail could be stored until needed.

Part of her felt bad, but she was on an unknown time limit. Hopefully Waverly would forgive her.

“Cavendish.” The robot monkey saluted. “Go start the Y-Nought. You’re going to be piloting it.”

“Ook!” The goodnik bounded away.

Humi turned to the other robot standing by, the pink Hunter. It was well past time that she gave it the upgrades she’d been meaning to, but it was going to have to be a quick and dirty job; there would be time after to make everything nice and polished, but right now she had a mission.

Plenty of ranged options already and never got around to properly arming this thing. Don’t need a Hunter, I need… a Knight. Remove the gun, useless. Add shield. Add bladed weapon, electrified. Boost mobility. Wasn’t planning on using the Egg Viper parts for this, but it’s what is needed right now.

She worked quickly, but she’d have to make improvements on the move. Luckily, she was going to have plenty of resources on the way.

Humi used to live alone, on the streets. Now, she had a home, more friends than she’d ever dreamed of, a family. And now Eggman came and attacked her home, kidnapped her friends, and took her dad away from her.

Robotnik better hope Heyu wasn’t too injured when she found him, because otherwise it was going to be scrambled eggs for breakfast.

She looked up at her project. She’d already had the start of a proper mech, she just hadn’t realized: a pair of trousers that could support the weight of a whale? All it needed was a torso. The top and bottom halves were a little mismatched right now, but that was fine, it wasn’t going to be permanent. Waverly would get her land legs eventually.

…Humi was really angry. A voice in her head that sounded a lot like Heyu was telling her to take a deep breath and calm down, but she wanted to keep being mad so much…!

“...three… two… one…” Humi let out a breath. “C’mon, Knight, it’s time to roll.”

She climbed up the leg and entered the stomach hatch. Time to see if Heyu’s idea works.

“Alarm: Humi, what is that thing?!”

Humi looked up from strapping herself in--it was comical how small she was in this thing--to see Iota running up from around the front. “You like it?” she asked with more cheer than she felt. “I’m thinking of calling it… the Egg Beater. A prototype, obviously.”

Iota looked it up and down, his expressionless face more inscrutable than usual. Finally, he nodded. “Very well. When do we leave?”

“We aren’t. I am.”

Humi took a tentative step. It was wobbly, but the rig didn’t fall over this time. With a shard poking her back and another built into the harness she was wearing, all she had to do was think about it, and--she crossed the yard in three steps.

The Egg Beater wasn’t quite as tall as Waverly, the top half being a lot squatter than the bottom, but that was for the best. The top half was stuffed full of weaponry, and if it were any bigger the mostly-hollow legs wouldn't be able to support the weight. It was very top heavy.

“...Humi, what?” Iota sprinted to catch up with her, the Knight allowed him to pass it. “What do you mean, you can’t go by yourself!”

“I’m not by myself, I’ve got these two,” she said, as Cavendish opened the garage door and joined them, piloting her first mech.

“Cavendish isn’t all the way to personhood, and the Hunter is a G.U.N. drone!” Iota fell onto his wheels to run ahead of her, and around the same time the villagers took notice of the twenty-foot-tall powersuit Humi was wearing. “How do you expect to catch up to a flying ship without me? That rig can’t be faster than me.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” Humi leaned out of her makeshift cockpit to wave her Y-Mi about. “Egghead took Heyu, and that means he took Heyu’s phone. And if he has that,” she continued, smiling nastily, “then I can track them straight there. No running around blindly following breadcrumbs for me, Sonic!”

“But…” Iota tapped his fingers together nervously. “Humi, I’m worried about Heyu, too, you know.”

Humi paused. She looked at him, then at the rest of her friends, watching her and her robots warily. No one looked afraid but they did look tense.

“...I know. But I overheard what you tried to tell Sonic,” she said. “And you’re right, but someone needs to stay behind and make sure we’ve got a place to come back to once everyone’s rescued.”

Iota looked around at the damage. Both the houses needed repairs, the truck’s tables were broken, Shelldon was homeless again, even Shelby’s tent was wrecked.

He let out a robotic sigh. “Please be safe.”

Humi grinned. “Safe? Where’s the fun in that?”

“Oi, mouse girl!”

She looked over to see Spud approaching, looking stern. “What?”

Spud glared at her. “You really think you’re going to take the fight to Eggman yourself?”

“If I don’t, Sonic will. But if we both attack him, it’ll hurt even more.”

Spud smiled, revealing teeth sharp enough to rival Razor’s. “Good lass.” His smile fell again. “And what if he comes back for revenge?”

Humi’s face darkened. “Oh trust me. I’m already thinking up responses to that.”

Eggman attacked her home. She wasn’t going to allow that a second time.

Spud nodded to himself. “Alright. Alright…” He turned back to his farm. “Go on then, Humi. Get us through this rough patch, will you?”

Rough patch, huh? That was one way to put it. Actually, she liked the sound of that… “Will do.”

Humi walked the Egg Beater into the center of town, turned to face everyone… and then winked, sticking her tongue out. “Take care of the place while we’re gone! I’ll bring souvenirs after I beat Eggman!” Maybe a tooth. One for each person here.

Humi consulted her Y-Mi to get a bearing, then activated the engines attached to her heels. It wasn’t quite flying, but the Egg Beater could jump. She cleared the cliffs with her first stride.