Today I was palying a game and an interesting scenario came about. My opponent would use his flyer to taxi another figure and position himself just out of my range.

His next turn, he proceeded to pick up the taxied figure and move it to the other side of his taxi just in enough range to shoot me. He said it was a free movement and didn't give the taxi an action token. He is going by the following rule from what I can tell

Carrying other Figures: Flying characters may carry other friendly characters. There is no cost for picking up a figure, though a flying character must be in hover mode in order to pick up a figure.
To be carried, a friendly character must be adjacent to the flying character at the beginning of the flying character’s move. During the move action, count the flier’s movement squares as normal, including flight mode changes. At the end of the move, the flying character must be in hover mode, and must place the carried character in an adjacent open square. Flying figures can carry other flight-capable figures.
A carrying character cannot carry a figure who is carrying someone else or holding an object. The flying character receives an action token, but the carried character does not. The carried character may still be assigned any type of action after being set down.

Since his flyer didn't move, he is saying it is a free action. I understand that he can pick up a figure for free but this rule doesn't say anything about putting it back down in another space in the same turn.

Any suggestions?

Anytime someone is picked up (and put back down) it's a movement action. Notice the key phrases "at the beginning of the figure's move", "the flying character receives an action token", and "during the move action". Taxiing is NEVER a free action. Your opponent was wrong.

He cannot do that. When saying that there is no cost, the rulebook is only telling you that it doesn't take a point of your speed value to pick up a figure. However, carrying can only occur during a move action, and so he must use some sort of action.

The passage tells you that there is a move action and explicitly says to assign an action token to the flying character. This is no free move.

Thanks for that ruling. You supported my thoughts exactly. Now if I can just convince him of this.

I did win the game BTW.

His beef was that his flyer never moved from it's starting position.

Then he moved 0 spaces, but he still moved.

But picking up can only occur during a move action, and so whether or not he actually chooses to move, he has dedicated himself to an action by picking up his figure. If he were adjacent to an enemy, to further the point, he would have to make a breakaway to swing around his teammate.

The moving the other figure without moving the flier itself wasn't illegal, per se, but it would use an action, the flier would be given an action token, and he would take a click of push damage if he already had one.

The only way it's a "free move" is if the flier was part of the JLA, Brotherhood, or Avengers team. Then it's a "free move" in so far as it doesn't use one of his alloted actions for the turn.... but it still an action and gets marked.

To further clarify. The guy used his Deathbird to move his Enchantress. And he didn't give an action token to Deathbird. In my eyes, all he did was move Enchantress for free. Illegially I might add, but I didn't feel like arguing the point.

no matter what when you give someone a move action even if it is 0 spaces its still a move action