Terra Might Not Be So Bad

December 24, 2016:

Peter Quill gets accosted, and finds assistance in the most unlikely of people.

Characters

NPCs: Intergalactic Mercs

Mentions:

Plot:

Mood Music: [*\# None.]


Fade In…

The gentle and usually quiet Palisades rests just on the far edge of Gotham proper. Nestled up against nature and the highway. Its a nice little community, but even nice communities have quieter areas. Places where not as many frequent, where bright lights of homey villas give way to darkened windows of abandoned buildings. Its not that big an area, people like living here after all, but its there…

And so is a young man in a red leather coat, who currently seems to be squinting at a phone. "Urgh. Terran GPS is the /worst/. I shouldn't have even borrowed this phone! Or stopped for pancakes." A long pause. "No, the pancakes were worth it…"

Over one shoulder is hoisted a small backpack, and the casually dressed man seems to just be content to grumble and wonder down the street. Peering at the phone ever so often before finally throwing up his hands.

"I took a wrong turn! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST HAVE TELE-PADS HERE LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE!" He shouts into the night sky before turning around and starting back the way he came.

He was going to find where he hid his ship if it killed him.

…he was also going to kill Rocket for busting his tracker.

"Y'lost?" A girl questions of the man who turns around, and would find her there. Her steps were silent, and how long had she been there for? Young, dark in skin, and flooftastic in hair, the girl offers Quill a soft, disarming smile, and keeps her distance allowing him a bubble of personal space. Her winter coat, also crimson, fluffs up and around her face, neck, and wrists, her hands jammed into her pockets. Her jeans are fitted, but ratty with rips and tears here and there, and those boots are partially laced, and scruffed up; well loved and well used. Perhaps, odd to most, is that the girl's eyes are a vibrant jade, solid in hue with the exception of slitted pupils.

"I mean, y'walkin' 'round like y'lost s'all. Where y'headed? I c'n maybe point de way, non?" Then, a blink or two later, she cants her head and an inquisitive expression softens her face. "W-what's a'tela-pad?"

Another night in Gotham, not exactly a sparkling jewel of a city, but it was…familier in its own way. There was an air to it, not a pleasent one but one that reminded her in its own way of home.

Home with better food!

Dressed in her own clothing that blended in a bit better then her 'witch' gear, Alyse was wearing a simple set of jeans and a shirt, but as of yet no jacket despite the chill of winter. Gotham really was full of crazies! Sipping away at the paper-cup coffee in her hand, the sudden yelling and screaming of a man about tele-pads makes her pause and turn, only to spot a familier face already approaching the man having trouble with the GPS. "The tall buildings?" she offers, forgetting to begin with an introduction, "they mess with the signal."

And suddenly he has an audiance.

Quill looks up in suprise as two people suddenly intrude on the conversation he was having with himself and this phone. One that was about to get violent if either of the two ladies have even a slight bit of perceptive power. That phone was about to be going on a flight of its own.

He checks that though, instead moving to look from one newcommer to the other. "Er…I guess it could be, the satalite systems around here just arn't what I'm used too." He adds with a grin as he starts to recover his equilibrium. "And good evening to you two ladies." He pauses a moment. "And technicly I'm not lost, I just havn't found what I'm looking for yet."

A glance at the flooftastic one before he flashes a grin. "Oh its just a thing you use to get from one place…you know what, its not that important. What /is/ important is introductions. I'm Star-lord."

Yes. He just said that.

"Who might you two b—"

And any further words from the man is cut off as a thin green beam of energy flashes back a hairsbreath from the back of his head to slash into the wall next to him.

It leaves a very nice crisply burnt hole in said wall.

The self proclaimed Star-Lord raises one eyebrow and turns to look at the top of one of those very high buildings, were several figures seem to be silhouetted against the night sky of Gotham.

"Hold that thought. I think someone just shot at me."

He raises one hand to his mouth, cupping the palm slightly to get the proper projection before calling up to them. "You missed jackass!"

…apparently getting shot at doesn't seem to faze him much.

"Ah, s'like de bus 'r s'mt'ing?" When his 'name' arrives, the snake-eyed girl doesn't react poorly. If anything, she offers him a nod and her lips soften in shape to give herself a title as well. Then, there's the light. Hands out of her pockets, the girl takes a few more rushed strides Quill's way. "Y'ok?" A glance from wall, to Starlord, with wide eyes shows the girl's obvious concern. Following after his 'jeer' toward the missed shot, she glances back toward Alyse and does a double-take of recognition.

"'ey, White Witch. C'n y'fly?" She questions before turning and heading in the direction of the building in question. "We got a'shoota t'take care of. Ain't gonna race y', dough. Dat's cheatin'." Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but someone shot at you; I'll kill them maybe?

"Star-lad?" Witchdoctor 'repeats' before shrugging her shoulders. She'd met weirder behaving and weirder named people here in this world then that. She actually is about to say more, likely an introduction at the very least when that green laser sears by and nearly gives him a rather close shave. Turning her gaze up towards the would-be shooter she glances back towards Loa and her words before nodding. "Can you teleport?" she questions back of Loa, but already golden lights are swirling around her form, magic flickering with 'potential' energy.

Kicking off the ground like a weightless balloon, Alyse takes to the air to get a better look at the would-be shooter

"Star-/LORD/." Peter corrects as the witch goes flying off into the sky. The man blinks for a moment before he shakes his head slightly. "Terra is /wierd/." He states as he watches the rather striking woman go flying off in a swirl of lights. "…I wonder if thats actual magic. Eh, not important right now."

Reaching up he scratches the back of his neck a moment before glancing towards the floofyhair with a roguish grin. "So, do you need a lift up there? Since it looks like your feeling like helping, and I'm never one to say no to pretty girls who are feeling helpful."

…up at the top of the roof…

The four figures are…mismatched as they come. Wearing mostly battered leather clothes that seem to be roughly patched and in need of some serious personal hygine adjustments. They also don't all look…well…human. One has bright violet skin. A second one seems to have some very pointed teath and yellowish eyes. A third seems to have scales, and the one with the sniper rifle look…well he looks the most human. And the best armored. He's wearing an extra vest with some kind of armor plating over his what look to be normal clothes.

"Dammit! You pushed me!" Armor growls as he shoves Teath.
"Your supposed to be the 'expert sniper'! You should have hit anyway!" Comes the swift reply.
Violet peers over the edge of the roof. "Uh guys? There is someone coming up here." Pause. "She's glowing." Pause. "And flying." Pause. "And kinda hot for a terran."
Scales glances over the rail. "I concour."
"Right," Growls Armor. "Now that we've established that can you two SHOOT HER SO WE CAN GET BACK TO KILLING OUR MARK."

Lyn mutters as she watches Alyse flutter off in gold. Tsking, her tongue pressing at the back of her teeth, the snake-eyes girl glances away before murmuring some curse under her breath. Then, she's being spoken to. Smiling, smirking, a dimple forming in her cheek, she moves closer to Quill and nods, her curls bouncing. "Y'bet, beau. Lift'd be nice. I don' got de means t'fly, but I do got de means t'stop would be 'ssasins." Another blink, she rubs at the nape of her neck before sighing and nodding. "Yup. Dat's magic. She n'I both got dat, jus'…diff'rent forms? 'nyway, m'ready when y'are, Star Lord."

The 'less-subtle' Witch touches down, her blue eyes looking over the gathered non-humans and…not really looking as shocked as they should. It had been a weird year or two. "Not that I want to interupt some clear 'professionals'," Alyse says lightly, waving her hand as a flicker of fae-magic plays havock with the rifle's workings. Higher tech? Easier break! "But is there a reason you're shooting lasers at people in the middle of the street?"

The man just nods before reaching into his backpack. What he pulls out is a pair of odd but sleek looking pistols, two barrels, one above and one below the hand grip. One goes in each hand before he steps over to the snake-eyed girl. "One lift coming up." He drawls. "Hold on tight now. Pretty eyes by the way." Now that he's close enough to get a good look.

One arm snakes around her waist before he slips the other around as well and hoists her up in his arms. He leaps up, kicks the wall behind him and as a armored face-plate unfolds over his smirking features his boots reveal they have their own suprises.

Namely rockets as he blasts into the air with Lyn in his arms and arcs towards the roofs.

Don't worry. He's a totally awesome pilot.

She might also see the walkman clipped to his belt. Its almost an antique. "So curious here, we talking actual magic, or 'science so advanced you name it pretentious names magic?'"

On the roof though Armor faces down the Witch with a glare. "Look I don't want no trouble with you. You just give us Quill and we'll be outta here…its just a job!" Of course then she waves her hand, and there is lights and the startled Armor snaps his rifle up in a very professional manner. Now it /should/ have put a bolt of green energy though Witch's body, but all it manages to do is create a shower of green sparks and blind Armor. Who curses in several languages not known on Terra.

Scales is the next one to react, an ugly looking slugthrower in his hand as he raises it towards Witch and /nearly/ fires…

Before Star-Lord uses poor Scales as a landing pad, searing hot rockets slamming into the man's side as Peter uses him to slow down and drop Lyn off.

"I'm getting /really/ tired of Yondu sending Goons after me!" He calls to the quartet who are suddenly finding themselves outnumbered. "I'm on vacation!" A pause. "Sorta."

"T'anks. Y'ain't bad lookin' y'self, hands'm'." Lynette smiles sheepishly, as her form presses against Quill's own, and up-up and away they go! The flight, however brief, has the girl clutching around his form to keep herself steady, and avoiding the risk of falling down and slamming against pavement. "Hmm? S'real magic, beau. Dey ain't non science to it. Least not mine. Don' know 'bout G'linda up dere, dough." Now on the roof, she sets flat-footed and slips her arms away from Quill with a soft, "T'anks, chere."

Witch, goons, and something about guy named Yondu; this should be a fun conversation for a later time. Hands on her hips, the mambo paces about, eyeing the aliens with interest. She had yet to see any, after all, but even so…"Don' care f'its a job or not. Y'ain't shootin' down people in de streets. 'specially dese streets. Drop y'weapons n'go on home now, n'dey won' be no trouble."

That…looked like it hurt. The landing? Well she'd avoided killing anyone so far. Maybe this place was starting to make her go a little soft. "Yondu?" she repeats, having at least put together that 'Star la-…lord' was 'Quill'. They had been shooting at him after all.

"You interupted my coffee," the Witch says slowly, looking between the goons whom were now 'minus one'. "And it's a long walk to get another one. So how about you turn around and go home now, save me expressing my frustration about that?" As if to add punctuation to the point, she raises a hand, those golden lights crackling into a more electrical-like arc between her fingertips.

"Glinda…ha! I get that reference." Peter crows as he smirks towards Lyn for a moment. "And no problem. Don't mind in the least carrying around ladies. Nice change from my usual partners." He adds with a smirk before he turns around towards the goons.

"Glinda…ha! I get that reference." Peter crows as he smirks towards Lyn for a moment. "And no problem. Don't mind in the least carrying around ladies. Nice change from my usual partners." He adds with a smirk before he turns around towards the goons.

"Right! You herd the magic ladies! Get out of here before we all get mad."

Scales groans from the floor. That might be an agreement.

Armor just glowers at Peter. "Yondu didn't send us, idiot. We arn't going anywhere without you. We didn't want this to get nasty but a job is a job…" He palms something from his pouch and a second later it clatters to the ground, only to explode in a dazzling flash-bang of an explosion aimed to disorient the mages and Quill.
"Get Baby!" Armor calls as he hurls himself towards Witchdoctor, a gleaming curved blade in one hand.
There is a scrabbling of claws as Teath goes dashing the opposite direction away from the fight, to a darkened corner of the roof.
Violet flings himself towards Quill and Lyn as he whips out a glowing whip made of some kind of blue-white energy.

"What do you means Yondu didn't—WOAH! WATCH IT! YOU MIGHT HURT SOMEONE WITH THAT!"

The flash of light forces the girl's eyes to dilate, turning those slits into fine lines of jet as she lowers her head and stumbles back a bit. "Merde!" She voices, rubbing at those now sore orbs before her hands brush out to her sides, and the darkness of the night heavy rooftop squirms and shifts. Slithering and flowing, the shadows move from corners and cover, even that of the alien's own cast off swells in depth before tendriling up each enemy figure and trapping around their eyes. "'f I c'n' see, y'ain't gonna neitha." She grumbles from behind gritted teeth.

Witchdoctor doesn't have fancy shadow powers…in fact most of her instinctive magic is kinda the opposite, so when that flash-bang goes off she's indeed blinded for a moment, staggering back and bringing her arms up to fend off the swiping blade as best she can for those few moments, earning a cut across her forearm and side for her trouble before she extends a palm and burst of some invisible force tries to push her foe out for some distance.

Hissing in pain as her vision blurrily returns, the witch claps her hands together before drawing them apart, swirling butterfly-shaped lights swarming between them before solidifying into a rather classic looking longsword with a blade that shines enough to be silver.

Did Alyse just pull Excaliber out of nowhere? Nah…but close to it.

Darkness and light war on the rooftop, creating a rather spectacular light show that well…lets be happy none of the Bat Family has shown up by this point really.

Quill stumbles slightly, but the headgear he is wearing seems to give him a bit of protection. What the whip-wielder isn't expecting would be the shadows flowing towards him. That is just creepy that is. Violet flails with the whip towards the half-blind shadowcaster, and in a rare moment of not being a total ass Quill gets in the way. The whip wrapping around his forarm with a soft sizzling sound as it meets whatever kind of strange energy shield he happens to be using. "This. Really. Hurts." He grits out though a grin. "But it lets me do this…"

And he steps forwards to slam his gun into the face of Violet, who staggers and lets go of the whip. The energy tendril vanishing as the dased alien scrabbles for a new weapon, green blood streaming from his nose.

Armor doesn't seem to get off that easy either, the creepy darkness making him dance back and glancing between the trio on the roof. Then finding his opponent armed with a much larger weapon than he happens to have. "Where the hell were you even hiding that?!" He blurts out twoards Witch.

Teath? Distracted by the slithering dark and not being able to see that well anyway, well he colides with an outcropping of stonework from a decoritive piece, preventing his headlong charge to get 'Baby'.

Which might have been a good thing. Who knows!

If the 'Good Witch' and 'Bad Witch' shared anything, it was perhaps the ability to move things without needing to touch them. With a brain-clearing shake of her head, the girl blinks and regains her sight just enough to turn her hands into fists and give a swing of her arm. Violet would feel that 'hold' around his form before it was sent flying to slam against stone and brick and then land with force into his buddy, Teath. With the shadows still at play, the tree goons on a mission would keep their darker view on the world as the trio of 'heroes' went about their business. "Well," Lyn murmurs smoothly. "We /did/ warn y'." Just for good measure, the girl's fingers roll and grip Violet by the collar of his upper attire. Balling up the fabric, it moves and yanks him down, smacking his head against the rooftop a few times for good measure.

Witchdoctor wasn't some master swordswoman…but she was alright. The reach of a longsword against a knife? It did sort of make up for not being some expert ninja warrior. Smirking at the reaction she advances fowards, sweeping with the suprisingly light and almost certainly magical weapon…although truthfully it merely seems to cut really well.

Lyn was right, they'd been warned. Besides, now the man had interupted her coffee, cut her up -and- ruined some of her street clothing. He's probably lucky she picked the sword!

And just like that, its about over.

Violent meets Teath with a bonecrunching noise and the latter goes right back down to the pavement. The former gets his head dribbled on the concreate. Thats enough to make him see stars. Blood pools under his ruined features and there is some blubbering noises. He might be crying. Something about 'His beautiful nose will never be the same'.

Ah well. They should have backed off.

Armor /tries/ to take on a longsword with a knife and the outcome is entirely predictable. He looses the knife. A few fingers and all of his street cred as he falls to his knees clutching his hand in pain.

Scales? Well he was just staggering back to his feet when Peter grabs him by the back of his head and uses his rocket boots to propell his knee into the attacker's face. He goes down like a chump.

Armor stares at the ruin of his plan and swollows slightly. "So…um…that offer to leave still on the table?" He hisses out though the pain.

Lyn smirks. Hands down, her abilities slink away, allowing their vision to return to 'normal', and there's no mysterious pull or push against Violet. She nods to Armor, her curls bouncing like they're waving 'fair well'. "Get." The Creole ends with a single word. Turning, she faces Star Lord, and eyes his arm where he has caught the energy whip. "Y'doin' ok, chere? Didn' get hurt, did y'?" Then, the same is asked of Alyse. "What 'bout you, girl? Y'doin' alright up dere?"

A sweeping 'slice' at the air and Alyse's sword disappears as suddenly as it arrived (if not moreso). Eyes narrowed at the man she'd been fighting, she sweeps the knife well out of reach with her foot before she turns away. Non-verbal agreement of Lyn's 'get' clearly given.

Is she okay? She mutters a little as she places her unwounded hand against her arm and looks back over the pair. "I need a bandage and a new beverage, but I'm alright. You two?"

Armor and the rest need no more hints. The big man himself grabs Scales and starts to drag him towards the stairs. Teath grabs Violet and does the same. The half-delerious alien raises one hand in a fist just before being dragged out of sight. His voice is raised in a nasily shout, since his face is a mess.

"We'll get you next tim"
"SHUT IT YOU IDIOT DO YOU WANT TO DIE!"
"Come on boss I was just going for a bit of a dramitic retreat thing."
"I'll leave your ass here if you don't get going! If your good enough to shout your good enough to walk!"
"I can't walk! My nose
"
"Isn't connected to your legs! WALK!"

And their voices echo down the stairs as they beat a hasty retreat.

Quill just shakes his head. "Mercenaries. Not even /good/ mercenaries. Uh. Offends my sensitive sensibilities." He adds with a smirk before he reaches up and touches something just behind his ear. The faceplate seems to fold back into nothing and he raises his arm. Scorch marks mar the surface of the jacket, but it doesn't seem burned all the way though. "Eh just a scratch." A flash of a grin. "You can kiss it and make it better if you want though. I wont' say no."

…yes. He is entirely shameless.

A glance then over to Alyse though and he grins. "And can't magic up a bandage, but I can handle the beverage part. A good brawl always makes me thirsty anyway!"

The girl giggles at the banter between goons. The sound is melodic, bubbly, and oddly fitting, even if she was just bashing a man's face in with her mind. A softer smile rests on her features as she eyes Quill, and the prospect of 'kissing' to make something better twists her dimples, her lips forming an impish smirk. A step forward, she kisses the marking on his jacket before dragging him closer by the collar, planting her lips against his own in a brief, but solid, embrace.

"I like de drinks idea." She concludes before moving closer to Alyse and motioning her down to join those on the ground for the time being. "C'm'ere. If y'ain't got de juice t'heal y'self, I c'n take it." She offers, even as her hand starts digging at her throat and pulling away a tucked in scarf.

A low whistle from Witchdocter, but she's smiling none the less as she nods at the pair. Was there a little twitch of her brow at the comment about not having the 'juice' to heal herself, but she still closes her eyes and the wound begins to knit itself together. "It's the principle of it," she semi-pouts. So much for sympathy! "If you're paying? I'll hardly refuse." she nods at Quill

"Its feeling better alr—" And then Quill finds himself grabbed, dragged, and kissed. Solidly. Just as he said he isn't one to say no to such things. His actions follow those words as he returns affection in kind for that brief moment before she pulls back.

Straightening up again he gives them both a bit of a smirk. "Well. Maybe terra ain't as bad as I thought it might be." He /was/ born here after all. So it can't be bad.

He's awesome, so there must be awesome about this place.

"Well you two jumped in to help me out, so I can't have you paying can I?" Quill agrees with the Bright Witch. "Though I think those guys intrupted introductions earlier." A glance back towards Lyn. "I take it you need a ride down again, pretty eyes?"

"Don' pout. Was 'bout t'wrap y'up in m'scarf." Lyn comments flatly before wrapping the fabric back around her throat. It could be noticed, if one was looking hard enough, that the faint texture and pattern of crimson scales was present on the nape of the girl's neck. Hands in her pockets, she strides back toward Quill and grins, giving another nod of her head. "Ain't sayin' no t'dat. 'ny of it." She explains, slipping her arm across his shoulders and then glancing back toward Alyse. "Dat dere? S'Alyse." Apparently, she did know the fae-witch, at least on a name to name basis. "M'Lynette. Nice t'meet y', n'fight wit y', Star Lord."

"Seems you have a few 'friends' looking for you, Starlord." Hey, Alyse got it right! "Having someone graduate to the hired goons stage likely means they'll send someone more capable the next time. You should be careful." Walking to join the pair, she ends up down on the ground with a slimp leap and a flicker of those lights before she looks down at the spilt cup that had been her coffee. What a waste.

There is a smirk. "Star-Lord is my handle, you two can call me Peter. Peter Quill." His voice slow and lazy and in a genuinely cheerful sounding mood. "I'm just your standard spacebore rogue who saves planets on his spare time." He adds with all the false modesty in the world. "Didn't expect to run into a pair of magi…magic users…witches…what do you call yourselfs anyway?" Now he's curious.

Zee went with Sorceress, but he's gotta get multiple angles on this question.

"Anyway! Nice to meet ya both, glad I did since I had someone to fight with rather than having to take down all four by my self." A pause. "I could have though. Taken em all on by myself. I'm not /just/ a handsome face."

He sweeps Lyn up once again, winks at her and just steps off the building. A few seconds of freefall is broken by the boots kicking in, depositing the pair of them on the street just safe and sound.

He sets the girl down, lingering with one hand around her waist for a moment before he steps away a half pace.

"Alright! Lets go find a place to get us something to drink!" A pause. "You two don't happen to know any good bars around do you?"

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