March 18, 2015:
An anti-alien protest goes awry and a group of heroes address it.
New York
Characters
![class="image1"](http://cmbeta.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images//class="image1"/medium.jpg)
NPCs: Maximus Lobo
Mentions:
Plot:
A Dark Hold
Apocalypse: Only the Strong
Blood versus Family
Bones Of The City
Breaking the Universe
Cyberdata War: First Strike
Dangerous Esterikos Wonderous Mystikos
Dark Gods & Times
De Oppresso Liber
Demon Lord of New York
Diaz de Muertos
Don't Tell Thanos The Babysitter's Dead
Empire of Tears
Escape from Sakaar
From the Ashes
Gateway to the Stars
Genosha: Rebirth
God Of The Dead
Hacker, Sass-Mastah, Engineer, Spy
Himmel und Hölle in Bewegung Setzen
Mood Music: [*\# None.]
Fade In…
Evolution happens, but even when species evolve in one way, they go from inventing fire to the wheel to flying vehicles… It does not mean they stop wanting to burn witches at the stake. It is an desire for the hunt, humans are animals but limited in the hunt, and this apparently is how they manage to get it out of their system - though now this gives metas and mutants a reason to step up. Secrets have been kept, suspicions been laughed at, and nightmares are real.
Or at least now, aliens are. This makes all evolutionary movements forward, somehow roll back to the Salem Witch Trial Eras.
Hold my hand, it's a long way down to the bottom of the river..
The protesters gather, picket signs hefted high. "Go back to your planet." "Phone Home, E.T." "Unwanted Alien Scum." People are speaking, ranting, gathering forces in regards to there ebing a lack of space on earth for more, already accepting metas and mutants, now who can they trust. /Are/ metas and mutants aliens in disuise. Lied to. Deceived….
Starfire is ignorant of this, life is grand for her, for the shee fact that the local soft serve shoppe opened it's doors of 101 flavors due to the warming weather, insistent on the team joining before she appears on the concrete patio and orders a cone of at least 5 flavors covered in sprinkles, then fudged and caramelled. If you're going to do it, do it right.
Reese was there, Max finally in her possession after she left him behind, the large dog leading her along with Starfire, soon hitched to the post outside the shop. Her bowl was a neopolean flavor, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla.. mixed in a loving swirl with bits of coffee toffee sprinkled in. Chocolate chips, strawberry syrup, waffle cones to decorate. Max had his own bowl which was deposited to him made of vanilla. Quiet as ever, she remains.. spooning each bit into her mouth as the bowl was cradled protectively.
Meanwhile, Skaar is completely oblivious to any earthly 'finding out' about aliens. You mean humans didn't know there are intelligent species all over the universe? Seriously? He has never hidden he is an alien, but then again, about the only people that has asked are Outsiders. Regular humans rarely ask giant green men if they are aliens or gamma-irradiated hulks. So far the second was the assumed response.
But Starfire caught him on the ship, so he got dragged here. He didn't protest too much because he kind off likes the other members of the team, even if he won't admit it out loud. He is dressed in a black t-shirt and cargo pants, with the usual leather boots. So he looks slightly less threatening today, but he is still very much not normal.
The back of the crowd parts a little as a large, well built man in a fairly nice suit arrives to look over the goings on. These kinds of things amuse Maximus Lobo, the CEO and Owner of Lobo Technologies. He peers over the group with a smirk as several men and women arrive with him.
"Protesters. Quaint." He rumbles.
A smaller woman with a conservative business suit and her hair in a bun also looks them over. "Anti-Alien, I see. Must be related to the news."
"Humanity knows, in its heart, that its days as the dominant species on this planet are numbered. They've simply misidentified their superiors." The man muses. "Which could be useful…"
Slipping in next to Kori, Roy starts to pull out a chair for Lian. He stares, however bemusedly, as his young daughter insists on claiming the seat inbetween them, shaking his head ruefully as he places the very large banana split in front of Lian. Readying his own spoon, Roy hastens to immediately show Lian who's -boss- in this family by claiming the first spoonful. Pausing to look up at Skaar, the archer wrinkles his nose. "Don't mind them. It could be worse… it could be the Westminister Baptist Church."
Evolution seems to go in fits and starts. Lunair isn't sure anymore. She's not human anymore. Her identity has shifted a lot this past year. There's also fear of someone much, much more powerful amongst it all. Lunair has come along, despite some concerns over well, having a few HYDRA who might make frowny faces and tranq darts at her. Can't live in fear forever, right? She has tried to help Skaar with human culture and stuff.
She follows along, likely just behind the Skaar. She seems to dress differently now, her hair darker, straightened and she's wearing a long, olive military style coat with manacle style bracelets and sturdy boots. "I really wish people were more okay with new - races? We'd make a lot more friends… Then again, thousands of years ago, humans roamed around in small bands. I guess we just kinda got set in the mindset."
If you get sleep or if you get none. (The cock's gonna call in the morning, baby)
Someone overheard the man in the suit and is spinning on him, the picket sign shifting in his hand as if that would allow him a better vantagge or sturdier guard behind his flimsy 1 by 2 ro cuss at Lobo. "Tha' fuck you think you're talking about? This is /our/ planet, we say who we see as superiors.. Ya'll hear this asshole?!"
One small portion of this cluster starts to shift attention from handing out fliers and trying to convince others to this small altercation, another portion now is murmuring as the Outsiders start to make themselves apparent over ice cream. "Will ya look at this? And right in front of us as if to say /fuck you/…" Fingers are pointing and signs are hefting.
Starfire slides her seat closer to Lian, reaching over to steal a cherry from Roy when her hand pauses in the hover to listen now… No longer enwrapped in the ice cream social, looking down towards Reese and then the rest of the team puzzled. "What…did I miss?"
Check the cupboard for your daddy's gun.(Red sun rises like an early warning)
Reese was really in her own little world, the ice cream doing wonders to her mood. In fact, she nearly manages to blot out the noise, bopping a little in her chair, scooping spoon after spoon into her mouth. "So my room.." Reese totally ignores what Starfire missed, she was somewhere in Oregon. Or in Colorado, so she missed it all completely. ".. I need music in there." She was still thinking they were on a tug-boat.
But she does give in for a moment, shrugging her shoulders faintly at Starfire. "I don't watch TV. Or listen to it. So I really don't know what it's all about." The hubaloo, of course. "Wanna try some?" Her bowl was offered up to those present, spoons.. they'd have to find their own.
"Not worried," replies Skaar. Annoyed, not worried. Being grumpy is his nature, though, and he tries to keep his annoyance to himself. "What are you going to order, Luna?" He asks to the dark-haired girl. Ice-cream is something new to him, like so many local foodstuffs. He is somewhat curious.
Maximus - never Max, even to close friends - gestures for his compatriots to move on. These they do, moving around the crowd and, rather oddly for people in business dress, down the alley. The towering CEO glowers at the man in front of him and his eyes, for a moment, seem to be canine rather than human. "You're upset. I get it. But you're not really upset at me. It's those damn aliens. Hiding. Lying. That's what you're really mad at. So mad it makes you want to show them who's planet this really is. I can see it in your face."
This isn't mind control, naturally. It's a combination of intimidation (he is a rather imposing man) and an animal magnetism that appeals to those base atavistic 'follow the leader' instincts in every human being. Mostly it only works on people predisposed to follow strong leaders anyway, but when people work themselves up into a frenzy, bringing those ancient instincts closer to the surface to begin with, well, then sometimes they leave themselves open to other expressions of them. For Maximus Lobo isn't a man. He's a mutant. And if you ask him who the dominant species of this world is…
Well, that might be a question for another day. Either way, the big man turns and moves around the crowd to accompany his party.
On one hand, Roy -did- question whether to just bring in Lian at one point. On the other hand, Lian was already experiencing some issues with her mixed ancestry, and having to demonstrate -how- to comport oneself was another. Glancing up at Kori, Roy coughs. "Mind if you keep an eye on Lian?" he asks, moving to stand up. Partly to see how much space he could gain, partly to see how effective any security measure in place was…
Lunair looks to Reese, "What kind of music? I think there's a spare radio somewhere or a laptop." Lunair is content to linger near Skaar, looking up as he asks what she'll order. "Well, I was thinking I might try some of the fruit sorbet. There's chocolate," And she kind of describes a few flavors. But she's totally feeling fruity. And she'll have orange, strawberry and watermelon in a bowl. She has spoons, too! "You can try some of mine, too," She beams at Skaar. Lunair seems quietly fond of and intensely trusting of the tall, green fellow.
"… is something going on?" There's a lot of people out there.
The Lord's gonna come for your first born son. (His hair's on fire and his heart is burning) "All you have to do is switch channels on the transmitter… I'll show you how many clicks it is to tune into the satellite radio…" It is hard for Starfire to recall the disability the woman has, even though she gave her the dog as added protection and eyes, and the room easier to access, when you do not look at someone as blind in all effects it makes one forget. Reese is a teammate, a friend, an equal. No disability can take that.
Skaar's disposition was of no surprise to Kori, and she is normally used to ignoring the open stares and commentary, though normally it does not make the air crackle with a tension, one that makes it hard to breathe, and when Luna seems to share the same cluelessness and her and Reese a slow blink over pupilless green eyes has them peering around Reese towards the people pointing their way and the disappearance of th large man going by Maximus. Though when her eyes rise, she can /read/ what she is feeling. The blind hatred only spurred on further by unheard words of Lobo that only does one thing…
The crowd that focused on him srrms to turn and now redirect forcus to where the rest of the lemming mentality was. The obvious Outsiders. Roy's stand has Kori trying to reach for his arm without looking his way. "Roy… Don't.." Just. In. Case. She speaks lowly but he will make up his own mind if he has not already, positioning herself in Lian's direct line of view to block the child from this display while it rises.
"Aliens! Check out that big green monstrosity, walkig with one of us?? Hey girlie, you blind? Look at that!" The words directed to Lunair and Skaar. "She might be one of those freaks too, that blonde looked like one of us too!" Now they're moving closer as Lobo and his group give berth like moving the herd /closer/. Urging them on by other means, a better vantage to…
"Hey! Orange too, look at that slutty excuse. Get the hell out. Your kind at welcome bitch!" Just as something is thrown it hits Reese's ice cream bowl and if she doesn't think fast its going to go spraying.
Go to the river where the water runs.(Wash him deep where the tides are turning)
Reese turns in Lunair's direction, her brows lowering. "I wouldn't mind having a laptop.." Reese had never had one of those. Maybe she could actually learn how to use it. Though, it was her turn to grow silent, her natural empathy showing through as she hears Roy, Skaar, Lunair and the crowds, an uneasiness settling into her bones which causes Max to growl and bark just enough.
Just as soon as something was thrown, the bowl was etched out of the way in time, Reese immediately standing up as she whistles loud enough to cause Max to spring into action, snapping his leash in two to get to his charge.
It was a quick rush of the dog, butting through crowds to wind up at her side, Reese leaning down to snatch Max up by the collar as she moves behind Starfire and Roy.
There were no words that need to be shared. Starfire and Roy typically knows when Reese means to leave, she was going to do it and no one was going to stop her. But this time, she was going to carry the precious cargo with her out the back way to spirit her away to another safe place.
"Come come, Lian. Watashitachiha koen ni iku sa rete iru. Come with Seikatsu."
Skaar slowly turns to stare at the one that has called him 'green monstrosity'. Usually when a human calls him that, is because he or she is running away. Not challenging him. He stands and faces the man. Now also insulting Starfire. "Are you challenging us, puny human?" He growls, stepping forward. "I will fight you gladly," he adds.
Taking a deep breath, Roy nods at Kori. "Not unless I have to," he says, perhaps unnecessarily. "But… Lian, honey, go with Reese." Not that Lian understood Japanese, but Roy knew, and translated it well enough for her.
As his daughter goes, the archer glances over at Skaar. "Don't accept. It'll only cause trouble."
There's a creaaaaaaaak of metal as the back door is ripped off it's hinges. Several, hulking, razor clawed lupine forms step through, fangs bared and malice in their eyes. "To the front. Quietly now. Let's teach them a lession about being the Dominant Species."
"We could find you one," Lunair nods. Lunair would have to look, really. "People really are cruel…" Lunair murmurs. But then, she kills them, herself, too. Once she catches what's going on, there's a pained sort of anger. She's fortunate she can pass for human, even if she has a few oddities. But the words being hurled make her frown. She seems quietly colder, somehow. "They're our friends, some of them family. People aren't alone in the universe, that's all. We can learn a lot and make new friends and allies." She stays near Skaar, quiet about her own identity. She doesn't feel quite right claiming mutant status when she can go through town unnoticed.
"And she's not a slut." People really are awful sometimes. She pauses. She's distracted, watching the humans who might take up Skaar's challenge. She feels - well, amusingly, worried about Skaar. Sure, he's several magnitudes more powerful but.
And if you fall….
Starfire seems reluctant to let go of Lian, to dislodge that protective bar, but it is Reese, and she has to remind herself, give herself an internal pep talk. She'll be safe. But when Lian is gone with Max and Reese, that is when the casual seating position at the table is slowly ended. The grind of metal on concrete scrapes out as the chair is sliiidd back and her hand presses on the table top, as if aiding her in her rise. But it isn't, its reminding her to stay grounded as that onject thrown missed and skid towards the ice cream parlor.
"Puny human?!? See?? I'm puny to him, nothing more then a feeb!" He waves his picket sign as she comes closer to Skaar backed by the rallying protestors and now people are watching as a wave of people seek to come to head with a motley group. "Well eat shit buddy! This is MY home!" And with that the picket sign is swung at Skaar simultaneously trying to shove Lunair aside, it may not be much but the blow is sent…
Others are closing in now and more is getting thrown, bottles shattering at their feet smelling richly of alcohol… Kerosene?
Starfire's hand curls, the metal latticework of the table bending beneath the ministrations of fingers, nostrils flaring to take in the scent as rage rises… But when she seeks to check on Lina and Reese's departure those lupine creatures…
"Guys…we have more problems…"
// Hold my hand, it's a long way down to the bottom of the river.//
Reese and Lian managed to slip out of the ice cream parlor just before the band of merry Dominants arrive. Out of prying eyes.. or so Lian tells her, she kneels down, wrapping an arm around Max and Lian, hugging them both close. "Lian.. grab your phone and call Kay. Let's go home and have a proper lunch. I will show you the art of peanut butter and jelly."
Lian does so, giddy.. and soon they were gone.
The werewolves - that's the only word to describe them though each one could do a decent stand-in for a small-ish hulk with a body hair problem - charge. There's five of them, total and they don't particularly seem concerned by anything. Two of them, including the biggest, tag team Starfire in a clearly practiced maneuver intended to send her flying with great force into Skaar. And then the pair of them out the storefront and into the crowd. Well, if it works.
The rest certainly aren't shy about finding things to throw or wield as bludgeons. Tables. Chunks of countertop and freezer. There isn't an outsider here that doesn't have something fairly alarming headed his or her way in short order.
"You are," confirms Skaar. "A little worm that talks and talks and hides behind a mob," the picket sign bounces off him and is ignored, but the kerosene is not. They are really trying to kill them? "Luna, Roy, get out of here. They are using fire." Reese is already gone with Lian, which is good.
"You can't burn me, I was born in a lake of magma! Begone!" He hits the ground with his feet, cracking the concrete and sending a shockwave (amplified with the Old Power) in the direction of the men throwing the kerosene bottles. Nothing that would hurt them seriously, but more than enough to make most of them fall down and perhaps shatter whatever other bottles they have.
Lunair's eyes widen, and she manages to scoot away from the sign blow. Then holy shit, werewolves. And not the dapper kind from London. She gets donked over the head with a - is that a frozen bag of fruit!? Ow! Lunair's head smarts, but she's going to move behind a table to armor up. Should she kill the werewolves? Knock them out? Would sleeping medicine even work? Well, whatever the case is, she'll try pixie dust to put puppymen down for naps.
With Lian out of the way, Roy's worries was lessened by one… a very big one, at least. That way, both he and Kori could now turn their full attention to the situation at hand.
Ducking a thrown chair, Roy returns fire, using ice cream sundae glasses, spoons, and such… all aimed mostly to give a very solid reminder and a knockout blow. Who was basically instigating the crowd? That'd be who he'd be looking for while doing the duck and cover. "Knock it off! If you've got -issues-, take it up with City Hall!"
The throwing of objects, the charge, the swarming of the mob where one brazen man attempts to land the first blow and is met with a response that splits the ground like a rocking quake, people staggering, cries emerging, some glass shattering.
"See! They always react in extremes!" The man yells. Yes he landed the first blow, poked that giant green bear with a hate sign and got a response but apparently defense does not matter. "And look even his little friend runs! They are not allies, they are enemies!!"
Fingers point at Lunair and Skaar while cries go from alarm to cheers as the werewolves emerge. "Even the mutants come to our aid! They want them off their earth too! Earthlings only!"
"Take your orange skinned freak and both of you leave, take your lying friends with you!" Lunair and Roy are not devoid of the attacks as he pelts back at them, returning fire people are closing in and pressing them into a very uncomfortable middle.
"Roy, Luna." Starfire's voice is low. "High ground." Once said her hands omit tha perse glow and the metal latticework of the table she hold begins to burn red, a werewolf charging in on her side met with the impact as she rips it from its bolted down place on the patio and if her hit lands the creature becomes branded with Otto's Icecream tabletop decor heated halfway to the inferno of the sun.
The catch being, if Starfire acts while they stand in kerosene…
Match in the gas tank…
Boom.
Boom.
"You have declared yourself my enemy, I will treat you as such," states Skaar. But the arrival of the werewolves makes him look back and growl. They look dangerous, more dangerous than an irritating human that just talks and talks. It also helps they are obviously attacking and not just talking shit.
Deciding the mob can wait a few minutes, Skaar turns back to the ice-cream shop an charges the closest werewolf, trying to grab the man-beast before he manages to reach any of the other Outsiders.
This escalated quickly. Lunair frowns. "But you guys STARTED IT!" She points out. Lunair acks, trying to get away from the debris. She is going to make sure her armor is on and get up and away from the gasoline. "Everything smells like gasoline… be careful," Lunair wrinkles her nose. She's going to work on getting away from the werewolf and the fire, perhaps trying to - she's got to do something, but what? Would the silly dancing gun even wo— the Blamethrower! If she can turn them against one another once she rocket boots up a little…
The werewolves close. One takes a hot ice cream countertop to the chest and gors down but the big one literally pounces at Starfire and applies razor sharp claws. "At them!" He snarls as one of them rips a water main out of the wall and comes right at Skaar wi it, wielding it like a huge club. Roy has one on his heels and a moment later the one that was down has heaved the counter top off him right at Lunair.
"Are you -stupid-?" Roy howls as he closes in. Only the warning from Starfire gives him pause, and in the next instant, he leaps up, trying to clamber onto a table, balancing on it. "Damn it, you fools, get -out-!" A large, hard swift kick to the werewolf on his heels, and then a whistle at Lunair. "Lun! Baking soda! Absorb up the kerosene, -fast-!"
Starfire is planted, she can walk, she can run, and as she turns slowly to take in the nightmare around her, all of it reflecting back in emerald green eyes it's like a movie slowed down to make sure it is all real.
When Skaar turns to go head to head with a higher threat the insult is taken. "Don't let them hurt those on our sides!" One small step for some humans, a leap for mutant kind as now they find it prudent to band together (so it seems) and mutants as well as metas are not the very threat. They're from earth!
But who is who? It doesn't matter they're closing in and now it looks liek two waves close in on the cluster of ice cream socialers seeking to swallow them whole in a sea of confusion. Never mind the lowest current bears a foul smelling liquid gas..
Skaar now has that picketer at his back, the cracked sign now taken by its stump and the broad sign is used to try and slap him across the face. Others are climbing tables, Lunair even gets one of those small bottles of kerosene launched her way to skim just beneath her boots. "See, she's flying! ALIEN!" Roy's rise and defense is met with others attempting to ascend the table as well.
Starfire picks a chair up from the ground after her meet against werewolf one, ripping the legs from it and tossing them up to Roy. "Where's the wrist bow I …" That large wolf is upon her as she spins back, that shadow cast over her the warning and the time she needed but one arm rises to push between the massive jaws and she crumples beneath the weight. The sight of the hulking beast clawing savagely and shaking its head like it was shaking the life out of a small game catch stops though when anything that shoudl have sounded gruesome does not arise, in fact one shake sounds like nails on a chalkboard when her armor slides between fang and tawny skin, digitalizing in a purple ripple across her to cease further damage. Feet curl into herself in a defensive tuck but those armored soles now kick up and out, her breathing even… Deep. Calming even as she rises up to meet that large wolf head on.
"Get that freaky lookin' bitch! Yeah! We'll show them!"
The biggest of the werewolves goes right through the freezer wall and into the ice cream storage. Five seconds later a ten gallon container of rocky road whips back out like a bullet at Star followed shortly by the big wolf himself, who seems to have appropriated a piece of rebar from somewhere.
Skaar's opponent swings high, misses and then comes back around. He doesn't much care if he hits Skaar or the people around him really, but Skaar's the bigger threat. Roy has managed to gain some ground on his persuer who turns as Lunair becomes a bit more threatening herself and jumps at her instead. Leave the archer. Get the armored girl.
Despite the interference of the humans (or maybe because of it) Skaar manages to grab the werewolf and pull the man close. "Attacking us was the worst mistake of your lives, what do you expect to gain, uh?" He pushes him down, and tries to bend his arm in ways arms can't usually bend. Likely there is going to be some unpleasant noises involving bones snapping.
Too many humans on the way, he can't see what is happening to the others, and that makes him extremely angry. "Out of my way! Stupid gnats!" He snarls.
Lunair blinks, looking worried about Starfire. She winces at the noise the armor makes and - she's not bit in two. That's a relief. Oh, but now she's got a counter top and gasoline and everything. Hopefully they already threw the sink. She throws a small ball into the audience. It's a small dance bomb, and maybe some of the crazies will boogie instead of trying to beat them. And suddenly she's more of a threat. Now she has - another opponent.
Evasive mode. She manages to avoid a good chunk of it, then shouts, "It's technology. From EARTH!" Duh! Geez! But she's got to keep avoiding those wolf guys. Would baking soda be even able to dampen this much gas? She can but try. It's sort of like a fire extinguisher, but weaponized. Gonna be a bunch of ghostly protestors. Poof! So much to worry about.
"I got it…!" Roy exclaims, as he slaps at his wrist, unlocking the safety. That it wasn't something that was as automatic to him as his arsenal of throwing instruments… well, give him a break, it -was- styling to take an opponent out with a SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!
With Roy perched on a table, trying to fend off werewolves, while trying to prevent the kerosene from going -off-… C'mon, Lunair, you can do it… just do it -quickly- before Starfire blows everything skyhigh! Speaking of which…
"Kori, hand-to-hand…!" If she -insisted on smacking people, it'd be better to give her -something- to whack things with instead of firing off her starbolts. What, though…
Another kick to the werewolf trying to get to him, and then Roy leaps for the overhang light, using it to swing and kick at another werewolf. There had to be -something- in an ice cream shop… please, please say dry ice, freon, something…
The protestors and rioters are a mixture, but right now it is best to look as human as possible, though that is not saving Lunair and Roy from the attacks based on terra. One man walks into the middle of the melee and chaos, perhaps unnoticed with the hoody pulled up and over his head, and timing could not be more perfect, as Lunair emits the baking soda to try and absorb the tossed and doused kerosene the cloaked being looks up at her and his deep brown eyes flash amber, a finger rising to his lips. 'Shhh'. A gesture that ignites a spark upon fingertip andwith a second exhale, like he is blowing out a candle that small flame that came to life jumps and anything not coated ignites. Hands thrust in pockets he slips out amongst those trying to push in and then backpedal as flames rise, and race, some quarantined due to the baking soda diffusion.
"They're trying to kill us all!"
Those with sense and less inflicted by Maximus' -push- beging to widen eyes and turn tail to escape, only a few remain, uncaring and already riding the waves of their own personal fear and hatred, this only making it come to a head.
The werewolf Skaar seems to even keep close while he breaks its limb terrifies the man he holds close, now he is scrambling to try and wrench free of Skaar. "Don't you /DARE/." As futile as it may seem, he is trying to land blows upon Skaar while hugged in like a breathing teddy ruxpin.
Starfire will call Roy a spork weilding hero later, right now she is more concerned with the rise in obvious enemies and their challenge level. "I know… I know.." But when that werewolf re-emerges with rebar and the flames already bring the temparature up around her she attempts to race for the werewolf, to meet head on an a female protestor has her held by the hair. "I got her! Come n' get her!" The female calls to the werewolf, a tone of cheer in her voice like she is holding dinner in place for it.
Twisting around Kori hits the woman once, her hand releasing the hair, in fact her whole arm goes dead at her side. "You'll have use back by tomorrow…. /leave/." A terrified look now as she turns on heel and runs with her arm lamely flapping at her side, just in time for the werewolf to take aim and swing at Kori's turned back…
Wouldn't you know it. One of the few times Midnighter is using the Hoffman identity to get in close to some possible targets with money and he runs into trouble. Granted, he never has a problem finding it but it's more rare that he stumbles across it without looking. And in a suit instead of his costume, no less. Crossing the street, he pushes his way through the fleeing crowd, tossing people left and right, sometimes literally, until he steps into the ice cream parlour. "Wwerewolves." he says to himself. "Werewolf bodybuilders. Seriously?" And what/who else? Ah. "Armory!" he shouts. "Throw me two escrima sticks!"
The largest of the werewolves - a big brute that Stafire has been battling for the past couple minutes - Walks the distince to Kori with a feral smirk. There's a jerk from his arm as he lashes out hard enough to penetrate the alien woman's armored skin and sinks his claws into her abs and stomach, lifting her up by those ragged tears in her flesh. "We'll see who'se dominant now…" He growls, then spins around and hurls the orange skinned heroine through a support wall. "Bring it down!" He snaps.
Other than the one Skaar has (who isn't going anywhere at all at the moment) the rest of the werewolves (that is to say the ones that were trying to get Lunair and Roy) turn from their tasks and lay into the supporting beams. Which aren't armored. And cant fight back. They're already on their way out as the bulding trembles and starts to crumble under it's own weight.
Skaar throws the werewolf away, none too gentle, the poor bastard is likely going through several walls before stopping somewhere. The shop is burning now, and although he barely notices the heat, there are others that are not so lucky. "Luna!" He shouts, and moves forward towards the dark-haired girl. Someone should explain him the importance of codenames one of these days.
But the werewolves are not attacking anymore. Well, except Starfire, who is going to need some bandaging. Skaar snarls, and tries to grab the closest werewolf and slam him against the floor. Through the floor. The shop might be coming down, but he is not thinking straight anymore.
Lunair will have to giggle about the spork later. Right now, at least one of her friends is hurt. And then, a familiar voice. Midnighter! A nod, and he'll have two escrima sticks in his hands. She is not limited to creating things in her hands and no way she's tossing sticks around werewolves (did she learn NOTHING from her stereotyping lecture from the gorillas and the banana gun incident?). Waitasecond… there's a guy in a cloak with amber eyes. She says nothing, obeying the sssh.
The impromptu dance team is breaking it down now, and break dancing in the general direction of away from fire. One guy even does the caterpillar and worms away. Lunair hears her name, looking to Skaar. Wha? "I'm okay! We gotta help Starfire and get out of here!" She is still airborn for now. Taking a shot at the werewolf with Starfire so close is dicey. So she's going to make sure no one is trapped by the fire, or give Roy a dry ice cannon to help out.
Taking the cannon, it's easy enough to freeze the floor. Never mind the new person who just came in, he needed to get -this- sorted out and out of the way.
The creaking sound of the supporting beam, on the other hand…
"Crap. Everybody -out-! That means you too, Skaar!" If he has to -ding- something off his head to get him moving, that will do!
Werewolves apparently do not know Tamaranean physiology, feline in their long line of "Darwinian" linkage: They're bendy! When that clawed fist impacts her abdomen Starfire buckles around it, making that blow look far harsher then it is, though the sheer force combined with claws does draw blood and rend flesh exposed to the attack. Go limp, go limp! Mid-air, Starfire tucks into herself, hitting through the wall and bouncing (because bumbles do such things?? Ask Orn) she skids across the ground and rolls to her side, planting an armored palm against the ground, only to look up through the veil of amber burning hair and see the wolves take down the building around her, tucking back in to take the weight as it begins to collapse in and crumble upon her.
The man Skaar once held wrenches free and while trying to bee-line it out and away he charges Midnighter. "SCUM! You and your kind are judged this day!" All while drawing back to swing.
The others are doing the funky chicken on out, the fire at their heels but they are safe from it now, that one who orchestrated the flames and that side of the attack long gone as well, the plan to plant the blame a success. There's no winning this for the aliens in their eyes, even if they have to play dirty, some will.
Skaar does catch one of the werewolves and slams him down into the slab below the flooring, into the piping. Then there's a crackle and a huge chunk of roof comes down on them both. At the very least, that Werewolf will either be there for a bit, or he'll need to find another way out. The remaining two make for the now flame-lit shadows of the alley. Let the aliens deal with the angry humans and the collapsing building. They've made their statement.
Midnighter barely blinks as he's suddenly holding the weapons he asked for. Armory is even more useful than he remembered. He unbottons his Brooks Brothers' jacket and looks for the nearest target. Unfortunately, almost all the werewolves are running away, the ceiling is collapsing, and some idiot is charging him while screaming about his kind. He's briefly tempted to ask which kind he is. White? Rich? Gay? Instead, he blocks the swing with one stick hard enough that the snap of the man's radius is clearly audible and he uses the man's momentum to propel him out the door, suddenly feeling a bit better about how today is going.
The problem with Skaar now is that he is blinded by rage. It is a hulk thing and smacking him in the head is not helping. Case to point, the large chunk of ceiling falling on him, which makes him stagger and release the werewolf. Right on the head. His response is punching upwards, which makes the whole building rumble, and helps nothing the badly damaged structure. On the other hand it is quite safe for him to have a building fall on his head. The time it takes for him to dig himself out will allow him to chill down too.
Safer for others, too.
Lunair pauses. Wait, a minute- amber eyes. There's a moment of confusion. The other shoe is floating around in space. A man in a hoodie… Well, she'll just have to puzzle it out later. Lunair doesn't have time to think it over. She does regret not pulling her phone out to get a picture. But why does amber flashing eyes feel so familiar? THINK. Is it the obvious? And she's thankfully unable to hear Midnighter bust some dude's arm. Though, the dude totally had it coming.
She looks worried about Skaar and Starfire's on actual fire and geez. It's all a mess. She looks to Roy. "Need rocket shoes?" She'll give the archer some if he needs, otherwise she's going to make sure no one is stuck in fire.
"A really big ice gun to put out the fire would be great," Roy replies to Lunair, after they've managed to evacuate what they could. Whatever werewolf there were were urged to hurry out faster with applied arrows.
As the building starts to crumple, Roy crouches against the ground, knee on pavement, watching it burn. "So… while we wait for Skaar to get out, do we take a few pokes at the werewolves?"
As the building collapses, Midnighter reaches up to brush some debris off his hair then looks at Lunair. "Mind telling me what that was about, who those werewolves were and more importantly, who that idiot is?" He uses one stick to motions to the madman cradling his arm and crying in pain. "You should probably make it quick. He strikes me as the type to call the police and I don't like hurting cops if I don't need to."
Lunair looks to Midnighter, coming in a little closer. She lands nearby. She's getting the hang of rocket boot based flight. "We were having ice cream, and I think there was an antialien protest nearby. That dude was inciting people, shouting stuff. The werewolves came out from around the sore. Then someone with brown eyes that glowed amber sparked a flame. It was pretty crazy." Not gonna lie. Lunair is not a master story teller. "I tried to put some flour down to deal with the gasoline being thrown around." She sums it up as best as she can. Social penalties are totally a thing. "And that's understandable."
"Interesting timing for it all." Midnighter notes. "The protest, the werewolves, the eyes, and you. Sounds like someone set you up." He idly twirls one of the escrima sticks and glances back at the building. "Who was the green guy and the orange girl? And the one with the arrows? There's so many archers in the last few years, I can't keep track of them all if they don't have tits."
A brief mental image of a Roy with boobs. Wince. Lunair nods. "Well, they might've started before we got here," Lunair considers. She pauses. "We should probably move a bit away. They came after me, too for being near them. The green guy is Skaar, and the orange lady is Starfire. Arrows is Arsenal," She explains. "I really have no idea why archery got so popular. Maybe they just wanna party like it's 1399 again? I guess they are really quiet weapons," Ponder and shrug. "I only know one lady archer. It's good to see you despite the circumstances."
"My point exactly." Midnighter agrees. One lady archer, lots of guys. "It's a decent weapon. Quiet, not a bad range, accurate if you're skilled." he points out. "But it's slower than many and you can run out of ammunition quickly leaving you with just an oddly shaped club. So. You say 'before we got here'. That implies you all arrived together. Friends of yours I take it?"
Lunair will have to ponder power and fighting technique demographics by gender later. "That's true," She considers. She doesn't have much to add to the archery discussion. It's clearly not her preferred technique. She probably could stick a shot if she came to it, but she knows like, 4 archers so she's kinda good on the arrow front.
A nod. "Yup! They're pretty nice. Well, the green guy can be kind of grumpy but he has a good heart." She seems clearly fond of him, despite her problems showing emotion properly. "People get seriously weird about people just coming from another world…"
"And about people who are mutants. And people who are gay. And people who are black. I could go on." Midnight takes both sticks in one hand and offers them back to Lunair. "People, as a whole, are idiots. If they didn't breed so quickly, the species would have been killed each other off by now."
Lunair accepts them, and dismisses the sticks. There's a quiet sadness. "People really are cruel." She's never really gotten to fit in, and she's already not entirely sure. She thought of herself as human, turned out to be a mutant and welp.
A soft sigh. "I don't know. I sort of feel sad because I am pretty much one aside from - I mean I can pass…" Shrug. She looks to Midnighter. "I guess so." She seems less cynical, for now. "Thank you for your help. He really had that coming. I may drop my armor and take my friends some tea. It'll take Skaar awhile to get out of the rubble and… yeah."
"My pleasure." And it really was. Anyone screaming about 'your kind' deserves to be hurt. It brightened Midnighter's day. "Unless you want to be caught up by the police, you'll want to get out of here too before they show up. But call me if you need a hand with anything. Things have been slow since Waller got demoted." The new Weatherman is slower to call on his particular talents.
Blink. A little smile. He's so polite! Although, the dude really did have it coming. The words 'your kind' are rarely followed or coming after anything good. Lunair nods. "Yeah. And you too, alright?" She looks to him. "See you around. I'll go since I don't feel like being questioned and somehow, I doubt they'd believe someone just started a spark randomly." Sigh. She waves and will start off.
"No, they never believe that kind of thing. Don't try 'he was dead when I got there' either." That was a joke right? Right? Midnighter reaches up to straighten his ties then starts walking down the street away from the crowd.