[Heromux] Mammon Strikes Back

Summary: Mammon attempts to get Kilroy to let him come to Earth.
Location: Metropolis
Date: 2015.02.11
Emitter: Kilroy Capital Conneticut
Players: Loki Laufeyson, Tousaint Walters, John Constantine, Marc Spector, J'onn J'onzz
NPCs: Zaraquoy Cordiroy, Mammon, Anti Life, The Three Brothers Dimm, Mumble Beard
Groups: Team: Genesis, Magic and Mysticism
Tone: Dark, Heroic
Rating: Restricted

Zaraquoy Coordiory planned to get revenge on Kilroy. Once he found out through methods ridiculous, that he was a member of Team: Genesis, he planned to humiliate the team by having the worst and lamest heroes around sign up for the team. But worse, not just the lamest of the lame, but professional actors IMITATING them and film it all on youtube.
Limrick found out about it and contacted Kilroy.
Kilroy contacted Cinque, and between the two of them, they were in a large industrial warehouse in the district looking at a long line of badly fitting spandex. A hired security guard at the door looked them up and down and was about to say "No admittance...."
"I don't care if you're the president of the united states...you're not getting in..." he finger pointed at Kilroy....
But another enemy, a more deadly one than a jaundiced former outdoor sporting goods store owner...and a pair of eyes brimmed in fire watched from the shadows...ready to strike.
Marc Spector is on his way to meet up with a friend, though he has no idea why the meeting place is in the industrial district. He's unaware there's either a fire eyed something or a bunch of fake heroes being confronted by two real ones in the area.. at least for the moment.
Loki is snooping around as well, dressed in his scale-patterened tunic and black leather pants. He isn't affected by the cold despite not wearing a coat, which makes him stand out a little. As he lurks near some of the 'weirdos', he tries to listen to what's being said, his sensitive Asgardian hearing able to pick up voices.
Matter Eater Lad, who isn't actually Matter Eater Lad, eats a doughnut in thirty seconds and Zaraquoy claps his hands, "Oh GOOD! You're SO in." Right next to Stilt Man using actual Stilts (not the real thing) and Gerbil Girl wearing what might be Taxidermy as an outfit.
Kilroy rubs his eyes once he just ignores the guard who tries to shove him instead. Kilroy tries not to retch and then looks heavenward. Then he looks to Cinque, "We have to STOP this."
There is a bout of flame as suddenly Mammon, or rather a shadow thereof, steps out and says, "Kilroy....long time no see..." Dressed in a fine red silk tux with a golden calf covered cane, his eyes twinkle, "So...about that contract. I want you to release my inability to enter the earth...."
"Not going to happen. You welched. You're stuck. Good riddance."
Three demons....vaguely looking like teenage boys, one fat with a box of donuts in his hands, one with the horns of a ram, and another with a baseball bat appear in the middle of the 'heroes.'
"Nothing says I can't use minions Kilroy.....have it your way....let me know if you change your mind.
Marc is looking around from a rooftop, wondering in irritation if he got the wrong place when the panic breaks out not even a block away. ....Well. Maybe he's in the right place after all. He's already in costume, so it's Moon Knight who ends up on the building next to the warehouse, looking in the upper story windows to see the chaos going on. He's not sure of the specifics, but from the looks of the three aggressors and the senses gifted him by his patron marking them as linked to a greater power, it's enough to start with. He pulls out his truncheon..
John's eyes widen as flames seem to rise from nowhere. His breath catches in his throat, and he takes an instinctive step away. However, now there is panic. Fear. Danger.
With the flames seeming to subside, for now, John realizes that *people* are in danger, and that someone needs to step up. His form wavers and in a moment John is gone, replaced with the Manhunter from Mars: J'onn J'onzz. The Emerald-skinned Martian floats into the air, over the heads of the fleeing 'heroes'. Glowing red eyes seem to flash as his Martian Vision expands his awareness- he takes a quick moment to take stock, and figure out just who among the crowd is causing this danger.
Doctor Umoja nods to Kilroy, "I will try to give you some time to come up with some spell" Doctor Umoja pulls out his plasma pistols and points them at the demons, "Wait, are they actual demons or are they possessed human. Umoja spits on the ground, "I hate magic!"

Loki furrows his brow. The demonic creatures look familiar, and he is about to open his mouth to say something about it, bu Umoja's diss on magic derails his concentration and causes him to say "I find that personally offensive!" and throw a harmless green blob of sparkly magic at him with an irate scowl.
"I am not a wizard Umoja...I can do rites, not....right I'll see what I can do..." maybe the same rite that would banish a spirit might banish the demons....
The three of them begin charging Cinque, the plasma bolts bouncing off their skin as their immunity to fire becomes quite handy then.
Kilroy looks at Loki, "Loki! I'm very glad to see you. Now would be a great time to-" and then a hook, a giant hook rips the fabric of space and lands in Kilroy's shoulder, blood spurting out in a gush. A draconic face comes out of the tear and howls with rage and triumph.
The shadow of mammon says, "Oh you didn't think that was all I brought did you?"
Moon Knight swears under his breath, though it's quickly bitten off. Well, he throws that silver dart right at the eye of the creature peeking through the tear; he has a feeling whatever it is, it's not anything they want wandering around Earth.
"Focus, young warrior!" J'onn shouts, recognizing Loki in the fray. His voice is deep, and seems to almost echo. "People are in danger, now is not the time for petty egos." With his 'encouragement' given, the Manhunter from Mars swoops down to face one of those three demonic entities- the one with the baseball bat. He throws a fist- holding back on his full strength just in case the hellbeast can't handle it.
Underneath his mask, a frown appears on his face as he realizes his plasma blast fail to cause any damage. Doctor Umoja decides on a different strategy, when he sees that more people are joining in to help, or least he hopes that they are here to help. He quickly uses his super speed to try to take a demon by surprise, and launch it in the air.
Loki spins toward J'onn, his long hair whipping around him. He looks at his hands and then at the demons, then at the dragon. He's never been in a battle without his brother or the Warriors Three, so he is very nervous. Frigga had been teaching him sorcery, but he hasn't really used it around non-Asgardians. His fear starts to build, and his hands begin to glow. He looks back and forth, uncertain what to do, so he does the only thing he can think to do - he just explodes with magic, sending a burning concussive wave in all directions.
The people who were panicked and still hiding in the warehouse, are spread around like bowling pins, not REALLY hurt, but are very pretty in a deliverancy horrifying way as lycra and spandex flies as it otherwise never might.
Umoja's blast on the demon with the ram's horn and super speed connects and he is knocked back, doubly so as he moves and SLAMS into a nearby wall.
Manhunter connects with the largest of the three and finds he does need to pull his punch but still connects and it hurts. The demon slams back with more strength than might have been expected but both are hit with force.
Soggy Paper Plate sneers at Loki and creates slippery grease underneath the God ready to trip him up only as the blast goes in all directions and he begins to bounce off the walls like a greasy ping pong ball, "This is.......uncivil!!!!" He howls with rage.
Mumblebeard lifts Kilroy into the air with his tail, all set to breath fire on him while Kilroy tries to get the hook out of his shoulder when the Shuriken made of Silver nicks the otherwise impenetrable scales. The dragon roars with rage and breaths fire at Moonknight, about to hit him when his head is knocked out of alignment by the blast instead, setting fire to the glass on the south wall, melting it instantly.
The silver figure near the roof dives to the side, knowing it won't be far enough--- only to find something diverts the blast, turning another section of the windows to slag instead. He says a quiet word of thanks, but while some might count themselves lucky and leave while the can, Moon Knight uses the grappling hook in his truncheon to catch one of the beams in the ceiling and swing down to ground level in the wake of Loki's blast, kicking at whichever demon he can reach, for preference the one shouting at Loki.
One of the drawbacks of having a variety of different DNA sliced together inside of you is one of those DNA are susceptible to magic attacks. If it was just a soul blast, Umoja might be standing, but a concussive magic blast knocks him towards the wall. He lets out a deep growl as his healing factor starts to make sure he doesn't lose consciousness, "Someone stop that Dragon, and watch it with spells! Feckin Magic!"
That baseball bat connects with J'onn, sending him back. A gout of flame, however, shooting over head has him gasp in fear. Loki's wave strikes and he stumbles forward. That fire breathing dragon is certainly among the most fearsome of things he's seen- J'onn's fight or flight response hits hardest of all. The Manhunter from Mars barely keeps himself together, seeing the dire situation the other heroes are in. He can not run when there are people to protect- even if the sight of such fills him with dread. He swallows, before looking to the bat-wielding demon. "Enough!" The Manhunter runs forward, his arms shifting and changing as if fluid. He attempts to wrap the demon up and give him a good constrictive squeeze. He looks towards Loki,
"You can do this," he offers the fledgling hero. "Remember- be the man you want to be. You want to prove them wrong, now is your chance!" What exactly J'onn is talking about may be a mystery.
One of the people most likely to be fashionably late and not really mean it to be fashionable is John Constantine. Especially where actual demons from an actual hell are involved. Since he boasts the unique characteristic of basically being the center of a celestial feud, he doesn't typically hesitate much at wading into the battleground...and he'd planned to be here. He'd planned for *other* people to be here. While everyone else is engaging the things directly, John's taking a wax crayon he got from somewhere and starting to draw on the ground, a half-ash cigarette hanging from his lips. Where'd he come from?! If you asked him, he'd say rumor has it the stork brought him.
Mammon is not done yet. He growls as he sees John Constantine. "Nonono!"
He snaps his fingers and his Queen on the chess board, Anti-Life herself steps through a rife between the worlds and begins whipping up tendrils of miasmic power that begin to spread through the building like an Enomie, silken, and glowing, beautiful in their own way but deadly radiating from her like a nimbus...one touching one of the unconscious humans and making them wrack with pain.
A Rai stone moves one out of the way just in time, but the Dragon turns the scythe in his tail and cuts deeper, ending the magic from the God of Commerce.
And Kilroy turns and just begins to BEAT on the thing, taking out a flash bang Grenade that explodes in its face as it roars with anger.
Moonkight attacks the Ram's head with his truncheon as it howls with pain, as it shoots forth lasers from its eyes (not fire) but painful if they connect beyond imagining. It is a death demon goat laser goat laser death demon!
Soggy Paper Plate stops ping ponging around long enough to use one of the many more sophisticated powers he asked for...when he is clobbered by an angry Godlet wielding strength and raw magic. The weakest of the three he howls in pain and begins to retreat. "Ow!" "OW! OW! OW!"
Baseball Bat Demon is entendrilled and whuffs as the air is knocked out of him. Being a human empowered, he needs air and slowly begins to fall unconscious.
Mammon points to three or four of the humans about to be consumed by Anti Life. "Give in Kilroy. How many people need to die for your pride? I will get back eventually anyway. You know I will."
Moon Knight lands after slamming into the goat-demon-teen truncheon first. He prepares for a follow up attack, only to see his eyes suddenly glowing with a strange sort of 'tweeeee' powering up noise? ...Well, better deal with that. He sends an elbow lashing up under the goat demons' chin, intending to snap his head back and open him up for a take down while hopefully aiming-- whatever that is-- up towards the ceiling. "Your kind has no place in this city!" he says darkly-- it's pretty corny and it's not like he even knows what's going on, but he says it like it's entirely serious.

Once the demon wielding the bat is out, he is gently placed on the ground. With regular humans in danger, and some creature stepping out to harm them its obvious what J'onn must do. Not unlike superman, his eyes flash and a pair of concussive force beams fly at Anti Life. "Get away from those people!" he shouts as he quickly flies towards the demoness/creature with fists out- fully meaning to snatch the creature away from her quarry.
Eyes widen slightly as he notices Anti-Life rising appearing from the rift. A deep rage begins to rise in him, he quickly gets to his feet and steadies himself. "Just this once, no one gets a choice! Everyone dies!" Doctor Umoja goes full Kryptonian on the dragon. Using his super strength, and speed to throw a variety of punches and muy thai knees at the Dragon.
Loki begins to use his innate shape shifting in unpredictable way, starting o shapeshift into a small green and gold dragon himself, pouncing after Soggy Paper Plaet. He doesn't have much control over his shifted forms but he figures the teeth are intimidating enough. "Move and I'll eat you for lunch!"

Good Loki. John grins a little to himself, just a twitching of the corners of his mouth really. The design is finished, the crayon slid into a pocket in his trenchcoat, and then he finally -- finally -- ashes. Apparently on the design. A sigil? And when the ash hits the crayon's deep carmine lines, it brightens to neon red, lighting him brilliantly. "Someone nudge the fat lady. Mammon! You're fucked, old son."
The concussive beams hit Anti Life, who is made of tough stuff, and is able to shrug off the worst of it, but she is forced to readjust the tendrils and send them toward J'omn, ready to drain the life from him if they hit. She is putting on a brave show but he can sense the pain in her mind.
Moon Knight successfully causes Goat Death Lazer Demon Goat Death Demon to shoot the ceiling with his face as rock comes tumbling back down onto him. "OW!" He is slowly lifting away the rubble. Slowly.
Loki is successfully keeping all the totally KEWL powerz that he has been given from being used by Soggy Paper Plate (and it is actually a rather impressive list) but fangs and pain and blood make concentration impossible as he howls with rage.
Umoja's ass whooping of the dragon is impressive. He has never really known a superior opponent and he is temporarily driven back, dropping Kilroy like a sack of meat as he brings his hook to bear, whilst breathing in to unleash firey death.
As the lines are completed, Mammon howls with rage. NO! So close! He directs all of the others, "Ignore them all! Kill John Constantine."
Oh. And while not unconscious, Kilroy just kind of lies there.
Moon Knight gives a sharp stomp to the rubble to encourage doom-goat to stay down, but then his head snaps to the side as Mammon shouts. In a different tone than before he calls, "Oh, -now- you show up!" Though despite the chiding he is quickly shifting position to get between Constantine and the remaining minions, even throwing another silver dart at the creepy woman with the tendrils. "Does him wanting to kill you mean you're about to fix this mess?"
J'onn J'onnz shouts in pain as those tendrils strike against his martian flesh, however, he is made of tougher stuff than those humans Anti Life had tried to drain. His regenerative nature means he has more life-stuff than what might be expected. J'onn works through the pain, his own limbs splitting into a multitude of tendrils as he grabs at the demon-creature's limbs and applies crushing pressure to each. Close now, his eyes again flare as another blast of concussive force shoots from those glowing red orbs. J'onn's mind reaches out amid the chaos to blast at the fel creature, "Back to where you came from!"

Loki grows bigger and grabs Soggy Paper Plate in his clawed hand. "NO. None of you will Kill him! If you n him, you will have to kill ME and I don't think you want to make ODINANGRYRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"arooooo!

"Ah-ah-ah! You know what your higher-ups would do to you if they knew you were responsible." Constantine takes a last drag from his cigarette and flicks it before him. Knowing him, it probably has some sort of time-bomb magic in it for one last hurrah, just in case anything gets too close. "And they *will* know. Best to cut your losses, yeah? Cos you're all about the profit." He's so casual about it all. Probably comes from his life experience. A hand dips into his coat, and he reaches into the cigarette pack to pull out another fresh smoke. "Mm," he answers Moon Knight. "Sorry I was a little delayed. Had to check my sigils. And well...I sincerely hope so." If he's done it right, at least.
It's amazing how fast it ends. The Demons are depowered in a puff of smoke, though Loki is gnawing on a very angry teenage human. Anti Life shrieks in pain as the blasts hit her, but just as she is to launch a massive retaliation she vanishes.
The Dragon, of course, wouldn't give a CRAP about what Mammon wanted, and could easily hold his own against every one here given his magic...but the concussion bombs in his mouth is not a good thing and he is knocked back through the tear, sealing it.
There is an explosion but Kilroy and Umoja reach cover. Shards of space time fly through the room, largely avoiding the unconscious humans.
Moon Knight is armored, though he ducks away from the explosion anyways, having no idea how much good it will do against whatever all of that is. Dragon sealed, creepy tendril lady gone, demons no longer demonic...well, at least mostly.. but apparently also just stupid kids.. he lets out a breath. "..Guess it's good you checked your sigils, but when you asked me out here I figured it was to chat and get a burger or something. If you're planning to stem off a demonic invasion, you could include that in the memo, next time." though he still seems rather focused on the three ex-demons.
With the disappearance of the dangers, J'onn takes a moment to breath- exhaling as the worst of it seems over. He becomes insubstantial, and like some sort of ghost disappears into the earth- simply floating through solid matter as if it were air. The Martian Manhunter is gone, just as he appeared: all at once. He waits not for thanks, or to exchange words with the other heroes.
A block away, John Jones steps from the shadows of an alley. He steps up to a pay-phone and dials emergency services. "Yeah. I'd like to report some injuries..." The Private Investigator gives the address... "Some heroes took care of the worst of it, still, I do believe some of the civilians are injured." The phone is hung up, and John Jones walks again into the night.
Doctor Umoja pulls down his mask as he looks at Kilroy, "How bad are you hurt?"
John holds up his hands, glancing around. He gives Loki's direction a smile, before he's taking a drag off his cigarette and strolling over to Moon Knight. "Sorry. Didn't have too much time. Details may've slipped me mind." Details like 'there will be demons' and 'hell may be involved'. Oh well. "Make it up to you? Pint at the Oblivion?"
You say, "I'll live. This is a bad cut but the advantage of being a God is that you heal quickly." He nods to John as he heads out with the Moon Knight and Loki, "Thank you as well. Your aid was greatly appreciated.""
Moon Knight glances to Kilroy, but it looks like he's alive and has someone looking to him, so he turns back to face Constantine, perhaps willfully keeping Loki out of sight just now. "I think I could be talked into that." besides, he was wondering why Constantine was acting so strange last time they met up anyhow. "You need a hand?" he calls to Kilroy though, just in case.
John glances over to Kilroy, and around at the others. They'll recover. This was probably pretty bad an experience for everyone who found themselves involved, but people are pretty sturdy. Surprisingly so, sometimes. He turns his head to exhale a plume of smoke, away from Moon Knight. "Mm. Won't have to twist your arm, will we?" He lightly teases, grinning.
Moon Knight nods to Kilroy, a bit surprised. "Maybe I'll see you there sometime." he allows. To Constantine and his ever present nimbus of smoke he answers, "Not much, anyhow."

[Heromux] Breaking the Cycle of Fate

Summary: Kilroy tells Loki the price of breaking his Fate. Rocket Racoon is there because...Fate.
Location: Dairy Queen, Staten Island, NYC, Midguard
Date: 2015.02.08
Emitter: Kilroy Capital Conneticut
Players: Loki Laufeyson, Rocket Racoon, Kilroy Capital Conneticut
NPCs: Cashier
Groups: Magic and Mysticism
Tone: Angsty, Social, Comedic, Weird
Rating: Public

It was said as an idle comment, with Steve Rogers mentioning to Rocket that he should meet the Asgardian God of Mischief...Loki...and the fates took amusement of that. This was no idle comment...but an opportunity in a convoluted tide of webs that would lead to Ragnarok. Would Rocket be involved? Theoretically. Free will was still somewhat of a factor though not as much as some might think.

Yet.

And so it was that Loki and Rocket found themselves brought to Staten Island, specifically a dairy queen at the corner of Warp and Weif lane, at exactly noon on a particular Saturday. Fate wanted them to meet, and therefore by the Gods, meet they shall.

Loki arrives at the Dairy Queen, shifting his clothing to his ceremonial armor, complete with horned helmet. The outfit looks slightly too big for him just yet, but he'll grow into it. He must look his best, since he is entering the domain of a Queen, after all. He steps forward and encounters the glass door with a clang, then backing up and noticing the handle, entering the establishment. They don't have glass doors in Asgard, so he occasionally forgets about them.

Rocket Raccoon: Live At Ragnarok? It's kinda sounds like some major rock event. Would lighters be involved as they bring the house down? Regardless.... that's a long ways off even if the fates are setting things in motion along those lines. Who ever would have thought that the road to Ragnarok starts with Rocky Road? But even as Loki arrives there's someone else already here that is drawing a lot of the focus. A small humanoid raccoon who's hovering upon rocket 'skates' at the cashier. "Look lady... these credits are perfectly good. It's not my fault your backwater planet doesn't have Galactic Money Changers. Maybe you have someone I can take out for you in exchange... until I pop back to Knowhere?"

Kilroy waves a hand as he walks in, and the exact change is in Rocket's credits is fairly converted into US currency. He is not really on fate's radar...he can't be...but Destiny...on the other hand asks for favors sometimes in exchange for the abilities Destiny gives....ability rather...so here he is, doing a favor. It's an opportunity...if those to whom it is offered take it....upon seeing the young Loki, Kilroy has SOME guesses about what that might be...but Rocket?

He hasn't a clue.

Unlike before, however, the curse is lifted so the broad glow leaving his hand and hitting the currency is quite visible. Kilroy keeps forgetting about that. He pretends he meant to do that and nods politely to Rocket.

And wonders what he might actually EAT here...looking t the menu....

Loki approaches the counter, offering a formal bow. "I am here to see your Queen. Tell them tha Loki Odinson of Asgard has arrived." He looks over at the raccoon, nodding a greeting to him. "Greetings." He isn't weirded out by such a creature, since he's been around animals that could talk in one way or another in Asgard. "I was unaware that Midgard was ruled by a queen. As a prince, I thought it only proper to visit."

Rocket grins just a bit... and catches site of Kilroy. Someone he's at least encountered before on Genosha. Though he saves greeting Kilroy, as he turns his focus back towards the cashier. "There... happy now?" He drops the money in her hands as he lands on the counter after cutting his rockets. Even though he's a humanoid raccoon, the eager hand wringing in anticipation seems to remind one of the hand washing movements that many misunderstand as washing their food. Rocket snap-turns his head when Loki approaches the counter and starts asking for the Queen. "Wait'yer turn and we won't have any trouble." He's got a lot of attitude in that that small package. "Wait... Loki? Hey... small world. Literally."

Kilroy slowly smiles at both but is careful not to condescend. He answers Loki first, surprised that Loki is so...young? "There is no queen of Midguard. It's just a name to provoke an image. Their deserts are good, their food is ...average."

He is amused that Rocket didn't blink an eye at him suddenly using Magic. Maybe he thinks Kilroy is a mutant? Then a gain...space being space, the unusual is probably regular.

Loki frowns at Rocket. "Am I supposed to recognize you? I do not recall knowing you. Perhaps you are mistaking me for my adult self." He then turns to Kilroy and frowns. "Oh...I see. That is quite disappointing." He shifts out of his ceremonial armor and back to his casual outfit, looking at the employees and the menu above their heads. "I suppose it would be wise to order something. Wha do you suggest?"

"Nice seeing you again..." Rocket offers to Kilroy, recognizing him from his time on Genosha. Though his focus swiftly shifts back to Loki. "No need to snippy about it. I just recognized the name, pal. Someone mentioned you to me the other night. I assume it had to be you anyway. Loki seems like an uncommon name.... and the gaudy outfit seems like it would belong to someone who knows a guy who dresses in a red, white, and blue outfit with little headwings." He snerks just a bit and rests his hands on his holsters... just in case. "I'd recommend..." Rocket pauses though as his order comes. A massive sundae bigger than his head. "Flarking Sweet." Grabby hands reaching for the dish.

You say, "A comment you say? It may not be coincidence with the two of you meeting...Fate...even...myself? Fate did some rather nasty things to me...I got better...I offer the same thing to people sometimes though its never an easy answer....as for what to order?" He smiles,"The Peanut Buster Parfait is quite good...as is the Blizzard. Both are ice cream deserts." He nods politely to Rocket,"Nice to meet you as well. I'm working for a different employer now by the way.""

Headwings. "Do you mean Thor?" Thor's helmet has wings on it after all. "Thor does not wear much white. He makes too much of a mess." The trickster looks to Kilroy and ponders. "You do not seem to be one of the Enchanters. Odin gave his eye for wisdom and to know the future. I know it requires a sacriice, but I am unwilling to give one of my eyes to learn my fate." He shudders, pushing his long dark hair back and crossing his arms over his chest. "Ice cream. I do like ice cream. We don't have that in Asgard."

"Fate?" Rocket blinks at Kilroy and then throws his head back in an exaggerated laugh. "Fate shmate. Ain't nobody guiding my fate but me." Rocket gestures for the person holding out his sundae to just sit it down for now. As he gestures to himself by poking a thumb at his chest. "Nah. Guy's called Captain America. Carries a pizza pan he throws at people." Rocket grins just a little bit. "It's a pretty archaic weapon.... but not bad in a pinch. I'd rather have a good blaster in my hands."

You say, "I am...a channeler not an enchanter and certainly not one of The of the same name, and allow me then," he buys ice cream for Loki and a foot long chili dog for himself. "I don't do the future...I just tell you the price of something...including changing your fate...good or bad as it may be, though Lord of Asguard...I think yours is foretold....at least the end is...but that can be changed...altered at least...The price is never easy but always doable. You just have to ask and I'll answer. Doing is entirely up to you."

He smiles at Rocket,"They are real I'm afraid but for practical purposes for most, not believing in them is just fine. I've met Captain America. Good man. But if there is something you truly ever desperately want that seems impossible...ask me...I may know a way...even a difficult or equally impossible one.""

"You are not a god." Loki says flatly to Rocket. "Some of us have their lives written out to a point. JARVIS will not allow me to read about my written history. Back home, when I was very young, I heard father talking to mother and happened to overhear that when he visited fates the told him that I would be responsible for the destruction of Asgard. It is something that has weighed heavily upon me."

"That's not what some of my Ex-girlfriends have said..." Rocket retorts to Loki on the 'God' thing, buffing his claws on one hand against the front of his jacket. "And if you believe your entire life has been written out.... and you have no free will, I will borrow you one of my blasters and you can off yourself. Life isn't worth living unless you're living it to see what can happen." Rocket points a clawed finger at Loki's nose. He does look over at Kilroy though and grins a bit. "I'd rather find my own fortune... than have someone tell me how to achieve it. 'Kay?"

Kilroy grins at Rocket,"Well if you want cash I can do THAT," he grins and adds 1000 credits to Rocket's unit when no one is looking. An odd sense of humor has Kilroy,"But I get what you mean, and a perfectly acceptable answer. The door is open if you ever change your mind."

To Loki he says, in a quasi double manner that the mystic do, "It's the way Fate works. Those who fight it most often think they are doing good, they mean well but sometimes by keeping secrets they can actually end up repeating the exact same thing they sought to change. Ask, and i will answer. But the universe is a wide and mighty place. Rocket is right. Free will IS still real for anyone....no matter what the probabilities are.

"I was brought here by accident. I traded places with my adult self. Perhaps I can change my path and not turn evil. I don't know. And I would not 'off myself' as you say. I am Loki. I will never destroy myself." There are plenty of other things that can kill him, after all. "If you can see my future as I am now, what do you see?"

"I'll keep you in mind... though I hope you won't be hurt if I don't come calling." Rocket picks up his sundae from the counter and rockets over to a nearby table with his rocket 'skates', sitting the sundae down and standing on the chair to enjoy it. "Sides... I've destroyed tons of things. Demolitions is kind of one of my 'Special Skills'. I wouldn't shed a tear about being told I am gonna destroy things." Rocket notes... of course he has no clue about the nature of Ragnarok or what Loki is talking about exactly. He is an alien after all.

You say, "nope. Not at all. Demolitions is a highly useful skill. I've hired some experts on jobs myself." He smiles.

He looks at Loki,"That's...not quite...the way it works...you have to tell me the future you want and I tell you the price to get it...but since you kind of asked....the price to know your future?"

He considers a moment, gets a blank look on his face and then says,"Go to a public library. Go disguised as a human. Ask the reference librarian politely for the new paper articles and activities of the God Loki in the last five years. This is your most probable future unless you change your fate."

He gets his hotdog and hands Loki his ice cream.

"Excuse me a moment while I eat this...I'm famished." He begins to devour the chili dog as he sits down."

"I..." Loki looks at Kilroy, then looks away, taking his sundae and going to a table to sit alone. "I want to be a hero like Thor. I want him to be the brother I knew just a few weeks ago when we were adventuring through the realms of Asgard. I want...I want my family to love me, and I want things to be as they were. I don't want to become a madman."

Rocket grins and gestures towards Kilroy. "This guy... this guy knows where it's at." Rocket shakes his head just a bit at Loki. "Look... even if people are saying you're gonna become this madman... did you ever stop and think /MAYBE/ there's a good reason for it? You're looking at your actions as an outsider as someone who isn't seeing this from the right perspective. Sometimes stuff needs to be destroyed to make way for something better."

"I am not certain I understand what you mean." Loki turns sideways in his seat to face Rocket. "How would you look at the situation? What IS the right perspective? Nearly everyone I've met keeps telling me about the horrible things my adult self did. If he was truly that terrible, how did he get that way?"

"Who knows... people can have pretty messed up perceptions of things. This is good, that is evil." Rocket shrugs as he takes another bite of his sundae. "Nobody is pure good or pure evil. Maybe there was a method to your older self's madness." Rocket offers, since he doesn't entirely know the situation. "Maybe you should do what your buddy here suggested. Find out about yourself from someone who isn't biased."

“I am not certain I like this world. Apparently my older self has left artifacts around the area. Three teenagers found a book and managed to summon me from where I was. If people find these items and artifacts, they can just summon me any time. What if I was in the bath?"

Rocket laughs at the idea. "Maybe you should consider a bathing suit." Rocket points at Loki with his spoon. "I can imagine getting summoned up during an embarrassing situation kinda makes anyone paranoid. Can't you just find and recover these artifacts yourself? Especially if your older self or whatever hid them?" Rocket suggests. "I should hope you at least got this book from those brats?"

You say, "The easiest first..." he stops eating his hotdog mid bite and said,"Then don't. There is no price for not going mad. You just have to choose not to, but you are unlikely to do so as the years wear on and you learn the secrets kept from you. Doubly so if you return from when you came.

The love of your family will always be given. This too shall cost you nothing.

To be a hero like Thor you must do as Thor did...and have your power stripped from you and live as a mortal until such time as you are Worthy. It would be longer than you wish and shorter than you need, for you are cunning and will understand the true test but can indeed become like unto thy Brother.

He will always be the brother you know now. Thor will never change unless he too breaks his fate, and he will never desire to in the current mien.

For things to be as they were, you must bring the Fire Crystal of Sytryr to the Rainbow Bridge and use the scepter of thy adult self in a circle three times and to thy own realm shalt thou return....

But...to avoid becoming a madman? That, is truly a steep price. You must learn the secret kept from you by the one you trust the most, you must reconcile the family thou hast and the people thou had, hast not and shall have with the people you know; thou must free the serpent from his prison and send him on his way, take the acid from the wolf's eye, and make death bearable for Hel, and even then Fate will still trick thee in the end unless you free the daughter of Clothos from the rifts of Time itself.....then and only then shall the dark chains of fate wrest their hand from thy throat...

Or...of course, you could just 'not do it'...but I wouldn't bet on your future self if I were you..."

and then as if he didn't notice he said it, he keeps eating his hot dog.

"A Secret kept from me? Why would they keep a secret from me? Is it my name? Oh no, am I really named something like Lafortumikcelzakif? I can live with that, tbut I want to now what secrets they are keeping. You must tell me!"

Rocket glances between the two men... "Maybe I'll leave you two to talk. Groot probably would like some of this sundae anyway." Rocket taps a few crystals on a bracelet around his wrist. "Cosmo... passport me to Knowhere please. And gentle on the landing or you'll be wearing this sundae... you damn mutt." There's silence for a moment and voice with a Russian Accent responds. "(Da Comrade Rocket... Prepare for Passport.)" Rocket picks up his sundae. "I'm sure if the so-called fates desire, we'll meet again." A moment later there's a shimmer of light and Rocket is gone... like he was beamed up.

Kilroy finishes eating his hotdog,"That's not the way it works. I don't know." He waves to Rocket as he vanishes,"But the price of learning a secret your other self knew is easy...follow the threads of thine other self and wind them backwards...but to earn what you hope to earn...only the one that keeps it can tell you...the secret will find you soon enough...the fates are EAGER for you to know and it will find you eventually no matter where you go or what you do.

"But how can I trace his threads when I am younger than he is? I suppose I can try." He picks a piece of chocolate from his ice cream and sighs. "So what is the payment for learning the secret? No no, stay, Rocket." If things keep getting hairy he might grab Rocket and use him as a comfort pillow.

You say, "the price of learning the secret is the same as learning your future..." Kilroy sighs standing. He is beginning to feel like a vending machine but then realizes Loki is terrified. He sits back down. A very young Kilroy was threatened with Death for not giving information or lying. Kilroy will change the cycle in that alone.

"Look Loki, I really don't know...but can I recommend starting with Thor...and ask him to trust you? Thor is the person who you said you wanted to be most like...so maybe he is the one you trust the most....if you really want what you say you want...don't be afraid of it. Don't run from it. Just accept that you could be evil....and calmly do everything you can not to....I had that choice myself while under a spell not so long ago...and it was a near thing...the line between hero and villain is thinner than you think...just do the best you can..."

[Heromux] Kilroy's Background Revised

Long ago, Hades and Persephone had a child named Veolus. That child grew up very favored by the Endless, Destiny. As Veolus gained in abilities, he became the God of Commerce. Destiny blessed him with the ability to determine the price of anything. This might have seemed harmless enough, but it also meant that he had the power to tell someone the price to break their Fate. The Fates, already in an accord with Destiny, did not like this at all, and, in a pact with the goddess Mnemosyne arranged for the murder of Veolus. But since his father was Death, this took far more than a mere killing and so with Mnemosyne's help, all memory of the existence of the God was removed from creation, with all but a handful of beings forgetting he ever existed. Even the Greek Gods forgot.
Time passed, and Veolus's essence spread out among the universe, disembodied and fading. Until something happened.
The Economy was awakened by the blood sacrifices of despair as people threw themselves from buildings in Black Friday in 1929. Powerful magic is in blood, and a new God was created. The avatar priest of this God was a humble janitor who gained remarkable magical powers to create and control wealth. He became a Shepard of prosperity, trying to heal a broken nation in a time of dire despair, though there were powerful supernatural entities who fought him the whole way. It wasn't until WWII that he began to see success, and just in time since he joined many of the world's greatest hero's though his efforts were largely in the shadows and known only to a few.
This prosperity carried on for decades, until his son took over in the seventies, but did a lackadaisical job of his duties. He was a poor hero as well, and in the 80's became a dark hero. By the time the nineties had come around, he didn't care any more and actually went full out villain in the 2000's culminating with the crash of 2008. He had many aliases, but his most recent was Cold Hard Cash.
The grandson, and only living heir of the original economy took over the mantle, but found that since his grandfather died at the end of the previous millennium he was not equipped to deal with the challenges that awaited him. His father was more powerful and only his ability to conceal and detect exceeded his parent's abilities. So he donned a suit of armor and began to fight his father's actions directly as The Economy.
Kilroy entered the world stage first by trying to stop his father from creating a new currency called Crimecoinz. Kilroy's father was killed by the shapeshifter Mystique. The resulting ritual caused a massive disruption of magical energies that Kilroy spent months cleaning up. In the process, he made new friends including a romance with Lunair Weir and Team:_Genesis. He also saw the plight of Genosha and joined with Magneto as an economic adviser to improve the plight of the nation.
As time went on, Kilroy's responsibility's increased. He was asked to help fix the economy of Dream in the Market at Wall. He worked with many of the world's heroes, keeping to the shadows as he did so. He also was selected by the Gold to represent the spirits of the Economy in the Parliament of Parliaments.
While this was going on, he worked to help turn Genosha's economy from a backwater war ravaged trash dump, into an economic power house. He helped defend Magneto's reputation and blessed Serbia's economy to repair the damage done. He also helped to hunt down Mutant war criminals. In the end, though, all was to come to Ash.
Kilroy's father came back from the dead. He and Kilroy were set to fight over the trillion dollar coin and Kilroy was destined to free Veolus and with the help of Team: Genesis defeat the nine prime worlds. None of it happened. President Socklight traveled back in time and prevented any of it from ever happening. In an alliance with Mnemosyne, Kilroy kept forgetting more and more things.
And the world could care less. Kilroy resigned his position in Genosha. He distanced himself from everyone. Under a dark spell, he planned a mass heist of several banks, returning money that they had stolen. Using a pact he had arranged with Alice Hearts he escaped into Wonderland for several months.
And then, not knowing how, the curse was broken. Mnemosyne's curse ended, and then Kilroy faced a choice. He absorbed Veolus into himself, becoming a God in the process. Many in the supernatural world noted the event, but were unsure how to react. Many still didn't believe. But Kilroy is back, and more powerful than ever.
The question is...what will he do with it?

[Heromux] Three Brothers Dimm

Summary: Three brothers summon Loki for super powers. It doesn't go well.
Location: Staten Island
Date: 2015.01.31
Emitter: Kilroy Capital Conneticut
Players: Loki Laufeyson
NPCs: Brothers Thraksis
Groups:
Tone: Comedic
Rating: Public

The Thraksis boys are bullies, but they're petty ones. Beaten themselves by their father, they were the terror of middle school. But then High School came, and suddenly they were very small fish in a very small pond. But Terrence, the youngest, liked to occasionally read books. He'd seen one in the special collection section of the library and 'borrowed it'...it was very old, and Norse, containing a powerful ritual.
Tonight...they planned to summon the God Loki and dem...and...ask...for powers.
The psychic pull of the words could be felt by the God as he did...whatever it was he was doing.
Loki was sitting and studying his tablet when he felt something strange pulling at him. He set the tablet aside and looked down at himself as he began to disappear. "Ahh!" Comes his high pitched exclamation as he finds himself reappearing where the boys are. "Who...how did I get here? Who are you?" He balls his hands into fists as he looks around. "How did you summon me?"
The other two, Timmy and Theo are ...surprised to say the least. "It worked?!"
Terence looks up and puts the doughnut down from his grease stained soggy paper plate and nods, "Yeah it worked." The ritual had taken hours and he was famished. "Loki. My name is Terrence and these are my brothers. We summoned you using a ritual we found in that ancient grimoir." It always sounded more impressive when a book was old and was called a Grimoire. "It says how if we summon you you might grant us power over our enemies...."
"Power over your enemies? Why do you want power over your enemies? Let me see that grimoire, anyway." He paces around a bit. "What do you want me to do? Did you bring me any sort of offering to give me any motivation to do what you ant me to do?"
If Loki didn't know better...he could swear that it was his own handwriting. It's more confident, more ...mature..but his nonetheless. It is clearly a very powerful and (if you don't say so yourself) masterfully crafted and very...SAFE...contact spell. These idiots might think they had you under some kind of...obligation but there was no such thing. Just a magical cell phone at best.
"Well...we thought about our eternal souls, but we weren't sure you'd want that. WE got together $247.43 cents but weren't sure if you'd want that."
Terence considers, "You could have the rest of the donuts?"
Loki looks through the book and hmms. "I don't want your souls. I don't even want your money. I don't know what a donuts is, but what if I refuse?" The smallish godling has an ego the size of his adult self while not being nearly as intimidating. "What if I want to turn you all into sheep?"
Theo grins, "That'd be cool. Like that Goat in the lottery commercials that breath fire?"
Timmy sighs, "That'd be a terrible idea. I told you this was a terrible idea."
Terence looks at his brothers, "Let's be civil to the God shall we? If we can't be civil, then we're no better than the people that gave us the swirly today."
He looks at Loki, "If you refuse then....well, we'll let you go. I don't care if the book can make you grant us wishes, civility is the most important virtue, more important than kindness or courage or loyalty. You are a guest here and we shall treat you properly."
"Well, what would you like me to do? You know that having powers doesn't mean you would be able to use them responsibly. You might hurt or kill them. Then you would probably feel bad. My brothers often push me around, and I just deal with it by being smarter than them."
"Well, what would you like me to do? You know that having powers doesn't mean you would be able to use them responsibly. You might hurt or kill them. Then you would probably feel bad. My brothers often push me around, and I just deal with it by being smarter than them."
Terence nods, "That's true. But does Thor give you a Swirly?" Considering that Loki might not know what this is, he walks to the nearby bathroom and dunks a cabbage patch doll in headfirst, wherein its hair is turned into a cyclonic mess. "I don't want permanent powers, just the strength of a full grown man. That's not enough power to accidentally knock down the school, just enough to make them stop doing it."
Theo says,"I dunno...I think being a sheep sounds cool....with laser eyes."
Timmy hits Theo in the shoulder, "Shut up."
"I'm not going to turn you into a sheep. Thor and the others often leave me behind, or make fun of me. And erm..." Loki rubs the back of his neck. "I can't really give you the powers of an adult. I'm not even an adult...I don't know everything about my powers. This book must have been made by the other version of myself that I was swapped with. If powers could solve everything, I would have run away long ago."
Terence sighs quite civilly. It appears he is quite disappointed and might randomly stab you in the back with no warning whatsoever. But apparently, he is less willing to do this with a vengful God (or godling) than some random person. He finally civilly nods, "Very well. Perhaps...would you be willing to scare the people that give us swirlies? You can have the rest of the donuts. They are quite good."
Loki sighs. "Are you listening to anything I'm telling you?" He asks. "I don't want to scare anyone, I don't think they would be very afraid of me. I can't really hurt a mortal that hasn't hurt me first. It would most certainly displease Odin and Frigga." He is a bit annoying, but he's trying to steer them in the right direction.
The two older brothers steal the grimoir from Terence. Terence, at the end of the day seems similar to the soggy paper plate his donuts rest upon.
Timmy says,"I command you to give me power!"
"Theo says, "Make me a sheep with laser eyes! Or else!"
Terrence seems to be on the edge of having a psychopathic fit and is grabbing a poker from the nearby fireplace...but his wrath doesn't seem to be directed at Loki.
Loki rolls his eyes and sighs, folding his arms. "No." He says with a huff. "I am not turning you into a sheep, and I am not giving you power! When I said you should become smarter than those bothering you perhaps I gave you too much credit! I said-" He turns and puts a field between Terrence and the other two brothers. "I said NO. Now behave yourselves!"
Terrence's poker bounces off the force field and the other two look at him, horrified. There is a murderous look in his eye but he quite civilly turns to Loki, "Of course. I'm terribly sorry to have bothered you Loki. I think you're right. This is just a problem...we need to solve with intelligence.
Loki turns around and bears down on Terrence. "Yes, but I'm not going to let you hurt your brothers either." He may or may not be taller than Terrence, but he pokes at him with a bony finger. "Calm down. You don't want to do anything you'll regret later. Once you mortals eliminate one another there is nothing I can do to help." He has left himself open, however, if Terrence needs an outlet for his anger.
Terrence is quite cunning even if it is more of an animal cunning. He still has delusions of getting Loki to help him out but nods and does drop the poker. "I need them." He says, "They're going to help me with the others. Thank you for helping me see that."
"I don't exactly trust you. You need them and they need you." Loki looks to the other two. "Are you going to say something? Apologize or at least say something so he doesn't tun completely insane."
The brothers look at each other and at their brother. They swallow. "Er...sorry Terence."
"Yeah, very sorry."
Terrence smiles, "Well, at least we're being civil."
Terrence then turns and looks at Loki. "I accept your offer..." and begins to beat on him with the poker. Pretty strong for an angry little ferocious human.
"Yes, thy are being civil toward you. Now you need to- AHhh Hey! Ow!! OW ow ow~" Loki brings his arms up to try and shield himself, dropping the field. The poker is sharp, it digs into his youthful skin. "What are you doing?!"
Terrence howls with rage, "Showing you I'm strong!"
"You're showing me that you are a jerk! Stop hitting me!!"
After a bit, Terence stops. He looks at the poker and sees that he isn't getting very far. "Yeah. That was pretty dumb."
Loki reels, folding his arms over himself. "You three are apparently complete idiots. It is no wonder others pick upon you. You are left to your own ridiculous schemes. Whether you clobber each other to death is no importance to me."
The three of them just stand there dumbly...insulted but chagrined.
Loki collects the pokers and glares at them. "Pay attention to what I said. If you guys want to be treated like idiots, you'll be treated like idiots. If you act like you have something in your head, others will as well." He mutters a short spell that takes him out of the room with a woosh.

[Heromux] Habitat For the Future

Habitat for the Future
Summary: The future must be constantly shepherded.
Location: Habitat for the Future Project, Suicide Slum
Date: Jan 19, 2015
Emitter:
Players: Clark Kent, Croyd Crenson, Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe
NPCs: Suicide Slum Residents
Groups:
Tone: Classic
Rating: Public

Things never seem to get better in Suicide Slum. But this doesn't stop Superman from continuing to try. However, there are times when the job seems especially hopeless.
In the middle of Suicide Slum, a gleaming structure towers over all of the other buildings. The polished stone and the visible steel girders are arranged in an almost futuristic configuration, as if the building was not truly of this world. It's unlikely that any of the residents of Suicide Slum can recognize Kryptonian engineering, but practically all of them recognize who it was made by.
But unfortunately, there are several gaping holes in the sides of the tower, evidence not only of violence, but of high-grade weaponry. Through the holes in the building, gang members in mismatched paramilitary gear can be seen patrolling their new headquarters. Fortunately, only those with X-Ray vision can see the full extent of the violence that has transpired within the structure.
"Shame. Shame. Shame. Such a shame. Shame." A man sits across from the building, clutching the sides of his head and rocking back and forth. He repeats his mantra over and over, although he alone may know the full extent of what he means.
"Poor fella. He took it real hard when they kicked us out. I heard they even killed his cat." Two other homeless men watch from across the street, staring up at the futuristic housing project that was given to them by Superman, only to be quickly snatched away by opportunistic thugs. "Oh well. Too good to be true, right?"
Neither the homeless men on the ground, nor the thugs in the stolen building can see the little black speck floating high above the city. But it would probably give them all a chill if they knew that he could see them.
Croyd does a pretty good job of helping the down and out, and this place looks good to a lot of them. Free housing? Sign em up, but they called in some favors and wanted good ole Croyd to check the place out...you know...just in case. So he teleports in, right news to two of the heavily armed thugs. "Well...guess that answers that question...don't suppose you fellows have any rent controlled...yeah...I thought not.
Free housing is free housing. And as a teen with no family and nowhere to go (not to mention the ability to get anywhere she wants), Charlie has been making good use of the building. Of course, she also doesn't use the doors like most people and she tries to keep to herself, so someone "taking over" doesn't really affect her that much when they claim the lower floors of the building. But she's home at the moment, oblivious to any of the happenings by the entrance of the structure.
A quick sweep of the building identifies the number of potential hostiles and the armament that they're packing. It only takes Superman a couple of seconds to scan every floor with his X-Ray vision, but that's all the time needed to put a frown on his face.
From his position high above the Metropolis skyline, he watches for the best opportunity, waiting only until he's convinced that he can storm the place without causing any civilian casualties. And then, like a diving bird (or a diving plane, whichever you like best), he streaks toward the tower so quickly that the human eye can barely register him as anything other than a blur.
His first move is to crash dramatically on the pavement in front of the structure. He lands in a three-point stance, making an impressive crater around himself. It might seem like unnecessary damage to the pavement, but at least it gets the attention of all of the gun-toting thugs in the building.
"Attention, residents of the Habitat for the Future Project. I am here to disarm and arrest all those who have committed crimes within the premises. I suggest that everyone who is armed throw down any weapons they might be holding."
From inside the building a collective cry can be heard from several of the thugs: "Oh shit! It's Sooperman!"
Croyd snickers. Oh this is awesome. That this building is patrolled by the caped crusader changes a lot of things. Homeless people might even be welcome here. He wishes he had the power to summon popcorn (well...again) but pulls up a chair...this is really brazen since two of the thugs who are swearing are literally feet away from him.
Huh. That's not one of the usual sounds that Charlie usually hears outside the building. Usually she'll investigate when she hears gunshots or even sounds of fighting outside. But the sound of exploding concrete? It's enough to get her outside and across he street right away, already in costume. Seeing the source of the sound though, her jaw drops. Superman? Seriously? She's not sure what to do, but she is seriously geeking out right now.
If Superman wasn't so peeved that his creation has been co-opted by a group of gun-toting thugs, he might take a second to relish the fact that he still knows how to make an impression. Literally, in this case.
None of the thugs seem interested in trying to fight back. They know the deal in Metropolis. There is a quick series of clatters as guns are thrown out of the holes in the building as fast as the thugs can possibly get rid of them.
One of the men even yells down to the Man of Steel. "Sorry, Sooperman. We thought you was gone fer good this time." It's not much of an excuse for forcibly evicting homeless people, but at least it's a sign that there won't be any violence.
Looking up at the building, Superman begins doing yet another X-Ray sweep of the building to ensure there are no guns left over inside.
Croyd briefly considers putting a gun on one of the thugs just to see what could happen but decides against it and just smiles. This is fun. He looks about the room, completely ignoring the thugs now whimpering and barely relieving themselves. "This is a pretty nice setup..."
With the guns discarded, Charlie is somehow even more impressed. He didn't have to do anything. He just showed up and... it's done. Assuming that it's now safe to approach without fear of getting in the way of anything, in a puff of pink smoke, she appears a few steps behind and to the right of Superman. "That was... so cool." She doesn't even bother with her "superhero" voice for the moment. She's a little past geeking out here and while she normally has a very healthy opinion of her abilities, this was just on completely another level.
Superman allows himself just the briefest of smiles, before shouting back up at the tower. "Now come down here, all of you. You've just been drafted... as maintenance men for the Habitat for the Future."
This proclamation is met with a considerable amount of complaining. But sure enough, the formerly-armed thugs all start heading toward the exits and making their way down to Superman's level.
Down on the ground, Superman turns his head backward to catch a glance of the woman who's talking to him out of his peripheral vision. "You're right, young lady. Trying to make a better tomorrow is extremely cool. I bet you'd be great at it as well."
Croyd says, "Oooo...being a janitor of tomorrow sounds neat!" Croyd lined up with the thugs. "Do I get like...a Space Mop?""
Charlie's first response is a weird choking "urk" noise as Superman turns to speak to her. Starstruck is the only word for it. This isn't just meeting anyone. This is Superman. She even managed to almost keep her cool when she met Batman. This is different. He's like... exactly what everyone says he is, but somehow you can't believe. He managed to encourage her with the first few words he said after he took down a gang. Plus... dreamy. Too unreal.
She manages to pull herself together afterwards though. "Thanks... I uhhh... this is a great place. This thing you're doing here." No, she doesn't have the right words for the situation. Or even really know what to say. It's a little unreal. It certainly doesn't seem real as the thugs gradually start appearing outside.
"I appreciate it. It seems like some of the people here missed the entire point of it, but I think they'll come around and make something great out of it. You've got to hope, anyway."
Superman waits for the rest of the stragglers to get into place before addressing the group. But even though he's clearly not happy with them, he seems to have bigger things on his mind than mere retaliation or even punishment. "Okay, all of you. The future is going to happen whether you like it or not. But if you work hard today, when the future comes you'll have a place in it. Which is why we're going to rebuild this Habitat building, all of us. Yes, some of you will have to do janitorial duties..." He looks narrowly at Croyd, almost as if singling him out. That oughta teach him to joke when things are Really Serious. "... but if we all work together, we can have this building back in liveable condition before it gets too dark."
He lifts himself up off of the pavement, hovering a few feet in the air. "So... how about we start by cleaning out all this rubble?"
Croyd doesn't think he is joking. This is awesome. "Will you sign my mop? Will you superman? That'd be awesome! Here watch this..." He shoot lasers out of his eyes and softens the debris,"Space mop! Hooooo!" He begins mopping debris....
Charlie smiles at Superman's continuing positive attitude. Even she doesn't believe that this is going to stay in control after Superman leaves. But she wants to believe it can. "Yeah, I hope so", she comments. And puffing herself up a little, she adds, "And with good people watching over, it can't fail." And with that, she gets a great swell off pride. Whoa! So /that's/ how he does it. Then, cracking her knuckles, she does to help with the rebuilding and clearing of debris, picking up a particularly large piece of stone rubble and disappearing in a puff of smoke. She'll be back to help, but for now, she's looking for a good place to get rid of the debris. Everyone helps in their own way.

[Heromux] Evil Rod Starling Being Evil

Summary: Evil Rod Starling narrates bad things happening to Zack and Croyd.
Location: Jamaica Bay, NC
Date: 2015.01.15
Emitter: The Sleeper
Players: Zack Evingston, Croyd Crenson
NPCs: Evil Rod Sterling
Groups:
Tone: Weird
Rating: Public

Rod Sterling. Beloved short story to screen icon, is, last time we checked, quite quite dead. And yet here he is, walking down a beach community sidewalk, looking into thin air and narrating, "A relatively calm town, on a relatively calm night, and yet nothing could be farther from the truth. Two erstwhile heroes, misfits really, are about to encounter something from....the Twilight Zone."
Rod is entirely black and white, like he stepped right out of a television. A few folks on the sidewalk stare in curiosity or horror and get out of the way.
Dark hair pushed from his face, Zack really doesn't have a clue who Rod Sterling was. He's totally the wrong generation for it and not even remotely American. The British teen, and sometimes member of the Young Justice was actually using a ring to fly tonight when he saw Rod in all of his awesome Black and White glory. If he was aware who the man was, it would probably send even more warning bells off in his head than already are sounding. People just don't exist in black and white. His bright electric blue eyes look around tracing the paths of magic in the air and looking to see if there's an easily identifiable source.
Croyd appears in a thin ripple in the air next to a taco stand. The guy tending the stand sees Rod and runs away as fast as his legs can carry him. Croyd, in this incarnation, is tall, thin, blond with green eyes and a beach bum Abraham Lincoln. He has a scraggly beard and is ravenous. He begins to chow down on some Tacos. He puts a twenty down but doesn't yet notice the dude coming up behind him.
Rod continues his narration. "Behold, one Croyd Crenson, aka the Sleeper. Recently awoken with a ravenous hunger. Behold, one Zachary William Evingston II. Mystic Tinkerer, looking to see if there is some magical source...but will the magic look BACK. In...the Twilight Zone." Trumpet music plays in the background briefly. A man with a box comes up to Zack and says, "Excuse me did you order this?" He seems to radiate magic.
Seeing people radiate magic like that isn't usually one of those things that Zack is hoping for because it generally ends with him going through a wall... or three. However, he was raised to be polite,"Sorry, I didn't order anything today." He says in clipped tones of someone from the London Upper class. His blue eyes don't leave the man with the box though. "I do believe perhaps you have the wrong person. Besides, usually people don't stand on corners waiting for a package of any legitimate sort."
The man snorts, "Really? I've got a box here that has ...stuff in it. Including a phone, some boxers, and a sword. It has your name on it."
Rod walked right next to Croyd. "Croyd Crenson, who's powers now include Clairaudience, will hear that."
Croyd looks at the man with the box, "I heard that." He thinks a moment...and doesn't care that he did, and resumes eating Tacos. Lots and lots of Tacos.
"Well first of all, I would never request boxers to be delivered in such an open place. Second of all, how do you have all of that in the box." Zack says blinking a little bit at the man carrying the box,"Something tells me that until I accept the box, you're not going to leave me be, am I right?" He asks quirking a dark brow at the man. Sometimes he wishes he himself didn't seem to attract such strange thing to happen to him.
Rod nods sagely in the background. "Zack had an ominous portent that if he didn't take the box, he was never going to be let be. He did not realize until he looked at the box that strange and disturbing magical creatures were to be found inside. One of them was a cloaker that was about to eat his face."
At THAT, Croyd finally stops eating Tacos and looks at Rod. He then teleports across the street near Zack in a ripple of light, "Hey dude, I wouldn't open that box...it'll eat your face. Weird guy over there..." he points at Rod, "is muttering strangeness under his breath."
"Oh joy... Another face eater. That makes the third this week." Zack says as he pulls the sword from his hip and points it at the man and the box,"Why don't you just set the box down nice and slow and then run very far away. I have a feeling that what's about to happen is going to be significantly less than pleasant experience for anyone that's around and knowing my luck lately, I touch the bloody thing and I'll have a nasty face eater coming at me."
The man runs away as he sets the box down. Out of the box, a large cloaker emerges and tries to eat Zack's face. An animated sword comes out, and the box itself attacks Croyd who points his finger at it and makes the box really really heavy....so it hurts all the more when it hits him in the face too.
"Croyd would find that his powers were no match for the Mimic that had been the box. Meanwhile, the man who had carried the box was unfortunately run over by a truck."
He said as he stepped right past the truck that ran over the surprised courier , causing him to vanish in a puff of smoke.
"See this is why I do not care for boxes." Zack says as he makes a gesture with the sword and his finger, a nice little swirl of flame come out from the tip of the rapier to form a snake between him and the face eater. "I'm not going to just let you eat my face. If that man thinks I'm going to I am going to have to throw a right bit of flame up his arse for it." He says quite matter of factly as he takes a defensive stance in case the animated sword comes at him.
"Zack believed he was going to throw some flame up my posterior," Rod continued, "but ironically was backing up toward a barrel full of rocket fuel...."
The serpent and the cloaker get into it until the serpent bites the cloaker and it begins to die of poison, making tiny coughing noises.
Croyd makes the box as weak as tissue paper, and grabs it, face hurting, as he rips it to shreds. The floating sword tries to herd Zack onto the Rocket Fuel.
Croyd howls, "We need to do something about Rod!"
"Yes. He's starting to get on last nerve." Zack says as he continues parrying the sword. However, he does decide to stop moving backwards. "If you have any suggestions then I will be glad to hear them. I am not sure that I can just cast a spell on him." He says taking a breath,"Maybe a silence spell would work on him but it might not do so well considering I am not sure that it is actually a real person there." He says stretching a bit.
Croyd says, "My name is Croyd."
"He said his name was Croyd."
"Wait...I think we're getting ahead of him..."
"He foolishly said believing he could defeat the narration of their episode."
"Silence spell. Yeah that sounds neat."
"Unfortunately, Zack was unable to cast the a silence spell due to the blow torch that landed on the nearby barrel of Rocket Fuel...." Zack hears an ominous CLUNK behind him as he parries the flying sword with his own.
"Make with the spell dude!""
"Ha! You think something like that would stop me." Zack says as he goes flying straight up,"Let silence fall upon he would dictate the course of events, let nothing escape his mouth. " That's the spell that he needs to cast in order to silence Rod. If he thought he was going to lay around and let him dictate what was going to happen in his life, they had another thing coming. He had to figure out a better way of dealing with thing.
"Ironically, Zack didn't realize that his spell was going to-" He grabbed his throat and looked with annoyance at Zack as he slowly started to fade.
As he flew up, the rocket fuel exploded, and fire and heat spread around the area, some getting near Croyd as he teleported away. "I think its working!"
"Cold as the winter winds, wet as the ocean, snuff the flames of the skyward fuel." Zack says gesturing with the rapier again. As he speaks, an icy water pillar appears coming to crash down upon the rocket fuel fire. "This is quite dangerous you know." He doesn't know how he's going to totally eliminate Rod but he was thinking of it.
Croyd says, "Oh, wait...wait, I got it....try a 'TV off' spell? Can you do something like that? Maybe like 'Hexus Pocus, Lose your Focus'...only...for like...remote controls or...off buttons...or something..."
Rod walks rapidly toward Zack and Croyd. Perhaps he was trying to move farther than fifteen feet out of the silence spell?
The rocket fuel calms down slowly and the flames are doused.
"A stop I call, to that which is here. Render the black and white, like the black and white tv." Zack says as he tries to make Rod vanish and nonexistent like the old fashioned black and white tv is now. "I'm trying a few things. This isn't as simple as science. There are a lot of components to things that will cause problems."
Apparently it was good enough because Rod blips off like a black and white TV...For Now.
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!
"Whew. Who the hell was that guy? Way to make with the mojo their dude."
"I'm going to guess that someone brought something from an old TV show or movie." Zack says as he lowers himself to the ground,"Who though I have no idea." He says shrugging indifferently about the whole thing,"So you don't know him either then? I am not up on old American TV shows."
Croyd says, "Oh him? He was an Evil Rod Sterling from the Twilight Zone...anthology sci fi show during the 1950's and sixties, quite good really."
Croyd begins to eat more Tacos.
"I may try and see it but may not. It is a bit... much." Zack says laughing a bit,"Anyway, I should be off. There's a lot of ground to cover and that probably won't be the last bit of weirdness that I encounter this evening." He says before lifting into the air so that he can continue his patrol.

[Heromux] Death of a Skinwalker

Summary: Bacon and Vikki finally track down a skinwalker alpha.
Location: Arizona
Date: 2015.01.19
Emitter: James Cunning
Players: James Cunning, Vikki Cunning
NPCs: Bob the Skinwalker, Lila the Skinwalker
Groups: Magic and Mysticism
Tone: Dark, Gritty
Rating: Restricted

It was said that it was insane, a boondoggle, a financial black hole, and they would be right, but the former planetarium turned cafe with the life sized replica of Stone Henge DID make a cool backdrop for their final confrontation with the monster. Right outside of the front entrance, Lila stopped in dog form. She looked back at the siblings, and it was obvious that she didn't want to go farther in.
Vikki was ready. Before even thinking of exiting the car, she got into the trunk and grabbed a silver knife and a clip full of silver rounds for her gun. "Where oh where is our bad little doggie." She comments as she walks past Lila. Closer to Stonehenge or at least the facsimile of it. "Here boy." She whistles a little. Someone is definitely a little cocky today.
James Cunning looks around through the effervescent lighting and mist machines as they turn on, Spinal Tap music playing in the background while Lila runs for it. "I...gotta bad feeling about this Sis...like...more than the usual bad feeling kinda bad..." he locks and loads his shotgun full of silver shot.
Vikki looks at James and smiles, "relax. Just another hunt. We got this right?" It would be about this time that she hears a growl. Whipping around she draws her pistol and bears down on what looks like a Saint Bernard. "Are you here to talk or are you just going to play Cujo?" She asks the monster.
It wasn't the St. Bernard that worried him...it was the six pairs of eyes that glittered in the light behind them,"Ah shit!" He unleashed a load into the darkness as one of them yelped, while he dove behind a large stone...
The St. Bernard growled showing an unnatural row of shark teeth, its eyes glowing as it leapt rather stupidly at her. If it was the leader this would be a short fight indeed.
BANG BANG Double tap and the Saint Bernard goes down hard. Vikki looks at the others and begins shooting at them too. definitely a short fight unless these are just the pack. "This is too easy. If the leader was in there, they weren't exactly a very smart or strong one.
Finally, even James laughed as he shot a third. "I know right? I was clearly too..."
There was an ominous sounding *CLICK* as all the remaining dogs turned and ran through doggie doors.
"Uh...Sis...."
Victoria Cunning pulls out fresh clip and loads it. "Well. That answers that doesn't it!" She turns to look and see what is coming. "Well... Guessing you are a little pissed that we are killing your pack? Maybe you should stop attacking people!"
There was a faint hissing sound coming from the top of the stones. "Gas...he's gassing the room sis"...he took his shotgun and shot at the door...it made a few holes but didn't open the lock.
Vikki draws a bead on the lock and shoots it with her pistol hoping to take it out. It's reinforced. "Oh this is just great! Don't even have the humanity to fight fair!"
He gets a bit from the air hole and then smells. Air wasn't the problem. He quickly began looking around. Wait. St. Bernard. That was it. He ran over to the doggie door...locked...but not reinforced. Who needed pride. He began kicking until the wood cracked. "Sis!"
Vikki turns and looks. Quickly she comes running at the doggie door, drops to the ground and slides full force into it. "Lets get out of here before..." She starts coughing. It's some nasty stuff whatever they are pumping into the area.
The shifters might have been surprised that Vikki slid through but that did not stop them from each taking a limb as they bit into her. Another man shifts in the shadows with a heavy weapon of some point.
Bacon put his head through the door and then rapidly pulled it back from the heavy machine gun fire,"What the hell?!"
Vikki starts fighting hard. But She is pretty much secured for the moment. Or at least that is the impression Vikki is giving. Then there is a freaking machine gun?! "Ah hell. Hate to do this doggies but." She starts struggling far more intensely. If she can get to her pistol she will be taking aim at heavy weapons guy.
"So I says to myself, I says,'Bob...you might be invulnerable but hunters aren't...why would you waste time when you freakin know that they carry silver Bullets..."
Bacon sticks his head through the door and there is another burst of machine gun fire as he lights a lighter and moves towards the wall. "Bullets work just fine on hunters though..."
The shifter bite hurts but isn't drawing blood yet. In her struggles Vicki manages to grab a pistol.
Vikki does her best to take aim and fires at the one that seems to be taking point. As soon as the first shot is off she takes a few pot shots at some of the shifters that have her pinned down. If she can get her knife out, That would be the better choice for dealing with these problems.
The show surprises the hell out of Bob who backs the fuck up ASAP, and drops the lighter. But that shot misses. The second shot at Tethers the wonder poodle is much more accurate and splatters. The knife is quickly drawn.
This time there is a gunshot THROUGH the doggy door and another of the shifters dies.
Now with knife in hand, Vikki starts making an offensive. Another skinwalker is taken out while she can more accurately draw a bed on Bob over here. She pulls the trigger and another shot if fired. "Get your stinkin jaws off me ya damn dirty mutts!"
The knife is quiet effective, and Jacob takes out the last of the pack as it goes for Vikki's throat while she takes the shot. There is a yelp as she takes another shot, but then a metallic snick and then something heavy landing right as Bacon sticks his head through the door to see a hand grenade. His eyes bulge.
Vikki scrambles to her feet knowing full well what just hit the ground by sound alone. She gets the hell away and takes cover on the ground when the grenade does go off, shrapnel goes flying. "Shit!" She takes a few pieces into her side that was closest to the explosive. Thankfully though she was far enough away for it to not do too much. It does however fill the air with the fresh scent of blood. She gets to her feet and starts getting closer. "Big Tough guy chucking grenades. This ends!" She shoots a few times at the leader of the dead pack.
The explosion is far worse inside the gas filled planetarium, and one of the stones lands on Bacon, pinning him down. Not good.
Vikki gets a second hit on the walker, which runs out the back. Apparently, he believed Vikki but she can see a trail of blood behind him.
James says,”"I'm fine! Just pinned! Go get him!"
Victoria Cunning nods to James. Quickly she pulls out a phone, the voice on the other end speaks up, "911 Emergency..."
"Yes there has been an explosion at the Planetarium."
"I am sending someone right over. Who am I speaking to?"
"Oh this is... click." She hangs up and takes off following the trail of the shifter. "We can do this all night. Come out. Lets have a little chat!"
There is a burst of machine gun fire from behind a minivan, "You're HUNTERS! What kind of chat did you have in mind?" He fires another burst.
Vikki quickly takes cover. "The kind where you tell me why you've been turning so many people. You're dropping an awful lot of bodies and I wanna know why." She doesn't return fire. Not yet anyway. Her attention is on the minivan the pack leader is hiding behind. Namely where the gas tank is.
He says "Lunch! That's why. That and I thought I had the perfect setup to gack you hunters...well...reinforce the doggie doors next time...I can do that...need to remember..."
She definitely can identify the gas tank on this model."
Victoria Cunning draws a bead as soon as she can on the gas tank of the minivan. "Not going to happen as long as I'm alive." *BANG BANG BANG* Three shots go sailing into the minivan. If she had done things right, that should be enough to blow up the minivan.
BOOM! And explody goes the van. The skinwalker gets some fuel on him and dances around on fire for a bit.
Victoria Cunning takes off towards he now exploded van. She quickly gets in range for the skinwalker. With a stone cold gaze, she puts three silver rounds into him. On in his head, two in the chest.
Bob shrieks in fear and rage as he shrivels up and dies, literally. Sirens can be heard in the background.
Quickly, Vikki puts her gun away and makes a beeline towards the Planetarium. "James, are you alright?" She quickly moves toward the fallen rubble.
James Cunning nods,"Yeah. I'm good." He grunts and tries to shove the plastic 'stone' pillar off of him. "Cracked ribs is all."
Victoria Cunning quickly works to get the Pillar off of her brother. "We gotta move. Cops are on their way." She begins trying to drag him out.
It takes some doing but eventually the pillar is removed.
"Ow."
Victoria Cunning gets her brother up. "Okay lets get to the car. We will catch up with Lila after we get you to the hospital." She leads him out to the car and gets into the drivers seat. "Did I mention, I dislike dogs... well those dogs anyway."