Day of the Octopus

[Plaids]

With Mysterio and Electro subdued Hercules gently kneels, descending to the eye level of the hostages and offers an outstretched hand. An attractive woman accepts, gingerly standing before briskly walking towards the rapidly dissolving police barricade. Her relieved voice pairs with a distraught inquiry emitting from her flip phone. Are you all right! Dear god, I never should have let my schedule slip. Please " I'm all right, some superheroes, the Invisible Woman, Doc Samson, and Moon Knight arrived just in time. Tell Thomas I will be back soon.

Hercules disappointment is curbed as he replies to Kaine.
Thine aid is appreciated dark spider. Spider man will be none the wiser to thine presence in the city. Thou art welcome
to the Lion's Chorus brewery in the heart of Greek town. Whence thou may procure drink and be regaled with tales of my recent time in "space".

The invitation extends to you too Susan Storm.

Hercules brilliantly smiles, refraining from kissing her hand, as he extends his invitation to the fellow hero [Sleeper].
Loki views the interaction distanced from the spigot of merriment, invitation, and distraction.

[Thane of Fife]

Most of the hostages make quickly for the door, though there are smiles for all four heroes (more for Hercules and "Sue" than Loki and Kaine). One woman tugs on her husband's shirt sleeve and gestures to Kaine and the bank manager:

"Maybe now you'll stop listening to that Jameson character. See, he's just like Spider-Man!"

Outside, the police are receiving the hostages, but some of them (and the news crew) are approaching the bank as Loki gestures that it's safe.

[DammitVictor]

"..."

Kaine watches the couple go, and turns to "Sue" just in time to see the news cameras at the front entrance.

"I think that's my cue. I'll see you when I see you."

And with that, Kaine tries to leave the way he came, but ...

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Sleeper watched Kaine break out of his fit very carefully in case the latter showed any signs of needing to be sprayed with a hefty dose of sedative.

"So, uh, I should make myself scarce before the police get brave enough to come in. Welcome back to Earth? I'd take it as a kindness if you didn't tell anyone I was here. I'm not here to bother the Spider any more, so I don't want him to bother me."

“As long as you aren’t causing trouble, I can agree not to tell Spider-man—” Of course, if Kaine did start causing trouble Sleeper still probably wouldn’t bother to tell Spider-man, he'd just go after Kaine directly and start biting off limbs until Kaine stopped causing trouble – oh Sleeper was definitely getting hungry if eating limbs was starting to sound like a good idea… “—but as for him not finding out, I think it’s a little too late for that,” Sleeper gestured in the direction of the oncoming press “Channel 12 has been outside since before the fight broke out and they’re on a live feed.” And with at least one of the hostages having also recognized Kaine, Sleeper gave it less than an hour before that particular news was all over New York. If it took Parker more than a day to find out, it would only be because he’d gotten himself injured patrolling and hadn’t had time to watch the news.

Thine aid is appreciated dark spider. Spider man will be none the wiser to thine presence in the city. Thou art welcome to the Lion's Chorus brewery in the heart of Greek town. Whence thou may procure drink and be regaled with tales of my recent time in "space".

The invitation extends to you too Susan Storm.

“I can’t make any promises, but even if I can’t get Reed out of the laboratory for a visit I’m sure I’ll be dragging Johnny out by the end of the week,” Sleeper lied, trying to remember if Kaine had any lie-detection powers and just hoping Hercules didn’t. But he was completely sincere when he added, “I’m just glad I could help.”

"I think that's my cue. I'll see you when I see you."

Sleeper made a throat-clearing noise. “Were you planning on retrieving that gentleman from the ceiling first?” He indicated the hostage still webbed to the ceiling.

Sleeper was fairly sure he could fudge a gizmo in the ‘environment suit’ to do it himself, though Sleeper also ought to be taking off before his disguise came under too much scrutiny…

[DammitVictor]

“As long as you aren’t causing trouble, I can agree not to tell Spider-man—” [...] “—but as for him not finding out, I think it’s a little too late for that,” Sleeper gestured in the direction of the oncoming press “Channel 12 has been outside since before the fight broke out and they’re on a live feed.”

"Son of a--" Kaine bares his fangs and for an instant looks like he might either attack the news crew or bolt for the door. Nothing you can do about it now, jackass. Pete's the least of your worries. "I can't stick around for the press. It's complicated. Cover for me?"

Sleeper made a throat-clearing noise. “Were you planning on retrieving that gentleman from the ceiling first?” He indicated the hostage still webbed to the ceiling.

Sleeper was fairly sure he could fudge a gizmo in the ‘environment suit’ to do it himself, though Sleeper also ought to be taking off before his disguise came under too much scrutiny…

"Uhh... no. Not really. About an hour until the adhesive starts to break down. Ask the fire department for a blanket? Anyway, catch up with you over one of Herc's beers?"

Kaine turns his collar up to hide his face from the news cameras and vanished through the bank's ventilation system. With any luck, Channel 12 hadn't caught a better likeness of him than SHIELD had ever managed to. Careless, stupid, sloppy, he berated himself. But at least nobody died, and Pete's goody-goody friends didn't kick my teeth in.

[Plaids]

With Kaine leaping into the ventilation shafts he soon melded into the shadows. The dark spider leaving little indication of whether he left Hercules field of view or if the shadows had enveloped him first.

Such a disservice to thine self, abstaining from the admiration rightfully earned through civil service.
Well Sue, we need not eulogize his commendations.

He steps towards the news crew projecting his voice to capture their attention of the receptive crew.

Mysterio and Electro have been subdued with the combined efforts of the Invisible Woman, Loki, and the Lion of Olympus. Our accounts are yours to harvest and burnish with your journalistic acumen.

He sweeps an arm backwards as if sweeping away a curtain to reveal "Susan Storm" and Loki.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Sleeper expelled his best cleaning-up-after-the-younger-sibling sigh. “I might have a grappling hook in this thing somewhere…” He pretended to push buttons and mimicked lights blinking by turning bioluminescence on and off. “Ah, here we are.” He fired a disguised tendril up to the ceiling to reach the webbed-up hostage.

“I’m going to free your arms first, when I do hold on to me,” he instructed the hostage. Then he formed up a nozzle and sprayed a chemical concoction at the webs to dissolve them until the man was freed, bringing him safely to the ground just as Hercules was making his announcement to the press.

He sighed internally this time. It wouldn’t be impossible to slip away at this point but it would probably draw more attention than it would deflect. He formed his expression into a smile and shooed the last hostage over to the police.

[Plaids]

Thank you, thank you. Now I shall repay your zeal and plaudits in kind. Now where is Ms. Blaine?

[Thane of Fife]

As the police enter the bank and take Electro, Mysterio, and the other robbers into custody, Amelia Blaine and her cameraman are right behind them. They pause to get some footage of a groggy Electro and of Sleeper's/Sue's rescue of the hostage plastered to the ceiling before approaching the heroes for an interview.

"Hercules!," says Miss Blaine, "We don't normally see you and the Invisible Woman, two of New York's premier superheroes, working together, and with company like... this." She indicates Loki, apparently not recognizing him "And was Spider-Man here, too?" She gestures at some of the lingering webbing. "What is it that's brought you all together like this? Did Electro and Mysterio give you any trouble?"

She's approached Hercules first - perhaps because Sleeper is busy, or perhaps she thinks Hercules will be more receptive to giving her an interview - but she'll be happy to take any comments from "Sue."

-----

Kaine slips back up through the building toward the roof. He emerges from the vents out into a dark, heavy shadow that seems to lay over the whole city. The shadow of... no, the vision slips away and he's back out in a normal November evening.

[Plaids]

Ms. Blaine, quelling Mysterio and Electro was a minor trial completed post haste. Notching another verse in the ballads of Olympus and Asgard.
As for the webbed vigilante, not Spiderman but a ruse by Loki! My Asgardian ally conjured the likeness of the cities webbed guardian to befuddle our foes in the Olympian tradition.
Hercules continues freely regaling Ms. Blaine continuing his interview uninhibited.

And while our meeting was unforeseen and by even the Fates we will remain in this city.
If time allows we will dispense and partake in merriment at the Lion's Chorus. Accostees of Electro and Mysterio, first responders, and the press, present company included. will have unlevied entrance.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

"Hercules!," says Miss Blaine, "We don't normally see you and the Invisible Woman, two of New York's premier superheroes, working together, and with company like... this." She indicates Loki, apparently not recognizing him "And was Spider-Man here, too?" She gestures at some of the lingering webbing. "What is it that's brought you all together like this? Did Electro and Mysterio give you any trouble?"

Sleeper was distracted from his internal sulking by this observation. Oops, that was right: never mind Kaine, Sleeper himself had left webbing outside the building, during the failed attempt to sneak the hostages out. This was a dangerous line of questioning that needed to be diverted into something else, quickly.

Ms. Blaine, quelling Mysterio and Electro was a minor trial completed post haste. Notching another verse in the ballads of Olympus and Asgard.
As for the webbed vigilante, not Spiderman but a ruse by Loki! My Asgardian ally conjured the likeness of the cities webbed guardian to befuddle our foes in the Olympian tradition.

Perfect.

That also explained something Sleeper had wondered about during the battle; Sleeper hadn’t thought that Parker had managed to lose his codex…*

But that was immaterial now. Sleeper focused on the reporter’s brain chemistry, taking care to make the chemical communication appear to come from her own thought processes. ~The webs must be part of the illusion as well; it’s not worth asking about further. Ask him if there will be food. A long celebration might mean a chance for a longer interview, and the viewers will like that.~

Spoiler: *Codex

Show

A codex is a bit of inert symbiote goo the Klyntar leave in their hosts. It can be removed, but takes specialized equipment/circumstances, and functions as something like a combination of Air Tag/backup harddrive for the host’s memories and other information about them. It helps the symbiote locate their host if they are separated and also marks the host as a host in a Klyntar social setting. In humans, it’s usually located in or around the spine.

[Thane of Fife]

Not too long after, things are in full swing at the Lion's Chorus. Unfortunately, Loki has taken a rain check, having received an urgent missive from Doctor Strange, but otherwise, the majority of Hercules's invitees have made it.

Miss Blaine sticks close to Hercules and does not stop asking him questions, though the camera is off now and she's keeping track of his responses in a notebook as she nurses a drink. "Have you been in contact with other former Avengers since the team's disbanding? Was Susan Storm's presence at the bank related to that Stark technology that Electro and Mysterio were trying to steal?"

Sleeper and Kaine each have other issues - how to attend without drawing too much attention. Does Sleeper keep up his Invisible-Woman-in-a-spacesuit disguise in a setting where no one would be wearing a spacesuit? Does Kaine do anything to disguise himself?

[DammitVictor]

Kaine... considers attempting to disguise himself, but decides that a costume would draw even more attention than his disfigurement, and besides, nobody really knew what he looked like, anyway. He'd once listened in on a CIA section chief lecturing a group of junior field agents for telling "campfire stories" about the "Evil Spider-Man of Medellin"; the "artist's rendition" for Interpol's Most Wanted List could have been any other middle-aged derelict. He does, at least, find another pair of cheap mirrored aviators to hide his bad eye.

He walks past the festivities a couple of times, from across the street, before heading in. He notes the obvious exits, the places where less obvious exists might be, and for the presence of any of Parker's cape friends. Besides Susan. Hope she doesn't catch the resemblance. Kaine frowns. Hope she didn't bring the hotshot, either

This is a mistake. I should just keep walking. I should keep going to Westchester, I should get that crazy swamp rat off my ass before I go borrowing any more trouble. But he remembers the vision from the rooftop. And the visions that led him to that rooftop in the first place. Please, Lord, he silently prays, Please let me do some good in this world, despite all of the evil I've already done.

With a sigh, he walks in and starts looking for Hercules.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Does Sleeper keep up his Invisible-Woman-in-a-spacesuit disguise in a setting where no one would be wearing a spacesuit?

I’m assuming Sleeper just got pulled along with the crowd to the Lion's Chorus so yes still in the spacesuit disguise. If ‘Sue’ got the chance to slip away to ‘change out of the spacesuit’ then Sleeper would just not be coming back.

Sleeper for his part had finally managed to find the quietest part of the building that was the farthest away from any loud music, and was currently engaged in diverting as much attention as possible away from himself and in Hercules’ direction. If the various reporters, rescue workers and assorted other patrons noticed that ‘Sue’s’ smile was a little fixed none of them had said anything about it yet, but he did have to deflect a number of questions about the ‘environment suit’ – yes it was new, still experimental, can’t go into details in case there are supervillains watching, you should ask Reed he’d be happy to go into details about the science involved…

[Plaids]

Miss Blaine sticks close to Hercules and does not stop asking him questions, though the camera is off now and she's keeping track of his responses in a notebook as she nurses a drink. "Have you been in contact with other former Avengers since the team's disbanding? Was Susan Storm's presence at the bank related to that Stark technology that Electro and Mysterio were trying to steal?"

Hercules casually guzzles the remainder of his drink. The muscles in his collarbone ripple as they finish channeling the flow of wine. He waves for fresh keg to come his way and with confidence replies.
I have attended to mine connections to former Avengers. Our bonds have not atrophied in spite of the dismemberment of the Avengers. True for Bruce Banner and Thor, who had entrusted the safety of his adoptive brother to the Lion of Olympus, but debatable amongst others such as Tony Stark and the reclusive Reed Richards.

He continues his heroically colored commentary.
Sue arrived at the scene on her own accords. No doubt enacting and improvising the clever stratagems of her husband Reed Richards. Nay, her timely appearance does makes guile and not fragile plans with brittle contingencies. Though ask her yourself and she will defer to the caution of tact. He reaches for a fresh keg offering to top off Ms. Blaine's drink while he continues recounting the virtues of Sue Storm.

[Thane of Fife]

Miss Blaine politely declines any further liquor: "Sorry, Hercules, but I think I've had enough. We don't all have your capacity." Kaine briefly catches her interest as he enters, but he shakes it quickly, unless he comes over to where she and Hercules are.

Meanwhile, Sleeper, despite his efforts, is finding that Susan Storm is a pretty popular superhero. While he can avoid too much attention by not being terribly talkative, there are a lot of people looking to take a selfie with the Invisible Woman, and this leads to not as much privacy as he might prefer.

And then Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm walk in. Storm pauses in the doorway for a brief moment before his eyes settle on "Sue." He starts towards Sleeper. He looks, uh, really mad. Literally steaming.

[DammitVictor]

Kaine's Spider-Sense flares as the intrepid reporter looks in his direction. Dammit. I can't afford to attract attention right now. He reaches out with his feelings, and glides flawlessly along the invisible web that connects all of the people in the crowded brewery, seeking seclusion and security. He very nearly reaches the restrooms, letting his Spider-Sense guide him, when he stumbles directly into the only person in the room immune to it. Someone who shouldn't be immune to it.

What.

"Beg your pardon, Susan. I, uh... I didn't see you there.." Kaine grins sheepishly.

And then, his Spider-Sense gently informs him that Miss Blaine may be the least of his problems.

Kaine just stares blankly at Ben and Johnny, then back to Susan. "What."

OOC: I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes here, but I very much do not want Kaine to avoid the reporter, and I couldn't think of any other logical way for him to fail.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Heeeere’s Johnny!

Sleeper was attempting to shake the Susan Storm fanbase by using the excuse of visiting the ladies’ room – there to drop the current disguise and make his escape, as this was getting ridiculous. To his irritation, he’d even had to clandestinely trip one reporter who hadn’t gotten the hint and tried to follow him. To add to his irritation he wasn’t quite sure what he should have done differently to avoid this awkward situation: his parent usually had no issues with these things, between the history of biting off heads and tactics that were decidedly more direct. Maybe Daredevil would have some useful advice…

He was spending so much time making sure the paparazzi remained in place he didn’t notice Kaine until they had collided.

“Have you people no shame--?!” Then Sleeper processed who was in front of him.

"Beg your pardon, Susan. I, uh... I didn't see you there.." Kaine grins sheepishly.

“That comes with the territory," Sleeper replied, acknowledging the joke. “What are you doing here?” he asked, puzzled; Kaine had been quite adamant about disappearing and a building full of reporters and people with smart phone cameras seemed a bizarre place to do that.

But before he could get a coherent response the door opened, and that wouldn’t have been notable except the footsteps that accompanied it shook the floor, and suddenly heads were turning in that direction muttering ‘Is that Johnny Storm?’ ‘Oh hey, it’s the rest of the Fantastic Four!’ ‘Mr. Grimm, can I have your autograph?!’

Johnny locked eyes with him from across the room. Sleeper figured his odds of sneaking out were basically nil now.

Kaine just stares blankly at Ben and Johnny, then back to Susan. "What."

Definitely nil. “I was really hoping to avoid this,” Sleeper grumbled. He took a deep breath with Tel-kar’s lungs and schooled his expression into outrage, then stormed across the room to Johnny.

“Where were you?!! There were over a dozen people being held hostage at the Werther's Bank!”

[Plaids]

Hercules

Seeing the attention shift from him and the demure Ms. Blaine to the unfolding disagreement Hercules walks towards Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm.
Approaching his fellow big man Hercules welcomes Ben Grim with a vase of wine.
It's always the bachelor always get the blame; I've suffered beneath that lash.
It's good see you Ben, you seem well. Where is Reed? Hopefully not sequestered in his laboratory and neglecting his stewardship of this fine city so he may illuminate us with rigid ways.
As Susan's well deserved disapproval continues to spill into public view; Still tame compared to quarrels and consternation of the family of Olympus though.

Spoiler: Hercules status

Show

Stress: 1 Mental Stress = 1D_?
Complication: D12 Mass Confusion?
Assets: None
Plot Points: 13
XP: 1/10

[Thane of Fife]

If Sleeper was trying to upset the Human Torch even more, that was a good way to do it. Storm shoves himself right into Sleeper's face: "How dare you go around wearing my sister's face, taking advantage of the good name of the Fantastic Four! I'm going to give you to the count of three to drop it, and you can thank Ben I'm giving you that much!"

Behind him, the Thing looks momentarily at Hercules before putting his attention back on Sleeper. "Stretch is in the Savage Land, Herc, testin' out his new whackadoo gizmo. He's there with Sue. So Torch and I were a bit surprised to see her on TV."

[DammitVictor]

Damn it. Kaine tries to shrink away from the confrontation, from the drama. This isn't my problem. I can't afford to make this my problem. 'Susan' can handle herself; she's a big girl, a metahuman big girl. Kaine tries to shrink away from the confrontation.

Damn it.

"Yeah, you tell her, Storm. You tell her." Kaine does the last thing he wants to do... he raises his voice for the crowd. "How dare this shameless hussy besmirch your sister's good name by... by... by thwarting a gang of metahuman criminals and saving a dozen innocent lives. How dare she associate Susan Richards with such low down, dirty acts of heroism? Come on, everyone! Tell this filthy impostor that we all know that the real Susan Richards would never risk her precious life and limb to save any of us!"

Kaine leans in close to Johnny and whispers harshly, "That what you're trying to say here, Storm? You trying to protect your sister's sterling reputation from people dressing up like her and performing senseless acts of random kindness? Apologize to your 'sister', shut your damn cakehole, and let's take this conversation somewhere where we can get some answers and the Fourth Estate can't."

OOC: 9/d8 Emotional Stress on Johnny. I should have rolled Menace as 2d8 and spent a Plot Point to create a 'Hostile Crowd' Asset.

[Plaids]

Hercules

Hercules puts the vase of wine gingerly one nearby countertop. As an inconspicuously dressed man emerges from the crowd raises his voice to Johnny Storm.
That is most welcome new Ben. Spending time in the wilds with ...

Hercules stares, transfixed by "Sue Storm" and who might actually be wearing her guise. If only Loki could his be here to provide his expertise on disguises and concealment.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Sleeper’s Status:
Physical Stress: D6
Plot Points: 1 - Spending the last one to get the Asset to persist if it gets created successfully

Sleeper knew he shouldn’t be antagonizing Storm. It was a bad idea for so many reasons – Johnny had fire-based powers, there were civilians present who could get caught in any crossfire, and these two were major heroes and damaging them would be removing powerful protectors not just from New York but from the whole Earth, which was already somewhat sparsely defended after the mess in Washington…

…but Sleeper was hungry, moderately injured, and very annoyed both at their fan base for keeping him here and himself for not finding a way out before this, and thus not inclined to patience or as much restraint as he really ought to show. The fact that Ben and Johnny apparently could have showed up to the bank heist and hadn’t bothered…wasn’t helping.

Storm shoves himself right into Sleeper's face: "How dare you go around wearing my sister's face, taking advantage of the good name of the Fantastic Four! I'm going to give you to the count of three to drop it, and you can thank Ben I'm giving you that much!"

Sleeper managed not to blurt out the first thing to come to mind: You don’t get to tell me what to do! but with the assorted stressors affecting him a little red leaked into his narrowed eyes, and his teeth were just a little too sharp at the moment. “Your sister at least got to be useful today, if only by proxy. Pity the same can’t be said for—”

"Yeah, you tell her, Storm. You tell her." Kaine does the last thing he wants to do... he raises his voice for the crowd. "How dare this shameless hussy besmirch your sister's good name by... by... by thwarting a gang of metahuman criminals and saving a dozen innocent lives. How dare she associate Susan Richards with such low down, dirty acts of heroism? Come on, everyone! Tell this filthy impostor that we all know that the real Susan Richards would never risk her precious life and limb to save any of us!"

Sleeper was halfway through a retort before he realized he didn’t need to make one, leaving his too-sharp teeth briefly on display until he remembered to shut Tel-Kar’s mouth.

Kaine leans in close to Johnny and whispers harshly, "That what you're trying to say here, Storm? You trying to protect your sister's sterling reputation from people dressing up like her and performing senseless acts of random kindness? Apologize to your 'sister', shut your damn cakehole, and let's take this conversation somewhere where we can get some answers and the Fourth Estate can't."

Sleeper now puzzled over why Kaine was coming to his defense; certainly Sleeper hadn’t done anything to earn the assistance. But he wasn’t about to turn the help down, so he took the distraction to drop a few chemokinetical suggestions – ~That looks like news~ to one of the remaining news crew, ~Might be a good time to see where the cameraman got to~ to another, and a little extra adrenaline there and there and there for some of the worst drunks, to hopefully clear their heads in case this did get physical and they needed to make a run for it in a hurry.

Then he refocused on Storm, crooning loudly enough to carry to the surrounding crowd, “Of course, if you’d rather start a superhuman brawl in the middle of all these people enjoying their drinks, I’m sure Channel 12 will appreciate another story to cover, and afterwards I’m sure Miss Blaine would be happy to ask the real Fantastic Four why preserving their precious reputation was important enough to come all the way down here but saving innocent lives wasn’t.”

[Thane of Fife]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I'm actually going to have events cut you guys off here before things get too serious and the dice hit the table. So, Sleeper can have his plot point back.

"Yeah, you tell her, Storm. You tell her." Kaine does the last thing he wants to do... he raises his voice for the crowd. "How dare this shameless hussy besmirch your sister's good name by... by... by thwarting a gang of metahuman criminals and saving a dozen innocent lives. How dare she associate Susan Richards with such low down, dirty acts of heroism? Come on, everyone! Tell this filthy impostor that we all know that the real Susan Richards would never risk her precious life and limb to save any of us!"

"The fact that they saved peoples' lives is why we're talking and not fighting already. If someone wants to wear a mask, that's their business, but not my sister's face!"

Your sister at least got to be useful today, if only by proxy. Pity the same can’t be said for—”

Sleeper was halfway through a retort before he realized he didn’t need to make one, leaving his too-sharp teeth briefly on display until he remembered to shut Tel-Kar’s mouth.

Storm looks like he's about to take a swing at Sleeper when, suddenly, Amelia Blaine shrieks, "Look!"

She's pointing to a television on over the bar. You can't hear the audio, but the video speaks for itself: breaking news sent in from someone's cellphone camera. The shaky video shows a police wagon caught in typical New York traffic. They're having an even worse day than you are as the Rhino shoves cars aside and forces his way through traffic towards the police. They're firing on him, but for all it slows him down, they might as well be shooting spitballs.

As the big man runs off the boys in blue, the air ripples and the Shocker blasts a hole in the back of the truck. He pauses to help Electro and Mysterio get out. Rhino returns, casually rips off their restraints, and the four make their escape. Then the video cuts back to the news desk.

Someone in the room gasps, "It's the Sinister Six!" and everyone turns to stare at the five of you (well, four of you - no one really recognizes Kaine). There's a moment of silence, and then the ever-lovin', blue-eyed Thing speaks for everyone:

"Wotta revoltin' development!"

Doom: 4D6, 1D8

[Plaids]

Hercules sighs as he relaxes his tensed muscles and elevated senses. He takes a final swig before addressing Ben Grimm.
It appears we are all needed tonight. If the pace of these villainous events keep up I'll have another twelve labors etched in my name.
He beams confidently and projects his voice so "Sue", Johnny, and anyone nearby can hear him.

Johnny and "Susan Storm" it is time for the quarrelers to become the defenders of the Empire City.
He steals a glance at Ms. Blain as the crowd begins to discard their inebriation at shocking rate.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Sleeper turned to see the screen, barely paying Johnny any mind. It had only been - what, an hour? Maybe two? And already his earlier prey was escaping custody!

His expression turned thunderous, ‘Sue’s’ hair going stringy and darkening to oily black, eyes now solid red, the ‘environment suit’ blackening as well as the Fantastic Four branding melted away. A couple people seated nearby edged away.

“I should have just eaten them,” Sleeper snarled under his breath, showing fangs. He vanished from sight, then leapt to the ceiling and rushed out to confront the supervillains.

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Unless someone stops him. Also, officially dropping the Sue Storm disguise.

[DammitVictor]

Kaine watches the symbiote drop the disguise and leave. "So, uh, Hercules... who the Hell was that? I mean, what the Hell was she?"

[Plaids]

Tis an enigma befitting a changeling, a skrull, or a mutant donning the visage of another. I do not know the true guise of our ally. Their words and condition are unknown to me, but the tone of turmoil is unmistakable. I will be on my way to aid them as they have aid me, whomever they may be.

Hercules begins buckling his armor.

What say you, my fellow? I witnessed thine unflinching advocacy for the one disguised as the Invisible Woman.

[DammitVictor]

"What? I thought you and Loki brought her to the party. But you're right... we owe her, and we can figure it out later."

Kaine looks at Ben and Johnny. "You boys coming, or you got somewhere else to be?"

[Thane of Fife]

Johnny Storm gives a determined nod. "Of course. I want to-"

Ben Grimm cuts him off with a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we oughta let these two handle this one, hothead. I got a feeling havin' us around ain't gonna make chasin' down tall, dark, and freaky any easier. Not after that." He rubs the back of his head and looks at Hercules. "We'll head back to the Baxter Building and see if we can dig up anything on those clowns. Let us know if we can give you a hand."

The two stay back to hold off any over-eager fans and reporters while Kaine and Hercules get going.



They find Sleeper on the roof of a building near where the video was taken. Down below, there's still a cleanup effort from the Rhino's rampage, but at least it seems like nobody got killed. The three have a quiet moment atop the building, to talk or strategize.



Meanwhile, Amelia Blaine is taking the bus back home after the party. She's tucked into a hoodie to avoid drawing attention, and is looking down at the phone in her hand, re-reading the text message she's typed up:

Hey, Peter, remember me? Amelia? I interned at the Bugle? This is out of the blue, but - do you have a brother?

She swipes away from the unsent message to look again at the picture she took, ignoring the three - two - members of the Fantastic Four to focus on the other person in the image. Does it really look like Parker or is she imagining things?

Doom: 4D6, 1D8

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Feel free to talk on the rooftop, but I'm also looking for a bit of a what do you want to do next?