Epic IC - New York City Freeplay

[C.T.]

The phone started to ring, and it had one of those annyoing ringback tones that played to the callers as they waited for someone to pick up.

"Who the Hell is- Digger? Digger Harkness? When did you get out, or are you calling me from inside. Waste of your one phone call if you are." She answered, and the voice was definitely hers.

@C.T.

"Released early for good behavior." He remarked with an unseen smirk. A bold-faced lie but there was no need to go into the particulars as far as he was concerned. "Wasn't sure you'd pick up, honestly. Had to try, got lucky it seems. See, I need yer help with a little something. Concerns yer lover."

@Michale CS​

 

[Ms.Ezra]

"Yeah, that's me. But to be honest, if you hadn't been able to taser him like that he'd still be trying to rob you when I showed up." She grinned and shrugged. "Being a hero isn't just about kicking butt, so... I got some free time if you wanna... grab a burger or something and get whatever's bugging you off your chest? I swear anything you tell me won't go any further. Well, almost anything, evil world domination plots and stuff like that aside."

She gestured over her shoulder to a White Castle just across the street and smiled again.

@Ms.Ezra

Janice was about to decline when she offered to have a sitdown, feeling like she just wanted to get home and back into her projects. Then she was made aware of the White Castle, and her stomach rumbled in anticipation. She'd been planning to just eat noodles, but this was far better. And company would make it even better.

"Know what...yeah, I could go for some sliders." Janice rolled over with Ms. Marvel, and took off her skates once they were at their table. She didn't have much cash left after this, but made a mental note to hit up an ATM on her way home.

"So umm....how has the hero racket been?" Janice asked while biting into her first slider and thanking herself for splurging. She needed comfort food and conversation right now.

 

[Gands]

Psyhawk

I leave a message for Dakota indicating I would meet her at the restaurant tomorrow.

Then I get into my new armor, something Coulson sent me, all repainted red and black. I head out on the motorcycle into the city.

I head to the general area where I last saw one of those turtle guys.

@Michale CS @Nomad-22

 

[Michale CS]

"Released early for good behavior." He remarked with an unseen smirk. A bold-faced lie but there was no need to go into the particulars as far as he was concerned. "Wasn't sure you'd pick up, honestly. Had to try, got lucky it seems. See, I need yer help with a little something. Concerns yer lover."

"Yeah, as in good enough to escape?" She chuckled, then continued. "When you get a call from someone who once left you for dead, you tend to take notice. No hard feelings though. I did actually die. And it's wife, Actually. It's legal now. So... what did you need help with?"

@C.T.

 

[C.T.]

"Yeah, as in good enough to escape?" She chuckled, then continued. "When you get a call from someone who once left you for dead, you tend to take notice. No hard feelings though. I did actually die. And it's wife, Actually. It's legal now. So... what did you need help with?"

@C.T.

"...Right." He had been deliberately avoiding that very issue. But if it was all water under the bridge...hmm. "Oh yeah? Congrats are in order I suppose. And well...I gotta talk to her. Find her, more like. Business things."

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

"So umm....how has the hero racket been?" Janice asked while biting into her first slider and thanking herself for splurging. She needed comfort food and conversation right now.

"Oh pretty good. Me and Mi... my partner Kid Arachnid... he's a different kinda Spiderman, sort of sticks to things like static cling and not so much like a spider? Anyway we hang out now and then but mainly I go solo lately. I don't want to get involved with a super hero group until I graduate at least." She had ordered just a few more burgers than one would expect a 14 year old... scratch that, yeah about the right amount a 14 year old could if they could afford it.

"But I asked you here to see if you had anything you wanted to get off your chest. You said you were going through some things right now, and I know I'm not the one with the most life experience around, but I'm pretty sympathetic and I got connections if you need some kind of help. - Like with a place, or with money or whatever."

@Ms.Ezra

 

[Michale CS]

"...Right." He had been deliberately avoiding that very issue. But if it was all water under the bridge...hmm. "Oh yeah? Congrats are in order I suppose. And well...I gotta talk to her. Find her, more like. Business things."

There was a long hissing sound that came across the phone then. "See, that's going to be a problem, Digger. I think even your pickled brain would remember that she had problems occasionally with certain people. And now that Scandal and I are married, those problems ratcheted up a notch or two. If it's a message I can relay it, but she and I are kind of on the DL right now. And if you're back with Waller and this call is being traced? Try to figure out why the hell the call is somehow coming from Latveria."

@C.T.

 

[Nomad-22]

"Oh look who it is? What, did you come here to tell me how in fifteen minutes I can save hundreds on car insurance?" He actually stuck his tongue out at Leatherhead, and subtly gestured to Raph, pointing at his Manriki-Gusari at his side and nodding to a metal ladder rung on a sewer wall nearby.


@Nomad-22

It had to be Leatherhead during what appeared another of his bad episodes. One more thing to thank Brotherhood mutants for Raph thought angerily. He looked toward Mikey as his fellow ninja gestured with his other weapon. The turtle understood, but before he can do anything, the great gator looked down at Mikey in confusion, before snarling.

"LEAVE NOW!"

Raphael watched Leatherhead back into the water. No doubt he was still there lurking to see if his neighbors will go. As much as Raph hate to back down from a fight, Leatherhead wasn't the enemy he wanted to face tonight. Instead he turned to Mikey and said.

"Let's take these three amigos and get out of here."

He didn't really care about their well-being all that much, it's just if the Brotherhood noticed they're missing, they've just sent more to look for them. Better to drop them off at a safe spot and leave a warning, maybe they will get the message and avoid their sewers. Raph took ahold of Eric on the shoulder and dragged Jose by the leg, leaving Mikey to handle the similarily unconscious Vina.

 

[Michale CS]

He looked toward Mikey as his fellow ninja gestured with his other weapon. The turtle understood, but before he can do anything, the great gator looked down at Mikey in confusion, before snarling.

"LEAVE NOW!"

"Sheesh! Tough crowd! You know I hear there's a Crocodile guy who lives in the sewers over in Gotham. Maybe you guys could be roomies! You know, Angry reptile, Angrier reptile." He called after Leatherhead.

He didn't really care about their well-being all that much, it's just if the Brotherhood noticed they're missing, they've just sent more to look for them. Better to drop them off at a safe spot and leave a warning, maybe they will get the message and avoid their sewers. Raph took ahold of Eric on the shoulder and dragged Jose by the leg, leaving Mikey to handle the similarily unconscious Vina.

"Well, let's see, she tossed those bolts with her hands, right so..." a little tie up job and Vina was bound with her hands in her face. "That outta make sure she doesn't blast me while I'm savin her."


"So, bro... where we takin these guys?" Mikey asked.

@Nomad-22

 

[C.T.]

There was a long hissing sound that came across the phone then. "See, that's going to be a problem, Digger. I think even your pickled brain would remember that she had problems occasionally with certain people. And now that Scandal and I are married, those problems ratcheted up a notch or two. If it's a message I can relay it, but she and I are kind of on the DL right now. And if you're back with Waller and this call is being traced? Try to figure out why the hell the call is somehow coming from Latveria."

@C.T.

"I haven't forgotten. Everyone has enemies, y'know. And I ain't with Waller, that stone-cold bitch doesn't have her grubby hands on me at the moment. If she did, she wouldn't be asking me of all people to call ya. Makes sense, right? Get somebody else with a better way with words and some more diplomacy sense to do it. Nah, the only person I'm calling for is myself--"

"Hold up...didja just say Latveria?"​

 

[Michale CS]

"I haven't forgotten. Everyone has enemies, y'know. And I ain't with Waller, that stone-cold bitch doesn't have her grubby hands on me at the moment. If she did, she wouldn't be asking me of all people to call ya. Makes sense, right? Get somebody else with a better way with words and some more diplomacy sense to do it. Nah, the only person I'm calling for is myself--"



"Hold up...didja just say Latveria?"​

"Surprised? Where better to hide from a megalomaniac then in another megalomaniac's home turf? Actually, naw. My wife and I did some work here for the one and only boss of this place. Course, it would help to know just why you want to see Scandal so bad. That might affect the length of my stay here if you follow me." She replied with a chuckle.

@C.T.

 

[Ms.Ezra]

"Oh pretty good. Me and Mi... my partner Kid Arachnid... he's a different kinda Spiderman, sort of sticks to things like static cling and not so much like a spider? Anyway we hang out now and then but mainly I go solo lately. I don't want to get involved with a super hero group until I graduate at least." She had ordered just a few more burgers than one would expect a 14 year old... scratch that, yeah about the right amount a 14 year old could if they could afford it.

"But I asked you here to see if you had anything you wanted to get off your chest. You said you were going through some things right now, and I know I'm not the one with the most life experience around, but I'm pretty sympathetic and I got connections if you need some kind of help. - Like with a place, or with money or whatever."

@Ms.Ezra

"Yeah...I know you did." She chomped down a slider and had a sip of her drink while she formulated her thoughts. "You see...I graduated from Xavier's School and almost made the team, but some really heavy things happened and I had to bow out. Then I went to college and got my degree but now....I don't know...I'm kinda aimless right now.Can't get into my field, and I want more to life than just tinkering. " She slumped her shoulders and continued eating while her sudden new friend spoke.

 

[C.T.]

"Surprised? Where better to hide from a megalomaniac then in another megalomaniac's home turf? Actually, naw. My wife and I did some work here for the one and only boss of this place. Course, it would help to know just why you want to see Scandal so bad. That might affect the length of my stay here if you follow me." She replied with a chuckle.

@C.T.

"..." He pulled away from the phone, placing it down on a tabletop. Getting paid for finding out where Vandal Savage's daughter and subsequently the man himself, was one thing. Quite possibly earning the ire of Doctor frigging Doom and all the resources his nation could spare...was absolutely another. Boomerang ran a hand through his hair as he thought it over. The risk versus the reward. After a minute of silence, he stepped back to the phone and picked it up again.

"I need her help. Enough so that I'm prepared to come over there myself if that suits ya better."

@Michale CS​

 

[Michale CS]

"Yeah...I know you did." She chomped down a slider and had a sip of her drink while she formulated her thoughts. "You see...I graduated from Xavier's School and almost made the team, but some really heavy things happened and I had to bow out. Then I went to college and got my degree but now....I don't know...I'm kinda aimless right now.Can't get into my field, and I want more to life than just tinkering. " She slumped her shoulders and continued eating while her sudden new friend spoke.

"Huh. Well... I could... make a call. I mean, not everyone you meet has Tony Stark and Pepper Potts on speed dial..." She grinned then looked at her phone."...actually I just have Pepper's number now. Tony quit letting me call his private line. If I call it I just get FRIDAY..."

Then, before she could say no to it, Ms. Marvel was on the phone. "...Hi Miss Potts... No, it's not an emergency... sure I'll hold..."
She covered up the mic on her cell phone. "psst! What's your name? I never asked."

@Ms.Ezra

 

[Michale CS]

"..." He pulled away from the phone, placing it down on a tabletop. Getting paid for finding out where Vandal Savage's daughter and subsequently the man himself, was one thing. Quite possibly earning the ire of Doctor frigging Doom and all the resources his nation could spare...was absolutely another. Boomerang ran a hand through his hair as he thought it over. The risk versus the reward. After a minute of silence, he stepped back to the phone and picked it up again.

"I need her help. Enough so that I'm prepared to come over there myself if that suits ya better.

A minute of silence was more than enough for Knockout to have hung up, so Digger's words echoed on empty air.

He did however, have a text message -

"This is Scandal. What do you need, Boomerang, that can't be handled on the phone? " ​

​

@C.T.

 

[C.T.]

A minute of silence was more than enough for Knockout to have hung up, so Digger's words echoed on empty air.

He did however, have a text message -

"This is Scandal. What do you need, Boomerang, that can't be handled on the phone? "
​

@C.T.

The kind of business that can't be discussed over the phone. Waller or no, still can't be sure this isn't bugged. If I have to come over there myself, I will. Just give me a location to meet you at.​

 

[Ms.Ezra]

"Huh. Well... I could... make a call. I mean, not everyone you meet has Tony Stark and Pepper Potts on speed dial..." She grinned then looked at her phone."...actually I just have Pepper's number now. Tony quit letting me call his private line. If I call it I just get FRIDAY..."

Then, before she could say no to it, Ms. Marvel was on the phone. "...Hi Miss Potts... No, it's not an emergency... sure I'll hold..."
She covered up the mic on her cell phone. "psst! What's your name? I never asked."

@Ms.Ezra

"Hey no don't-" Janice tried to stop her, and surely could. One thought and she could drain her cellphone battery in seconds. But she didn't. She just let the girl make the call because, she couldn't believe her turn of luck if this was legit. Stark Industries? Possibly working for Tony Stark? It was just too good to be true. Instead due to her excitement, the White Castle lights flickered and those on drive-thru heard a lot of static for a second.

"Janice Kissel." She answered when asked for her name, calming herself down by scarfing down her last slider.

 

[OrlandoBloomers]

@OrlandoBloomers

"Yeah, I guess. I just like being able to freely try things without... Ugh." She grumbled out tenseing up "I am exhausted." She grumbled pulling her arms into her shirt. Turning on her side she put her head down on the rock "I wont fall asleep I just need to shut.... the phrase shut my eyes doesn't really apply to me." Azalia chirped up. Unable ot get comfortable she tossed from side to side before looking up at Illyana "You really have a preference for having your hand on your hip. I know, I cross my arms alot and lean on Azazel." Azalia said trying to connect with the older girl.

Turning on her stomach a noise rolled up before several dozen Rabbits began to swarm up over the cliff. They seemed to have come into reality when she used her powers. "Oh dear." She commented almost in a monotonic fashion. The sudden surge of chaotic creatures caused a small tear near her location. Feeling the surge of negative energy the girl grumbled and sat up. "Fuck Rabbits." The girl said almost crying once more. Eyes turning from their normal color to a black she slammed her fist into the ground. "Im not going to deal with this right now." She said alittle angry.

Azazel seemed to surge growing larger. The creatures eyes turned a deep red before it began to blink between the Rabbits that were now screaming and running like roaches. "Destroy them!" Azalia cried out as the shadows of the trees around them began to lash out at the rabbits themselves. Catching and effectively swallowing the anomalies they finally ceased but Azalia herself was beyond exhausted. Mind screaming she out her head into her hands "Its like experiencing your worst nightmare over and over again. I have to feel it or nothing happens." The girl said not crying but the voice sounded like it was coming from someone who couldn't handle it.​

The mutant removed her hands from her hips with a frown the moment Azalia drew attention to it, seeming not terribly pleased by her body language being read like that. She watched the ensuing chaos with an expression best described as smoldering, appearing ready to step in but refraining from actually doing so as she hoped the benign neglect route would lead to the conflicted soul wrenching back control for herself. Was it cruel, perhaps; But it was how Illyana herself was forced to learn from when she was less than ten years old. Sink or swim. There was no other way. Azalia seized her emotions, or her emotions seized her.

And, after a fashion, it was the former that happened. As she had anticipated. Losses in control, devastating as they could be, always prompted a reflex sooner or later to take control back. And with every impulse in your body working towards that one effect, what previously seemed an insurmountable obstacle became as easy to slip around as a revolving door. Inner sanctity was a means to prevent control from ever being lost in the first place; When it came to taking control back, there was no greater tool than the fortitude already offered by your own body.

Eventually, after all was said and done, Illyana knelt down in front of Azalia and put a light hand on her shoulder.

"This is who you are. There's no running away, no choosing not to deal with it. That choice is never offered to you. I'm sorry."

She stared intently, her bangs falling just above the eyes.

"There are... medicines that would deaden you. Treatments that could suppress the problem. But you're different. The problem would never go away; It never will go away. What you can do is take it by the horns, be strong enough to own it. Show the world that your problems are a part of you but you are not your problems. Living like this, it builds... immunity, rybka. Your worst nightmares become stray thoughts when you withstand them again and again. They don't even register."

That was how she had coped, anyway. Leaning her head to one side, she paused and seemed to think about how to proceed, chattering her teeth once or twice in reflective silence with eyebrows raised.

"We should be getting back. Callisto will start rioting if she thinks I've absconded with you."

@Angelic Fusion​

 

[Michale CS]

The kind of business that can't be discussed over the phone. Waller or no, still can't be sure this isn't bugged. If I have to come over there myself, I will. Just give me a location to meet you at.​

[fieldbox="Scandal, grey, solid"] Even if you could get off the no-fly list I doubt your passport would work to enter Latveria. Give me two days. I'll text you a location. If this is a trap, realize my wife will personally rip out your pickled heart and feed it to you. You know she's strong enough.[/fieldbox]

@C.T.

 

[Michale CS]

"Janice Kissel." She answered when asked for her name, calming herself down by scarfing down her last slider.

"...yeah I'm still here. I'm with a friend of mine. Janice Kissel. Yeah, no nothing like that. She's a techie kind of person who needs a better job than the Nerd Herd or whatever they're calling it?... Well, yeah, here in New York... hold on I'll ask..."

Kamala put her hand over the mic again and asked Janice, "...you're all into electrical stuff right? Not just computers but fixing stuff too?"

She barely waited for the first signs of acknowledgement before she went back to Pepper. "...yeah. But you know how expensive it is to live in New York... But, don't you need her phone number or some- oh wow. You're fast. Um, okay..."

"When's the earliest you can come to the Stark Industries building in Manhattan for an interview?" Kamala relayed to Janice.

@Ms.Ezra