ic Pitching In

[Jack]

A scent caught Jack's attention and he turned away from the cowering thug towards the real target. His eyes locked on to the man who had hit Alexa, and an menacing growl escaped him. He stalked down the lane towards his pretty, eyes full of hate and lust to kill the tiny man who had dared to challenge him. With one massive paw he swiped at the thug.

[BlazingCoconut]

GM

Still reeling from his trip down the lane, Scary managed to just get out of the way, ducking backwards drunkenly as Jack's huge paw came centimeters from his face!  He was still reeling backwards even as his friends finally fled the alley.  However, to his credit, or stupidity, the reeling thug did his best to retaliate.  His balance, shot from his battered condition and still dodging Jack's assault, made his return  punch look silly as he staggered in place, his fist coming no where near the bear.

 

"Stand still you super freak!"

Edited February 5, 2018 by BlazingCoconut

[Supercape]

Rev

 

"Stay there, handsome" ordered Rev. She kept the Posh thug wrapped up in her extended left arm. 

 

And then her arm fell off. 

 

It contracted a little, to wrap most fully around the brute, but was clearly quite detatched from Rev. 

 

"And you thought I was 'armless, didn't you?" she added, with a wink. 

 

With that, the soles of he sneakers blew right off, and her jeans and sneakers shrivelled up, on fire. A blast of furious jet had exploded from her feet, and it propelled her like a streak of lightning across the bowling hall. 

 

"Ow!" she complained as she collided into some trash cans and masonry when she exploded out of the door. 

 

Not so easy missing one arm...

 

"You! Idiots!" she shouted at the two escaping brutes. 

 

"Come back here! I just want to talk! Or maybe violently crack your skulls together a little bit!"

Edited February 3, 2018 by Supercape

[BlazingCoconut]

GM

As Rev burst out of the door, she confronted Baby, who had just managed to get out, although he wasn't anywhere as fast as the jet powered heroine.  He looked back with terror on his face, "hey... hey... look, I just bowl with that guy.  I don't even like him!  Really!  Come on now!"  While Baby tried to convince the hero that he had nothing to do with his three companions, Ginger was frantically talking into his phone, "yeah... Jason, get down here now!  Stuff is going down!  Guys are in trouble!"

 

Meanwhile, inside the bowling lane...

 

Posh grunted and thrashed about on the ground, and while he could wiggle more without Rev's weight on top of him, all it served to do is allow him the freedom to scuffle along the floor like an inch worm as Rev's arm held him fast, preventing him from doing anything meaningful.  "Get this thing off of me!  I hate snakes!"

Edited February 5, 2018 by BlazingCoconut

[Jack]

Jack growled at the thug, easily swatting hmthe feeble attack aside and responding with his own, feeling the soft flesh of the thug as his massive paw made contact. If he had been really trying, the impact would have sent the thug halfway across the bowling alley. As it was, the thug went limp and crumpled to the floor.

 

With a roar of victory Jack grabbed the thug by his throat, feeling his pulse as he picked him up. His angry eyes turned towards the thug struggling within the mechanical arm.

[BlazingCoconut]

GM

As Scary landed on the lane sounding like a bag of wet sand hitting the wood, Posh took one look at his friend, then at the bear.  His struggles stopped as he froze in place and hoped that he wasn't about to be eaten, his trademark hair still immaculate even if the rest of him was not in the best of shape.  As the immediate danger seemed to have passed, the cries and shouts from the rest of the bowling alley seemed to pick up.  People who had done their best to hide and get out of the way peeked back out and some were even clapping at the thugs comeuppance.

 

While outside baby continued to back slowly away from Rev, waving his hands frantically in front of him, "look, I didn't know he was going to do that.  I have a job!  I don't want to be fired and I don't want to be beat up either!"

 

Ginger, hearing his friends pleas for mercy, looked up from his phone.  He had a very guilty look on his face as he tried to nonchalantly put it back into his pocket, "eh... hey, we're cool right?"

Edited February 5, 2018 by BlazingCoconut

[Jack]

With the thug that had started this in one hand, Jack picked up the bound thug and headed for the door. He had briefly saw Rev fly this way in the corner of his peripheral vision. The cheers from the crowd were lost on him, as the bear spirit within him was doing much of the driving at the moment. Rage consumed Jack, rage at this men for daring to threaten him and his friends.

 

His mind vaguely remembered Alexa unconscious on the ground. He would come back for her. He had to make sure she was safe. He walked outside, ducking down to squeeze through the now comparitively small doors, and dumped the two thugs on the ground where the other things could see them. He let out growls at the remaining thugs.

[Supercape]

Rev

 

"Sure, sure" answered Rev, picking herself up. Damn, flying is difficult with just one arm...

 

"Look, I get it, you know? Like, buddies. A clan. A team. Something like that. But we didn't swing first. He did. Now, I know you guys didn't start swinging. Thanks for that. So I'm not here to beat you up"

 

"I will however, grind that phone to dust and force feed it to you with a dash of tabasco sauce if you don't put it away and stop calling your buddies for back up. That would be super uncool" she asked politely. Or at least as politely as she could. 

[BlazingCoconut]

GM

The look that Ginger gave her was priceless, it was exactly the mixture of looks that one got from a child caught sneaking a cookie when they thought their mother wasn't looking.  He slowly slid the phone into his pocket, "uh... please don't?  I mean... I didn't mean to... I mean, didn't do that.  No way, I was calling for an Uber!  Yeah, I mean, you know to get away from my friends... who... made bad decisions!"  He looked proud of himself for that answer and even managed a smile in the face of the very angry bear who had just appeared.

 

Baby looked back at his friend and then to the bear and armless Rev and simply nodded and stammered, "yeah, look we just want to leave.  Really..."

 

At about this time, a large man walked out of the alley, he had a deep baritone voice as he called out, "okay, we need to talk about wrecking my alley!  Where's the clown that blew things up?"  If he was bothered that he was addressing a bear, among the group, he didn't seem totally phased.

 

[Jack]

Jack turned and sniffed at the approaching man to determine his threat level. He kicked the unconscious body towards the man. "He is here." He said in his gravely voice. Jack knew he should apologize to the man, but the anger of the bear was threatening to over take him, and it was all he could do to restrain it into something remotely civil.

[Supercape]

Rev

 

"Lets all cool our jets, guys" said Rev, standing up and dusting off the garbage. She kept one arm detatched and busy restraining the perp. 

 

"Especially mine. Damn, my feet get hot blasting white hot plasma" she explained, insinuating that there was plenty of white hot plasma to go around, should jets not cool. 

 

She turned to the man complaining. The boss, maybe?

 

"I'm really sorry these guys caused you so much stress, mister. We tried to stop them doing too much damage..."

[BlazingCoconut]

GM:

He gave the pair a steady look, then nodded, "yeah, that's 'bout what I saw."  He nudged the one with his foot, "he's been around my alley now for a while.  Wouldn't be the first time he's caused problems, though never anything like this."

 

Looking at Rev then Jack, "you two make quite a pair and can't say that I'm upset you gave them a thrashin'."

 

Posh stuggled uselessly against the arm restraining him, "hey!  We didn't do nothin until these freaks provoked Mike."  Then realizing that he wasn't about to be eaten by the bear her seemed to get a little of his swagger back, "besides, you know you're going to pay for this, don't you."

 

The big man sighed and turned to Rev and Jack, "that... is of course the rub.  I don't mind that you thrashed these idiots.  Fact I'll back it up when the police come 'round.  Problem is that they run with a group and they'll not just come for you, but for me and mine too.  Like it or not, you just put a big mark on my alley."

[Jack]

Jack's massive head slowly turned towards Posh Thug and he let out a growl, his temper flaring anew. His head lowered to the thug and he barred his teeth at his attitude. He let out a few growls of communication. Then he sat down in front of the alley, pulled together everything he could and managed to growl out, "Not...if...they...dead..." He glared at posh spice and licked his maw, hungrily.

[Supercape]

Rev

 

"Hey hold your teeth, big man! This ain't lunchtime. You can't eat anybody, ya hear! No matter how tasty they are. Or how much of a jerk they are!" said Rev to Jack, giving him a wagging finger. 

 

"I'll buy you a tuna steak or something later. Just tie a knot in your stomach for now, hey?" she added with a little more softness. 

 

"Look, we better go and check on Zhu. She took a nasty tumble back there, and she is smart enough to work out what to do. Which, incidentally, is track down the rest of this crew and bring them to justice. And not eat them...."

 

And so she went back inside to see if Zhu was alright. A spot of soda and a lollypop, too. She deserved that. And nothing was better than chewing a cherry flavoured CHERRYBOMB _[TM] lollypop. She deserved one. Just the one, mind you. Or maybe eight. 

Edited February 8, 2018 by Supercape

[BlazingCoconut]

Zhu:

A very woozy Zhu opened her eyes to see Rev standing over her with some saccharine smelling candy in her mouth.  She blinked a few times trying to remember what happened, and more important why her head was in some older guys lap.  Or for that matter why she was laying down on the floor with someone's coat underneath her feet.

 

While she couldn't feel it, she had a rather nasty lump on the side of her head which was already turning a lovely shade of purple.

 

Trying to focus on Rev was challenging, but her questioning look could only mean one thing, "sorry... am I up?  I think I lost my ball..."
 

[Supercape]

Rev

 

"You nearly lost your skull, never mind your ball!" said Rev, so relieved that her friend was actually alive. 

 

"How are you feeling? Seeing double? How many arms have I got?" she asked. 

 

One arm was still off her shoulder, wrapped around the thug nice and tight. 

 

"We got attacked by a gang. Buncha idiots. But, not your regular idiots. These guys, or at least some of them, seemed super strong. Super powered. And apparently there is a bunch of them..."

 

"And I think we better sort them out!" she added, grinning widely. 

[BlazingCoconut]

GM:

It didn't take a whole lot of time for the police to show up.  Several officers collected the two youths who had started the altercation and took statements from both the teens and other occupants of the alley.  With the additional video there was no doubt as to who caused the damage and also who started the fight. 

 

Being in Freedom City meant the officers had plenty of experience in people with powers and also had at least a tacit understanding of minors with powers.  Names were redacted from official copies and even a few jokes which smacked frankly of both praise and approval were given to the pair of teens.  It was a testament to their professionalism that it only took about thirty minutes for them to gather the information they needed and haul away the two miscreants.  

 

The remaining two thugs, Baby and Ginger, answered questions when asked, but were certainly less readily forthcoming in their own comments.  They did try to color things to look favorable to their mates, but it was a lackluster effort that had little traction.  

 

Zhu got a free ride with some of FC's finest as the paramedics who responded to the call determined she should at least get examined before being released.  Her conversation with Rev was definitely an indication that all was not right with the Genius teen as she struggled to follow basic conversations.  Still, she smiled and was at least mostly aware of what was going on and the nurse whose lap she occupied assured the one armed Rev that his patient would probably be fine with some rest and treatments for swelling.

 

So it was that the duo found themselves standing with the owner of the alley, he smiled at them sadly as he pushed over a pair of Cherry Cokes and burgers across the counter of the bar, "thanks again.  Could have been worse, but those thugs seem to be everywhere around here all of a sudden.  Sure the cops'll get to them eventually, but it's like vermin.  Get one and two more pop up."

[Supercape]

Rev

 

Rev clicked her arm back into place now that its job was done. The police could do a perfectly fine job with restraining now, and besides, two arms was better than one. 

 

Her feet where shiny and chrome, her sneakers and synth-skin burnt to a crips. There was a big tear in her left shoulder where she had ripped the synth-skin, and the metal showed underneath. Still, she was hardly incognito now, and she had all the Cherrybomb! Lollipops she could wish. 

 

"Well, you know, we kind of feel responsible" she told the owner of the bowling shop. 

 

And if we help you out, we can have all the Cherrybomb lollipops free forever! her hopeful head added internally. 

 

"So we would super like to help you out. To the max" she added, giving him the thumbs up and a wink. "What can you tell us about this gang? Can we do anything?" she asked.

Edited February 8, 2018 by Supercape

[Jack]

Jack sat in silence, content to sit next to Rev and let her do the talking. He was lost in thought as he ate his burger. This had been the first time he had let go of the beast in a long time. He was still a little rattled by the experience, by the bloodlust and rage. He chewed thoughtfully and wondered what Rev and Alexa thought of him now that they had seen his monster within. That thought was extremely discouraging and he tried to wash it away with Cherry Coke.

[BlazingCoconut]

GM:

"Yeah, they started coming round here about six months ago," the large man said pushing another burger towards Jack.  "It wasn't bad at first, just kids being kids and all.  But lately it's been more.  I mean there have been fights out back of the alley, and I've noticed stuff going missing from the counters.  It's not huge, but it's been getting worse.  They've been acting like they own the place and when I finally went to say something they pretty much let me know that they would crush my business, but more important my family."

 

He sighed and shrugged pushing cherry cokes to the kids, "long as they didn't pull stunts like this, it wasn't worth the trouble to do anything about it.  I don't know too much about them, but there's a kid who lives a few blocks away.  Kind of an odd duck, but he's a good one.  Name's Ryan... I think Spretson, lives at 2235 Oak Terrace.  He knows more about this neighborhood than anyone I know.  Lousy bowler, good kid."

 

He leaned back and used a tea towel and wiped down the counter before finally cracking his large knuckles, "you can do something about this, well you got free games and burgers on the house for some time." 

[Supercape]

Rev

 

"What about Cherrybomb! lollipops?" asked Rev, hopefully. "They are awesome. Full of artificial flavours" she explained, trying to explain her love of them. 

 

She shook her head, trying to shake out those very same chemicals that had seeped into her brain. 

 

"We best go and see Ryan then. See if he can tell us about this mess" she said, determined to get her reward. Errr...I mean save the day. She added to herself, nodding herself into agreement. 

 

"RIght then Jack, by land or air? I got a pretty full tank if you want to fly?" she offered, pointing to her feet, all shiny and chrome and ready to blast off. 

[BlazingCoconut]

GM:

A large meaty hand settled on Rev's shoulder as she turned, perhaps even surprising the your heroine.

 

"Fore you go," the man said, his hand resting on her shoulder, "two things.  First, name's Moe and this is my place... so thanks.  Second, yeah, many as you want.  Here.  Down payment."

 

In his other hand, he held seven of the stupendous spherical saccharine treats.  He nodded as he handed them over with a smile, "least I can do."

[Supercape]

Rev

 

"Cherrybombs! Awesome! Full of naturally made artificial sweetners!" grinned Rev greedily, sticking two in her mouth. 

 

Her gelskin was pretty burnt, and she had no trainers left anyway (on account of them being ash).

 

"Ok my ursine friend, time to reach for the stars!" she said to Jack, grabbing him. "Brace yourself, I'm going to be pulling some serious G's..."

 

With that said, the Jets on her feat flared mightily, rumbling and then exploding. And then, airborne! racing through the sky of Freedom City and an insane speed. 

 

They would have to slow down to find the actual house, of course, but this would get them there in super duper speed!

[BlazingCoconut]

GM

It didn't take them long to find the house, a reasonably small house in a pocket of relative poverty in the normally well off suburb.  All of the buildings were pressed in, seeming huddled together as if they needed mutual support from the larger more expensive homes a few blocks away.  While the house showed the wealth of its owners, the small yard was well kept and the building was decently maintained.  If it had more than a couple of bedrooms, the pair would have been surprised.

 

A knock and a few moments later and the duo was faced with a very formidable looking woman who glared at the suspiciously and spoke before the pair could even introduce themselves, "nuh uh, I am not going to buy anything you are selling.  So you can take your little heiny and walk it back to wherever you came from."  

 

Behind the woman and her apron, was a very small family room where a boy about 14 years old, sat on a faded couch playing a video game system.  The walls were covered with aged wallpaper and family photos and the few tables scattered around held newspapers and knick nacks.

[Supercape]

Rev

 

"Hey, we aren't selling anything, ma'am" explained Rev. She still had a Cherrybomb! in her mouth which was being sucked dry of all its toxic goodness. 

 

"We are looking for your....um...ah....son" she guessed. Ryan" she added, hoping this was a reasonable and accurate guess. 

 

Darn it! She wasn't a police officer. How did you do these things?. 

 

"We think he might be in trouble. Getting bullied. We would like to help!" she grinned, lollipop still in her mouth. 

 

That might do it! Nobody likes being bullied, or their loved ones getting bullied! We just have to hope there is a crack of suspicion!