ic A Sentimental Man

[EternalPhoenix]

July 11, 2020. The Hanover Zoo. The Promenade. Hanover, Freedom City. Noon.

 

GM

 

Five minutes ago, everything had been fine, mused one Lisa Sandlin. Just another day at the Zoo. And then some lunatic had started popping open cages and enclosures, proclaiming that the animals needed their freedom. There were children in the Zoo, for heaven’s sake! It was a Saturday! And now Lisa, professional zoo keeper with a master’s in zoology, was going to be eaten by a lion. How embarrassing. She had no idea how she was going to explain this one. Where was a super hero went you needed one?

[Growth Spurt]

Well the nearest one was right behind the poor Zookeeper. Or rather right above her as Gimmick bounded over her and fired off some of his "Silly String." Which...does nothing as lions have sharp claws and can rip through things. Like...chemical strings that are supposed to harden on contact with air but picked TODAY to fizzle slowly. "Miss you need to run. I got this. Trust me I aint...Lion"

Gimmick does a corny pose with that one, sort of like a clown would on delivery.

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

The lion was quite distracted by this new threat, which allowed Lisa time to back away slowly. She kept her eyes on the lion the entire time. She winced when it took a nasty swipe at Gimmick. She realized immediately that he’d need a hand with this. So she slid over at an angle and started waving her arms and yelling at the lion. He became hesitant, with the obvious aggression ebbing. Lisa wasn’t yelling anything in particular, but she was loud. Top of her lungs loud.

[Growth Spurt]

As Gimmick took a slash from the lions claws, tearing into his colorful costume, he stumbles back... "Geez, tough crowd" And he pulled a aeresol can from his bag and fired off another round of Silly String, this time it functions as intended and hardens a few seconds after hitting the lion. "Hah. There we go. Last batch must have been expired. That's non-toxic by the way, it should be fine. You see what happened by any chance?

[EternalPhoenix]

Queenie

 

The ring slinging chef was having A Day. First her employees boot her out of her own kitchen for some “outside time”. Second, her favorite little café was closed for renovations after a super battle. Just for today, thanks to Doc Metropolis, but still. So what the heck, she’d go to the Zoo. Only for everything to spiral out of control right after she walked through the gates. She left a few beasties wrapped up in aura energy, then went looking for someone who looked like they knew what was going on. This was when she (flying, of course) heard Gimmick’s question. Seeing them, she quickly landed beside them. “Now there’s a question I’d like the answer to as well, sunshine.”

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

Lisa (whose nametag was visible on her chest) nodded. With time now to look, she was a blonde. Middle aged. Very fit. “Well, I don’t know what happened. All I know is some guy ran past the gate ranting about how ‘animals need to be free’. Then he started flipping open cages-don’t ask me how, we lock those thing so civilians can’t just do that-and the animals starting going a little berserk. It’s a mess.”

[Growth Spurt]

"Oh. So PETA is here." Gimmick sighs as he opens his bag of tricks and produces a Buisness Card, giving it to Queenie.  "Gimmick- professional crime fighter and aspiring Comedian, at your service ms..."

Gimmick walks over to the lock on the cage door. "Huh. So...Did he have any devices or anything?  Or did he just...literally pop open a locked cage with his bare hands"

Edited July 15, 2020 by Growth Spurt

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

Lisa shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t know. He just ran past them and they popped open. Best guess, telekinesis?” Lisa was a lifelong Freedom City resident. It came with a perk or two. She walked to the cage door herself and looked at it. “It doesn’t seem damaged.” She shrugged. “I don’t know, I’m a zoologist, not a locksmith. She pointed further into the Zoo. “The guy ran that way, if you’re interested.”

[EternalPhoenix]

Queenie

 

Queenie took the card from Gimmick, and slipped it in a pants pocket. She wore normal clothes and not a costume, after all. “Queenie. Master chef and professional super hero.” She smiled cheerfully. “Though this is a new one for me. Lions, tigers, and bears oh my!” She became serious. “I may joke, but it is a problem.” She listened to Lisa. “I know a little something about moving things with your mind. He’d have to be really good to do it on the run like that. I’m not a locksmith either, though. Can’t help you there.”

[Growth Spurt]

"No...no at least not straight up telekinesis" Gimmick said as he examined the lock. Trying to force it closed again the mechanism repelled itself. "Looks like it was magnetized. Granted, doesn't rule out some form of telekinesis..."  He then let out a bit of a chuckle at Queenie's Oz joke. "Heh. Not bad, not bad at all. But it would work better at the Emerald City zoo."

[EternalPhoenix]

Queenie

 

Queenie looked thoughtful. “Magnetism, huh? How unexpected.” She was telling the truth to be sure. Who expected magnetism on an animal loving bad guy? Not Maybelle McQueen, that’s who. “We know where he went at least. Well, sunshine? Ready to chase him down and wrap this thing up before it gets any worse?”

[Growth Spurt]

"Sounds like a plan."  Gimmick puts the magentized lock back and turns to Queenie. "Shall we get moving?"

Edited August 18, 2020 by Growth Spurt

[EternalPhoenix]

GM

 

Following Lisa’s lead (for neither hero quite knew their way around the zoo) they came upon a genuine wildman, wielding a suspicious looking length of metal. It was small enough that Lisa could have easily missed it. By wildman, he was dressed in ragged animal skins and had not seen a bath recently or a hair trimmer in a very long time. He was also surrounded by probably most of the predatory animals in the zoo. “At last, they are all free. Now we will have our vengeance on the humans! Starting with those three!” Did he mean our heroes and Lisa the zoo keeper? Why yes, yes he did. Lisa, not being an idiot, took to her heels immediately. This was a good idea, as a collective of big cats, wolves, and bears, and other species started approaching them.

[EternalPhoenix]

Queenie

 

Queenie cracked her neck and smiled at Gimmick. “Never a dull moment in this town, huh?” Then she was serious. “I’ll hold off the Zootopia. You get that guy. He doesn’t look too tough, but shout if you need help, kay?” She took full flight and her ring formed a cage constructed of the same silvery energy as her forcefield. The animals found themselves trapped inside of it. “Your show, Gimmick.” Queenie’s face was a mask of concentration, because it was not easy maintain such a large construct.