Heritage Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 "Would you, y'know, shut up?" "Christ on a freakin' crutch! It's just a freakin' dress!" Grim stops and blinks, like she was just hit in the face by a line drive. "I, uh-" It's one of those rare moments moments when the talkative young shapeshifter is completely at a loss for words. "Don't follow me." "I won't." Once Thunder is out of sight, Grim faces crumples with dismay, and despite herself, tears start forming. Idiot! Idiot! Stupid dumb girl who doesn't know anything about anything! Why the hell did you even come, to play dress-up with the grown-ups? She makes her way over to the bar and orders a Long Islands ice tea; once she has it, she finds a dark corner of the room, fades out of sight and starts in on her drink. Well at least you can get wasted; isn't that the 'grown-up' thing to do?
Cyroa Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Dark looked over as Jack return. "Apparently not." While he noticed Grim and Thunder's altercation, he lost track of the upset shapeshifter unfortunately. He turned back to Jack curiously. He didn't think the man knew that much about it, but he seemed to know a little about everything. "The Lor aren't really in-system. And I think that their policy of non-involvement will hold." He nodded. "Thanks though," he said in a quieter tone. The man was making an effort and that meant something.
angrydurf Posted June 21, 2009 Author Posted June 21, 2009 Ace exchanged Geckomans beer for a nice scotch on the rocks and drifted back noteing with some concern the altercation betwixt Thunderstanding and Grimalkin. He approached what remained of the group once more. Ace carefully positioned himself to bring the small cluster by Scarab and the remains of the group with Dark Star and Jack together "Gentlemen," He said with a nod before turning slightly, "Ladies." He smiled to Scarab and Phantom his eyes catching once more on the Gem at Phantoms throat. 'Where have I seen that before.' He thought to himself. He quickly however filed that away for later and looked questioningly to Scarab "So should we expect a more public presence from you now? Or more acting form the shadows." At the last bit his eyes slid easily to Jack before looking once more to Scarab.
Ecalsneerg Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Across the room, Clarence Beaudrie gave Chris Kenzie a truly malevolent sneer. "I didn't say anything you can't hear down in the gutter, boy," he murmured icily to Chris. "I think it's your curfew, Kenzie. Why don't you run home to your mommy now and make sure she's okay?" Behind him, Daisy suppressed a giggle, batting her eyelashes at Chris coquettishly if he objected to her obvious enjoyment of the spat between the two boys. When Pompadour passed by, she caught his attention and gave him a huge, gorgeous smile. "Oh, I hope we're more than just banal, sir," she said with warm, soothing syrup in her voice. "Banal? Hell, I'm far from banal," laughed Geckoman. Game time. Scary Raven face, scary Raven face... "Because I can talk very engagingly. Yeah, I can grow back severed limbs or smell who you are before I see who you are. Yeah, between my wrists, belt and this remote I've got enough firepower to leave Mr Tough Guy lying in a coma, and leave this country's airspace before being caught." Well, I don't want to test that. He may be a bit of a twit, but that's just too far. Also, the Pitchoo isn't quite that fast. "But that's all nothing, because when I talk softly, people listen. Clarence, you can shout, but nobody cares particularly what you say. You can shout and shout and do nothing to me. I can talk and talk and convince all your so-called friends to leave you and trash your reputation to a fine powder." He leaned in close. "Also? Clarence is not a guy's name. Change it asap. That's man to man."
Avenger Assembled Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 "That's really interesting," said Jack agreeably. "We need more people out in space who are willing to fight the tough fight, but the government's never seemed very into that." His eyes lit up as he thought for a moment, summoning up his incredibly basic knowledge of all things space yet again. "Hey, speaking of space travel, have you ever been to Farside City? Do they still have that tall evil queen there?" He gave Dark Star a game little smile, not bothering to hide that he was walking on entirely new ground. "I may not be astronaut material, but I do like space." Growing increasingly uncomfortable with Ace's investigations, Jack took this opportunity to set his drink down and toddle off to the men's room, where he promptly disappeared inside a stall. Clarence flinched, definitely intimidated by Geckoman's tough talk. A moment later, though, he mastered himself and gave Chris a glare that...well, it was probably for the best Battlecry didn't have any powers centered around his vision, because if he'd had heat vision he'd have burned the younger boy to cinders. His gaze suddenly faltered, though, as he looked at Geckoman, a look of patently false concern on his face. "Kenzie, are you all right? You don't look so good..."
Ecalsneerg Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Ok, this is weird. Ohgodohgodohgodprettycolours. Ooooh, pink. Something happened. He must've used his powers on me, but hey! Pink and yellow! Wooooooooo! Wait... oh god. That's a big snake. That's really.... wait, it's going after me! Aaaargh! But... wait.... why do I look like a badger? Oh no! Snakes don't like badgers! Run, run, run... look a door with a ladies sign. Toilets must be near. Ah, a badger sign! But... all the other badgers! "Fellow badgers! Run for your lives! I've found a burrow we can shelter in! Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!" Everyone else saw Geckoman run towards the men's bathroom at a high speed, hat remaining precariously in position.
Heritage Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 "Fellow badgers! Run for your lives! I've found a burrow we can shelter in! Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!" Grim's little self-pity party abruptly comes to a halt when the teen pimp wannabee suddenly freaked out and made a run for the can. "What the fudge..?" Oh my god, did somebody dose him? Either there was a supervillain in the house, or one of the so-called-heroes was a complete and utter jackass. Either way, the kid looked scared. "To hell with this!" She took one final gulp of her Long island, set the glass carefully down on a nearby table, and returned to the land of the visible right before she shrunk down to pixie-size and took to the air... Grim has had about one and a third glasses of champagne, and half a Long island ice tea; she now weighs a little over a pound :shock: Whooooaaaaaahhhhhh! The room spins like a Tilt-a-Whirl, and Grim zooms wildly through the crowd as she desperately tries to get her bearings; it's a credit to her excellent reflexes that no one loses an eye. Finally she makes her way to the ceiling, bouncing off a few acoustic tiles before she gets the men's room door in her sights. Okay, I can do this...here we go! With a powerful thrum of her wings, Tiny Drunken GrimPixie makes a beeline for the restroom, stopping to flutter just outside the door. "Dude, chill out! Someone slipped you some bad shrooms, man! It'll be okay!"
Lord Fell Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 Pompadour stopped in his tracks to stare for a moment at Student Body's perfectly heart shaped lips... soft and dewy looking with frosted lip gloss. Ah... what memories such lips brought back... they were just like Jennifer Truitt's lips. A girl he knew in highschool. She had once listed off a few things she'd never touch with her lips; and she had listed him right after raw sewage. This was minutes after she had finished copying his chemistry homework. As a highschool boy, he had never had the courage to stand up to the Jennifer Truitts of his school, but perhaps now, he had been given another chance. Pompadour took a step towards the teen tart. He realized his fists were clenched, and he was shaking in rage. Extending a single finger from the rest of his white-knuckled fist he jabbed the girl once in the sternum. "You're more than banal, all right... you're completely revolting. I know your type, Princess. You've got your two boyfriends over here fighting each other for your sick amusement, and if one of them happens to get seriously hurt, it'll give you wet dreams for a week." Pompadour was warming to the subject when he heard Battlecry's hostile tone drop like a... heavy thing. Yeah... G-Money didn't look too good, was this is first time drinking? Whoa! He's trippin' out! Pompadour stumbled after the panicked teen, only to find his legs were rubbery from adrenaline. G's freak-out is probably a blessing in disguise... a couple more seconds and I'd have probably slapped that girl... not cool, man. Easily a dozen strides behind the faster moving teenager, Pompadour staggered to a halt, and rubbed his eyes. "Whoa. Pixies."
Avenger Assembled Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 A little belatedly, Pompadour remembered what happened when you talked to girls like Daisy Gibbons like that. "Bawwww!" She burst into tears in a sudden explosion of pain, her face screwing up in the angst and pain that only a teenager could summon. Her angry pain seemed to come boiling out of her lovely face like a volcano, suddenly shifting the attention of half the bystanders in the room from the crazy teenager on the mushrooms to the very, very, unhappy teenager. "Why do you have to be so mean!?" she screamed, pointing right at Pompadour. "Why would you even talk like that when I was trying to be nice to you?!" Everyone was staring now, and none of the looks seemed to be friendly. Even the people who Student Body's unspeakable good looks weren't ensnaring weren't at all thrilled at the man who'd just told off the teenage girl half his size, or who'd disrupted their party, or who'd been involved at all in what on Earth those teenagers were doing over there. Pompadour realized that between him and the door was a very large man who looked decidedly unimpressed. "You want to watch how you talk to my students?" the gigantic man with the improbable muscles behind the suit boomed. Peering down at Pompadour, a wall of muscle behind an expensive suit, Leeroy Hawke leaned close. "It takes a real big man to talk that way to a girl who can't even drive." He turned and pointed at Student Body, who was now being comforted by her date and several other men who had taken a serious interest in her case. It was like watching moths approaching a flame, closer and closer, men and women both sympathetic to the plight of the so-sad girl who looked less like a teen sexpot and more like a child who'd just seen her favorite toy crushed under the foot of a big mean man. The former Turbo-Boost studied Pompadour for a moment, then put a hand on his shoulder, looking almost sympathetic to the other man's plight for a moment. Hawke was in his late 30s, but looked older, a legacy of the Max he'd been on back in the day. Now that they were so close together, Pompadour recognized Hawke as well, the former supervillian having been a frequent speaker at the community service lectures that had been a requirement of Pompadour's time as a guest of a certain facility run by the state in the Freedom City area. Hawke had done some hard time for some fairly hard crimes, though he'd turned himself around after getting out of stir and made something of himself on the talk circuit. "I thought I recognized you." Hawke drew back, looking down at Pompadour. "I know what you're going through. Going straight where the whole world can see it is a tough ball of wax." He shook his massive head sorrowfully. "But if you don't go back there and apologize, gossip about this party's going to be how the Sinister Pompadour is such a big man that he makes little girls cry. And when _that_ girl cries, the whole city hears it." Nearby, someone snapped a picture on their cameraphone. Inside the men's bathroom, Jack put his ear against the door, listening...then put his face in his palm as he walked away stealthily before it could swing open. Come to a nice human party. You'll fit in there great! Yeah, great! He settled down in a stall and closed his eyes, resting his head against the cool porcelain behind him. I don't know how to talk to people if I'm not beating them up or trying to finesse my way into their neck! What's wrong with me? Oh, right, vampire.
Cyroa Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 Dark Star nodded. "There certainly don't seem to be too many out there." He shook his head. "Never been myself. It's an invitation only kind of thing as I understand it. They certainly don't like people dropping in. But as far as I know, things are peaceful up there. Not crazy queen." He chuckled. "If you every want to take some downtime and a quick flight, let me know. Either through space or just to some paradise worlds." He noted Ace's observation of Jack but said nothing. Soon enough Jack left the conversation and Dark Star didn't doubt for a moment that Jack would vanish from sight. With a mental shrug, he went back to aimless wandering since the group was gone. He really needed to work on this getting out more. He noted the scene developing. And it seemed he wasn't the only one with some awkward social skills. He wondered what would drive someone to pick on a young girl. He'd have interceded but it seemed well in hand.
Ecalsneerg Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 Chris took off his hat and splashed water in his face. What did he do to me? I thought he just shouted! Why didn't he shout!? Then he ditched the sunglasses on the floor and pulled out an orange pair of goggles. He pushed them onto his face and fastened the strap at the back. He pushed his hat back slightly to clear his line of vision, flicking his wrists as he did so. The metal bracelets on his wrists whirred and small hoops extended out. He heard a voice behind the door as he looped them into his fingers. "Shrooms? Hell no, just a bad use of superpowers which will be rectified very shortly," he called to the voice. He made a fist, pulling the hoops taught around his fingers with an audible click. A barrel extended from the top of each bracelet. "Zappers armed," came the murmur. A slight twist of his wrist made a small spark appear in the barrel. Geckoman pushed open the door. "Nothing like a trip to the restroom to stop freaking out." He brought his hands up to show the sparks forming on each wrist weapon. "Wanna see my powers, rich ki- wait, how small are you? That's awesome."
angrydurf Posted June 22, 2009 Author Posted June 22, 2009 Ace winced at the burgeoning chaos, Super people came with super egos and it looked like some of them were gearing up for a super size clash. He had to get these people seperated and fast. His eyes lit on the youngest Beaudrie "Clarence! What would your grandmother say? The lady is distressed, be a gentleman and get her to a seat. Theres some nice couches where she can lay down through that door there." Ace paused for a moment then with a brisk clap added "Chop Chop, boy." He took a slow turn "Kids these days." He said with a smile. He strolled over to Pompador and leaned in close ignoring the looming Turbo-Boost "That was an error on a grand scale my friend and you're gonna be on double duty salvaging that rep now. You gotta hold yourself together or you're never gonna make it in this biz, you let a sixteen year old girl rattle you. Theres a private room just past the bathroom if you need to cool down." he whispered for Pompadors ears alone. Ace turned away at that point to start calming the crowd. "Consider him chastised folks and lets move on." Hoping the sentiment at least somewhat diffused, he looked to Geckoman "You OK kid?"
Heritage Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 "Wanna see my powers, rich ki- wait, how small are you? That's awesome." Tiny Grim's eyes go wide at the sight of...well, whatever Weapons of Party Destruction Geckoman is brandishing; she holds her hands up in a warding gesture. "Whoa there, Pimpbot 3000! What are you- wait, hold on a sec." She concentrates for a second and fills out to her normal size, albeit considerably more muscular than her normal form; the wings disappear from sight, and suddenly the room is spinning a lot less. "There we go! Okay, so what do those things do, and who exactly do you plan to use them on?" "You OK kid?" PowerGrim turns to the ageless adventurer, then jerks her head towards Gecko's odd devices. "Gee, I dunno, things look fine from where I'm standing! Got any ideas, Ace?" :?
Ecalsneerg Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 "Lil' ol' rich kid over there. He stands out a bit, he's the very smug looking one." Geckoman took paints to point him out by pointing a zapper at him. "Now, I don't see this as fair. He's going to get off with a scolding, and daddy'll just buy him out of even that most likely. On the other hand, he got to use his powers on me. He made me think I was a badger. I'm not a badger. I could make do with an apology, but the unfortunate downside is that I want, from him, a sincere one. Oh, and I want pigs to fly and water to come from a stone."
Sacerdos Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 Thunder chose that moment to step out of the bathroom. She was clothed in her crime-fighting black unitard, leaving even less of her spectacularly chiseled body to the imagination than her slinky dress had done. The catsuit looked a little silly in combination with her bright red stiletto heels, but her previous attire was clearly no longer up to the task, as its shredded remains were still clutched in the heroine's left hand. That was more money down the drain than Thunder wanted to contemplate, but the catharsis of killing an inanimate object had been worth it. Dropping the distressed fabric into the waste can near the door, she caught sight of the bulked out Grimalkin. With a grimace and a sigh, Thunderstanding strode purposefully toward the young woman. As she approached, ignoring the others, she stuck out her hand for a handshake. "I'm a bitch, and I'm sorry. We cool?"
Lord Fell Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 A tendril of Pompadour's hair drops to his shoulder, and gently but firmly lifts Mr. Hawke's hand off it. Pompadour offers the man a tight smile. "If you're in charge of those kids, you're doing a crap job of it." He jerks a thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of the tearful Ms. Gibbons. "Poison Ivy back there was using her powers to goad two suitors into a fight," and snaps his index finger in the direction of the men's washroom. "One of whom is currently having a Bad Trip in the washroom... and I doubt my version of events, which is the truth, would make Claremont look particularly good either." Nodding to Ace Danger, Pompadour says "Ah, my thanks sir. I could certainly use a moment or two to compose myself." Pompadour will fall into step beside Ace Danger, as his host heads towards the aforementioned restrooms. If necessary, Pompadour will deploy his hair to vault over Leeroy. Leaning in to speak more discretely to Ace, "Thanks for the rescue... I was a little too caught up in the moment to consider the effect she has on the rest of the males around here."
Avenger Assembled Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 The crowd was swayed briefly by Pompadour's pheromones, the spray wafting out over the assembly, until Daisy began blubbering loudly into the arms of her boyfriend, who'd have been pretty darn glad that his crimes had been covered if he hadn't been in the middle of the typhoon of weepy emotion that was Daisy Gibbons in a fit of pique. No one could feel anything but sad; that close. Further away, a good majority of the crowd was now beginning to react very differently to Pompadour. It was the young Fletcher Beaumont IV, previously busy looking on with mortal embarassement at the behavior of the current students of his alma mater, who raised his head curiously, sniffing at the air, and suddenly pointed at Pompadour. "Hey, do you smell that? That's coming from him!" "I bet he made that boy freak out!" someone else called. "And that girl, too!" As for Mr. Hawke, he didn't do a darn thing about Pompadour refusing his offer of help. He was much more concerned about his students, and broke with the tete a tete to go over and speak in a low, firm, though not-unsympathetic tone to the crying Daisy, whose face had turned a shade of red that was practically a blasphemy on those lovely cheeks. While Ace was still trying to decide how to navigate a crowd torn between the emotional manipulations of two very skilled practitioners of those arts, he felt a familiar presence at his sleeve. How did he move so fast, and so quietly, with a cane? It was unreal. :bat: "Ace. I need Mr. Mason for a moment." Duncan Summers turned an eye on Pompadour, one that was oddly familiar despite the fact that the former supervillian had no recollection of ever meeting the wealthy investor before. :bat: "Walk with me."
Heritage Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 "Lil' ol' rich kid over there. He stands out a bit, he's the very smug looking one." "Now, I don't see this as fair. He's going to get off with a scolding, and daddy'll just buy him out of even that most likely. On the other hand, he got to use his powers on me. He made me think I was a badger. I'm not a badger. I could make do with an apology, but the unfortunate downside is that I want, from him, a sincere one. Oh, and I want pigs to fly and water to come from a stone." Grim nods as she peers over in the indicated direction. "Yeah, I can tell he's a douche from all the way over here; God, I hate rich kids more than anything else in the world. Well, except maybe skinheads." She shakes her head and looks down at her feet for a second. Whoa, check out those calves! "Fear my calves, puny human!" But she quickly regains focus and looks back at the angry kid pimp, in his ridiculous outfit that he must think makes him look 'dope' and 'fly', and she can't help but smile. Hey, at least he's got balls; I wouldn't be caught dead in that get-up. "Look kid, ya gotta do what you gotta do, but do you really wanna do it in here, with all the stiffs and the suits on guard? Lure him outside, then hit him in the back of the head with a shovel; that's what I always do." "I'm a bitch, and I'm sorry. We cool?" The now-more-muscular Grim turns to see Thunder approach; she accepts her handshake and nods at her sincere apology. "Nah, it's cool; this crowd is enough to put anyone in a mood. Look at Chester Cheetah here, he-" When the waves of conflicting emotions suddenly flood her mind, Grim feels like the Tilt-a-Whirl is back with a vengeance; she feels something you might call 'emotional nausea' in the back of her head and in her guts. "Okay, that's it, this party officially blows; next year, if there is a next year, we're getting a sitter. I'm heading outside to clear my head; any of you other freaks are welcome to join me." The diminutive heroine slims down, thus making herself even more diminutive and better at slipping through a crowd, and starts working her way to towards the elevator, but not before she turns back to look at Ace to smile and shrug. "Hey, thank you so much for the invite, Mr. Dangerman Sir; it felt real good to be here with the cream of the crop!" She wggles her eyebrows and does her best Mae West. "Why don't you come down to the Fens and see me sometime." But Grim suddenly drops the act when she realizes how it might be misinterpreted. :shock: :? "To fight crime, of course! I have a boyfriend, and he's totally cool and everything. You and me, Ace! 'We fight crime!'" Then she fades from view...
angrydurf Posted June 23, 2009 Author Posted June 23, 2009 Leaning in to speak more discretely to Ace, "Thanks for the rescue... I was a little too caught up in the moment to consider the effect she has on the rest of the males around here." "Think nothing of it sir," Ace replied he felt a familiar presence at his sleeve. How did he move so fast, and so quietly, with a cane? It was unreal. "Ace. I need Mr. Mason for a moment." Ace nodded and added to Pompador "Mr. Summers is one of the good guys you can trust him." "Lil' ol' rich kid over there. He stands out a bit, he's the very smug looking one." "Now, I don't see this as fair. He's going to get off with a scolding, and daddy'll just buy him out of even that most likely. On the other hand, he got to use his powers on me. He made me think I was a badger. I'm not a badger. I could make do with an apology, but the unfortunate downside is that I want, from him, a sincere one. Oh, and I want pigs to fly and water to come from a stone." Ace looked Geckoman up and down cosideringly for a moment "I see, and your certain of this? This was Clarences doing?" Ace was old friends with the Beaudrie matriarch herself and knew well a scolding and worse was in store if he proved an embarassment to the family at so high profile an event. "I think you are. Well then take a note from an old man who has seen some things. Be the bigger man its the worst you can do to him. Laugh it off as the joke such juvenile displays are and enjoy the party." Ace smiled and leaned in conspiritoraly "I promise you he will learn not to make so crass a move in the future." "Hey, thank you so much for the invite, Mr. Dangerman Sir; it felt real good to be here with the cream of the crop!" She wggles her eyebrows and does her best Mae West. "Why don't you come down to the Fens and see me sometime." But Grim suddenly drops the act when she realizes how it might be misinterpreted. "To fight crime, of course! I have a boyfriend, and he's totally cool and everything. You and me, Ace! 'We fight crime!'" Then she fades from view... Ace smiled at the vanishing Grimalkin and waved "I'll see to it ma'am." He said smartly before turning to the rest of the party once more. Looking at the various disgruntled parties he decided to leave it to Summers and his staff to clean up his students mess.
Cyroa Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 Dark Star shook his head. It had been a long while ago, but the drama unfolding all around him reminded him vaguely of high school for some reason. He shook his head. That certainly hadn't been fun either. The crisis, for the most part, seemed to be over. But it wouldn't be long until another one arose. He moved over towards the large windows and stared up at the stars, barely visible through the ambient light of the city. It was so much simpler up there...
Lord Fell Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 Pompadour's eyes shifted from Ace to Mr. Summers rapidly. "I imagine so, Ace. Only heroes were invited to this party." Pomp briefly claps Ace on the shoulder, as their paths diverge. Pompadour doesn't stop walking though, he's headed to the private restroom Ace had directed him to. "Mr. Summers, it would be best if I made myself scarce for a minute or two, I suspect. You're welcome to follow me, though. I was just planning on sitting down before I fall down. Now, could you tell me who it is that you are, and what it is you do?" Reaching the door of the rest area, Pompadour yoinks it open with a tendril of hair, and gestures for Mr. Summers to enter. "and call me Pompadour. When you called me Mason, I almost didn't know who you were talking about."
Avenger Assembled Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 Pompadour's pleasantries were not regarded. When the door was closed, Summers took a few steps back and studied Pompadour. Brett Mason was taller, broader, and younger than Summers, but the older man's regard was like cold steel as it peered into his soul. :bat: "You've had a difficult night, Mr. Mason." There was none of the taunting, the arrogance the other man might have expected in the words, even as he casually disregarded the younger man's preference for address with the ease of the old. :bat: "I'm familiar with the work that Amanda Carlson has done on your behalf, converting your public image from former mental patient and criminal to superhero." He didn't pace, didn't move, didn't look away; he simply stared into Brett Mason's soul from his position a few feet away."She would be the first to tell you the fragility of reputation. You understand how easily this night could break you." The words weren't a threat, and weren't presented as such; they were an old man stating plain and simple facts. He ticked points off, one after the other, laying out an indictment that brought back memories of padded rooms and steel cages. :bat: "A former mental patient was seen in the company of a hallucinating teenager. Seconds later, he was then seen in an ugly little dispute with two other teenagers, both of whom will incriminate him on the witness stand. When cornered by a respectable citizen, he used an emotion-controlling gas on the crowd of superheroes and attempted to leave the scene, only to be successfully neutralized by Ace Danger. Your actions tonight will be used as proof that your initial 'cure' was unsuccessful. Having fooled the police, the courts, and the Raven, the authorities will conclude that you are too dangerous to be allowed out of their custody until they can be sure you have been successfully cured. No superhero will examine your case a second time as closely as the Raven did the first. There are enough of the wrong people in the crowd outside to tear down everything you've built for yourself in the name of justice and the law." Summers regarded Pompadour, finality in his face and voice. :bat: "I am aware of the efforts that have been expended on your behalf. This is your opportunity to reciprocate them."
alderwitch Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 "Excuse me," Phantom said quietly to Scarab as their quiet conversation was interrupted by the emotional manipulations in the room. It didn't take long for the insubstantial heroine to make her way accross the room, once she was willing to ghost through other guests. She materialized at the periphary of the group containing the party's host and the young teen gesturing with his weapons at the knot of teenagers. Phantom had a feeling most of the students would get a talking to before this was over. She stepped between the teen and his intended target and solidified "There's no need to escalate this."
Lord Fell Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 Pompadour slumped into a padded chair, letting Mr. Summer's words roll over him. A few tendrils of hair sally forth to fetch him a tall glass of ice and water. Which he drains rapidly, refills and half drains again. His arms and legs are shaking, but his attendant follicles hold the condensation misted glass steady. :bat: "No superhero will examine your case a second time as closely as the Raven did the first. There are enough of the wrong people in the crowd outside to tear down everything you've built for yourself in the name of justice and the law." {snip} "I am aware of the efforts that have been expended on your behalf. This is your opportunity to reciprocate them." Pompadour simply looks at Duncan for several moments after he's done speaking, before tossing back the last of his water. "I owe the Raven a lot, I've said it in print and on TV a dozen times. The first thing I owe her, above anything else, is to use my powers responsibly and with integrity." Ice rattles in the otherwise empty glass as Pompadour shifts to look more directly at Mr. Summers. "Given that my agent has been putting the word out there that I'm the world's most attractive man, it might sound like a ludicrous statement, but suddenly dating is practically impossible for me." Pompadour lets that statement sink in for a second, "and the reason for that is... I'm with a woman for a couple of hours, and I am wondering if she wants a night cap... but she makes it clear that she's gagging for one. I could tell her that I expect depraved sex acts, I plan on kicking her out in the middle of the night, and that I'll never call again... and it doesn't matter, they still want to be with me." Pompadour tosses his glass, across the room to land with a crash in the sink. "So, I end the date, because I can't continue a relationship with a woman that's been turned into a puppet by my emotion influencing powers." "So... I know what the effects of emotion control look like." He jerks a thumb towards the wall, where (a shambles of) the party continues, "it looks like what that girl was doing. And then she tried to use those powers on me... but you can't play a player. I'd be more than happy to invite the Scarab in..." Pompadour taps his temple "to verify that I'm speaking the unvarnished truth." Pompadour is massaging his thighs with his hands now. "But I really don't think I'm telling you anything you didn't already know. You're clearly well informed. If you know my life story, you surely know what your students can do, and what they are apt to do. And, you're obviously not stupid, which you'd have to be to come into an enclosed space with me if you thought I was likely to use my emotion controlling powers on you." Pompadour slowly gets to his feet, his limbs are somewhat less shaky now. "We both know that the Raven's cure worked... what you know, and I'm waiting for you to share with me... is what it is you would like me to do. So... what do you want, Mr. Summers?"
Avenger Assembled Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 :bat: "Mr. Mason, this evening has long since moved beyond what I want." For a moment or two, Pompadour could see the humanity there, the deep, bone-weary fatigue on the face of the older man, before Summers began speaking again. " :bat: "I will deal with my students. You will return to the party and apologize for your behavior there. The people outside are inclined to be forgiving, even of an accidental assault. You will find the crowd sympathetic to a young superhero who has not yet mastered his abilities." Summers' eyes hardened a little as he spoke to Pompadour man-to-man. :bat: "You are twenty-four years old and have had your powers for nearly nine months. You are above the petty romantic squabbles of young people." Outside the room, the amazingly loud, penetrating sobs of Daisy Gibbons had begun to fade, letting the noise of the party outside pick up. The tip of Summers' cane touched the floor beneath in a gentle rap. :bat: "I am aware that you have the capacity for better self-control than you have exhibited tonight. If you show the people outside that their impression of you is mistaken, then this will be a difficult night rather than an impossible one."
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