Carnival in the Park (IC)

[Gizmo]

Erik sighed, and took Dead Head's hand. "Sure, man, I'm here for a while. I'll meet you around the exit of the 'house." So much for protecting the old secret identity, he groused in his head. To be fair, Dead Head really wasn't in a position to spread what Erik looked like sans mask around, and at least the swashbuckler could fall back of the natural assumption that his real name actually was Jack. No real harm done.

A Dead Head went back to work, Erik clapped the confused jock on the shoulder and walked through the remainder of the haunted house with him. "Short version: Dead Head back there is a zombie, but he subscribes the Casper School of the Undead." After a pause he clarified, "He's friendly. Dude's gotta make a living, I guess; working at the carnival's pretty slick." He crossed his arms and glanced at the broad shouldered man beside him. "Dunno how much damage you coulda actually done to him, but you maybe wanna be careful with the 'powers first, questions later' thing, huh?"

[ex3lev3n]

He could've made his move right there. Sparing a backwards glance after he had put some distance between himself and the cowboy/redhead duo, he realized that the cowboy had vanished. Or maybe he's making it right now.

He hurried his pace slightly, keeping his senses attuned to a possible ambush. If the cowboy was after him, then he'd more than likely get to higher ground for a better shot. His eyes worked franticly back and forth beneath the bill of his cap, scouting for good sniping positions. There.

A good distance away from his current location was the ferris wheel. It was the tallest attraction in the carnival, and a perfect set-up for a single shot, single kill scenario. It would be over before Kristian even heard the gunshot.

Kristian needed to get out of the open and he remembered seeing a haunted house not too far away. He spun around quickly and made to sprint back to the haunted house, but in his haste he hadn't seen the group of three girls coming up behind him, and he all but barreled into them.

[Thejoshie]

The hedge maze wasn't much of a challenge, thanks to her spider sense. Still she purposely waited just before the end so as to not look to suspisious for exiting a minute after she entered.

Now she was walking again, slightly annoyed that the three females infront of her was hogging the walk way.

Yuki was about to tap one on the shoulder to excuse herself when...

:!: :!: :!: :!: :!: :!:

...but in his haste he hadn't seen the group of three girls coming up behind him, and he all but barreled into them.

:!: :!: :!: :!: :!: :!:

"LOOK OUT!!!"

Yuki grabbed the head female and leapt to the side, using her agility to spin her body into a crouch just behind her to keep either of them from hitting the ground...

And then realizing how 'heroic' that looked, she purposely lost her balance and dumped herself and the female to the ground roughly.

Ouch.

[Eviscerus]

Spitfire

Maxie looked out onto the crowd gathering in front of the stage set up with several barrells, hoops, and of course "The Chamber" which was the grand finale of the act. The crowd looked small, but he knew the more days he did the show, the larger the crowd would get. Maxie smiled to himself and set about putting kerosene on the ends of his fire sticks, then checking his costume for "The Chamber." Everything seemed in order, and was set up well. Noticing his mentor out of the corner of his eye, Maxie headed over to Bertram and leaned against the stage wall.

"Small pickens of a crowd at the moment eh, sir?"

Bertram looked over his shoulder at the crowd and back to Maxie, a weary look on his face. "Don't even think about it, Max."

Maxie smiled his best innocent smile, "Think what, sir? I have no idea what yer talkin' about."

Bertram grunted and narrowed his eyes, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't go flaunting all your little gifts on that stage just to draw a bigger crowd. I love ya boy, but your ego'll do you in. You don't want to attract too much unnecessary attention. Especially in this town. Plenty of the so-called super heroes would love to get their hands on you and use you oon their "team" for their own ends. They use good phrases like "for the common good," and "doing your part for the community," but it's all bull. They got their little schemes, and don't you forget it. Hero life ain't what it's cracked up to be, just politics of a different nature, I tell ya."

Maxie rolled his eyes looked back out at the crowd. "Someday you'll have to tell me what made ye so cynical, Bertram. I think it'd be loads of fun to be a hero."

Bertram growled, "That's just it boy, it's not something you get into for the fun. You get into it for the fun, you get dead, or worse. Promise me you'll stick to the routine out there Max. Promise me." Bertram gave Maxie a look that was at once pleading and demanding.

Maxie sighed, and hung his head, shaking it slightly. "Yes, sir. I promise."

[Thevshi]

Megan and her two younger friends had been making their way along, taking in more of the sights as the moved towards where the show was to take place. Just then a teenager had started to run towards them, not looking where he was going. To Summer and Dawn, and most anyone else around the scene, everything happened far too quickly to react. But to Megan, things seemed to be happening in slow motion. The split second before the teenage boy slammed into her, someone behind her yelled out a warning.

Megan had already been considering if she would try to avoid the boy, but knew that doing so would likely raise a lot of questions, as she would have to use her superspeed. Then she felt someone grabbing her, and adjusted her head just enough to see a teenage girl in mid-leap out of the corner of her eye, trying to pull her away from the boy. Whomever this girl was, she was moving very quickly, not quite as quickly as Megan could move, but still clearly at superhuman level. If she had wanted to, Megan felt sure she could have spun herself free from the girl’s grip, but that would be an even more blatant display of her powers.

So, she just decided to let events unfold, as the girl did not seem to be attacking her, and the boy had just not been paying attention to where he was going. The girl pulled Megan out of the way of the boy, but just as she seemed to stop them, she let both fall to the ground. Again Megan could easily have rolled back to her feet, but allowed her self to get dumped on her rear, but was able to ensure the landing was not too hard.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. To those watching, it all played out as if the girl had pulled Megan clear from the boy and then they both fell. But to someone skilled in judging the fighting abilities of others, it would have been rather clear that Megan had been in control of herself through the entire thing.

Summer and Dawn had been behind just enough that the shouted warning for them to pull up short and avoid being hit by the boy. “Megan!†They both cried out as their friend was pulled out of “harm’s†way and then dumped to the ground.

“Ow!†Megan stated, trying to sound more hurt than she actually was. “Gee, thanks, instead of him knocking me to the ground, you dumped me on the ground.†She said as she glanced over at the girl that had pulled her clear. The tone of her voice was only teasingly sarcastic, lacking any real venom or anger.

[quotemyname]

The boy that had nearly knocked over a group of girls was still distracted by almost running them over as he continued to run. Imagine his surprise when he ran face first into the very cowboy he had dashed off to find. The boy bounced off the bigger man's chest.

Colt raised the brim of his hat, making his eyes just barely visible, "Howdy, Partner?" He said with an even tone of voice and a wry smile.

Colt looked down at the two girls that had been unceremoniously dumped on the ground. "This fella botherin'ya, ladies?" And his eyes pointedly shifted back towards Kristian.

[Warmonger]

"Yeah," Marcus growled. "He is real damn, friendly." Marcus marched after the retreating Dead Head and moved to stand in front of him. I know I'm right. "Hey, hold on there, dead guy. Ok I jumped the gun back there, sorry or whatever." He didn't sound particularly remorseful. He stepped close and raised his index finger. "But don't think your gonna hit on my girl." He jabbed the finger into the Zombie's chest for emphasis and was disgusted when his finger sunk in further than he thought.

[Dr Archeville]

Marcus caught himself before his finger went in past the first joint, but that was still far deeper than he'd ever wanted to be.

"Hey, buddy," the zombie said in a clearly annoyed tone, "watch the shirt! I-" he stopped mid-sentence, examining the new hole, "y'know, I think it's better now! Looks like a bullet hole! Thanks!" he said with a hearty pat on the back.

"Though I hope," he added in a lower tone, "that you're not as rough with yer girl's clothes."

"Oh!," he suddenly called out, "I think some more customers are coming. Shoo, y'all, shoo!"

[Warmonger]

Marcus already didn't like this guy, he was creeping him all the way out. Then the slime-ball made a comment about Cyndi and actually put his diseased hand on him. "Hey," Marucs said. "Don't touch me!" In revulsion Marcus's right hand shot out pushing the undead Carnie away from him. His hand snapped out too fast and he put more force on it than he meant to...

[Dr Archeville]

... and the Zombie Carnie's head snapped right off! A bit of black gunk oozed sluggishly from the neck, and from the head as it rolled around, but the body remained upright.

Well, surely it was just the suddenness of the impact, right? The body'd crumple any second now, surely, and...

... holy crap, All Star just knocked this guy's head off!

Looking around for the head, All Star spotted it, right at the Zombie Carnie's feet and face up. As he debated what to do, the face was suddenly covered in shadow. Was that other guy with them reaching over to pick it up? No -- it was the Zombie Carnie's own hands, bending down and picking u its head as nonchalantly as All Star might pick up a melon from a garden! It slowly lifted the head up, and as it did, the eyes snapped open, still glowing that same eerie green. The jaw opened and closed, as if trying to speak, but unable to due to a lack of lung-pushed air moving over its pulled-back lips and lolling tongue. The body lifted the head up as high as it could, scraping the ceiling, then lowered it down back onto its shoulders.

"Geez, Hoss," the zombie gasped out, "watch that arm!"

[Gizmo]

Erik grimaced as Dead Head reattached his head. "Man, that's just not right..." He turned to Marcus, if only to avoid looking at the ghoul. "Hey, glow-for-brains, watch it! Not everybody can put themselves back together, you knock their freaking head off! Can a guy get a day off in this town, or what?" To be honest, Erik wasn't all that upset with the jock; no real harm had been done. His real problem was that his attempt at grounding himself had turned into mediating a disagreement between a zombie and an obvious powerhouse, all while out of costume. He resisted the urge to smash his head against a wall.

[Heritage]

KISSING BOOTH! TWENTY DOLLARS! KISS A GENUINE HERO FOR CHARITY!

So this was dumb; of all the dumb ideas Grimalkin ever had, this was the dumbest. She thought that setting the price at twenty bucks a pop would at least eliminate the deviants, flakes and creepazoids, but even in these trying times, it looked like a lot of folks would slap down Mr. Jackson for a chance to lay a wet one on a girl in tight leather.

Flashing her sweetest smile, Grim holds up a gloved hand. "Please, gentlemen (oh, and I see a few ladies, that's very nice, thank you), if you could please just respect the person next to you, and have your cash out as you approach the booth, we can continue. If you have something to sign, have that out too, I have a few Sharpies here."

"Can we take Polaroids with you?"

So speaks the creepiest man alive.

"Polaroids? Um, sure, why not?"

All the money is going to Father Mike's shelter. The booth, the sign and her chair are all made out of glamour; if things got really rough, it all could go 'poof' and she'd be out of sight in two seconds. If it got too bad...

[Warmonger]

In truth, All-Star was panicing at first. He could hear Captain Thunder's words, "Control is more important than power" he had wondered if he killed that thing so it was a tremendous relief when it picked it's head up, which quickly slid into disgust. "What are you?" The question was more for himself than anyone else. He finally looked at Erik. "Who are you?"

[Eviscerus]

Spitfire

After setting everything up, and making sure his flame retardant suit was prepared, Max looked at his watch, it read 3:14.

"Fifteen minutes till the show starts... well that's just entirely too long." Max decided since he had some time he'd take a look around. Max turned to Bertram, "Hey, I'ma go fer a walk. If'n I'm not around when the show starts, keep em busy for me wouldya?" Without another word, or allowing Bertram a chance to protest, Max jumped off the stage and started east, towards the center of the park when he came across a kissing booth, set up for charity, which advertised the chance to kiss an actual hero.

Max smiled as he looked at the young lady at the booth. "A good lookin' one at that. Wonder if the ladie's got as much fire between her lips as I do." Without a thought for the amassing throng of would be suitors, Max pushed to the front of the line. He was a little perturbed that the lady was drawing more attention than his attraction at the moment, but he pushed that aside as he offered her a dazzling smile and laid down a hundred dollar bill on her counter.

"Name's Maxie, ma'am. I ain't got long at all afore my show starts and I was hopin' to give a little to charity. I know it seems awful rude to jump the line, but I'm about to do some pretty dangerous fire stunts, liable to get myself burned up, and I don't see no better way to go out then gettin a kiss from you afore I burn alive. You wouldn't deny a potentially fated man's last request would ya?" Maxie smiled and touched Grimalkin's hand, keeping his voice low and sultry, piling on the southern drawl, which some women found irresistable.

[Gizmo]

Erik pointed a finger at Dead Head. "He's a zombie." He brought the hand back to jab a thumb at his own chest. "I'm his friend." Finally he completed the motion by indicating Marcus. And you're a blockhead!" Erik threw his hands into the air in exasperation. "Here's a fun tip: superpowers plus randomly hitting people generally equals a bad time! Now how's about everybody stepping outside so we don't ruin some poor kid's haunted house going experience, huh?"

[zero21]

David stopped dead in his tracks as he heard a rather unusual announcement..

KISSING BOOTH! TWENTY DOLLARS! KISS A GENUINE HERO FOR CHARITY!

He raised an eyebrow at the leather clad young woman, guessing she was either a good deal more capable than she looked, or borderline insane. His amazement only increased as she agreed to have her picture taken with a rather creepy looking old man "Pervert" He said to himself, narrowing his eyes at the old man.

He decided to gt in line for a "kiss" if only to see her face light up in shock at another meta-though a far more shady one came forward. He quickly fished out a $20 and waited for his turn.

[Geez3r]

Although he didn't want to admit it, his disguise was pretty much foiled after that little escapade, so Tempest gave up on observing the humans without himself participating for now. It did however appear that now was indeed a good time to "enjoy one's self" as the humans would say. So, Tempest ventured forth into the circus grounds. He attempted to blend in as much as possible, but it was still a very hard task to do.

The results were rather comical. He first ventured forth to what was called "the roller coaster". He remained silent as he waited on line, even as the humans pointed and stared at him. Eventually, most simply gave up. Tempest wanted to what they would do normally, interacting with them would not create a normal set of circumstances. The humans had an odd behavioral pattern on the roller coaster. They tended to scream and hold their hands in the air. This was usually a practice reserved for the sensation of terror. If that was the case then why would the humans voluntarily enter into such a scenario? In fact the humans seemed willing to even pay for the experience.

Perhaps it was the ability to feel terror in a controlled environment that the humans found entertaining. As the roller coaster descended the next hill, Tempest decided to experiment, and uttered a declaration of delight. It was most entertaining.

Tempest began wandering around the circus with his curiosity now intrigued for the ways one may experience enjoyment. Tempest's next target was the "fire eater" spectacle. As Tempest understood, humans could not acquire nourishment from flame. This required immediate investigation.

[Thevshi]

The boy that had nearly knocked over a group of girls was still distracted by almost running them over as he continued to run. Imagine his surprise when he ran face first into the very cowboy he had dashed off to find. The boy bounced off the bigger man's chest.

Colt raised the brim of his hat, making his eyes just barely visible, "Howdy, Partner?" He said with an even tone of voice and a wry smile.

Colt looked down at the two girls that had been unceremoniously dumped on the ground. "This fella botherin'ya, ladies?" And his eyes pointedly shifted back towards Kristian.

Megan looked over to where the boy who had almost run into her and her friends was knocked down by a young man dressed like a cowboy. As the new arrival asked if she and the other girl where being bothered by the inattentive boy, Megan glanced at him and then back at the cowboy. “Bothered? No, not really, just a case of not paying attention to where your going.†She replied as she started to get back to her feet, something she could have done before anyone even knew she had moved, had she wanted.

[Thejoshie]

Yuki, as dense and Naive as she could be sometimes, didn't think twice about how the other female didn't question HOW Yuki knew someone was going to run her over when she was behind her. Nope. Yuki still had a lot to learn about reading people.

But she also had other problems. That tumble loosened the bandages under her clothes. The soreness of her ribs became uncomfortably noticeable again. Wonderful.

The brief moment of pain caused her to miss what the female said to her, but that was okay. The Cowboy distracted the other female anyway.

Wait...

Cowboy? No way...

Way. It was Colt. What were the odds?

Yuki slowly climbed to her feet, feigning dizzyness (Not to bad an acting job, since she WAS in pain). "Don't mind me, I'm fine. Really..."

[Warmonger]

Marcus frowned. "Yeah," he said in low puzzled voice. "Zombie. Hey I'm not a block head," Marcus answered back. "I'm just not used to all of these fre... weird people. So what? Zombies jumping out of nowhere is supposed to be normal? Besides you are acting like your head was knocked off." He stretched his head around Erik to look at Deadhead. "Look sorry about that. Take some aspirin or whatever." Probably brains. "No hard feelings." With that he stepped through out he fun house exit. What a weird night.

[ex3lev3n]

Lost in his own private world, where a cowboy bounty hunter hired by the Labyrinth had tracked him down because he decided to go to the carnival instead of laying low like he was taught, Kristian was shocked back into reality by the suddenness of the next second. In that second he almost slammed into a rreeaallyy good looking blonde, had a brunette blur not shot out of nowhere to pull her out of the way, and charged right into someone else. The force from the collision was enough to make him stumble back a few steps, his black cap falling from his head.

Colt raised the brim of his hat, making his eyes just barely visible, "Howdy, Partner?" He said with an even tone of voice and a wry smile.

Dammit!

As the new arrival asked if she and the other girl where being bothered by the inattentive boy, Megan glanced at him and then back at the cowboy. “Bothered? No, not really, just a case of not paying attention to where your going.â€Â

Wait, what? Why didn't he shoot when I stumbled? Why's he asking these girls if I'm bothering them? That shouldn't matter at all if he was here to put me down. Kristian had no reply to the cowboy, he was too involved in his own thoughts right now, though he watched the gunman's hands and eyes for any indication that he was about to draw in him.

[quotemyname]

Colt simply nodded to the group of girls at first. Then he stooped down to pick up the hat that had fallen on the ground. Though he didn't take his eyes off the boy, he didn't stop smiling either. Reckon anyone able ta sneak 'round like him is good at somethin'. Maybe somethin' I can use. Leastways, ain't no reason ta be makin' enemies, specially not at a time like this. he thought. He quickly glanced at the group of girls, 'Specially not with ladies present. He retrieved that hat and straightened up, his movements were slow, but easy and relaxed.

He dusted the cap off and took a few steps forward, holding it out for the kid. The hat came with a look that said "What the hell are you up to?" plain as day, but the look was only for Kristian, the cowboy had shielded that expression from the girls.

Once Kristian accepted the hat, Colt finally spoke, "There y'are, partner." and gave Kristian a pat on the shoulder. Continuing, he turned to the group of girls. "Now why don't ya 'pologize ta these lovely ladies," he said, with an almost unnoticeable wink at Megan. She may have only caught it because she was used to looking at things in such slow motion.

[Dr Archeville]

In the Fun House

The zombie carnie was... laughing? Yes, he was, in between wheezing gasps, which stopped once he grabbed his head and jerked it to one side.

"Zombies jumping out of nowhere in a carnival fun house is 'normal'! Heehee!" He then gave Marcus a dismissive wave, "Yer alright, Hoss. But you'd best both get," he added to Erik, "I've still got some shows t'do!"

Before either could say anything, the Zombie Carnie darted into a concealed doorway, and moved down the cramped hallways that surrounded and crisscrossed the fun house.

David... smiled and took a seat in front of the fun house as he finished his food. He handed the ticket taker lady the required amount and stepped in, only to be confronted by a zombie. "Nice," he murmured, admiring what he thought was a special effects or really good make up job, "though a bit advanced for carny tech" He told himself, his eyes narrowing. It didn't last long however, once the "zombie" proved to be just another one of the numerous oddities that a carnival in Freedom City had to offer. He managed to ignore the numerous stares as he tried to quiet his laughter at the apparent real life zombie.

Barely a peep from that one Dead Head thought as Ironhide strolled through. He might be one to watch for -- people that nonchalant tend to be... unusual.

About half an hour later, Dead Head walked out of the Fun House. He had a 15 minute break, and he planned to make good use of it. He'd heard great things about the fire eater, and he hoped to catch his show, or at least part of it.

[ex3lev3n]

As it all had happened so fast, this moment passed as slow. The cowboy knelt to retrieve the fallen cap, brushed it off, and held it out for Kristian. Realizing that a paranoid delusion had led to this entire debacle, Kris cursed himself inwardly. Best way to blow your own cover is to act like you cover's been blown, Ronin had taught him long ago. He lowered his eyes and accepted the cap, and spoke with a voice much softer and lower than one would expect from someone of his stature. "Thanks.

Once Kristian accepted the hat, Colt finally spoke, "There y'are, partner." and gave Kristian a pat on the shoulder. Continuing, he turned to the group of girls. "Now why don't ya 'pologize ta these lovely ladies."

"No harm, no foul," he said with a hint of apology in his voice. Placing the cap back on his head he turned and took his leave of the mess he caused.

[Thevshi]

Once Kristian accepted the hat, Colt finally spoke, "There y'are, partner." and gave Kristian a pat on the shoulder. Continuing, he turned to the group of girls. "Now why don't ya 'pologize ta these lovely ladies," he said, with an almost unnoticeable wink at Megan. She may have only caught it because she was used to looking at things in such slow motion.

Megan noted the wink from the cowboy, not something she was unaccustomed to, but somewhat more subtle than some reactions she received. It was at this point that she noticed the pistol at his hip, and suddenly realized who he was. She had read about the arrival of an extra dimensional cowboy that went by the name Colt (among other aliases). Not letting on that she had an idea who he was, she glanced back over at the young man who had almost run into her.

"No harm, no foul," he said with a hint of apology in his voice. Placing the cap back on his head he turned and took his leave of the mess he caused.

Megan almost smirked at the semi-apology, but instead gave a small smile. “Yeah, no worries.†She replied. Summer and Dawn just gave Kristian cold looks, but kept quite.