Who Let The Dog Out? (IC)

[Moira Morley]

Midnight Sunday July 11, 2010

Though Saturday had past and it was officially Sunday morning, the night was still young. Four different women were about to meet for the very first time. Though they did not start together. Some were tending to their families. Some were tending to their stomach. And yet others were tending to their letting loose some inhibitions. Whatever the four ladies were doing at the moment was interrupted at the moment. The sound of hounds baying split the night air. All was deathly quiet afterwards, but the night quickly resumed. A large three headed dog was barrowing down the streets of the West End. It was searching for something.

[Raveled]

Jessica Parker was out on a fast food run around midnight. Say what you will about Lantern Hill, but the fast food options were pitiful; the teenager was forced to visit the West End when she wanted food after 10 P.M. or so. She was just making a turn in her oversized SUV when she caught of the massive animal barreling down the road at her, crushing vehicles with abandon. The girl had to wrench the steering wheel to one side and climb the curb, but she avoided anything worse than dings and scratches.

Jumping out of the car with her backpack in hand, Jessica rushed into a nearby alley. She didn't go far, hoping that the sight of the creature would draw the attention of any bystanders. Seconds later, Ironclad rose from the alley in her red and gold. She waved her hand at the car absently, locking doors and setting the alarm. With that detail dealt with, she leaned forward and started off after the beast.

[Moira Morley]

Morley's is fairly busy at this time of night during the summer. Moira loved these type of evenings! Everyone was having a good time and in good spirits. Well that was until the wolves were at her door, so to speak. The party atmosphere eventually came back around, but now Moira was curious. She bid adieu to the collective of partyers and set out to find what was going on. She didn't have long to travel, following the noise she came within seeing distance of a huge three headed dog. This was Cerberus. Hades's minion. There's only one reason he's here, and it wasn't gonna be easy to make this thing stop. It was still running though! She kept following it's path of destruction trying to catch up to it.

[quotemyname]

Vivian was enjoying a night out at the bar by herself. There was one thing about being a good looking girl in your twenties. Every guy in the bar wanted a piece of you. You had the pick of the litter. Damn that felt good.

She was talking to one particularly good looking guy in a blazer and button down when her face suddenly went blank. To the guy, she looked like she'd suddenly gone comatose. To her it was something entirely different.

"Thou art called to do battle, my child. Go and serve Odin's justice to the wicked!"

I hear and obey, Norn!

When she came around, the guy was asking her if she was okay. "What? I... Yea. I'm really sorry, but I have to go to the ladies room. I'm supposed to be somewhere soon, and I've gotta skip out. But here." She grabbed his hand, and used a pen from her purse to scribble her phone number on the inside of it. As she scrambled from the table, she waved her hand next to her forming the, "Call Me" symbol.

Once in the bathroom of Morley's bar, Vivian shut herself in one of the stalls. There was a flash, and she was gone.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Aw, honey," said Charlie Smith, looking up at his wife Joan Collier as she rose from the dining room table, her arms thrashing as they emerged from underneath her dress. "Do you have to go now? We were about to go ta bed..." The Smith-Collier family had sat down to eat dinner earlier, the beer-can chicken Joan had prepared transforming into Scrabble night when they were done. And as usual, Scrabble generally meant fooling around afterwards.

"Charlie, we've got to take care of the neighborhood. This is our neighborhood now, which means I've got to keep an eye on things." She patted them on the shoulder from across the room and said, "I'll be back real soon, I hope." And with that, she let her costume spill over her body, transforming Joan Collier, spunky reporter and homemaker, into the mighty Fusion. She swung off into the Freedom City night from her window, concealing herself against the background as she disappeared from view. At the sight of the huge hellhound, she said a bad word and swung closer. Great...

[Moira Morley]

The massive hell hound was stopped by the whirring of cop cars and SWAT vans and helicopters that had surrounded it It growled menacingly at it's captors. Though the Freedom City Police had forgot a lesson long past. Never corner a wild animal, it'll fight back! And fight back it did. It started with the same baying as before. This time there were people around. Ears started to bleed and workers just doing their jobs fell unconscious. After it thought everyone was down it began to thrash the vehicles away.

[Raveled]

Ironclad kept pace with the big dog, high in the sky. As it approached the police barricade and thrashed about, the armored hero began carefully lining up her first shot. Its titanic howl caught her off-guard, however, reverberating inside her helmet. She clutched at her head and writhed in the air, helpless before the sonic assault.

[quotemyname]

There was a flash of lightning, and in its wake, Valkyrie stood in the middle of the street. "Ho, Beast!" She called out to the enormous three headed dog. "Doest thou fancy thyself a worthy adversary for Odin's warri-" The creature roared and unleashed a deafening howl. Valkyrie stumbled back a few steps and braced herself against the ear piercing shriek.

When the howl was over, Valkyrie looked up at the beast. "So be it! Bring thy best, Beast! We are begun!" Valkyrie took two steps toward the giant dog, spun, and released the massive hammer of the Gods. Mjollnir flew straight and true. It crashed into the center of the middle head's skull, and lightning from the sky struck the place where it touched. The Hammer returned unerringly to Valkyrie's hand, thanks to the power of the gods.

"Bask in Odin's glory, Beast. Pray that thou shalt one day be worth of such power!"

[Moira Morley]

Moira couldn't cover her ears quick enough, but her heartiness reduced the power hell hound's howl into a whimper. As she hopped off her bike she saw the Norse-themed hero descend from the heavens and wallop the crap out of Cerberus. Valkyrie. Wow. She was pretty cute in person. Maybe once this was over... But it was not over. Well, it looked close to over. Luckily Divine had changed into her costume on the way over. She sprinted towards the dog and Valkyrie and ended up next to the Norse heroine. She looked at the walloped beast. It was ginormous. She nodded a friendly hello to Valkyrie.

[Avenger Assembled]

Whew. Godly neighborhood. Reminds me of Hachiman. Fusion was an atheist, but not a fool: it was hard to ignore divine power when it was right there in front of you! She swung up as close to the beast as she could get, still invisible to normal human eyes, and studied the situation briefly. Big son of a gun. Better get him as weak as I can before I hit him! And with that, she did something she usually hated: appearing in a blur of black armor and whirling octopus arms long enough to reach past the ceiling, she opened her mouth wide and vomited out a jet of inky black fluid all over the monster's face in a huge cone of octopus ink.

From there, she swung further forward and punched the fallen-down thing right in the face!

[Moira Morley]

The hell hound did not know what hit it when it felt the bludgeon of the holy hammer of the Norse pantheon. It skittered back and fell on it's side, just in time for all thee faces to be blasted by a jet of ink! This was not it's day. Or night. Or week even. The beast snarled and wobbled as it was still reeling from the Norsewoman's blow.

[Raveled]

Ironclad managed to shake off the after-effects of the Hellhound's howl. She was still flying, which was a nice change of pace from last time. Even better, the massive beast seemed completely disoriented from the three other superheroes -- check that, superheroines -- gathered around it. Still, the creature was swiping halfheartedly, and so Ironclad lined up her sights and let off a shot from her particle cannon.

[quotemyname]

Valkyrie paused to give the Greek beauty notice, but quickly turned her attention back to the fight. In a flash of thunder and lightning as fierce as the Gods themselves, Valkyrie reappeared atop the great beast itself. Standing on its shoulder blade, Valkyrie hefted the hammer above her head. She brought it crashing down on the beast flank, "HrrrAAHHH!" but the blow was turned aside at an odd angle due to the creature's tough hide, though the Gods would not be denied their fury. Lightning struck the hell hound at the point of impact. Not one to be denied, Valkyrie hoisted the massive hammer once more on the same spot. This time the hammer crushed bone, and the Gods sent their lightning once more to fry the creature's nervous system. Shattering the ribs in the creatures chest, Valkyrie stood triumphant atop it's broken form.

She threw her arms out to her sides, reveling in her victory. Then hopped down from the creature's flank to the pavement below. "Praise be to Odin," she declared, as she strode up to the assembled combatants who had aided her, "To whom this victory belongs. Well met, warriors. I, Valkyrie, faithful servant of Odin stand before you."

[Avenger Assembled]

"You said a mouthful, sister!" Fusion hung from a street light by a muscular suckered arm, dangling low to look over the fallen bystanders, some of whom were still covered in ink. She could sympathize: she knew how foul the stuff tasted. "Anyone call the EMTs yet? That was one mother of a roar that thing put out, and some of these people got it a lot worse than any of us did." She swung around and dropped down in the middle of the group. "I'm Fusion," she added, giant arms whipping around her body as they retracted down to the length of just a few feet.

[Raveled]

Ironclad floated over to the gathering of heroes; it was the work of a moment to connect to the city's emergency phone system and dispatch a 911 call, her hands flashing through empty space. That done, she landed next to the massive creature, patting gingerly. "I guess what they say is true," she said. "The bigger they are, the harder it is to take them down." She turned to the others and offered half a smile, before she remembered that her helmet was still on. "I'm Ironclad," she offered.

[Moira Morley]

Moira nodded with a smirk to Ironclad, "[divine]Yeah, that thing is a big puppy once you get to know him,[/divine]" she chuckled. It was only half true. Hades's dog's bite was more vicious than it's bark, though the three headed hell hound wasn't dealing with it's regular fare tonight. Moira curtsied before the women, "[divine]I'm Divine, pleased to meet you.[/divine]" She looked to Valkyrie with a sigh and a contented smile, "[divine]You were great out there, Valkyrie. I'm sorry that I came late to the battle. I hope to repay you one day.[/divine]" She looked to Fusion with a serious nod, "[divine]Definitely, I'll go get my phone.[/divine]"

[quotemyname]

It's no secret that I serve the gods, but I also know enough to know and actual Godess when I see one. Damn. I didn't realize it in the middle of the fight but she is stunningly beautiful.

She looked to Valkyrie with a sigh and a contented smile, "[divine]You were great out there, Valkyrie. I'm sorry that I came late to the battle. I hope to repay you one day.[/divine]"

Vivian blanched somewhat beneath her helm, I...Was she just hitting on me? Vivian felt her body react slightly to the Goddesses words. I...Ew. No. Just no. Why does that make me feel good? Ewwwww! But it only lasted for a second.

"Thine praise is flattering, Daughter of Olympus, yet unnecessary. Mine is the justice of the Odin. The only praise I desire comes from his holiness. If thou wishes to truly honor me, thou wouldst join battle with more haste in the future. Wielding the power of the gods matters for naught when if thou is incapable of applying it." Valkyrie raised Mjollnir with one hand and let the head of the hammer sit back on her shoulder. She turned to the other two assembled heroes and greeted them once more. "Thou art well met, mortals. Fusion, thine anatomy is quite the wonder. Where prey tell did you receive these gifts? And Ironclad, thou art encased in steel, it seems. A device of thine own invention? Or dost it hail from some other origin?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Why does like every deity I know talk like they're from Shakespeare? Fusion thought. Hachiman did the same thing, and he was from Japan! Oh well, maybe it's how divine talk gets translated into English. Out loud, she gave Valkyrie an elaborate wink. "Let's just say I'm...out of this world." When the EMTs arrived, she divested herself from the group long enough to make sure the injured bystanders were being treated, then swung back to rejoin everyone with a "Well, that wasn't nearly so bad as I thought it was going to be. You said you knew what this thing is?" she asked Divine.

[Raveled]

It took Ironclad a second to puzzle through Valkyrie's speech and figure out just what she said. "Well, it's technically not steel," she said. "The armor's a titanium-aluminum alloy. But yes, I made it myself." She considered the other heroine's gear. "I see you like Vikings. What's the hammer made out of? And how'd you do that lightning bolt thing, anyway?"

[quotemyname]

"Ahh, yes, The Hammer." Valkyrie took the hammer from her shoulder, and set it down in front of her, with the head on the ground and the end of the handle cradled in her hands. "Mjollnir is a gift from the Gods. Few tales tell true it's construction. And yea, it has been reforged many times, as the God's power cannot be denied, and shall never fade, but are renewed, always, in time. Though no legend tells true the recipe for it's construction, It is always said to made of the finest, purest metals known to man."

She considered the second question that Ironclad had posed, "T'was not I who called down the lightning. Thor, the God of Thunder himself has blessed this hammer. He aids each of it's strikes with one of his bolts, thrown from the heavens. Should the Hammer strike true, so too will the God's aim." On the ground, a small crackle of electricity surged through the head of the hammer. It seemed to have a mind of it's own, almost reveling in the chance to display its power.

[Raveled]

Ironclad cocked her head to one side, considering the story even as her on-board computer accessed encyclopedias and displayed the information in front of her eyes. She pushed those screens to the side with a wave of her arm, though, to keep eye contact with Valkyrie. "So, wait. It's indestructible, but it's been reforged before? It's eternal, but it's been recharged? That doesn't seem internally consistent." She paused for a moment, digesting the facts, and then added, "Is this a religion thing?"

[quotemyname]

"Mayhaps thou might call it that. 'Tis not the steel itself which is eternal, but rather the idea of it." Valkyrie took a certain pleasure in preaching to others and spreading stories of her God. "Mind that the Gods are not bound by the rules of this land. Thine rules of consistency need not apply to them and theirs. Such is the way of the Gods, that thou might achieve more through simple acceptance, rather than complex puzzlement."

Someone want to tell me why they always question it? It's a big hammer, and it hits things really hard. What else is there to understand?

[Raveled]

Ironclad rolled her eyes, a wasted gesture. "You know, I'm really too old to accept 'because I say so' or 'just because' as an answer." Her head cocked the other way. "An eternal idea? Like a solidified meme? And if it works on the laws of a different universe, maybe that's the truth. Maybe it's just an extension or extrusion of a different plane of reality/comprehension. Held in place psychically? Hm." She turned away from the other heroines and began sketching in the air, calling up references and dismissing them just as fast. This was an interesting problem; the girl didn't really have the proper grounding in quantum physics, but she knew enough to start outlining theories.

[quotemyname]

Valkyrie lifted the caged visor on her helm to get a better look at the armored heroine. And she thinks I'm weird? What the hell is she doing?

"Thine challenges are reduced to naught but comedy, friend." Valkyrie addressed Ironclad, "Thou presumes to have sense enough to attempt piecing out the secrets of the Gods powers, when it is apparent that thou possesses all the sense of a mime." Valkyrie quietly laughed at Ironclad's mad rantings and frantic arm waving. Gesturing towards the motions themselves Valkyrie asked, "Tell me, what dost thou call this?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"Welp, you ladies have fun," said Fusion, shaking her head at the antics of her younger friends. Thinking a moment, she said, "I have a Yashimata comm-link at home. If you ever need me, my radio frequency is 4.53 on the red band," she added, speaking for the benefit of the battlesuit-wearing girl, who'd probably be able to understand the technical jargon. "Nice working with you all." And with that she vanished, a barely visible blur against the wall behind her as she changed colors to match the scenery, then swung away on the streetlights, then over the buildings.