Bikers, Mobsters, and the Southside C's (IC)

[Ari]

Furious at his myopic showing in the fight, Marceau decided to at least try to get something done. He rushed to a nearby window through which he saw Glowstar's dazzling display of power. Seeing a particularly formidable target, one who could well do with a little dethroning, Marceau whipped one of his weaker grenade cards from its sleeve, aimed and threw.

To impressively little effect.

[Kavonde]

The Southside C caught the King of Suits' blast on his forearm and seemed to bat it away. "Hey, I ain't here to fight you! I'm takin' down this Mob chick and then that crazy viking mofo! You want some of me after, wait your damn turn!"

Ignoring both heroes in the restaurant, he easily ripped a table from its bolted-down support, reared back, and hurled it at the woman with all his strength. She saw it coming and dove for cover behind a booth, but still took a bad hit on her shoulder that nearly put her out of the fight. "Damn it!"

Outside, Volcano blinked at the obscuring mist in confusion, a bit disoriented after his hit. "Hey! What's with the fog?! Hey, crazy viking guy, you still standin' where you were?!"

"Your allies have not yet moved me from this spot, obsidian one! Instead they flee like cowards!"

"Cool, thanks!" The magma man reared back and hurled his best haymaker in the general direction of where Herne was last standing. The punch soared straight toward Herne's face...or rather, where Volcano assumed it was. He nearly fell over as his fist ripped through empty air, and spat an annoyed curse. "I thought you said you didn't move!"

"I said they had not moved me! Taste steel again, mortal!"

"Did I really just get outsmarted by a freaking viking?"

"No, fool! You just got outsmarted by a freaking GOD!" Crimson light flashed in the air as Herne's sword rose again and chopped down with tremendous force...and hit nothing but fog. "Hey!"

"Yeah, sucks, don't it?"

[Raveled]

Glowstar reached out his hands and dark tendrils again ripped through the little restaurant, somehow targetting only the criminals and leaving the citizens (and his fellow hero) untouched. "QUIT IT!" he bellowed, his eyes glowing almost to match the tentacles he was projecting. "Sit down. Wait for the cops. And shut. UP!" His shout sent a surge of power through the energy whips, which burned bright and hot as they speared the criminal hit-men -- er, hit-woman. Hit-people?

[Kavonde]

The woman was slammed to the floor with enough force to splinter the wooden boards; the shimmering, azure aura surrounding her fizzled away, and she lay still except for deep, shuddering breaths.

The Southside C leader was smashed out the window and halfway through the engine block of one of the black sedans parked outside. His hand rose in a futile gesture of determined defiance, and then fell limp to his side.

The civilians, still cowering behind their makeshift barricade, stared at Glowstar with open awe.

[Limos]

"I guess you guys got this. I'll take tall, dark, and angry." Jello-man announced succinctly as he slunk back out the door. He spotted Herne through the smoke and rushed towards him, forming his entire body into an enormous fist and arm. "High Five!"

The fragrant fist crashed into the Viking but didn't seem to faze him, that is until it splits apart into a multitude of tentacles and wrapped around him tightly. The greenish goo constricted his limbs together and knocked him off his feet, dropping both of them to the street in a tangle of limbs, weapons, and delicious foodstuff. "Hey buddy. You and me are gonna be here for a good long while. So while we're waiting for the cops, would you mind a few questions? Charlie said as he formed a new head atop the pseudopod wrapped around Herne's chest. "Why are you so ugly? What is that horrible smell? Do you ever clean the rust off that helmet of yours, it's filthy. Do you ever bathe? Man you taste like socks." Thus continued Jello-man's most fearsome weapon, his super human annoyance.

[Ari]

Seeing Glowstar's nearly effortless defeat of the two last enemies in the bar, the stork-like King of Suits gave a long, admiring whistle and leaped into the eatery. He paused to watch as Jello-Man went off to immobilize the horned one who had been the cause of such trouble, then turned to the fallen bikers and mobsters and gang members. Whipping a number of handcuff sets from his belt, he methodically 'cuffed the downed foes. He slipped the dud explosive card back into its sleeve, for examination later.

On his way to the first(Abrams Tank Guy) 'cuffee, he turned and addressed Glowstar:"Thank you for being here, sir, and defeating this lot before they caused any real harm. It goes without saying that things would have gone much differently if you hadn't been here. I'll take care of these blokes, would you please watch the big one outside, who I think the jelly man just dropped?".

[Kavonde]

Herne struggled and strained in vain against the green goliath's gelatinous grip. "Unhand me, creature! I am Herne the Hunter! I shall not be restrained by your vile tendrils! And I DO NOT TASTE LIKE SOCKS!"

"Don't worry 'bout it, you'll get plenty'a showers in Blackstone, buddy," Volcano rumbled, stepping forward through the mist. "Jus' hold onta your soap."

Volcano's obsidian left hand clamped around the helpless Herne's throat, sizzling and sparking as it made contact with the Hunter's force field, and his right hand closed into a fist. He lifted the viking-biker as far as he could without loosening Jello-Man's grip, and reared his fist back for a massive haymaker.

Herne struggled mightily against his bone-powder bonds, putting all of his strength and fighting skill into his efforts...

...but Jello-Man held on with all the tenacity he could summon, keeping Herne pinned down and utterly helpless to avoid Volcano's inevitable fist.

[Raveled]

As the energy tendrils dissipated, Glowstar looked around at the mobsters and gangbangers all laid out around him. "Uh, thanks," he said. "This is my first time out, really. I expected it to be a lot harder." He winced at the yells and battlecries coming out of the fog-shrouded street and turned to the restaurant's workers, who were still cowering on the ground. "Hello! Um, I came over here for a job interview! You had an ad in the Classifieds, looking for someone to cook in the kitchen?"

[Kavonde]

The man in the suit and the name tag pronouncing him "Carl" stared at Glowstar, his mouth opening and closing slightly. One of the waitresses, a pretty Asian girl of sixteen or seventeen whose badge said "Nina," looked from the hero to the shattered windows and missing chunks of wall, and gave him a sardonic smile. "I don't know, I think we might be doing renovations for the next couple weeks..."

[Raveled]

Glowstar looked around again, this time looking past the sprawled bodies at the property damage. He winced and wrung his hands, suddenly acutely embarrassed at his lack of control. "Yeah, this is kind of my first time doing something like this. But hey, the big Viking guy and the chick in the blue, they weren't worried about how much damage they were gonna do to your store! And I stopped them before they could do much." He was hoping the store owners wouldn't try to figure out how much less damage the three criminals had been likely to cause, if Glowstar had just left them alone. "Um. If you're not hiring, do you know any places that are? I really need a job."

[Kavonde]

Carl finally got his mouth working. "YOU'RE HIRED!" he shouted, startling everyone around him. His mouth worked wordlessly for another few seconds, and then he turned to huddle against the wall, sobbing quietly.

Nina looked at him, shrugged, then looked back at Glowstar. "See you tomorrow, then. Um, sounds like there's still fighting outside..."

[Limos]

"So uh, Volcano dude." Jello-man said cautiously. "Can I drop tall, dank and grimy now?" He hefted Herne with his gelatinous arms to see if the man was still conscious. Moments later his eyes widened and he shouted, "I've got it! Dude, dude. Check this out." He opened his mouth wider, his false jaw migrated southward until it was down to what compromised his waist, gaping wide enough to swallow the large man. Which he did so shortly thereafter.

Everything but Herne's face was quickly consumed by the sticky mound and Jello-man reformed his body into his normal human shape, with the large man protruding from his back. "Anybody think to call the cops so I can unload this guy? Maybe the press? Any girls swooning over my heroism?"

[Ari]

Inside, Marceau piled the fallen enemy on top of each other, stooped under them, and lifted them up, aiming to take them outside, where they'd be more easily taken away. While lifting, he turned to the patrons shyly watching their blazing savior and called out "Pardon me, but if anyone has a phone or something, could they please call the police to this place, if you haven't already?".

[Kavonde]

Volcano's fist finally slammed into the side of Herne's skull, pounding the helpless viking-biker deeper into Jello-man's saccharine self. The forcefield crackled to life, but couldn't do much to stop the impact, and Herne's eyes crossed and became unfocused, his bell solidly rung.

"You dare...strike...a dog...? Herne mumbled, nearly incoherent. "Wait...tha's not righ'..."

"Sorry," Volcano said apologetically to Jello-man, shaking his hand out. "Wanted ta make sure I didn't miss this time. You good draggin' him around 'til the cops get here? Or, hell, the news guys. That'd make a good picture for ya, Herne stuck inside an' all. Maybe you could kinda pose him, too. Have him wave."

Inside the restaurant, Nina nodded at the King of Suits' request, and pulled a phone out of her back pocket. She quickly dialed 911, and calmly began explaining to the dispatcher what had happened.

Some of the knocked-out mooks scattered around the restaurant began to groan, weakly moving their heads or arms.

[Limos]

"Yeah don't mind me bro." Jello-man replied, "Just gonna hang out here with a dude inside me... wait that came out wrong." Jello-man raised his hands and waved them frantically as he realized what he had just said. "I just don't think cuffs are gonna hold this guy. So somebody gets the cops down here so I don't have to walk around like this all day." Rather than attempt to drag Herne's dead weight along with him Jello-man just sullenly subsided into a large heap with the biker's face coming out the very top.

[Kavonde]

"No mortal prison can hold the great Herne!" the captive viking proclaimed, his words slurred and indistinct.

The wail of sirens became noticeable in the distance, quickly approaching the scene of battle. Volcano stood silently by his chartreuse companion, listening to them, before wandering over to the restaurant to poke his head in. "Hey, cops are comin', if anyone needs ta do a mysterious vanishin' act. Not countin' the bad guys, anyway." He paused, taking in the destruction, and giving an impressed whistle. "Man, and I was worried about me causin' property damage!"

[Raveled]

Glowstar took a few quick steps away from the sobbing man, retreating back to the hole in the wall. He started at Volcano's sudden appearance, but soon settled, rubbing at the back of his neck and surveying the damage. "Yeah. This is... sorta my first time doing this sort of thing." He turned to the other hero. "Is there, like, a city reconstruction fund or something that I could point this way? 'Cause I know that not too long ago this city was fighting off kaiju, so there must be one heck of a reconstruction company around."

[Ari]

Marceau staggered out of the 'Wok', arms filled with their previous adversaries, and dumped them down on the sidewalk. His ears pricked up at the sound of the approaching fuzz, and he jumped into action.

Jumping over the pile of slumbering criminals, he raced over to the Volcano, Glowstar and Jello-Man, shook their hands hurriedly while profusely thanking them for being around to keep anything really bad from happening. "Hopefully, we will meet again, I earnestly wish that our next meeting will see me acting ina more useful capacity".

Turning to the large cloud of dissipating fog, he squared his shoulders and ran into it, disappearing from sight. Though he could be heard fumbling in his cape pockets for the 'Remove Inconvenient Cloud of Fog' card.

[Kavonde]

Volcano very carefully stopped the King of Suits from shaking his hand, but watched him go with a bemused grin. "Mysterious vanishin' act, nice."

The first police car arrived shortly after, an unmarked sedan with a flashing light stuck on its roof. The driver was a fit, middle-aged Asian woman in a blue T-shirt, brown parka, and jeans; her partner was a man in his 20's, large and muscular, with a severe crew cut, a green dress shirt over jeans, and a black leather jacket. Both stepped out of the car the moment the headlights went dim, the woman producing a police badge from inside her parka. "Detective Jao, FCPD." She stopped to stare at the wrecked restaurant, the unconscious assortment of criminals, and Herne the Hunter, delirious and floating in gelatin. "We're going to need an explanation."

"Hey, Jeff," Volcano said, tilting his head at the male detective.

"Mikey," he replied with a nod.

"Volcano, I'm guessing," Detective Jao said with a frown, looking the magma man over. "Okay, you, I've heard of." She turned to Glowstar and crossed her arms. "And you? You the one who put this guy in a Jell-o mold?"

[Limos]

"No actually that would be me, Officers." The pile of gelatin in question sprouted a head as it spoke. "Name's Jello-man, and I defeated this big lug single-handed." He stopped and glanced at Volcano. "Well Volcano helped, but I mostly had it covered already. Yeah I'm pretty amazing. But uh... you got a place I can dump this guy? I'd rather him not snap out of it while he's up in my business."

Jello-man slowly shifted Herne the Hunter into a more horizontal position and grew himself a defined upper torso, taking extreme caution not to jostle him too much. "Just keep sleeping crazy dude, this is all a weird dream."

[Kavonde]

Detective Jao's took a surprised step back as Jello-man's head materialized, before he expression turned into an annoyed glower. "Great. Jello-man. That's that this city needed."

The male detective, Jeff, cleared his throat. "A STAR Squad van's en route. We were jus' in the neighborhood."

"So you and Volcano subdued this guy and took out a small army of, let's see, Mob goons, Southside C's, and...vikings?" She stopped and stared for a moment, shaking her head. "This city."

Volcano glanced at Glowstar. "Uh, we had some help. Guy in a playin' card suit. Took off before ya got here."

"He the one who blew out the windows and knocked all these guys unconscious?"

"Uh..." Mike stammered a bit, looking for words. Man, I don't wanna get this kid in trouble...but all the civvies in the restaurant saw him...crap. "Uh. There was this fog, an' I couldn't really see anything..."

[Raveled]

Brian had been dreading this moment, but he wasn't about to flake out at the last second. People may say all sorts of things about his parents, but he was determined to show that they had raised him right. He stepped forward and offered the female police officer his hand. "Actually, I did that," he said. "I go by Glowstar, but my name's Brian Harris." He glanced at the destruction and winced as something inside fell down with a crash and a tinkling noise. "Um, I did stop a lot of bad guys doing it."

[Ari]

In a garbage can next to the battlefield, Marceau held off counting his cards in time to hear Glowstars' defense, he leaped to the obvious(to him) conclusion that they were being held responsible for the damage to the 'Wok'. Realizing that remaining silent would be many things, none of them heroic, he jumped out of the garbage can with a resounding clatter and sprang to his fellow's side. Idly flinging a chicken skeleton off his shoulder, he addressed Jao with what he thought a properly deferential mode: "Ma'am, I can say with utter honesty that we were all in it, and he", Marceau pointed to Glowstar , "defeated most all of the blokes in the joint, who might've otherwise caused great harm to the life and limb of its innocent patrons". He bowed quickly "So ladyship, you see, this is probably the best possible ending. The thugs are down, nobody else was hurt, and if we must be arraigned in court, you can get our names right now. I'm the King of Suits, or Marssoo An-Sallah, we hope for your clemency, ladyship".

[Kavonde]

Detective Jao stared at Marceau with the half-concerned, half-resigned look of a veteran police officer addressing a harmless lunatic. "Look, no one's in trouble yet. We're going to take statements. I'm betting this place has insurance. Freedom City, it happens."

Volcano looked at the King of Suits with a very similar expression, but he turned it into an amused grin. "Not much of a disappearing act, man."

Sirens were still getting closer. A large, dark blue, heavily armored Abrams tank cleverly disguised as a STAR van rumbled around the corner and pulled to a stop alongside the detectives' cars. A squadron of uniformed and helmetted STAR officers piled out; their leader approached, giving Jao and the gathered heroes a quick nod. "What've we got?"

Detective Jeff gestured towards the trapped Herne. "Haven't got the full rundown."

"Crazy viking biker guy," Volcano supplied. "Got force fields an' a sharp-ass sword."

"Only two of my nigh-limitless powers!" Herne shouted, his voice a bit less slurred. "Cower before me, mortals!"

"Shut up."

The STAR officer nodded. "Any more inside?"

Volcano shrugged and looked at the others. "Me an' Jello were kinda out here dealin' with Lord Crazypants. Glow, King?"

"Just give us a full report," Detective Jao interjected, crossing her arms and looking annoyed.

[Raveled]

Glowstar exchanged a worried look with King and then stepped forward. "It was all me," he admitted. "There's a lot of mooks and gangbangers in there, but at least one woman had superpowers. I think she blasted Herne through the wall before we even attacked. Um. But yeah, I went in and managed to take everyone out before they could do much of anything else." He paused for a moment, then asked, "Am I going to get into trouble for this? It's my first time doing something like this, and I don't know exactly what's allowed and what's not."