Bee-nevolence (IC)

[SpicyWaffle]

As the more adroit of the pair made his explosive escape, the Bee-Keeper was less than marvelous in following along. Baxter, by comparison, was clumsy; the weighty iron battlesuit causing the floorboards to creak and crack underfoot through their damaged states only made things harder as the entire complex swiveled like a misaligned record on a lopsided player. Even as Baxter hustled his way through the quickly degrading domicile, it was a haphazard ordeal at best as he trudged along, coughing and sputtering as the soot and smoke began to blur his vision. He could see the window the King of Suits had just vacated through; he was so close, but each step felt like bricks had been tied to his ankles.

That's when he began to realize it. Struggling for breath, head swimming slightly, the Bee-Keeper was being overwhelmed by the influx of shadowy substance filling his lungs. He'd thought the suit would protect him, but inside it was like a living sauna. Drenched in sweat and stumbling towards the doorway, the young man whom thought himself the hero of this particular ensemble was quickly becoming another victim to the mysterious fire that had engulfed the Lacrenza Apartments only minutes prior. It was a stupid thing; a mistake on his own part as he grew closer and closer to the vacuous portal on the other end of the building. The splintering of wood and iron rang in the Bee-Keeper's ears, and just as he thought he'd was home free, the ceiling gave way, causing the path to be met with a new impromptu wall of stone and metalwork.

In a panic, Baxter looked around, desperate for an escape. That's when the odd cat-thing from earlier appeared out of nowhere! Shocked by the sudden presence of the odd looking man-cat, the Bee-Keeper flinched visibly as surprise took hold of him. Maybe it was coincidence, or serendipity; but whatever it was, boy, was the Bee-Keeper glad to see someone looking to lend a hand!

"Pleazz!" coughed the boy gratefully, the modulated voice causing him to sound as though he were closer to his thirties and a dedicated smoker. "We... we need to get out of here beefore thizz whole thing fallzz on our headzz!"

[Cubist]

"Pleazz!" coughed the boy gratefully, the modulated voice causing him to sound as though he were closer to his thirties and a dedicated smoker. "We... we need to get out of here beefore thizz whole thing fallzz on our headzz!"

"Not a problem," Jubatus replied. "I'm a speedster—" Here he upshifted, took careful hold of Bee-Boy, and transported them both to safety. "—'fast' is what I do." The feline's timing was perfect; his sentence was punctuated by the impact of large chunks of the Lacrenza Apartments with the ground, amid great gouts of noxious smoke and ear-hurting noise.

Now that it was over, and the adrenaline rush was fading, Jubatus was not feeling his best. He fumbled for a protein bar in his vest… Ah. Ate 'em all. Stupid me. "I think I'm going to sit down now," Jube stated, and his legs collapsed under him…

[SpicyWaffle]

GM Post

No sooner than had Jubatus veered and weaved through the smoking pyre of the apartments with the Bee-Keeper's outlandishly heavy armor into the open, stagnant air beyond the police line did the building the assembled heroes just vacated give a thunderous heave. Iron and steel screamed in contemptuous agony, and with one final audacious shudder, the Lacrenza Apartments gave in on itself. The ground quaking as years of outdated low-end housing crashed inwards, the crowds screamed and began to disperse reflexively. Dust and debris scattered across the scorching pavement, filling the air with another bout of obnoxious inhalants; as if it were some final insult to be delivered upon the domicile's demise. Caked in a hazy cloud of dirt, soot, and smoke, and with our heroes looking only slightly worse for wear, the situation came to an abrupt conclusion. Small remnants of the fire not yet snuffed out still danced playfully on what remained of the timber and belongings of citizens now safe, but Lieutenant Reddy and his boys were already on the job, hosing down the rampantly licking delinquents out of existence.

As the dust finally settled on our impavid heroes, the crowd burst into jubilation! Cries of praise and uproarious applause bellowed throughout the site of the leveled building, the lives of numerous civilians duly indebted to the swift response of the brave crew whom had risked life and limb for their own sake. But the joyous shouts are short lived, the magnitude of the situation soon coming to a head; of how despite their bodies being whole, they had all but likely lost everything they owned. Their home was in ruins, and even when the great and powerful Doctor Metropolis rebuilt the former apartments, he could never replace the cherished mementos lost in this unfortunate occurrence.

But for now, the group had earned their respite. As the firemen moved in towards the rubble of the Lacrenza Apartments, ambulances returned from the sprints to the local hospitals, and the police began to disperse the burgeoning crowd now that the spectacle was over, there came a moment of solace; of a job well-done despite the dangers faced, each challenge overcome either through teamwork, resourcefulness, or fortuity. Even now, the scene was still a frantic mess, with the Action 3 News Crew prepping all kinds of gear as Freedom's Finest began to take statements from the crowd.

Outside, Blue Jay's view of the ensuing events were much the same as those of the onlookers: a front-row ticket to the final guttural growl of the building before its imminent collapse, the trio of children's gasps through the oxygen masks sharp and poignant as it fell and followed by an equally quick sigh as the ordeal concluded itself. For the other three heroes, sprawled and winded from their own endeavors only a few feet further away from the archer, weren't in much worse shape than herself: a few burns here, some tattered duds, some scuffed paint; all hallmarks of their own endeavors. It would no doubt be long before Amy Feng would be demanding an interview, or the local law enforcement asking questions about the cause of the fire. In the meantime, emergency personnel rush to the site of the remaining trio and escort them to their other costumed adventuress, eager to see their wounds and injuries treated, as well as being provided water in the wake of the still blistering heat.

[Raveled]

As the final collapse came Blue Jay leapt to her feet, but before she could take any action then entire building was coming down in front of her. She stayed back, hoping that there wasn't any left inside, when a sudden blur nearby resolved itself into an armored figure, and a huge man-like cat! The archer shied away from the new arrivals; in her experience, armored men and monsters rarely boded anything good, and her first instinct was to attack and drive them off. But the crowd wasn't reacting to them, and in truth she was very tired from having hauled out so many people from the burning building. She took her bow back in hand and moved a few feet away. Now that the adrenaline rush was fading and leaving shaking muscles in its wake, and right now all she wanted to do was fall into bed. After a moment she dug into her belt and came out with a foil-wrapped energy bar. It was mostly grain and dried fruit compressed into a bar, and as she tore into it the bar was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.

[Ari]

Seeing that Jubatus and the man in the bee-themed armor had successfully managed to escape the towering inferno, the King of Suits collapsed to the ground, happily letting himself be led over to the ambulances, gratefully accepting the offered water to both wash the taste of smoke out of his mask and get the grime off of his gasmask. The gloves and boots were singed, parts of the armor were stained with soot and smoke, and the cape was unpleasantly ragged. It would take hours to repair it all but, he reminded himself it could have been far, far worse.

As soon as he had recovered the much-needed oxygen in his bloodsteam, he quietly went off in search of the other three, earnestly thanking them for their help. Finding Jubatus first he grinned at the super-fast cat, saying brightly "Ah, the times we meet at! It would be good to see you during a less stressful event, Jubatus. That aside, please accept my thanks for your assistance, from what I have heard you were quite invaluable!" he proclaimed enthusiastically. it didn't take him long to learn of Blue Jay's exploits, and after chatting with Jay for a bit he hurried off to mee the young archer. Saluting her gravely he said "I commend your bravery, miss. If more were as courageous as you at your age...I have no idea, it would proably be better though" he shrugged "I am called the King of Suits, if ever you have the inclination and time I would welcome your help in the Fens" shaking her hand after a few further words he left to look for the third Bee-Keeper.

Locating the armored man at last, he clapped Baxter heartily on the back "Good work, comrade! The people are safe, barely a limb was harmed, and I dare say the people who have just lost so much will not fall into despair. It is a godly work we do, eh?" he said, grinning cheerfully at the helmeted face "By the way...I don't believe I caught the name you go by. What do you call yourself, if I may be so bold?"

[Cubist]

Jubatus had got his second wind a large number of clock-seconds ago—and burned through it not long after. Now he was working on, what, his fourth wind? Fifth? He gradually became aware that his Timeshift was completely inactive, that he was lounging around at his default tempo of 6. That helped; the Timeshift burned some energy, and right now, he didn't have a whole lot of that to spare. And at a tempo of 6, gravity dropped to ¹/₆ of the standard value (as far as he was concerned, at least), which also helped. Running on empty now… too bad I noshed all my solid protein… waitasec, I think I got some fluids left?

Fortunately, there was indeed an unopened can of Red Bull in his vest. The cheetah pulled it out with mildly shaking hand… and rather than fuss with the can's pull-top, he inserted the can between his jaws and bit down, his fangs shearing the whole thing wide open. Sparkling fluid drifted languidly in the lunar-equivalent gravity of fast-time; Jubatus caught every drop in his mouth and in the can, and soon the entire 16 ounces were nestled comfortably in the cheetah's stomach.

Thus refreshed, Jubatus got up for a good, long, leisurely stretch, after which he downshifted to the common tempo of 1. A worried paramedic was beside him: "Um, we… weren't sure if you were having a seizure, ah, Mr. Jubatus…"

Jube waved the paramedic's concern away. "Naah, I'm okay." Huh. Guy barely even twitched when he heard my voice. Maybe I am getting better at speech? "I was just working at my default tempo of 6."

"So you… have to slow down…" Then the paramedic pulled himself together with visible effort. "Right. Thank you, sir; I'll let my boss know you're okay."

The cheetah nodded, with a dreamlike smile born of deep, deep fatigue. "You do that. And you're welcome."

What now, what now… oh, yeah. The noobs. He swiveled his head around, and noted both Bee-Boy and the archer—the latter of whom had moved off by herself. Hmm. Looks like she's planning to leave real soon? Fine, she gets the meet-and-greet first. Thus resolved, the Fastest Cat Alive padded calmly over towards Blue Jay, pausing at one point when she looked at him and jerked back a little. What the..? Then he looked down at himself and knew exactly why she'd recoiled: He was on all fours. Right. Stalking cat, 'course she freaked. I must be tired, not to have noticed that before. The cheetah took a deep breath and closed his eyes, then levered himself up into a bipedal position; then he continued walking, on two legs now rather than four. He raised his right hand for a friendly (albeit somewhat unsteady) wave as he approached. "Hello! My name's Jubatus. I haven't seen you around Freedom City before, but it looks like you're starting off okay. What do they call you?"

After exchanging pleasantries with Blue Jay, Jube walked himself back to where the ambulances were—If they need any courier runs to bring in needed supplies, I think I can handle it…—and all but collided with the King of Suits!

"Ah, the times we meet at! It would be good to see you during a less stressful event, Jubatus. That aside, please accept my thanks for your assistance, from what I have heard you were quite invaluable!"

"Maybe," Jube allowed with a smile that did not reveal his fangs. "My good deed for the clock-hour. Hey, I saw you in there a couple times, but, you know, isolated snapshots; what were you up to?"

The two heroes compared notes. When the King of Suits went off to find Blue Jay, the cheetah sought out the man in the bee-themed armor…

[Raveled]

Blue Jay munched on her snack, but when Jubatus came closer she stuffed the rest of it in a pouch to have both her hands free. She chewed quickly as he talked and swallowed. "C'est Blue Jay," told him, accent bleeding into her words like it did when she was tired. "This is... not how I'm used to things going." She gestured vaguely at the burning building and the cluster of emergency vehicles. "Where I am from, everyone would be on the move already."

They exchanged more chit-chat and then the big cat was off again, but before she could get back to her food a man in a darkly-colored outfit came to greet her. "Courageous is the only way I can be," she told him, shaking his hand with a little trepidation. "I'm not sure where the Fens are, but I'll be sure to keep my eyes open."

She had a few moments to herself so she scarfed down the last of the nutrient bar and looked over the scene. The rest of the heroes were gravitating together, focusing around an individual in a suit of heavy armor, so Blue Jay ambled in that direction. She still wasn't sure how she felt about someone who looked like that, but if the big cat could be a hero around here than surely this man could be, as well.

[SpicyWaffle]

As the scene brought itself to its penultimate conclusion with the leveling of the Lacrenza Building, Bee-Keeper found himself whisked to the outskirts of the ensuing chaos thanks to his fortuitous finding by Jubatus. Thankful to be taken by the medical technicians, the tightness in his chest and lungs already unwinding themselves as fresh air filled the bulky iron suit. Plopping down on the bumper of the ambulance, Baxter was wholly content to just sit there for a spell, hacking and coughing as he regained his composure. While he wasn't in the best of shape, at least he wasn't burnt to a nice golden crisp; a trait the new Bee-Keeper seemed to share with the other three heroes present on the scene. Alas, unlike the others, it was becoming increasingly prevalent that wearing a big metal helmet over your face wasn't the best practice, as evidenced when given a particularly delicious and refreshing paper cup full of water. Oh, how he yearned to just splash it on his face... or, at the very least, for the Bee-Keeper Armor to have some sort of emergency induction port strategically placed where the teenager's mouth was. For now, he'd just have to suck it up, content in the fact that he wasn't dead and that he'd done his own amateurish part in getting the building cleared of its tenants.

Yet, still, he felt good. Despite the burning in his lungs, the pounding in his head, and the soreness that entailed all the trials and tribulations of getting through the now-crumbled mess, Bee-Keeper felt a sense of pride. Behind that insectile helm of his, a smile was plastered on his face between bouts of wheezing. It was a refreshing thing, and a reminder that he was still inexperienced, marking him all the more grateful for the assistance from Freedom City's heroic community. If nothing else, it was a nice change of pace - if not mentally and physically exhausting! - from bashing mooks trying to hold-up gas stations, getting a front row ticket to seeing how things were done by professionals. Professionals, Baxter soon realized as he looked up from the slowly dispersing throng of onlookers, were sauntering his way!

"Yep! Name'zz the Bee-Keeper," replied the armored apian adventurer as the darkly-costumed man slapped him upon the back, Baxter in return extending a hand to shake. Perhaps if he weren't still shaken from the entire ordeal, a snappier comment might have been warranted, but in lieu of such all the Bee-Keeper could muster out was, "Not... uh, not the lazzt Bee-Keeper. No relation, I zzwear."

As the other two make their way over, the yellow-and-black garbed avenger finally got to his feet, his breath having steadied itself in the wake of the escape from the apartments. With a wave, the often mistaken-for-a-villain fellow tries his best to seem friendly, but also professional. Unfortunately, only the former seems to be a passable endeavor on Baxter's part, given the scores of burn marks and being covered in soot.

"Hey. Thankzz for the zzave in there. Guezz I owe you one," Bee-Keeper nodded towards the large cat as it made its way to the gathering scene. Admittedly, Baxter still felt a bit weirded out by the sight of the cat-thing walking on two feet. It was just... there was something disconcerting about it. It was hard to pinpoint exactly why; given the city he'd been raised in, it probably wasn't the oddest thing out there to witness. With a silent, mental shrug, the Bee-Keeper thought it more prudent to dismiss this feeling, if for no other reason than he at least owed Jubatus a great measure of solitude for literally pulling his fat out of the fire. "Bee-Keeper, by the way. Nizze to meetcha."

Cut short of another handshake as the other heroine hits the scene, Baxter grants the girl a friendly - albeit blank looking - nod in her direction, followed by a cordial wave. This one he hadn't gotten a good glimpse of, but Baxter wasn't exactly slow on the uptake; this was probably that shadowy figure whom ascended to the rooftop whilst he was distracted. She certainly wasn't what he was expecting, what with her plethora of piercings and colorful getup. Heck, she couldn't have been much older than himself; though, given that Baxter looked like a massive armored bee, it was likely she'd never know.

"Hi. Didn't zzee you in zzhere, but it lookzz like you had zzome exzziting endeavorzz of your own! Nizze to meetcha; I'm the Bee-Keeper," announced the armored vigilante, pointing a thumb towards himself while extending the other hand to the girl, and then finally back properly towards Jubatus. "Couldn't have done it without you guyzz. I mean, what were the oddzz of a fire out of nowhere? Juzzt glad that everyone got out beefore it wazz too late."

This was so exciting! So many heroes! Boy, was Baxter glad he'd been here on the scene; first he was saving people from a fire, now he was networking and hobnobbing with real superheroes! All things considered, this was turning out better than expected; though that's not saying much, since he'd expected to get slugged in the face after all the commotion had died down. Could hardly have blamed the trio if they had all taken their fair shots against him, as his uncle did leave a particularly large smirch on the Bee-Keeper mantle.

"Juzzt hope I didn't zzlow you guyzz down too much. Zztill zzort of getting the hang of all thizz."

[Ari]

Marceau frowned slightly at his armored comrade as he introduced himself. He hadn't suffered from the rampage of the last to bear the name, but he did know many who had. It would be quite fruitless if he was doing this for some ulterior motive, and he put his life in danger as well, suspicion would be churlish. "The..Bee-Keeper? I never thought I would meet someone who would call themselves that name, after what that mad inventor's made of it..." he admitted aloud, face darkening. Suddenly he gave a short laugh, grinning as he shook the boy's hand he concluded "...and I am now quite glad I have!" straightening up he added curiously "No relation of the poor man who preceded you? Ah, I hope you manage to make the name of the 'Bee-Keeper' one that is spoken with pride!" turning to Jubatus and Blue Jay he said courteously "Sir, madmoiselle, I thank you both again for your assistance. I must excuse myself," he said gravely, drawing the grapple gun from his belt and firing it at the roof of the nearby store with a soft *poom* "there is always work to be done around here in the Fens!"

With a rush of air and a flapping noise as his cape swirled around him he soared into the air, landed on the roof, waved to the other three, and disappeared from view at a run. "Now, to look into that rash of kidnappings at the chemical lab. A stake-out seems like a good plan" he said to himself as he made his way towards the low dull white of the Monkey Towers apartment complex, long legs eating up the rooftops that separated him from his goal...

[Raveled]

"Blue Jay," the heroine announced, slapping the Bee-Keeper's palm with her own. Or at least the new Bee-Keeper, it seems. Apparently she still had some recent superhero history to catch up on. "I did some stuff," she allowed. "It seems like between the four of us, we managed to save everyone."

As the group began to break up, Blue Jay wandered through the emergency workers. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for -- the four children she'd saved, the oldest girl standing to one side and watching while EMTs checked over the baby. She looked around when the hero approached and brightened up. "Thank you," she said. "If you hadn't come by, we could've all --" She pressed her lips together tightly and took a deep breath.

Blue Jay wasn't exactly sure how to handle the situation, but she tried anyway. "You would've gotten out," she said. "You were already trying to get everyone out when I found you. Everyone would've been fine."

The little girl's face brightened, so maybe it was the right thing to say after all. She into her pockets and brought out the gloves the archer had lent to the kids. "Here. These are yours."

Blue Jay took the gloves back and tugged on the one she was missing, then paused. She handed the extra pair back to the girl. "Keep 'em," she said. "I can always get another pair. Maybe you can take up climbing, or something."

She stepped away and was about to swing off when the little girl called out again. "My name's Natalie. What are you called?"

Blue Jay stopped, glanced back, and smiled. "I'm Blue Jay. I'll be keeping an eye on you, Natalie!" And she was away.

[SpicyWaffle]

With the various heroes and heroine taking their leave from the scene of the fire, the Bee-Keeper remained poised, still whelmed by the entire ordeal. He hadn't ever been active during the day; not really. And even when he was, it was always very low-key. But today? Today, he did good. Real good. A little help from the community was needed, but all things considered, he thought it went great! Despite being a wreck, a sweat-drenched kid with a hero complex, and nearly biting the dust to falling debris and roaring pyres, he'd risked life and limb to save lives. In the end, that was all that mattered; but the fanfare was certainly a nice touch.

"Hey! Excuse me!" a distinct voice echoed over the crowd. Craning his head slightly, the figure of the announcement shuffled into view: Amy Feng, that reporter who showed up just after Bee-Keeper! "Hey, Amy Feng, Action 3 News. Care to give us the latest scoop on your part here at the Lacrenza Apartments?"

"Oh, man! This is it!" Baxter rejoiced in the back of his mind, face contorting into a renewed visage of glee and excitement. But that excitement was quickly destroyed by another sight: the familiar colors of police officers, a trio of them sauntering their way towards the apiary rescuer. No doubt they weren't there to give him a medal for his valorous deeds; and even if they were, Baxter couldn't risk being arrested.

Without a word, the armored avenger moved past the eager reporter and took to the skies, generating much adieu back on ground level by the onlookers. In a flash the figure was gone, leaving a distraught looking Amy Feng glaring skywards.

"Hey! You owe me a story!" she cried, flustered. But the Bee-Keeper was already buzzing off into the horizon; for justice never rests.