ArchivedLogs:Mothra!

Mothra!
Mothra, oh Mothra...
Dramatis Personae Doug, Micah, Dusk, Thea/"Anne", Mothra	10 August 2013 Wherein we meet "Anne" and Mothra.
Location <NYC> Tompkins Square Park - East Village
Small but popular, this tree-lined park is a perfect centerpiece to the eclectic neighborhood it resides in. Home to a number of playgrounds and courts from handball to basketball, it also houses a dog park and chess tables, providing excellent space for people watching -- especially during its frequent and often eccentric festivals, from Wigstock to its yearly Allen Ginsberg tribute Howl festival. It is a beautiful night, in New York. The air isn't exactly /cool/, but it's pleasant enough to be outside in. The sky contains only a few thin clouds that are nearly invisible in the ambient glow of the city below. If one lived outside of the city, it would be a great night for watching the Perseid meteor shower; a task that's nearly impossible in the city limits. That doesn't stop a few diehard amateur astronomers from trying, though. The wide meadow has a few shadowy mounds that are easily identifiable as such due to the telescopes pointed heavenward. Aside from that, the rest of the park is fairly deserted, up along the paths, save for the odd homeless person and the usual faces that are known to frequent the park at this hour. Doug is not one of those faces, normally, although he's no stranger to the park after dark. Tonight, he seems more focused than normal as he paces around a path junction, alternating between frowning at the tablet in his hands and frowning up into the trees. Dressed in cargo shorts and a yellow tank-top with blue footprints running diagonally across the torso, he has a bag slung across his chest that bulges with its contents. And there's more frowning at the screen, and tapping with small mutters of frustration. "C'mon. I know that port is good. Shut up with that." Micah /is/ one of those faces, often choosing between the Lofts rooftop and the nearby park when he feels the need for some outside time. Tonight is one of those times. He has quit trying to catch up on a pile of backlogged paperwork and felt the need to be /not in the same building/ as his laptop anymore. His attire consists of well-patched, faded jeans and an olive T-shirt decorated with a Darwin-inspired sketch of finches with 'adaptive upgrades' that are largely technology-based. There are a few spots of stitching repairing some small holes along the shirt's bottom. Micah has a bottle of bubbles in one hand and a wand in the other, periodically blowing a sprinkling of bubbles to continue walking through on his way down a park path. Dusk is a frequent face in Tompkins Square as well, especially after dark. Most frequently in the company of his roommates, not /in/frequently in the company of a somewhat rotating cast of strangers. Today is in the latter category; the winged mutant has company in the form of someone rather head-to-toe obscured. /He/ is, at least, easily recognizable, pale face and dark-dark hair and enormous dark wings folded in against his back. His green-trimmed grey t-shirt has been modified to allow for the wings; it's paired today with black denim shorts and Vans sneakers. He's eating; he has a burger in hand from a rather excellent nearby hole-in-the-wall; at the moment as he takes a bite, his eyes focus upwards on a lamppost. At least until a wayward bubble drifts through his field of vision; he turns his gaze to follow its path instead, a rather delighted fangy smile spreading across his face. One wing stretches out, wiiiiide as it reaches to flick at the bubble with a clawed tip. A dark figure, in a dark park, wrapped from head to toe in dark fabric. On a second look, the woman with Dusk in the park is clearly just wearing a full burqa. She moves smoothly, almost stately in her bearing as she walks with the young man. That is, until there are bubbles. Even with her face obscured, the woman's posture screams delight at the sudden surprise of night bubbles. Her voice has no trace of accent aside from a hint of Jersey girl when she speaks. "Oh, pretty!" She exclaims, watching the bubble pop on Dusk's wing tip. She glances around then, peering out from the dark screen of her veil, hands clasped in front of her. For Dusk's benefit, this is the most cheery and bubbly she's looked in weeks. Pardon the pun. "Where are they coming from?" Doug is wrapped up enough in his tech that he's unaware of those around him, at first. At least, until a rogue bubble drifts to burst against his nose and make him snort and come to, so to speak. He blinks a hard look around the immediate area, his expression softening as he recognizes at least two of them. He offers a blank wave, tipping his head curiously at the woman in the burqa and her bubble delight before he goes back to his tablet. "HA!" he says suddenly, jabbing a finger at the screen. "I /told/ you. That's much better." Which is clearly to the tablet. Then, task accomplished, he turns to offer a cheerier sort of greeting, flashing a grin. "Hey, Dusk. Micah." The stranger gets a polite nod. "Ma'am." Already well distracted by chasing bubbles that catch and reflect rainbow-lights from nearby street lamps, Micah impressively gets distracted /further/. As he is treated to a rather close live-action interpretation of the Bat Signal in the form of Dusk silhouetted by lamplight, this may be forgivable. He peers against the light, recognizing Dusk after a few blinks. "Hi, Dusk!" he greets cheerily, waving with his bubble wand. Doug's exclamation comes on the heels of his greeting. "Oh! And Doug! Everyone is running about. How are you?" He notes Dusk's companion then. "Hello to you as well, ma'am." Thea receives a sort of mock salute in which Micah taps the wand to his forehead, leaving a tiny bit of bubble solution glistening there. "Hey whoa -- Doug! what'd you find?" Dusk glances towards the tablet, but then back to Micah and the /bubbles/; his wing spreads again, this time curling around a bubble without actually popping it. Sort of gently /shepherding/ it towards Thea with a gentle draft stirred up by his wing. "Hey! Micah." He closes the cardboard lid on his burger-carton; in his other hand there is a whole paper bag presumably from the same place, but perhaps he could not wait till getting inside to start /his/ eating. "Guys, this is my friend Anne. We were just --" His mouth curls upwards. "Admiring your bubbles. Anne, Doug, and Micah. They're -- friends." The touch of bubble wand to forehead earns a wider smile. Dusk steps in a little closer, dropping the burger carton into the bag and then reaching to brush his thumb gently against Micah's forehead. "You can't blow bubbles with your forehead." 'Anne' nods to each of Dusk's friends as they're introduced. "Hi, it's nice to meet you both. Thanks for the bubbles. They were a nice treat." She gestures skyward and adds, "It was such a lovely night, and the bubbles made it even better." It's hard to tell, but her voice puts her somewhere past the teenage years, but almost certainly under 40. "I hate to be all business, guys, but I don't suppose you've seen any big moths out tonight? We're hunting for Polyphemus moths." As the word rolls off her tongue effortlessly, she produces a folded up piece of paper from her sleeve. Unfolded, it reveals a printed sheet with some arcane scientific data, but also shows several images of a dusky red moth with a big spot on each wing. They kind of look like eyes, even. "I'm desperate to find one. I've never seen one in the wild before." Her tone makes it clear that 'desperate' is just joking hyperbole, but still. She wants the moths. They're so pretty! Doug grins when Dusk glances at his tablet, and he lifts his eyebrows. "I extended that project," he says, turning the tablet so Dusk can see the collection of miniature video screens lined up there. "And finally managed to sneak a line into the camera feed here in the park, so I could add it to the network." Which might sound a bit cryptic, but the blonde seems fairly confident that Dusk -- and maybe Micah -- know what he's talking about. "It took a bit of sweet-talking, but that's that much further." He nods at the introduction, and offers a small wave. "Nice to meet you, Anne," he says, then wrinkles his nose at the question. "I don't think I've seen any of those," he admits. "Just the little tattered-looking grey ones that hang out under streetlamps." His eyebrows lift, and he shrugs. "That one's pretty, though." “Nice t'meet you, Anne! I'm Micah!” Because his name needs to be provided again in spite of Dusk just introducing him, clearly. He deposits the wand in the little blue bubble container to free up his right hand for shaking. Dusk's brush to his forehead prompts a smile as Micah giggles at his comment. “Oh, drat. I knew I was doin' it wrong.” He shakes his head at the moth inquiry. “Sorry, no moths. I've been kinda...bubbly while I was walkin' tonight. Doesn't really encourage wingy things comin' into my line of sight. Or me lookin' at much that isn't bubbles... Do they tend t'gather under lights like the little fluttery kind?” An impressed little 'hm' comes at Doug's description of his project. “Wow, you work quick, don't you?” "He's kinda bubbly all the time," Dusk informs Thea with a hint of amusement. But then to Doug: "Wait, here in the park?" His eyebrows raise, and then furrow slightly. "... huh." It's a slow, uncertain huh. "But --" His brows furrow more deeply. Only for a moment, though; it smoothes out into a quick laugh at Micah's comments. "/Pfft/, what are you talking about, bubbles /totally/ attracted wingy things right into your line of sight." Anne shrugs and puts her Wanted poster away, back up the sleeve. "Oh well," she says, not really sounding that disappointed. And she lets the topic go, apparently also interested in Doug's project. "Wow, so you tapped into the city's cameras around here? That sounds pretty useful..." She shakes Micah's hand, and offers to shake Doug's as well - perhaps this is a little unusual for a woman in a full burqa, or perhaps no one here knows the difference. "Maybe your cameras will see some moths." "I have a way with computers," Doug says in answer to Micah's comment. Or maybe it's to Thea, since he claims her hand in a quick, warm squeeze. Dusk's concern gets a small knit of his brows, and he frowns lightly. "But what?" he asks, his expression going thoughtful. Like he's trying to re-consider this plan, and see what he might have missed. Which is probably why he doesn't respond to Anne's comments about moths, beyond a small and distracted 'mmm'. Micah's tongue darts out in answer to Dusk's teasing, though he looks mostly amused by it. "Okay, /technical/ point. Bubbles must just attract the /best/ of wingy things." He leans toward Dusk, reaching out to pet at one of his wings. /Best/ wings, too. "Bugs on cameras come across funny. They had a weather camera for the local news back home that got a little spider crawlin' on the lens this one time...looked like giant-spider-eats-the-airport footage." He giggles at the image. A mischievous look appears on his face as Doug gets distracted and he pulls out the bubble wand, blowing another flight of little rainbowy spheres in the blonde's direction. "Doug's been helping set up security for our apartment," Dusk explains to Thea. "For the building." He gestures with his paper bag towards the Lofts building across from the park. "I just -- it's one thing at home." He gives Doug an almost apologetic shrug. "Spying on strangers out in the park just feels -- different." His dark eyes sweep the park for a moment, and he shrugs again. His wing curls out, wrapping around Micah's shoulders when Micah leans in; it squeezes gently before releasing. His eyes follow the path of the bubbles, his smile bright. "... Man, I wouldn't mind seeing a giant moth-kaiju. Maybe one of those cute fuzzy tiger moths." "If only something like that were possible," Anne says, elbowing Dusk in a friendly way. "But I dunno, I can see why you might want eyes out this far. We live in an age of mobs, with torches and pitchforks, just about. You'd wanna know ahead of time." She nods in Doug's direction, lending her support to his plan, and then shrugs. "The Polyphemus can be as big as your hand though, Dusk. That's pretty big, don't you think? Any bigger, and they might try to carry you away." Doug ahs softly as Dusk explains his misgivings, and he grins, reaching out to pop bubbles with a finger. "Oh, that. No. It's not /spying/. Not really. Remember that modification to the program we worked on?" He holds up his finger and thumb in a pistol-like shape. "It'll only trigger if it picks up something like that. Otherwise, they won't be accessible." He grins lightly. "I've literally got them on 'see something, say something'." Anne's support gets another grin, and a small duck of his head. Then he's wrinkling his nose at Dusk. "You mean, like Mothra?" he asks, eyebrows lifting lightly. "That would be sort of cool, if we didn't live in a major metropolitan area." He laughs. "They don't really seem to come out too well when they encounter kaiju." "Yeah, I think there may be some dubious legality with patching into the city's feeds?" Micah shrugs at that; it is a /vague/ kind of concern. He nuzzles at the wing-hug from Dusk. "Um...did you just wish Mothra upon us? Though. Tiger moths /are/ pretty cute." Doug referencing the same giant moth at almost the same time earns another bout of giggles. "Yeah, all the tall buildings around here are just /askin'/ for it..." He dips the bubble wand for another round of bubbles. Because bubbles make everything better! "S'ok, with Bastian working for Stark he can just build us some enormous mechs to fight them off." Dusk's smile splits wider. "What, the city hasn't had any crazy destruction for at /least/ two days, it's totally Mothra time now. Though," and here he flexes both his wings wiiiide, pulling them back in a little sheepishly at the /glares/ this earns him from a couple passing through the park, "Not sure I need one to carry me away, I can manage that well enough on my own." He nods at Doug's explanation, relaxing somewhat. "Oh -- oh, good. That's -- cool." He gives the other teenager a quick smile. "Might help some of us sleep easier, that's for sure." Out of the sleeve that didn't hold her wanted poster, Anne's gloved hands produce a Snickers bar. She unwraps the end, and slips it under the lip of her veil to take a bite, careful to not reveal herself. She can be heard to chew, and then she asks, "So, have you had any specific trouble here so far? Or is this just precautionary? Makes sense either way, but I was just curious what the temperature of the neighborhood is around here. I live upstate, so, I've mostly only heard stories about what's going on down here." She alternates to include both Micah and Doug in her question. "It's not as dangerous as all that," Doug assures Micah. "The city systems are pretty massive, even with the recent upgrades. My little digital splice isn't even enough to trip any alarms. Just a weird line of code that doesn't seem to go anywhere." He flashes a grin, and makes a wistful noise. "Oh, man. Giant robot would be the Stark project I would want in on, because that thing would be /awesome/." He crosses his fingers and closes his eyes as if making a wish. Anne's question brings his eyes open again, and he frowns slightly, glancing at Dusk. "Oh. Well. We've had some problems in the past," he says in a vague tone. "So, an ounce of prevention, and all that, y'know?" “Because adding giant robots to the mix /always/ reduces property damage,” Micah observes with a sarcastic smirk that broadens into a delighted smile at Dusk's wing extension. Noting the nearest glare-face from a passerby, he blows bubbles in their general direction. To cure the sourpuss with /pretty/. “There's been...uh. A very specific variety of trouble, yeah. An' some threats made toward people who live in the buildin'. That on top of the general insanity as sprouted up in the city has folks a little edgy, with good enough reason. Feel a bit safer knowin' who's comin' 'round in advance.” "I am /so/ sure that Bastian would make giant robots if it came down to it. The city --" Dusk shrugs, with a wing more than with a shoulder. "Well, c'mon, what's a little bit of property destruction weighed against giant robot battles?" He grins again at the bubbles being blown at passersby, and his wing flexes again to brush Micah's shoulder. "We've --" He winces, slightly, at Anne's question. "Yeah," he just backs up the other two. "Had kind of our /share/ of trouble. Rather it didn't come bite us in our /sleep/." "Wow, I'm sorry to hear that, guys. It's getting really hard to share a city I guess. I wish there were a way to smooth out these growing pains." Anne finishes the snickers, and sighs. She looks up briefly at the trees, and then cocks her head in surprise. Out of nowhere, a beautiful moth like the one on her sheet descends from the darkness and lands on her shoulder. "Well, hey, it's not /all/ bad, is it?" She says softly, trying to turn and look at it, without jostling too much. Doug nods grimly as Micah and Dusk chime in. "Yeah, it's kind of tense all over," he notes, glancing around the park. Some of the astronomers on the field are definitely looking in this direction, rather than at the stars, and the blonde frowns at this. Luckily, the descending moth draws his attention away from them, and his eyebrows pop in surprise. "Wow," he says. "That's pretty awesome. What are the odds that the moth you're looking for would turn up like that?" He slides his tablet into his bag, and hooks a thumb in the strap as he fishes his phone out of his pocket and glances at the screen. "Oh, wow. I didn't realize it was this late," he says. "I gotta be on the train to Westchester in the morning, so I should probably scoot." He nods at Anne. "It was nice to meet you," he says earnestly, then waggles fingers at Dusk and Micah. "I'll see you guys later, yeah?" “'Bastian already makes /small/ robots. I'm sure with proper fundin', it wouldn't take much t'get him to the giant kind,” Micah agrees with a soft chuckle. He pets at Dusk's wing when it comes close again. It might be an automatic response at this point. “Whoa. Moth-summonin'.” His eyes widen when precisely the depicted moth appears. “Yeah, I guess it is getting late.” That reminder provokes a /sigh/. Stupid time. “You guys out'n about, or you headin' back homewards, Dusk? I'll walk you if you're headin' back.” A thumb jerks in the direction of the Lofts, as if the clarification were needed. "Got dinner." Dusk hefts the paper bag. "We should probably get back and eat it." He smiles, as the moth flits down and lands. "-- See? Attracting wingy things all /over/." His own wing curls farther, giving Micah another soft squeeze and then folding in against his back. "Guess we might /all/ be heading in then. C'mon. Maybe the moth'll come, too." Anne reaches up gently while the guys are talking, and lets the moth walk out onto her hand. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but the moth looks much bigger, now that it's clinging to her hand - maybe two handspan across when it flexes it's wings. Anne laughs softly, trying to keep still when Dusk makes his joke. "Good lord, look at the size of this specimen. If this is how they grow them in New York, a Mothra is almost a certainty. But I'm naming this one Mothra anyway. Because she's /huge/. Maybe she'll grow up to harrow a city one day..." She proceeds to make soft cooing noises at her big pet moth, which is climbing gamely up and down her hands, while Anne falls in to walk with Dusk.