ArchivedLogs:Smash

Smash
Dramatis Personae Anette, Bruce, Rasa, Hulk
In Absentia	2015-08-23 "STOP YOUR LOUD LITTLE THINGS! STOP!" (Part of Amped TP.)
Location <NYC> Central Park South
Central Park South is home not just to the park itself, but also to the Belvedere Castle, the Alice in Wonderland statues, and the Central Park Zoo. These areas tend to draw tourists like a magnet - it is, perhaps, for that very reason that places like Bethesda Terrace tend to attract more New Yorkers than not, if just to escape the press of tourism that infiltrates the whole city. On this glorious summer evening, the sinking sun paints the stonework of Bethesda Terrace in fiery hues and throws long shadows across the lawns. The wooded areas are already lost in darkness, but not all of the lights have yet come on. Plenty of people linger still, glad for the cool breeze off the lake and reluctant to face the weekend's end. Bruce walks along the water's edge, gazing about him as though he has never seen the like before. He has wavy black hair, just short of collar-length at the back, framing his face in more or less well-trained tresses. He wears a light blue pinpoint oxford shirt (top button undone, sleeves rolled neatly to elbows, black framed glasses tucked into breast pocket) and deep purple plain-front trousers. He looks like he has just stepped out of the office for a moment and instantly lost himself in the wonder of the park's majesty, never caring to find his way back even if he knew how. As beautiful as the weather is, it's not quite beautiful enough for the person currently wearing a coat and gloves. Other than overdressing for the weather, with a knee-length coat and black goves over her hands, Anette is otherwise attempting to blend in. She's been quiet, keeping to herself as she casually strolls through the park, large sunglasses blocking her eyes and most of her face from view. Perhaps she does get a few odd glances but, as far as New York in concerned, it's seen odder. While hir heart and mind are in Westchester, Rasa's body is in New York City, heading out after a shift at Evolve. Ze decides to take a short break in the park before trying to check hir messages and call the school to see how things went while ze was away. Distracted by a lack of updates, ze looks up from hir phone and looks around, hir tongue half sticking out of hir mouth, dabbing at a corner. Ze is swathed in a multicolored veil that is mostly translucent that does a decent job obscuring hir features and coloration. Despite the warmth of summer, ze is also still wearing long sleeves and a skirt that goes down to hir feet, a pair of chucks in neon yellow and pink covering those. Gloved fingers turn hir phone's screen off as ze looks for a bench to sit on. A lean brown-skinned woman with dark hair lank and pulled back into a messy bun is approaching the edge of the water, too. She's a little wide-eyed, a little shaky, dressed in ribbed tank and jeans and workboots that all look like they have seen better days. Her arms are curled around her chest, fingers wrapped tight around the strap of an equally ratty shoulder bag hung from one shoulder. Her eyes dart quickly around the terrace, but ultimately it's Bruce she heads for, tongue swiping quickly against her lips as she approaches. Hesitates, pauses -- approaches again. "Hey -- hey. Hey." Her voice is quiet. "I've been looking for you." On the other side of the fountain, another man -- average height, fit, dark shaggy hair, dressed neatly in button-down shirt and slacks -- is glancing up from the screen of a cellphone. He sits on a bench, lips pressing together. Eyes dipping back to his screen. Frown. Bruce does not seem to notice the woman at all initially, and even after she speaks he looks around, searching for someone /else/ she might have meant to address. Lacking that, he dons his glasses and blinks at her. "I'm so--begging your pardon, have we met?" He sounds very doubtful, and even a little apprehensive. "I'm afraid I don't recall. Could you jog my memory?" Anette stops a good few yards away from the woman and Bruce, purely by chance, as she looks out over the water. Her attention seems to be occupied by two fighting ducks, though her enhanced hearing does manage to pick up bits and pieces of conversation around her, including Bruce's. Still, she's not actively listening in on anybody. Not yet. Rasa manages to find hirself a seat on a bench near the average man's bench. Ze looks to hir phone's screen once more, but gives up quickly, turning hir attention to people watching. Ze takes a moment to look that man over before hir attention drifts over to the water's edge. Hir brow wrinkles at the state the woman addressing Bruce seems to be in -- but hir attention is dragged away rather quickly by Anette's presence. Ze shrinks a little (literally) and tries to look inconspicuous. "No, no, no. The -- fff." The woman grips her purse tighter, stepping in closer to Bruce. "The text, I. I was supposed to meet you here, come /on/ man. You can't hold out on me." Bruce's thick black eyebrows wrinkle behind the frame of his glasses. "The text?" he mouths the words, his perplexity quite evident. "I think you have mistaken me for someone else." He frowns even more deeply. "...At least, not to the best of my knowledge. Could I trouble you to check the number from which you received this message?" Anette also catches a glimpse of Rasa and watches her a moment, noting the other's shrinking and nervousness. Eyes linger from behind sunglasses for a few moments and, after a few very controlled breaths, her eyes wander elsewhere. She isn't approaching Rasa at the moment, but she's not backing away either. Apparently she's attempting to ignore the other woman, made easier as the woman continues to speak with Bruce, showing behaviors that Anette has...become a bit more familiar with recently. As things do not seem to be progressing, Rasa pulls out hir phone again and pretends to stare at it, glancing over at the water's edge from time to time. Ze eventually gets to hir feet and repockets the device, starting to move away, all the while, staying aware of those around hir. "No no no," the woman says again, sharper, this time. "No, you /said/ -- it'd be right -- you /said/. C'mon, man, you can't --" She does pull out her phone, though doesn't actually check it so much as /gesticulate/ at Bruce with it. The gesture comes with a sudden /splash/ -- a column of water from the fountain rising straight /out/ of it in time with her gesticulating. Splashing Bruce thoroughly with cold water. Across the fountain, the man who was checking his phone /had/ been starting to get up, circle around towards them. He stops at the sight of the rising column of water, though. Checks his own phone and starts to hasten /away/ -- just as a pair of police officers start to make their way nearer. Bruce had just begun to raise his hands--maybe in an attempt to make a placating gesture, maybe more to fend off sudden movements from the increasingly agitated woman. Said hands go up even further, reflexively, when she gesticulates at him...and when the water gesticulates with her. Of course, his hands can in no way deflect the water, and he backs away much too late to avoid it. He yips when the column of water drenches him. For a moment, he looks too startled to make reply. "Ah...ma'am, I am /certain/ you have mistaken me for someone else, and I'd appreciate it if you did not douse me any further..." Even so, Bruce is taking another step back. "I understand that you are agitated, but you might try texting the party you wanted to meet again?" Though now, spotting the police officers, he looks genuinely concerned. "There are police coming, but please try to remain calm. No one is hurt, and I'd really prefer to keep it that way." The woman does pause at this. She stops to lower the phone, frowning at it deeply while she sends a text. Somewhere not far away, there is a cheerful chirrup of alert sound. It comes from where the other man is quickly heading away from the terrace to disappear into the park. It only seems to rile the woman up more when this happens, though, tipping her head to listen to the noise and then giving Bruce an almost triumphant look. "/There/. Look I /heard/ that don't fucking /lie/ to me I /need/ --" In the fountain, the water is roiling again. A small wave rears up to splash over the fountain's lip. "You --" The officers seem to be speaking -- to the woman? Bruce? Anette? It's hard to tell /exactly/. One has drawn his gun, pointed it in that direction. "Hands where we can see them." Well, it's too late to back out now. As the situation continues to build, Anette's listening in has grown a lot more subtle; it doesn't take heightened sense to keep track of what's going on. As another wave builds up again, she begins to back up away from the others, though she ends up freezing once the officers draw their weapons. She doesn't exactly put her hands in the air but they are visible at her sides, save for the gloves. No, she doesn't know who exactly is being approached, but she is really trying to risk anything right now. "That wasn't my phone, it came from..." Bruce's eyes scan the terrace, then snap to the fountain as the water comes to life again. Then back to the cops, widen with fear at the one leveling the gun. He had never actually lowered his hands, and now he lifts them higher. "It's okay, officers, we just have a minor misunder--misunderstand..." He starts trembling, quite noticeably. "I ah...I don't feel so good." His hands go to his temples, pressing hard. "What the..." The last words vanish into a quiet whimper, then a terrified wail, as he doubles over. Something in Rasa tenses as ze watches Bruce hunch over, his posture causing a wave of fear to sweep the color out of hir face. It isn't exactly visible, underneath all of hir layers, but ze starts to remove hir gloves and stuff them into hir pockets. Ze swallows and tries to get Anette's attention, head shaking in one particular direction, trying to guide her back and away. The wail makes hir eyes go wide. Ze locks hir gaze on Bruce, pale white underneath everything. "But you don't /understand/" The next splash of water to jump out and hit Bruce does so more forecefully. The woman drops her phone to the ground with a noticeable clatter when the police arrive. "Ohfuckohfuck --" Her hands are lifting (and with them another brief splash of water that quickly rises and then topples back into the fountain. "This isn't me," she tells the officers. The gun is staying trained on the woman and Bruce. "Down on your knees. Keep your hands where we can see them." Already off-balance, Bruce falls when the water hits him again, landing heavily on his knees. He does not answer the woman. He does not answer the police officers. The noises coming out of him start to sound less like whining and more like /growling/. His shoulders quiver weirdly beneath the dress shirt, which abruptly seems to fit a lot tighter than it did just a moment ago. This does not last long, for a bare second later the shirt splits open wholesale. His skin changes colors before the onlookers eyes, turning green. Not green like queasy, but green like the leafy copses around them slowly disappearing into dusky shadow. Bruce's entire body gives a violent shudder and now /expands/ rapidly. The already ripped shirt hangs in ruined tatters from broad, green shoulders; the belt snaps and comes loose along with the waistband of the trousers, which are tears along both in- and outseam. The growl becomes an ear-splitting roar as the massive green creature kneeling by the fountain throws back its head, still clutched in its immense hands. “Jesus Christ…” Anette murmurs, watching wide-eyed (from behind her glasses) as Bruce transforms into a big green…thing. Suddenly, Rasa and even the cops don’t seem like such a big deal anymore. Ok, maybe the cops are still a threat. Though she now focuses on the woman who had been talking with Bruce. Still technically an innocent bystander, Anette isn’t sure she’s of mind to get herself out of harm’s way so she finds herself rushing forward, ready to pull, tackle, whatever the woman away from Bruce and the cops. "What is with the color green?" Rasa mutters quietly, scowling as ze reassesses the situation with very little hopefulness in hir expression. "You should run!" ze yells at the cop as ze pulls off hir veil, still sheet white underneath. "And for heaven's sake, don't shoot." Ze is definitely keeping hir distance from the large green form that still seems to be in too much pain to do anything. "Oh, please don't shoot," ze whispers this time, hands wringing together in front of hir belly. "Oh -- oh -- oh -- what /is/ -- what is /that/ --" The woman's eyes have gotten Very Big. The water in the fountain is swirling, splashing upward, running back down over the side of the stone to start a small stream across the terrace. "Oh my god." The cops are having a similar shock reaction. One of them is calling for backup even as he draws his Taser, fires it towards the huge green creature. The other -- gun already drawn -- is just squeezing the trigger. Once, twice, three times, four. Wild and kind of panicky, the first two shots go wide, not really even near the creature -- though the last two are more correctly aimed. The woman is flinching back at the sound of gunshots. She doesn't have a lot more time /to/ panic when Anette is dragging her away. "There's a monster. Maybe. Maybe we should. Go?" She doesn't sound /entirely/ sure, really. The Taser's leads bite into the huge green creature's chest even as it reaches its full size (all clothing lost now save for a few scraps hanging from its seven-foot-plus frame). It howls and, grabbing the wires, yank the weapon right out of its wielder's hands. When the other officer fires, it cringes away from the sound, clapping its free hand over one ear. When the bullets actually find it, however, it throws its head back and roars. "WHY YOU HURT HULK?!" Though guttural, the words come out in clearly recognizable English. It tears the Taser leads easily from its chest and tosses them aside. "YOU MAKE HULK ANGRY!" Its basketball-sized fist slams into the ground, shattering tiles and sending up a cloud of dust. And then it flings itself after the officers, covering half the distance to them in one single bound. “Yes. Go. Good idea,” Anette mumbles to the woman as they continue to run off, Anette making sure the woman keeps moving away from the big angry green guy and the cops firing bullets and doesn’t stop or turn around. Once the woman is safely away, Anette turns back to survey the situation. Not good. In a split second decision, Anette drops her coat in a practiced move and, stretching out her wings, flies back to the green guy much faster than she could possibly run. This time, she hovers above Hulk, waiting for a safe moment to dive down and snag the cop up before he gets HulkSmashed. "Oh... fuck." Rasa stares for a moment before pulling hir phone out and activating the panic button, hoping the app has not been deactivated yet. Hir stance lowers shakily when Hulk ground pounds, hir fingertips pressing against the pavement around the fountain. In order to improve hir balance, a tail slips out from hir backside, hir form shifting fuzzy and blue. "HEY! HULK!" ze calls out, raising hir hand to hir mouth. "OVER HERE! Come over here!!" Golden eyes shift to see if Anette is successful, a cringe pulling at hir lips. Shoes are kicked off next as ze slides hir phone back into hir pocket. The woman scrambles back -- out of the way and then out of the /park/, turning to scramble and flee. The phone she'd been holding gets dropped behind into the puddling water on the ground in her panic. "-- There's three of them," the cop with the taser is reporting into his radio now. "Wings and a tail in addition to the big green one -- they're /all/ attacking --" He's switched the taser out for his gun, now, aiming at Anette and firing this time when she starts to fly for his partner. His partner, on the other hand, is scrambling back away from the Hulk. "Get /down/ on the /ground/. All /three/ of you --" His gun is now trained on Rasa. "All three of you on the ground, hands behind your /back--aaaahhh/." Anette's swoop may have narrowly saved him from a Smashing but he doesn't seem particularly thankful, kind of flailing in the air. "... fuck. /Fuck/, aren't you -- I know you oh fuck." The Hulk comes up short when Anette removes its target. For a moment it looks tempted to jump after the airborne police officer and his savior, but Rasa's shouting draws its attention. Deep green eyes snap to hir, shaded beneath thick, bushy black eyebrows. It takes a hesitant step in that direction, but then whirls back toward the other officer at the the report of his gun. "STOP YOUR LOUD LITTLE THINGS! STOP" It reaches out a long arm to grab at the officer. “If you can’t tell the difference between ‘attacking’ and ‘saving your life’, you need to find a different profession,” Anette says, firmly and very annoyed as she flies the cop to safety, narrowly missing the bullets shot at her. Once they’re well out of range of Hulk, they both land on the ground, a bit bumpy but no one’s hurt. “Now, since you’re so grateful for my help and want to repay me, some information disappearing from your records wouldn’t go unappreciated, hm?” she says, giving him her sweetest smile before taking off again, without giving him a chance to reply. Probably not going to work but definitely worth a shot. She’s much more hesitant to approach the gun crazy partner, though she still tests the waters by carefully flying forward, ready to dart off if he tries to shoot again. "I'm already three limbs down," Rasa mutters, freezing while the gun is trained on hir. When he swings around to point that weapon at Anette, ze curses and is off like a shot, not as fast as perhaps the Hulk, but quick enough to undercut the cop at the knees to knock him down - if ze can. Staying low also hopefully keeps hir out of reach of the large green one. "Stay down yourself," ze hisses at the cop, hir tail lashing backwards to rest on his chest. "And for fuck's sake, stop shooting." The wail of sirens -- many sirens -- is not all that distant, really. Pretty close and getting closer, though already a pair of bike cops are ditching their bikes to run closer to the scene. "Are you /blackmailing/ me, fucking terrorist --" The cop is shooting at Anette again as she takes off. Not, it seems, very grateful. The other one has tumbled to the ground when Rasa attacks him -- just in time to miss the Hulk's swipe. Not that /he/ seems particularly grateful, either; he's slamming an elbow straight for Rasa's face, calling out to the newly arrived officers for backup. "/Everyone/," the other officers have guns drawn but are not firing, at least. "On the /ground/. /Now/." The Hulk grunts in frustration when its swipe misses, pounding the ground again with its other hand. The arrival of the bike cops may have saved the one currently engaged in beating Rasa. At their shouting, the Hulk whips around to glare at them. "HULK NOT AFRAID OF YOUR LOUD LITTLE THINGS!" It pounces toward them and roars again. "YOU DON'T TELL HULK WHAT TO DO!" One massive hand swings at their extended weapons--likely to send both of them tumbling if they do not dodge, and dodge quickly--then it bounds off into the woods faster than any human can hope to follow. Yep, Anette’s being shot at by both officers now. This is what she gets for trying to be nice. She does manage to avoid being shot by the officer she helped. She also decides it’s not worth trying to help the second officer, so she instead curtails it behind Hulk, putting him in between her and the bullets. He can take it. Still, rather than just get the hell out of there, she makes one last attempted side trip, this time diving towards Rasa. However, the sudden appearance of backup defers that plan and this time she aims for the skies, leaving Rasa to fend for hirself. Almost out of range, one officer gets lucky in his shot and a bullets finds itself in her left leg. Definitely painful, as the owl-like screech that fills the air can attest, but it doesn’t hinder her flying much and she continues on. There's a grunt of pain and a muffled moan when Rasa is struck in the face, some of that pain bleeding into the cop, should his elbow be bare. Ze pushes the body on top of hir to one side as ze tries to crawl out from underneath to the other side. Once out, ze sees the Hulk run off and Anette fly away. Bloodied in the face and now scraped on hir hands, ze just turns hir attention to the cops and stops, still partially on hir belly, one knee dragging against the ground, staying still. Hir hands raise in surrender, hir attention lowering to the ground. One of the bike cops keeps his gun trained on Anette -- for a little bit, at least. He lowers it in disgust when she flies further off -- only to have it (and him) knocked to the side in the Hulk's sudden departure. His partner, at least, is quicker to dodge out of the way. He scrubs a hand against his face, turning to his radio to report the huge green creature's flight. The officer Rasa had been on top of, meanwhile, hisses in pain. The shove of his boot to the small of hir back is probably unnecessary for keeping hir in place as he unclips handcuffs from his belt -- straps them on hir none too gently. Somewhere at the periphery of all this action, there's a blink of motion. With all the calls to 911 it's not really /unusual/, perhaps, for a paramedic to be showing up. Less usual for that one to be showing up out of thin air, with a short dark-haired woman in a Mendel Clinic guard uniform in tow. Joshua -- doesn't approach the cops, though. He looks a little /pained/ as he takes in the scene. And then picks up his cellphone instead.