Logs:Hostage Negotiations

Hostage Negotiations
Dramatis Personae Asva, Avi, M-Kids	2023-04-10 "Trouble? We gon' give it hail."
Location <NYC> Rolling Thunder - Salem Center + who knows where
A shiny new face on Salem's outskirts, this roller rink's polished look might bring to mind more lightning than thunder. Its low-slung ceiling is illuminated by an outline of thin neon lights that change colors at regular intervals, reflecting off the high-lustre floor. With sweeping asymmetrical curves in its glossy-glassy decorations and the lights gleaming off of the multitude of shiny surfaces, this rink has shied away from the retro aesthetic that so many aspire to. Still, there are four wheels on every skate and a very well-appointed pro shop near the entryway, with a snack bar in the back and lessons offered during non-peak hours. Afternoon on a Monday is kind of a dead hour for roller skating. Which is all the better, really, if you are Pretty Obviously A Mutant. The staff at basically any Salem Center establishment is, by now, fairly blasé about this kind of thing and there is barely anyone else here to gawk at the teenagers who have come to the rink today. At the moment Avi doesn't seem that interested in skating -- at least, not skating for its own sake. Skating for the sake of getting funnier shots of the vivid neon lights slicing strikingly through Asva's translucent form, though? "Oh man can you do like, a pirouette thing?" He's holding up a camera at the ready. “Buddy, I’m used to blades, not four-wheeled death shoes.” The surprising struggle that Asva’s having with the roller skates is laughable, but distracting him from the few pairs of eyes looking at, or through his translucent body from around the rink. “But seeing as you asked so nicely…” His attempt isn’t far off successful, but is certainly far from graceful as he spins clunkily on one wheeled foot, the other quite impressively lifted straight out to the side. Past the edge of the rink, where the bathrooms are, a door swings open and closed. A chubby young brown-skinned teen in a clearly homemade green and silver cape and mask, bright peacock-toned "Holland was right!" tee shirt and jeans trots out to beeline for the X-Kids. "Woah", Sriyana is looking, impressed, at the light shining through Asva, and reaching out a hand as if to wave it through the other teen -- though they stop short with an apologetic dip of a head. "Sorry I probably uh that's probably rude oh come with me -- can you come with me Nevaeh said you could probably come it's a bit of a hurry there's trouble!" Avi is just snapping shots of Asva when the green and silver cape appears in his peripheral vision. His eyes light, his breath catches, he whirls, drawing himself up straight, his mouth forming into an O. He tries excitedly tapping Asva on the shoulder, though this is a bit of a futile attempt so instead he just squeaks "ohmygod Asva we gonna be heroes!" When Sriyani actually comes over his eyes don't quite twinkle with hearts but it is a very near thing. Avi, President of the Xavier's Auxiliary of the M-Kids Fanclub? Ardent updater of his very own Who Have The M-Kids Saved Lately TikTok? CAN HE COME? He isn't even taking off his skates he is just SPEEDING towards the door Sriyani came through with a breathless, excited, "Trouble? We gon' give it hail." Asva almost has No Time to answer the M-Kid as Avi reaches out for him, and despite his friend’s hand not making contact with his shoulder, the urgency is still felt. “You know them?” His question seems to fall on deaf ears as Avi suddenly zooms off, taking it as a cue that he can stop concentrating on the roller skates on his feet; phasing out of them with a comfortable sigh as he takes off after his friend. “What is happening?” He asks Sriyani, his accented voice a little panicked at the sudden change in atmosphere. Sriyani is hastening back toward the door, pausing just before they push it open. "Oh! You're helping," they don't-really-explain-at-all. "Sorry to panic you!" they add hastily, "nobody's dying or anything," and then, less reassuring, a little uncertain, "... I think." And now they're pushing open the bathroom door again. On the other side is decidedly not any kind of bathroom -- it's a very sad and weed-strewn park, cracked concrete, what once might have been a basketball court though the pavement is chewed up, no nets in the hoops, one of the backboards hanging askew; one of the swings in the swingset is hanging half off of its chain, the slide rusted over, the jungle gym looking very climb-at-your-own-risk. There is a small ramshackle... well, maybe it once was a building, signs marking it for toilets, though it's mostly collapsed, now, its doors caved in, its brick walls crumbling. From inside there's a steady overlapping stream of whimpers, together with a lot of quieter clicks and scratches. A few zaps. Avi is maybe regretting still having his skates on, now -- or at least he should be regretting it, clumsy and unsteady on the very uneven terrain. He seems undaunted, though, awkwardly taking heavy penguin-steps over the broken pavement towards the presumably nonfunctional toilets. "Someone in there," he is asking Sriyani, at first, before calling out in the direction of the dilapidated building: "Hey, who in there? You need help? -- woah, Asva can you check on 'em? Bet that door don't work, huh?" “Not until I know what’s going on, I’m not about to peek on someone taking a piss-“ He turns to Sriyani, “Remind me to talk about how cool your power is after all this is through, but first - explain.” This last word is less of a demand, but more of a desperate question, his brow knitted and raised in a Very Confused expression. His head whips towards the sound of the zaps and whimpers once more, unsure what on earth is going on behind the toilet doors, but his ears are trained on waiting for an answer. "I can't move them at all," Sriyani agrees. "Locks, no problem, but if it won't budge --" They shrug helplessly. At Asva's question it is Avi they look at -- just slightly bemused like, I thought we were on the same page here. "Does it sound like someone is taking a piss in there," they say patiently, "I don't think anyone has taken a piss in there for a long time because that whole building is broken and they're trapped? I don't get the feeling stuck doors and broken buildings are a big problem for you, though?" "Boy someone dying in that busted ol' ruin you ditherin about privacy! Ain't nobody pissed in that heap since nineteen seventy five, you gwan tell 'em we gon' save they ass." Avi makes as if to nudge Asva toward the building before remembering, ghost, so just kind of -- gestures towards the crumbling mess of Once A Toilets instead. “I just had to check!” Asva raises his hands in surrender, before rushing over to the whole reason they were brought here. He only feels slightly stupid for Not Understanding right away, but after he takes a deep breath, he’s stepping through the crumpled door. “Hello? Is anyone in here? I can get us out-“ At least, he hopes he can. There is no answer when Asva enters -- at least, not physically. Can he smell things when he is in ghost form? Hopefully not, because contrary to the assertions of Avi and Sriyani, someone has definitely been peeing in here. Not anyone who cares about privacy, though. What is left of the small and extremely broken down toilet building has clearly not been operational in a long while. There are barely any toilets left, tattered and brittle plastic years-ago wrapped over what's left of the sinks and toilets, many of them long ago removed, the tiles chipped or gone to leave dirt floor showing in many places. A good many dogs and a few cats -- most with collars still on -- have been crammed into the space, for how long is anyone's guess but they do not seem altogether pleased about it. At least a couple of the cats have very ineffectually tried to scratch a little of the exposed dirt over where they have reluctantly lowered themselves to poop. Milling among the stolen pets -- patrolling the floors, climbing the broken walls, clinging to the ceiling like eerie metal spiders -- are a considerable number of robots of comparable size to the largest of the cats. Every so often one of the cats will attempt to climb up towards the gap between the caving-in wall where it no longer connects to the ceiling, and one of the robots will firmly push it back down or, occasionally, zap a small laser in its direction. The agile cats seem quite adept at dodging these, but are having no luck in their escapes. "What, the fuck-" Wide-eyed and nose assaulted, Asva scans the unfortunate scene before him with a rising anger. There's no telling how these animals got here, or why these Spider-Bots are keeping them trapped, but he can tell almost instantly that they want out. Without hesitation, Asva spins on his heel and phases back through the door to face the other two, "Avi! I need your help, there's these, Spider thingies and they're holding a whole bunch of animals hostage in there." He does a little insect-like scurry in place to better explain the robots' Spider-ness, as if the word itself isn't enough, "I think I can get us both in there, you too!" He turns to Sriyani, unsure of the extent of their abilities but certain that six hands are better than four, even if two of them currently belong to a Ghost. "Bruh what Spiders be kidnapping -- what?" Avi looks baffled at this, but he's clattering forward on his awkward skates, squinting at Asva's spider-mime dance as if this will help him understand better. He's staring at the broken door like maybe? He can see through it? He does not see through it, but when Asva says he can get them through he looks relieved, holding out his hand for the other boy's. He's calling back to Sriyani over his shoulder: "-- yo is superheroing always this crazy?" "Umm -- there's not always dognapping spiders," Sriyani assures Avi, "sometimes the spiders are just thieving other things. -- you all go on I need to find us a place to take these guys like we can't just stick them in our pockets woah unless one of you has like, some kind of magical pocket dimension that would be super useful." But even with this hopeful conjecture they're not following Asva, instead hastening back towards the building they had brought them out of in the first place -- also extremely sad, if not in such an active state of disrepair. It once was a small kiosk; a fading old sign advertises food from HOT DOGS to GYROS, though clearly no such things have been served in ages. A half-height door on one side is evidently where people might have been served, if any food were available; the full-sized door on the side where employees might have come in and out; when Sriyani opens it again it doesn't lead to food or even a gutted interior, and it certainly doesn't lead back to the skating rink; on the other side of the door now is what looks like a small waiting room, cheerful posters on the walls advertising dogs and cats looking cosy with adoring families. They leave the door open, ignoring the Extremely Confused look from the middle-aged woman at the desk, their animated conversation not quite audible from the tumbledown toilets. “Okay okay okay-“ Asva repeats, a segmented plan trying to form in his head as he takes note of Sriyani’s third of it, “I’ve only done this once before, so please make sure you’re fully through before letting go-“ He dreads to think what would happen if Avi does let go too soon, but shakes away the thought as he reaches out to his buddy’s outstretched hand. His eyes close instinctively for this next part, hoping to drown out every stimulant with the thought - the will to make his hand solid enough to make contact with Avi’s. It takes a couple seconds longer than it should, but finally he feels the familiar sensation of a hand in his. “Here goes nothing-“ He says with a little less certainty than Avi would probably like, before dropping the concentration on his hand being Solid and bringing his friend into Ghost Mode with him. Then, with one last look at Sriyani through the Magic Door, he guides both himself and Avi through the crumbling wall of the dilapidated toilets and successfully to the Other Side. "Woah," Avi says as he passes through the wall, and then again, "'Woah'," upon seeing the Very Weird Robots and the crowd of sad animals alike. "... why they even doing this?" is probably not a question he actually expects Asva to answer, just wide-eyed and incredulous. "They got some kinda evil robot overlord somewhere? Maybe they just lonely? Robots you gotta actually feed some cats not just shoot 'em." He's stretching his hand out towards the very nearest of the robots, a stream of ice flowing out from where he stands to the bot, crusting up around its many legs and... doing absolutely nothing to freeze it in place, intangible as he is. "Ohshit right!" Simultaneously he's letting go of Asva's hand and, just in case, stepping away from that particular ice flow, both he and the ice now very solid again. He looks extremely satisfied as the robot wobbles slightly side to side, stuck in the casing of ice riding most of the way up its legs. "-- only a bajillion of these things to go, dang, Asva can you get these cuties to -- shit next time we oughtta bring superheroing leashes whoda thunk." In The World Outside, Sriyani has left behind Animal Shelter Number One with an extraordinarily disbelieving and bemused worker at the desk, attempted Vet Office Number One but immediately turned around after the panic-upset-slash-miscommunication caused there (-- you kids stole a bunch of pets?!?), and is, at the moment, hopefully/triumphantly engaged in animated conversation with a college-aged worker at Animal Shelter Number Two who is, at this moment, a bit flustered but in fact rummaging up some slip leads for the surprise visitor while still throwing absolutely baffled looks at the open door to what is absolutely not the kennel area that it was just two minutes ago. Quietly hoping there’ll be some easier way to do this, Asva has already begun to turn a Corporeal Dog into Caspar’s Best Friend; the small collared pooch tucked comfortably under his arm as he reaches for a particularly rowdy cat, “Come on kitty, I’m trying to help-“ His words are punctuated by a surprised yelp as a well-aimed laser zaps right through his chest, “Now that’s just rude!” Avi is meanwhile having a little bit more painful of a time, having returned solidly to corporeal form. The small lasers that the robots have turned on him may not be particularly dangerous but they do smart and -- perhaps more aggravating, judging by his reaction -- are leaving little singed holes in his clothes. "Yo rude I saved up for these jeans wack-ass spider --" He's having to exert a bit of intense focus, the ice creeping across the floor more slowly than he would probably like and in intricate and patterns that would, under other circumstances, be oddly beautiful -- dodging the paws of the many pets that are variably shy or panicked or excited and eager to have New Friends that might potentially offer food or pets -- to climb up the legs of the robots on the floors and walls. "Asva!" he suggests, "how big can you ghost? Can you do the wall?" When Sriyani scurries back out -- door to the shelter still wide open -- there are a number of slip leads draped around their neck. Their arms are also full with a couple large plastic bags, chock full of dried liver and salmon, and a big open tub of peanut butter held awkwardly in their hands. "HI," they're yelling at the solid wall, hopefully loud enough to be heard, "IF YOU SHEPHERD THEM I HAVE BRIBES." A beat. "UM THEY'RE FOR THE ANIMALS NOT YOU." A beat. "UNLESS YOU LIKE DRIED LIVER AND SLOBBERY PEANUT BUTTER UM WE CAN LASSO THE SCARED ONES BUT HOPEFULLY MOST WILL COME." Perfect timing. Finally grabbing hold of the reluctant feline as gently as possible (which is difficult considering the concentration needed for making even the slightest part of him Solid), Asva spins on his heel, careful to avoid the frosted patterns on the ground, and phases back through the wall to hand the two pets to Sriyani. “Tasty!” He smirks in response, happy to see that their plan worked, before heading back into the scene of the Sudden Superheroing. He gasps at the fresh hole in Avi’s jeans, and without hesitation, he leaps onto the nearest Spider-bot that’s expertly frozen in place. Surprised by his control today, he focuses on Solidifying the sole of his shoes as he jumps up and down in the metal shell, eventually smushing it into nothing but nuts and bolts and wires in a pile of slush. “Don’t worry Avi, I’ll patch them up good as new. Oh- good idea! I haven’t tried, lemme just-“ He spins yet again, seeming indecisive from an Outsider’s Point of View, before channelling the same focus he used on Avi, then on the pets he’s rescued already on the wall. He can almost feel the strain of extending his Ghost to the bricks draining him slightly, but soon enough the crumpled wall becomes translucent - even more so than he is currently - in a large circle around him. It’s strange, but the outline of the circle is not smooth - following the edges of the bricks and forming a jagged separation between the Tangible and Intangible, Sriyani, the two Rescued Pets and all the treats and leashes now visible on the other side. “Holy fuck it worked!” "Asva you're,amazing, most brilliant ghost I ever met." Avi is shoring up the ice around what robots he can reach -- a few on the ceiling are still, regrettably, loose -- and trying his best to play some kind of clunky sheepdog-on-skates, rounding the room to kind of usher the crowd of animals towards the newly formed hole in the wall. "Oh my god," he's briefly gotten distracted by a scruffy brown and white mutt in the corner that looks a very improbable mix of corgi and pitbull, "this one so ugly-cute if it didn't have a collar I'd keep her myself -- ohshit right c'mere girl c'mere all y'all we going... uh, somewhere, out-out-out follow the smell of disgusting-ass liver --" Clop clop clop on his skates as he tries to dodge laser pings from the frozen robots and Literally Herd Cats all at once. Where humans might be confused or startled by the sudden unlikely intangibility of the wall the animals have no such confusion. There was no exit and now there is an exit, and the majority of them are extremely excited for this turn in their fortunes, rushing for escape and the smells of delicious treats (some now scattered in a messy kind of line from here to the shelter door) with -- only a couple strays making a panicked escape before a (dismayed) Sriyani and the (oddly now considerably less freaked out, an air of I guess this is just my life today) shelter worker can lasso them. A handful of the more timid animals stay uncertain and cowering in the corners. The free robots still on the ceiling are, strangely, now a help to the X-Kids' efforts -- climbing down to attempt to fulfill their guard duty and zap their escaping prisoners, they instead go slipping on the uneven whorls and slicks of ice, their shots wide and unaimed -- and startling the remaining pets into making a break for it, scurrying out where they can be corraled. Only once the animals are all to safety -- never mind that the robots are still, a little clumsily and with frequent skidding, attempting to follow through the hole and zap the kids now -- does Sriyani let out a huge breath as if possibly they've been holding it this whole time. "Of course it worked!" Their smile is bright. "We wouldn't have come for you if you weren't great."