ic Hero Prom (IC, open)

[Ari]

Suddenly the music stopped and the lights dimmed, excepting the ones around Judy, Ashley, Robin and Kam. The singer's spotlight was off as well.

 

Over the microphone a soft voice murmured "And three and four and-!" 

 

The lights roared to life, revealing Leroy in a night-black suit glittering with stars, his hair contained under a tilted homburg, his face dusted along the jaw with the beginning of a beard and his golden eyes shining bright as his perfect white smile.

 

"This," he said as the music swung into a slow twanging of guitar strings, "is for you, Judy." Like her, he didn't need to inhale before he began to sing. It was unusually somber and simple for the Dragon Prince of Earth-2.

 

"Ja pense a toi, mon amour, ma bien aimee!

Je ne t'abandonnerai jamais, mon amour, ma Dee,

 

It wasn't hard to guess what this was about, though his clasping his hands together on the second line helped underscore the point.

 

"Quand je suis dans man lit, je ne reve qu'a toi!

Et quand je me reveille, je ne pense qu'a toi,

 

This was a little more difficult, but closing one's eyes, brushing your fingertips across your temples and then gesturing to someone with a smile does wonders for bridging such gaps.

 

"When we are apart my voice is silenced,

Without you my strength fails, hope dims,

Without you this world is dark, light banished,

I think of you and then the dawn begins,

 

"You have been promised by so many,

Some offer the world, others heaven, or the Moon

I can offer only one heart, scarce worth a penny,

And this, a simple, honest, little tune."

 

Stepping away from the microphone and bowing politely to the smattering to slightly puzzled applause, Leroy headed down to meet the little quartet. Kneeling and taking Judy's hand(after a glance at Ashley to gauge her mood), he kissed it tenderly. "Dee," he said, "I was delayed. I hope you can forgive me?" 

 

To Kam and Robin he nodded "Hello, Mr. Kingdom. Wondrous warrior unknown to me. I am glad you have found him, he is honest, kind and true. My name is Leroy, I am his roommate. I hope he will forgive me all the practicing."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Oh honey, Ah can forgive you anything when you dance like _that_."Ashley didn't do more than roll her eyes as Judy lip up at Leroy's kiss, embracing him quickly before she moved out with him to reunite with Kam and his date. "But honey, you told me-" She glanced at Leroy, then at Robin, then at Ashley, then took Leroy's hand before she said, "Ah think you owe _me_ a dance, honey," she said to Leroy, pulling him back onto the dancefloor with a grip that was inexorable despite the way Leroy easily outweighed her. 

 

-

 

With her hand firmly gripping Pan's (perhaps a bit too tightly for comfort!), Eira took advantage of the distraction caused by Leroy's spectacular debut to slip into the crowd and away from Casanova and Toxin. Once they were through she released Pan's hand and looked around, her eyes wide. "...we need to blend in," she said suddenly, "the Charleston!" She began to dance a passable Charleston, in time with Pan if not quite up to his level - and suddenly leaped up and with just a faint ripple in the air around her began dancing right up the walls of the speakeasy. She grinned, her hair not so much as out of place as she hit an angle parallel to the floor, and kept moving as she cocked her head towards the punch bowl. A few people were applauding, and other people were trying out mixing powers with their dancing - quite a show was shaping up out there! 

[Ari]

"A dance?" Leroy tapped his chin, looking grave and thoughtful. "Why, sapphire, there is only one dance I know."

 

Taking Judy's hand in his, and resting a blessedly cool hand on her back, Leroy swept in close, smelling like spiced wine as he smiled down at her. "Foxtrot!"

 

With that they were off, gliding across the floor, weaving between other couples or singles pounding the illusory boards in a smokey joint rattling and wailing with the sounds of a generation in turmoil, the otherworld boy looking completely at ease in his costume belonging to another time and land. 

 

"Such a lovely pair, those two," Leroy said, nodding at Kam and Robin, "but, my love, there was something you wanted to say? If it was important, I would like to know." The taller boy led at a gentle pace,  smiling like he hadn't a care in the world as their feet began to leave the floor and the two floated gently into the air. But by now Judy was accustomed to the subtler tells of her boyfriend, and his pupils had slitted noticeably. "If it is nothing...well, it would be nice to know that too!"

 

He cocked his head as a gang of teenagers started rolling and chatting over to the snacks table, heading for the punch. The ground seemed to shake under them a little, and their pace was oddly slow. He suppressed a grin. "Dio. The sly snake, bending his vows about delights of the tongue."

Edited April 19, 2020 by Ari

[angrydurf]

Kam frowned deeply at Leroys sudden over the top arrival and apparent costume change.  His suspicions were confirmed as the boy arrived to greet Robin and himself as if he'd not seen them moments earlier.  "Good to see you enjoying yourself Leroy."  he replied as he let his eyes wander the room for signs of what the imposter might have been about.   He patted Robins hand and glanced to Elizabeth with a flicker of suspicion before discarding her as a likely suspect.  Capeable certainly but undermining Judy and Leroy's relationship was not her kind of trick.  There were any number of students capable of spinning such an illusion or disguise convincingly.  

 

His gaze fell on Pan and Eira making a spectacle of themselves, Pan was more than capable, the color false Leroy wore had fit his style as well, Eira perhaps would encourage such petty incidental cruelty as a joke though he thought Pan had more sense.  "I suspect some impractical jest behind the first Leroy."  he explained as he continued scanning the room clearly overthinking the entire exchange that seemed to have wrought not but momentary confusion.

[Fox]

Elizabeth followed Kam's gaze with open curiosity, taking another sip of her drink. "What, the fake one you were talking to just before I showed up for punch?"

 

She had an eyebrow up in genuine surprise, as if she hadn't considered that other people might have thought he was a real person. She'd been practicing that eyebrow; she was pretty good at it now. She had not been practicing remembering that other people did not always have her super powers, like knowing when something wasn't real. "It wasn't a real Leroy. It wasn't magic, though, so I don't quite know whose fake Leroy it was? I try not to ruin other peoples' acts if no one asks, and I don't really keep track of the non-magic tricky types."

 

That gave her pause, and she tapped a finger against her chin in thought. "I probably should keep track of the non-magic tricky types," she observed. She'd make a list later. "But for now, I mean, take your pick. And we're in the Doom Room, so your pick is basically anyone if it wasn't a more first-party thing."

[RocketLord]

"Ah yes, blending in by standing out, the best to make sure nobody is looking at us!" Pan laughed, as he quickly fell in with Eira's Charleston, slightly overtaking her, spinning around as golden dusts flew all around him while they danced up the walls.

 

As he moved with Eira and the others that started to join in on the show, Pan's fedora fell, quickly being caught in his hand, being moved along and then he spun around, passing just by Eira, mere inches apart. "Is everything ready for the real show?" he whispered. His breath was hot from the dancing, he lingered for a second, then he was next to her again, quickly starting to take the lead as he stepped, spun, moved and started setting the pace for the rest to follow.

[Heritage]

When Eira first proposed her bizarre 'Olympic' color scheme to Lulu and Mia, the Southern redhead was distinctly not happy; how come she had to be third place? But then she thought about it and did some research, and found out that bronze was an excellent shade for redheads, and then she was all in! 

 

After a seeming eternity of waiting, Lulu finally came out to join her boyfriend, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "Hey, handsome! Miss me?" Her dress was a beautiful Art Deco-inspired affair that shimmered and danced as she moved, with a playful frilled fringe about the hem. A circlet with a feather plume on the side highlighted her...short bobbed hair?! Had the telepath actually cut off her signature tresses?

 

"Don't worry, it's just an illusion; ah couldn't figure out how to pin it up right, so ah finally gave up and cheated!" She floated up to his height, draped her arms over his shoulders and gave him an apologetic kiss. "Sorry to keep you waitin' so long, hon!" 

Edited April 20, 2020 by Heritage

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

As the Claremonters approached the entrance to the Doom Room, they were greeted by a figure seated at a small table near the doorway.  Sometimes it was a smiling Buster Keaton, or Charlie Chaplin, or Harold Lloyd.  Other times, it was Dr. Caligari, or Nosferatu, or the Phantom of the Opera.  And sometimes it was Robin Hood, or Sherlock Holmes, or Zorro.  The one commonality -- aside from the fact that all were characters from films released in the 1920s -- is that they were all in grayscale, as if those black & white images had sprung to life.  Which, in a manner of speaking, they had, thanks to the metamorphic abilities of one Davyd Palahniuk.

 

"Tickets, please."

 

[Avenger Assembled]

GM 

 

"Psst, hey, Davyd." Was Zoe Robinson, a pretty redhead from the West Coast with a taste for the finer things sitting next to Davyd, or was it just an illusion? With her powers, it could be both - though from the way people were looking, nobody was . "Thanks for busting your butt all week. Hey, nice Phantom of the Opera," she added with a nod. "If you want to sneak in and get a dance, I can cover for you for a bit. I do a pretty good Nosferatu myself." She demonstrated, seeming to be replaced by a not-too-bad impression of Max Schreck via  rippling in the air, and winked a rheumy eye at the other teen.

[Avenger Assembled]

When they were over the punch bowl, Eira dropped down and landed among the other teens, the air around her rippling slightly as her magnetic descent caught her fall. "Kam, Elizabeth..." She looked at Robin and stared, eyes seeming to unfocus for a moment, then shrugged her half-bared shoulders fractionally before she slipped an arm around Pan's waist. "I am Eira Katastroff. And this is Pan." She laughed, snorting audibly, and said, with a wave of her free hand, "We thought it would be so funny to just come here and dance like everyone else, yes? ...Have any of you danced?" she asked, raising one silver eyebrow. 

 

"Don't give me those snake eyes, Leroy," said Judy, not really annoyed despite the words. She smiled, then admitted in a whisper too quiet to carry beyond their pair, "Ah thought for sure you'd told me who Kam's girlfriend was, but come to think of it Ah guess it was Ashley." Ashley, for her part, was still keeping a discreet distance. "Ah didn't really want to have that conversation!" She laughed nervously, then added, "How long did it take you to get all that set up?" 

[Thunder King]

Adam's eyes bulged slightly and his voice caught in his throat for a moment. "You are absolutely stunning, Lulu." He grinned. "Well, then, no harm done. Beauty takes time, after all. Your hair is beautiful no matter how you style it. Shall we go to the prom?" He hooked his arm in hers and lead her. He knew he was too young to fall in love, but it was hard not to.

 

He was not a good dancer, but he would try his best. 

[alderwitch]

Robin blinked once, her grey eyed gaze taking in the doppelganger - or apparently, the real Leroy. For a moment, she tuned out to scan the room with a narrowed gaze before she relaxed. When she noticed Kam still stiff at her side, she nudged his arm.

 

"Relax," Robin chided, sounding much more like herself. Taking the lead in a dangerous situation had become natural in the Fens. "You're over thinking things again. Not everything is a threat or worth the the mental energy to go down the rabbit hole of figuring out all the pieces of a puzzle. Just because you can figure it all out, doesn't mean you should."

 

That was a familiar refrain. Kam's effort to quantify the problems in the Fens and unravel that Gordian knot had been clear to Robin from the first. She offered Eira a friendly smile alongside her date. "We took a spin around the dance floor earlier but probably will again. Hello, I'm Robin." She offered, for those that didn't know her name at a glance. She wasn't exactly famous as heroes went, nor did she expect really any of these students to recognize her. "I graduated Claremont a couple of years ago."

[angrydurf]

Kams frown only deepened at Elizabeth's commentary on the nature of the duplicate letting out a tight sigh that he had missed whatever cue's she'd picked up on.  "Hmm that does open possibilities to those with program rights on the Doom Room or perhaps those able to bypass the security."  he Murmured almost under his breath as he adjusted his calculations on potential perpetrators once more.  He snapped out of it at robins nudge and breathed out heavily as he let it go, "Yes tonight is not about that at the least." he agreed in practice if not principle.

 

As Eira and Pan joined them he returned the greeting after Robin introduced herself, "Eira, Pan you put on quite the show."  he complimented openly.  Kan tilted his head slightly at Eiras statement that she clearly felt was some sort of jest.  He chalked up the odd inflection to cultural differences for the moment and nodded, "Well you certainly did seem to be enjoying your date."  he agreed with a shrug and gave robins arm a fond squeeze, "We did a tour of the floor once and will likely return after refreshment."  Kam explained with a smile lifting his cup and finishing hte last of the watery punch.

[RocketLord]

"Nice to meet you, Robin, and hello Kam." Pan's grin was, as ever, wide, as he bowed his head slightly while greeting Kam and his date. "Thank you, thank you, I like to try to make it memorable for everyone." The bowed head continued into a longer bow towards Kam and Robin, before standing up straight. He wiped a bit of golden dust from his shoulder.

 

"Oh, but this is just an ironic date. Just friends out having fun, of course. Nothing more or less, right Eira?" He turned to Eira while he explained, having extended an arm to hold around her waist while he had talked. "But yes, I am very much enjoying it!"

 

Pan lingered a moment turned to Eira, before he turned back to Kam and Robin. "How are you finding the party so far?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"Astrid and Micah are doing the same thing," said Eira firmly. "Friendships between...people who are attracted to each other do not always have to end in romance." She still had not let go of Pan's waist, but now she disengaged, a thoughtful expression on her face. Turning to Elizabeth, she said, "Elizabeth, would you like to dance with Pan? I could just stay here. By this table." She folded her hands behind her back and smirked. 

[Fox]

"Oh yes, very ironic!" Liz seemed genuinely enthused, eyebrows up in...support? "Ironic dates, ironic dancing, ironic kisses...." Her grin had entirely too many teeth. "You'd better stop at ironic kisses, though! There are too many students who can turn invisible, I bet the staff can see right through it."

 

She paused, ticking a finger back and forth as she ran that one back through her head. "....well. You know what I mean. I'd love a dance!" She flashed a bright smile, setting her punch cup down on the table and holding a hand out Pan's way. "Since you're very attracted to him and also only here ironically, you can enjoy some ironic jealousy, and I'll enjoy myself in the meantime."

[KnightDisciple]

On 4/16/2020 at 1:25 AM, Cubismo said:

Astrid returned Micah's awkward but charming compliment with one of her own.

 

"Aww. You're gonna make me blush if you keep serenading me with your suave country ways." Though she said the words in her typical sarcastic way, Astrid was being sincere. Simply put, it felt good to get a compliment for the costume. Astrid had her punk look down, sure, but historically accurate aviator chic was understandably new territory for her.

 

Realizing that Micah might not see it that why Astrid changed her tone into something more earnest. "But seriously, thanks for the compliment, Micah. I worked real hard on this," she said smiling warmly before abruptly lightly punching the self-deprecating boy in the shoulder. "And so did you by the way. So don't be saying I pulled it off better when its obvious that we're both freaking awesome."

 

With that said, Astrid eagerly took up Micah's offered arm, locking it with her own as they and everyone seemed finally ready to finally head to the dance.  

 

Micah went ahead and blushed. Then he stood up a bit straighter and smiled a bit wider.

 

"Well ma'am I reckon it's just part of my old-time country ways. Let us be off!"

 

He gave Adam a smile, a nod, and a thumbs-up as he and Astrid made their way to the prom area. As she spoke a bit more softly and earnestly, he reddened again a bit, but smiled and laughed at her "punch", rubbing the spot as if actually hurt.

"My dear lady this kind of abuse makes me question my decision! Still, I figured you'd like the idea. Gals like Earhart and all seem right up your alley, and you seemed like a bit more of a 'pants' girl than some. And if they're gonna let us wear 'period costumes', might as well lean into it! Plus, this way, we have layers. If it gets warm in there with a bunch of folks movin' around, we just put the jackets aside."

 

On 4/20/2020 at 6:25 PM, Dr Archeville said:

Horrorshow

 

As the Claremonters approached the entrance to the Doom Room, they were greeted by a figure seated at a small table near the doorway.  Sometimes it was a smiling Buster Keaton, or Charlie Chaplin, or Harold Lloyd.  Other times, it was Dr. Caligari, or Nosferatu, or the Phantom of the Opera.  And sometimes it was Robin Hood, or Sherlock Holmes, or Zorro.  The one commonality -- aside from the fact that all were characters from films released in the 1920s -- is that they were all in grayscale, as if those black & white images had sprung to life.  Which, in a manner of speaking, they had, thanks to the metamorphic abilities of one Davyd Palahniuk.

 

"Tickets, please."

 

Micah smiled at Davyd and handed him the pair of tickets for himself and Astrid, then tipped his hat at the shape-shifter.

 

"Reckon we feel mighty safe with you guarding the door, partner."
 

And then Eira and Pan were confronted by a rather unpleasant classmate. Astrid felt Micah's grip tighten just a bit, and his face went blank, with a hard glint in his eyes. No weather manifested inside but it was likely a near thing. The moment passed, and once the musical young couple was inside, Micah seemed to lose some of that tension. He glanced around, then back to Astrid.

 

"Lady's choice for what we do first. Dance, socialize, or sate our hunger and thirst?"

[Electra]

The doors of the Doom Room were fixed and spring loaded so as to always slide open quickly and quietly, which was a shame because it made it hard to make an entrance. Danica made up for it with a loud "Helloooo, everybody!" as she stood just inside the open doorway and surveyed the party. She was not wearing her shell for the occasion, but took up nearly as much room as usual in a high-necked green dress that appeared to have about five layers of crinoline underneath. It looked nice, but was about as far from her normal style as it was possible to be. "I'm here for the party! What's fun tonight?" She made a bit of a spectacle of herself simply because it took her such a long time to leave the doorway and cross the floor, but she didn't seem to mind. 

[RocketLord]

Pan raised an eyebrow as Eira let go. "Attracted now?" he asked, the right side of his lips curling into a crooked smile, as he let go of her. "And here I thought the date was just ironic, nothing more." He winked at her, before reacing out and taking Elizabeth's hand, taking a step back and making a small bow. "Shall we, then?"

 

Before leaving for the dance floor once more, he glanced at Eira. "I suppose you will stay by this table, yes?"

 

Then, he led Elizabeth to the dance floor, whispering to her along the way. "From one trickster to another: What the teachers can and cannot see will always be up for debate, no?" He quickly threw himself into the dance, pulling Elizabeth along.

 

Back with Eira, a voice spoke from her left shoulder. Just a voice, nothing else. "Come, now. Show us all why you should be the one dancing." 

Edited April 23, 2020 by RocketLord

[Avenger Assembled]

The sudden interplay between Elizabeth and Pan, too fast and smooth like butter, caught Eira off-guard. "But - I - " She watched the two of them walk onto the dance floor together, her hands balled into fists, her pale blue eyes narrowed tight. The voice on Eira's shoulder caught her turning away, and actually made her stumble into Danica, who she pushed away from with a look of curling fury on her pretty face as she hissed, "Watch where you're-" She stepped back, seeming to catch herself before she yelled at everyone's favorite turtle, and stood alone, a robot surrounded by the organic high school students, and backed against the wall. Once there, she folded her hands behind her back and watched, while all the while a metal spike wriggled its way out from underneath her arm and buried itself in the "wooden" wall behind her. 

 

[alderwitch]

"Well, this part of the high school experience, I absolutely did not miss," Robin murmured as she watched the exchange between the 'ironic' dating couple and Elizabeth with one arched eyebrow before her concerned gaze flicked over the young woman that Eira had pushed. She arched her brows in a silent inquiry to Kam before collecting his cup with a nod of understanding to encourage him to go check on the student in the green dress. 

 

Pursing her lips slightly, Robin turned to find a trash can for the half drunk punch cups. Her grey eyed gaze swept the room automatically for other trouble spots out of habit. 

[Cubismo]

7 hours ago, KnightDisciple said:

Micah went ahead and blushed. Then he stood up a bit straighter and smiled a bit wider.

 

"Well ma'am I reckon it's just part of my old-time country ways. Let us be off!"

 

He gave Adam a smile, a nod, and a thumbs-up as he and Astrid made their way to the prom area. As she spoke a bit more softly and earnestly, he reddened again a bit, but smiled and laughed at her "punch", rubbing the spot as if actually hurt.

"My dear lady this kind of abuse makes me question my decision! Still, I figured you'd like the idea. Gals like Earhart and all seem right up your alley, and you seemed like a bit more of a 'pants' girl than some. And if they're gonna let us wear 'period costumes', might as well lean into it! Plus, this way, we have layers. If it gets warm in there with a bunch of folks movin' around, we just put the jackets aside."

 

Outside the Doom Room

 

As they started to get a move on to the Doom Room, hand in hand, Micah's joking recriminations about the punch got a false look out of Astrid. "Hey now, you knew I was a 'pants' girl when you decided to take me to this thing so any rowdy injuries are on you. Comes with the territory, I'm afraid." Astrid made a cute giggle snort at the joke, but became more sincere when Micah moved on to their costume choice. "By the Gods, ja. Being able to actually take some of this stuff off when things really get going is gonna be a lifesaver for sure. I've seen way to many parties where people just collapse on the floor because they thought it would be a cool idea to wear some really complicated get-up to a packed room with like a hundred people in it." 

 

7 hours ago, KnightDisciple said:

And then Eira and Pan were confronted by a rather unpleasant classmate. Astrid felt Micah's grip tighten just a bit, and his face went blank, with a hard glint in his eyes. No weather manifested inside but it was likely a near thing. The moment passed, and once the musical young couple was inside, Micah seemed to lose some of that tension. He glanced around, then back to Astrid.

 

"Lady's choice for what we do first. Dance, socialize, or sate our hunger and thirst?"

 

In the Doom Room

 

Despite the fact that he was obviously trying to restrain himself, Astrid could feel her date's grip tighten over so slightly. At first she chalked up the sudden agitation to nervous prom jitteries but a swift look at Micah's hard eyes and a tracking of whether they were directed immediately revealed the truth. The Asgardian frowned and as was on the verge of walking up to that dolt Sebastian but the situation was abruptly ended by Toxin before it could even really heat up into anything major. When Astrid turned her gaze back on Micah she saw that most of the anger had left him. Micah was a pretty guy chill from Astrid's experience, but he definitely had his limits when it came to bullshit, which was something highly Astrid respected.

 

Wanting to fully get both their heads off what they both just saw Astrid decided to answer Micah's question a bit coyly. "Oh, I'm not brave enough for dancing. Give me a mike and a guitar I'll rock the floor, but dancing?" Astrid shook her head in exaggerated fashion. "That would be a total disaster. I'm talking Ragnorak levels. I say we chat up some our friends for a bit and then we hit the floor like two thunderstorms. That sound good, Mr. Roebuck?"

[Fox]

"Ooh, confidence! That is attractive." Elizabeth flashed a playful smile, heading out onto the dance floor with ease and good cheer. "It makes for a great showman - or a good mark! Just make sure you're stealing the cheese and not dropping it from your tree."

 

Elizabeth was not a well-practiced dancer - she'd never had the stamina for it as a child - but she learned fast, she was reasonably well-coordinated, and she had the controlled enthusiasm of someone determined to enjoy herself as much as possible. For the rest, she was happy to let Pan lead. "Obviously they don't see everything, we're very good and they can't be everywhere at once." She grinned a grin of a couple years' mischief, a bit of white hair falling in front of one of her eyes. "But assuming they see nothing is a good way to make the bad kind of trouble. I'm not saying don't, just, you know, not directly in the middle of a prom dance where a bunch of boring adults who already know what we can do are actively watching us for things they're too boring to let us get away with. I bet they'll put up with pranks, but I bet they'd come down hard on anything really fun, so you probably want privacy if you're going to...."

 

She paused, a frown flickering across her face. "....I was going to make some kind of computer pun, but that seems rude. You know what I mean."

[RocketLord]

"Of courses, but that would mean they knew everything we could do. Wouldn't be good tricksters if we let everyone know all of our tricks, would we now?" Pan's playful smile remained, not frozen, but ever present as he danced, being more than happy to take the lead. Still, it wouldn't exactly be difficult to see that his eyes would flicker towards Eira every now and again. 

 

He took a step back to the rhytm, before pulling in closer again. "And sometimes, less is more, no?" An almost stumble at the frown, giggling at the aborted pun and quickly shaking his head. When he stopped he, of course, looked entirely innocent. Except for the smile that played over his lips, which was of course anything but innocent. "I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. This is a purely ironic date." He paused briefly, shooting another glance in Eira's direction, then whispered. "At least until someone decides to be a bit honest and decide otherwise. But, I am working on that."

 

Back with Eira, the voice spoke again. "close call! watch out, watch out! all eyes are on them, you're safe. unless you would rather be the one that was seen. maybe you should be?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"Shut. Up." Eira hissed out loud, a moment before the spider crawled out of the punch bowl. 

 

It wasn't a real spider (since most real spiders don't have legs a foot and a half long) and it didn't look much like one either. With its smooth black body, humanoid eyes and facial expression, and soft, rounded limbs, it looked more like a period cartoon than anything more arachnid. A few people had been in the process of filling their cups from the bowl and shrieked, but they were hard to hear over the music and the creature wasn't actually frightening enough for them to go get a chaperone. The perfect prank. "Pardon me, boy," it hissed at Dio with a slightly inebriated old Atlantic accent, doffing its fedora with one forelimb, "is that the Chattanooga choo-choo?"

 

With the question asked, it began crawling under the table. 

 

Eira watched the scene with a smirk on her face and moved across the room, detaching from the wall as she went, so distracted that she missed the way frilly little Danica was tagging along behind her. The turtle titan didn't seem bothered by her encounter with the robot - if anything, Eira had pushed off _her_ and not the other way around.