ic Holiday Cheer! [OPEN]

[Poncho]

21 hours ago, Thevshi said:

"Everyone, may I introduce Tha Stormcrow, tha Raven's former understudy." Bernadette then said, gesturing with both hands toward Charlie.

 

"Understudy?" Michael perked up, looking at the new arrival with an appraising eye. It almost seemed tense. For a moment, before he broke out into ome of the biggest grins he'd ever given anyone.

 

"The Raven and Nevermore! I know you! Every kid in Freedom City wanted to be you, myself included! I know you disappeared for awhile but you're back, and with a new name? Incredible! It's wonderful to meet you. I would love to have a longer conversation with you at some time, hear about all those stories as Nevermore. " He said, then looked at Bernadette.

 

"But obviously your girlfriend takes priority, so please, don't let me take any of your time tonight, we can talk some other time." He finished politely.

 

18 hours ago, Huckleberry said:

Consuelo thought as she gave him an extra glare.

 

"Hey, uh Bernie, before you go and get frisky," one more time rubbing it in to Michael felt good, "You don't know if any of the heroes here are like androids or something, do you? I have an easier time mingling with peeps that aren't, like, actually alive.  . . ."

 

Michael turned to Consuelo next and his smile twisted momentarily into a frown. Why was she glaring at him? Had he said something wrong? He always seemed to end up so frustrated at the green haired girl. He had to pause and mull it over a bit, using his mental processing power from his powers to think through the situation faster than a normal person could. Was Consuelo actually glaring at him or was this him misunderstanding her because of the nature of her powers. It was probably that second one. He just needed to be complimentary again.

 

"Don't worry Rot, I'm sure you can find someone to talk to, I know it can be difficult for you and I'm sorry I can't help."

 

11 hours ago, MoonSimply said:

There was a smile cracking as it seemed Goldenstar had a knack for conversation, or the idea of raiding and taking territory, "You can count me in," she spoke with a sly voice.

 

"Great!" He said, looking around a bit and once more getting a grin on his face as he decides on who they should meet first. "Magic 8 Ball, you can come with us too if you want." He adds to her before lookkng back at Carmen

 

"Puma, do you want to decide who we introduce ourselves to first?"

[Tiffany Korta]

The Immutable Betsy Brooks

Such was the way of things, one minute you were flirting with a dragon the next you were lost in the crowd. Betsy tended to be a realist about such thing, though maybe she should look up that Lung she’d meet in London’s Chinatown.

 

Still, philosophy was never something to do sober, so she put her cigarette in her mouth and began patting herself down on the rare chance her matches had survived, whilst carrying out the important task of hunting for something alcoholic.

[Tiffany Korta]

Triakosia

Dancia had once done a story about high-society women and how they were introduced to it all through a big fancy dance. With Katherine, Katie was off the table for now, hitting fifteen and Claremont beckoning it was time to let her meet some of the city's heroes.

 

Triakosia landed a short distance away, as Katherine couldn’t fly more than a series of long jumps. They were wearing similar costumes and looked almost like sisters, rather than Daughter and (step) Mother (it was complicated), not ageing was nice but it did mean dressing your (apparent) age so people didn’t notice.

 

Young Centuria, she pointed ignored the actual Latin-speaking Dancia pointing out that it didn’t mean what she thought it did, and looked around excitedly at all the supers young and old that had gathered at today’s party.

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

Charlie looks at each of the Claremont students in turn, smiling and nodding at them, while his information comes up on the HUD on the glasses as he looks at them. They're an interesting bunch, that's for sure. As varied as him and his friends were at Claremont, though Bernie is still there. Alek would disapprove of them being told who he was out of costume though, but at least the Charlie that he had been at Claremont was a different guy in many ways... at least this is an all heroes event.

 

"Wait, you're fanboying over me?" He could probably hide the surprise from his voice if he wanted to, but he lets it show. "And I... Yeah, I think that'll wait for another time. Later!" 

 

He lets himself be pulled away by Bernadetta, not that he really minds. "A mistletoe, huh?" he asks innocently, his smile genuinely happy. "And boyfriend? What have you been telling the new students about us?"

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

Bernadette could not help but grin at Michael's reaction to learning who Charlie was, not to mention Charlie's to having someone fanboy over him. The redhead gave everyone another smile as she and Charlie started off into the Hall….on a mission.

 

"O' course, one o' the social exceptions ta makin' out at an' event like this." She replied to Charlie's first question. She then laughed at his second. "Not a bloody thing. Not my bleedin' fault they jump ta conclusions an' did not get that I just plan ta use ye fer the night an' be done with ya." The Irish teen gave him a playful grin.

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

"Use me and lose me, huh?" Charlie replies, sounding a bit hurt, even if he is still grinning.

 

Maybe he means the tone, maybe he is just pretending. It is difficult to tell with Charlie, when he doesn't want to be read. Of course, that doesn't slow him down, and his continued response is just as playful as Bernadetta. 

 

"I suppose that depends on what kind of ideas you have for the night."

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass II

 

Mizuki returns with a bottle of what looks like sparkling grape juice... but in a small 20oz size. Perfect as she loves the stuff. "Some of the non-alcoholic options here are amazing! I love this stuff!" She said with a smile taking a sip, sticking around with Velocity and their entourage. She decides to not say anything else for now and get immersed in the conversation.

 

Never thought I'd be around this many adult supers... and in the HQ of the premiere superhero team... or is it Former HQ? Lost track in supers history class...

[Huckleberry]

Rot

 

"Hey guys, I just got an idea! How about we go talk to the time-travelling robot lady we met . . . well, uh some of us met on move-in day?" And Consuelo points to the advanced replicant enjoying a hot cocoa with a hunky elf. "I'm pretty sure she's some kinda famous superhero, and she won't get repulsed by my, uh, thing. And also she said she might have some work for us, remember? We could, like network, and maybe even get a mission." Consuelo looked almost idiotically proud of herself for thinking of this. "It could be, like, good for our hero careers and stuff!"

[Thunder King]

Voltage

 

Near where Angelic was standing, a small cloud of silver electrical current appeared in thin air. A second later, the electricity coalesced into a rough humanoid shape, before solidifying into a lean, nearly gaunt man with short gray hair. He actually looked somewhat healthier than he had recently. He smiled and nodded rather awkwardly, smiling to Eira, who was one of the people he knew well enough to greet.

 

"Hello. I don't often come out for these sorts of things. How are you doing?"

[Electra]

Fleur de Joie

 

The Christmas tree in the center of the room rustled slightly, several ornaments jingling musically with the movement, then abruptly spread a number of its lower branches wide apart to expose a suddenly much-widened trunk. Our of the trunk stepped Fleur de Joie, holding her twelve year old daughter by the hand and her toddler son on her hip. All three were dressed for the festivities, Stesha and Amaryllis in nearly-matched sparkling green dresses and holly wreath crowns, and Basil in a little green and red striped outfit that made him look very like an elf. The tree closed up behind them as they emerged, not so much as a bauble out of place.

 

"Okay, we're a little later than I'd planned, but not by much," Stesha murmured to Amaryllis. "Let's find our people and say hello at least, then you can go find your friends." Amaryllis, a seasoned veteran of these parties, nodded assent to the plan and dropped Stesha's hand to pick up her phone and start texting rapidly. Basil, not nearly so jaded at only two years old, was craning his neck around to take in the whole scene with saucer-sized eyes. There would be a creche set up somewhere, Stesha knew, but they had all night to make their way over there.

 

Spotting Velocity across the room, Stesha waved and began to make her way through the crowd, offering smiles and polite words of greeting as she passed. There were more new heroes in Freedom City every year, she mused, and spending so much time on Sanctuary meant she knew very few of them. Well, that was one reason for parties like this to exist, she supposed.

 

As soon as she made her way to her friend and colleague, Stesha extended her free arm for a hug. "Everything looks beautiful!" she enthused. "You've outdone all of us this year."

[Avenger Assembled]

Eira's greeting of Voltage was friendly enough, as was her introduction of "Percy, from, ah, a magical community in the Arctic," to her uncle's old friend. She even brought herself almost down to ground level, her boots just barely touching the ground. She was about to ask after his welfare when there was a dramatic shift in circumstances. 

 

"Oj!" said Eira ebulliently as the Christmas tree opened up and discharged a family. Suddenly the hard-nosed very genius was a little girl meeting the Freedom League with her uncle and her American family all over again. "Look at that!" She grabbed Percy's arm, pointing excitedly at Fleur and her children. 

 

"Yes, it's very impressive," agreed Percy, sipping his peppermint white Russian cocktail. "Can she control all trees, or just the fir?" He caught her look and laughed. "älskling, of course I read your files. I know who these people are. A pleasure to meet you, Voltage - Percy Pepparkaka, at your service." Up close, the man smelled distinctly like - was that warm gingerbread?

[Thevshi]

10 hours ago, RocketLord said:

The STORMCROW

 

"Use me and lose me, huh?" Charlie replies, sounding a bit hurt, even if he is still grinning.

 

Maybe he means the tone, maybe he is just pretending. It is difficult to tell with Charlie, when he doesn't want to be read. Of course, that doesn't slow him down, and his continued response is just as playful as Bernadetta. 

 

"I suppose that depends on what kind of ideas you have for the night."

 

Multi-Girl

 

Bernadette gave Charlie a slight look as he responded. It was so often hard to read him, one of the many things that was both intriguing and aggravating about him at the same time. The redhead guided them out of the crowded areas and into one of the side hallways before stopping and facing him. "I'm kiddin' o' course." She stated, most likely unnecessarily. "But…"

 

"Back when ya were still at Claremont, I spent a bit o' time strugglin' with whether ta let you know how I felt. An…then ye were gone." The Irish teen stated. "I don' need ta know why, or where, or anythin'. But, now yer back, at last fer now, an' I don' plan on regrettin' what I didn' do again."

[Thevshi]

Velocity

 

Velocity had seen Geckoman make his entrance, and recognized his wife from a long, long time ago. She gave Mizuki a warm smile as the teen made her way back to the group the speedster was talking with. But before she could introduce her, Fluer made her entrance, causing Velocity's smile to widen as she glanced to Luke and Muirne, nodding her head towards the tree. "And there she is now."

 

When Stesha made her way over to the group, Velocity hugged her in return. "Well, you know how I can get when I put my mind to something." She replied as she gave Basile a wide smile and lightly grasped one of his hands. "He is getting so big!" She then glanced over towards Amaryllis. "And always good to see you Ammy." She said before offering the tween a hug.

 

"Fluer, I believe you know most everyone here," She then turned back to the group, "Grimalkin, Crimson Tiger. And of course Nightscale and Shadowborne, who were just asking about you." The speedster then indicated Mizuki, "and this is a new Claremont student, Torpedo Lass."

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass II

"Mizuki if you will." She said. Not really latching on to the name, but then again... "But yeah... new person, old name. More given than taken."

 

Seemed off to say, but she was right... second to hold the name... but was that really her?

[Fox]

Gaian Knight / Tiamat

 

Tiamat took the compliment with a grin, but shook her head. "As much majesty as I can fit into a human body, anyway. It's too small." If she was aware of the irony, at nearly a foot taller than Predator, she didn't show it. "Too soft," she added - amended? - flexing one hand in front of her. "So much time spent this way and I never quite get used to it."

 

"Still!" She paused to laugh. "Just thought I'd let you know about the food, one non-human to another. I can eat about anything, too, but it was nice of them to think about it and all, and glad it got you outta the lab - promise the food's worth it."

[Kaede Kimura]

Shadowborne 

 

Muirne smiled indulgingly at Luke about scaring the Monster off, deciding not to point out that it had only fled when the Freedom League arrived. She did look particularly relieved when Velocity assured her that Fleur was fine, before nearly jumping out of her skin at the heroine's sudden arrival.

 

Still, she recovered quickly enough to give Fleur a smile and a wave. "It is good to see you again, I'll admit despite everyone's assurances I was still worried about your..." She glances to the children, considering her words, "Injuries."

[RocketLord]

15 hours ago, Thevshi said:

 

Multi-Girl

 

Bernadette gave Charlie a slight look as he responded. It was so often hard to read him, one of the many things that was both intriguing and aggravating about him at the same time. The redhead guided them out of the crowded areas and into one of the side hallways before stopping and facing him. "I'm kiddin' o' course." She stated, most likely unnecessarily. "But…"

 

"Back when ya were still at Claremont, I spent a bit o' time strugglin' with whether ta let you know how I felt. An…then ye were gone." The Irish teen stated. "I don' need ta know why, or where, or anythin'. But, now yer back, at last fer now, an' I don' plan on regrettin' what I didn' do again."

 

Charlie frowns, and for once, he doesn't bother to hide his feelings. Regret. At leaving, or on making Bernadette feel that conflict? That's harder to say. After a moment of hesitation, he replies.

 

"Well, here's the thing," he pauses briefly, as he pulls her closer under the mistletoe. "now I'm here to stay."

Edited December 19, 2023 by RocketLord

[MoonSimply]

On 12/18/2023 at 9:34 AM, Poncho said:

"Puma, do you want to decide who we introduce ourselves to first?"

Carmen took a little bit of time to think about this. A little bit was only a few seconds as she moved over towards Golden, staying in tow with him now with a smirk on her face. This could actually start getting to be fun as cat like mischievousness started to appear as she looked towards Golden, "Well, I'm feeling a bit wild tonight. How about you surprise me. I'm sure whomever you pick will be fun," she says, still smirking towards him. Rot would be on her own for the time being now.

[BitCook]

Quote

 

"And the esteemed and illustrious Magic 8 Ball is here as well! I hope you aren't going to spoil the Christmas presents for any children in attendance, it might make you their favorite but I would fear their parents might become a bit cross with you." He teased good naturedly. "I hope you can enjoy your first major party here. I can't say I know much about parties from across the sea, so I have no idea how different they may be. Perhaps later we can have a dance, provided the music or the musicians provide a suitable song." 

 

 

 

 

Reality shifted around Vicki and they were at a party, but a much different one.  Women and men danced and mingled with an old world air about them.  She could recognize some, The Centurion, Johnny Danger, the Bluesman.  Even out of costume, in suits with tails or women with hoops skirts, so many people were recognizable to her; icons that were world renown.  How the Freedom league could pull this off... it was amazing!  In her vision addled state, she didn't realize that Charmaine, by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadian's was not a current top hit and was nearly a century old.  Like all of her visions, she felt a part of them as if they were indeed reality.  Walking through the genteel event, she saw waiters bringing Deviled Eggs, Oysters Rockefeller and some sorts of finger cakes around to the guests as well as light beverages in fine crystal.

 

Unfortunately, her bodysuit and boy shorts stuck out like a sore thumb in the highly formal atmosphere.  Her presence caused a ripple among the guests which was hard not to notice; "check out the gams on that dame, what does she think this is?", "What a hussy, even Madam Solaire's girls wouldn't be caught dead in public like that." and other comments floated to her ears.

Seeing her floundering with the buzz around her, the Centurion approached her with a curt nod, "Miss."

Something about his solid practical demeanor grounded her and she gave a smile and a curtsey and replied, "Good evening sir, it's a lovely evening."

Whatever he might have responded with crashed around her as the 1920's era party vanished with the jolting sensation of a cold shower.  She blinked many times realizing that she had missed several minutes of conversation at the actual party she was attending.  It had happened again.  Looking up to Golden Star in his impeccable white suit, she gave a bashful smile, "uh... I'm sorry, I think I spaced out there for a moment.  I would love that and please forgive me, I'm normally more focused and um... present than this."

Wait?  He had made a joke too, about her powers!  "Oh and no!  I won't spoil Christmas for anyone!  It doesn't work like that... well usually anyway!"

 

 

Edited December 19, 2023 by BitCook
Cleaning up some text.

[Thevshi]

Timeout

 

Out in front of Freedom Hall, a BWM iX electric SUV pulled up on to the front. Inside where three Claremont students, Lawrence Harrow, Parker Powers and Baltazar Botez.

 

A number of the young heroes attending the League's holiday party had approached the event with uncertainty and apprehension. Among those was Lawrence, although for rather different reasons. Like Amaryllis, Lawrence had attended many of these parties, and grown up regularly interacting with the members of the League and many other adult heroes that were likely to be in attendance. In fact, it was this connection that him feeling apprehension.

 

When he started at Claremont, he knew that his family's wealth and status could be an issue with some of his classmates (who he had learned from his foster sister and other experiences in the hero community, often came from very different situations). Add to that his very close connection to the League, well, that could very easily lead to what Consuelo sometimes said about Parker, that he was acting superior to everyone.

 

Of course Lawrence couldn’t change either of these things, so it was just a matter of how he handled them. He did his best not to flaunt his wealth and generally try to be grounded in his interactions with his peers. As for his mom’s identity and the League, he had chosen to just not bring it up. There were times that he might inadvertently say something that might hint at the connection, but tried to gloss over it.

Tonight he fully expected things to come crashing to the forefront.

 

So, he figured he might as well have fun while it did.

 

Stepping out of the SUV, Lawrence handed the keys to the valet as he looked over to his friends. "Well guys, welcome to Freedom Hall." He said with a smile.

 

Having not yet decided on any individual costume, Lawrence was dressed in a finely tailored blue suit with a vest under the jacket, with a light blue dress shirt and a tie that was mostly dark blue with lighter blue points.

 

As the trio made their way inside, Lawrence took a moment to look around, seeing multiple familiar faces, including his mom, who was (unsurprisingly) among a small crowd of people. He also spotted several of his classmates from Claremont. Turning back to Parker and Baz, the blond teen waited to see where they might want to go.

[BitCook]

As she was trying to explain herself to Michael, she saw the arrival of three Claremont students whom she knew fairly well!  Looking back to the trio, she gave a little hand wave and a smile.  Although, she did her best to keep whatever little focus she had in her still on Michael.  It wasn't every day someone offered to dance with her!  Hopefully it would be something a little more modern than Guy Lombardo... 

[Poncho]

"Haha, don't worry about it." Michael said consolingly to Vicki. "There's a lot of people here, and a lot of them are extremely famous, a little shellshock is normal. The only reason I'm taking it so well is that I've spent my whole life preparing for moments like this, and I'm still stumbling a bit." He said truthfully. Then he turned his attention to Carmen.

 

"Whoever I pick? Whoever I pick. Hrmmmm." he acted like he was thinking, bringing his hand to his chin and peering around, but he'd already identified a target. Fleur de Joie and the group around her were tempting- who wouldn't want to meet a Leaguer and one of the most powerful plant controllers ever-, but that group seemed a bit too big and boisterous at this exact moment. He had decided on a smaller group and moved towards them. "This way then." He paused only a moment in their motions to wave at Lawrence, Parker, and Baz, but he had already figured out where he was going and you could sooner move the earth out of orbit than divert Michael Adon from wherever he decided to go.

 

On 12/17/2023 at 7:52 PM, Ecalsneerg said:

Geckoman & Spellbound

 

Golden Star in his fancy, clean white suit and his golden shawl, brown hair and briwn eyes, projected an impressive level of confidence for a high school kid walking up to an established Superhero and his family in the middle of a holiday party. His voice didn't even waver, but he had a clear tone of respect and was unflinchingly polite as he spoke.

 

"Sir, Ma'am." He looked at the small child too and inclined his head politely, extending his hand to the adults. "You are the illustrious Geckoman right? I read the comics about you growing up, and I have a signed copy of Astounding Geckoman number 15 in my closet in a sleeve cover." He smiled and pointed to himself, Camren, and Vicki in turn. "I am Golden Star, this is La Puma Negra and Magic 8 Ball. We are students at Claremont. I apologize if I disturbed you, but I wanted to introduce ourselves; it is not often you get the chance to meet your heroes." Well, maybe for most people, but before the night was over he intended to meet as many of them as possible.

[Supercape]

Gamma Buzz

 

Baz didn't dress up. He couldnt afford it, and besides, most tailors didn't accomodate his physique. Armour plates tended to screw things up, for starters. So, it was a red (festive) t shirt and jeans. And he was green. Green was festive!

 

"Hey hey, its Gamma Buzz, Baby!" he said, firing two green laser beams from his eyes into the sky. "Full of festive cheer! Mulled wine and cake! Yummageddon!"

 

He looked around for festive treats. He was hungry enough to eat a rat. And he could, to, with his stomach. 

 

"So what do we do now?" he asked Lawrence. "I mean, what would make us look really cool? Not that we aren't cool. I mean obviously we are cool. PhD in Cool studies. But what would make us look cool?"

[Huckleberry]

Rot

 

None of the other Claremont kids seem too enthusiastic about Consuelo’s idea to go talk to Eira, instead consolidating around Michael's schmoozing agenda, which apparently involves Geckoman. Consuelo looks back at Eira again. In addition to the steamy Christmas elf, she's also taking to some wiry old man, apparently materializing out of thin air.

 

Meh. Why give all of them the chance to not like me? Why did I let Bernadette talk me into this?

 

Consuelo finds herself tracing the periphery of the room, disintegrating trash out of the cans. Hopefully nobody will get upset with me for getting rid of some trash. 

[Tiffany Korta]

The Immutable Betsy Brooks

From the shadow came the light of a cigarette and Betsy stepped out holding a (mostly) full bottle of Jacks.

 

“Nice trick kid, personally when I was your age I liked to beat up skinheads on a Saturday night. The bad kind obviously, they deserved the kicking believe me!”

 

She smiled as much at the memory than to be friendly, the Jack was a helpful buzz but Betsy was in general friendly when she wanted to be.

 

“Those Cape in there are all good people, but they won’t understand not like an old punk like me! So indulge an old girl and tell me what the problem is?”