ic Holiday Cheer! [OPEN]

[Thevshi]

Velocity

 

Velocity gave a little laugh as Ghost apologized for some of his reports. "If anything, that made them more enjoyable to read. Have you ever read any of Deadalus’ reports where he starts going into technical detail on something? I typically have to get up and run a couple laps around the city to ensure I don’t fall asleep while I finish those."

 

As Bernadette and her band finished up, Velocity was loudly applauding as she glanced over to Ghost. "Well, afraid I still have some host duties to carryout, good to chat some, we will have to talk more later." The speedster then zipped back up onto the stage as the band made their way off, taking all their equipment with them (in large part thanks to half a dozen of Bernadette's duplicates).

 

"Let's give another round of applause for Multiplicity." She said into her microphone as she stepped onto the stage and gestured toward where the band had gone. "If you liked what you heard, you should be able to easily find their website where they have some of their recordings of covers and some original projects. Not a lot there just yet, but what is there is fantastic. I mean, I never knew I needed a rock version of the Spice Girl's Wannabe until I listened to their recording of one a couple days ago. Anyway, just a couple quick announcements, then you won’t have to listen to me anymore and can go back to enjoying the night."

 

"First, I want to give a big shout of appreciation to Neko Musume and her helpers, Leon, Davyd and Lulu, for running the daycare tonight. They have put a lot of hard work into making sure those here with little ones or pre-teens have a fun, safe place for them tonight." The speedster led a round of applause before adding with a smile, "those that have made use of the service tonight, don't forget to be generous with the tip."

 

Velocity's expression became a bit more serious as she continued. "Lastly, a couple of related things. I have been…reflecting a bit lately, on how I have spent nearly twenty years attending these parties, and over the course of the time have gotten to know so many in the hero community, many who cannot be with us tonight, by their real names and without their masks. All the while I have hidden behind mine. Of course, most of the longtime members of the League have gotten to know me without the mask, as has my oldest and dearest friend who has known me since before I really got started with the League. Just doesn’t quite seem right any longer, so.." the speedster reached up an pulled off her mirrored goggles and mask (and the attached brunette ponytail wing).

 

Shaking out her long blonde hair a moment now that it was free from being stuffed under the mask, Velocity looked back up with a wide smile and bright blue eyes that seemed almost to burst with energy. "So, for those who have not met me like this before, I am Megan Howell-Harrow. This year is my son Lawrence's first year at Claremont, where he also goes by Timeout. He is here tonight with some of his friends. I am sure some of you will have a chance to meet him at some point tonight."

"And, now that I have filled my quota of embarrassing him for the rest of the school year, let's get back to the party shall we? There is still plenty of food and drink so, please enjoy yourselves and mingle." Megan said as she gestured over to the food and where Protectron was still serving drinks. "But for those that are interested, we have converted the press room into a dance floor for the night. That is where I am headed." She then added, pointing out the now open doors she had been standing next to during the band’s performance. "I hope to see some of you out there."

 

"Happy Holidays everyone! And thank you all again for all you do!"

 

The speedster disappeared again in a blur of yellow. As she did, Christmas music again began playing over the speakers in the lobby area at a low volume to allow for ease of conversation. To start it was one of the many versions of Last Christmas. 

 

After dropping of her mask and goggles somewhere on the upper level of the Hall, Megan sped back down to the dance floor that had been set up in the press room, arriving almost as soon as she had left the small stage in the lobby. The room was rather dimly lit as the speedster activated the lighting system that had been installed, creating something of a nightclub ambiance.

 

And then she queued up a playlist she had put together and the first song began.

 

Then the beat comes on,

it's like nobody's here,

it's just me and the dance floor,

And I have no fear.

 

The speedster immediately went into a shuffle dance routine she had choreographed years ago as Loose My Head began to play. As she had for so many years since gaining her powers, Megan allowed herself to focus on the music, matching her movements to the tempo and rhythm, forcing her to stay at normal speeds as she danced around the middle of the room with practiced grace and energy.

 

As she finished, the next song came on, Dua Lipa's Houdini and Megan shifted to a bit less choreographed and space consuming dancing, as she matched the song slower tempo, but with no less skill than before. The play list shifted back and forth between slower tempo songs to faster paced house tracks. It included recent songs such as Ed Sheeran's Shape of You; two additional from Dua Lipa, Dance The Night and Don't Start Now ; Olivia Rodrigo's Bad Idea Right?; and Ava Max's Sweet But Psycho. But it also included older songs like Taylor Swift's Shake It Off; Will I Am and Britney Spears' Scream and Shout; Katy Perry's Hot And Cold; Che'Nelle's I Fell In Love With The DJ; Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back; Technotronic's Move This; and MARRS' Pump Up The Volume, and even included classics such as the Bee Gee's Night Fever.

 

Among the intermixed house music were dance remixes of songs such as Maggie Linderman's Pretty Girl ; Baltimora's Tarzan Boy; September's Satellites; Rhianna's Umbrella; the Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams; and Taxi Doll's Waiting, as well as other house tracks such as Lucky Charmes' Fulfill and TJR & Vinai & Turbootronic's We Wanna Party.

[Huckleberry]

Rot

 

Consuelo looked frozen with a perplexed expression on her face as Shadowborne turned into a threatening shadow creature that inexplicably and suddenly flipped to being a friendly shadow creature. And then the guy calling himself Nightscale shook her hand before she could yank it away. But he stayed pretty cool, regardless of the contact. Whew!  And then the two excused themselves and split off.

 

Consuelo kept staring ahead, dumbfounded. "Uh, okay. There are like a million things happening at this party that I totally don't understand." And then Michael suggests dancing. Is he, like, trying to make a move on Carmen now? Holy shotgun!

 

"Yes. Dance. Let's dance. I understand dance."  And she makes her way to the dance floor, boogying all the way. 

 

 

[Gizmo]

"Gooosh, if Baby Velocity's class is anything like ours was that's going to be awkward," Kimber mused to herself. "Like half of them probably don't even have a mom, let alone a famous one! It's fine, I'm a dead woman, I can make that joke," she assured the still frostbitten astral projection of Parfum, who had continued to spin slowly in the air until he was upside down. "Ugh, what a party pooper. All yours, Burt, please!" Mimicking a volleyball rally she bounced Parfum in Dead Head's direction.

 

Turning to more important matters she greeted her foster sister with open arms. "Abbyyyyy~! Ah, you look so cute!" The poltergeist dropped down until her feet were hovering just above the floor so she could pinch the mage's cheeks. "Cute, cute, cute! And you're out with people and not pouring over some dusty old tome? Is the a Christmas party or Opposite Day?" Kimber teased, grabbing Abby in a bear hug that almost lifted her off of the floor as well.

 

"And Tempie! My sister from another blizzard!" She threw an arm around Temperance without letting go of Abby with the other. "Oh. My. Goodness. Should we turn the dance floor into a skating rink?! No, that's crazy! But is it, though?!" She was momentarily distracted from that plan by Megan's virtuoso display of dance. "Ooooh, so she's like a fun mom, okay! WOO!"

[Avenger Assembled]

Eira had been idly recording the (quite good) music and dancing for later chopping and screwing when Velocity unmasked herself. She gave a startled exclamation as Percy returned and didn't hesitate to take the peppermint cocktail from him, tossing back a shot. "That was the oldest secret identity in the League, yes? It is an interesting night. Do a shot with me!" She couldn't actually get drunk, of course, but it was the spirit of the thing that counted. 

 

When the music swelled again, she pulled him out onto the dance floor, their red velvet outfits making them a striking and matching pair. They could both fly; she on magnetic levitation currents and he on sprinkles of fairy dust, she was a machine and he a jolly Christmas elf, but tonight they were a man and a woman and they danced as such, bodies pressed together with the intensity of lovers who didn't have that long until their inevitable separation. 

[Dr Archeville]

Protectron

 

The glorious golden gearsman had served Copycat, Predator, Glamazon, Eira, and all others who had approached the station with inhuman efficiency, having lessened (though not completely abandoned) the insistence on non-alcoholic beverages.  Protectron paused only twice: first to admire the harmonic perfection of the band's performance, and again Velocity's transcendental dance moves.  However, even as work resumed, something Copycat had said had been rattling about in Protectron's circuits.

 

Spoiler

Copycat [crossref file 14122-20231230.1938-cpyct] mentioned Lor tradition of raising clones of extended/legal family as one's own children.  Have Lor overcome drawbacks of repeated cloning and reduced genetic diversity?  Have Lor made other advances in cloning technology, such as reviving extinct organic species?  Must send request for further information.

 

Protectron did not attempt to hack into Copycat's phone to see what information might be there.   That would be rude, and Protectron knew that most organics did not appreciate that.  Instead, Protectron continued serving at the bar, and resolved to approach her at an appropriate time.

 

[Dr Archeville]

Dead Head

 

As Michael firmly shook the revenant's hand, it snapped off the wrist!  Dead Head seemed not to notice, and continued casually conversing with the younger hero, "I'm happy to've helped ya!  Most of us have just a short time on this Earth, so we should spend it helpin' others where we can," he patted Michael on the shoulder with his remaining hand, "but you already seem to've taken that lesson t'heart!  An' I'd be glad t'have yer help, or t'help you if you come across anythin' too spooky!  Just head over to Lantern Hill," he took his hand from Michael's shoulder and jerked his thumb in the direction of that place, "an' call out mah name, and the spirits there'll get word t'me."

 

He waved to Temperance (who he knew by reputation) and Stesha (with whom he'd worked before), and gave a hearty thumb-and-middle-finger-in-mouth whistle at Multiplicity's performance.  By now his hand had been released from Michael's grasp, and had scurried back to him and reattached itself, just time time for Kimber to hand over her charge.  "Well," he pulled up his hoodie, "looks like my shift's begun.  Time t'show this one what his actions now are gonna cause in th' future."

 

The tattered black hoodie morphed into a great dusky shroud, concealing head, face, and form, leaving nothing visible save one outstretched blue-purple hand.  He floated up to Kimber's level and snatched up Ezekiel Parfum by his collar, "time to face the consequences of your aaactiooonnnsss!," then flew off through the walls towards... who knows....

 

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman & Spellbound

 

22 hours ago, Avenger Assembled said:

Neko was all smiles when Chris and Liz arrived with their little one in tow, happy that behind her the boys had everything in a semblance of order. "Hello!" Behind her, the parents could see a wide variety of wholesome educational and entertainment activities taking place. Some kindergarten-age kids were watching PATRIOT PAWTROL, that beloved show about the all-American team of dogs who fight crime - for America. Some older kids (nobody looked to be above the age of 12 or so) were hanging back on their phones or chatting with peers. Another group of kids were doing a paper project in the company of one young man, another were watching another as he did a complicated juggling routine. 

There were a few twists, of course - the obvious non-human children here, the way the young man working on the paper was levitating and folding it with his mind so the little kids could see it happen, the six arms on the juggler, the hovering translucent girl, no more than two feet high, who was just flying through the door marked BABIES AND HELPERS ONLY. 

 

"Welcome!" said Neko with a smile for Cassie, her ears high above her head, her tail curling behind her. "I am Neko Musume and these are my helpers, Leon, David, and Lulu." She pointed back at the baby room for the last one. "They would love to play with you! Will you be staying with us for a while?" 

"Uh, yeah," Liz knelt to her daughter's eye level. "You gonna be good to hang out with the other kids for a bit?"

 

Cassie peered past her mom, chewing her lip anxiously. "I guess..." She did manage a small smile at the cat lady. 

 

"Hey, it'll be fine, right? Can't be more boring than a grown-up party, right?" Chris ruffled his daughter's hair a little bit and reached out to shake Neko's hand. "Anyway, thanks so much for doing this, you know, we don't get out much. Plus it's good for Cassie to hang out with other kids with powers." 

 

Looking thoughtful as to what she could do to fit in, Cassie pointed at the paper project that Leon was helping some kids with. "What are they doing?" she asked shyly. 

 

Liz stood upright, patting her daughter's back. "See, you're going to be fine. You will be fine, right? I can sta-"

 

"It's fine, mom, I'm seven," she stomped. 

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow

 

Chris & Liz saw the six-armed juggler's legs fuse into a one trunk, squash down into a ball, then narrow into something like a unicycle wheel, skidding back and forth, all without interrupting his performance.  He even waved at them with one arm, "hey, folks!  We've always got room for more!  Don't worry, your little one will be safe as... well, as if the Freedom League themselves were here!"

 

The balls suddenly disappeared (absorbed back into a pouch which had appeared on his back) as his arms shifted, the forearms and hands becoming the torsos and heads of Captain Thunder, Centurion, Daedalus, Lady Liberty, Johnny Rocket, and Siren, all as they'd looked in their prime (though much smaller).  "Hi, kids!," they greeted in unison.

 

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

Heroditus stood at ease before Glamazon.  "<Yes, my prin- >," he began, then paused, cleared his throat, "that is, ah, yes, I understand."  He gave her a quick (and less formal) salute then withdrew from her, to see what else the event might offer.

 

He applauded at the appropriate parts of Velocity's initial speech, then was quickly awestruck by Multiplicity's performance.  After the second song, he had regained enough sense to begin rummaging through his pockets and retrieve assorted wires, metallic disks, and chips of crystal, which he assembled into a classic 'flying saucer' shape.  It lit up and began hovering near him, its lights pulsing along with the music it was recording.  They'd never believe a Surfacer could make tones like this!

 

He listened attentively to Velocity's second speech, applauding again at the appropriate parts.  He left his device to record her pre-recorded playlist, and nodded along with the beat as more and more people started dancing.  Then his foot started tapping.  And before he realized what had happened, the Atlantean was on the dance floor, losing himself in the music.

 

[Dr Archeville]

A tiny swirl of blue and orange sparkles appeared by one of the elevators, accompanied by the faint yet warm tones of some silvery stringed instrument.  The lights and sounds increased, slowly, steadily, not too much to draw attention of the revelers, but noticeable by anyone who happened to be looking in its direction (except for Percy, whose ears began to twitch at the presence of a vaguely familiar magic).  It grew to a sphere of soft swirling lights, about seven feet wide, and within it something solid appeared.  It looked to be a person, or at least person-sized and -shaped, but from the way its upper half was turning and twisting, it appeared just as surprised at its arrival as anyone in Freedom Hall.

 

The bubble of light 'popped,' showering the figure in blue and orange glitter.  He looked out, jaw agape, as surprised to see the assembled heroes as they surely were to see him.  Though he had left Earth four years ago, and been laying low for some time before that, most would still recognize him on sight.

 

"Ah... hello," Doktor Viktor Archeville said after a lengthy pause, "and... happy holidays!?"

 

How they would react to his sudden appearance would be... complicated.

 

[The Sailor]

8 hours ago, Thevshi said:

"So, for those who have not met me like this before, I am Megan Howell-Harrow. This year is my son Lawrence's first year at Claremont, where he also goes by Timeout. He is here tonight with some of his friends. I am sure some of you will have a chance to meet him at some point tonight."

 

"Oh... now it makes so much sense..." Mizuki said to herself, looking to Lawrence. She kept away from the dance floor, making friends with the refreshments or just taking in the scene. But when it seemed Lawrence was open...

She walked over to him. "So... care to share a dance?" She said. "We legacy kids gotta stick together."

[RocketLord]

Spaceman

 

18 hours ago, Thevshi said:

Velocity

 

Velocity's expression became a bit more serious as she continued. "Lastly, a couple of related things. I have been…reflecting a bit lately, on how I have spent nearly twenty years attending these parties, and over the course of the time have gotten to know so many in the hero community, many who cannot be with us tonight, by their real names and without their masks. All the while I have hidden behind mine. Of course, most of the longtime members of the League have gotten to know me without the mask, as has my oldest and dearest friend who has known me since before I really got started with the League. Just doesn’t quite seem right any longer, so.." the speedster reached up an pulled off her mirrored goggles and mask (and the attached brunette ponytail wing).

 

Shaking out her long blonde hair a moment now that it was free from being stuffed under the mask, Velocity looked back up with a wide smile and bright blue eyes that seemed almost to burst with energy. "So, for those who have not met me like this before, I am Megan Howell-Harrow. This year is my son Lawrence's first year at Claremont, where he also goes by Timeout. He is here tonight with some of his friends. I am sure some of you will have a chance to meet him at some point tonight."

 

Parker's eyes go wide the moment Velocity pulls off her mask. Before she even says who she is, he is staring at Lawrence, forgetting everything else he had been thinking about before. He recognizes her. He knows her. She is Lawrence's mom! 

 

"Your mom is Velocity!?" he exclaims, all pretense of trying to be calm and at home at the party all but gone. "That means... you, your powers... and..." He stops for a moment, shaking his head, when Mizuki moves over to ask him to dance. "Lawrence, we gotta talk later. This is wild." 

 

So, this means... Alright. Parker can guess why Lawrence would keep it secret, why he wouldn't want to share it even with him and Baz (or did Baz know?), but Velocity is just fast, right? Not time powers? How would that even... Parker stops himself. It's not something he knows anything about. He will have to talk with Lawrence instead, but... for now, Consuelo has gone dancing, Mizuki is going dancing with Lawrence it seems and... yeah. They completely ignored him. Great.

 

"Hey Baz, I think I see Vicki with Michael and Carmen. I'll head over there and give Mizuki and Lawrence some space." Pun definitely intended.

 

  

On 12/19/2023 at 5:53 PM, BitCook said:

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... 

 

Making his way through the crowds, it takes a moment for Parker to reach Vicki, Carmen and Michael (unless the last two have left). 

 

"Hey guys, that was wild about Lawrence and his mom, right?" he asks, before turning to Vicki specificially. "You've known Lawrence for a while, right, Vicki?" he asks. "Me too, but I had no idea. Did they ever tell you anything?"

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

Charlie is already by the side of the stage when Multiplicity leaves to cheers, smiling widely at each in turn. "You were great! Even better than last time I caught a show!" Well, maybe he shouldn't have said that, but hey, he can always tell Bernie what he means later, if she catches it.

 

"So, what's up next?" he asks, before stopping as Velocity pulls off her mask. "Huh. I did not see that coming." He doesn't sound as surprised as he is, though. Security's tight here, of course, but there's people like Bernie's band (he has of course made sure to vet them himself), and a bunch of kids around that might catch it, or well, a lot of people.

 

"Sorry, Bernie, but I think she just stole you guys' thunder there."

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

18 hours ago, Thevshi said:

Velocity

 

Velocity gave a little laugh as Ghost apologized for some of his reports. "If anything, that made them more enjoyable to read. Have you ever read any of Deadalus’ reports where he starts going into technical detail on something? I typically have to get up and run a couple laps around the city to ensure I don’t fall asleep while I finish those."

 

As Bernadette and her band finished up, Velocity was loudly applauding as she glanced over to Ghost. "Well, afraid I still have some host duties to carryout, good to chat some, we will have to talk more later." The speedster then zipped back up onto the stage as the band made their way off, taking all their equipment with them (in large part thanks to half a dozen of Bernadette's duplicates).

 

"Sure. Better you than me," Ghost says, raising a glass that he had grabbed while they chatted in a toast. "Knock 'em dead."

 

So, what now? Hang around and wait? Go look for more food? Or maybe... Ghost perks up a little bit when he notices two people that he knows. He smiles under his mask, as he begins literally moving through the crowds, floating through several people, most either calling out to him to cut it out, or just at him, clearly creeped out.

 

Finally, he moves through the back of a man dressed in a nice tailored suit, raising his glass to Grimalkin and Fleur de Joie as he comes through in his costume with the added red butterfly. "Grim, Fleur! It's been a while, how are you?"

[Thevshi]

Timeout

 

When his mother had taken to the stage once again, Lawrence had turned his attention there, fully expecting her to make a couple quick announcements and then, predictably, open the dance floor. He had been completely unprepared when she took off her mask and revealed her identity and that she was his mother. The blond teen stood there in stunned silence.

 

1 hour ago, RocketLord said:

Spaceman

"Your mom is Velocity!?" he exclaims, all pretense of trying to be calm and at home at the party all but gone. "That means... you, your powers... and..." He stops for a moment, shaking his head, when Mizuki moves over to ask him to dance. "Lawrence, we gotta talk later. This is wild." 

 

Parker's voice pulled Lawrence back into focus as he looked over to his friend and offered him an apologetic smile. "It wasn't my secret to tell." There were of course a number of other reasons for his not telling people about it, yet at least, but that was certainly one of them. Six years ago, when a cosmic entity trying to kidnap him had whisked him and the two Claremont students babysitting him to CoVic Station, Lawrence had let them know his mom was Velocity. She had been upset when she found out, although that feeling had been greatly tampered by how relieved she had been that he was alright and all that the two Claremont girls had done to protect him.

 

10 hours ago, The Sailor said:

She walked over to him. "So... care to share a dance?" She said. "We legacy kids gotta stick together."

 

Before he could respond to any of the other questions Parker was trying to form, Mizuki asked he wanted to dance. The blond teen looked at her, offering a wide smile. "Yeah, of course, love to." He offered her an elbow so they could make their way over to the room that had been set up as the dance floor. He shot Parker another apologetic look for bailing.

 

Focusing back on Mizuki as they made their way through the crowd, Lawrence gave a small shrug. "Well, I suppose I am a legacy of sorts, though my mom and I have very different powers. And, even if my mom retired tomorrow, I am not going to go by Velocity, that yellow and checkered flag racing stripes would not look good on me."

 

"And fair warning, I am nowhere near the dancer my mom is, but I can promise I won't step on your toes."

 

The pair had just been about to exit the lobby when Doktor Archeville made his appearance, causing Lawrence to once again stop for a moment in shock. While the blond teen had never met Archeville (he had always seemed to be…somewhere else…the times Lawrence had gone to visit CoVic Station with his mom over the summer) he had heard his mom talk about him. Like most of the older, experienced heroes present, her relationship with him was….complicated, even though she had left the Interceptors and not really been in Freedom City when the Doktor had had his breakdown.

 

But Lawrence quickly had his attention taken away from Archeville's arrival as Mizuki pulled him out onto the dance floor.

 

 

[Thevshi]

1 hour ago, RocketLord said:

The STORMCROW

 

Charlie is already by the side of the stage when Multiplicity leaves to cheers, smiling widely at each in turn. "You were great! Even better than last time I caught a show!" Well, maybe he shouldn't have said that, but hey, he can always tell Bernie what he means later, if she catches it.

 

"So, what's up next?" he asks, before stopping as Velocity pulls off her mask. "Huh. I did not see that coming." He doesn't sound as surprised as he is, though. Security's tight here, of course, but there's people like Bernie's band (he has of course made sure to vet them himself), and a bunch of kids around that might catch it, or well, a lot of people.

 

"Sorry, Bernie, but I think she just stole you guys' thunder there."

 

Multi-Girl

 

Bernadette smiled as she saw Charlie waiting as the band and her duplicates made their way off stage. The duplicates and band continued on further back to drop off the various equipment and pack it back up. The redhead teen caught Charlie's comment about catching one of their shows before, but did not say anything about it. Truthfully, she did not really have much chance too before she was also looking back out to the stage like Charlie rather stunned as Velocity reveled her identity and that her son was part of the current sophomore class.

 

"Yeah, I think she did." The Irish teen admitted as Charlie commented on the events. Pulling off the oversized red Christmas sweater she had been wearing over her dress, Bernadette tossed it to one of her duplicates before looking back to Charlie with a wide smile. "But as fer what's next, had not planned on anything other than going back out ta the party."

[MoonSimply]

On 12/30/2023 at 9:14 PM, Poncho said:

 

"If it's too much for you, it's okay." he said supportively. "We can find somewhere else, I'm sure there's rooms where people aren't hanging around. But..." he looked back at the stage. "Bernadette's really playing some good music. Would you like to dance with me? Show her our appreciation? If that'll help you relax a little."

He was split between how good that music was and how much he wanted to help Carmen; between his desire to make sure everyone knew who he was and making sure his friends weren't suffering. He was, right now, coming down on the side of his friend he could help, at least at this moment.

La Puma Negra

 

Carmen spoke a little nervously. She may have had this angry and scary demeanor when it came to life at the school, but here in a large social gathering she was sort caught off guard, out of her own territory so to speak for the feline heroine and made rather more like a kitten than some sort of big cat on the prowl, "It's fine.... umm... dance?" she says with a little surprise. Carmen had never been asked to ever dance before with someone, mind racing to come up with an answer as she summoned up some of the will of what to say next. 

 

This was it. The normally rather willful and wild Carmen was being cowed by a simple word, smiling as she got her nerves together, "Yes.... I'd like to dance," she utters before Spaceman stepped in, greeting them. She hadn't spoken with him since the mess with Quirk.

[Poncho]

He had just learned a Superhero's secret identity.

 

Not just any Superhero. The Premier Speedster on the planet. The Freedom League's own Velocity. And Lawrence was her son!? Is that why he could control time? Was it some sort of off-shoot of super speed? Or maybe Velocity herself wasn't a Speedster, she was a time controller. The two powers could be very similar at times. His mind was racing and it was only by the fact that his mental processes were ten times faster than a regular human's that he was processing this information. To him, these revelations were changing so much of what he knew and so much of what he respected.

 

He wanted to ask Lawrence. To ask him all sorts of probing questions about what it was like to be the son of a superhero, to have that sort of pressure and power to live up to, to have such a sculpted, prepared destiny all laid out for him, it must be incredible.

 

...bly difficult. He realized. He probably wanted to make his own path. To be his own person and exist in his own way. And now he knew that his friends knew he was Velocity's son. And he was going to have to deal with how others changed in treating him. He drew back his face into a frown momentarily. Okay, well then. There's only one thing to do about this, he decided.

 

Then Carmen said she did indeed want to dance, and he took her hand carefully to lead her away, but stopped to talk with Parker as he came in to ask for Vicki's dance.

 

"Hey Mr. Spaceman." Michael said with a rather emotive grin as Parker approached them, clearly cheerful about getting a dance with Carmen.

 

"Quite the revelation about Lawrence eh?" That seemed like a good joke to him, but it only took a moment for him to go back to being serious; he was very good at going from joking to serious at the drop of a hat, and his words to Parker were genuine. "...I know you're better friends with him then I am, but I'm gonna be doing my best not to make him be too uncomfortable about that whole situation...might be a good plan for most of us; just so he doesn't start feeling too much pressure." he went back to a happier look as he started to take Carmen to the dance floor, and as they headed that way, he caught the Speedster in question on the dance floor, and found it  hard not to be incredibly impressed by the speedster- whose secret identity was still rattling around in his head-, who was proving herself to be quite incredible and appropriately fleet on her feet. In addition to Lawrence dancing with Mizuki, who he offered just a small wave and nothing more- a sign that he was being respectful to Lawrence-. He turned his attention to Carmen after that with his attention focused entirely on her.

 

"Now I'm going to admit, I am not near as good a dancer as Velocity clearly is, so please don't treat me too harshly, Carmen. And uh, you can call me Michael. Obviously."

He barely even noticed when the golden haired, blue eyed man entered the hall, but he still frowned at it, his eyes moving over the man momentarily in confusion, like something was plaguing the back of his mind.

 

'Do I know that old geezer? Why does he look familiar... was he on the news once?' he thought to himself, but he could only spare so many thoughts when he had a pretty girl on his arm, so he went to dancing.

Edited January 3 by Poncho

[Spacefurry]

Predator

 

Jean joined Copycat in applauding the younger heroes.

 

It was a moment of honesty and Jean wasn’t going to make a scene of it, but she was touched that her friend unconsciously felt comfortable with her. She smiled and nodded.

“I had… I have friends back home. Two of them adopted their first child. They eventually had three more of their own, but they never loved their first any less.”

 

On 12/30/2023 at 7:38 PM, Avenger Assembled said:

"Which sounds like I'm a lot drunker than I actually am." 

 

“The night is still young.”

She teased and looked around.

“I can recognize some faces from the news and online research.”

She commented.

“So much history I’m not a part of. Having to build whole new relationships. Forever the outsider.”

She hadn’t meant to say it. Perhaps her drinking companion’s moment of openness was contagious.

[Heritage]

Grimalkin

 

At the sound of Ghost's voice, Grim spun around to face him, the motion of which did all sorts of interesting things to her outfit. "Well if it isn't Mr. Ghost! It's been far too long."

 

She gestured towards the dance floor, a warm smile lighting up her face.

 

"Might I have this dance?"

[RocketLord]

17 hours ago, Thevshi said:

 

Multi-Girl

 

Bernadette smiled as she saw Charlie waiting as the band and her duplicates made their way off stage. The duplicates and band continued on further back to drop off the various equipment and pack it back up. The redhead teen caught Charlie's comment about catching one of their shows before, but did not say anything about it. Truthfully, she did not really have much chance too before she was also looking back out to the stage like Charlie rather stunned as Velocity reveled her identity and that her son was part of the current sophomore class.

 

"Yeah, I think she did." The Irish teen admitted as Charlie commented on the events. Pulling off the oversized red Christmas sweater she had been wearing over her dress, Bernadette tossed it to one of her duplicates before looking back to Charlie with a wide smile. "But as fer what's next, had not planned on anything other than going back out ta the party."

 

The STORMCROW

 

Charlie flinches for a moment, pausing as a message pops up on the upper left corner of the HUD on the inside of his glasses. Doktor Archeville had arrived to join the party. Charlie had never met the man, but he had been in the files that Alek had made him go through on numerous occasions.

 

Should he do something? No. Probably not. The Freedom League is here, and according to the feed in his glasses, it does not seem like Archeville is here for trouble.

 

He shakes it off instead. He can keep an eye on things, but there's people here more qualified to deal with Archeville if there's trouble. People with history.

 

"Well, let's party then," Charlie says, holding out a hand and smiling at Bernadette. "Unless you just want to find another mistletoe, of course."

[Thevshi]

Mutli-Girl

 

As Charlie received information about the arrival of Doktor Archeville, Bernadette had been looking into the mirror she had earlier used to reapply her lipstick. The redhead was trying to get her wild curls back under some semblance of control, after having put on and taken off the Christmas sweater for her performance, with somewhat mixed results. In the reflection she saw Charlie flinch, but then relax, figuring he would tell her if it was important the Irish teen did what she could and then then turned back to him.

 

3 hours ago, RocketLord said:

 

The STORMCROW

"Well, let's party then," Charlie says, holding out a hand and smiling at Bernadette. "Unless you just want to find another mistletoe, of course."

 

Bernadette gave Charlie a wide smile at his question. "Well, it was very nice, but maybe we should give some o' the other couples a chance ta make use o' it as well? Plenty o' time fer more o' that later.” She said as she took his hand, letting him lead the way as they went back out into the party.

 

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

8 hours ago, Heritage said:

Grimalkin

 

At the sound of Ghost's voice, Grim spun around to face him, the motion of which did all sorts of interesting things to her outfit. "Well if it isn't Mr. Ghost! It's been far too long."

 

She gestured towards the dance floor, a warm smile lighting up her face.

 

"Might I have this dance?"

 

Casper stops in his tracks, staring at Grimalkin as she turns. Yeah, that motion does all kinds of interesting things to her dress.

 

"Yeah, uh, just... just a sec." 

 

Ghost quickly pulls his mask up, raises the glass to his lips and empties the champagne, before putting it down on the tray of a passing server without looking.

 

Holding his hand out, he offers it to Grim, while he pulls his mask down again with his other hand.

 

"I gotta warn you, though. I'm a terrible dancer." 

 

At least he's got enough control not step on any feet.

[Avenger Assembled]

Owain 

 

Owain was dressed tonight in the armor of a gentleman; a dapper black tuxedo that the women at the Espadas house assured him showed off his muscles and his dark eyes. He had applauded when Velocity danced and Multi-Girl sang (rather for the latter more than the former; neither of the performances had exactly been to his tastes, but Bernadette was a peer and a friend), and nodded wisely when Velocity revealed herself. 

 

"Milady, would you honor me with-" He had been about to invite Stesha to dance (as a gentleman should when confronted with a great lady of the fae, even though he didn't know the great lady well) when the new arrival appeared, a strange figure whose whispered name and appearance struck him as strangely familiar. He hesitated a moment, took out his phone and snapped a picture, then texted Erik. 

 

THE SAXON??? he asked,

 

before putting his phone away and turning back to Stesha. 

[Avenger Assembled]

The Patriot 

 

"It's not that I don't love him," Ashley insisted, "or Fa'Rua. It's just..." She hesitated, looking down at her drink, then glanced over automatically as she saw the new arrival teleport in. She'd been gone from Freedom City when Archeville had gone mad and invited in a Deep One invasion, safe away at college in New Orleans, but she'd certainly been briefed on the consequences of what he'd done - and all that had happened afterwards. 

 

"Suit up," she whispered to Jean before rising from her seat and striding over to Archeville, seizing on the moment so fast that she forgot that she was not the Patriot right now but a former Claremont student in a sexy black dress and ivory cat mask. Well who the hell cares, it's a party! 

 

She stepped out of her heels, reached into her purse, and walked right up to the space-traveling menace. 

 

"Viktor Archeville." She left her hand inside her purse. "If you make me scare these kids, I'm going to take it real personal."