Kill A Man (IC)

[angrydurf]

Mike stiffened and glanced down nervously at Alex as the shared fog of inebriation promptly disapaited as her sleeping mind retreated back within itself. He cleared his throat and studiously looked away from Trevor and Erins display standing with Alex cradled easily in his arms. Grabbing a towel he tried to loop it around her before setting her down on one of the built in loungers trying in his awkward way not to wake her though she'd have to wake up and change soon probably.

He gave Mark a small shrug as he toweled off himself, "Yea probably for the best." he agreed glancing to Alex nervous about what effect the alcohol would have on her given the tight control she usually maintained over her powers.

[Electra]

As sobriety and sanity returned, Erin reluctantly pulled away from Trevor before their five minutes had entirely elapsed. She was smiling, but looked somewhat embarrassed nonetheless. "That was really a weird experience," she said with a small laugh, "being drunk, I mean. It was like not having any sense at all for awhile, and I guess I can see why people think it's so fun. But I think Alex has the right idea, even a fast plane takes awhile to cross the ocean. I think I'm going to catch a little sleep. In bed," she added dutifully.

[Gizmo]

Trevor watched as Erin stood and retrieved her towel, maintaining a stoic demeanor with obvious effort. The withdrawal of Alex's psychic influence was noticeable, but somewhat overshadowed by other sources of distraction "...right. Jet lag. Good idea." Craning he neck after her reflexively, he straightened and let out a thin line of mist from the corner of his mouth, the inky breath mingling with his damp hair. "I'm just... excuse me." Sliding forward, he submerged himself entirely in the tub until he was lying on his back, one hand over his eyes. It was a long moment before he resurfaced and silently moved to dry himself off.

[alderwitch]

Alex made a little sighing noise in her sleep, turning her face towards Mike even unconscious and smiled slightly. She pulled the towel up over her shoulder like it was a blanket and tucked her legs up to get comfortable before dropping back deeper into sleep. She looked about eight snuggled up with her face mushed into the seat and snoring softly.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Mike, I think you'd better help Alex get dressed," said Mark, peeking out the window. "We're going to get there soon!" Luckily they all had just enough time to dry off and get dressed before the plane entered Dakanan airspace, the king taking that moment to walk back into the passenger compartment to brief the kids on what they could expect. Despite Mark's eager questions, it was still clear that the rest of the evening was going to be luxurious, maybe a little decadent, but there were going to be no lion-monsters.

"It will be simple enough," the White Lion promised the teens, the king in full costume but for his hood and mask. "You will be greeted in your war-names, er, codenames in superhero terms, and then introduced to the ruling council of Dakana before the reception at the palace. There will be many dignitaries there, but the environment will be relaxed," he promised. "You are going there so that you can impress them with the quality of America's young heroes; they have invited you so that Dakana may impress you with her beauty." Down below, the gentle, massive slope of Kilimanjaro was clearly visible out the windows as they headed for the capital.

[Electra]

"Should we be in uniform for this?" Erin asked. Napping before fully drying off had left her hair standing up on one side, but she was already working to smooth it down with her hairbrush. "Or would it be better if we wore dress clothes or something like that?" She had both in her suitcase, just to be on the safe side, she just hoped her uniform didn't have any scorches or tears or burns in it that she'd forgotten about. Her uniforms rarely lasted long in good condition.

[Avenger Assembled]

"It's better to wear your uniforms," explained the king. "Better for your secret identities, of course, and also better for the meaning of the ceremony. You will be greeted today as warriors for justice and champions of noble causes. Some of you," he said with a nod to Alex, "do so even without your costumes, but the meaning of the ceremony will be better if you are all dressed the way Mr. Lucas is." He winced as Mark put on the cape. "Well, you get my meaning. Are there any other questions? There is still some time before we arrive, but I wanted to make sure you were all prepared in advance."

[angrydurf]

Mike stepped out of the bathroom in his old costume not about to even try to wear marks creation. He looked over to Alex still dozing eyes widening at marks suggestion, "uhm ... I don't uh think thats ..." he cast around almost desperately and fixed his gaze on Erin, "Erin can take care of it if we can't wake her." he said with relief. "I mean we wouldn't do, uhm, anything like that Sir." he assured the King nervously.

He took a few quick steps across the cabin and gently shook Alexs shoulder, "Alex time to get changed we're gonna land soon." he urged trying to stir the recumbent psychic to wakefulness

[alderwitch]

Alex cracked her eyes opened, winced and immediately slapped her hands over her eyes, her thumbs covering her ears. It wasn't a hangover, although she had the headache and cottony feeling in her mouth. No, it was the sensation of waking up unshielded for the first time in years and her range was so much broader than the last time she'd had such shoddy shields. Alex panicked for a few seconds, flailing mentally, although all that was really noticeable was the almost hyperventilating quick breathing she did.

Fortunately, she had been trained and drilled to snap her shields back into place under much worse conditions than the vague physical discomfort of over indulging. So after a few seconds, the pressure of all of those voices in her thoughts was tamped down and she just gave Mike an unsteady nod and vanished towards the back to get changed and get those shakey shields rock solid. A few minutes of meditation should be plenty.

[Gizmo]

Midnight had already finished fastening his all-concealing, featureless mask before M'Balla had finished answering Mark's question. Regardless of the dress code, he wasn't about to attend a royal gathering without it. There'd been little point to obscuring his true identity up to that point; even if Summer hadn't surely given the king a dossier on the attending student he hadn't met in person, the first hero to bear the name of Midnight had maintained a good working relationship with the White Lion of his own time after meeting in the process of foiling an attempt to smuggle advanced Dakanan technology to the Axis forces. Fortunately, the decision to go with full uniforms would make the black glad young man considerably less conspicuous.

[Electra]

Erin went back to the rear cabin along with Alex, grabbing her uniform from her suitcase. She knew better than to bother her roommate while she was meditating though, so simply changed into her own simple blue and gold uniform, then finished brushing her hair and put it back in the blue fabric band that would keep it out of her face. Fastening her bat to her belt completed her uniform, and with that finished, she returned to the main cabin with the others. "Is there any, um, protocols and stuff we should know about before the dinner?" she asked.

[Avenger Assembled]

Despite everyone's worries, and recovery from inebriation, the reception turned out to be easy enough. The team exited the plane to the bright light of a Dakanan morning, a big crowd of visitors and dignitaries there to greet them. But all that turned out to be something of a formality; there was much handshaking, much bowing, and a formal greeting in Dakanan that Mark rattled off from childhood memories, but after that they were hustled into limousines bearing the White Lion's seal along with some of the Dakanan leadership they'd just met. Mark found himself sitting next to a very attractive Dakanan woman from the Agriculture Council inside their crowded limo, with whom he engaged in a whispered conversation the whole way there. After a short drive, the palace loomed out at them: the palace of the White Lion was not built in Dakana City, that shining, modern metropolis that looked as fresh and clean as Freedom City itself, rather, it was built into the living rock of Kilimanjaro itself!

Their cars headed for the 'mouth' of the lion carved into the mountainside, which turned out to be the heart of the palace, a magnificent building that looked vaguely Romanesque in style. "Come," said the king, leading the way as they headed up shining marble stairs, Mark taking pictures all the way, "You have a little time to dress and rest before the grand reception!" He turned, a worried look visible beneath his masked face. "You can dance, yes? Duncan Summers is a classy gentleman, I assumed it was part of all your education..."

[Gizmo]

Midnight cast a casual glance at his teammates through the red tinted lenses of his mask. It wasn't often that this side of his life afforded him a chance to utilize that particular facet of his skill set, but he was certainly capable in a ballroom, and could personally attest that Erin was a quick study. Alex and Mike could literally be as light on their feet at they pleased and the black clad youth assumed that Mark would, as usual, have no difficulty, particularly if the Agriculture Council member turned out to enjoy dancing herself. "We manage," he assured M'Balla in a dry deadpan through his vocal filter.

[angrydurf]

Phalanx made his way through the reception glad not for the first time to have Mark there to take the social lead that came so easily to him. He ducked carefully into the limousine marveling at the sumptuous appointments and gazing openly through the side of the car to take in the sights eyes growing wide as they came to the massive palace itself.

At the look of concern he nodded almost eagerly and glanced at Psyche, "Oh yes we've taken ballroom classes." he assured the King before creasing his brow in vague concern and silently inquired of Alex, 'Or did he mean some kind of traditional Dakanan dance?' worried he had stuck his foot in his mouth with his assurances.

[alderwitch]

Psyche had been a little quieter than usual, although that had more to do with taking everything in rather than any lingering ill effects. She slipped her hand back in Mike's giving it a squeeze as she flashed her tall fiance a reassuring smile, "We don't get a chance to use those skills but at least they'll come in handy today. We'll be just fine. Thank you, though, for the concern. Ballroom is one of the optional PE classes you can take. Mr. Summers is very good at making sure we're prepared for the futures we choose."

[Avenger Assembled]

With the King's approval, they were all escorted upstairs through palatial hallways covered with traditional Dakanan flowing sculptures, each carved right into the living rock of the palace itself, showing scenes of White Lions past and their contributions to Dakanan and world civilization. The dark marble glittered with color, tiny fragments of daka crystals reflecting the light in the stone like jewels. Mark ebulliently translated the markings as they went, making sure everyone knew how awesome they were. "Ooh, there's the king's grandfather punching Herman Goering right in the stomach! And there's the White Lion of 1885 fighting alongside Adam Prophet against the first Gigantosaur! Oh man, that must have been some times. And there's..." Mark fell dead silent at a particularly large sculpture, taking up most of one over-sized wall, that was clearly of the Silver Age Freedom League, Rick Lucas prominent in the rear as he cheered the League on against a grim-looking figure in armor. "The Freedom League," he finally said.

And soon they were all in rooms that matched in assignment, if not layout, their rooms back at Claremont, each one as luxurious as any 4-star hotel room back in Freedom City, with a small suite, baths, and anything else they could ask for: the uniformed servants in the hallway stood ready to provide that. The rooms were in a fusion of Western and Dakanan style, perhaps for the benefit of guests from out of the country, with big-screen TVs sharing space with free-standing sculptures that watched the kids with big eyes and open mouths. Mark won the coin toss with Mike, naturally, and took the opportunity to grab a quick shower.

[Electra]

Erin stretched out on one of the big, soft beds, enjoying the novelty after her narrow bunk at school. "This is really nice," she told Alex, looking up at the ceiling. "Living in a palace is definitely the way to go. I think this bed is the size of most of our dorm room." She stretched her arms up into the air and dropped them back down above her head, closing her eyes. "If only I weren't waiting for the monster or the supervillain or the natural disaster that's going to come along and mess everything up." She sighed melodramatically. "How long do we have before dinner?"

[Gizmo]

The only visiting student with a room to himself, Midnight stood in the doorway to the palatial suite for a few beats. Even with his familiarity with posh decor, the young man was a bit taken aback, setting his two duffel bags down lightly to one side of the door. Only one of them actually contained clothing for the trip, neatly folded for maximum efficiency. The other was stuffed with a variety of gadgets, tools and half-built experiments which might, with varying degrees of likelihood, come in handy. He's brought along another piece of luggage, but that would stay with the royal jet unless needed.

Stepping forward, the masked youth noted the black silk bedding which didn't quite match the rest of the room's decorating scheme; a courtesy, he assumed, harkening back to the relationship between the original Midnight and M'Balla's grandfather. Sitting lightly on the edge of the massive bed, he glanced about in silence before folding his legs up under him and waiting to be called upon.

[angrydurf]

As Mike walked through the halls of the resplendent palace it was all he could do to not be completely slack jawed in awe. Once in their rooms he set down his simple duffel of spare cloths and his backpack. He shrugged with a small laugh as Mark won the toss as always knowing it was but a formality where Mark was concerned. As his friend took the first shower he unpacked carefully refolding his clothes as he transferred them to one of the built in wardrobes and planted himself in one of the sumptuous chairs to make some notes in his journal while Mark finished up.

[alderwitch]

"Not long," Alex confirmed without having to glance at the clock. She'd headed into take a quick shower but Alex was good at the speed clean and change. She slipped on the leotard of her costume and started refastening everything to get it all in order. Since coming out of the superhero closet, she'd altered the mask of the costume so that it simply framed her face, leaving her features uncovered. "I don't think we'll get a monster before desert. That would just be rude."

[Avenger Assembled]

Mark emerged from his shower with a black towel wrapped around his midsection, hanging things over to Mike before he changed himself in front of the room's big mirror. First he pulled his costume back on, the molecular fabric shrugging off wrinkles and dirt, neatly brushing his short brown hair flat. "Look at you!" he said, snapping his cape a little. "Mark Lucas, aka Edge, leader of Young Freedom! Not a care in the world!" He dug around in his suitcase for the last ingredient of his formal wear, found his dad's red bowtie, and neatly tied it around his neck. "Ta-da! Now that's style! I'll be out in the hall!" he called to Mike as he strode out of the room. "I'll catch everyone."

[Cyroa]

The young man was dressed to the nines in a exquisitely tailored tux that looked like it cost more than most people made in a year. A tux can make anyone look good. But on this young man it was just a small addition the overall package. He was almost too charming, too handsome. Standing in a palace, schmoozing with the rich, famous (and gorgeous) was a natural as breathing it seemed. The tux was just window dressing.

James was all smiles and was happily chatting with various guests. He knew the others were here, somewhere, just not exactly where. But he knew they would be at this ball. It was why he was here after all. The party, while nice and all, was just a party. He could go to pretty much any party, anywhere, 'anywhen' that he wanted. There was only one reason to be 'here'. He was here for his friends. He hadn't seen them in...too long. A lot had happened since then. Probably had to them as well. Swapping stories should prove rather interesting he was sure. He was looking forward to it, to hanging with them again.

But until they showed up, he'd have to enjoy the party and entertain all the lovely guests as best he could. How would he ever find the strength to soldier on...oh, right. He grinned happily and dove, metaphorically speaking, back into the party while he absently kept an eye (and heightened senses) out for his friends.

[Electra]

Erin had cleaned up on the plane, so she didn't take long to get dressed and ready. In deference to the occasion, she french-braided her hair in a single plait, then put in small blue earrings and added a careful touch of makeup, just so she looked a little more dressed up. Hooking her bat to her belt, she headed out into the hallway and walked down to Trevor's room. She nodded to Mark, then knocked on the door. "Hey Trev, you ready?" she called softly.

[Gizmo]

Opening the door, Midnight stepped out into the hallway. Still wearing his featureless mask and fedora, he'd opted for a matte black coat of a slightly more formal cut than his usual, custom motorcycle jacket. A touch longer, it resembled a high collared dress uniform, though bereft of insignia or ornamentation. Adjusting the cuffs over his matching black gloves, the imposing figure tilted his head slightly to one side in a gesture Erin had come to associate with a small, lopsided smile. "Ready. Hair looks nice."

[angrydurf]

Mike hopped in the shower for a quick wash off while Mark dressed and emerged a moment later fully dressed in his costume hair neatly combed and freshly shaved. He made a final check int he full length mirror for any rubble he may have missed and turned to step out into the hall and take the few quick steps down to fetch Alex from the room she shared with Erin before making his way with the others towards the ballroom.