The Rainmaker Job [IC]

[trollthumper]

It was a quiet Saturday morning when the brick fell off Eric LaCroix's wall. He was drinking coffee in the kitchen when he heard the soft settling of mortar and the plop of something heavy hitting the carpet. Setting down his mug, he got up to investigate the noise, only to find a small red brick lying on the floor and a corresponding gap in his bedroom wall. Before he could even think to check for why the brick had flung itself free from its moorings, another brick grew out of nowhere, filling the gap in the wall perfectly.

Either the building's evolved, Eric thought to himself, or I've got a visitor.

He picked up the brick, turning it over in his hand, and was not entirely surprised to find writing, clear yet formal, engraved on one side of the brick.

Nick Cimitiere --

By now, you no doubt know who I am. I have a need of you. Despite what many of my children think, I am not the only one of my kind. Any place that draws habitants develops a consciousness, after a fashion. But not many gain the power to make themselves manifest, and many of them are bound by pride. But I still have heard enough from my brethren to know that they are experiencing turmoil.

You are to go to Asbury Park. You will not be the only emissary there -- others have already been selected. There, you will deduce the reason why my associate turns and quakes. I put my trust in your hands.

Doctor Metropolis

P.S. Feel free to slide the brick back into the wall when you are done.

Eric looked over the brick once more, just to make sure he was reading it right. When he looked back to the wall, the gap had opened once more. He slid the brick back in, and watched the mortar swallow it up.

"Well," he said to no one in particular, "it's been a while since I've been up to Asbury..."

[Ecalsneerg]

Chris Kenzie sat up abruptly in bed as he heard the thud. In that second it took for him to go from asleep to sitting bolt upright, he'd already reached to the bedside table and grabbed a Geckorang. He quietly slipped out of bed, Liz still lying asleep like a log. As he padded across the room near-silently, she rolled over, pulling more of the sheets onto herself and settled back into restful sleep once more.

Coming out into the small hallway from their bedroom to the living room, Chris tripped and fell over the piece of plaster sitting in the middle of the carpet. Choosing to stay on the floor, he picked it up pensively, and looked around. The walls were just as they'd always been, apart from one slightly cleaner looking part of the roof. He looked back down at the mysterious piece of plaster, to see it etched in a clean, clear font.

---

Geckoman secured his goggles around his eyes firmly, pulling a piece of post-it note and pencil out of his utility belt as he did so.

Gone out of city for the day. Hopefully back for dinner. Love you. Bending over, he gently pushed Liz's tousled hair away from her face, and kissed her on the forehead. "Mmwrglemmm," she said in reply, stirring a little.

So Geckoman put the post-it note onto her forehead, pausing to make sure it was stuck correctly, and went out the window.

[Avenger Assembled]

Edge responded with alacrity to the summons from a member of the Freedom League, pecking his mom on the cheek goodbye before he walked out of his house and onto the streets of Freedom City. His breath was a cold mist before him in the January day, and unbidden he remembered his father's words about Doctor Metropolis, one of the few Leaguers Mark himself had never met. Don't understand we need a city spirit to clean up after everything. If the Centurion didn't need it, why does that Thunder need it? Captain Thunder had always been _that Thunder_ growing up. Pushing back a surge of uncharacteristic resentment, Mark pulled out his Young Freedom transponder, pressed a few buttons, and the colorfully-clad Edge popped into being on the quiet, nearly-empty beaches of Ashbury Park. He had no idea where he'd find the other heroes, but that was OK: he was sure they'd run into each other!

[Northstar]

Greg put the slide under the microscope. He hoped this time the reaction would be a bit slower, let him actually see what was going on for a change. He didn't expect much. He'd tried to figure out why tripto...inflated him like it did for a month, but he was no closer now than he was then. Still, if he ever did discover the reason, what'd he do in his spare time then?

He was about to mix his blood sample with a 1 mg dose of tripto, when his wheelchair lifted, then rolled back a few inches. Startled, he took a look underneath himself, and found part of his wood floor had...replicated itself. He discovered, of all things, writing when he picked the plank up.

After reading the thing twice, he set it down next to the microscope. I could ignore the message, continue with my study. But then, how often does your house start leaving you messages? This is to bizzare not to follow up on.

He called the hospital, told them he'd be gone for a few days. He gathered up his few spare Titan sprays, and got into costume. Squeezing through his back door was a tad painful. He'd need to get the thing widened when he got back.

[Electra]

Stesha slept in that morning, an indulgence she hadn't gotten to enjoy on a Saturday for a long time. Derrick was already up and long gone, since he didn't need sleep anyway, but she hugged her body pillow and enjoyed the cozy warmth of her bed a little while longer. That is, until the plaster dust started sprinkling down on her bed. Sputtering, she sat up and turned on the light, wondering what the upstairs neighbors could possibly be up to at this hour. The writing on her ceiling was definitely a surprise. She'd worked with Doctor Metropolis before, putting the city back together after disasters, but never at his behest. She wondered what exactly was going on, but it wasn't a summons she was going to ignore. By the time she'd visited the bathroom, the writing was gone, as though it had never been there. Even the plaster dust was gone.

Shaking her head, she put on her costume, though these days the tunic was a bit tight, and she had to leave it untucked to cover the fact that the pants did not button. She also couldn't fasten her cowl all the way anymore, but at least it wasn't Spandex! Eschewing her belt entirely in favor of a well-stocked spatial pocket, she popped over to Ashbury Park, landing near a tree in the center of town, for lack of any better ideas. Hopefully something would make itself apparent soon!

[trollthumper]

Nick Cimitiere drove the Pale Horse up the Parkway, reflecting on how weird it seemed to be doing this during the day time. Kinda takes some of the mystique away, doesn't it? He took the Parkway all the way up to Asbury Ave., turning off and heading to the shore.

It had been a long time since he'd been down here. He passed the Stone Pony, where he'd taken in shows back in his high school days and on the occasional Summer break; past the old carousel, where he and Mallory had "raced ponies" as little kids; past Asbury Lanes, where he'd played a few frames with Rick, an old summer fling. This town's seen better days, he thought, scanning the run-down apartment buildings and crumbling warehouses. Then again, it's seen worse, too. Been undergoing a fair bit of renovation lately, from what I hear.

He drove past Sunset Park, and did a double take when he saw Fleur de Joie standing next to a tree. He placed the Pale Horse to rest on the street, paid the meter, and crossed the park to join her. "Nice to see you again, Fleur," he said. "Guess you got the message, too. Unless this is a social call."

[Electra]

Fleur smiled, brightening to see a familiar face for all she was already feeling half-frozen. "Hello, Nick! Doctor Metropolis mentioned that other heroes were already on their way, but I had no idea how to find anyone. It's good to see you. Do you have any idea what this is about?" She looked around the calm scene, chilly and white with snow, but not at all strange. "I admit I'd expected to find things in a little more disarray than this when I got here. I can't even figure out what might be wrong with the town."

[Northstar]

Ran all the way here. Now what? Greg wasn't familiar with Asbury Park. None of the sights seem familiar. And he was out here to do...something. He wasn't even sure what he was supposed to be doing. There was supposed to be help, but he had no idea who. So he walked around town. He was sure that an eight foot tall guy in a lab coat would stand out enough to attract some attention.

Hopefully it'll be attention I want.

[Ecalsneerg]

The Geckomobile screeched across the miles at full speed, its driver barely flinching as he weaved in and out of traffic casually, one hand on the wheel. The other hand held a bagel filled with cream cheese and ham. Sweet, delicious ham. As he cruised into Ashbury Park, Geckoman slid his foot carefully on the throttle, bringing the car down to a casual, meandering speed.

The nuclear reactor engine purred softly like a petrol engine, for no explicable reason, the thick armored tires plodding across city streets easily. He pulled up to the kerbside beside a large green man in a labcoat. "Hey," he said, a slightly thicker than usual window sliding open at the press of a button. "Are you from Freedom City?"

[Northstar]

Greg was hoping something would happen when he got to Asbury Park. He wasn't sure what. Being called out by a guy in a remarkably unusual car wasn't it. He faced the vehicle, and crouched down, to try and speak to the man face to face.

"Nice car. I'm from Freedom City, yeah. What gave it away?" His voice was a lot louder when he was Doc Titan. If nothing else it fit better than his normal mousy vocal powers. "I imagine you are as well. You didn't happen to get a strange message, did you?"

[Ecalsneerg]

"Yeah, it fell out of my ceiling this morning. Fourteenth worst wake up I've ever had. Or maybe fifteenth, if if you count the time with the armadillo..." The teen in the green jumpsuit looked pensive for a moment, staring off into space. "Anyway, I'm assuming you did too, or you wouldn't have asked. Deduction!" Geckoman held out a hand to shake, fixing a broad grin on his face. "I'm Geckoman, pleased to meetcha." Please don't crush my hand, big guy. Please don't. It'll hurt.

[Northstar]

he was much more careful with handshakes these days. Last thing he needed was to crush bone, and have to treat someone directly afterwards. Dammit, I forgot to put my first aid kit in my bag. that's irritating.Greg carefully shook the much smaller man's hand.

"You can call me Doc Titan. Charmed." There was likely an amusing story with this armadillo, but that hardly seemed relevant. "So, we're supposed to find what's bugging Doc Metropolis' little cousin. How do you even find a...being like that in the first place?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Luckily, Edge joined Geckoman at just the right moment, clapping Geckoman on the back. "Hey, Geckoman! Good to see you!" He hadn't worked with Chris in months, which was really too bad: Chris was a swell guy. ."How've you been?" A little belatedly, he gave a friendly hello to the new face. "Hello, I'm Edge! You must be from Freedom City too," he hazarded, figuring that Ashbury Park didn't get a lot of superheroes who weren't from the center of superpowers in North America. "So we all heard from Metropolis, eh? Is it just us, you think?"

[trollthumper]

"I admit I'd expected to find things in a little more disarray than this when I got here. I can't even figure out what might be wrong with the town."

"I know what you mean," Nick said. "I saw a bit of demolition work on the way up, but that seems standard. And the place seems a little run down, but it's Asbury -- it's been run down since the Eighties. Aside from a few bits of blight, I can't see why the town's spirit would be --"

As if to answer his question, a loud explosion tore through Nick's words, followed by panicked screaming. Quickly reorienting himself, he looked down the street, to where a giant man whose skin appeared to be made of obsidian had seemingly erupted out of a storefront. "Show yourself, Rook!" he shouted. "I'll show you what happens when you screw with me!"

"...then again, that might be a good hint." Nick took off running down the street, closing distance with the man of stone.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Hey!" Edge yelled from down the street, charging his way towards the stone man. "You think you can come to my, er, state and cause trouble, buddy!?" Fearlessly facing down the man of stone, he boomed "Well, you're messing with the Man of Gecko, the Man of Luck, and Doc, uh...Titan here!" Smacking one fist into another, he pointed at the giant stone man, producing an explosion from under the street as gas mains exploded at the monster's feet. "You think you can come here and pick a QUARRY with us? Well, I think it's time we showed you how we ROCK!"

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman hit the gas, forcing the car to screech through the aftermath of Mark's explosion, the hood of the car opening slightly as twin laser guns came out on spinning turrets. With a whirr, they locked onto the target, green holographic targetting reticules coming up on the windscreen.

"Out of interest, what happens if you do screw with you?" asked Geckoman brightly, leaning out the side window grinning as the bolts of electricity hammered into the huge stone man. "Or at least electrocute you a lot?"

[trollthumper]

The giant man seemed to reel under the force of Edge's blast, but the lightning danced off his nonconductive skin like rain off an umbrella. Though his expression was that of a man trying to keep balance, he looked into the car with utmost curiosity. "This ain't your town," he said. "And it ain't your fight. Get out of here."

[Northstar]

Doc Titan took off running. His bare feet smacked against the pavement as he closed the distance between himself and the stone giant. He balled up his massive fist, and threw his weight behind it. There was a loud, dull thud when fist met stone.

"I'm curious if a man of stone can become concussed," he spoke in a very flat tone, seeming disinterested in the whole thing. "Tell me, how are you feeling? Headache, anything?"

[Electra]

"Wait! Everyone! Are we sure he's the...villain...we're looking...for?" Fleur did her best to keep up with the group, but she wasn't in great shape for running and soon fell behind. Stopping where she was, she watched the others beating on the outnumbered and outclassed rock man. If something didn't happen, they might beat him unconscious and then they'd never learn what was going on. "STOP!" she yelled again, in her best "corral the unsupervised children" voice, and extended her arms. Vines shot up from the ground at the rock man's feet, wrapping tightly around him and binding his legs together, then his arms tight to his body, leaving only his head free.

[trollthumper]

The vines lashed around the giant's body, lashing him firmly in place. "You let me go now, I'm telling you!" he yelled. "That bastard Rook thinks he can just knock me down? He's got another thing coming! And I'll tear down this whole town if I have to go to him!"

"...yeah, I think that answers the question." Nick extended his will out over the area, calling on the essence of decay, loss, and mortality. The shades of the area came for the bait, and answered the call. A plethora of ectoplasmic hands rose out of the cement, augmenting the thin breaks in the vines and strengthening the bond on the behemoth. "Maybe a little time out will help with that temper."

[Avenger Assembled]

Though Edge was momentarily worried when he heard Fleur's reasonable words, the mean talk coming from the stone man more than banished any fears he might have had about beating up on an innocent man. What were the odds of that happening, anyway? "Sorry, Monolith, but I guess you shouldn't have taken the heroes of Freedom for GRANITE!" He poked the stone man in the chest fearlessly, then took a step back. "You get out early, huh? Well, we'll make sure you get back in! What happened with you and Rook, anyway? Did he make fun of how you're bald and ugly?"

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman got out of the Geckomobile, the door locking behind him with a BEEP-beep sound. "Edge, don't taunt the super strong invulnerable stone man," he said, shaking his head gently. "Or poke him. We don't know where he's been lichen."

"Now, Mr... Monolith? What possessed you to get this urge to tear down whole towns? Is it a Freudian thing? Oooh... or Jung!" Geckoman hopped on one foot excitedly. "I hope it's your Jung!"

[trollthumper]

"It's not Jung." Geckoman turned to find a man standing across the street from the bound giant. He was wearing black police-issue body armor over red motorcycle leathers, and his face was covered by a cowl and goggles. On his chest was a sign of a black castle. "It's just a chronic inability to learn."

"Rook!" Monolith yelled. "Rook, you miserable bastard, when I get my hands on you, I'm going to --"

"Your hands," Rook said wryly. "Right. You mean the ones currently lashed to your sides. Now I'm giving you two options, Monolith. You can either surrender peacefully and walk out of here with all your teeth, or--" He cracked his knuckles. "--I can take you downtown when you're all nice and sedate."

"Screw you, you piece of --"

"Too bad." Gathering his strength, Rook leapt across the street... and several yards into the air. As he hovered over Monolith's face, he brought his fist down on the giant's jaw. It connected with a sound like an earthquake, and Monolith lulled in his bonds, not falling but adding pressure to his restraints. Rook touched down right at the unconscious giant's feet, then turned to the other heroes.

"Sorry about that," he said. "It's been hard keeping this town in order. What brings you up to Asbury Park?"

[Northstar]

Titan took a few breaths to calm himself down, and gave the group a once over. Discounting Monolith, he didn't see any bruises, people rubbing at sore spots, or any indication that any of the others were hurt. That was good. Saved him time. Now to the business at hand.

This Rook fellow was entirely unknown to Titan, which wasn't a surprise really. Before he said anything about why he was here, he at least wanted introductions out of the way. Matter of fact, he was only acquainted with half of the 'Freedom City team.' Introductions seemed like a good idea all around.

"Before we all get carried away with business, I think we'll need to make introductions. I'm not familiar with you, and I'd like to know who it is I'm dealing with. You can call me Doc Titan." He tried to make it sound at least somewhat sincere. Sincerity seemed to make most people more amiable to conversation. That little fight was fun, but he'd rather get some information so they weren't just sitting on their wheels with this little investigation.

[Electra]

Fleur finally caught up to the group, just in time for the new arrival to deliver a cruel sucker punch to the rock man. Looking disgusted, she clapped her hands once sharply. The vines seemed to inflate, then constricted and collapsed, the rock man no longer inside them. "That was a pretty pitiful display," she chided the group as a whole. "Taunting and attacking a helpless man. Why don't you tell us exactly what's going on?" she suggested to Rook, her pretty face creased with a rare frown.