18912/HUNGER: Zenn-La is for Lovers

HUNGER: Zenn-La is for Lovers
Date of Scene:	07 September 2024
Location:	Zenn-La, Deneb System
Synopsis:	On Zenn-La among the seemingly harmless science-hippies, the heroes discover a romantic triangle with infernal influence. Fennan Radd, Norrin's half brother, jealously pines for Shalla-Bal, and when the prospect of losing her arises, attempts her murder. He reduces the Fantastic Four to the Fantastic Three, instead.
Cast of Characters:	Norrin Radd, John Constantine, Richard Rider, Emma Frost, Sara Pezzini, Peter Quill, Susan Richards, Rocket, Carol Ferris, Mantis
Tinyplot:	Hunger

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Norrin Radd has posed:
Zenn-La is paradise... or at least, an Earthly imagining of it.

The image-made-real of so many sci-fi imaginings of highly advanced societies, it is a place where utopian ideals have taken hold. Art and science are pre-eminent, and disease, hardship, poverty, war? These things, if not unknown, have been pushed back into distant memory. The world is lush, nature given its free reign, the environment untainted by signs of industry, while the cities that exist are nearly artworks themelves, places of gleaming spires, glass domes and fluid arches, the tallest buildings overlooking great open civic spaces where vast parks and waterways allow the people to enjoy serenity amidst modernity.

It's a very nice place. Of course, that grandeur comes at a price.

The very wonders of this world are no doubt those which first drew Galactus to it, many years ago. While the heroes know little in detail, one fact is clear: the Silver Surfer was born on this world, and secured it from the Devourer's wrath only by agreeing to become his Herald. An offer itself accepted only due to the greatness of the man, his worthiness in Galactus' eyes to serve his own great cosmic purpose. Others, too, may covet the Surfer, as certain dark dealings have revealed...

Arriving on Zenn-La meets few obstacles. The Milano can easily gain landing permission, directed to a public platform within the capital city. Outsiders are welcome here, met kindly, and offered access to the great Info-Nets which contain every public facet of their civilization, displaying them in friendly interactive holograms (or more direct text, on appropriate devices). Nothing seems hidden, all is welcoming.

Curiously, John's use of a teleporting house ends up arriving in the same place; it manifests as a regionally-appropirate pod-like vessel, opening onto the same platform, as if it were another ship. Maybe, in a sense, it is.

The mission comes with a purpose, to locate a woman once dear to the Surfer, to convince him to a change of heart. Little else is known about her. Fortunately, their arrival seems to coincide with the guidance Carol Ferris -- Star Sapphire -- is giving them. Her powers, in some fashion, have homed in on the 'heart connection' between the Surfer and this world, and one of its inhabitants. Even to her senses, it is faint, perhaps weakened by Galactus' grip on his Herald.

But the result is clear enough, that she is here, in this city. It is a thread that can be pulled, drawn along, as it winds through the spires of the city.

John Constantine has posed:
Space - why not. It's not the first time in the past month that John's ventured into his *dis*comfort zone. At least he doesn't have to rely on unreliable things like space ships to get where he needs to be. He simply has to be nice to his House - actually not really, if it's 'work related' she's usually pretty willing to open doors for her caretaker.

Upon their arrival on this magic mystery ship, John exits first. He, despite all popular opinion, can be a gentleman. This isn't a 'hold the door open for the lady' situation, it's more a 'walk on the street side of the sidewalk situation. If they're about to be splashed by muddy water - it's him that will take the brunt of it.

"So, luv, this is your show now innit? Think you'll be able to find her?" Oh, and he's already promised a million times over that he will *not* be delivering her soul to Hell. For the million and one-th time he repeats, "Do your thing, if we fail, we fail. She'll come to no harm."

Richard Rider has posed:
    Nova decided to tag along on the expedition to gather as much info on the Surfer's background as possible. Especially things that could be used against him. The Worldmind is desperate for info that might help should Galactus come it's way. Getting some sort of hold or even just information on his home and loved ones seems like a good place to start.

    Stepping out of the Milano, he looks around and nods, "I can see why he wanted to save this, but at the cost of how many lives? I wonder if this woman knows the price that was paid so that she could live."

    He looks around again, then has his attention caught by one of the local houses suddenly appearing at the landing platform. He shifts slightly into a ready pose should it turn into some kind of ambush.

    When a British man steps out, talking to someone still inside, he relaxes slightly. He does however have a somewhat quizzical look on his face before asking, "Isn't that thing supposed to be a police call box?"

Emma Frost has posed:
How exactly do the Rings work? Emma Frost is not truly sure. But she knows that the Star Sapphire is playing the 'hound' for them. Which means that she's their guide in. And Emma isn't expecting their transit to go un-interrupted. "We shouldn't dilly-dally, darlings. I'm fairly sure that Galactus has put some word of warning system upon this planet to let him know if any would come to it. So we don't want to take too long or something bad is likely to happen." Not only for them, but for the planet as well.

Emma goes to contribute her end to things, moving to try and act as a conduit for the ring, an enhancer. The Ring, as faintly as she can tell, works with an empathic focus. For one specific target that at most they might only have the vaguest idea where on the plnet it is.. Emma goes to act if she can as an antennae. Picking up the sweep, going to power it up, and project it further and further along.

While doing so, she speaks to Rich, "Best not to say such a thing and risk it."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
All Sara has to think is 'just another continent', instead of thinking, 'another planet', and she'll be fine, right? No where in the unwritten and constantly changing contract with Witchblade was it mentioned she would go to another planet, but recently he did mention to her that his purpose was for the whole of the universe, not just earth.

So arriving with the House of Mystery on an entirely new planet somewhere in the universe, Detective Sara Pezzini, wielder of the Witchblade... was lost.

She stepped out with the others, dressed in her usual business casual as if she was just going to the precinct, she pauses to look around then looks to Carol and John. "Witchblade won't let her be harmed in any way, body or soul."

Peter Quill has posed:
"Can you believe it? Not even any docking fees. This place is great, I love it already."

Peter Quill is finishing whatever post-flight checks on the Milano, before he disengages from his chair and starts making his way back, holding up a handheld device as he walks, already using it to browse some of the local data feeds. "If they don't need our help with this lady, I wanna check out the 'Grand Sensorium' and then maybe the... ooh, definitely the 'Pleasure Dome.'"

"Rocket, check this one out. The Information Ministry's Museum of Science and Technology. Bet there's all kinds of fun stuff in there." Hopefully they're not going to ROB the nice lady's planet, while trying to convince her to join whatever grand effort...

As he walks back through the cabin and toward the ramp, Quill pauses at the top to pop the collar on his long coat, and then give his fingers a quick run through his hair. Yeah, you got this! Then it's down onto the platform, with his very best strut. The Guardians have arrived!

Susan Richards has posed:
Traveling with the Guardians of the Galaxy has been quite an experience for Sue. When traversing the stars with her own family, everything was pretty much done by the book. Reed, and she, had setup strict guidelines that were MOSTLY kept to over the years, with their ships and space faring technology being hand built in-house to accomodate their needs. The Guardians? They seemed to fly by the seat of their pants, and make do with whatever they could get their hands on that would improve their current situation. there was something romantic about it, something; that Sue felt like, could be reminiscent of early American explorers milling about the countryside in covered wagons. Needless to say, Sue has been writing a number of personal logs about all of this, all of her thoughts about each individual member of the crew, and their interactions together.

Maybe she'd writ a book about them someday? Or would that be too creepy? Maybe they'll just get a mention in one of her books.

Sue had a black Fantastic Four body suit on today, with a dark blue 4 embroidered on the chest, along with sport boots that seemed to be a direct part of the leggings of her suit, and gloves that seemed seamless as well, a true ONESIE. ARound her trim waist, the blonde had a utility belt loaded with different pieces of equipment, and as she joined Peter on his way down the ramp, she was smirking at what he was saying about th Points of Interest he might wish to visit. Once she saw the world though, and got to roam her own two eyes across it, with the world's wind whipping about the locks of her blonde hair, she seemed to take a moment to be in awe of the place. "A place like this might actually have a Hell of a nice pleasure palace." She dryly commented, before she leaned over to peer at the mention of a Science expo locale. "Mm, you don't say..."

Rocket has posed:
"So... anyways... that's how come I don't kiss 'em on the mouth."

With his perpetually bare feet up on the control console before him, and his hands folded behind his head, the oldest member of the Guardians of the Galaxy (in raccoon years...) leans back in his chair and looks up at transparent partial dome of the Milano's cockpit. It's not always super easy to tell when the rodent-like creature is smiling, but most of his teeth are showing at the moment, which is usually a sign that he's either told a joke or cut someone's life short in an over the top fashion.

Nobody around him seems to be bleeding.

Rocket's long-suffering companion listens to yet another rambling story with typical amiable indifference, chiming in only with an occasional 'I am Groot.'

"Sounds real educational, Quill. But I bet these bozos ain't even got a transverse bifluxulator anywhere on the planet. We shoulda gone to Contraxia, like I wanted. But nobody ever lissens to Rocket..."

It's right about then that Rocket realizes Peter and everyone else is long gone.

"I am Groot."

"YEAH! I FLARKIN' KNOW!"

On his way down the ramp, Rocket does a pretty good job of catching up for a guy with such short legs. Especially impressive, considering that he's carrying something that looks like what a gun would look like, if it was a Macy's Thanksgiving Parade float.

Descending the ramp, he grumbles under his breath while performing a functions check and occasionally darting nervous eyes around to look at the 'scenery.' As a couple of the planet's denizens walk past without paying any attention to the raccoon in their midst, Rocket notices a common theme among the local population...

"Holy krutackin' mother of filth. I don't think I ever saw so many naked scalps before. It looks like we landed on the Galaxy's boringest ball pit."

Carol Ferris has posed:
Much like the infinitely more recognizable (at least, to those who are 'in the know' about the 'space cops') Green Lanterns, Carol Ferris -- or rather, Star Sapphire, in this guise -- can use the power of her ring to propel herself through space faster than the speed of light. Surrounded in a bubble of protective violet energy, she can get from one side of the galaxy to other at incredible speeds.

Today, however, she's traveling in a spooky-looking (and acting) house.

Or... maybe it's some sort of space-pod?

Whatever it is -- and despite Star Sapphire's experience traversing the galaxy in defense of the power of love, she honestly still has no idea what John's house really is -- Carol steps out of it just behind him, clad from head to toe (at least, in those areas she's actually covered) in a shining shining violet costume complete with heeled thigh-high boots and sleeves that reach from her shoulders to the tips of her fingers. There's a violet gemstone in the forehead of her headpiece and a matching one at her navel, just below her bared tummy. Whatever else the Star Sapphires might be known for, modesty is not among them.

"If I can't, there will be a few billion disappointed people... myself among them," Star Sapphire answers John with a humorless smile. Still, his re-stated assurance seems to help. As does Sara's promise as Witchblade. "Thank you... both. I can't overstate how important it is to me that she does this of her own free will."

She had her own reasons for that. Years of reasons, in fact, and a chip still on her shoulder from being forced to try to kill the man she loves.

Emma's words ring only too true, and without pausing to add to them or create even more of a delay, Carol strides to the front of their little group, closing her hand into a fist and pushing her ring out in front of her. Like the Green Lanterns, the Star Sapphire rings had the power to create amazing and powerful constructions of anything the wearer could imagine, but where the Green Lantern rings had access to the databases on Oa and powered by will, the Star Sapphire rings used the eternal power of LOVE, and they had their own unique gifts...

"A heart yearns for the one they call the Silver Surfer, the one who gave his freedom for this world... take me to her..."

Carol's words are soft, almost pleading, and though a violet light suddenly sweeps out from her knuckles, sweeping around the gathered group in a circle like some of kind of violet radar scan, it fails to settle. It sweeps again, the beam broader, longer, as if stretching out, but still it fails to settle...

It isn't until Emma reaches out with her own telepathic ability, their minds and powers connecting, melding, one amplifying the other, that the beam swings around faster and faster, settling finally in a singular direction -- a tall spire near the city's center.

"I think we have our path," Carol announces, a faint violet glow around her making her hover just off of the ground. She sweeps out a hand, and a violet city bus -- much like those that traverse the streets of New York or Metropolis on a daily basis, with seats and vertical poles to hang on to -- appears next to them. Sure, she could have just swept everyone up in a big bubble and forced them to go along, but that's not really her style.

"For any who don't want to walk or look for public transportation..."

And even as she makes the offer, she's already rising up into the air. Presumably, the bus is going with her to wherever that violet light leads her.

Mantis has posed:
Mantis is one of the last to step off of the Milano, following closely behind Rocket with a blank expression locked on her face. As always, she's wearing her trademark green and black martial arts inspired outfit, sleeveless for the most part, but arms covered by what appear to be palmless opera gloves, leaving her shoulders exposed. As soon as Mantis reaches the bottom of the ramp and steps onto Zenn-La, she begins to nervously play with strands of her hair.

Very demure, not-at-all mindful.

Mantis has plenty of reasons to be nervous on this mission. The task today concerns emotions and, as it happens, that's her specialty. She might be asked to do something. Uh oh.

Mantis' inner turmoil is washed away in an instant as she hears Rocket share his thoughts. "A ball pit?" she repeats with a huge grin plastered across her face. "Like in the childrens' waiting room on Contraxia?"

Mantis claps her hands together in anticipation.

Norrin Radd has posed:
Carol's ability to address love like a physical force is peculiar, but in a world of spacefarers with surfboards and talking not-Racoons, it is not beyond imagination. The energies of the emotional spectrum are very much real, and by tapping into them, she is able to unravel some of the mystery of this missing woman of such great import.

Travel, on Zenn-La, is as easy as any other thing. While many of the group can fly (or take Carol's bus), it is hardly a necessity. As she mentions, public transport is widely available, in this utopian place. From the platform, they can simply walk toward the edge, and a floating transport platform will hover into view. At request, they will bear the riders anywhere, the city easily navigated by the same Info-Net and all its interactive helpfulness.

Even for Carol, this system has utility. While the thread she follows is loose and winding in the physical sense, the route the computers plot through the city is quite direct.

"Destination: Thrann Plaza, City Center. Administrative Spire." Is that where they want to go?

Furthermore, Rocket is correct. It seems that the Silver Surfer's smooth dome is not merely a result of the chrome: the average Zenn-La adult male is fully bald. The women are not. Blame a certain artistic sexism, if you must.

Travel through the city is as wondrous as approach to it, weaving among the great verticality of the futuristic skyline. It does not take long to arrive at a building that seems, by Carol's reckoning, to be her destination. It is a part of a central square (more of a circle, really) that seems to house many important structures. Including that museum! (But not the holographic pleasure dome, sadly).

The building they seek is accessible by balcony entry, and at a desk, a smooth-headed Zenn-Lavian greets as much of the group as chooses to mob the place.

"Welcome, visitors. How may I assist you today?"

This could be a long conversation, save that another man soon intrudes on it: "I know why they're here, and it isin't for any good reason. They seek Administrator Bal's daughter. In utter disregard for our world."

John Constantine has posed:
Really, John's only purpose here is - well, it's not even a purpose, it's a sense of duty. This venture was his brainchild and it wouldn't do to have something happen to Miss Love Connection because he *wasn't* there with her. "First time off the planet there, luv?" he asks of Sara.

John hates space.

But he still takes it all in stride, or at least he seems to. But then he always seems to take everything in stride. Space is an unknown - most importantly it's an unknown when it comes to his magic. Each world is different with different deities and different energy. He could very well try to summon a demon here and end up with a clown riding a unicycle.

*Shudder* Clowns.

However, a floating bus doesn't much bother him. Rather reminds him of that one time when he and his bandmates got 'hold of some of the *really* good stuff. But somehow he doubts this one is going to take him to a place with purple elephants and dancing gorillas. But there is a talking racoon, so there is that. At least he's pretty sure he saw a talking racoon?

"Guess she has the scent," he asides to Sara while grasping on to one of those poles. His free hand fishes in a coat pocket. One cigarette pulled from the pack is tucked between his lips before he fishes for the lighter and finishes the job.

"This place rather gives me the heebies - too pristine, innit?" A place this perfect, to him, is a foreign concept.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
To be fair, Sara knew there were aliens on earth and accepted them. Of course she did, they were living beings after all, and unless they were trying to take over, they should be welcome to live their lives. Problem was, she never actually thought about /where/ the aliens came from. She was now.

Watching the effect of Carol's ring was fascinating, following it with her eyes as it made the attempt to find their target. And then there's a bus of light and she is forced to just accept, nod, and get on board. This gives her a chance to ride along and see what perfection is supposed to look like.

"It's a little unnerving," she replies to John with a nod.

Once they reach their destination, the comment from the second man causes her eyes to narrow. "I'm afraid I don't see you having any regard for our world, so I would say the feeling is mutual. Could you please point us to Administrator Bal's daughter? Thank you."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost would glance at the others, sending telepathically <<There doesn't seem to be any widespread resistance or difficulty for my telepathy, so I can keep us coordinated. I do believe that our priority is in finding our target and talking with her. We should try and hit up as many sources as possible. If there's a central information network, a historical archive, it would hopefully be useful. Planets like this are just as obsessed over archiving every small bit of data as any bureaucracy is, if not even moreso.>> Emma goes to tap over at her chin over and goes to just smile over while glancing at the man meeting them and going to quickly scan his mind.

<<He knows why we're here and who we're after>> Emma goes to pluck the image of the daughter of Bal from his mind and goes to share it along with the others. She doesn't push deeper for now. They're here to negotiate.

Mantis has posed:
Mantis gently frowns at the man intruding on the conversation. It's about as much frown as she's able to muster right now, unable to be angry in such an outwardly nice place. Plus, there's a ball pit, potentially, in the vicinity and she already has designs on it. Mantis steps forward, antennae rising as she makes herself known. Her mouth opens as she gets ready to handle this, appeal to some emotion, or perhaps even artificially instill a feeling that he'd love nothing more than to introduce them to the Administrator's daughter.

And then Sara opens her mouth.

Mantis lets out a frustrated noise and turns around to return to her more familiar position at the rear of the group. Always in the rear of the group.

Peter Quill has posed:
"Look, we can go there AFTER." The robot hooker planet. "This is impotant. I mean, I think it is."

Quill is still fairly ambiguous on the actual goals and parameters of this mission. Like on many of these outings, they're providing a ride, and the rest is all pretty hand-wobbly.

But as Rocket points out the 'ball pit' nature of the local population, he gets a big grin on his face. Did he alrady do the hair thing once? Sure. But he does it again anyway, running his fingers through those curls. Unearned Confidence +1!

Some travel happens.

"How about this one? Or this one- What about-" Rocket hadn't been impressed with the Museum to start, but Quill is trying to sell him on it as they fly on the hippy-disc or whatever it is, continually flicking through his pad, which now has a nice listing of all the different exhibits in the museum. Then he stops. No words. He just holds the pad, right up to Rocket's face, to let him read it himself.

The exhibit label reads: "Leaving War Behind: Artifacts of the Era of Conflict; The Great War through the Time of Annihlation." It's an exhibit on their apparent 'we were galactic warlords before we became superhippies' past.

Richard Rider has posed:
    Nova chooses to simply fly alongside the bus as they travel in the direction of the spire. Their greeting is not quite as warm as the rest of the city has made them feel, which doesn't come as any huge surprise. And truthfully, allowing this planet to die wouldn't mean Galactus wouldn't kill billions more, it just might have taken a couple months longer. Sadly, there's no real right or wrong in this particular situation.

    Just like the fact that even if they save Earth, it will be at the cost of whatever planet he chooses next.

    He glances over as Mantis gives up at speaking and says "No need to be shy, say your piece. It's not like we have any solid plans of what to do here, we're just after information."

Rocket has posed:
"You know, I read up on this place a little. Or, uh... watched some vids anyway. This is one of them 'perfect civilizations', you know? Already solved alla their problems like fifty bafooblion years ago. So now they all just sit around being smart baldies and doing... uh... whassitcalled? The one with all the stretching and the posing?"

The only reason that Rocket's backpack doesn't look comically oversized is due to the ridiculousness of his gun. But the pack has a mechanical arm sticking out one side of it which is attached to the back of the gun, no doubt providing some necessary stability.

"Like in that videobox that Quill's always watching. With the lady in the tights? Jane Fondo? D'ast! 'Sright on the tippa my tongue... frickin' maddening."

"Eskerslices?"

Rocket doesn't seem entirely certain that he got the word right, but everyone knows which video he's talking about. They've only got like five videos on the Milano.

Yet another couple of hairless citizens pass by. Rocket gives them a wide berth lest he catch whatever it is that caused them to be that way. For he would look truly terrifying if he ever lost his hair and nobody would let him back on the ship.

Spitting on the ground for good luck, or possibly just because he's a man with gross habits, Rocket tries unsuccessfully to get to the front of the group, where his natural leadership abilities would be most useful. Damn his short little legs. Maybe he should do more cardio, but apparently he has no interest in eskerslicing.

"Yeah... okay... now you're talkin'. That's the kind of educational I can get behind. Just so long as we're REALLY going to the museum to appreciate the gory displays and not to learn... a... less..."

Rocket's voice suddenly trails off. As he watches a giant glowing purple bus descend, and begins to notice a pattern among the extraplanetary types who are showing up, a chilling realization creeps up Rocket's robotic spine.

"Wait... did we come here to do a good deed? QUILL! YOU SAID WE ALREADY DONE OUR GOOD DEED FOR THIS CYCLE!"

Norrin Radd has posed:
The man takes to Sara's fairly forceful demeanor with one of calm yet stoic coldness. "Why should I? You have no business here, no proper appointment. Hospitality may be our rule, but I will not suffer its abuse. Be thankful that I do not alert the Peacekeepers. Good day."

Susan Richards has posed:
The banter between Rocket and Quill had gotten a reserved smile from Sue, who had looked toward Mantis upon her joining them. "How's the mug? Did you figure out how to set the temperature on it?" She had asked, prior to them setting off. Electing to utilize Carol's lovely ethereal energy bus, Sue had found a place to sit herself upon it, cross her legs, and whip out a scanning device, to record a number of different measurements about the world. From info on its atmosphere, to info on the city they were approaching itself. All of this would be filed in to the Fantastic Four database for this planet, further developing the team's galactic compendium of planets. But this one?

Sue really had a good feeling about the place. Of course, a place is quite different from its people. Its people, she was yet to formulate an opinion of.

Once they had arrived at the plaza, Sue had slipped that science device back in to a pouch on her belt, and dropped off of the ethereal bus, with a bounce in her step. She ended up near to where Quill and Rocket were again, and glanced over his shoulder to read about the Museum. "I'd be down for checking that place out." She said to them both, whether they heard her or not amidst their banter.

Sue slowly came moving up behind Mantis, once she saw the woman with the antennae backing up to take a spot near the far side of those gathered up. She crossed her arms over her stomach, and put her blue eyes upon that of John, Emma, and Sara. She glanced to whom it was they were speaking to, and leaned over toward Mantis. "Did he say something rude?" She asked, having apparently missed it, and her voice was kept low to a whisper level.

Carol Ferris has posed:
The bus ride, for those who choose to take it, doesn't come with the normal herky-jerky starts and stops of a regular city bus. As a matter of fact, it's not even necessary to hold on to the poles or take a seat, despite the fact that once Carol has lifted smoothly into the sky, the bus goes along with her. Through whatever violet energy created the bus, it also seems to shield the occupants from the G-forces of the travel, even though the scenery passes by normally out the windows.

The problem, Carol's found, with 'public transportation' -- especially seemingly automated transportation -- is that it's often controlled by whatever government put it together. Which means it's sometimes prone to take you somewhere you didn't want to go -- like straight to your own unexpected incarceration. Fool me once, shame on you, after all.

Still, that violet light isn't the easiest to follow. In broad strokes, it's a bit like a highway map, but once they've approached that ledge, the beam has spread out so much that it might as well have been an old-timey GPS simply stating, 'You have arrived.'

Arrived where exactly? Certainly not at the girl they're looking for. But through the source of whatever interference is getting in the way of their quest remains a mystery, one thing is clear -- they're not going to be easily guided to the singular woman in question. At least, if she had any doubts about their proximity, however, they're put to rest when the second man arrives to greet them.

Carol had landed lightly on that platform, bringing the bus up along side it with its doors opening smoothly, much like a city bus might a curb, to allow those who had taken her ride to exit along with her. Once everyone is off, the hard violet light that made up that construct simply seems to bleed away into nothingness, almost seeming to melt away like ice under a heat lamp, and it leaves Carol striding towards both of the men with her hands open in front of her.

"Please," she says softly, throwing a reproachfully violet, side-eyed look at Sara before returning her attention to the men, "we didn't come here to fight. We're not here in disregard for your world. We were guided here by love -- a love that a woman still harbors for man who made a choice.. a brave, selfless choice to save your people, likely without understanding how many other worlds it would affect. I beg you to hear us out. Not just for our world," she makes a small gesture towards Sara, "but for thousands of others, trillions upon trillions of lives that might be all be saved by the love of one woman -- one of your own -- who could be reunited with the man she loves. And in that love, we may just be able to stop the threat... not just the threat that continues to hang over your world, but of countless others. We mean you no harm. We ask only for a chance."

Norrin Radd has posed:
"I understand precisely what you ask," the second of the two men to have met them there in the lobby continues, looking on with a certain clear antagonism. Although several have words for him, he ends up rounding on Carol when she makes their case in chief. "Your mission is foolish. Nothing you do will serve to stop Galactus, not even in the short term, let alone permanently. You demonstrate your limited understanding by even suggesting such a thing, and then ask others to make sacrifices on your behalf. Ask them to sacrifice more and more, when they have already given so much."

He turns about, abruptly. "They are denied on my authority." After that, he departs, and starts toward an elevator in the back.

The first of the two stands there looking uncomfortable, as his evident superior departs, and speaks up again only after the second has walked some distance beyond. "I am... sorry. But without overriding authorization, I cannot let you up."

--

For those with attention spans turned elsewhere, the Museum of Science and Technology presents another gleaming edifice on the far side of the plaza. A great glass facade, built in something of an arching shape, gives something of the impression of a grand church, albeit one dedicated to almighty SCIENCE. Through the blue-tinted windows, the entry hall exhibits are semi-visible, an ancient space-rocket (still quite advanced looking by Earth reckoning) hanging from the ceiling.

The Museum, helpfully, is free!

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost goes to hold up her hand over at the men, "That's rather sad. Those who surrender to purported inevitability fall victim to it. You have accepted your damnation, you have surrendered to it. Most shall resist until the end to defend thier homes, thier cultures. YOu who care not at all sadden me. When another sacrificed themself for you and your salvation for you to care not in the slightest.. You are unworthy of such a grand thing. So unworthy. Perhaps we cannot win. Perhaps we have no chance. And yet perhaps we do. Perhaps we shall succeed. Perhaps we shall present the salvation fro others. Your complete surrender to selfishness is among the most pathetic things I have ever seen anywhere in the galaxy. NOw, out of my way."

Emma goes to gesture with her hand over. "We have access /anywhere/ we wish and unfettered. And you.. You're wastes of sentient existence and not worth the trouble. Let yourself cry yourself to sleep at night in the emptiness of the void." Those who would not even help themselves deserved none.

And Emma's powers go to work on the man's mind. She might want to make him suffer, but they're on a time limit here and doing something purely out of hatred, while it might completely please her and make her quite happy to give the man something she feels he deserves.. Now they have more things ot do. Emma applies pressure, digging in deeper..

<<THis man is a relative. Fennan Radd, our dear Surfer's half brother. He is pursuing the dearly departed Surfer's lover because he feels that she cannot live with him in his current state>> Emma might otherwise add 'naughty, naughty' and be tempted to crack his mind over like she had taken a sledgehammer to it if she had more time, even as the temptation to drain more of it comes and she shares what she gathers with the rest..

And then she's stopped. She applies more pressure. She is stopped. She goes to struggle, even as more things go to press at her and she struggles, applying more power and yet the near impossible happening as she, Emma Grace Frost, one of the most powerful telepaths on Earth..

Is broken out of the man's mind by -something- coming out and forcing her away internally. She does not know what it is, cannot tell where it is from. Some kind of defense mechanism? A protective barrier?

Dammit. The most logical thing it would be is probably a block put in by Galatus or one of his ilk to prevent interference. And she was just dumb enough to trigger it it might seem. Even as she's shoved out mentally.

John Constantine has posed:
Even John's nose wrinkles a little bit with annoyance at Sara. He jabs her lightly in the ribs with an elbow and hiss whispers, "Luv, take it down a notch, ey? This is a journey of love and peace an allit, right?"

The very fact that John Constantine set up a little vacay that's all about those things is solid proof that there may be some things off in the universe. Love and peace and allit? Not really something he believes all that much in. Or maybe he does, somewhere in that battered, beaten and black thing one would call his heart?

Truth be told, he's rooting for this to succeed, not just for Earth but for the lovers separated by a bully like Galactus. True love, it deserves better than that.

But he's brought out of all of his thoughts of true love conquering all when something tickles his senses. He reaches up to absently rub at the back of his neck.

It's just enough of a niggle to have John closing his eyes to reach out with senses that are only hindered by the common five. Oh - that's not good. He steps in a closer to Miss Love Connection, close enough to whisper, "Something's not right here, luv. Whatever mindfuckery someone did to that bloke, it triggered something less than pristine to bubble to the surface. Felt like it came from downstairs, if you get my meanin'."

Mantis has posed:
Mantis shakes her head at Sue's question. "No, but I think he may have listened to us if that one had been nicer," Mantis tells her, glancing across the group at Sara. "I think what I would have said would have been better," she adds, nodding her head at Rich's encouragement. Her voice is soft, demure, precise, as it often is. She doesn't have a sense of when she should keep her opinion to herself, so it's entirely possible her words carry to Sara's ears.

"Also, my empathic abilities can affect his emotions," she explains for Sue's benefit. "I can ease him into contentment and even affection for us. It is my purpose."

Rich's encouragement lingers, ping-ponging around in that head of hers. Why shouldn't she take control of the situation? Yeah, why not? "I think...I think that I will," she answers Rich, nodding triumphantly at his suggestion that she speak up.

Mantis steps forward, awkwardly shoving her way through the group again, perhaps to take point on this. She raises her hand, antennae rise as their tips begin to glow. Mantis opens her mouth and...

...forms into a look of utter disgust and disbelief. Her antennae become flaccid as Emma Frost begins to say these horrible, terrible things to this man, as she feels the waves of emotional turmoil crashing down on him as he suffers through the mental manipulation of Emma Frost. .

"This is horrible!" Mantis cries out, glaring at Emma. "You are horrible!" She stumbles forward with her fingertips pressed gently against the side of her head as she tries to regain her composure.

Susan Richards has posed:
Sue put a comforting hand on the back of Mantis' right shoulder for a second, before she stepped forward. She watched the gruff man make his exit, and stood beside Emma while she peered in to his mind. The revelation of him being influenced by his feelings for the very woman they were here to say, had her glancing toward the others. "Do what you can to get in to see her. Bend the rules of ethics, if you have to. This is about Earth's survival." Sue said lowly to those within earshot.

She turned toward Peter, and offered him a small device. Her blue eyes on his, she kept her voice low. "Tracking device. Keep tabs on me. I'm going to follow him." She told the Captain, before she turned, and began to walk in the same general direction that the man had gone.

She sidled up alongside a piece of art, tall and casting a shadow behind it. She walked behind it, and never came out the other side.

As the man who denied them access boarded his lift, a brief gust of wind moved past him, likely from the atmosphere of the lobby switching places with the air inside the lift car, right?

Sue, completely unseen to the natural eye, positioned herself in the back of the lift, pushing herself up against the wall, and staring at the back of the man's head.

Peter Quill has posed:
"OK, yes, there's a bit of an altruistic, heroic reason behind all of this-- though I could say its also at least a little more selfish on my part, wanting to make sure my mom's planet doesn't get eaten --but ALSO there's some potential upsides for us."

Quill spreads his hands a bit. "I mean, look at this place." . . . "OK, it's probably not your jam, but come on. They look loaded. So there's got to be opportunities. And that goes for all of this. Like, if they're going to steal some ultimate weapon to fight that Galactus guy, we want to be in on that, right? You don't profit sitting on the sidelines."

The Museum thing seems promising, but it may well be more because Sue is interested. "So you wanna check it-"

Sue hands him the device. Oh, she's a sneaky scientist. That's kind of... even hotter.

With the tracker in hand, he stretches his arms like he was tired, turning around in exaggerated fashion. "Yeah uh I am gonna go check out that museum! It looks really interesting! Definitely just going to learn about science and not anything else!"

He glances at Rocket, and walks out front.

Out front, he touches behind his ear, activating his helmet. Time to fly.

Richard Rider has posed:
    Rich raises an eyebrow at Emma's speech to the man. While he does believe in trying to improve things, the way she put it was.. what's the word... tactless? awful? Hmm...

    Then Mantis speaks up with the perfect word. Horrible fits. Not that he's going to say anything, as he's fairly ready to do some questionable things to save Earth.

    He says quietly, "Well, I don't quite know where to go from there. Diplomacy normally starts a good bit politer."

    Inside his mind, he does a quick data check to see if this world was one that allowed policing by the Nova Corps. That would give him something to work with, otherwise this might end up getting done the hard way.

Rocket has posed:
"Yeah... uh... right. We're LEAVING, to go to the MUSEUM... so we'll just be gone and don't try to find us, ya scutbags. Wink."

Taking the context clues, Rocket immediately gets on board with the plan. The plan which, though it doesn't exist yet, will probably come together by the end of the mission. That's usually how these things work, except for when Rocket is in charge of making the plan, because he's an overachiever. Looking at Mantis as he starts sauntering away as well, Rocket smiles up at her and lets her know that he's hip to the whole thing.

"Wink."

But he seems to be going in a very different direction than Peter, and suddenly pauses in front of an especially shiny door.

The door opens up so smoothly, that the cybernetically and genetically enhanced Procyon Lotor is left completely speechless for a moment. Especially when he sees what's inside.

Even the door technology on Zenn-La is beyond belief. The doors whoosh open so silently that there's no whoosh at all. They're simply closed one second, and then like a billionth of a second they're open, with no indication whatsoever of any intermediate state. This is the sort of thing that causes Rocket to completely bug out normally, and if circumstances were different, he'd certainly have spent more time opening and closing the door to the room that he was just in.

But as he disappears, the nature of his visit to the room off to the side is immediately apparent. It's especially obvious to anyone who reads Zenn-Lavian, as the room's purpose is clearly labeled. But to those who rely instead upon context clues... those are present as well. Most especially, there's an odor, which even the nigh-magical doors of Zenn-La are unable to contain.

While he's occupied, Rocket takes a small, pad-like device out of his pack, and it spreads out until it's a very large pad-like device. He swipes on the screen a few times, until a familiar video shows up. And there's Jane Fonda in all her spandexed glory, extolling the benefits of exercise.

"Oh EXercise. Yeah, I knew it'd come to me."

Carol Ferris has posed:
One of the more dubious powers of the Star Sapphire Ring -- one left over from the Star Sapphire itself, of which Carol has literal years of experience being controlled by -- is the ability to control someone's mind. The power of the ring is not quite as instantaneous or all-encompassing as the dual-personality affect of the Star Sapphire gem, yet its power still resonates deeply within its violet energy... the power to shape emotions and control actions, even if its purpose is still primarily to guide its target (or rather 'victim') to closer to alignment with the goals of the Star Sapphire.

Not unlike the way Carol was forced to follow the whims of the Star Sapphire, herself, as she tried to kill Hal Jordan, the love of her life... over and over and over again. It's not something she would ever wish on anyone else -- that total loss of control, the utter devastation that would have followed if she'd actually succeeded. All because she refused to leave him to lead the Zamarons, and the Star Sapphire gem saw him as an obstacle to be removed. The violet power of love can be powerful and beautiful, but it can also be passionate and, when necessary, violent.

Star Sapphire is about to open her mouth when Emma steps forward, her disdain evident. Well, that wasn't exactly going to make aligning anyone's priorities with the Star Sapphires easier... especially as the woman's disdain turns to outright contempt and disgust. It wouldn't have been the tack she'd chosen, but she couldn't say she wholly disagreed, either... she just didn't have the same tools Emma had at her disposal to back it up. An outburst like that from Carol might have ended in her summoning The Predator to her aide, which wasn't something anyone here wanted at this immediate juncture.

It's the aftermath that has the most affect on Carol -- Emma's projected thoughts and the sudden repercussions of her being expelled from the man's mind.

Well, that and Mantis's sudden outburst about Emma's character.

"Does that mean there's something you can do? Because I'm all ears," the violet-clad Sapphire asides to John, eyes cutting over to him, though she's obviously keeping her attention on the situation unfolding before them. John may have wanted her to guide her to the girl, but the team they've assembled were either making it more or less difficult... and she wasn't sure which, at the moment. The only thing she could really be sure of was that her true 'purpose', if such a thing could be narrowed down, was to speak to the Silver Surfer's true love. Getting to her was always going to be a 'seat of the pants' operation, and as they delved deeper, it seemed like the whole mess got more and more tangled.

One of the things she _could_ do -- in fact, one of the primary reasons she was here in the first place -- was what the Star Sapphires had dubbed 'True Love's Sight.' While not truly mental manipulation, it exposes the 'truth' of a person's passions both to them and to the Star Sapphire. It can serve as a bit of a lie detector, but it's much deeper than that. It reveals a person's true motivations. They may say they're doing it all to save their planet, but is it really selfish greed for one particular thing? Is it really love? Is it something else?

"Allow the power of love reveal your heart's true desire..."

It's this light that Carol shines on the man who had rejected Emma, lifting her ring not in hopes of penetrating or controlling his mind, but of revealing his true intentions for what they really are... is it jealousy? Or does that other entity that rejected Emma have its own motivations?

Norrin Radd has posed:
Collectively, the abilities of Emma Frost, Mantis, and the Star Sapphire Carol Ferris should be able to win any mortal man over. For a second, even, that seems to be what is happening. But then all of them seem forced back by something (something sinister, according to John), albeit not without revealing a great deal about himself in the process.

Love triangle!

Emma sees fractions, Mantis feels it, Carol... they can all feel his own jealous love, but there is clearly something darker beneath the surface. It does not want the woman, not as the man Fennan Radd does.

Yet with the psychic assault failing, the man strides ahead into the elevator. There's something slightly different to his gait, as he makes those final steps, before turning and pressing a button. The doors close on his oddly shadowed face, with Sue inside. The car zips skyward.

The man at the reception desk continues to look awkward, especially toward Mantis. "Miss, are you alright? Should I call for the medi-techs?"

--

The elevator has a display with many possible destinations, but Fennan Radd queues in one in particular, as they race upward. When he reaches that floor, he rushes out, into a fairly well-apointed office space, more of sort of a central lounge with more of that abstract art and a few doors and halls off to offices around the floor. But he has an objective, heading ahead, toward one on the far side, flinging the door open.

A black-haired woman stands on the far side, dressed in the flowing robes of the local culture. She is working, it seems, fingers tracing patterns on an orb, that might be a stand-in for a more primitive keyboard. As the man bursts in, she turns back.

"Fennan- what's the matter?" She seems to sense something in his demeanor, instantly. There is concern, empathy. Care.

Peter gets a view from outside the window, once he figures out which side of the building Sue's tracker is pointing at.

"Shalla, there are people here, offworlders. They wish to take you- you have to go. We have to go." There's a spark of hope, in that voice.

"What are you talking about? What do they want me for?"

"For HIM." This time, anger, bitterness. Even downstairs, the empaths can feel it building

--

For Rich's inquiry, Zenn-La's political alignment seems fiercely independent, and fiercely neutral, almost a bit of a space Switzerland. It abides by several large-scale treaties, and acknowledges both the Nova and Lantern Corps... but maintains a fairly dense set of bureaucratic procedures for extradition. Well, all of that is 'on paper.' In practicality, there hasn't been any major crime here in a century or more.

... will Earth change that? <Insert 'Days without Crime' flip-sign>

John Constantine has posed:
Is there something John can do? Bloody Hell if he knows. Is this planet's 'infernal' the same as Earth? He just knows he felt something wrong, something closer to 'Hell' than 'Heaven' in the terms he's used to. "Don't know, luv," he admits to Star Sapphire. But maybe there is? He can at least see what else might be lurking out there? Once again John closes his eyes. This time he lets go of everything else around him. All the noise, all the conversations - it all falls away as he seeks out the source of whatever it was he thinks he felt.

Latching on to the things with the signatures of both Heaven and Hell are part of John's bread and butter - when he pimps those services out to pay the bills. It also, sometimes, comes in handy when more is at stake than just his electric being turned off.

Was it the man himself or something else?

Could it be that he won't be the one responsible for damning the woman's soul to hell?

Susan Richards has posed:
Sue was right there with the man, as he angrily swept his way through the skyrise upper floor. She kept pace with him, brushing past others that were moving about, or keeping light footed on particularly suspicious floor elements. But when he passed in to the room with the dark haired woman, Sue fanned out to the side. She listened closely, and her blue eyes narrowed as she heard the angle that the man was going with. A glance was given to the windows, knowing Peter (and the others through him) would know where to find her, if needs be.

Sue suddenly appeared in the room with the two of them.

"Shalla." She stated in a calm voice. "My name is Sue Richards. I'm from a planet called Earth. Norrin has come to it. He has come to herald its demise." Sue kept her eyes locked upon Shalla, though she was aware of what the man was doing, just incase he tried something, she would Force Field up...

"I'm not here to take you. I'm here to ask you to come with us. My friends and I, we need your help. We want to free Norrin, and save our home. But... if you don't wish to come, we won't force it."

Would they?

Carol Ferris has posed:
Frustration is Carol's dominant emotion. All roads seemed to lead to them being stymied -- even the less savory ones, which she lamented they had to resort to, but that she was relatively sure would be effective, regardless.

Now she didn't really know what they were up against. Was John right? Was something.. down there.. affecting this man? _Something_ certainly was. While she might not know Emma all that well, she knew her at least by her very public reputation. What could shut her out like that?

Sue was in the elevator, at least. Peter had gone after her outside. They still had pieces on the board. They still had some remaining tendrils of hope...

But then there's that flood of emotion that comes through her connection to those hearts -- an almost staggering sensation it's so sudden and violent. It has her gasping, her chin lifting, her eyes shifting to the ceiling to follow it as if attracted to some kind of scent. Above them. Up the elevator.

Sue. And where Sue went, Peter was sure to have followed...

"We have to go now. Raise your hand if you wish to stay behind."

It's the only words out of Star Sapphire's lips before the violet glow surrounds her again, and from within her ring, manifest tendrils, not of hope but of violet energy, snake out like so many serpents being released from a basket. Each slips its way out to a member of her team still nearby, wrapping them up unless waved away and pulling them along with her flight up along the side of the building in search of Peter... in search of those windows.

They were already behind. Sue was alone in the room with a creature that they didn't fully understand unless Peter went in after her, and Carol wasn't about to leave that entirely alone.

So, one way or another, it's through a window that she attempts to go -- wishing to find one open or far enough away to not come crashing down on the woman they're attempting not to startle. And yet, they need access to that room, and she'll get that access by any means she absolutely has to.

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter does his full rocketman routine once he gets outside, engaging his boots and jetting up the sleek side of the building en route to... well, no, he has no idea what he's going to find at this point. With the device Sue gave him in one hand, he follows the cold-cold-hot of the beep-beep-BEEP, corckscrewing around the exterior of the spire until he's outside the window of that office.

He peeks inside, like a creeper.

Now the show is Sue, Fennan and Shalla? That's a word salad. He can't hear it all real well. But...

In the last second, he SEES something. Maybe the optics on the front of his Star-Lord mask help, maybe it's just his gunslinger's instinct. He flies to the wall, pounds it, hoping to get Sue's attention, but the material is really strong. Damn science hippies.

"I really hope this doesn't cause a political incident..."

He flies back a short ways, spin-draws one his pistols, and fires.

The blast is a bit better than banging on the window, and shatters the whatever-stronger-than-glass material. "WATCH OUT, HE'S GONNA-"

Peter still has the gun up, but the line of fire is wrong, with Shalla standing between him and Fennan.

Emma Frost has posed:
Mantis is completely right about Emma. If Emma spoke there would be no denying it. But Emma found the man completely disgusting so couldn't be bothered to take the time to 'play nice'. Turning over and surrendering, pursuing his brother's love.. Oh yes, she felt quite right when it came to judging him and being in complete dismissal of him. The fact that she had been shoved out was a sign of her own sloppiness - for all her parnaoia and expectation of a trap going in, of /course/ Galactus would hav eput defenses into the mind of those close to the woman that was the Surfer's weakness, and in her arrogance and surety she hadn't even broached the subject. So there was rising disgust over from her with herself.

And then Carol is taking them up and Emma goes to immediately transform over to her diamond form as she goes to offer her hand over to another if needed. Her form shifts, turning into near invulnerable organic diamond, as the rest go upwards. She speaks calmly thorugh the comms, since she cannot connect telepathically as the sounds of the firefight can be made out.

<<If you need to, feel free to launch me if you feel like taking down some of these -individuals- is necessary>>

Rocket has posed:
Although a familiar workout video was the first thing to pop up on Rocket's screen, it doesn't seem to be the actual object of his screen gazing efforts. No indeed, for he quickly swipes out of that video and links up his device to the local network. And then a marvelous thing happens, or at least a thing that would appear marvelous if this were Earth. It's probably pretty banal here on Zenn-La, but we shall describe it anyway.

The pad disappears completely, and simultaneously reappears floating in front of Rocket as he sits on his new office chair. But instead of reappearing as it was, it reappears as multiple larger displays, arranged all around Rocket in a very convenient fashion. Immediately, the hyperactive rodent begins swiping through the displays, and occasionally typing things out or inputting things with frantic gestures. Images of every single person that he arrived to the planet with populate on the various displays, alongside building schematics, massive scrolls of autotranslated text, and even a few videos from local newscasts. And even a snippet from a holofilm playing on one of the infotainment streams.

Rocket turns his head to look at the snippet from the film, which currently has this stellar piece of dialogue occurring...

"No, I do not desire to marry you, Zolonda. For I have no desire to do anything, other than ponder the mysteries of the Universe."

"That is acceptable, Hu-Yon 43. For I too possess no desire to do anything, other than ponder the mysteries of the Universe."

"Well then, shall we sit here with our legs folded and ponder together?"

"I would find that agreeable, such a seated position can aid in opening the hips and relieving..."

Quickly, Rocket swipes up, and that particular Zenn-Lavian film is cut off, leaving the screen blank.

"HOLY KRUTACK! That was labeled an action movie! We gotta get offa this planet pronto."

Tapping one of his pointy ears, a small headset appears, rapidly coalescing out of seeming nothingness.

"Hey team... I'm in. And I gotta be honest, it was super easy. These people are suuuuper apathetic. Reminds me of Groot when we forget to add nitrogen to his fertilizer."

Typing furiously, Rocket inputs the command to open the window right after Peter blasts it open. The broken shards on the outer edges of the window just kind of.... flop open sadly.

Richard Rider has posed:
    Well, there was little he could do in here, since the legitimate way into the building had been denied. Forcing their way into the elevator would get the local police force called, so it had to be done another way. Taking the rather obvious hint from Rocket, he heads back outside.

    Once away from the receptionist, he asks "So, are we considering a window entry then? It'll still get the local cops called on us, but if we're quick enough we might be able to get in and out before they arrive. He looks around than adds, "Probably pretty good response time, it doesn't look like they have any bad neighborhoods anywhere."

    "And if we could get a construct back for the non-fliers, we should be able to move pretty quickly." His eyes scan the members of the group who are here. "It's for a good cause, so a bit of breaking and entering can probably be excused."

    At about that moment, material rains down from Peter's shots into the window. "Well, there it is then." He takes off and zips up to hover beside Peter asking, "What's up" as the HUD in his helmet feeds him the data from inside the room.

Mantis has posed:
Mantis gently frowns in Rocket's direction as he begins to leave in such a suspicious manner. When he winks at her by saying the word instead of using his eye, Mantis is compelled to confront him about it. "That is not how you wink, Rocket!" she calls out to him, much louder than is necessary. She sighs.

When the receptionist asks if she needs assistance, Mantis shakes her head. "No thank you, I am fine. I'm just getting tired of my travel companions," she answers honestly as she approaches the desk. Mantis moistens her lips and places both of her hands on the top of the reception counter. "Now, I was told that there is a ball pit of some type...." she begins, inflection rising towards the end of her statement to indicate that it was really more of a request for directions. Rocket said there was a ball pit and this one detail has been the fuel keeping this alien woman from falling into despair.

The surge of emotion felt from the floors above startles Mantis, stopping her conversation right then and there. She'd react if there was time, but the purple tendrils of light that grab hold of her is a much more compelling distraction. She lets them carry her off.

"I'm sorry, it looks like I must be going. I would like a rain check on the ball pit, please! I will begin unlacing my boots!" she calls down to the receptionist as the purple tendrils take her away. She's serious about that alleged ball pit.

Norrin Radd has posed:
Rocket starts filling in the information vaccuum the team has. They can get pictures of where everyone is, where everything is going on, which is convenient for Carol and the people she's dragging. With Emma, they might even be able to piggy-back the information around pretty efficiently - even Peter's tracker, probably.

But the main action is in the office.

Sue appears, dropping her invisibility, and appeals to both, to Fennan Radd and Shalla-Bal. For those who have been feeling Fennan's emotions on full blast for the last few moments, the fact that he is not receptive is probably no surprise.

Her reaction is much different.

There is clearly pain in her eyes, sadness, a kind of distant longing, that comes spilling to the fore when she hears Norrin's name. Carrol can feel it, in the same instant, and some of the others, albeit less strongly than the actual Love-Lantern. What is there can never be undone.

"I would love nothing more, but- he would not want it. He left to save this, to save me! What would become of us, if I betrayed that? If all this came to ruin, to satisfy us two alone."

"This is why you must forget it, my love!" shouts Fennan, stepping nearer. "That part of your life is over. Norrin was my brother, and he is all our hero, but he is GONE! You must move on! We must live! And these outsiders-"

He looks to Sue, and then glances toward the window. "Don't you see? They will take you! They care only for themselves! I won't let them! And I won't let HIM!"

The wave of jealous rage builds, and then crashes over the whole of them, like a flood. There is a flash of light, well, actually several, first as Peter fires, and the window breaks, and then-

Smoke and dust fills the room. A burning ball of plasma exhausts itself, hanging mid-air, contained, just in front of Shalla-Bal, inside an invisible forcefield.

Fennan stands back from her, holding... two guns. He has fired both.

Sue lays on the ground, the '4' on her suit burned and charred.

John Constantine has posed:
"Bloody *Hell*, seriously?" John's eyes roll heavenward. "I think something's possessing him, luv. Could be it's not going to be me dragging her to Hell." He waves a hand. "Up, I suppose." He sounds a little 'off' himself. Not nearly so confident as he typically might be. Space demons? Is that even a thing? Stands to reason that it could be? In his head he's going over his options. Can he come up with something just generic enough and powerful enough to work?

Up he goes, it's not the first time he's been snatched by tentacles, won't be the last either. At least these aren't attached to a Kraken or some evil denizen of Hell. As he gets closer to the Jealous Wannabe Lover, John redoubles his efforts to try to figure out what *exactly* they're dealing with.

He felt it, he knows it's Bad.

If demons are a universal thing, maybe his methods of dealing with them are too? He has about two point to seconds to make a wild guess.

Here's to hoping he doesn't end up with Clowns on a Unicycle... or worse. Is there anything worse?

He throws one hand up and, with as much confidence and conviction as he can muster under the circumstances *demands*,

"By the hidden sun
and the ancient power,
I call upon the mystic veil to break Galactus's hold.
Free these minds from his influence,
By my will, let them be clear."

Of course, the odds of that happening are next to nil. Who's he to stand against the influence of Galactus?

Susan Richards has posed:
With Peter's arrival, Sue was quick to look in his direction, before her blue eyes shot back toward Shalla. She saw the weapon produced out of the corner of her eyes, and quickly raised her right hand up, fingers splayed apart!

The sound of two weapons went off, though, and Sue had made a major misjudgement.

Her misjudgement ended with her tumbling backward, crashing down on to the edge of a table, and down on to her side, with all of the various tools, and trinkets on her belt clattering to the floor, and fanning out in all directions.

The blonde woman, the matron mother of the Fantastic Four, Earth's oldest super hero team, laid motionless upon the floor, her blonde hair strewn across her face, and tendrils of smoke rising up from her chest.

Norrin Radd has posed:
It should hardly seem like this random alien could bring such horror, but as he stands there, between Sue's smoking body and the forcefield that has saved his would-be love, there is a darkness that hovers over Fennan. Not a physical change, really, though as he looks up from his work, looks the woman in the eyes, a no doubt outraged Quill, there is a terrible malevolence there, and even... a kind of amusement.

He aims the guns again, this time one for Quill and one for Shalla. Quill shoots, almost certainly. Fennan doesn't fall.

The guns start to burn.

But then it's time for the Sapphire Cavalry to arrive, with John Constantine in tow. He's already chanting his spell, and as he completes it, the man staggers.

And they see it.

Two forms stand in the room. The alien, holding those guns, looking at them with vague comprehension...

...and behind him, a tall red-skinned figure, with a great black mane of hair and a cape with a high collar. "Oh... so close," he sneers, looking at Constantine. "Well- there's always next time. I'll be seeing you, and _her_ again soon." Then he tosses something back at the man, to skid to the edge of the building.

A pair of broken spectacles.

Then a burst of sulfurous smoke, washing over the broken office.

Peter Quill has posed:
Quill definitely, absolutely, positively, 100% shoots. Shoots all the shots! "SUE!"

Yeah, he hasn't exactly known her a long time, but in that window, she's been nothing but, well, exceedingly nice. Forget the whole hot blonde super mommy bit. She's just a genuinely great lady. No doubt they've had all kinds of cheerful group bonding going on, on the Milano, even the kind that didn't quite make it on camera.

Plus? He fails. He tries to warn her, save her, save both of them, and he fails.

So Quill doesn't just shoot. Quill unloads. He keeps firing with the one gun, pulls up the other one to join in. He shoots Fennan. He shoots the red guy. He shoots Fennan some more after the red guy vanishes. He shoots the energy barriers that Rich and/or Carol probably use to arrest the guy.

He shoots until the energy cells run out.

Then he flies down toward where the woman has fallen, retracting his helmet as he lands beside her, checking her vitals. "Rocket! Can you get the local medics? Redirect a space-ambulance? Something?!"

Richard Rider has posed:
    Rich flies in through the window and over to Sue, Kneeling down and letting the sensors in his helmet scan her vital signs. He may not be a healer, but he can at least get info on how badly she's hurt. Glancing over to Shalla he says quietly "You'll notice one of those guns was aimed at you. Perhaps now we can talk for a bit. Are you _really_ ok with the love of your life choosing which billion people die this week? Because that's what he's doing"

    He pulls a small first aid kit from his belt, as a Nova Corps member he's had some basic medical training and he can access more through the Worldmind, but it would probably be better if an actual trained medic took over.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma Frost swears, even in the form she has invulnerability in and is supposed to be cold to all emotion. Her own medical skills are at best first aid.. She quickly goes to glance over at the Star Sapphire. "Can your ring do anything to aid her?" Her attention is quickly turned back down to the direction of the yelling assistance Peter Quill. DAMMIT. They've all been played today.

She can only stand around helpless and ready to do as she was told to help out.

Rocket has posed:
"D'AST! He shot our human! Quill, please tell me you got a stasis cube in one of those pouches, because I don't think we're going to find any replacement organs anywhere in... oh... actually... they got really good hospitals on Zenn-La. Yeah, that makes sense."

Tapping furiously on multiple displays at once, Rocket is completely engaged by rapidly-changing images and massive scrolls of computer code. An overly active brain takes all the information in, collates, and then starts putting in the commands that will hopefully get the required medical help on the way.

Medical help from some of the Universe's finest minds. Surely they can fix her, right?

"We're flarked! Nearest emergency medical team is four minutes away. I ain't a doctor, but it don't look to me like she's got that long."

Still tapping away, Rocket keeps trying, redirecting the nearest crisis unit, resolute despite the obvious futility of his assignment.

"Sorry Sue. You woulda made one helluva Guardian."

Carol Ferris has posed:
Everything that happens in that office is a flurry of activity, and though Star Sapphire's primary reason for coming had been to talk to the woman she was now in the room with, there were priorities to consider.

John was doing his exorcist thing. Quill was doing his gunslinger thing. Rich was doing the diplomacy thing.

Sue was... maybe dying.

As much as Carol wanted a chance to talk to Shalla before something else happened to intervene, her priority was clear. With the power of enough love, the Star Sapphire rings had been known to bring someone back from the dead -- though that admittedly drastic act required being fueled by that person's true love. Carol's own capacity for love was profound, which was why the gem had chosen her to lead the Zamarons as their new Queen in the first place, but some things were out of even her capacity.

The rings could be fickle that way. It wasn't just wielder's capacity for love. In the case of healing wounds, some amount of it was the bond shared.

"I can try," she tells Emma. It's all she can promise. She's not a doctor, after all. She relies on the power of the ring, and in times like this, the outcome wasn't aways straight forward.

Directing her closed fist at Sue, the violet light from her ring surrounds the woman on the ground, bathing her in that ambient glow. Is it enough? Does it do anything at all? It's hard to tell, at first. Maybe if she had Reed's love to help her, the effect would be more dramatic. As it is... all she can do is hope.

John Constantine has posed:
All the fuss and flurry over Sue - the rest of them will have to deal with that. There is still the reason they're here in the first place. John's not as heartless as people take him to be, but he is definitely a 'means to the end' sort. He's the 'one life against billions' sort.

So, with as much of that Brit charm he can muster, he holds a hand out to Shalla. "C'mon now, luv. I think you've seen here that Galactus didn't spare your planet. He only turned it into a prison. You can help us stop him - stop him from doing it again, stop him from forcing people to flee their home or be gobbled up like a giant Gobstopper. Your choice, but wouldn't you rather go down fighting, side by side, with your man than continue like this?"

Really, this isn't John's thing, he's not a people person. But his words are heartfelt, sincere, honest - it's more than most get from the Laughing Magician.

Norrin Radd has posed:
With the presence ejected from him, Fennan is no threat. The guns don't even seem to work, burnt out, almost slagged by whatever kind of strange enchantment had filled them in those last seconds.

Even more curiously, the shots sustained *before* the exorcism show no sign of permanent or lasting wound.

The ones afterward?

Yeah... those worked fine. All of them.

Understandably, everyone is focused on Sue. The team has any number of members capable of first aid, or even of greater healing power. The local science is also fantastic. But Rocket is right.

They arrive too late, if there's even such a thing as 'in time' for a weapon of that sort discharged directly into her chest. Sue's powers are immense, but her flesh is human.

None of the efforts yield any response.

---

The Zenn-Lavian authorities, such as they are, arrive eventually. They are not particularly intimidating, and it is clear that the entire situation upsets and confuses them some. However, it is not difficult to procure immediate evidence of Fennan's guilt - Rocket will have footage, Shalla can testify. Strangely, she doesn't even mention the red figure, nor do the videos, speaking only to the sudden hate in her jealous admirer's eyes.

There is red tape, afterward. For Quill especially. They clearly don't like sudden violence here, but at least in this, the influence of the Nova Corps is likely of some use. There is a sense that the Zenn-Lavians are so uncomfortable with it all, with the prospect of an attempted murder followed by an actual one in retribution, that they would rather sweep it all under the rug, or ship it off somewhere else.

So congratulations Rich, you are awarded custody of one Peter Quill.

And when the Milano departs orbit, they will see that their free parking is revoked.

---

In the aftermath of it, Shalla-Bal clearly bears her own trauma. There was care in her for Fennan, just like Norrin, even if perhaps not the same. Emotion is complex, and in some cases, toxic. She faces all of that, as the heroes ply her for aid.

Does John's speech win her over? It's hard to tell. But she answers distinctly: "I will go with you. I would... like to see him, at least one more time."