1281/A Decided Lack of Chill

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A Decided Lack of Chill
Date of Scene: 21 April 2020
Location: Central Park Zoo
Synopsis: There's a bit of trouble as some strange creatures try to free or eat the animals in the tropical section of the Central Park Zoo. Iceman and Northstar are there to get rid of them before there are any real escapees.
Cast of Characters: Bobby Drake, Jean-Paul Beaubier




Bobby Drake has posed:
It's a cool spring afternoon at the Central Park Zoo, in the mid-fifties, sunny, and there are people drifting through the exhibits even though it's the middle of the afternoon on a Tuesday. It's not quite tourist season yet, though, and so it's relatively quiet. Bobby had gotten done with classes, and so had wandered down to Central Park just to meander through and spend some time before heading back out to the mansion. It's the Tropic Zone that he's visiting -- the exact opposite of an Iceman's natural environment, but then, one can enjoy the tropical exhibit when one can lower one's own ambient temperature to something more comfortable.

Jean-Paul Beaubier has posed:
Sometimes it's nice just to get out and about. It's currently downtime for Jean-Paul, which means he has slightly less work to do than usual, and can take time to do things for himself, like go on a walk though Central Park. Today it was the zoo that pulled his attention, and at this exact moment he's having a staring contest with a jaguar who's hanging out in a tree, arms crossed over his chest. Apparently neither one wants to be the one to break eye contact first.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby Drake glances over at the guy having the staring contest with the Jaguar and studies him for a moment, both brows raising just a little bit. And then he watches them, rather than the animals in the cages for a bit, idly curious as to who is going to blink first. But then, that thought is interrupted when a kid nearby asks, "Mommy, why is that man letting the animals out?"

And sure enough, a figure with a whole lot of teeth and strange long limbs with razor-like claws at the end is busily cutting through the screening at the top of the bat cage while another similar figure is cutting at the top of the tropical bird enclosure, trying to let the animals out.

Jean-Paul Beaubier has posed:
Jean-Paul graciously allows the jaguar to win when he hears the little girl's words. First looking in her direction then towards where she is pointing. Ah! Yes.. well, that's certainly something. If it was just some wackjobs from the local PETA branch he very likely may have just turned and walked off to let the local authorities handle things. As it is, well, those are definitely not from PETA unless they've been going illegal genetic experiments. He looks down at himself, jeans and a light black sweater, subtle, but not exactly the best outfit for him to be in. So instad he backs away from the crowd, hoping most eyes are on the monsters and tries to find a spot where he's out of view.

Bobby Drake has posed:
First there's two, and then three, and then a fourth, and they all go to work at attempting to cut open the cages, which begins to raise a ruckus, but on the view zoo-goers who are present and in the animals themselves, who begin to tweet and hoot and growl and raise a general sort of chaos that starts to attract a lot more attention than one guy backing away from the fracas.

Bobby is a known mutant and a known X-man, so his identity isn't exactly a secret, but he's also not terribly recognizable when he's not entirely made of ice. And so as he backs away, himself, there's a light crackling as his body shifts and takes on the translucent ice form, even down to his clothing and sneakers. Usually, he'd do this in his X-Men outfit, but well, sometimes you just don't have the luxury of changing.

"Alright folks, going to need you to back up for your own safety while we get this under control, please walk, don't run.. orderly fashion." He tries to herd the zoo-goers and children out of the way, blocking off one entrance with a wall of ice to prevent new gawkers from walking in while they try to get things under control.

Jean-Paul Beaubier has posed:
And who ever said turtle-neck sweaters were out of fashion. He tugs up the neck of his sweater so it's over his nose and his mouth, eyes shifting to glowing blue as he lifts himself up into the air from behind a tree. Bursting through the canopy he gets a better view of what's going on with those beastly creatures before flying in closer. He really didn't want to get into a fight today, maybe.. "I suggest you lot move off. I'm already in a foul mood today." He doubts it's going to work, it never works, but he always holds out hope that one of these days they'll do just that when confronted by a his annoyed stare.

Bobby Drake has posed:
One of the creatures nearest to Jean-Paul eyes him as he bursts through the canopy and reaches their level. The things seem to ooze with shadow now that they're up close. Their bodies are lean and angular with long limbs, and then from the skin they seem to just emit this black mist all around them, needle sharp teeth glinting white in their dark faces. They don't, in fact, move off. In fact, the one nearest him leaps toward him with claws outstretched, intent on trying to pull him down out of the sky.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Iceman manages to clear out the last of the tourists and reassure the zookeeper that they're going to try and keep the animals in before icing them out, too. With the area at least semi-contained, he glances up to notice JP up in the air and both brows go up.

It's about then that one of the other creatures comes crawling down toward him at a rapid rate, like a spider suddenly skittering down the branch of a nearby tree and leaping at him. Both hands come up and Bobby puts up a barrier of ice in front of him, which the thing bounces off of, claws scraping at the ice and then it's back up and over it, trying to advance on him again.

Jean-Paul Beaubier has posed:
Jean-Paul simply can't move at too high a speed right now, not unless he wants his clothing to burst into flames, but short bursts of speed to move out of the way of one of the things leaping at him should be no problem. He zips around the creture and aims a quick flurry of punches to its back, then follows it with a downward kick. He may not be the strongest, but blows delivered at high speeds don't need strength.

He turns his attention to the other powered individual below. "Take your time, I'm quite enjoying myself." It's not clear if that's sarcasm, a joke, or something else entirely. It's hard to tell with most of his face concealed and his tone of voice doesn't give much away either.

Bobby Drake has posed:
The creature snarls and twists and tries to get away from the thing punching at its back, not at all pleased by this development. Fast moving creature is fast, and tries to get its claws into JP again, though it is having a hard time keeping up with his speed, and it makes a gutteral noise as it is pummeled.

Bobby launches a sharp volley of ice into the one that keeps coming for him, and manages to drop it. You know what doesn't last long in a tropically heated area of the zoo though? Ice. Those walls are already starting to melt and won't keep out the bystanders for long, and so he slides on up on a rapidly accelerating platform of ice to confront another one of the creatures.

"Glad someone's having fun," he says with an amused smile. "You gonna get rid of that thing or dance with it?" His tone is light enough, though, as he shoots another one with a volley of ice. This time some of them hit but the others miss.

Jean-Paul Beaubier has posed:
"Nothing wrong with a little dancing." Jean-Paul says for Bobby as he moves straight up to get away from those slashing claws. He tsk-tsk softly at the creature glaring down at it. "You are truly an ugly thing, n'est pas?" Or maybe he's just going to insult it to death. He raises a hand and flings downwards at the creature loosing a bolt of light that explodes on impact with a concussive shock, as he zips first upwards in the opposite direction then arcs back downwards, taking aim at another of the creatures, ready to spin and slam into it feet first.

Bobby Drake has posed:
While he works on trying to pierce the second creature, he begins working ice over the opening that was cut in the roof below. It won't last too long, but it will temporarily seal the breach before the animals figure out they can actually get out. One tropical bird has already made its escape and has come to roost in the temperate zone not too far away.

The creature under JP's light assault takes two solid hits and then the slam of his feet and it crashes through the foliage to land motionless on the ground. Which leaves only one more to go, and it seems to be going in after that jaguar. The jaguar watches the creature lazily, and the gradually widening hole that might provide its escape.

Jean-Paul Beaubier has posed:
Jean-Paul seems to touch the ground just briefly and then is zipping off in a blur towards the last of the creatures, he comes in from the side and aims a series of punches at the creature's midsection, fast enough that the sleeves of his sweater start smoking from the friction of it. Once JP notices though, he finishes off his combination with a knee to the spot he was pummeling. "Tsk, I like this sweater, sacre.."

Bobby Drake has posed:
The jaguar remains languidly draped on its branch, watching this entire display with a lick of its teeth, as though deciding that it might eat whichever one limps away from this particular fight. The creature takes a pummeling from JP and eventually it too falls to the ground in a heap and begins to try to drag itself away. That's when it finds itself in the jaws of the jaguar, that quickly snaps its neck, ending any hope of a slither into the shadows.

Bobby's ice slams through the chest of the one up on top of the cages and it falls backward, tumbling off of the side and into the bushes. With that finished, he goes about continuing to seal up the remainder of the holes with ice. "Well.. that'll hold for about an hour or so. It's not much, but probably long enough for someone to come up here and put a temporary patch on." He glances over toward JP and smells the burning, sniffing. "You okay over there?"

Jean-Paul Beaubier has posed:
Jean-Paul Beaubier is busy patting the sleeves of his sweater which are still giving off a bit of smoke, but fortunately haven't burst into flames. "Just moved too fast." He says idly when asked if he's alright. He's not even really paying attention to the jaguar or its new snack, other than a slight sideways glance and a shake of his head. He sticks his finger through a hole he finds burned in the elbow of the sleeve and merely shakes his head. "The same cannot be said for my sweater." He touches down, but still keeps the neck of his sweater over the lower half of his face as he regards Bobby curiously.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby Drake gives a nod of his head when it seems that Jean-Paul is in one piece, even if the same cannot be said for his sweater, and gives him a little bit of a grin at the curious look. "Iceman," he introduces himself, as though that weren't painfully obvious. "X-Men." Then he nods toward the critters as he goes over to place his hands against the ice walls he made and help them along turning them into water so that the zoo employees can come patch up the holes. He takes a moment to let one know that one of the birds got out and is over in the temperate zone, and then turns back to JP. "Thanks for helping out with that."

Jean-Paul Beaubier has posed:
JP snaps his fingers as Bobby introduces himself by his code name, as if answering an unasked question. Though at least he does eventually respond in kind. "Northstar. Currently.. unaffiliated." Hr shrugs off the thanks. "Well, I wasn't in the mood to be eaten by a jaguar on the loose." He walks over to one of the icewalls and puts his hand up against it, tilting his head to the side. "Interesting." But he says nothing on the ice beyond that, looking over as Bobby deals wth the zoo staff.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby Drake lifts his chin with a grin and says, "Nice to meet you, Northstar. New to the area?" He grins a little as he watches the man putting his hand up to the ice wall. It's melting in the heat of the tropical zone, but Bobby isn't, even if he's still translucent from head to toe, the ambient air around him causing a slight vapor where his own personal weather front meets the hothouse temperatures around him.

Jean-Paul Beaubier has posed:
"I've been to New York before, but things might be keeping me here slightly longer than usual. Besides, it seems like a nice place to summer." JP knocks once on the ice. "Have you ever tried ice sculpting. People pay a fortune for good quality ice swans. I find it a little pretentious myself, but it really does make an impressive centerpiece." It's almost possible to see the smile hidden behind the sweater. Though as the zoo people filter in, it looks like he wants to leave. Of course, he could just zip away into the sky, but as it is, he just starts to stroll for the exit, casual as can be.

Bobby Drake has posed:
"Well, perhaps I'll see you around again sometime, then. Never mind a little help when things go awry," Bobby says, watching as JP knocks on the ice. He grins a little and says, "Yeah, I can do swans. I can chill people's drinks, too. Great at parties." But when JP turns to go, he lifts a hand in a wave, taking a moment or two to deal with the zoo people and their questions. But after a few moments, they thank him for his help considering he kept people from getting hurt, the animals for getting out, and while they're absolutely not thrilled with the bodies that need to be cleaned up or the fact they have no idea what their jaguar just ate, they can't really fault him for that. And so he too, slides on out toward the exit .. literally.

Jean-Paul Beaubier has posed:
Once JP is clear of the zoo he tugs his sweater back down, just wanting to blend into the crowd, though most are heading towards the zoo and the commotion instead of away from it. Though he does stop to watch Iceman surf on by, rubbing his chin in thought. Then whatever thought he had in his head is tossed aside and he resumes his walk on to where ever it was he was going.