13591/How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Trees)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Trees)
Date of Scene:	16 December 2022
Location:	East Village
Synopsis:	Old scene; previous Catwoman
Cast of Characters:	Selina Kyle, Harley Quinn, Stephen Strange

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Selina Kyle has posed:
East Village has a problem. Nothing new there, the high cost of living inviting crime and all.

But today's crime is different. The focal point for Christmas activities in Ukrainian Village is at Tompkins Square Park, a block of greenery and paths. Someone went to all the trouble to put up several small Christmas trees decorated by local schoolchildren, businesses, and anyone with patience enough to string bulbs on a bristly, lopsided pine. Most of these trees aren't special except to the kids and adults putting them together, a budget no more than $50 for most.

But one or two trees are different. One strung with lovingly handmade garlands of popcorn and bows exudes peace and welcome. Love went into that tree, and a protective spirit that shudders in alarm.

Because the brightly lit tree, the one that's the showstopper, is currently under assault by a man in a green scorpion costume. He climbs up the boughs of the miniature behemoth, a spindly answer to Rockefeller.

Several plastic bulbs lie on the ground. The branches shake and quiver, but the tree cannot throw off the pest out to steal the star at the top. Fair enough; the thing is embellished in meters of lights and scads of bright snowflakes. The star at the top glitters with crystal and LEDs, worth a pretty penny.

Harley Quinn has posed:
East Village has 99 problems! And Harley might or might not be one of them. Ok, she is. And so are her hyenas which she was walking by their respective leashes down the sidewalk. Not exactly her usual turf but ...

"Listen heah, suckas.." She is talking to her hyenas, "We gonna behave out heah today, aren't we? Eh? You already burned all the bridges we had in brooklyn when I walk ya sooooo...." the hyenas just laugh that hyena laugh of them as they continue pulling on the leash, continuing on until ....

Are those trees lit up with christmas decorations?! Cue big wide eyed hyenas looking at their new playground.

"Noooo, stop!" Harley warns the two hyenas, still oblivious to the green christmas villain!

Stephen Strange has posed:
East Village seems to be having more than one visitor currently.

Normally, this particular visitor resides in a different village. Really, The Village, for most New Yorkers. Yet, this one is seen out in the wilds of the East Village.

At least Doctor Stephen Strange is being low-key for the moment. Which means no flamboyant cloak or blue tunic. Just a warmer coat, jeans, and sensible shoes. Why Strange is in the East Village is a good question. One that does not receive an answer immediately as he glances up to spy a green-clad individual trying to do his best lumberjack impression.

"Well, that isn't something you see everyday..." There might be just a bit of a sigh as Strange shifts direction...walking for the tree and its not so merry inhabitant within.

Selina Kyle has posed:
Selina has long since given up on Christmas as a season of religious reflection, having never really been of that persuasion. She decorated her part at Wayne Manor, and now, she's free to shop for the most impossible people to shop for. Cats be like that.

Hyenas aren't cats but close cousins. Reasonable that she spots them coming out of a store that sells luxe lotions and potions, since the pedestrians give Harley a wide berth. Imagine that, space on the sidewalk. Their cackling is enough to put fear in weary hearts. She pauses to see the commotion, muttering something choice under her breath. Just can't trust anyone these days!

People admiring the East Village's best and brightest park get caught between a charging hyena pair and a man in green climbing up a tree. A boy no older than 10 shouts, "Hey! You can't take that! My Nonna says it's wrong to st-- eeee!"

A bright gold ball dislodged by the villainous thief's long, segmented metal tail goes flying at the kid, hitting him squarely on the forehead. Plastic, rather than glass, but that'll leave a mark. He goes toppling backwards and his nanny shrieks, trying to protect a snot-nosed imp - his little brother - in the stroller by yanking it away. These kids ought to be in school but they're clearly not.

"I won't be told what to do!" comes the defiant shout as Scorpion yanks at the star secured rather well to the top of the tree. Alas, for someone as strong as him, even the twenty-nine zip ties won't help, snapping reluctantly.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Oh, look .... Someone threw a bright ball! It clearly merits investigation, and pursuit! Which is what the hyenas do, starting at a run towards the kid and the ball that clatters to the ground harmlessly. On her way of being dragged across the sidewalk Harley spots a familiar face though, a beaming smile over at Selena.

"Heya, gir-aieeeeeeee...!!!!" the hyenas get all over that ball and Lou even gets to run it's large tongue over the kid's forehead where the ball hit. There, it won't hurt no more! The hyenas then cackle, rolling around as they play with the ball...

Harley? She just sighs and rests her hands on her knees. "Damnable rapscallions..., hey, what's goin' on heah...?" she looks at the kid, then up at the tree where Scorpion is at.

And who is that dashing gentleman with the moustache coming in? Knight in shining armor? Familiar features though...

Stephen Strange has posed:
Knight in shining armor? Hardly. More like a mildly curious and more than mildly annoyed middle tier noble....or a wizard. Most definitely a wizard. Stephen closes in on the tree...and takes an inventory of the situation.

Hyenas? In New York? Why would there be...oh. That's why. The vibrant colors of one Harley Quinn is all the answer that Strange needs in regards to hyenas in New York. So...that seems sensible. And on-lookers watching the not so jolly green Scorpion scaling the tree. Oh...stealing the star? That's bad form. Very bad form indeed.

Another sigh escapes Strange. Then, he calls up towards the top of the tree. "Excuse me. Not to tell you what to do, but it will very much be in your best interest to put that star back."

Threatening? Oh no. Not Stephen. Promising? Oh, most certainly.

Selina Kyle has posed:
Hyenas added into the fray send dogs out for walks barking, one Rhodesian Ridgeback most certainly considering yanking free of its owners to do what nature and breeding intended. Get the hyenas! The death-grip on the lead has some poor couple being dragged while Sir Bork barks and bares his teeth. The rest, though, scatter. They know better than their humans.

Selina moves against the counterflow of traffic streaming out through the park's several entrances. The lithe philanthropist weaves around the obstructions, lifting her hands to redirect someone out of her way. The face cream and scented body lotions in their plastic containers don't risk shattering, but she can't take the risk, pausing to toss the bag up into a tree. Say what they will, this cat can climb and get back down. She trusts no one's immediately looking as she dodges being run into, drawn closer to Harley. "Don't tell me you raided the zoo," she calls out in exasperation that's laced with a fair bit of affection.

She doesn't recognize yet another businessman in a sea of them, only noting he's approaching the big Christmas tree instead of the path-girding 5-footers.

Scorpion isn't going to tarry much with the hyenas, something he stares at from the corner of his visor. Getting a read gives him a chance to be startled, and then he returns to his work. The wires finally give and he yanks his prize free, several dangling zip ties and the crystal points sparkling in the grey day. "Then why do you even bother opening your mouth about it?" The derision has an edge to it, reinforced by the sharp glances thrown around him. Having a segmented metal tail isn't great for climbing, but he can flip backwards with far too much ease for anyone good.

Harley Quinn has posed:

    "Of course I did not raid the zoo!" Harley springs back up to her full height, "Hadn't you met Bud and Lou befoouh?!" the clownette looks scandalized that Selina hasn't met the hyenas yet. "Well, Bud and Lou this is Selina..." They aren't listening. Which just makes Harley sigh dramatically. "They are usually darlings but you know ..., christmas just makes 'em crazy. Specially when Mariah Carey gets thawed out. They don't miss a concert.."

"Anyways! Think we got a problem heah that needs to be solved by ..." And she leans closer to Selina so she whispers to the gal, "The Gotham Sirens..." because no one needs to know Selina's secret ID!

"And hey, doesn't that guy look familiar to ya.." She pointing at Strange. She squints at him again and then goes 'oh shit'... Then a wicked little grin.

"Oh man, Scorpion is on for a treat.." yep, she recognized the Good Doctor!

"Turn him into a santa elf!" She exclaims out to Strange.

Stephen Strange has posed:
A shake of the head and the rolling of the eyes is the answer given to the somewhat rhetorical question that Scorpion poses Strange. "Don't say that I didn't warn you." With that, the sorcerer calmly reaches into the pocket of his coat, withdrawing a golden ring that he slides onto his hand, the golden adornment laying comfortably across the knuckles of his hand. And...with that on, Strange starts to twirl his finger in a lazy circle...

...Which causes a couple of things to happen. Namely, two portals open...one positioned at the top of the tree, aimed at Scorpion's head. And the other....is open right about waist high on the ground floor, in front of Strange. What happens next is rather quick. Strange turns to the plastic ornament, the very one that struck the poor kid before, and points at it for just a moment before his finger twitches like he is flicking something aside. And he is...the ornament itself. The plastic ball hovers in the air for just a moment, before it shoots off like a bullet towards the portal on the ground...

Only for it to fire out of the portal at the top of the tree....sailing for right between the eyes of the would-be thief.

Selina Kyle has posed:
"Clearly not." The mild reproval from Selina doesn't bite much. She isn't dressed for an all-out fight in New York. The boots let her run, but her coat and her gloves lack everything she need. Harley does well without all the accoutrements; maybe someone has been around the Bats too much. "Do they accept roasts as Christmas gifts? Or are they more eat the bad-guy sorts?"

Maybe the last is a touch too loud in case anyone isn't fleeing and the misfit in green has plenty of reason to be eaten. At least munched on. It's not as if she's got the Widow's Bite to slow him down.

"Him? Was he at one of the mayor's dinner parties?" Her gaze flicks over to Strange. If they know one another, it's in the most remote ways. Her fellow Siren's take on things is concerning. "You can't be serious..."

Oh, Selina, but the clownette is.

So is Strange. The large, dented plastic ornament packs a punch when moving at accelerated speeds. It zips up, and the choice for the helmeted man on the ground is to catch, dodge, or parry. He really doesn't have much to work with, particularly given his prize catch is firmly in one hand. So he does what any bad guy does: he cheats.

Yes, it can smack him on the helmet. He also sweeps his tail to slice the top two feet of the tree off and hurls it like a very needly javelin at the wizard. Bonus points for scrambling away drunkenly, in a blind direction.

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Oh, no no no.." Harley shakes her head a few times. "They are on a strict no humans diet, you see?" she pats the two hyenas on the top of their heads. "Their villainous times are well behind them now! Just like me.." she beams a pearly-white smile back at Selina then leans closer to the other woman.

"Though I can still be baaaad when the time calls for it." A wink, followed by a nudge.

But hey, there's action going on! "Ooooh, someone likes playing Portal.." she comments, watching the ornament being tossed at the bad guy. Then a gasp as the tree is cut in half! And thrown at the poor wizard! Everyone knows wizards have no dodge abilities!

Cue Harley Quinn running in slow motion to attempt shoulder barging the wizard out of the way. Which also means the hyenas are now free to do what they want.

Stephen Strange has posed:
Someone has been learning from his significant other, it would seem. The portal trick, that is. Though, it didn't seem to slow down Gargan or whoever else was stupid enough to be sealed permanently in a Scorpion suit. The ornament was a direct hit...but didn't do much other than anger the villain. Oh...and caused him to take on the role of holiday lumberjack, slicing that tree rather nicely and throwing the top at Strange.

Well...that wasn't expected. "Where's Spiderman when you need him..." Really, dipping into Spidey's rogue gallery really shouldn't be something Strange does. And here was a yuletide missile, being chucked at Strange's head for his trouble. Well...time to deal with that.

Strange lifts his hand to possibly ward off the tree...and instead is slammed out of the way by an overzealous Harley Quinn. It does have the desired outcome...Strange is out of the way. But it also has the undesired side effect of Strange losing sight of Scorpion, giving the opportunity for the star stealer to gain an advantage....or to just get away.

Harley Quinn has posed:
The impromptu javelin gets close to impaling Harley. But the clownette perhaps uses one of Selina's nine lives to live! That's what friends are for, right?! She skids across the ground, rolling in the snow. "Ack! Careful Doc!" she sits up, a star ornament tangled on that bleached blonde hair. Where did that come from?!

The hyenas scramble to go be with their master, but as for Scorpion?

He's retreating right back in Selina's direction, back to her!