13788/A Crowd is Gathered

A Crowd is Gathered
Date of Scene:	09 January 2023
Location:	The Narrows, Gotham City
Synopsis:	Caleb, Sublime, and Maul come face to face with a crowd of unusual people... Or are they?
Thanks to:	Thanks to SCP-428/DrScooter for the inspiration!
Cast of Characters:	Caleb Dykstra, Jeremy Stone, Rachel Goldman

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Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Gotham City, in the dead of night.

In this crime-ridden city, most people have retired for the night, leaving the villains and the outcasts to their own affairs or survival and depredation. Covered by the clouds up above, the moonlight fails to shine over the city, which lends a creepy ambience to its streets and dark corners. Darker than it should look, one could say - but no, that would be just a figment of your imagination... Or is it?

In a dark street, hidden from the light, a young man runs, huffing it in desperation, his eyes having been witness to something. Something indescribable in the face of gut-wrenching fear. He runs towards the light. Towards salvation - or what he thinks is salvation.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!", he shouts his lungs out, his momentum shaken as he cuts the supply of oxygen to ask for help. 'Caleb, you're an idiot', he thinks as he works his legs, 'who the fuck you think is gonna come to your aid?'

He runs. Runs from the darkness. From what stirs and moves within.

It's gaining on him. He can hear it.

Jeremy Stone has posed:
Night in Gotham City. It sounds like the beginning of a bad film script and yet ....Doctor Jeremy Stone finds himself in that exact place and time despite his best efforts to -not- be here.

A visit to Gotham University on behalf of a colleague has landed him in this spot. Intrigue over some recent studies and interest in some form of gobbly-gook or another managed to pull him from his hideaway back in New York, exchanging one gothic location for another, in order to verify some findings and offer some words of encouragement while also gleaning some information on for his own personal use. Such is the life of adventures in genetics and biochemistry..except when it leaves you leaves you exiting a lab much later then you wanted to and now on the dark streets in search of a cab where no cab is to be found.

And so, some fortune seems to favor Caleb as he does indeed hear the cry for help and he just shakes his head while reaching up to push his glasses further up his nose with one hand while gripping the folder of papers in his other hand abit more tightly.

"Alright, easy Jeremy.. How bad could this be?" Pause and then, "..It's Gotham of course it's bad... Right.." His hand reaches into his pocket, pulling out his cell phone as he turns in the direction of shouting.

Rachel Goldman has posed:
Night in Gotham. Not the best time of day in the best city, in fact, perhaps the worst and the worst. Which might be why Rachel is there.

Boredom. That was her motivation. She had gone to a few clubs, and then a few bars, in search of something, anything, that might give life purpose. Some chance bit of entertainment. But no, nothing at all has struck her fancy. Until the scream.

It is not out of any altruism that propels Rachel in the direction of the cry for help. In fact, she is just as likely as to do quite the opposite of what is being called for. But it is, at least, /something/ to do. And that, desperately, is what she needs.

She tosses her still lit cigarette into the sewer grate, momentarily hoping rumors of flammable gas lying in wait there are /not/ true, but even if they are, fuck it. And then she is heading towards the source of the cries.

Better than nothing.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Light!

Just a few meters ahead, the main street light! If he reaches it, he won't be so boxed in. He might get into a car. Might get into a cab. Might get... /something/! 'Anything that gets me out of this nightmare!', he thinks.

His efforts are cut short, however, as his legs finally fail him in his desperate running, and he trips. "FUCK!!" A quick reaction makes him curl into the fetal position to avoid landing completely stretched across the floor - which is not good, when you got a lung that can cave in on severe impacts.

Footsteps. They stomp audibly. They're close - too close.

He doesn't look back and wait, he starts to crawl and drag across the floor, paying no mind at how his clothes might look when he gets home - no, that's not right: /if/ he gets home!

In the dark, silhouettes. Step. Step. Step. March. March. March.

Closing in.

>>Come with us, Caleb. We want you.<<, several voices whisper at the same time. >>Join us. You won't be denied.<<

The young man rolls to his feet, and pushes forward and away from the thing in the dark. "FUCK YOU!", he spits in defiance and resumes running - but this time, clutching his ribcage.

Jeremy Stone has posed:
The tall lean shape of Jeremy enters into said light, reaching the alleyway entrance and appearing, no doubt, as a lanky silhouette of his own against the glaring lights of the streets of Gotham.

"Hey! Are you alright?" he calls out, seeing the scrambling young man some distance away from him whilst pondering how stupid he himself is being.

Not that he's fearful for his own safety, yet at least. Not many scientists have the ability to quickly become a gigantic mass of muscle..well..there is at least one that comes to mind which is a point of some rueful irony but either way..the likelyhood of Gotham Police responding at this hour to someone just yelling for help randomly seems quite minimum and he may as well see to it himself and see if he can avoid destroying his casual wear and lab coat while he's at it..

That doesn't mean he's completely thrown caution to the wind however. He's not exactly attempting to rush into the alleyway and if he can avoid changing he will. Instead he calls out again, taking a fwe cautious steps forward.

"What do you need? Are you hurt? I can have paramedics on the way.. Come on."

Rachel Goldman has posed:
Whistling a bit to herself as she approaches the scene, Rachel casually strolls over towards the mouth of the alleyway. She neither offers help or moves to summon any. She sees Jeremy is attending to that, which is probably more than is really necessary. Mostly, she is curious what would make a man yell in such a way. That, certainly, should be something interesting. So she starts to make her way towards the alleyway.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
He barely registers the man that approaches him, and as he sees him, the jolt of adrenaline is such that he just about roars, quickly shoving him aside - and away from the dark street. "S-stay back... STAY THE FUCK BACK!" He stammers, "D-Don't go any closer!"

And from the shadows... A wailing, turning as the seconds pass into crying and sobbing. And little girl, maybe eight years old (if that), shows up from the shadows. Tears flow abundantly down her cheeks, and she points at Caleb. "He hurt me!! He's a bad guy!!" She takes her hands to her face, and slumps on the floor. "I want my mommy... My daddy's in there! He hurt my daddy!!" She sobs, "He's not moving... Pleasepleaseplease, help him..."

The darkness is now still - waiting, perhaps?

Jeremy Stone has posed:
"Uh."

Jeremy's first response is more or less a reaction to Rachel as she just sort of casually saunters up to spectate. This must be typical of folk in Gotham. He blinks a few times before Caleb's shout snaps his attention back towards him and his brow furrows in concentration and concern. Caleb's warning is powerful but also is soon in stark contrast to the approach of the little girl and Jeremy pauses once more in consideration of the situation.

Considering her behavior..it's easy to jump to conclusions here and assume the worst of Caleb but..something is clearly off and Jeremy is no neophyte to the bizarre and unnatural. "Alright, just..just..stay there." He says, gesturing to the girl after casting his eyes past her towards the darkness, "..I'm going to call the cops. We'll get your daddy help.. You too. Sit tight." He looks to Caleb, "It looks like you hurt yourself in that fall."

His phone comes back out now, lighting up as he prepares to dial emergency. No harm in trying, "I don't suppose you see anything down there?" he asks as a quick aside to Rachel.

Rachel Goldman has posed:
Watching Caleb emerge from the darkness, Rachel pauses for a moment before going into the alleyway. She peers down into the darkness, but is not quite sure what she is seeing. If anything.

Then the girl breaks away from the shadows.

It is easy to jump to conclusions and assume the worst of Caleb. So that is exactly what Rachel does.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she snaps as the child emerges from the darkness, showing signs of trauma. She starts running at Caleb, taking a swing at his head.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"No... N-No!", exclaims the young man. "Don't get cl..."

*WHAM!!*

Blinding light. Freedom. Lightness as a feather on the wind. This is what Caleb's senses are flooded with as he is hit by Rachel's merciless fist. The combination of his lack of breath and a weak lung threatening to give in, and now the new concussion, bring him down to the pavement. The dialogue in his head would be something like this:

*Brain* : Come on, move!

*Motor functions* : Sorry, I'm cashing the check

*Brain* : What!?? You can't! We're in danger!!

*Lungs* : Oxygen's on short supply, Cap'n - I dunno how much longer I c'n keep her afloat!

*Brain* : Stop acting Star Trek, and keep pumping; we need to get the word out!

*Motor functions* : Isn't that like, your job?

*Brain* : ...Yes; yes, you're right! Mouth, move...

*Mouth* : Suck it, Brain - I'm part of the motor functions, and I'm stuck!

*Brain* : ...fuck, I'm out! All crew, aband'n ship!

*Lungs* : So who's actin' Star Trek now, smartass?

*Brain* : Lungs, you can kiss my spongy...

In other words, K.O.! Well, that's the life of the average citizen in Gotham!

The girl looks up, and looks at Jeremy, "Will you help my daddy... Please?" She attempts a smile, "Will you help me... Us?" A smile which she succeeds, "We would like you to help us, and join us."

The darkness begins to move.

"We'd like you very much to come with us." And suddenly, the voice is no longer coming from the girl, who now shows a grin. No, that's not right...

Not just coming from the girl!

From the shadows, one... two... three... four... no, five... six more people - and the number keeps rising - pace in a fantastically coordinated move to reach for Jeremy and Rachel, and the downed Caleb - and they all have that creepy grin.

>>Be with us!<<, is said in unison by what is growing to be a Crowd.

Jeremy Stone has posed:
"No wait!"

Jeremy's cry is...a touch too late and probably wouldn't have mattered much anyway given how Rachel just sauntered up and did the deed.

"Something's not right here!"

He strides forward while hitting 9-1-1.

ANd is promptly put on hold. Gotham. FIgures. He's not -too- surprised frankly. That can happen in New York. Here in Gotham? Well..yeah it's Gotham.

"Let's not get wrapped up in ths unnecessari--" he starts only to pause as the girl attempts the smile, fails, then attempts again.

What is this, some sort of Daemonite? It's behavior he's not unfamiliar with, to say the least. And then the shadows begin moving once again. He takes a few steps back while saying as an aside to Rachel, "..If I turn purple and expand to the size of say, a house, and become an indestructable engine of destruction...can you keep that between us?"

Then the crowd, possessed and as one, begins to lunge for him and Jeremy is forced to act and not give Rachel a chance to say yay or nay. His clothes tighten and then shred as his skin turns purple. Horns sroute from his back as his physique enlrages and takes on proportions that are first herculean and then truly titanic in nature. Green leggings strain and then expand with him, wrapping about his muscles as a skin suit though his torso is bared. His glasses fall from his brow, shattering under foot as he staggers backwards from the alleyway, enhanced strength pulling away from the crowd as the ground trembles from his steps, "Get back!"

Rachel Goldman has posed:
There is a LOT going on, and Rachel is doing her best to follow along. "He's done, we can call for the cops and they can take care of..."

As she turns to look at the girl, she cannot help but notice the creepy smile. Mostly that she is smiling, after previously crying. She does not trust girls who smile. And then there is more smiling, and a parade of smiles, and

"The size of a what?" she asks, turning to look at Jeremy. Just in time to bear witness to the show. She steps a few feet to the side and feels her body start to drift as she gets a very real sense that she may not want to be super tangible right about now.

"By all means," she says, waving him forward as she watches him lumber towards the alley. "I usually prefer to stand behind the meat."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
For all the spectacular transformation Jeremy Stone goes through, the Crowd shows no sign of beeing impressed. If anything, they even quicken their pace, that creepily plastered grin on their faces, their eyes unblinking, which only adds further to the unsettling sight. More and more pour out of the alleyway. People of all ages and ethnicities, all walks of life from homeless to business men to mobsters. Two of them are even Police officers! And they advance on the purple giant, to swarm him. >>Do not resist us<<, it says in unisson, >>You will be with us, you will be whole!<<

For Rachel, the little girl jumps from her kneeled position like a cat pouncing, and tries to grab her, giggling like the little child she is - or is she? At the same time, at least half a dozen more of these creepy grinners quickens their pace to reach for her.

As for Caleb? Well, he's down right now. And, because he's on downtime, nothing he can do to try to steer clear from another group of these people that move to him.

Jeremy Stone has posed:
It's not a good mix - to shift into his Titanothrope form in a state of alarm and panic. His thoughts are immediately clouded and with that the ability to think quickly and clearly. He's quite a ways to go before he becomes an actual problem for..well..Gotham..but it doesn't mean that he can't be sent in that direction without much effort should things get even more chaotic.

Ironically, it is Rachel's quip that helps snap him back and gives him something to hold onto. Maul's attention shifting towards her reaction to his prior shout and he blinks a few times before asking, "You uh...often have need to stand behind the 'meat'?"

Either way the swarm now approaches him and the huge man snaps his attention to them. The fact that they are all from varied walks off life is not lost on him, nor their number or the very nature of their vehavior. Yet they must surely all still be human..which is both a positive and a major negative. It means they can be probably be hurt and put down -- and it also means they can be hurt and put down. He's not out here to do undue harm to anyone but also if there -is- some sort of mind control going on, or parastiic possession as he's suspecting..the last thing Gotham needs is a Maul under that sway

"Call for help! My phone it's..uh..somewhere!" He did dia 911..what's up with that?

His massive legs flex and propel him backwards in a hop that clears him backwards out of the alley and away from the swarm but when he lands its with both of his fists coming down for the concrete. Their impact produces a rolling shockwave, enough to shatter the streets and lurch it as if an earthquake just erupted here. IT's a pulled strike but any normals caught to close to the shockwave will find themselves going for a stunning ride, possibly into walls or other items and possibly knocked unconscious. He hopes.

Rachel Goldman has posed:
There is starting to become a real concern in Rachel's mind that this crowd may actually be able to get to her, so she starts backing off slowly as well, not relying upon her intangibility to protest her. "Yeah, the meat goes first, and then it tenderizes the enemy for me to slice up," she says in response.

But while she may be called a heartless bitch by some - many - she is not about to take out a sword and start hacking up innocent people. Although the temptation is certainly there.

"I don't think the cops are going to help, there are cops /in/ there." She points at the two officers. "I think we have to find the source of this, and if you ask me, I'm guessing it's somewhere in the darkness."

She reaches out towards one of the crowd trying to see if running an intangible hand through its arm has any impact. If not, perhaps she can explore the darkness to find out what lurks within.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
As the little girl pounces on Rachel, she grabs nothing but air, going right through her and landing on the ground. She quickly turns around, >>You meanie! You're cheating!!<< The whole group meant for her speeds up, trying to see if they can grab her... But their hands go right through her, as if she was only an illusion.

Jeremy's jumping and concrete pounding causes a controlled, but significant shockwave, enough to project the crowd meant for him into the air and/or backwards, and collapsing on the ground. Now, they should stay down to at least recover, but it's scary because... They don't stay down - not for long, anyways. No, they all get up in that perfect sincrhonicity of theirs, never stopping their grinning - like puppets.

And then, for a brief moment, it's visible... A fibrous, pulsating tube-like protrusion that reveals from under their clothes, whether suspended in mid-air or dragging through the floor, but all of those protrusions extend towards the unlit street.

There is another thing Jeremy's piledriver does, and that's rattle Caleb back to semi-consciousness. "Uh... Wha...??" And a multitude of hands grab him and hoist him up. "Wha... No!! NO!! GET BACK!!" He fights away the numbness and those hands like prey fighting for dear life while already in the maws of the predator! He frees a hand long enough to reach for his back and produce a gun, which he promptly fires on one of the members of the Crowd, straight in the head!

*BLAM!*

This one recoils and goes limp, to fall... No. Not to fall. Instead, it regains footing, and leans his head forward, a hole clearly visible. And they resume their attempts to restrain the young man.

Jeremy Stone has posed:
This doesn't look like any sort of Daemonite horror Jeremy is familiar with, that's for sure, but a horror it is. As the people begin to get back up the giant man grimaces and frowns as a moment of lucidity clears his mind. "This aint gonna work.. It's just puppeting these bodies.." And when the gun shot goes off and the victim just gets back up..it's clear that even -if- he wanted to kill them.that wouldn't do any good either. This thing needs to be cut off at the source.

But he does see signs of whatever is controlling these people and that it lies beyond in the darkness.

"There!" he calls out while growing in size yet more now. The size of a bus at this point. He lunges forward, reaching a gigantic hand down for Caleb in an attempt to scoop the man up and away from the crowd. His other arm lunges upward to try and grasp hold of the side of one of the buildings framing the alleyway with intention of vaulting himself and Caleb up and away from the crowd and towards the roof to at least deposit the man there.

"I can get real big but I need a target otherwise I might just smash this whole area to bits by accident."

Rachel Goldman has posed:
    "I'll ID us a target," says Rachel, seeming encouraged by the failure of the girl to connect with her. "Be ready to move on my signal," she says up to the larger man. And then, mustering up all the bravery (or insanity) that she can, Rachel strides into the darkness.

    She moves with a certain confidence that may be misplaced. She can phase out and not be touched, but that does not make her immune to psionic abilities or magic if that is what is going on. She briefly wonders why she went ahead and made the move into the alleyway. She is no hero. But at least this seems more interesting than trying to find yet another bar to occupy her mind and dull her senses.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
The teen Gothamite can't help but shout as he's grabbed and lifted by Jeremy, clearly not expecting it. One of the people, distinguished for being dressed in a track suit and expensive jewelry a la mobster style, climbs on another one's back to reach for his legs, and climbs further and further to meet his gaze, that grin coming awful close to his face. Caleb's eyes go wide, wincing visibly. "N-Nico..." A slight gaze of anger creeps up to the kid's face...

But he's not one to dwell on the past when his life is in danger, so he pulls out a knife that he proceeds to stab the guy with. It's then that his attention falls on the tubular organ jutting from behind Nico's back to mingle with the swarm of other people, and that's where the next stab goes...

Nico's body seems to go statue for a brief moment, and then begins to convulse and spew a fleshy colored pus-like fluid from every orifice, first just a steady flow like tears, but moments later like an actual torrent - and in the process, the roundly build mafioso loses mass, and shrivels into a wrap of skin and clothes on the pavement below.

And Caleb? Caleb is now like, /covered/ in that shit from head to toe!

"Awww, GROSS!!"

Jeremy keeps being afflicted by the Crowd, who like ants try to reach for him. They pay little mind to the fact that Caleb has taken down one of their number - they're by the dozens, after all.

But numbers count for little when it comes to Rachel who, venturing into the dark street, passes through the members of the Crowd, who frantically try to get her - two officers even try to fire at her - to no avail.

It is then that, some good 20 yards into the dark, she can notice the faint traces of a mass closely guarded by a few members that remain unmoving. It is a bulbous mass, pulsating, the same fibrous aspect of the tubular appendages. No, more than that - it if from this mass that all the appendages protrude, linking up to each of the bodies in the Crowd.

That mass... /Is/ the Crowd!

Jeremy Stone has posed:
Gross indeed.

A degree of morbid fascination rings deep within Jeremy's mind but it is clouded enough by the urgency and need for survival and victory that pulses in his current form that he quickly quells any desire to really start analyzing what he's witnessing. This is probably for the best as it seems that this is less a situation of parasites and mind control and more some form of mimicry. At least he thinks. It's hard to think when he's like this and his thing..this swarm..is proving to be quite difficult to actually put into a simple category.

Either way, witnessing this makes it clear enough to the giant that containment first and rescue later needs to be the priority. If these -are- people who have been transformed or subsumed..they are possibly already dead. And if they aren't and this is some sort of expanded nightmarish version of John Carpenter's Thing..well.. we sure as hell don't need that spreading out into Gotham.

Fortunantly at this size his super tough flesh and stamina could trade blows with the likes of the mutant Colossus and so mundane assault isn't going to bear him down but he is also occupied with trying to keep Caleb out of harms way. His massive arm raises holding the mass aloft as setting him down anywhere is going ot just put him in more harms way as the swarm scrambles up for him via fire-escapes or whatever else they can get their hands on. "Hold on." he commands before he begins venturing further into the alleyway after Rachel, this time spending no effort or care to avoid knocking aside or plowing through those who pull at his legs but his monstrous strength such that sheer numbrs alone aren't likely to slow him down.

Rachel Goldman has posed:
    Reflex causes Rachel to bob and weave as she descends into the darkness of the alleyway. Even if she does not think that the things can touch her, she doesn't want to even risk it. The notion of it /looking/ like they touched her is enough. But eventually she makes her way towards the source of the tendrils, and it is...well, pretty much what she expected at this point.

    "Gross."

    She moves around the officers shooting at her and starts to approach the mass, as she calls back over her shoulder. "Hey big man, get ready to clobber, or whatever your phrase is. Listen to where my voice is, and don't worry, just hit it!"

    Hoping that instruction is attended to, Rachel makes haste, staying intangible, towards the mass. Crossing her fingers that the mass itself will not react differently to her phased state, she leaps into the center of it as she unleashes a cry.

    "SLAM IT." Hopefully, Jeremy slams exactly where she lands.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Remember the little girl? It's like she caught up with what Jeremy is about to do, and she throws a concerned look, >>Wait, what are you doing? Stop!<<

And the creature, sensing the danger of a much stronger adversary, begins to write and shudder, and move away from the dark spot it found. The extensions of the Crowd, once human and now exposed for what they are, all begin their hasty retreat, clearing the hig spot where Caleb had been placed on.

Speaking of Caleb, the bullet that hits the 'little girl's' head and blasts it to tiny bits into a mayhem of pus is shot from his gun, just before it's squashed by Maul's huge feet. "Fuck you, bitch!"

It's amazing how the Crowd's movements are so incredibly coordinated for a creature that's now experiencing what would panic look like to a human. The once-people, the appendages, try to make a barrage, now, to stop the behemoth's advance. The people immediately by its' side try to duck below it in some sort of awkward move - to carry it, perhaps?

Jeremy Stone has posed:
Now that's a good catch phrase. Slam It. He probably won't remember it given the haze of his mind and the chaos of the present situation but good phrases are hard to find. Just the right mix of corny and impressive. Which fits Maul quite well.

As to the creatures attempt at retreat..while Maul isn't exactly considered fast, what he does have is range and reach. His long legs propel him forward in the direction of Rachel's shout, tremendous size and strength pushing forward thorugh the attempts to impede him. One would do better trying to push back against an incoming semi truck. He bears down on the retreating mass rapidly, looming up larger and larger as he draws nearer. His teeth grit in determination and he balls up a monstrous fist, producing a sound like boulders cracking and splintering as his knuckles tighten.

"Maul..SLAM!" he rumbles, making an attempt at the catch phrase and slipping into third person as the rush of the battle pushes more of his restraint aside.

An instant later and his massive fist is hurtling downward as he leans over and attempts to bring it in like a hammer towards the retreating pile with all the intent and force of an incoming avalanche.

Rachel Goldman has posed:
Rachel knows she will not feel anything. She does not feel the mass. She will not feel the hand. Still, the idea of a giant hand passing through her body fills her with at least a minor amount of trepidation. She does, however, stand her ground and watches Maul's hand come down on the spot where she is standing.

Will that be enough to take out the darkness? She sure as hell hopes so, because she does not have any other ideas.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
The fleshy mass of the Crowd is struck by the pounding fists of Maul, and the effect is a shockwave to rattle and crack and break windows. Squished like a sponge, the mass bursts into the same sort of pus-like substance, a chain effect that spreads towards all its extensions - the people that once were, and are no more. They shudder and stumble, gurgling and spewing the liquid that kept them shaped, and in a matter of sickeningly long seconds, they're imptied out into bags of skin and clothes.

From his vantage point, Caleb watches the sickening scene unfold, uncertain whether he should smile because he got away tonight, or just throw up because of the grossness.

Ah, yes - and the smell. It's amazing how the adrenaline pumping can numb your senses into action, isn't it? Well, the adrenaline subsides, the sense of smell comes rushing back...

Caleb's moment of victory is celebrated with a throw up.

Jeremy Stone has posed:
"Gross."

Maul verbalizes what seems to be the theme for the night as he lifts his hand up and shakes it, trying to shake the goo off from it and then he looks around, nose wrinkling as what is left of the people dissolves into the disguisting mess that is now filling the alley. He begins shrinking more, now that the immediate danger seems to be over and as a result more clarity of thought begins to return to him.

"I'm gonna have to call in some favors to get this place cleaned up and this...thing..looked into."

He looks towards Caleb and then turns to search for Rachel as well after settling down to a height where a conversation is more easily managed, "Uh..you alright?"

Rachel Goldman has posed:
    Emerging out of Maul's hand, which is probably just as shocking for Maul as it is for anyone else, Rachel laughs. "This is Gotham. This is kind of an improvement."

She steps away as Maul returns to Jeremy size, and looks over at Caleb. And his lunch. Dinner. Maybe breakfast. "Gotta have a stronger stomach for these streets, man."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb Dykstra stands straight, looking at Maul like the question is more out of this world than the thing they just faced. "...Yes. I'm perfectly fine. I did my aerobic jog for the day, got my heart rate pumped up, watched the most realistic horror movie in state-of-the-art 3-D, and the most exciting of all... I got to be doused in alien gunk, which is a lifetime achievement you could never hope to get on any gaming console or PC platform. Ever!" He grins lopsidedly, "I'm so excited, I'm never washing myself ever again!"

He glares at Rachel. "And /you/!" Boiling. "It didn't cross your mind that the roles were reversed with that girl... Or whatever it was??"

Jeremy Stone has posed:
"GBut you're not dead." deadpans Maul to Caleb, "So I think that counts as 'alright'."

He's not quite Jeremy sized either, so there's still abit of grumpy sass there. Still in his Titanothrope form but just more coherent then say a public-transit sized brute with muscles that might make Hulk seem svelte. "..So yeah. Tough break but..you're not being digested either.."

He doesn't intervene when Caleb starts yelling at Rachel. The guy has a point after all. He just shakes his head and his hand to try and get rid of more of the goo and then turns to start to make his way back for the alley entrance.

Rachel Goldman has posed:
Staring blankly at Caleb at first, Rachel shakes her head as the yelling starts to make sense to her. "I mean, look, creepy dude comes out of an alley and cute girl comes after and claims he did something bad, nine times outta ten that's the right call." She take a moment to look over Caleb. "You're lucky all I did was punch you. Coulda been worse." She grins for a moment at that. "But look, you got out fine, Slapchop here handled it, everyone got out that needed to." She dusts off her hands. "All in a day's work."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Yeah? Well next time, punch whoever's acting like a city at night means a walk in the park!", Caleb exclaims. He starts to turn away, headed towards home. He now finds himself massaging his chin - at least, there'll be a bruise to serve as evidence for Mob Boss Vittorelli that there was a fight, a small alibi to justify the other two's disappearance, assimilated by that thing. And to whom he says 'good riddance' in the back of his head.

But it's gonna be a helluva story to tell...



But wait! Let's wind back a couple minutes, shall we?

Back to when Maul squashes fists-first the Crowd 'hub', and now into the dark, to where more of that fetid pus splatters... And there!

Hands raised a cover manhole in a hurry. In the middle of the splat, reddish, meaty matter the size of meatballs is projected, landing just inches away from what would be salvation. It seems like it's over...

Until it comes to pulsating life, and begins to move in the manhole's direction, their escape covered by the layers of white goo that covered the ground around it, and falls into the water below, washed away by the current...


THE END...?