13918/The Great Switcheroo Part Deux

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The Great Switcheroo Part Deux
Date of Scene: 09 March 2023
Location: An Emerald Green Dreamscape
Synopsis: Clea weaves a spell to pull all of the displaced minds back to the dream realm and then push them back to their correct bodies before the Hulk exacts his revenge.
Cast of Characters: Bruce Banner, Clea, Detective Chimp, Greer Grant, Dawn Granger, Caleb Dykstra, Michael Hannigan




Bruce Banner has posed:
The night starts like any other. As the efforts of the day take their toll, people throughout the world fall into a slumber. And that slumber gives way to dreams in most. And those dreams are usually some aspect of their subsconscious playing out. And for each of you, that is how it starts - your subsconcious, giving light to anxieties, desires, and the like. Much as it usually does. Until it doesn't.

With little to no warning at all, you suddenly feel yourself jerked out of your dream, but unlike usual when you find yourself falling and then suddenly are awake, you feel yourself pulled while you still dream. There is nothing even remotely comprehensible as you fly through...whatever it is that is this place is. A blur of all manner of tunnels resembling a science fiction movie's perception of hyperspace travel. And then, suddenly, it stops, and you tumble onto the ground in a dream that can only be described as ... green. Green ground, green sky, green mountains.

And populated by an assortment of others who seem similarly dispossessed and confused to be where they are.

And floating in the air above the ground, a woman with white hair clad in purple. As she is the only one who was not unceremoniously dumped on the floor, odds are good that she is the one responsible.

Clea has posed:
Clea's been working very hard to find a way to undo the displacement that had happened. It added to the guilt that the Faltine was already carrying with her. She'd finally cracked things though, later than she wanted to, but, here they were. "I apologize for the bumpy landing." the white haired woman states as she counts everyone.

"I also apologize that you were displaced from your forms and into anothers." she sounds sincere. Because that whole situation sucked. "We need to get you all situated quickly before it gets any worse in here." she motions around with her hand.

"And I'm sure the Hulk will be busting through something when we least expect it. Stay calm and I'll take him on." she states in a level tone.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp will roll to his feet, and starts looking about. Chimp has experience dealing with magic, and starts going through his mental Rolodex to see if she fits in with anyone he knows. He does not speak yet, for now, wondering how he got carried along on this, but the green around him does get a bit of a frown as the lady speaks, he had at first assumed it was Swampy's playground. Teach him to make assumptions when it comes to magic.

Greer Grant has posed:
It's been a challenging several days for Tigra, living in someone else's body. She's very aware that it could have been far, far worse, but she's eager to get 'home.' At least in her dreams she's herself, usually. A couple of times lately she's seen Dawn's face in her dreams, and while it's certainly a pretty face, the experience is a little disturbing. This time, though, she has her normal dream-face on, just in time to get yanked though hyperspace, making the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, just in time to tumble to a stop in...greendom. "Uhm, yes, situated is good. Worse is not good. It's ungood. Very ungood. Especially with a Hulk." She looks around for familiar faces.

Dawn Granger has posed:
While Dawn hasn't been able to do much figuring out how to replace the displaced, she's at least been doing her best to make sure the body she's been inhabiting is safe and sound. It takes her a minute to groggily register that the dream is another dream and she's suddenly much more aware of what's going on. "Oh! Okay, good, I wasn't sure how to get everyone back together... what can we do to help?"

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Okay, so here's someone who isn't body-displaced - but manages to get caught up in this somehow.

From his stand-point, it's an authentic nightmare as he's thrown off a building by a displeased mob boss - him alongside his family, and he does as much as he can to try to reach them, as if he could somehow save them by flying towards them and fly off into the sky.

But he can't, and so he comes plummetting into the oniric ground!

Caleb gets up, and looks arround, "Hey, wha...? Where the hell am I?" He considers, and all reasons come to panic and a loud thumping of heart. "A-Am I dead...?"

He looks around, sees others. "W-Who are you people...? Is this... What comes after?" He looks around, starts yelling out into the distance, "SHEILA!!? DAD!??"

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Unlike the last time, Mike was not dreaming himself in a park when the change occurred. With the switch, things were a bit different for the former dream walker. While of a similar topic, the details are a bit obscured. As the dream forms are gathered. Tugged and pulled, a young boy of about 10 is deposited on the ground. The splotches of red dotting the side of his face providing a bit of contrast to the excessive use of green.

Wide eyed, the child looks around, looking to the others gathered. What's goin-

Wait.

With the nightmare interrupted, Mike starts to come to terms where he is, looking to the sorceress providing the apology.

Right.

Pushing himself up, Mike sighs and starts to focus, form starting to shift to an older, and less splattered version of himself, although he still seems pretty damn exhausted. "Thank God." He mutters.

Bruce Banner has posed:
Just as everyone seems to be finding their footing, there is a deep rumbling coming from the ground. It starts to shake, a gentle tremor at first and then suddenly a violent back and forth that leads to a giant fissure forming in the distance, a crack in the ground running angrily from just at the horizon towards the group. Within seconds, it over takes the assemblage, threatening to divide their party in two.

Clea has posed:
"I think for the moment I just need everyone to stay together and try not to get parted. I'm going to link those who have been displaced by these silver threads," she states as she parts her hands and gives a preview of what they'll look like, "That way you can keep together a bit easier." she states to them. "Focus on your own forms, on home." she adds. "You aren't dead. I just need you to stay calm." she tells Caleb.

Then the rumbling starts and there is a bit of a sigh to that, "Or try to stay as calm as possible. We'll get started. I need to finish this spell since the last time it was started it was disturbed by that whole me getting punched in the face thing. I need to make sure that this doesn't happen again." she states.

"For now, I'm going to place everyone under protection wards, so that he won't be able to hurt you. Even if this is a dream state, I am not sure what havoc it can do with a very volatile mind behind it." she tells them as she allows her fingers to move deftly and everyone gets shimmery purple auras of protection.

Hopefully this'll work!

Dawn Granger has posed:
"Usually I'm the one being a calming influence," Dawn murmurs, but that actually gets her attention. She moves so she can focus on Clea, as it seems she was the one with the magic and was trying to pull everyone back together. She glances over her shoulder towards the green rumbling, then she looks to Clea. "You kind of seem like you have your hands full. Are you going to be able to keep him calm and do... whatever it is you have to do to pull people together?"

Greer Grant has posed:
"Stay together, don't get parted, during a dream earthquake. No problem," Tigra says. If necessary she'll try to jump over the fissure to keep on the same side of Clea, giving anyone a lift who might need it. "I think we've all seen enough in our lives to know a volatile mind can be as dangerous as a body, or more so."

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp will move towards Caleb and says "Your not dead, least don't think so, but we do want to stay together if possible. He will move to help Caleb stay on the side of the fissure that has the most people , going so far as to scoop Caleb up and jump over the fissure to the other side if needed. Good thing chimps are stronger than humans, He puts the other down once landed and says "Need to stay alert with your surroundings, They may change at a moment's notice or less even.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
As Mike sees Detective Chimp and Caleb, he tilts his head curiously. Could they have-? He thinks back to the Wick where he ran into Hawk and Dov-ine, clearly remembering Caleb in the background.

Hmm.

No. He wasn't really acting like DC there so that's not it. He looks to the other silent attendees. But then again, there's a lot of possible combinations here.

As the fissure starts to appear, Mike leans back, sitting upon...nothing. But the feet aren't on the iffy ground. The purple aura balls around his seated form. "I'd try a calming rhyme but that kind of needs me being awake and in my own body. Neither of which is really working out for me at the moment."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"I'm not dead?", Caleb sighs and relaxes, and tries to recall what was happening, "Holy shit... I was dreaming! I remember I got home and went to bed, and..." He looks around, and if he were awake, he should be back home. "Wait... You telling me this is like, dream land?"

Then the ground starts to shake, and he kneels, keeping himslef as close to the ground as he can without costing him mobility and reaction time. "Okay, please tell me there's not really a Freddy Krueger about to troll us fine folks..."

Hell, at this point, anything is possible - even a 90s cameo.

But instead, he's carried off across the fissure by a talking chimp. "Okay... I'm at a loss, here... What's real and what isn't..." He looks at Chimp, "And thanks, Caesar..." He looks at Clea, "Okay, who are you people?" And to the others here gathered.

Bruce Banner has posed:
As the ground shifts, a semi-circle of five giant pillars begins to erupt from beneath the surface, the rift in the ground spreading as those pillars grow. The mossy covered mountain in the distance begins to get taller, higher, as features begin to emerge. The ground starts to slip away, like sands in the hourglas, pouring around the pillars. A deep rumble is heard, and then the surface beyond the pillars drops away. Those pillars themselves shift, bending, closing in on the group. Another rumble comes, from the mountain, and then there are emerald eyes staring at you, filled with fury. The face that emerges from the ground is one that may be familiar - the Incredible Hulk. "Mean purple lady!" roars the mammoth with fury. The ground itself shakes again, and as the last of the sand flitters away beneath your feet you realize that it was covering a surface of the same construction as the pillars, and there is a long path away from them towards that face. Connected to a lump, just to the side of the Hulk's neck.

"Go away!" In the distance you see an approaching hand, fingers outstretched, as you feel the ground beneath you shift as well. The pillars start to lay back, to flatten, and then it becomes apparent just what it is you are standing on - the Hulk's palm.

And his other palm is headed directly towards you!

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp points "Up the arm." He says and will wave for folks to head that way waiting a moment to hope everyone gets the message, but he is not waiting to long. He wants to be on the inside arm when those hands get together. There will probably be some blast back, but nothing like being turned to chimp jelly. He looks to Caleb and says "Caesar, would have probably dropped ya in Cornelius would more likely be the one to help you."

Clea has posed:
"I've been called worse, Hulk." Clea states calmly. "Cease your tantrum and let me return these people home and to their correct forms." she calls out as she starts to carve the sigils and runes into the air, the deep purple taking over the green.

To Dawn, "I would implore you to distract him, but don't get too close to the hands. He's got a thing for smacking." she states with a bit of an eye roll. She moves though, tripling herself as to distract the Hulk with the others. He could smash the mean purple ladies stunt doubles today!

"We'll go away as soon as you let us." she tells him. Caleb doesn't get an answer as she is supremely distracted and trying to desperately to get the spell finished to send them back home correctly!

Greer Grant has posed:
Where's Jen when she needs her, Tigra thinks. If anyone could get through to a giant sized Hulk, it might be her. "Tigra," she says in brief introduction, waggling fingers and then taking off in the chimp's wake. "And move it or we'll be seeing Great Caesar's Ghost!" She leans forward to run up the arm with a more cat-like stride, digging in with her claws for better purchase. Or trying to, anyway.

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dawn's a little worried about the chaos that is a dreamscape, but /Dove/ is set to handle this. That is, at least, as much as she can be. Dove isn't about to be flattened, and she's fairly certain they need a little more time to get things settled. With her connection to Order, Dove is attempting to exert a little peace to the situation. She puts a hand up in Big Green's direction, not making a move to run, she moves *slowly* as she goes. "No one here wants to be mean to you," she offers, "so just take a minute... we'll be out of your hair soon and no one will be picking on you."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
The relaxed reclined position of the musician is a short lived one as the digits start to fold up and inwards. "Oh-"

THIS type of dream. Great.

Body lowering, Mike's feet hit the palm briefly before launching himself off of it, effectively gliding up through the gaps of the closing digits. Arms spreading out, they soon form into wings as the rest of his form becomes the raven he most commonly uses. "Woah there Hulky!" The bird calls out, flying into view of Hulk, "We mean no harm! Trust me, we really, really, REALLY want to go home."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb Dykstra goes slackjawed as the image of Hulk comes into view, and his giant fingers coming in to smash.

Needless to say, the teenager is finding himself storming away in Tigra's and Chimp's direction.

"Please, let this all be a dream... Please, let this all be a dream..."

What the hell, brain!? This /is/ a dream!

"Please, somebody pinch me in real life", he changes tune, "Please, somebody pinch me in eal life..."

Bruce Banner has posed:
"Go away, but let Hulk stay!" roars the giant figure as Clea attempts to talk reason at it. "None here hurt Hulk!"

And then, of course, immediately, everyone starts to hurt the Hulk. Tigra and her claws, the Chimp, and worst of all, Dove with her LOGIC.

That seems to cause the big guy to pause. The opposite hand freezes in place as the Hulk orients its gaze at her. "No harm Hulk?" He tilts his head, studying her.

Beneath your feet, you can feel the ground shifting. The arm seems to be getting smaller, the head smaller. As if the size of the Hulk were reducing even as Dove drains some of the rage away. For a moment, it appears that there is peace to be had.

And then the Hulk seems to realize this too. He does not articulate in even his poor vocabulary his feelings, but instead shakes his arm violently down, casting all of the assembled group down towards what appears to be some sort of tumultuous green sea. Without the arm below, there is a long fall into the cold embrace of a sea. And the formerly giant Hulk appears to have shrunken down until he is no longer visible.

Perhaps Beauty has soothed the Savage Beast.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp looks about and looks over to others around here and seeing the Raven, he will call out Hey Mike, can you help a Chimp out?" He asks, as he looks about and grabs his coat hem, and starts flapping it. It's a dream after all, in his head, he sings "I believe I can fly."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
For those who observe the dreaming and those who seemingly interact with it, they might ask themselves, "What's with the Ravens?" Well, there are plenty of reasons for this being one of their default forms. There's a symbolic nature to it of course but what is being shown today is how easily people overlook birds. Even ones talking right at you.

Well, at least no one's trying to squish him.

Hearing his name, he does turn his head, seeing Detective Chimp dealing with the shaking ground. Taking advantage of the not being targeted by Hulk situation, the bird flies over to the Chimp to lend assistance. The raven lands upon Detective Chimp's shoulder.

"Have you ever done a really large jump in one of your dreams? Do that but don't follow through with the landing. Much easier when you're lucid."

Clea has posed:
Clea's trying to work the spell as fast as she can. The woman has to readjust given the shifting territory and things, but, she's prepared for this! Her natural ability to fly and hover makes this a bit easier on her.

Not so much on the others.

"We're here to help. Not hurt, Hulk." she tells him. She'd not even blasted him with the energy that she could have yet. Or returned the punch to the face. "We're getting close. Just a few more moments!" she calls out to the others.

The magic is slowly closing around the group. Drifting closer to rearranging what has went wrong and placing people back into their proper forms. They'd just need to beat the Hulk clock to make sure nothing else went on. Clea was praying to the Vishanti that it would go through, even if she did get swatted like a fly again.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
And now Caleb finds himself falling as the Hulk shakes his arm down, and he just... Deadpans, really.

"Oh sure, why not another drop" His answer is filled with snark, "Just how deep can you go?" Is he quoting Inception right now?

He looks at Clea, "Anytime you can get me... us, out of this mess, much appreciated!"

He then grimaces when Clea is swatted, "Yipe! That's gotta hurt..."

And closes his eyes as he sees that sea coming closer and closer

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dove is offering some of that peace and order towards the Hulk, and she keeps her attention on the big green. She smiles warmly again. "No one will hurt you, Hulk," she agrees, her tone calm. "Everyone's going to calm down too and it'll all be okay." She's putting her trust in Clea and happy to just wing it with trying to keep things calm.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp will try to do what Mike says "Sorta fall and miss the ground?" He asks referencing a rather famous book. Yup the Chimp reads."Well it is worth a try, and he does try this letting the other deal with Big Green, trying to not become a little spat and following his friends advice.

Bruce Banner has posed:
There is a splash, off in the distance, far from where the group has settled into the rolling waves. Other than those who can fly, of course.

Then there is another splash. Larger. Closer.

Then another.

And another.



The roar of the Hulk can be heard as the figure comes close enough to spy, somehow leaping from perch upon perch of the water, leaving a wake in between. His eyes cannot be seen, but his intent is clear - he is aimed directly at Clea, and from the way his arms are waving and he is bellowing, it is not just to say a polite hello.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
The bird nods as Detective Chimp rephrases the advice. The beak gives off a smile. "You got it." The bird replies, turning his head to look to the falling Caleb. "Oop Better go help him."

Diving off the chimps shoulder, Mike glides after the falling Caleb. "Stop falling and just spread your arms out and get flapping!" He calls to the younger man.

Clea has posed:
Clea's feeling like they might have gotten this right this time. She really did not want to hurt Hulk, but she wasn't scared of him either. Maybe she should be? Not likely to happen though.

The others would feel themselves starting to shift from the dream realm, the tightening of bonds to keep them linked to their correct bodies if they are swapped. She didn't want the body going far if things went wrong.

But the spell had gone correctly! They were going back to their bodies and homes.

Clea's azure gaze snaps up when she hears the bellowing and there is a bracing in her form, she knows what's coming, "Hulk you don't have to do this..." she whispers. To herself, or him is anyones guess really. If anyone manages to hear it.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp sees the coming hulk, and has read the stories, and heard the rumors. He is going to try something it maybe one of the dumber things he has down in his life, but he will move to put himself in between the woman and the monster. He pulls his hat off stuffing it in his pocket, and then starts scratching his head and making silly faces. Things he did that made the kids laugh when he was putting on the show all those years ago.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
As he looks at the raven, Caleb frowns, "...You're trying to pull my leg, aren't you?" His poor mind is still attached to the physical world logic. Or he just had the same recurring dream of being thrown off high places, and a bird actually told him if he flapped he'd be safe. Coincidences, coincidences!

And, as the spell begins to work, his form begins to go etherial.

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dove hovers nearby, not at all willing to leave Clea to being crushed. She looks in the direction of the charge, taking in a deep breath. "Everything's alright," she assures him. "Everyone and everything will be okay." It's a simple thing to say, a bigger one to actually be truth, but it's one Dove's certain will happen eventually.

Bruce Banner has posed:
The magic spins out from Clea's fingers, and begins to take hold. The tug backwards comes almost instantly, a jolt as those threads seem to take hold, slowly drawing you back away from the sorceress in purple. This is it, you can tell, as you start to accelerate backwards. Into something familiar. As you feel those forces build up, as if a rubber band twisting in tension, you see an emerald giant breach from the water. The Hulk roars, arms wide, locking around Clea with a ferocity nearly never before seen. The last thing that you see is Clea being dragged down below the raging green waters and then you feel your body whipped backwards away from the scene.

The vortex that appeared at the start of this same trip manifests again, but this time in reverse, and with a sudden slam that leaves your entire body tingling, you are awake again. Everything feels normal. Proper. You are in your own body, regardless of what body you fell asleep in.



In the Avengers mansion, Bruce Banner's eyes open wide. "Clea." He throws off himself off of his bed, silently thanking Mike that he has remained there, and dashes to the sorceress's door. "It worked!" he shouts as he pushes his way into her room.

Clea has posed:
"You have to go." Clea tells Dove. It wasn't a command, just a fact. She did indeed have to go. Everyone did.

Clea's not quick enough to dodge the Hulk's hug given she doesn't want the spell to mess up, so she releases it a second before she feels the waves crash over her head. It was well timed, but that left her in a predicament.

One that they'd have to get through.

She watches the emerald green start to fade to black as she sinks below the waves with a big green angry anchor.

Bruce's joyous entrance into the Sorceress Supreme of the Dark Dimension's room is met with silence and Clea's unmoving form collapsed on the floor.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Whether or not Caleb took his advice is unknown to Mike as Clea's spell starts to take effect.

Waking up, pale eyes stare at the nearby ceiling. There's a slight uptilt to the side of Mike's lips. Lying still, he listens carefully.

Silence.

The smile dies.

He's alone. Guess Wade didn't want to share the condo with a stranger wearing a friend's skin.

Giving a sigh, Mike rolls, grabbing on to the edge of the railing and lowering himself down the ladder. How poetic he should end this adventure the way he spent most of his time body swapped.

Upon reaching the floor he shuffles over to the kitchen area, heading straight for a cabinet to pull out some grounds. There's a momentary consideration for the digits on display on one of the nearby appliances, but he continues trodding over to the machine. Yes it is late.

But damn it. He really wants a coffee.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
3...

"Strangest"

2...

"Dream"

1...

"Eveeeeeeeeeeerrrrr...*"

Darkness. And suddenly, light.

Caleb wakes up in his bed, flailing and holding his breath for a water he never comes in contact with. And, in his flailing, he bumps a hand in the night lamp, that's knocked and broken in the process.

"Shit!"

He rushes towards the bathroom to put some water on his cut, pours some alcohol to clean up and wraps a bandage around it.

He then remembers to look at himself in the bathroom mirror, given the context of the dream, and his face... Remains the same.

Hulks? Body-swapping mumbo-jumbo? Talking ravens? Planet of the Apes cameos? Sorceresses?

He sighs as he starts to move back to bed. "Why couldn't I dream about Scarlett Johanssen...?"