16919/Running for Health

Running for Health
Date of Scene:	14 January 2024
Location:	Sheldon Park - Bleake Island
Synopsis:	Ben, Clara and Ted, whup Hydra and enjoy pancakes!
Cast of Characters:	Ted Grant, Ben Grimm, Clara Jennings

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Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant wears his latest costume under a sweatshirt. Hey it's built for movement, and he needs to break it in. The cowl and mask is pulled back. Sneakers replace the clawed boots, but it is still a costume. Besides, it's bulletproof and this is Gotham.

"Gonna be Millennial turning all a' these warehouses... huh... inta lofts. You coming Benjy?" He calls back to his running mate.

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm is wearing a nuetronium backpack, which looks like a simple flat panel but it weighs 80 tons. Combine that with the headband and sweatshirt and shorts. Thing isquite a sight jogging but at his age he is determined not to lose his edge. "Right, huff, behind you, huff"....

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant waits up. The Everlovin' Thing is hauling that backpack. Makes it a contest. "Lift ya knees higher. Remember ta breathe. next time you run into Hulk yer gonna kick his ass!" He runs back to exhort the Thing better. "C'mon, Doom could do better at this and he's a civil servant... technically." He slaps a rocky shoulder.

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm grunts and has a hard time thinking right now but he knows Ted is the superior athletr and reluctantly heeds the advice. Despite his enhancememts, it becomes easier. "Huh..." The doom comment certainly motivates him to go faster until he laughs at the civil servant comment. "Ow."

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant says, "Awright Ben. That'd enough for today. Maybe you can get torch out for one of these. He looks like he runs like a girl but he could at least keep us warm. Now jog in place a bit for the cooldown. Hey, there's a diner down the road a piece that has an eating challenge. Let's go in and scre the hell outta them." He's touching his toes as he speaks. Yes he has mastered the skill of speaking while exerting himself. Super Fu.

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm stops and almost lets the damn backpack drop, but is worried it will fall through the concrete and ruin pipes. He flicks a button and enacts the built in anti grav nullinh its weight. "Sounds sweet to me." He chuckles, quite hungry.

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant is a man who likes a man who likes to throw shade. "Well come on. They got beer too. The challenge is a foot high stack of pancakes dipped in French toast batter and alternating with country fried steaks. Ya finish it ya get a t-shir..."

Crashg bang!

In an alleyway a good dozen men are loading an 18 wheeler. A huge crate they were groaning to lift had fallen. "Shit, someone nearly got flattened. Hey, you guys need help?"

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm chuckles,"One free tshirt then, I can...eat..." he looks at the otherd and moves closer,"Whats this then, you guys OK?" On the surface what they are doing is harmless but Ben has been doing the hero thing for a long time and it was easy to be helpful or an ill tiked wrecking ball.

Ted Grant has posed:
Despite the huge crate, now lying on one man's legs the boss says, "Y-yeah. We got this... Stop joking around Bill! Yeah we're cool."

Ted says, "No way this is legit. Whaddaya think? Kobra, AIM, Red Hats? Mafi-yer" He gets ready to pull his cowl on.

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm chuckles but it might be as small time as idiots selling bootleg dvds, but better safe than sorry. "Whats in the crate?" He sets the backpack down, as it strains the ground and cracks the concrete.

Ted Grant has posed:
The universe provides the answer as the side of the crate falls open and energy weapons fall out.The boss gives a ragged sigh, then yells "Hail Hydra!! The other men draw energy pistols. Two in the back extend shock sticks. A rumble and thumping comes from the trailer.

"Hydra, How'd I forget Hydra? You guys don't wanna shoot Ben, it only makes him angry... whoa!" He dives behind the Thing as energy bolts are fired.

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm cracks knuckles and throws the backpack at one an ddoaks up the shocks "You guys are gonna have a bad day."

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant emerges from behind the Thing as energy beams fizzle on him. He jumps then runs up his friend's back to jump into the midst of the crowd of Hydra. They are about to learn, fists are faster than guns in a brawl. At least Ted's are.

The rumbling in the trailer heralds the emergence of a large silvery robot that makes a beeline for Ben.

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm sighd. Its never easy is it? He charges into thebrobot, trying to keep his combat from hurting others. He wants to let Ted tske care of the regular idiots but the robot requires pulling no punches.

Ted Grant has posed:
The brawl is confusing to anyone without hyperspeed. Fists are flying. Guns are too chancy to use this close. The boss yells, "Hold him ya pantywaists! Let me get a bead..." That's about the point where goon number four slams into the boss and knocks him senseless. "Ya kin stick Hydra up yer asses you lousy Nazi fan boys! A gut punch sends another goon into dreamland. A board is procured and brought down on Ted's back.

It makes him turn around.

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm grabs at the robot, and if able crushes the limb he grabs to tinfpil, goijng limb at a time as able,"Watch yer back wildcat!"

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara is out and about, doing her own version of exercise. Which involves walking while reading (do not tell her governess, it is -so- unladylike!) You have to forgive her for needing a moment to notice what is going on. It is Jane Austen. The woman just captures Clara's attention no matter how many times she reads her books.

    She looks up at the sound of... hm. What is that?

    "Drat."

    Clara will do the heroical thing of ducking down an alley, opening her brieface, and stepping out moments later... riding a rhino-sized golem of paper that looks like a cross between a wolf and a warthod.

    "Over there, Dickens! By... oh my, is that Da..." Dammit, secret identity thing! "Mr. Grant. Who I only know from the newspapers."

    There is no one nearby anyway, so... here she comes! Or more truly here Dickens comes, leaping in to crush some poor hydro goon to the ground.

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant breaks free of the mob and runs toward the nearby wall. As a beam or two spangs and spings off it, he runs up the wal gtting about ten feet up before he pushes off into a backflip. He lands on one agent, who had a shock stick but is now too deflated to retain it. "What the fuck was you going to do with this? Eeeagh!" The other shock stick agent comes at him and is barely parried.

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm chuckles low and dark as he crunches another robot limb. Its only a matter of time for these goons, and any paying attention should know it but then again they are stupid enough to work for Hydra in thr first place. "I dont have any doubts about punching you guys" as a single goon who saw what he did to the robot tries to run. Not the smartest but smarter tjan the others mayhap

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara's sudden entrance into the fight does draw attention. But they were already so busy that it is not as quick as it needs to be. At least not for the first man to aim a weapon at her.

    She falls into Dickens and a moment later casts forth a wall in front of her. It is enough to conceal her, and even prevent the blast from causing more property damage. Still, that weapon ruins a lot of paper, and threatens to burn more. Until the wall divides in two, leaving the center to burn.

    Clara brings her hands together. Part to clap for Daddy Ted's marvelous acrobatics, partially as it helps her direct her power. The two sides of the wall slam together on the Hydra agent. A moment later, all along the lower foot or two of the wall, bloody spikes jut out. A muffled scream comes from inside.

    Clara is already moving on, though, as more of the agents are starting to realize she is flanking them.

    The paper wall bursts apart, letting the hydra agent (alive, but with bloodied and broken legs) collapse to the ground.

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant says, "You goons are in trouble! The Thing fought the Hulk, and won other fights! And I regularly shadowbox and hospitalize other people's shadows! Little Girl! Spikes ain't necesarr... whoooohoo!" The shock baton is flying at him. In desperation he throws his at the club wielder who knocks it aside. He isn't able to even spot the fist coming in as soon as it has room.

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm crunches a third arm, and this time rips it off and tosses as the idiot sneaking up on Ted, by skillfullly only knocking the wind out of the Hydra agent but embedding both ends of the robot limb into solid brick with cracks shattering all directions from the embeedded arm, he cracks his knuckles as the one limbed robot tries but comically fails to present a threat, "it's CLOBBERING Tiiiiiiiime."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    More shots fired, more paper used. Clara knows she cannot physically dodge well enough. But she can use her paper to yank her out of the way. Also, being light and knowing her way around her powers, she has other tricks. In this case, the paper forms steps for her to race up and away while yet more sheets flutter wildly between her and the attackers to make it yet harder to see her.

    An energy blast or two get close, though, and even without hitting the sheer heat is enough to burn her armor. And that armor will be useless if a hit lands square.

    Clara hears Ted. She does. But Hydra is trying to kill them. She will not stand for such rude behavior.

    She winds up rolling onto the roof of a low building. And then ten of her stairs turn into paper ravens and launch themselves at the nearest two gunmen. Two go for the face, while the others disarm the men. Her style is reflected in their movements. She is very efficient, all about damaging tendons and ligaments to take people out of a fight without having to kill them. Hard to use a gun when your fingers have no means of responding, after all. It just is not very pretty to see.

    They clearly made her angry. And that attack was enough to get the last three men to give her the attention she did not want and probably does not deserve. They positively open up on her. Or at least where she was. The building really did not deserve that. It is also stupid. Useless. And if no one were here to see what came next, possibly fatal, too.

    There is no great show of things. No big wall. No constructs. Just tight lines of paper, strung tight, like heavy ropes. One gunman just gets smashed into a wall, then another. They can frantically try to shoot, but the paper is not alive, and it's terribly hard to hit, able to take form or dissipate into smaller sheets unpredictably. In the end, the last man throws down his gun in a panic and waves his hands to surrender.

    "Apologies, sir, for this rudeness, but I tire of your noise." With an audible thump, he is paper hammeredd into an unexpected slumber as Clara steps out, once more at the street level.

    "Sorry about that. I imagine I disrupted your exercise."

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant jawdrops a little. This is his ultra good little daughter. He goes over to her when she reappears and hugs her. There are couple of grazes and burns on his sweatshirt though the costume's armor held up well. " You aren't hurt, are ya?" He himself has a bruised cheek and a nose leaking a little blood. Hey there were twelvish. He got half or more.

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm clapps with the last remaining limb from the robot that would not take no for an answer between his hands. "Very nice kiddo. Nice job, and dont worry about our exercize, these guys werent even a few drops of sweat and we were done anyway; ready for some pancakes. You know the newb Wildcat?"

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara hugs Ted and sighs. "Sorry to make you worry. I am okay, Daddy Ted. I was not sure if they could really hurt you or not." Another, bigger sigh. "I was a bit scared, honestly. And then I got... cold. Like I always do when it is time to fight."

    She looks over to Ben, her head tilting. "Oh, and it is Mr. Grimm. Hello, sir! Oh, and thank you. I am relieved. I was afraid I might offend you."

    She looks back at the downed goons. Reaching up to tap an earbud, she says, "Ma'am?" A pause. "Oh, sorry. Sir. I need a cleanup. Civilian. Ambulances, no hostiles left. It is urgent, I ran the field test as you requested." A pause for a response follows, of course. "Yes sir. Thank you sir. Have a nice day."

    Back to Ted and Ben, now. "Apologies, I must follow protocols. We should go get those pancakes."

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant grabs Clara's face between his very large hands. They nearly swamp her. "You, are a good girl, and a gentle soul. This bloodletting is not you. You got morals you just set them aside for this frigging protocol. We will talk more about this but... thank you for respecting my wishes. <Also knock off the Daddy stuff, you was just calling me Mr. Grant. Ben is cool though.>>

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm was skeptical enough of the odd statements about the masters in the shadows, but with Ted's attitude he is VERY skeptical. Just like the mysterious HELP app, he narrows his eyes a moment, He can tell Ted trusts Clara at least and refrains from addressing her until given a first name or an alter ego. He nods, "Pancakes sounds good to me."

He makes a sweeping gesture towards the nearby establishment.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    "Sorry, yes, of course I.. umm." Clara struggles, obviously. The young woman is rather caught, seeking approval and acceptance from two very different points of view. "I will try to improve."

    It is the safest thing to say, after all. Whenever there is a problem, take the blame and the responsibility to improve it. The somehow part can be filled in later.

    "I do like pancakes, but.. oh. I really do not want to impose, either. You two have a lot to talk about, I imagine." Clara likes to run away from great danger, like having to talk in what might be a difficult situation!

Ted Grant has posed:
Ted Grant beeps Clara's nose. "You're going, Carta. Either on my arm or shoulder. Besides, they got cocoa. I'm not scolding you. You done very good. There's so many options you got in a fight. Excessive force... well that's my jam. My options are hit things. You got talent. C'mon." Ted grabs Clara's hand and begins walking leaving her the choice following, losing it or attacking telekinetically.

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm says, "I assure you, I can afford it, and Ted can afford it. Anyone who helps punch nazis in the face is good to break bread with me. Sometimes excessive force is good; sometimes its bad; rarely bad with Hydra but after a while you just instinctively dont smash people when you can unless they have it comin. Too many civies around." He opens the door to the pancake place allowing both to pass him inside.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara really has no acceptable option but to follow. Honestly, saying no to Ted is almost impossible at this point, anyway. She will retrieve her book, at least, though, which flies over to her free hand.

    "Well, I suppose if they have hot cocoa and you do not mind, I will join you."

    A few minutes later, those ambulances arrive on the scene. There is quite a mess to clean up! But inside, Ben and Ted only have one objective: to clean up their plates.

    "I think you both share endless appetites as a power," Clara observes. She, being a brat, just ordered one of those little stacks with a bunch of strawberry compote and whipped cream. Dessert masquerading as breakfast is clearly her thing. They may get noticed in the place, but they can enjoy themselves anyway.