18680/Keep Your Hands and Arms Inside the Ride At All Times

Keep Your Hands and Arms Inside the Ride At All Times
Date of Scene:	26 July 2024
Location:	Coney Island
Synopsis:	Misunderstanding that the riders aren't in actual danger, Mantis accidentally breaks the Coney Island cyclone. Impulse saves the riders in peril and Mary Jane Watson saves Mantis.
Cast of Characters:	Mantis, Bart Allen, Mary Jane Watson

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Mantis has posed:
It's a bright, sunny afternoon at Coney Island, with the air filled with the tantalizing scent of funnel cakes and the cheerful clamor of families enjoying their summer day. The iconic boardwalk is bustling with visitors savoring those famous Nathan's hotdogs, kids laughing as they chase each other, and the distant melody of carousel music adding to the festive atmosphere. The beach is alive with sunbathers and swimmers, while the amusement park rides, especially the towering Cyclone, are in full swing, with the excited screams of riders echoing above the noise.

Amid this lively scene, one woman stands out in a green outfit more appropriate for martial arts instead of a day at the beach. She has large, inky black eyes and a pair of antennae and is known across the galaxy simply as Mantis. She holds two hotdogs, one in each hand.

Mantis stands motionless on the boardwalk, eyes wide with concern as she watches trains of riders traverse the mighty Cyclone. The screams. The expressions. The feelings of terror.

"I must save them!" Mantis decides before taking a huge bite from the hotdog in her left hand. She follows up with a huge bite from the hotdog in her right hand. "Mofhhrh mrffr mphhrrr!"

After tossing her unfinished hotdogs into a nearby garbage bin, Mantis approaches the perimeter fence that keeps the roller coaster's track area firmly off limits. She leaps onto a nearby lamppost, clings to it for a moment, and then leaps over the fence!

"Hey, look! There's a crazy lady climbing the Comet!" a teenage boy shouts as he pulls out his phone to get a video for his Tiktok account.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen is out having some food tonight. One of the good things about places like this, you can eat something from all the different food places, and it does not raise an eyebrow like the orders BArt would make from one place. So walking along munching some cotton candy, he stops as he hears something about some crazy person, and walks over to get a look whats going on.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Take me out to the ball-game, take me out to the crowd - oh wait, she's not at the ballpark. Listening to a radio as she walks is Mary Jane Watson, as the Mets play the Yankees in a Subway series. She's waiting to hear if Judge will hit a home run as she goes to pick up loud cheering and then grunting.. She goes to look up and over, taking a few moments to blink as the attention seems to be going towards the Cyclone..

And she sees a wobbling set of antennae. She takes a breath. Okay, no strange'ish facemask and one piece bodysuit so it's not that Irwin Schwabb guy so it--

Mary Jane recognizes the alien empath from things a year or so ago and moves to let out a sigh and goes to run in that direction, going to pass by Bart. "Hey, hey, it's not safe to go in there! You could get hurt!"

Mantis has posed:
    Built in 1927, the Cylone lacks the sophisticated sensors and monitoring systems of modern roller coasters and relies on the tried and true ability of its human operators in many situations. The ride operators, vision obscured by the support structure of the roller coaster's boarding station, are unaware of anything out of the ordinary, as they have little reason to watch the support structure of the ride. Another train of riders is dispatched out of the station and onto the chain lift as Mantis continues climbing the wooden supports.

By the time Mary Jane is able to protest, Mantis is already going vertical. She releases her grip from the wooden beams and leaps upward, knocking off ten or so feet from her climb.

Recognizing the voice from somewhere, somewhen, Mantis turns and looks down at the possibly familiar redhead. "Mm mphffff mff hffmh thenmff!" she shouts. "....Mm mphffff mff hffmh thenmff!"

Mantis spits out the mouthful of hotdog, which falls to the ground with a satisfying plop. "I have to save them!" she shouts again, clearly this time.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen watches this poor wasting of food. He looks up and moves closer to the going on. It seems maybe the other red head seems to know the woman climbing, so he will watch for now. He does keep an eye on the cars, trying to make sure there is no real danger going on.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson goes to yelp up at Mantis, "it's a ride! They're completely safe!" She tries to remember what the lady was like at the ballpark, trying to quickly come up with a frame of reference. She looks about quickly. The cosmonaut canine isn't about, or the green lady with the sword.

"It's just for fun! They're not going to get hurt!" IF anything the person clinging to the old wooden ride might make things worse, but Mary Jane's only frame of reference to the ride is on one time where a kid's cartoon had it being used to help banish Cthulhu.

Mantis has posed:
Mantis continues climbing, making quick work of the haphazard turn-of-the-century construction thanks to her alien physiology. Her climbing appears more like upward leaps, skipping over several horizontal beams at a time. "They are terrified!" Mantis shouts back at Mary Jane. For that reason, she must continue to ascend!

It's not long before Mantis reaches the top of the Cyclone and slips easily over the railing and onto the wooden catwalk that runs along the track. She looks around, tracing the path of the track with her eyes to get her bearings.

Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble. WOOSH!

Mantis waves her hands in the air as a train of riders roars past her. Physics is impolite.

"I will save you!" Mantis shouts before running along the catwalk, chasing after the train as it traverses the course.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Dammit! Mary Jane goes to yell after Mantis, "You could hurt them doing that!" She knows this thing looks old even if it's not particularly rickety, it's still been around nearly a cnetury and isn't designed to have someone on the tracks. Is there even an emergency stop button on it? Well, that wouldn't make things even worse? Mary Jane looks ahead to where the looping vehicle carrying all the throngs enjoying it atop..

And then takes a breath, and goes to try and go up after Mantis! She really wishes Peter was here.. But things with Peter are -hella- complicated at the moment.. So she'll have to make do. She's nowhere near as fast or smooth as Mantis is as the alien goes to parkour her way up onto the tracks, and it takes MJ several seconds to get up there, her yells probably not making it through with the train!

Mantis has posed:
Mary Jane's shouting is overpowered by the roar of early twentieth century engineering. Meanwhile, Mantis races along the wooden catwalk with an urgency born of her mistaken belief that the riders are afraid and in danger. Her antennae wave wildly and her eyes are fixated on that speeding train rumbling along the track. With a determined leap, she vaults into the air and lands just a few feet in front of the hurtling cars, arms outstretched to stop the perceived threat!

"It's okay!" she shouts. "I am here to help you!"

In a dramatic collision, the train hits Mantis, sending her flying through the air and crashing into another section of track with a resounding THUD. The wood splinters from the impact of a Celestial hybrid, creating a precarious gap in the track ahead. The train continues on its path, oblivious to the impending danger, while onlookers below react with a mix of horror and confusion. Their fun afternoon has suddenly transformed into a scene of potential disaster...

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson can only look over in terror as she moves to run towards Mantis, racing as fast as she can as she yells "Get them to shut this thing down!" She can only hope that gets through to someone in the crowd and that they can tell one of the ride operators to do so. There has to be a way to stop the thing before it gets that far along the tracks! She runs as hard and as fast as she can towards Mantis, putting on as much speed as she's able!

She moves to take a quick jump to get over to where Mantis is, only able to hope that someone can try and get the train toa stop. She's definitely not got any webshooters on her. All she can do is try and save one life. Presuming she can, she would go to try and help Mantis get up as fast as possible. Recrimations later. The woman could be hurt badly; Mary Jane doesn't know her physiology at all - just as she's humanoid doesn't have to mean her body works like a human's at all.

"We have to get you off here, fast!"

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen sees the messed up tracks, and will step over to the operators telling them to stop the ride, and as they turn to the ride he hits the button on his ring and Impulse is there. He will start to head up grabbing a kid first, and says "Ready for a really fast ride?" And zoom to the ground and back for another.

Mantis has posed:
"Owwwwww!" Mantis shouts as she sits up, sounding more annoyed than hurt. She's glaring as she rises, now face-to-face with Mary Jane Watson. "Did you see that?" Mantis turns to face the direction of the train, glaring angrily at it as it barrels through the roller coaster's course on a path towards the gap in the track her impact created.

Bart's warning to the ride operators is too little, too late, unfortunately. The well-intentioned employee slams his fist into the red emergency stop button. The hydraulic brakes that divides the track into two sections snap shut just a second after the train passes through them. It's no longer possible to stop the train before it reaches the gap in the track. The train barrels around a curve and gives the riders their first look at their situation. Their screams change in pitch as the gap in the track comes into view. They have only a few seconds...

But then, there's Impulse! Where did HE come from? Where does he EVER come from? WHO CARES?

The doomed passengers, slightly less doomed, cheer with optimism as the first kid is rescued! But, there are nine other riders to deal with...

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
That's definitely a speedster. The people there will be okay. But they still have to hurry before the platform takes more damage! The risk is if it destabilizes going to fall towards the crowd of gawkers! But it's one life. One life at a time. The people on the ride are going to be safe. She has one life she can save.

Mary Jane goes to reach a hand down to Mantis, "Sorry, but we gotta get off!" Presuming that Mantis would try and argue the point more, Mary Jane just goes to lift up the alien girl in a fireman's carry, and is then running towards the lowest portion of the platform she can get to to jump off the side of!

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen does a quick headcount, and looks over at the gap. Instead of one at a time, Impulse moves to in front of the car, and starts running backwards hands on the cart. It may look like he is trying to push it, but what he is doing, is pulling the speed from the cart, slowing it down. His tongue stuck out the side of his mouth as this is a bit more than he has done with this before. The cart will come to a stop just inches from going over the edge. The sad part that means Bart is over the hole and with speed like his, he can do the coyote, he is ok till he looks down and then he is falling to the level below. He hits the ground with a thud. Luckily Speesters heal quickly He watches the birdies fly around his head, ad he says "Ow."

Mantis has posed:
Me next! Me next! Me next! The doomed riders make their cases to be Impulse's next rescue, unaware that the speedster's plan will be changing. They watch with muted optimism as Impulse positions himself at the front of their train, surveying the situation with horror-filled eyes. When the train screeeeeeeeeeeetches to a halt just inches before certain doom, the riders throw their arms into the air and cheer, hooting and shouting until Impulse falls through the gap in the track.

"Kid Flash!" they cry out, getting their new favorite hero's name incorrect as he disappears into the wooden mess of the Cyclone! The NYFD and park officials will handle the remainder of their rescue.

Down below, Mantis frees herself from Mary Jane's fireman's carry and immediately looks up. "They are safe!" she exclaims, spotting the train somehow stopped, basking in the feelings of relief and gratitude that she picks up with her antennae. "I have saved them!"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would let Mantis go, not quite panting but letting out a groan. She did not have the energy to explain this through an she wasn't sure that the girl (?) would necessarily get that either. So how to put it into words.. "Yes, they were scared, but you didn't.. Figure out what the danger was before jumping in." Trying to find just the right way to phrase this to get the point across politely. Mantis' heart (metaphorically, she might not have a physical one given MJ's lack of knowledge of her physiology) was in the right place.

"Without knowing exactly what the danger.. Was, then just by jumping in you could have made it.. Worse. You have to figure out what the.. Danger is before you can stop it."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will slowly sit up, and shakes his head, he looks up to see the ones in the car are ok, so he gives them a thumbs up to show he is ok, and then he is off, and coming around one of the food booth BArt is walking back, stopping to order half a dozen hotdogs.

Mantis has posed:
Figure out the danger before trying to stop it? Before jumping in? Mantis stares at Mary Jane with an expression that can only be described as extreme disbelief. She knows the individual words, but they do not make sense when combined in that order. Mantis' antennae droop forward, just a touch, before she shakes her head.

"That is not how Peter does it," Mantis protests, not bothering to clarify which Peter she means.

With that apparently settled, Mantis begins walking from their landing spot and back towards the boardwalk. "What is a Kid Flash?" she wonders, hearing the gawkers talking about the hero's efforts as she herself is regarded as an oddity. Dozens of smartphone cameras are pointed in her direction.

"Oh, thank you!" Mantis cheers, approaching Bart Allen with two outstretched hands. "You have found my hotdogs!"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Oh well, she tried. And she knows very well that look of 'I know what those words mean, but they make not the slightest sense when put all together, so I will choose to ignore them'. And wondering at what point did she turn into the one that was giving out the lectures on thinking before running into danger. She's getting old. Mary Jane looks amused and almost crestfallen.

"Oh, thanks for saving everyone." To Kid Flash. She looks over at the Cyclone to scan for any more damage, but.. This si Coney Island, who's really going to notice a few more holes in things?

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen 's brow raises a bit, as he is munching hotdogs. He will think for a moment, but does offer her one of them "I think you dropped yours but you can have one." He tells her.

Mantis has posed:
"You are welcome," Mantis tells Mary Jane, mistaking her 'thanks for saving everyone' as intended for her. After all, it was Mantis who saved the riders today, right? Right?

When she reaches Bart, one of her outstretched hands is filled by a hotdog. She smiles, but it doesn't last. Mantis wiggles her other, empty hand, still leaving it outstretched. "I had two," she points out, continuing to wiggle her empty hand.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would let out a sigh over at Bart, "Give her two, she was trying to help. My treat." She goes to take out some bills to move to head to buy some more hot dogs for the group. Mantis really was trying, which.. Well, Earth needed all the help it could get.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen considers giving her one he has bit off of, but after a moment hesitation he hands a second one over to her, and says "You do realize people do that for fun? Right? Well when there is not a hole in the tracks that is."

Mantis has posed:
Mantis' antennae perk up as her two hands now have two hotdogs, just like they did before she sprang into action. "Thank you for returning my hotdogs to me," she tells Bart. Now that she has been reimbursed for her trouble, Mantis takes a huge bite from each of her two hotdogs. She chews with bulged cheeks for a few seconds before hesitating.

"Mfffff mhhhffff?" she asks Bart, a confused line spreading across her brow.

Oh, right, the hotdogs. Mantis chews for several more seconds, swallows, and takes a breath.

"For fun?" she repeats. Mantis' expression sours a little, briefly glancing at Mary Jane for some kind of explanation here. "There was much fear." Mantis presses one of her hotdogs against her chest, using it to draw attention to herself. "I am an empath," she explains, as if that means something.

"I am Mantis," she adds before taking another huge bite of each hotdog!