1978/The Monstrosity Under the Bridge

The Monstrosity Under the Bridge
Date of Scene:	06 June 2020
Location:	Midtown
Synopsis:	ULIK is brought forth through a portal to menace Midgard. Heroes respond and save the day!
Cast of Characters:	Thor, Heather Danielson, James Rhodes, Hal Jordan, Chizue Nakamura, Paige Guthrie

---

Thor has posed:
    The day is bright, brilliant on the weekend in Manhattan and the town is vibrant and alive. Tourists flock to the city during this part of the week, taking over the downtown and midtown, wandering from sight to sight, occasionally flirting with a sojourn through Central Park. Usually it is a lovely time and the vibe today is a strongly positive one.
    It could be in part due to the brightness of the sun, the utter lack of clouds, the feeling of warmth that is not too heavy upon the masses but lets one feel vibrant and healthy when out and about. Though, to be fair, there is a good bit of pollen in the air.
    Yet on the airwaves, the Avengers Comms frequency, there is a voice that calls out to those that might be privy to such radio waves.
    << Hark, the signal grows stronger the closer one gathers toward park yet along some travel line I am unsure of. Something similar to our earlier visitors. Who is on station? >>
    Yet the park itself, the people around there... nothing seems untoward at all. For it is simply anice Summer day after all.

Heather Danielson has posed:
    /SAAAATURDAY! IN THE PARK! I THINK IT WAS THE FOURTH OF JULY!!!/ What? Heather may be only eighteen years old, but her daddy taught her to love the classics. So she's listening to Chicago on her earbuds as she runs through the park.
    She's dressed... if you can call it that, in a sports bra and spandex bike shorts. The top has a Titans logo on front and center. After all, she is a provisional member of that Metropolis based team.
    However, she was in New York for a modeling gig, and her body doesn't magically stay in shape. She needs to keep working to maintain her fitness level. The fact that she is a publicly known superhuman who couldn't set up a secret ID if she wanted to just means that she tends to trail paparazzi looking for a chance to catch her doing something scandalous. Thus far, running in the park in what amounts to a bit more covering than a bikini is the worst they can find her doing. And that frustrates them.
    And sure, her Titans comm is routed through her Starkphone model P but the odds are it doesn't pick up Avengers frequencies... yet. So she's just running along obliviously as Thor makes his approach.

James Rhodes has posed:
James Rhodes picks up Thor's transmission, "I'm in the area. I'll deploy to your location. War Machine out," he says into his comm. He has to step out of the meeting he was having, assuring them that their concerns would be noted by the company. The Presidential campaign revealed some holes in corporate security and Rhodey's been working to get them plugged.

Honestly, a little armor time might be refreshing.

Moments later, he's descending towards the park in his trademark black and chrome armor, scanners analyzing data as he tries to get the lay of the land.

Hal Jordan has posed:
So, this was gonna be a business trip then. Hal's nice late spring day was ruined by 'weird signals' as reported by Thor, and since 'weird signals' could be any number of alien species from any number of worlds, Green Lantern would have to fly in to investigate.

Glowing Green as always, the Lantern has his ring scan the area, hoping to find out what that signal is, and if he can get any kind of read on it.

Just to remind the Avengers they're sharing communications with the League, the Lantern says, <<Weird signals sounds like I might be of help. I'll help with this. Green Lantern out.>>

Chizue Nakamura has posed:
    It's thirty floors up, one of a thousand investment firms somewhere in Manhattan. Down the hall past the water cooler, there sits a cramped server closet. The firm had paid god knows how much to get the best nerds they could find to keep the data within secret, because prying eyes is never good when you're moving dirty money around. Unfortunately for them, they never thought to invest in much physical security on account of the altitude.

    Which would likely explain the cloaked figure working swiftly and silently to compromise all that hard work, and just rip the hardware directly. Then comes a signal, and series of encrypted traffic over the wireless. Silently she half turns, gesturing her AR-rig to display the full waterfall for a careful study. Momentarily worried she's tripped something, before a slow frown forms. Casually she slips things back into place, before bouncing off the wall to slip back into the crawlspace she'd arrived in.

    Something was happening somewhere, and it never pays to make presumptions when you're robbing the mob.

Paige Guthrie has posed:
Even though she had a good, stern talking to from her brother about the dangers of going into the city alone, Paige still had an appointment to keep, with admissions of Cornell as part of her scouting for colleges to attend to. Now that that's done, she's decided to go and do a little sightseeing, which has brought her to the park.

She's currently sitting on the lawn of the park and eating a late lunch, and just enjoying the sunshine and atmosphere. She packed along a sandwich, and some chips, a spare change of clothes (see, she /does/ learn) a couple of water bottles and a 'Programming in C#' book, which she has out and open in her lap as she munches down on her sandwich, completely oblivious to any kind of trouble brewing.

Thor has posed:
    More than a few glances follow after Heather as she makes her way through the park, at times there might even be a few cameras drawn out to take a few quick videos for she does cut a conspicuous silhouette in her passage. Perhaps some might be privy to her identity, others might just be appreciative of an attractive individual, whatever the case there is a subtle ripple of consideration sent her way.
    Yet above the skyline War Machine's software and assistant likely displays him the data from the Avengers' JARVIS AI, showing the likely areas of attention on the heads up display. Yet the tracking is a long line that might be difficult to narrow down where the trouble and difficulty might be. That is, until, seemingly out of nowhere a hot dog cart /launches/ into the sky off in the distance, twisting in the air and sending buns and dogs hurtling in a spiral of debris.
    A roar goes up, loud from under the old foot bridge on the edge of Central Park, only some small distance away from where Heather was jogging. A roar that's accompanied by a brilliant flash of light and energy that suddenly causes a blaze of long shadows to be cast upon the ground. Long shadows that fade almost instantly.
    Those above might catch the image of many small humanoid figures rushing out from under the bridge. But those on the ground might only just hear a chitter and a chattering as well as a loud bellowing of laughter, twinned with what now sounds like the thundering of boots or feet from in the park.
    On the comm freqs there is Thor's voice, << There was a surge of power. I am on my way. >>

Heather Danielson has posed:
    The ripple of consideration, as it was called.. that is something Heather is used to, and has grown to expect. In fact, it's something that deep down, she likes. I mean come on, would she be posing in bathing suits for magazines if he didn't want to be looked at?
    Anyway, the roar isn't far off, and though she can't really hear much over her music... she can't help but see the bright flash.
    She skids to a stop in her jog... and it must be said that when you have superhuman stamina like hers, you can run for a long time. That also helps her maintain fitness. But now she's hungry damnit. And sweaty. But for now she is worried. "Titans base. Knockout." she says into her own comm. "Yes, I know I'm on leave. I'm in New York and something is happening. Can you patch me in to any local forces up here?" A pause, "Thanks... yeah, Avengers is a bit out of my league, but if they are the ones on site... ask if they'd mind me jumping into their party line, eh?"
    And she says this as she turns and starts running towards the bridge, trying to help guiding fleeing civilians safely to some cover... and mostly trying to prevent a panic born stampede.

James Rhodes has posed:
James Rhodes fires off a grappling line, hooking the hot dog cart so he can drop it safely back to the ground. No need to let some random grandma get splattered by a falling wiener dispensary. "JARVIS, center focus on the power surge, let's cut some of the background chatter," he says, trying to edit out alternative signals to focus on the problem at hand.

He turns and fires off his bootjets, heading towards the bridge in question, "Copy that, I'm en-route towards the surge, seems to be towards the edge of the park." he says to the other heroes in the channel.

Chizue Nakamura has posed:
    Out of a service duct she pops, surveying things until that flash. Ninja or no, she plucks off that polygonal mask and tucks it away. Dropping that bright golden TJA badge onto her armored faceplate, and switching over fully into "Hero mode" as it were. She takes a running leap off that building, falling for a dozen floors before shooting out a web line and swinging towards the park. Thanks Spidey!

    She finally pops the line with a flourishing flip, before hitting the park in a dead sprint. She erupts in a brilliant flash of pixelated color sufficient to make Crayola feel a tinge of jealousy, off hand snagging her scabbard as she hurtles across the park. Bouncing off railings and trees where necessary to race towards the epicenter of whater was happening with pure supernatural velocity.

    "Owari approaching central park disturbance from the west, Frequency one four six, Six hundreed."That voice washed through goodness knows how many filters to produce that distinctive electronic growl.

Paige Guthrie has posed:
As it so happens, Paige is snacking on an area of the lawn that's not too far away from the hot dog cart rocket. The loud *BANG* of the car being launched make her nearly jump out of her skin, almost literally in Paige's case. "What the..." she manages and turns to see the cart get snagged by a passing War Machine.

This looks like trouble, and when you're an X-man (pending) you run /towards/ it and not away. Stuffing the book into her backpack, she starts running, mind racing about what kind of thing could do that to a defenseless hot dog cart, and what form she could take that will keep her, and innocent bystanders safe.

Thor has posed:
    The hot dog cart flies a clean arc and with a deceptive ease War Machine hooks it and stops its fateful fall. The vendor's livelihood thumps then to the ground, landing with a faint crunch likely salvageable at the least thanks to Rhodey's quick reflexes.
    A voice loud enough to carry over the park calls in a thick tone, "WHAT IS THIS!?" The voice laughs grim and guttural even as the chittering grows louder. And over the crest of the decline where the bridge crosses over, emerging from the wooded copse of trees near the edge of that park, small four to five foot tall creatures of brown and yellow crouched over and hunch-backed skitter. Some with knives, some with mish-mash pieces of armor, all with wide grins and leering features.
    They present themselves cackling there as they surround the large fountain that serves as the fourteenth stop on the usual sight-seeing tour, many people turning and looking with surprise, curiousity... now fear.
    "WHAT IS THIS?!" The voice calls out again. "OFTEN IT IS ULIK WHO MUST GO TO DO THE PILLAGING!" Then a massive figure some ten feet tall in bright yellow and brown fur with a leering maw filled with fangs and rot. "NOW PILLAGING COMES TO ULIK!"
    Larger creatures emerge into view, some almost but not quite as tall as this Ulik who stands in rusted iron armor and two great bludgeons on the ends of his fists. "BRING ME THE TREASURES THIS LAND OFFERS! ULIK WANTS HIS SHARE!"
    And as the great troll chieftain gestures forward, all of the smaller rush ahead giggling, laughing, chittering with glee even as the crowd... the crowd breaks off to scream and run and rush away.
    Meanwhile, Heather and Chizue likely hear as they're patched into the communications array, Thor's voice. << The power surge has ceased, I get nothing further, what see you?! >>
    But if anyone can tell anyone about what they see, it's Paige with the front row seat in that instant to the skitter grinning cackling goblins as they rush ahead. One even making straight for her.

Hal Jordan has posed:
The Lantern arrives, floating over the sky, and when the ring scans the creatures that have just appeared. <<Ulik is wanted for pillaging, murder, and...things I don't want to repeat on a few other planets in this space sector. I'm gonna have to bring him in>>

With that, the Lantern flies down, and realizes...Ulik brought lots of friends, so he's going to put up a green field to contain the trolls so they don't scatter all over the city and create a problem throughout the city or country or worse.

Heather Danielson has posed:
    "Giant ugly dude with oversized knuckledusters and teeth that look like he'd make a dentist rich." coms Heather's voice over the comm. "And he brought his whole family reunion here to try to... what, loot the park?" A pause and she asks, "Does the name Ulik mean anything to anyone?"
    And then she looks up, "We also have an ICBHDC. Intercity Ballistic Hot Dog Cart. Can someone -please- stop that from killing someone?" she asks as she does her best to get civilians clear... before she herself begins sprinting towards the monsters. The monsters who will likely dismiss her as just some young girl too stupid to run away.

James Rhodes has posed:
James Rhodes stops to hover about 50 yards from Ulik, regarding the thing while his thrusters keep him steady in the hair. <I got the cart. I'm looking at this thing and it's damn ugly, that's for sure. Should we even bother trying to reason with it or is this a shoot first and ask questions later situation?" he asks.

Just in case, his shoulder-mounted missiles swivel into position, the launcher training itself on Ulik as Rhodey begins to charge his repulsor's for a full-on assault.

Chizue Nakamura has posed:
    "Call your targets, I'll get the small ones out of the fight."That colorful blur bursts from the trees, before sliding to a halt. Short cape fluttering as those brilliant colors flash to perfect matte black the moment she comes to a stop. She fixes that armored faceplate on the little yellow ones, before giving a little nod.

    "Know this vile creatures:There is nothing here for you but death."Owari spreads her stance just a touch as she hunches down, sweeping one hand to hover over the hilt of her sword. "Come on now, lets see some courage."

Paige Guthrie has posed:
Well this is new. Paige has never seen, nor heard about anything like this before, but whatever they are, they're hell bent on pillaging, and that's always a bad thing. With a hand, she reaches up to her face and /rips/ the skin off, revealing shining steel underneath. It doesn't take long for the rest of her body to shed skin and clothes, leaving her naked. Naked, but /metal/.

Just in time, too, as the little goblin rushes to assault her, stabbing at her with it's knife. "Hey!" she says, "None of that!" The knife just kinds of slides off of Paige's metallic skin, doing nothing more than making the tiniest of scratches in the chrome. Paige's response is a swift kick to the thing, sending it flying back to where it came from, thanks to her enhanced strength while steel.

"Now," she says looking around, "I've got to keep these things from getting to the people." Nearby, a goblin has managed to snag the purse of a screaming woman, with it still strapped around her shoulder. "Hey you!" Paige yells at it. "Get away from her!" She picks up the goblin and yanks it off the purse and then just /tosses/ it away.

Thor has posed:
    In the fountain area where the creatures surge, the crowd is rapidly rushing away, trying to get clear. In the hurry a snow-cone cart is knocked over with a heavy /whabam!/ that sends ice skittering across the ground and a bottle of syrup falls over. One of the goblins leaps atop it and takes the blue-goo flavoring and starts to chug it, laughing raucously to its friend.
    A young couple is menaced by a band of three or four that all point knives and cackle, one rushing forward to try and grab the leg of one of them while the others brandish weapons.
    Several other people in the crowd are tackled. A teenager in a baseball cap takes a _swing_ at one of the goblins that is trying to steal his backpack, only for the goblin to draw first blood as it stabs the youth in the belly.
    The barrier goes up then, bathing the area in light, cutting off the approach of many of those goblins who had been trying to spread out and rush in different directions. On the comm in answer to Rhodey, Thor's voice will be heard. << Ulik! A troll chieftain of the realm below! Ware, War Machine. Trust nothing he says! >>
    Meanwhile, distantly, clouds begin to appear in the sky blurring to life in a whorl of vapor that seems to rush from the south and trails behind a distant figure against the skyline. Yet down upon the ground a group of the chittering fanged monstrosities seem /entirely/ taken with the way Chizue's field shimmers and flashes. One even leans forward to murmur, "OooooooOOOO!" Yet all do not seem at all intimidated as suddenly they are /leaping/ straight at her.
    Ulik, for his part, however affixes War Machine with his glare. "HAH! LITTLE MORTAL! ARE YOU WHAT PASSES FOR THE DEFENDERS OF THIS REALM?!" He _slams_ his great metal knuckles together with a clang-clang that sends sparks shooting into the air as he starts forward, but only strolling for now.
    Nearby and past War Machine a little goblin goes /flying/ through the air as Paige's kick sends it flashing back and _slams_ into the green barrier where it slooowly skids down to lie unmoving. Then that goblin she yells at had just been about to stab the woman for her purse only for it to be grabbed, lifted, and hurled away to... /WHAM!/ into the green barrier as well. It slides down to join its mate unconscious.

Hal Jordan has posed:
Well...that yellow on the trolls was going to be a problem...but the goblins? They weren't yellow at all. And that makes the riff raff easy pickings.

Green walls appear to guide the goblins in a specific direction, as he creates a veritable maze they'd have to endure, that would, ideally, have them running into each other.

<<Work on the yellow trolls, the ring doesn't like yellow.>> He does his best to put green walls in front of any gobbo trying to munch people and herd them back towards the center.

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Too late. Too late by seconds. Damnit! The goblin that stabbed the kid is tackled by another teen who is able to generate far more force that she has any right or business generating. She tackles the thing and then picks up its inert form before tossing him towards three others that were charging her position. Ever play bowling for goblins?
    Well until today, neither has Heather. Okay Thor might know all about that particular sport. But still! She hurls said goblin into his friends and then whirls to crouch beside the kid. She looks down at herself and growls. Not a lick of extra fabric she can tear off for a makeshift bandage. But.. she knows not to just yank the blade out. "I have a civilian kid down. Stab wound to the stomach. Need medivac immediately." she says as she does her best to staunch the bleeding for now. Into her comm she adds, "Blade is still in the wound. I repeat, I have not removed the blade for fear of making it worse. Applying pressure." And as she says that, she places her hands on the kid's abdomen on either side of the knife before she says, "This is going to hurt." as she presses the flesh together, applying pressure even as another goblin runs up and stabs her in the back. She ignores that and lashes out with a foot to break the goblin's leg, still keeping hands on the kid.

James Rhodes has posed:
James Rhodes sighs, <And dickweed confirmed. Don't worry, Thor, Big Scuzz and I aren't exactly at the talking phase of our relationship.> he says.

And then he lets loose, two, three, four mini-missiles erupting from his shoulder mount. As he fires off, he lets off his boot jets, moving to close distance between him and Ulik, hands raised to unleash repulsor blasts to try and clear a path to him, centering together until he can punch a hard concussive force blast right into the big behemoth.

"I'm just the front-line, pal. Wait'll you see the cavalry."

Chizue Nakamura has posed:
    It's a blur of motion, as the Gobbo's launch their attack. Our favorite Ninja kills the first with that flash of a draw stroke, catching her attacker just blow the chin to all but slice his head from his body. His compatriot is not as lucky, as that sword swings in a short arc upwards as she sidesteps to the right to bring it down just behind the base of his skull. The third ends up just outside of comfortable sword range, so she does the most Ninja shit ever.

    She slips her off hand under her cloak, and comes free with a bulky looking dagger she hurls into the poor Goblin's chest. The poor fellow is hit hard enough to go tumbling, staggering upright just as the dagger explodes in a shower of brilliant cherry red gore.

    Casually Owari gives that transparent Katana a flourishing shake to get the blood off, before fixing her gaze on the next group. "Come now,what do you have for me?"

Paige Guthrie has posed:
"Thank you!" pants the woman Paige just saved. "Thank you!" Paige nods, "Your welcome, but you need to get out of here!" The woman agrees and takes off as fast as she can, clutching her purse to her chest.

Paige looks around for more bystanders to rescue from the goblins, when she sees one that had managed to run past her, stop at her backpack. Her eyes go wide as it cackles in glee, stuffs the remains of her sandwich into it's mouth and takes off with her things.

"NO!" Paige cries. "My stuff! MY CLOTHES!" She takes off after it, running as fast as she can. As good as being solid metal is for punting goblins and shrugging off knives, it really isn't made for speed, and the little bugger is able to outpace her. It even stops at one point and slaps it's but at her, taunting her slowness.

This really riles up the mutant, so with one swift action, *schriiip* the outer layer of metal is torn off to reveal jet black rubber beneath. The return of energy that she gets when she runs in this form is enough to make her much, much faster, but at a cost of durability.

Thor has posed:
    Like a wrecking ball, in comes Heather to scatter the goblins against the barrier, sending them scattering and crashing apart. The impact from her charge causes a sharp crackle of impact and several more fall to the ground unmoving when she turns to hover over the fallen youth. Dark hair, dark eyes, he looks up at her and for a moment his smile lights his face for the brief angellic vision he's gifted, then he passes out as she calls for help.
    A different voice is heard on the comm freqs, one with a British accent, << Emergency elements are on their way, please hold on. >>
    And, to be fair, there is indeed the distant sound of sirens.
    There's the short crack-whisssh of missiles fired as War Machine opens fire, the paffs of impact and the whumpfs of explosion are heard strongly as the weapons make their mark blasting into patches of the yellow fur of the monstrosity. Great thick meaty arms come up to shield his face, then back down as he starts to laugh. "HA HA IS THAT THE BEST..."
    When suddenly the repulsor blast fires right in his face.
    //ZAM!// Ulik goes flying backwards skidding across the ground to slam into the trunk of a nearby tree, cracking it in half and causing the boughs to break cascading leaves down. For a moment there's a hint of peace... before the great troll chieftain _charges_ forth ROARING! In great anger he attacks.
    Meanwhile down in one corner of the emerald maze, Owari faces goblins suddenly less in number. Now the joy is off the faces of the remaining survivors, now the exultation in conflict and looting is away. For they want revenge and leap with a wild rush of movement, daggers brandished and slashing wildly. The ninja is a great talent, trained for many years, while the goblins have naught but their ferocity and their blades at hand.
    That goblin that taunts Paige cackles all the more at her shedding her skin it pulls one of its eyelids down with one clawed finger and makes a 'myaaah' sound as it rounds and tries to run even as she gains on it. Though abruptly it skids to a halt when it ends up at a part of the green barrier that it cannot negotiate. Spinning around it holds out her backpack as if offering an apology...
    Then leaping at her with knife drawn!

Hal Jordan has posed:
The Lantern has done enough 'containment'...now it was time to actually bother neutralizing some threats. A group of 5 gobbos nearing an 'exit' to the maze get his attention, and 5 almost comical looking green hammers appear over their heads...and come crashing down upon them.

Lethal force is not authorized, so the gobbos will survive the experience for sure. They need not necessarily be conscious, however.

James Rhodes has posed:
James Rhodes takes note that the repulsors seemed to do the worst, but he needs a moment to recharge those before he can give another proper smack. In the meantime, here comes Big Chungus and he's not prone to letting Rhodey get his batteries at optimum payload.

Miniguns pop from the housings in the back of War Machine's forearms, letting loose a rapid-fire stream of tracing fire, superheated bullets lighting up the area and likely to singe without doing much damage, at least until he makes sure to try and aim them in Ulik's face, trying to blind him enough that War Machine can dart up and out of the way and start to rain bombs down on him from above, spherical charges that erupt in high-impact concussion blasts.

<Thor, I'm starting to think you probably know this dude.>

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Momentarily clear of Goblins, Heather recalls her firefighter father's first aid instructions. Keep the pressure on, don't remove the knife. Don't move the victim. Try to keep him.. shit, he's unconscious.
    She sighs, "Patient has lost consciousness." She tells the British AI. "Please advise the first responders. I will stay with him until they arrive. Advise them... it is a combat zone. So if you have some PJ's on hand, I think they should be used." (PJ's. Air Force Pararescue. Special Forces 911. Medics who will skydive behind enemy lines in a combat zone, give first aid and then help the special forces fight their way out. In other words... CRAZY!)
    "If not, I'll do what I can to keep them safe."
    Her voice sounds a bit off. But then again, she has a blade in one lung. She can't afford to take a hand off of the kid, so she just ignores it. Pain don't hurt.
    That's when she grows two shafts as a pair of goblins decide she looks like a flawless archery target dummy. She grunts, but doesn't move.
    She does however, turn her head and stare murder towards the two giggling archers. One gestures to the other. And Heather swears he just told the other to 'hold his beer' as he draws back his bow to fire another shot. "Sorry kid." she says as this arrow strikes her in the ribs on her right side. She releases the kid with one hand and reaches over to pick up a rock... which is hurled with all of her strength to strike the 'hold my beer' Goblin right in the face... and he goes down.

Chizue Nakamura has posed:
    Owari is a blur of motion, cutting down another with a cleaving strike through the poor fellow's raised forearm. Then another cut from hip to shoulder, and another from crown to hip. Off hand whipping those needle like shuriken out to slow the advance and keep the fight going on her timescale. It's likely Owari never got the memo about lethal force it seems...

    Another is grappled out of the air, and hurled head first into the ground hard enough to be quite fatal. Things are finally starting to slip out of control, which is when she pitches those smoke bombs at her feet and leaps backwards. Sheathing her sword with one hand as her off hand reaches back to tug a neat semi-transparent rectangle from the small of her back. The little contraption unfolding into a relatively basic little SMG affair.

Paige Guthrie has posed:
Finally making some headway on that gosh darned goblin! She finally corners it against the green barrier when the gobbo taunts her again. "Why I aughtta...." growls the Kentucky girl and lunges at it, at the same time it lunges at her.

"Ack!" Thanks to the enhanced reflexes of rubber form, Paige manages to keep the goblin from burying the knife into her, twisting around so that her arm takes the slash, leaving a rent in the rubber. She uses the momentum of the twist to spin around with a roundhouse kick. "Hah!" It's not the most skilled attack, but it does the trick, thudding into the skull of the goblin, and knocking him out cold.

Thor has posed:
    With a steady thok-thok-thok those small hammers fall upon the noggins of that handful of goblins rushing the exit, apparently having picked up the hint of handling mazes by just running through it with your left arm out. But only for them to reach the end prize and surprise! It's Hal and a bunch of headaches. They fall to the ground out of it almost instantly.
    Across the way the War Machine blasts backwards from the monstrosity that is Ulik, those whirling miniguns sending a stream of bullets straight into the creature as it charges, somehow looking angrier and angrier even as the bullets trace their way up his chest into his /face/ and bouncing off of his eyeballs! Then those rockets engage and Rhodey flies up, even as those great armored fists /crash/ down to _shatter_ the cement of the sidewalk and send debris scattering like a high level munition spattering debris and fragments in a shotgun blast of pure strength.
    "DAMN YOU PUNY MIDGET OF AN ARMORED MAN! ULIK WILL CRUSH..!"
    Only for yet another sentence to be suddenly cut off as out of the sky there comes a crack of lightning that lances forth from an extended hammer and lashes out to join falling Asgardian Prince to the form of Ulik, only for their bodies to crash together in an abrupt tackle that /SMASHES!/ The two beings into the ground in a furrow from the impact. A furrow that sizzles and seems to burn somewhat, though snapped out of their reverie the two other trolls that had been standing near Ulik start to rush forward... for something is amiss.
    << Emergency services are three minutes out, please hold on as best you can. >> That British voice is heard again, gentle and calming yet still carrying a sense of urgency.
    The archers cackle at the success of their arrows, only for one of them to be /smacked/ out of awareness and perhaps life by the blur of that stone hurled into its head. But then Heather will hear a hiss and a low gurgling cackle as one of the goblins /stabs/ its blade into the ground as it pushes itself back up to its feet. It hisses again and pantomimes the dagger across its throat just a moment before it leaps at her.
    Owari handles her corner of the battle as she likely does a quick glance around. Clear in one direction, the other. But there's that sound of arrows flying, perhaps some snickering or giggling from others around the corner of the maze. But there is also the sound of that 'HAH!' in the air as Paige lays out her opponent with that spinning kick, leaving her there at least having regained her belongings as most of the goblins seem down at this point.

Chizue Nakamura has posed:
    Incoming arrows are glared at for a moment, before Owari gets to it. She takes another leap back, snagging one arrow from thin air and instantly winging it into the eye of the nearest Goblin. It's not a killing blow of course, but it buys her enough time. She opens her stance a touch, presses that stock to her shoulder and waits for just a moment for her augmented reality rig to synch.

    Then she starts shooting, short sharp burst of some exotic subsonic caliber. Individual rounds aren't much to write home about, but a high fire rate and a big magazine goes a long way. Dumping three and five round groups liberally into archers primarily, before finishing off a burst at the nearer party.

    Then casually she takes a knee, plucking a spent magazine free and hurling it after another goblin as she fetches a replacement. "Get clear of Owari, I'm going explosive."

Heather Danielson has posed:
    So one archer left, and an angry knife wielding charging goblin. Wonderful. Heather sighs and takes a deep breath as best she can. I mean she's already pushing the weapons out by healing around them.
    But since she -does- have a hand free, she reaches that hand behind her back, trying to reach for the knife there. She doesn't do it fast enough though... and her eyes go wide as the charging goblin stabs her right in the chest. I mean seriously, right through *censored*. She finally stops going for the knife, and she whips that hand about to launch a textbook right cross into her attacker's face.
    That done, she rips the blade out of her chest and hurls it at that last archer right as he fires once more. Her throw strikes him just as his final arrow strikes her right where the knife hit her. Or close to it.
    She coughs blood out of her lips and then grits her teeth. Still somehow holding her left hand on the wound. Thank god for healing factors.

Paige Guthrie has posed:
Paige holds her bag up in triumph, "YES!" When she receives the warning from Owari, she takes a few steps back. Rubber isn't going to protect her much from shrapnel or explosives, so her hand goes to her face and *sshriip* goes the rubber and back to steel.

"Unh. That's starting to sting," she grunts, and takes a few more steps back. She takes a moment to get a handle of the situation. She'd been so focused on getting her clothes back that she lost track of what was going on in general. The goblins are taken care of, for the most part. Apparently there were archers that somehow missed her when she was vulnerable to the arrows.

All that leaves is Ulik and his troll thuds. *WHOOOM* Well. Okay. Maybe just the troll thugs. Ulik seems like he just got pancaked by an Asguardian god.

James Rhodes has posed:
James Rhodes tries to provide supporting fire to Thor, adding his repulsors again at an angle to try and keep Ulik on his heels, "You're dealing with the Avengers, pal. This isn't the fight you want. Stand down or Thor's going to end up sending you to the orthodontist!" he says, adding another rapid-fire pulse of repulsor blasts.

<Hey, do they have orthodontist's in Asgard? Cause y'all got some straight-ass teeth.>

Thor has posed:
    Rising from the furrow, Thor gains his feet awkwardly at first even as a repulsor blast /smashes/ into the troll chieftain's face causing the great creature to ROAR in indignation and pain. It struggles as the Thunderer, then scowling, brings Mjolnir back and holds it ready. "Surrender, Ulik! Or must I smite you as I did the last time we matched against each other?"
    "I REMEMBER IT DIFFERENTLY, ASGARDIAN!" The great booming voice is heard even as it points and roars, "SLAY HIM!" Which causes those other two trolls to rush forth with murder in their eyes even as Ulik chortles with roiling laughter.
    Over in the labyrinth Heather is able to handle her attackers with that entirely disgusting but effective way of hers, ending the charging goblin's life as well as the archer's even as Owari is a blur of movement, firepower, and death as she methodically puts down a good few of the remaining goblins that surrender their lives with a mixture of shrieks or gargling cries of agony.
    In the next instant it is Thor's turn to be tackled, slammed hard in the midriff by one of those troll bodyguards as it takes him in the middle, while the other /leaps/ straight at his head until they go down in a pile. A great fist comes up and crashes into the concrete, an elbow is brought down hard that causes Thor to issue a loud grunt. But then there's a /WHOM!/ as Mjolnir backhands into the side of one of the creature's skulls sending it hurtling into the emerald barrier with a /thud./
    But that leaves Ulik to rise slooowly to his feet as he rounds toward the others, but seeking War Machine in particular, "WHERE ARE YOU LITTLE ARMOR MAN!"

Chizue Nakamura has posed:
    Out comes that grenade from under her cloak, like a soup can with a long fabric tail. She pulls the ring free, lets the grenade hang by that tail before she gives the thing a few spins. Then off it goes in a neat arc, stabilized by that "tail" as it tumbles down towards the bodyguard Thor's already knocked free. It's not terribly fast projectile, nor is the shape charge terribly big. It is however automatically detonating when it hits the right distance so theres that.

    Frag pitched, she turns and takes off towards Heather. "Put pressure on the wound, I'm coming!"

Paige Guthrie has posed:
Now that her insurance against /another/ charge of public indecency has been secured, Paige sees that, really, only the trolls are left, and Ulik has conveniently placed his back to her. She crouches and sprints at him, lowering herself in a well practiced football tackle to the back of the troll's knees. You never know what skills you pick up in a farmhouse full of siblings will come in handy.

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Bent over the kid, Heather has managed to remove those arrows. Slowly and painfully. So when Chizue arrives, all that is left is the blade in her back, new holes in her top, and she is somewhat slumped over. Not in weakness or in pain, but in hope for the kid. Her hands are back on the wound, and she waits for help to arrive.
    As Chizue speaks up, she lifts her head, blue eyes taking in the Japanese girl. She gives a weak smile even as the sirens grow closer, "I don't suppose you have a pressure bandage, do you?" she asks.

James Rhodes has posed:
"I'm in the air, numbnuts! What, they don't have sky in Asgard?" he calls down at Ulik.

<JARVIS, commence configuration Gamma-Level-2.> he says into the computer system. In a moment, arms and shoulder units have both reconfigured, swivling into place and locking as the central chestplate of the armor starts to glow. From the sides of the War Machine, four drones are released, creating a diamond formation around the armor and starting to glow with their own radiant light.

<Punch that sucker.> he says and five beams of concentrated particle beam energy converge and strike down on Ulik like a miniature death star.

Thor has posed:
    That ribbon trailing behind it, the grenade arcs cleanly through the air and across the distance over to where that one troll had been gathering its focus. With eyes blurred and features blinking and confused it only has time long enough to look up with a curiously confused gaze just as that explosive finishes its arc and /explodes/ right in its face. Shrapnel imbeds itself in its limbs sticking out raggedly, but it's the concussion from the blast that suddenly has the thing lying on the ground, unconscious and with its head turned to the side, drooling as it surrenders itself to oblivion.
    But then Owari comes upon the tableau with Heather and the wounded and unconscious youth. Apparently this woman who had called for help did no small share of her handling the creatures as she is surrounded by the fallen. Yet the injured teenager seems at the least to be hanging in there, now likely more assured with the presence of the two heroes tending to him.
    Ulik clangs his great fist mallets together as he roars his challenge loud, "COME ARMOR CREATURE! YOU STRIKE WHEN ULIK UNAWARES! LET ULIK STRIKE YOU!" And with that he starts to stomp forward, two-toed feet leaving heavy thundering footprints in the ground as he moves. There's a laugh from him that is then brought short when suddenly there is a Paige /slamming/ into his leg. She hits the troll's limb and it is _staggeringly_ solid, even as she gets his knee to bend subtly. But then he turns, attention slipping toward her, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING CUB! ULIK CRUSH!" A great fist comes up...
    And poor Paige might have a moment where she is rethinking her life choices...
    When that cascading beam converges, brilliant sapphire fire lancing across the distance to coalesce into a great beam that lances across the distance and /SLAMS/ hard right into first the side of Ulik, then BURNS across his chest and straight into his face where it seems to sizzle into the skin slashing the fur away and then /SMACKING/ him down into the ground where he collides heavily.
    All while young Paige holds onto his leg.
    The other body guard is heard to howl in pain as it grasps its knee, while Thor gains his feet and brings the hammer back to /crash/ it hard into the bodyguards skull, snapping and spinning the last of the raiders around in a whirl of motion that leaves that one unmoving.
    All of the monstrosities lie on the ground, all seem handled. Though, Ulik... he still moves slightly. Very slowly. And is able to let loose with a very low and pained groan.

Chizue Nakamura has posed:
    Owari comes up alongside Heather in a dramatic baseball slide, and doesn't hesitate to get right to work. She tosses that SMG into the small of her back, where it folds up all by herself. That short cloak is swept up over a shoulder to clear that complicated chestrig she's wearing, and with a zip the front placard hinges down to reveal a mixture of lock picks, shuriken, knives and a fairly spartan first aid kit. "You've fought well hero, you can relax now. I'll attend to your injuries as best I can shortly."

    Damnit Heather she's a Ninja, not a doctor! Then again she does know the basics, and gets to plugging the hole with gauze before pressing a bandage over top and holding it there firmly. "I think I should start carrying around a anti-tank missile, just in case you know. What'cha think?"

Paige Guthrie has posed:
Paige is flung into the air when Ulik's kick out from underneath him from when his head is pounded into the dirt by War Machine's impressive attack. WHEEEE! She comes crashing down around where Chizue and Heather are and she lies there in a daze.

"Oh hi there!" She says dizzily, the wind having been knocked out of her. Otherwise she's mostly unharmed. It takes her a moment to regain her senses and she sits up. "Are they going to be okay?"

Heather Danielson has posed:
    "Don't worry about me." Mutters Heather. She still has that knife in her back. "If you can just get this out of.." *whump* She looks over and sees Paige. "Maybe you'll rip this knife out of my back? Yes, I know, it's the wrong way to handle it unless your patient has a healing factor that is trying to close up the wound around said knife." Heather adds with a bit of a smile, "Now I just need to learn this kid's name." She mutters.

Thor has posed:
    With Ulik down, Thor steps over and very pointedly /smacks/ the Uru Pounders from his opened hands, sending them scattering across the way onto the grass, then secures the great monstrosity by pulling his arms up and locking them in place behind his back and then with a faint /whom/ sets Mjolnir right there to prevent him from rising, all while the troll's face still sizzles from the energy blast that burned across its features.
    Around the park emergency workers quickly rush in to see to those wounded, thankfully few considering the swift action of the heroes. Police officers move in and try to secure the area, people are turned away, photo-seekers and journalists alike. But matters are slowly returning to some measure of peace with the situation resolved.
    "War Machine." Thor calls out to his comrade, "Good work, fast action." He turns to the others near and looks to them, then advances toward Chizue, Heather, and Paige. As they tend to that wounded youth a great shadow falls across them and they'll hear the Asgardian's voice.
    "Are you well?" He looks to them even as emergency workers rush to them, he steps back and gives a nod to the gathered heroines. "You enjoy my thanks for your efforts. So says Thor, God of Thunder."

Paige Guthrie has posed:
Now that Paige has regained her senses, she sits up, and moves behind Heather. "Sure, okay," she replies, trusting that Heather knows what she's talking about. Taking a hold of the hilt of the dagger. "Ready?" YOINK! Out comes the dagger, which she tosses to the wayside.

Then a shadow looms over her. It's Thor. It's Thor /thanking her!/ She swoons. Just a little bit.