3905/Trolls in Oklahoma

Trolls in Oklahoma
Date of Scene:	23 October 2020
Location:	Broxton, Oklahoma
Synopsis:	Trolls attack a small town, and the group who comes to help is capable of the task. Grisly remains are found, and a girl with an axe.
Cast of Characters:	Gunna Sijurvald, Diana Prince, Sera, Maxima, Cassie Sandsmark, Namor, Hyperion

---

Gunna Sijurvald has posed:
Broxton, Oklahoma

Locked down. The town and the surrounding area is under heavy lockdown, with SHIELD there in force. They've got soldiers on all points protecting the country from whatever's going on inside, and the army has arrived with actual tanks and carriers, set up posts, there's all of the things!

A listening post on a hilltop overlooks the forest below; the town itself is visible, but not very well, and word has been put out. This is an either/or situation. Either someone goes in to save anyone who might be left, or they carpet bomb the location to the ground.

Needless to say, they're highly nudging on official channels for assistance. Nobody wants a body count of 'everyone'. The thing is, the call that went out? It had references to faeries, ogres, and trolls. So it's a bit wierd.

The man standing on top of the hill waits for a response. or none, which means he calls a very different team. "Come on, heroes."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana, and Cassie, had been in the Invisible Jet when the signal had gone out. The call for help from Oklahoma, of all places. Not the usual stomping ground for members from the Justice League, as the problems there-in tended to rarely require the kind of expertise-- or strength --that the Justice League members were renowned for.

But, stranger things have happened... as they say.

The alien-tech-powered Invisible Jet alters its course back to NYC, and instead reroutes to Oklahoma, the onboard computer systems pulling up the precise location that the auto-pilot was flying them.

Diana, in her armor, with a crimson red shawl draped over her shoulders, peers at the holographic display showing where they're headed. "Broxton." She says in her husky-toned voice. "Mythical antagonists... threats..." She looks over to Cassie then. "This might be an unusual one." And coming from Diana? That's saying something.

Diana keys on the comms to speak back to the voice calling for help. <"This is Diana Prince, of the Justice League. I am close to your position and will be arriving in moments. I have additional help with me as well. We will do our best to fix whatever it is that is going wrong.">

Diana keys the mic off then and starts toward the back of the cloud-hued jet's interior, the back drop-ramp already starting to open to give access to the blue sky beyond.

Sera has posed:
Sera claps her hands together then rubs them. She looks at the mess left in her basement from the last ritual - a debunnification ritual. It could have gone worse. It went well enough. But it did leave her magical constructs in a state. "Right, let's get back in business then."

Sera tosses out a carpet of a world map and begins to sing to it. Slowly the magical lines reappear in the air and a flowing pendulum made of pure magic begins to swing from the ceiling until it points at.. Braxton, Oklahoma? "Wait.. that can't be right."

She undoes it and redoes it.. and again.. Braxon, Oklahoma. "Well fine then. Just to sate my curiosity," she murmurs to herself and heads out the door. She turns to tell Nessa she's going out.. but.. remembers that the lil bun is no longer a lil bun and has probably gone home.

Large glowing white wings made of pure magic erupt from her and she flies up in to the skies, heading off to Braxton.. Oklahoma. Noting the presence of the military and certainly not interested in being shot at today, she lands and approaches a guard, "Hey there, uh, anything weird going on here? My weird-o-meter hit max."

She offers her hand, "Hi I'm Sera, with the Infinity Watch. You might have heard of us." Hardly anyone has heard of the Infinity Watch, though SHIELD has at least. Agent May even has a small file on them, including pictures of Sera and the title 'Angel ??? Magic ??? Alien ???'.

Maxima has posed:
The alien Crown Princess of the Almeracian Empire is not exactly on 'official channels'. But for an empath of Maxima's caliber, the psychic noise generated by the pain and suffering of such a large number of civilians stands out like a blazing beacon in the night. Even if she does not know the afflicted personally such slaughter offends her sense of what is just and honorable on the field of battle.

So it is that she departs from the chambers she has been occupying in Atlantis, blasting up through the ocean depths and into the sky at many times the speed of sound intent on putting a stop to whatever the cause of all this is.

It doesn't take her long to arrive above Broxton, a sonic boom announcing her presence to all and sundry. For the moment she hangs in the air as if gravity simply doesn't apply to her, while she assesses the situation from above.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Woo, road trip! Er, well, Invisible Jet flight path, but same principle.

Cassie wasn't really expecting an adventure, as she and her mentor were taking the plane back from a speaking event; most people probably don't realize how much of the Princess' time is spent on a variety of ceremonial, humanitarian, and other non-heroic activities, making inspirational appearances around the world. Cassie doesn't always go along, especially with her busy team and class schedule, but does when they're more youth oriented. So she's quite relaxed, even having her feet kicked up as she sits in the very comfortable morphing alien seating.

"Uh what's that now?" she wonders, sitting up suddenly when the the notification comes up. "Broxton? Where the f- uh I've never heard of it." Despite the fancy gear on the plane, she pulls out her phone to google it.

"How are mythical threats unusual? We fought a couple rogue cyclopses just last week." The younger woman grins, then holds up her hands. "I get it. Serious stuff. OK, well, so much for the quiet night back home."

As Diana approaches the back of the plane, she moves to follow, double checking her lasso. And despite the 'unimpressed' teenage facade she puts up, she's grinning behind Di's back as they get to the ramp and prepare to jump. It's been a while since they had a proper hero-and-sidekick outing! Wonders, away!

A minute or two of them sailing through the air, and the pair effortlessly touches down, just paces from Mr. SHIELD since there's no concern for finding an invisible parking spot. "Yo dude, what's the problem?" A very... formal greeting from Justice League Jr.

Namor has posed:
Sitting on his throne in Atlantis, Namor's watching various floating screens, looking for signs of a completely different horror happening.

When he gets the signal, he seems inclined to ignore it, but with the general 'hero' frequency still open, he hears Diana respond.

Grunting, he stands. "I'm going to run an errand." he states to his many vassels.

It doesn't take long before the King of Atlantis has flown from the ocean to halfway across the state, then lands at the parameter of the town, trident in hand. He's already looking around, then sighs. "Alright, I suppose I'll help. What's going on?"

Hyperion has posed:
    Amazing how one with 'Hyper' hearing can overhear a news report seven blocks away and suddenly Hyperion is off. Rocketing upwards into orbit before arcing over and causing a re-entry burn as he aimed downward towards Oklahoma. His black costume and golden highlights concealed by the aura of plasma generated by his friction with the atmosphere.
    He's not setting speed records today, but he's moving at trans-sonic speeds as he comes down, eyes zooming in to pick out details. But the arrival of the others gives him a target... and in a blur of hyper-speed, he lands.. slowing so he does not crater the area.. but he lands within thirty feet. Not within arm's reach because he doesn't want to be accidentally seen as a foe. But he lands, his legs absorbing the impact before he strides forward.
    "Things sound chaotic here." he says in a resonant voice.

Gunna Sijurvald has posed:
Thus does the group arrive at Broxton Camp One. A fair ways from the engagement zone, the camp has guards and everyone is armed with at the very least a full rifle. Soldiers, both men and women, wear armour and the entire site looks like something out of a war zone, not an agrarian community in the middle of nowhere.

The man who stands to meet them all as they arrive is greying at the temples, tall enough to get by, and has enough bits and bobs on his shoulder to suggest a star system. "Colonel Axe here," he says, looking up at the arrivals. Because they're largely tall, impressive to look at, and every one of them exudes nobility. "It's an honor to have you here. I hope you're able to help, because time is extremely limited. We have people dying right now, so every moment wasted is important."

He pauses a heartbeat to assess the response to his words, then motions to a map he's laid out nearby. "The town is nothing special. Unfortunately everyone who's entered that forest or the surrounding area has died. I've lost thirty agents so far, and whatever is in there doesn't respond to any known language. They don't go down when they're shot, and we have every reason to believe they're here for food. I beleive there are still survivors in the town or forest, but the only reason we're still holding them back at all is because they're not done eating."

He says it grimly, knowing he's referring to civilian lives. "Is there anything we can do?" His words say 'contact threat'. His eyes say 'monsters'.

Hyperion has posed:
    "Every town is special sir." offers Hyperion to the Colonel. "Every life is precious. I will focus on evacuating civilians while the rest of you engage." It's like once battle is joined, the hesitant guy who's unsure of his place in the world melts away.
    He looks to the others, "Once I have removed any civilians from the area, I will join the battle." A pause and he adds, "I am aware few of you know or even know of me. I am Hyperion, and I possess many of the same abilities as your Superman. But words waste time."
    That said, he vanishes in a golden blur as he speeds forward to search for civilians to remove from the area... determined to do his job of saving lives before anything involving combat.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana lands, alongside Cassie, and offers her a slight smirk at her words to the soldiers gathering around them. Her eyes then go to take in the sight of the other super powered individuals arriving, some she's quite surprised to see, such as Namor or Maxima. A nod is given to them all before her gaze goes then to the General.

His briefing is listened to, and Diana's stare sweeps over to the edge of the forest in-question. "This town is special to those who call it home, General." The Princess replies, as her hand goes up behind her back, and with a yank of her arm she draws her sword from the leather sheath mounted on her back, along with her shield sweeping out from behind her into the grasp of her other hand.

"We will clear out the forest, and we will save whomever we are able to." She glances to the others, to confirm this, and then looks to Cassie. "I want you to primarily search for survivors, to grab them and bring them back here to the soldiers." To the others, she looks. "This is our fall-back point. If we have any need to do so, this point is the point we must protect most. With survivors to be brought here... and the soldiers already stationed here... it is a tactical key point that we must keep locked down."

Diana's attention returns to the General. "Keep your people ready, to do whatever you can, if needs be."

Diana watches as Hyperion disappears in a blue, then turns to do much the same of her own volition, toward the forest, with sword and shield out and ready.

Sera has posed:
Sera takes one look at the other heroes assembled and raises an eyebrow. A t-shirt that says 'Angel-ar Momentum' on it in block letters and jeans isn't going to cut it. She sings softly and white magical energy flows over her, her eyes remain glowing as she is dressed in the golds and silvers of her Elysium armor. There, now she fits the 'heroic looking' profile.

Of the others here the only ones she recognises are Diana and Cassie.. because they've been in the news. She nods to them all though, as they appear to all be very strong looking. "It couldn't hurt to know who we're up against. Even if," she says lifting a finger and then Hyperion is _gone_. And then Diana is gone. She shrugs her shoulders, "..okay then. The forest it is. To grandmothers house we go..."

Her eyes glance over the blurry pictures and she tilts her head, a soft hmm on her lips as she ponders if they might not be trolls. "They kind of look like trolls. You know, from the likes of Jotunheim. A bit of legend where I'm from. Smart and hard to kill, but I recall the Asgardians celebrating a victory over them recently," she says to those that haven't zipped off just yet. "Only one way to find out," she adds and then takes a run away and her magical wings unfurl and she is once again in the air. No need to pull the weapons out yet... well, may be need, but she is on a high from a few magical victories of late.

Maxima has posed:
Maxima floats in the air above listening to the thoughts of the humans below. She watches the others arrive and enter the military encampment even as the source of the dark emotions draws her gaze to the woods. Eventually though, seeing Namor arrive she decides to drop down to the camp and seemingly join the others.

She still stands somewhat aloof and apart though, her expression nigh contemptuous of a military that has the audacity to call itself as such without being able to deal with a threat like this. Her eyes size up Colonel Axe, "Anything you can do? If you are not up to this threat you can pull back so you do not add to the casualties."

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Nobles all... Except for Cassie, who exudes all the nobility of a character from a Disney channel teen drama.

Still, her less-than-serious attitude and sunny demeanor gives way as she gets more of a look around. Sadly, it's not even the teenager's first warzone or heavily militarized encampment. Not even her first in as many months. "This looks just like the fairgrounds outside Metropolis after the battle," she confides in her mentor, a bit more glumly.

And then there's the actual explanation from Colonel Body Spray. "The communication we got said... faeries and trolls? Any more info on that? Are we talking, like, Dungeons and Dragons style crap, or is there an identifiable cultural mythographic correlation?" OK so those are big words compared to her prior teenage lolspeak. Blame her mom.

She's keen to look at the pictures, though, and any other intel they have available. And, indeed, when Sera comments on them, she seizes on that. "You think so? So like, Norse stuff? Hmm."

But then Diana gives Cassie her marching(flying) orders. While she's all fun, games, and sass in her down time, on a mission, the rigorous Amazon training kicks in. There's not even a 'yes ma'am,' because that kind of acknowledgement is superfluous to their soroital command structure. She just leaps into flight behind Diana, but hangs back a bit, letting her boss take the vanguard while she watches the flanks, looking around for any sign of the civillians.

Namor has posed:
Namor stares up at Maxima, furrowing his brow slightly, then looks to Diana and Cassie. "Princess Diana, smaller Princess Diana." he greets Diana and Cassie. "I mostly came to say hello, but since I'm here I also intend to help."

"Ignore him, Princess Maxima. Also, I'm surprised you're here." he says as he also follows after Diana and the others, trident holstered back onto his back for nebulous but probably dumb reasons as he cracks his knuckles. "Little Diana, who educated you?"

Gunna Sijurvald has posed:
The forest is oddly quiet, for a battleground. Hyperion taking off alone makes for a quick but rough search, and though he does immediately hear a civilian breathing on a rooftop, he also hears rougher, deeper breaths. Oddly there isn't an UV signature; these things are blending in even to the point of their heat levels!

He spots a civilian on the roof, and panicked breathing tells of one running, far off on the other side of the zone. Running from what? Go find out perhaps, before they trip and turn, and scream...

"We'll hold the line," the Colonel says to Diana and Maxima. "Just be aware that if you can't save the town, we have alternatives. We'd just rather save someone over the other options, which include carpet bombing the area." He doesn't look as if he's joking. Because he isn't.

While some of the group look at the available intel, and some others speak amongst themselves, Diana and Sera move into the forest. Which is met immediately by a blue creature, spotted amongst the trees. It is fully ten foot tall and vaguely humanoid but that is where the similarities to human ends. The arms and legs are disproportionately long, there is no neck, and the mouths are filled with teeth that could be daggers. The eyes are small and beady, and they have fur all about.

And it runs, turning instantly to sprint back into the forest, toward the hidden tree trap that is set specifically for them both. A pair of trees pulled back, well hidden, and ready to swing out with immense force.

Trolls are more clever than they appear.

Diana Prince has posed:
A look back to the Colonel from Diana, ends with a stern. "Do not do that." with regard to any bombings of the first, or city. She has a 'look' given on her face that expresses a sheer distaste for such a tactic to be used.

As they advance onward, she makes sure to glance in Hyperion's direction, able to see him even when others might have only seen a blur fly away. She glances then to Cassie. "Keep your senses peeled for sounds of people in need." She asks of her young counterpart.

As they reach the forest, Diana's attention goes to Sera next, the information that she offers is respected and a light nod in appreciation is offered to her. "Can such creatures be reasoned with?" She asks. "I have little desire to kill, if a peace can be--" Of course, the presence of one of the 10-foot tall beasts just within the forest draws the Princess' attention away from further quesetions.

"Mm..." Diana mutters, her advanced senses tracking the tall beastly thing as it jaunts off. "I believe it is hoping we shall follow. Which of course... I plan to." And she does. The Princess isn't really concerned about traps, she'll spring them, willfully and gleefully.

"You have chosen a nice time to say 'Hello', your Highness." Diana says back to Namor as she moves onward into the forest to spring the trap.

Hyperion has posed:
    The goal is to Hyper-speed in fast enough that attackers wouldn't really have much chance to react. A civilian is plucked out of danger, and then another. Black and gold blurs the only sign that Hyperion was there. But there is one that he is almost too late to grab.
    That one is across the town.. and Hyperion whips between buildings, moving almost fast enough to warm up the air around him. He comes out into the open, spotting a troll with a clawed hand descending towards a civilian. So he puts on a burst of just a bit more speed and ... switching to the point of view of the troll... this soft and squishy food / toy is about to be his, his alone. Nobody else's, HIS! And suddenly, his hand stops.. unable to move. There's a puny soft and squishy standing there, holding his wrist in a small hand. Grrrr! That squishy has a black bodysuit and a golden cape... and eyes that are glowing. Wait, glowing ey.. ARGH!!!
    Atomic Vision lances out from Hyperion's eyes, burning into the Troll as he releases the thing's wrist... the blast sending the troll skidding along the street and leaving it there, shouldering and angry... but by the time it scrambles to its feet, the glowy one and the food / toy are gone... and Hyperion deposits yet another civilian at the evac spot before whooshing back in to find more.

Sera has posed:
Sera gives a small nod to Cassie, "Y..yes. Norse." She looks a little concerned that Earth seems to consider the history of Asgard as legend rather than fact. Though.. there are statues that look like her all over graveyards, so.. whatcha gunna do?

Sera sets down on the forest floor and peers at the big blue troll before them. She has never seen one up close before and is astonished. Gorgeous. Huge. She grins and nods her head, "So it's trolls then. How the heck did they get to Midgard er.. Earth?" She watches it running off and narrows her gaze a little. "Huh. Obviously a trap. Hey blue, come back I want to talk to you!," she says but doesn't chase.

"Well. Negotiation requires both sides to want to negotiate. Right now they have a forest, they have food.. all we're offering is to take all that away from them yeah? We're the jerks from their point of view," she says with a small smirk. "Is everybody here royalty or something?," she asks with amusement and says, "Wonder Woman right? if you want to set off their trap, would you care for a magical kinetic shield first?"

Sera holds out her hands and begins to sing in her alien tones and language and a glowing white outline surrounds Diana. Sera sings out again and in her left hand a shield appears, in her right a sword, both made of magical energy. "Here we go..."

Maxima has posed:
Maxima is done talking to the Colonel and doesn't even wait for his reply, she conveyed her opinion that the week should flee and that is that in her mind. A nod is given to Namor, but then when Sera takes wing to go investigate the Trolls Maxima is not far behind.

Taking to the skies again, she heads for the forest as she surveys the terrain below while skimming over the treetops, reaching out with her telepathic and empathic powers to locate the creatures below and determine their positions and formations as well as where any survivors might be. The beasts may be cunning, but Maxima is a master of the battlefield.

The first troll within range is met with the laser-like focused telekinetic force of Maxima's optical beams lancing through it and searing its flesh.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
"Cassie," supplies the 'smaller Diana,' sailing along beside Namor for a few moments. The comparison is hardly an insult to her... but it is pretty confusing from a pure communications standpoint! "Or, you know, Wonder Girl, like Wonder Woman but... duh." On the other question, she seems confused. "Educated? Well, Diana obviously, or do you mean like where I went to High School? Uh. Anyway I'll tell you later."

Because heroing!

There's no immediate civillians in the path they initially take, and some signs of screams and trouble from the town, so she veers off that way. Hyperion sweeps through and grabs a few of them, but the young demigoddess isn't exactly a slug, and she breaks off in another direction where some of the panicked screaming can be heard, checking in windows as she passes, or shifting any debris. "Hellooo? I'm here to help, if there's anyone here!" Along the way, she's unlooped her lasso so she has one of her better tools at the ready. Just in case.

"Or uh, if you're a faerie or troll or whatever, we can chat! One of my best friends is a kithotaur- no judgment!"

Namor has posed:
"I heard that you were responding to a distress call. It seemed like a reasonable time to take a break from my own investigation and perform diplomatic relations on the surface." Namor explains while continuing to folow Diana's lead, as she likely has a solid idea of what she does and doesn't want dead.

"Such an area reminds me of World War II, though I suppose this will lack the satisfaction of punching Nazis." He stares at Cassie as they walk, waiting to see the outcome of people attacking the creature without him intervening first. "Wonder Child, are you Princess Diana's daughter?"

Gunna Sijurvald has posed:
Deeper inside, Hyperion pulls out those that he can save. There are a few, but the unfortunate truth comes to light far too quickly. He rounds a corner and finds the massacre grounds, the main town's gathering area, and sees two trolls snacking on a place where...

Many trolls have been here, that much is obvious from the picked-over bones. Bodies half-eaten lay about with no regard for age, sex, or race. The trolls maws mangle the meat that they've found, and they swallow it down, surrounded by dozens of corpses.

And while he may deal with these two trolls, it is too late for those they've already slain. A picture found again and again in the town of sadness.

The trees swing forward at the expected time, enough force to plough an Asgardian backward. These enemies are used to super-powerful enemies, and all their traps are set to do maximum damage. The impact is loud, powerful, and how damaging it is is not my department. (;P) However, Maxima's beam slices up the troll's back, and it lands beside the eaten body of a human.

Then gets back to its feet, just as two other trolls leap from the woods at both Cassie and Namor, the ones in the back. Their claws move fast, and with enough power to potentially kill!

They were so, so very quiet! And fast, there's no BALANCE to these things! And...these ones aren't even blue! We were told lies, lies!

"GROOONK!" one yells, acknowledging the fight is on!

Hyperion has posed:
    Mark Milton, aka Hyperion is -not- Clark or even Kal. He sees the evidence of mass killing and he sees red. And not just because he can see infrared. He comes running towards the clearing.. his eyes zooming in on and taking mental photographs of the imagery of these creatures feasting upon their spoils.
    That is when his feet launch him skywards a couple hundred feet before he uses his power of flight to arrow himself down at the gaggle of hungry trolls. The town shakes from the impact when Hyperion strikes said ground in the middle of those feasting trolls.... a cloud of dust and dirt exploding outward in a way that shows the outer edge of the impact shockwave as it spreads out through the trolls... scattering them.
    When it all clears, Hyperion merely stands there in the middle of what was the feasting grounds. . . and then he vanishes behind a wall of Troll-fur, the trolls pouncing on him en mass.

Diana Prince has posed:
With Cassie darting off to do her Rescue Wonder stuff, Diana shows a faint smile to Namor as well. "It is good to have additional support here." she tells him. "These are unusual foes, even fore the Justice League." She adds before her stare darts back to SEra who erects the kinetic shield around her. "Thank you." She says with a sincerity to her voice.

Ultimately though, the draw of Diana's attention is on the trap that is about to come. When it is sprung, the Princess' advanced reflexes give her great warning. She leaps up to hover in the air above the swinging trees, only to come down upon them just as they were to connect with her! A powerful trap, for sure, but her Godly-given abilities are able to push her over the edge of danger!

With sword and shield ready, Diana spies the trolls leaping from the flora, she ducks beneath one (that assuredly bounces off of Sera's magically gifted shield!) then slices her sword up to intercept another before it can land upon her! The trolls wanted a fight, well they've found someone willing to dance!

In this moment, the Princess is going to be in full, slash, cut, shield-bash, and Sparta-kick any threats that come her way!

Sera has posed:
Sera would normally be hesitant to go cutting in to creatures, but given they supposedly regenerate, well, a few cuts to the knee can't hurt to slow them down. They're fast after all. She smirks and lifts up in the air, staying a few paces back from Diana, "So if we want to negotiate with them, ie: rehome them. We're going to have to convince them staying here isn't worth the hassle. And I believe that the Arch Angel Ysmin's song says about them, that a sound beating is behooved." The last little bit she actually sing-songs.

She watches with fascinating as Diana takes the trap full on. She's pretty sure she would have been knocked back. Angel's are tougher than Asgardians, but she was never trained to be a warrior. It's all self taught. With Diana going in for the slash and cut, she charges in to flank them the moment they put their attention on Wonder Woman. Her magical sword not burning as bright as it could, she doesn't need to relinquish them of their limbs after all, just wound.

"Sorry trollitrolls, Midgard is not a nice home for you, but I'm sure we can find you some place nice to go - such as Jotunheim!," she calls out to them as she moves gracefully amongst the fray.

Maxima has posed:
Reaching out with her empathic senses, Maxima searches for the bloodlust and hunger of the trolls, these beasts that would feast upon the humans of this town. Once the largest concentration of them is found she flies straight for them with blinding speed seeking out nothing less than the greatest challenge she can find.

Once she reaches them, she unleashes her own whirlwind of violence. Blades of pure energy appear in her hands as she slices, kicks, stabs, and cuts a bloody swath through those she has decided are her enemies. Maxima apparently subscribes to the Korben Dallas school of negotiation.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
"Daughter?!" Ohboy. "Haha no, I mean, not that it wouldnt- but no, my mom works at a museum." Which may explain why her vocabulary expands by a few syllables on certain anthropological topics. "Me and Diana, we're, well, sisters," maybe literally, definitely in arms, and far too big of a topic to get into detail. "She's been my mentor for a bit. Eventually, I started training with all the Amazons."

Origin exposition aside, she has searching to do, although she seems to turn little more to turn up than bodies, only fortunately missing out on the Main Buffet in the center of town. Yet soon, even this is interrupted: because ohnoes Trolls!

Apparently, all Cassie's verbal declarations of mythological ally-ship are in vain, although it probably isn't too much of a surprise. Who's even heard of a kithotaur? She didn't really have time to explain that one, and it's a... whole thing. So, the troll is not impressed, and instead wants to do things with claws.

OK then!

The Young Wonder is quick to action, although her approach reflects a little less in the way of brute smashery than usual. Those claws look /sharp/, and she treats mythical creatures seriously. So rather than rushing to clash, she leaps backward, and perhaps for the best: with the Troll's surprising speed, they still rake across her abdomen, leaving a few slashes through her dark top, revealing flesh - and just the barest streaks of crimson blood - beneath. She winces, but keeps her wits, using the distance for what it was intended: to give her space for the lasso, giving it a quick twirl and then launching it at the offending limb.

Namor has posed:
"Well, if your sister sees fit, tell her that you're more than welcome to gain an Atlantean education, as I have great respect for her." Namor starts to float into the air, looking around. "I'll scout, mostly because now I've become curious about what these things actually are. Good luck, Wonder Child."

Then he flies off, going to look around the area.

Gunna Sijurvald has posed:
The first thing to note is that the trolls are, by and large, much bigger than the one that they LET you see. The first one was smallish at only ten feet. The larger ones could be mistaken for Ents, if you get the Tolkien reference. Their furs vary in colour wildly, actually tinted at times to let them blend in more perfectly, but they lean towards reddish-browns.

They also take slashes, strikes, and brutality with all the thrill that comes of being true monsters. They're immensely strong, some of them managing to make anyone (not counting Hyperion) struggle.

Maxima, racing off to find the largest cluster, comes across the place where Hyperion is being buried in trolls. It is the largest cluster, thus bringing them together and making things easier to type. Shut up, I'm allowed.

The monsters seem to be trying to pummel him to death, and when they bite it is with massive effect. One sees Maxima coming and leaps at her, the power behind the bite that tries to take off her face brutal, supernatural, and ...you know, just don't get bitten. It sucks.

And amidst it all, Hyperion hears something. Diana catches a hint of it, and perhaps others (I barely know your characters, sorry. Step in if it makes sense.) A heartbeat, slow and human. Just one. For all the background noise, there seems to be so few survivors, with chaos all about everyone...and yet, there is one who seems calm, in the woods.

Not too far off either.

Hyperion has posed:
    Buried under a pile of trolls, Hyperion hears that sound. His head tilts to one side and he scowls. Suddenly, he is less worried about punishing this group. So he flares his eyes up once more, bursting forth enough heat to melt titanium steel... more than three thousand degrees Fahrenheit. He turns his head left and then right, clearing a swath of the creatures before he rockets skyward once more.
    Up over the group he goes, angling to arrow straight towards that calm heartbeat. He is worried that it is whomever caused this, summoned the trolls or whatnot. He rushes towards that heartbeat and slows to stop at the last possible moment.....

Diana Prince has posed:
With swift slashes and thrusting stabs having less than a desirable effect, Diana's tactics shift. Her shield bashes are relentless, and as some of the troll-attacks bounce off of the kinetic shield that Sera provided, another strikes against Diana's shield, sending it twirling off into the distance.

It's there-after that the Princess' hand snaps down to her hip to retrieve her lasso, causing it to spring to life as a a golden glowing length of divinely powered rope!

The unbreakable lasso swirls through the air, humming as it sweeps out to twirl around one of the trolls throats, who is then pulled directly in to the edge of Diana's shining sword! The Princess attempts to sweep it clean through the Troll's neck, as she jumps in an arch to take her up to its tall shoulders, then back down to land amongst more of them!

With her golden lasso trailing behind her, Diana calls out. "They may have a leader!" She shouts to the others within ear-shot of her voice. "One calmer, observing! There!" She shouts in the direction-of said possible troll.

Sera has posed:
Sera notices the bodies.. here and there.. eaten. And then, by the Goddess.. the blue one was a small one!? This thing is HUGE. Okay NOW the lyrics to the song make so much more sense. She gulps and then calls out, "Cover me."

With a gentle rhythm beating of her wings she holds her sword up high and sings to it. Long lines of white magic pulse from it and then curve and knot together, over and over again, forming a tight ball of white magical light built entirely from these white lines. It's under a lot of pressure and she sits it at the tip of her sword.

"I know I'm going to regret this.. but here goes," she says and jumps up in to the air and makes her approach. She knows they're fast, she knows they're going to hit hard, so she makes that part of the plan. She dives and stabs a troll in to the side. On a person that'd be death, but on a troll? not so much.

The ball of magic gets pushed inside the creature and then, as she expected, she is back handed by the troll and goes flying through the forest, ending her trip against the trunk of a tree with an Ooomphff that takes the wind out of her. She drops to the ground and gags for air, a touch of blood oozing from beneath her armor. "Ouch," she weezes.

The ball within the troll shivers inside of it and then erupts, the long lines of magic suddenly uncoiling like a blender inside of it so fast it is like an explosion.. which results in Troll giblets and blood bursting out everywhere.

Sera lifts up a finger, wanting to celebrate that kill, or even respond to Diana's claim of a calm one, but she doesn't quite have the breath for it juust yet.

Maxima has posed:
The troll attempting to bite Maxima's face off is in for the surprise of its life, as short as that may be. Moving so fast human eyes can barely keep up, one energy blade is thrust through the bottom of the trolls jaw with the point emerging from the top of its head, while she spins gracefully with complete disregard for gravity rising into the air at an impossible angle and bringing the other energy blade up and around taking its head clean off.

Rising above the fray again, she's grinning as if the alien warrior princess is enjoying this skirmish. Flying yet higher she soars up and then divebombs another troll at high speed with the intent of knocking the creature off of its feet and continuing to plow its head straight down into the earth.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Cassie continues with the not-brute-force approach with her troll. As 'Little Diana,' she is decidedly NOT up to her mentor's near-unrivaled level of strength (at least not yet!), even if her own is staggering in most contexts. Yet in her jokes earlier about Amazon experience with creatures of myth - which include many beings of fantastic strength, not to mention lethal poison, stone-inflicting gazes, and all manner of other grievous ills - there is a nugget of serious training: on Themyscira, that old 'bigger they are, harder they fall' addage can be a very practical one, and Amazonian fighting relies on skill and tactics above all. And so she deploys an ancient technique...

OK lets be real, she actually tries something from Star Wars, but she'll -tell- Diana it was Amazon training later.

... So around and around the troll she flies, dodging strikes, while looping the coils of her lasso about the creature. While she starts high, she quickly dips under a swing and does another loop at leg level, swings around to its rear side, and then places a double kick into its back. And like the fearsome AT-AT, the mighty troll falls.

Which leaves it not very injured, but struggling quite a bit. Elsewhere in the forest, Diana is also showing off lasso skills. But where she loops-n-stabs, her protege takes a different approach, testing the creature's elemental resistances in good D&D fashion. Which is to say, she sparks up her lasso with divine lightning, and keeps it going until the troll stops spasming. Dead? Stunned? Meh!

Once it's down, she responds to her mentor's distant rallying cry. With a jerk of her hand, the lasso conveniently loosens itself and re-coils in her grip, then she spins about and launches toward the place where everyone is gathering.

Gunna Sijurvald has posed:
Things are becoming, if anything, less chaotic but more terrifying. Diana has found the cost to be paid for handling these things; they regenerate from damage, too fast, too well, so simply punching them or hitting them with trees is of no effect. Cuts are worse than useless, they simply enrage the beasts. And they're learning, they seem to be picking up combat tactics from whomever they fight!Odd how beheading fixes all of those issues, even without the fire sword that Sera is wielding. It seems to help, a direct line of cuts similar to the fire beams sent out by several others. They don't heal, so the damage is much more lasting and debilitating.

Sera's bomb....while disgusting, it also leaves the troll laying on the ground, still moving, still alive. Yes, they can live without their own guts apparently, though that has got to be the most awful way to spend an afternoon. It leaves her without an opponent, and as Diana beheads one, then another, she also only has one troll, fleeing into the woods, trying to run.

And really, there's no way that Cassie's is going anyplace. She may have to wash the lasso later, but troll stench comes out in time. The troll is struggling though, and suddenly pauses. It whimpers, not fighting back. Looks as if they're not just beasts: one of them gave up!

Maxima is doing so much damage now that the area is spilled with green blood. There isn't much left for her to do, save to hunt down the last of the trolls. They're on the run now. For some reason they've decided that the team set against them is not worth fighting. Score one for negotiation.

Oh, and over by Hyperion, who flies in to that heartbeat, that moment in the woods that Diana thinks is the Troll Boss? He finds...another troll. Sitting hunched, eating someone on the ground. It has an arm and it's stuffing food into its mou...something's wierd. It doesn't have the right heartbeat, it's not like that corpse is alive. There's gaps in the fur, with pink skin beneath. And as it looks up there's a face inside the mouth.

"GAAAAARGH!" a voice calls out, echoing, and the littlest troll leaps up, swinging down at Hyperion with what appears to be an axe. At his invulnerable, impervious body.

And he gets smashed to the ground by the flat of it, as the troll girl, girl wearing troll skin, stands over him with a roar to the skies, and brings up the axe.

And starts to bring it down at his face, blade-first.

Yes, he felt that. And it hurt.

Hyperion has posed:
    Nigh Invulnerability is one thing, and if it was the -only- thing Hyperion had going for him, he would definitely be a dead man here. Even with the speed his brain was working at, he hesitated. He couldn't make sense of things.

    Shaking his head, he lifted a hand JUST in time to get that axe slammed into him. His mouth even opened, and he got out, "I wouldn't d.." and then SLAM! He's down on his back, staring up at the sky. How? HOW?!

    Granted, Hyperion has yet to -experience- magic, and it seems he has even more in common with the Kryptonian of Steel in his vulnerability to it.

    Forutunately for him, he does have more than strength and toughness going for him. As the blade comes down, singing as it rushes through the air... it stops three inches from his face. His hands are on the haft, holding it from his face where they clasp it JUST beneath the blade. "Ow." he mutters finally. And that's how everyone else finds him.. with a shiner on his face, and his hands holding the axe from his body... granted, the littlest troll is not the weakest troll. Nope. So he is actually exerting himself with body muscles and anti-gravitons to keep that blade from his face... it takes all of his focus to do it.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana is on her way to where Hyperion is, with the Troll with a unique heartbeat. She's unable to outright 'fly' to him, so her pattern through the air is directing her to bounce from tree to tree, bursting through branches with her golden lasso trailing behind her leaving a glow of divine energy lighting her wake!

She lands on the soft ground not far from where she sees Hyperion, and the troll girl, engaged in a fight. Her glowing rope sweeps up and snaps OUT toward the axe in the girl's hand, to wrap around its handle!

With a yank of her powerful arms, Diana attempts to pull the axe from the girl's grasp, and disarm!

Sera has posed:
Sera stares with wide eyes at the gutless troll. She did that. She knew it'd be disgusting but she also thought it'd kill. Apparently not! she whistles softly and shakes her head, "Note to self.. bigger magic required." She looks over to Diana beheading them and then nods her head, "Or behead them.. that works."

She pushes herself up and winces, then beats her magical wings and rises back in to the air, moving toward Hyperion and the smol-trol. She lands out of range of a swing from that seized axe and says, "Whoa. Hey there. Don't run away like the others -- my name is Sera." This doesn't look like a troll.. well, it looks like a troll mix or something. Sera is confused for sure. "You're not like the others are ya.."

Maxima has posed:
With her foes felled, Maxima moves to follow Hyperion in the direction of where the leader is said to be. She descends from above to watch Hyperion and Wonder Woman battling another small troll girl. For now though she hangs there in the air not intervening, it's already two versus one after all, no need to make it any more unfair.

"This one is much smaller." She says from where she hovers, stating the ever so obvious, "Do they very in size this much? A most peculiar species." So helpful.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Somewhere mid-flight, Cassie smells it. The lasso itself is mostly impervious, so presumably not much can seep into it, but it can still pick up a lot of gunk on the surface, including a good dusting of lightning-fried troll... uh, bits? And then there's her clothes. She sniffs at the air, then finally even a tugs at the front of her top to give it a whiff. "Ugh, gross."

So that's going to be fun on the flight back!

"Hey, I left one zapped out back that way, I think it might-" She arrives mid action, however, just in time to see Diana's lasso fly. Uncertain of the situation, she has no more than a second to ready her own lasso (gross bits and all), and little more, ready to assist as her mentor may require.

Gunna Sijurvald has posed:
The eyes dart about as the smol-trol (I am so keeping that) tries to imbed her axe into Hyperion's face. She actually nicks him, barely a drop of blood, before the yellow tentacle lashes in and whips her weapon away! She's yanked off of Hyperion in the process, not wanting to give up her Fang, and snarls at Diana with all the ferocity of a warrior crossed with an attack dog, low in her stance, hands spread wide.

She holds out her hand at Diana, as Sera and Maxima both show up, and the axe...moves. It whips itself from Diana's hand, flying toward the troll girl's own extended one, the magic that made it able to harm Hyperion also clearly able to call it back to her hand! The runes on it are clearly Asgardian, the tool is dwarven-made! Sera's eyes might spot this, or Diana's.

As the weapon slams into her outstretched hand though, she looks at Sera. Surrounded, outnumbered, she steps away from Hyperion, and the little face inside the little skull she's wearing bares its teeth. The girl looks to be no more than five foot tall. But the language that comes from her lips sounds like teeth gnashing.

Unless you have Allspeak. ~Asgard wench. You'll not kill me today!~ She stalks Sera, ignoring the others. There's no fear in her, this is a Warrior!

One who is speaking Jotun. And who is leaving her back open to, you know, basically everyone.

Cassie, on her own, might note that there IS one troll left, the one that just ran off. But really you can grab it later.

Hyperion has posed:
    Blood. Blood? BLOOD?! Hyperion lies there a moment, and turns his head towards the confrontation. He uses his senses to pierce the veil of that shroud of a Jotun disguise. Then he snaps a hand out, "Do not harm this one!" he calls out, though.. it's not like he commands anyone here. "She is different! A young girl! Raised by trolls?"
    Then he gets to his feet and just stands there, wary of the axe of course. "Do you speak English young one?" he asks. And yet.. his ears pick out the sounds of other trolls. "Damn." he remarks. "I will go and deal with what remains of the trolls." he says before vanishing once more. His plan being to use that Atomic heat eye blast insanity to just melt any other troll he sees.

Sera has posed:
Sera holds up her hands. Her shield and sword disappearing in a twinkle of tiny motes of light. "I am not Asgardian. I'm an Angel of Heven. I have no desire to kill you either," she says back to the smol-trol and then says, "Though you are out numbered, these warriors are as might as the angels of the hunt. They are as mighty as Angela, and some of them perhaps even as mighty as the Queen of Heven herself."

Her hands lift up to indicate to the others not to attack, "And then there is me, ..and that Asgardian axe you possess. I can see you have a bond with it, so don't give me a reason to break it." She nods thusly, it is not a question of can on Sera's face, but if.

"Your friends have attacked Midgard and must answer for their crime. Come willingly and I will see you get a fair hearing littlest warrior," she says.. okay so 'littlest' isn't the best translation but it's not like she's ever talked to a troll before.

Sera can't help but try and identify that 'helmet' she's wearing. What a curious person. Unlike the bigger trolls this one is at least willing to talk, "But be mindful, the citizens of this world will incinerate this forest with the brightness of a small sun if you choose to fight on." And it is now that she offers her arm to the stranger, "My name is Sera." Though, she is very mindful of that axe and just how fast the trolls have been so far.

Maxima has posed:
Maxima continues to float in the air for a few moments longer, but seeing as Sera seems able to communicate with the strange small creature Maxima instead turns her attention to those trolls that managed to flee.

How does the Earth saying go? They can run but they'll only die tired. Reaching out with her psychic senses again she finds their minds and zips off after them to assist Hyperion on the merry hunt.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Cassie does not run off on her own chasing anything! As far as she knows, there could be lots more. Oh, and there goes Maxima. But no, for the moment, she simply rallies back to Diana's side, landing nearby as she gets the axe away from the minitroll. Or troll girl. In fact, she says the painfully obvious, just in case anyone missed it: "Uh, I think that's some kid wearing a troll."

-Kid- she says, like she's the old one!

She does not, of course, speak Jotungardian or any related tongue, nor is she even her mom to sit there and make guesses about proto-Norse cognates or whatevertheheck. However, she nonetheless approaches on Di's flank, not aggressively, but going for her own YOUTH version of the Wonder-brand 'kill them with kindness' approach, all bright and bubbly: "Yo," she offers, smiling and holding up a hand to just... wave. Probably everyone understands a wave, right?

Plus, as previously noted, of everyone here, she looks about as fearsome as a Mickey Mouse club member.

And then she side-glances over at Di. "That thing she did with the axe, doesn't your blonde boy-toy do that? And he's, like, a Norse sort of dude." Apparently she picked up some /ideas/ about Diana and Thor at all their 'joint diplomatic functions.' Eyebrow waggle. "Got him on speed dial?"

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana watches the axe get pulled back via the dwarven crafting magics. She's seen this kind of thing before... from a certain Asgardian Prince. The Lasso of Hestia snaps back to HER hand, and coils itself around her leather half-wrapped palm. She clutches the golden glowing rope as the others tentatively move in to speak to the 5'0" troll female.

As Sera speaks, Diana's eyes look off in the direction of the singularly remaining troll that she can hear moving through the foliage at quite a clip, she monitors the direction, at least until she notes Maxima moving to deal with them.

Diana is now softly moving in a wide a perimeter around the Smol Troll. Her lasso is ready in her right hand and her sword is angled down so that its pointed tip is brushing softly against the leaves of the flora around them.

She's observing, clearly.

Cassie gets a glance, and Diana shows her sister a faint smile. "He will hear of this." She softly replies to the young warrior.

Gunna Sijurvald has posed:
The skull, hiding her face, has some tactical advantages. For one it's impossible to read her face if you can't see it. But from her body language, and the ways she turns subtly when others move around her, the little troll seems fully aware that she's surrounded. She lowers her axe just a tiny bit, but the most experienced fighters would notice the way she does. She's bluffing, she's ready to use that thing no matter how low it gets.

Snarls and snaps from her mouth come out easily. It's speech, that much is clear, but it sounds like insanity. ~Do not threaten me or my Fang,~ she says, that threat hovering in the air. ~Meat,~ she says, not motioning to her meal. If she's referring to the greater threat or the smaller, the subtlety is lost.

The closer step by Cassie gets her turning, her whole body suddenly. It appears that she no longer considers Sera to be the only one here. Perhaps it was simply her believing Sera to be an Asgardian that made her so firmly the target. The snarl catches in her teeth though, as she sees the smallish one. She seems to frown, somehow uncertain. Then she leans back, body arching, and screams, "TROLL!" to the skies, a wailing howl that sounds as bestial as words can be.

And in the distance, two heroes send red beams into the woods below, causing death to the family that raised her. Is it any wonder she's hostile?

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Of course, Cassie isn't so careless as not to consider the young woman dangerous, and when the Troll-wearing girl turns toward her, she is ready to defend herself if she must, to draw in her open arms and ready her bracers for defense. But her stance, to what extent she can, downplays that combativeness. She won't make the first hostile move. "Hey, it's OK, we don't want to hurt you." And she doesn't. But...

...then again, Amazons are cunning: while she holds out her hands, makes herself visible, she knows where Diana is as well. Offering herself as a bit of a distraction so that Wondie can pull off the takedown? That's sidekicking 101, right out of the 'dress up your Robin in bright colors so the badguys shoot him first' playbook.

But even she feels some empathy for the curdling Troll-howl that the girl throws up. "Maybe she's like Mowgli. Kinda sad, if you think about it-"

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana continues her slow pacing, her eyes locked on that of the girl with the bone helmet, her own hair loose about her otherwise bare shoulders and flecked with leaves and twigs from the trees that she'd burst through in great haste just to get to this spot...

She watches as the communication angle does not seemingly have the desired effect of talking the young Smol Troll girl down, so the Princess takes initiative. Her right hand snaps up, the lasso leaps from her palm and sweeps through air before lashing out to ensnare the Smol Troll! It wraps several times around her small frame before the Princess is lunging at her in the blink of an eye, to sweep her legs out from under her and put herself on to the girl's back.

It happens quick, it happens with grace and agility,

Cassie provides a valuable distraction, and the moment she sees it, she takes it. Diana moves to take the girl down and wrap her limbs up, with the unbreakable bonds of the Godly rope gifted to her from the Divines of her homeland!

It doesn't result in the most glamorous positions for the young warrior girl, by any means, her hands are behind her back, her legs bent upward so that her wrists are nearly completely bound to her ankles.

It's done in the near blink of an eye, a matter of seconds, and Diana stands up again there-after. She exhales, and looks down to the girl. "We will take you to people who can help you. Of that, I promise you." She raises her eyes up to the others, her dark hair a mess and nearly fully concealing her face to all. "What happened here was a tragedy. A terrible thing. We must remain as long as we are able to give as much back to the people lost here today, as we are able."

Sera has posed:
Sera frowns a moment as it seems negotiations have failed again. But then Diana is whipping that lasso around and has her. "Or that.. that works too." She lowers her arms and smiles. It seems they are done for now. "Someone should call the Asgardian embassy to take the trolls that are still in pieces back to Jotunheim, or an Asgardian cell. I'm not sure Earth need be burdened with the complexities of creatures such as these."

Gunna Sijurvald has posed:
In the end, the human troops come in to take over. They choose to do as they choose to do, their world having changed due to horror and devastation. The trolls are gone, and the smallest one must be addressed.

Considering the response she made to being tied up was ~I will nail your heads to my floor, set fire to them, and feed your charred remains to my sisters!~, there is a great deal of time to come before she's fit for polite society. However...

Politically and legally, the troll girl must be put someplace for now. The Raft is an option, and the Colonel insists it will hold her until she can be properly taken care of. Asgardian jail is another. But for now it is over; Maxima and Hyperion return, slightly less joyful for their duties being done.

And the group nurses wounds more mental than physical. The axe, claimed, to be given to whomever it is rightfully owned. The girl?

Well, you'll want to get that lasso back.