5124/Double Tap

Double Tap
Date of Scene:	11 February 2021
Location:	New York Financial District
Synopsis:	Typewriter got away with about $10 million in cash. A few tarantuls were scuffed up. The zoo gets another Hippo. Bolo's dopple is toast.
Cast of Characters:	Jovian Anderson, Tandy Bowen, Gwen Stacy, Tyrone Johnson, Viola Fiore
Tinyplot:	[[Log Tinyplot::Fortune and Glory]]

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Jovian Anderson has posed:
Jovian has, thanks to a few whispered words to contacts, gotten the jump on his doppleganger, who has been stalking the Rotan Bank, a small famiy owned facility which has several centuries of experience in botique large safety deposit boxes and bluechip investment banking. His dopple has been casing the place and Jovian has been spying on him, fully expecting the man to rob the bank and being ready to react when he does. He has even notified a few law enforcement contacts to be ready to respond in a moment's notice when it happens.

Unfortunately, this allowed other individuals to find out that this was going to happen as well. And so as a result other plans are made.

The robbery did go down, but instead of a shadow tentacle loon, a well armed crew of mercs wearing animal masks have come into the bank locking it down with moderate precision. The doppleganger simply walked into the vault, opened the safety deposit box and said something directly into the camera and was prepared to walk out when armed gunmen took the entrances.

"This is a Robbery!"

There, is of course, the natural inclination to immediately comply and fall to the floor hoping (quite reasonably) that a city full of heroes will save them.

Sirens are already audible in the distance and the street is being locked down in record time.

None of this stops the harmless man with the yellow fedora and briefcase from walking into Greater Trust and Hope bank ACROSS the street whcih is much newer and much larger in the amount of cash reserves it keeps.

Tandy Bowen has posed:
Across the street on a roof top is Cloak and Dagger. The pair were out on a patrol to chase down a lead in regards to this Opal drug that has been making it's way through the blocks. The bank robbery though have caught their attention as they watch with curiosity.

This is not typically 'their' gig, but now that they are members of The Defenders, the pressure to branch out has been tugging at them. Taking in a deep breath, Tandy glances over her shoulder at the tall dark skinned man bathed in the shadows.

"So .. this is it, huh? This is the moment we.. uh.. become superheroes." She licks her lips a bit in thought. "Let's teleport into the mainroom. I'll flash bang and you sweep up the closest gunman?"

In her left hand, a ball of light begins to form as she curls her fingers around it to shape it into a long dagger. "We should try and work on an exit strategy for the innocents. Maybe you can get them out while I distract the gunmen."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Danger.

It was ringing clearly and strong while Ghost Spider was swinging across the high buildings of Manhattan, near the financial district. And no better district for a bank robbery. Oh yes, Gwen had her experience with those. Places with money, it was a temptation for people. Some desperate. Others just .., thugs.

She swings closer to the area, spotting the crowd being moved away. That's the spot. But no good in going through a window so instead she --- who's that on the roof?

She swings and flips, landing gracefully near Tandy and Tyrone. "So, we going in?" clearly she tagging in to go along with the other two. "I will disable the guns."

She flexes her hands together, checking her wrist launchers. Yea, they would do.

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
Well, maybe tugging on his partner. Cloak is about as stubborn as a mule being asked to walk down an icy canyon trail and as single-minded as if it saw a feast laid out behind it.

"Not alone I can't evacuate them, not without hurting them." He points out to Tandy as he looks over to the scene as it rapidly develops. "So leave the gunmen to me. They're no threat. Startle them and I can make quick work of it. Protect the people until we--"

"Ah. You." Says Cloak as he looks towards Gwen. "Bullets can't hurt me. Leave them to me." He says gruffly to her before looking back down to the bank. "You should be able to secure anything that they're trying to make off with."

Viola Fiore has posed:
Viola Fiore was drawn to the bank by, of all things, a need to do some banking. The Italian-American woman in her early twenties is dressed rather fashionably, a pair of slacks and a turtleneck, with a leather jacket overtop, one with a lining for a little extra warmth.

She removes her gloves as she enters the bank, taking a moment to look around get her bearings. She walks over to the desk at front that is there to help guide people like herself. "I have a meeting with Mr. Henderson," she tells the woman there, and has the man pointed out to her. "Thank you," Viola says and then makes her way over to where his desk sits, in the open but away from the tellers.

The young woman takes a seat as she's greeted by Mr. Henderson. "Miss Fiore, I was so glad to get your call. So you're thinking about transferring an account here? We'd be happy to help you through the process."

Viola smiles to the man and says, "I do have a few questions first-" And at that moment the gunmen break in. Viola's eyes widen and she slips out of her chair, down to the ground, as does Mr. Henderson.

Jovian Anderson has posed:
The gunmen are aware of the threat of super heroes but have been well paid ahead of time. Any loot they get is worth it. Jovian himself doesnt spot the people on the roof and move slowly, but does phase through the wall into the bank vault by running into it. The Doppleganger doesnt immediately notice him, as he holds a small gold sphere with odd markings on it and looks into the camera, "I Jovian Anderson claim the dyson egg. I-"

Jovian doesnt give him a chance to finish as he throws down the flash bang grenade, surrounding the entire vault to fill with light and sending both writhing on the floor in searing pain.

The robbers, of course, hear the grenade go off and one of them, a trigger happy idiot, shoots at the ceiling to try to assert dominance on the now screaming crowd. The police arrive outside and form a solid line in the now cleared street. Its almost like they had a chance to practice this.

This is SUPPOSED to be easy.

Meanwhile, the man with the yellow fedora in the bank across the street, unknown to most of the parties in the first target, pulls up his sleeve which bears a small QWERTY keepboard tattoo and taps 'T' which suddenly dozens of holes open up and tarantula's scurry out of them. It takes people a few moments to notice but all hell breaks loose as panic sets in AGAIN as people try to get the confused and agitated spiders off of themselves while Yellow Fedora Guy walks right for the other vault.

Tandy Bowen has posed:
Glancing ovr to the Ghost Spider, Tandy finds herself smiling. Back Up! "Hey, Ghost. Yeah, we're going in." She reaches out to slide her hand into the other hero's, giving it a squeeze as a ring of light forms around them. "Just hold on to me. This is also going to be really uncomfortable."

As she leads her into the darkness, the world around them is soon snuffed out to one of an inky cold void. The sound of screams can be heard in the background. Pleas of help. Sobs of pain. Terror. Fright. And in the far back? A low rumbling growl that echoes all around them. "I have you." Her voice assures as she burns brighter to chase the ghosts away.

"Let's go, Cloak."

Viola Fiore has posed:
Viola huddles on the floor, getting her chair between herself on the gunmen, but not assuming it is going to stop a bullet. She looks over to Mr. Henderson and mouths the words, "What should we do?"

He seems more afraid than she is, making a shush gesture and hiding under his desk, leaving Viola out there on her own where she's more easily seen.

The flashbang goes off and Viola gives a startled scream. Just a short one before she stifles it. But she's not the only one, some of the other customer's reacting far worse. Viola looks towards the flash of light that came out of the vault, looking for signs of what the explosion was, not recognizing a flash bang by sound or sight necessarily.

As the gunman opens fire, but just on the roof, Viola slips a hand into the inside pocket of her leather jacket. She pulls out a tiny vial, thump popping the top and then when no one is looking her way, bringing it to her lips to swallow the contents, though it's hidden by her hand the whole time.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Yes, me. Ghost Spider." Gwen says back to the grumpy Cloak, opening her arms to the side, "Better remember the name, feel like we will be meeting more in the future." she clearly doesn't appear too worried about teleporting into a room full of thugs, or about fighting them. As for being shot at, "I prefer that they don't get to shoot at all. Stray shots can find innocents and--" there goes that danger sense ringing again. "What the fudge?"

But no time to focus on that right now. They are going on a triiiip. She holds on to Tandy's hands, "We will have to move fast. There's something else going on here."

She takes in a breath and focuses, doing her best to ignore the pleas of the voices inside Cloak's darkness.

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
Fast. Cloak can do fast. While the momentary passage into darkness feels like it may be a quick eternity in Hell, they're across the street to the building beyond in less than the span of a heartbeat. The gunshot is still ringing in the air.

The man's appearance is heralded by a hiss of shadow and ice cold air, and even as he disgorges Dagger and the Ghost Spider from the recesses of his cloak, the shadowman is moving to zero in on gunmen and put himself between them and the two heroines. The growl of the beast that started Between ends from between the bared teeth of Cloak.

He's not one to waste time. No sooner would Tandy light up the interior, then he'll be rushing for the gunmen to sweep them up into shadow.

Jovian Anderson has posed:
Two of the gunmen are sucked into the pocket dimension immediately, since they had this odd theory that being back to back they could give each other cover. It might be under some circumstances but in the mean time the two of them are more than confused as they shriek. "Bob...I'm afraid of the dark"

"No NAMES you idiot, this isnt our first rodeo!"

"Its my first time being sucked into another dimension!"

Meanwhile the other two FREAK OUT as the two of them are taken up one of them reaches for a hostage to grab them as a human shield but nowhere near as fast as the heroes. The other fires a shotgun right at Gwen and Tandy, unlikely to hit since the blast of light immeiately blinds both of them. The irony, is that they equipped for things like this but expected time to prepare and adapt to the hero. Teleportatoin can be annoying that way.

In the vault of the First Bank, Bolo recovers faster than Shadow Bolo, and is quickly zip tied and collared with a borrowed meta dampner...and much to Bolo's surprise...IT WORKS! Shadow Bolo slowly recovers from the stun as Jovian realizes that something is going on outside and looks outside the vault, moving outside.

To no one in particular, Yellow Fedora smiles and says, "Call me Typewriter."

The two guards on either side of the vault look skeptical and one says, "Stay where you are." The other radios in the Spiders in the bank vault but Dispatch things that, like everyone outside they are calling about the FIRST bank and lets him know officers are on the way.

Typewriter types "G" on his arm and a disk opens in the ceiling as small pink gas descends causing the guards to collapse unconcious.

The tarantulas are doing a much better job than a trained crew and there is total mayhem in the main bank as several of the crowd spills out into the back of the line of cops near the front of the first bank, distracting many of them and even knocking a few over.

Tandy Bowen has posed:
As she leaps out of the dark, Dagger is on the move. She lets go of Gwen's hand, throwing her arms upwards. "Your reign of evil is over! From the darkness we come, Cloak and Dagger! Now, you will FACE THE LIGHT!" Her hands give a bright *burst* forward and into the faces of the four gunmen.

With two swept inside by her partner, she leaps over a desk, flinging a blade of light towards another as the shotgun blast takes out a huge chunk of wood and metal inches where once stood. She moves with the grace of a dancer and the speed of a runner, looking to draw their attention like a glowing angel to allow Gwen to strike from the other side.

She's like a zippy firefly, but angry.

Viola Fiore has posed:
Viola's eyes widen as suddenly there are costumed individuals in the bank with the bad guys. She starts to burn the pewter flakes that she swallowed from the vial, hardening her body in case a stray gunshot-

There's a stray gunshot. Viola ducks her head and covers it with her hands as the shotgun blast goes off. Thankfully it doesn't hit her, though Viola is peppered with bits of wood where it shredded part of a nearby desk.

Poor Mr. Henderson shrieks like a girl.

Viola looks over and spots the man with the shotgun. The flakes of steel she swallowed start to burn in her stomach and she pushes on the shotgun. It is forced directly away from her as if 100 pounds of force was being exerted on it.

Unfortunately she feels that same hundred pounds of force, sliding a bit across the floor before she reaches out and grabs the leg of Mr. Henderson's desk.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen doesn't have that kind of flashy powers. What she does have going for her is speed. Speed and an unerring accuracy with those webs due to her spatial awareness. It only takes her the split of a second when they get out to figure out where the thugs are, the weapons, and where to shoot.

"Pizza delivery." Gwen announces as they drop in, just a brief grimace as the two thugs are pulled into that darkness.

And then she is moving, faster than any human should be able to, body bending and twisting as she jumps to a wall, then the ceiling, evading any stray shots before dropping in on the remaining men. And with them being blind and also with their attention on the dramatic Dagger she strikes!

She pounces on the man that has just had their shotgun removed by Viola, "We hope you enjoy your meal." which apparently is a punch to the man's mouth to send him sprawling. As for the second, after being blind, well it's just a matter of webbing him against the wall, both hands turned towards him and attempting to glue him to the nearest wall.

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
The two men sound entirely unaware of what's hitting them. They're teleported, but to a dead end of darkness. Their destination is not highly reviewed on Yelp, and for good reason.

Cloak makes the entire thing as impassive and easy as a tiger swallowing a mouse. The men are there and gone, lost in the folds of fabric and the dimension beyond with little more than a look of moderate disgust on his face.

He turns to see that the ladies seem to have the rest covered. He does, however, briefly disappear to the vault in order to do a quick check to make sure there's no one else in the current building that may be lingering behind. Or worse, trying to flank them. There's a quick, "Checking our backs." before he poofs.

Jovian Anderson has posed:
The guard with the shot gun is completely unable to pull the trigger and receives the delivery with all the skill of someone moving in slo mo compared to Spider Gwen as he is quite literally sent sprawling as he is plastered to the wall in webbing. The last remaining gunman remains psycho blind and tries to fire his gun at ....something but misses widely. He takes out a knife and tries to...stab anything as people around him scream in panic and move away.

Inside of the Darkness....two men scream in terror, one in an elevator shaft screaming as he falls down and the other in a small crate inside of a vets office with illusions of his worstnightmares bringing past crimes to light

In the bankvault with the door cracked open, Jovian spots an idiot bank customer quietly grabbing one of the cash bags and (potentially unnoticed) sends a bolo of darkness around the idiots wrist as he drops the bag.

INSIDE the vault, while Shadow Bolo's powers are nullified, the magical symbiote however is anything but nullified as tentacles of darnkess begin to remove the collar when all of a sudden Cloak is there, seeing two almost identically dressed individuals in costume, one zip tied with a power nullifier being removed and the other whipping around to look at him in shock. He can IMMEDIATELY tell they have ties to the darkness dimension and ...something else but the symbiot shrieks in rage and terror at his presence stopping nullifying the collar and reaching out with darkness itself and...something else. It is like a distillation of all that is worst in the darkness as he has encountered them, the screams and terrors therein and for some reason is terrified of him.

Typewriter takes the keys from the guard, opens the bank and pushes "A" on the tattoo's keyboard as money begins ...going away. He also types "B" and sudddenly in addition to spiders the room is filled with dozens and dozens of rather confused and angry bats.

Viola Fiore has posed:
After pushing hard on the shotgun, Viola covers her head and stays out of the fight, seeing the costumed heroes seem to have it in hand. "I think that's Ghost Spider," Viola says with a gasp as she spots the distinctive costume. Rated 'best female hero costume' by People Magazine recently.

Viola looks over towards Mr. Henderson, who wouldn't know if the Hulk were in the room because he's covering his head and crying. Viola starts to let out a sympathetic sigh for him before her eyes glance further over.

"Did you just wet yourself?" she asks in a whisper.

Tandy Bowen has posed:
"Great job, guys!" Dagger calls out as she sommersaults across a desk, lands on her feet, then throws a trio of light blades towards the last gunmen. If they connect, he'll find himself struck down in a paralyzed state, as if stung with a couple of strong tasers. She moves fluidly as she tracks the direction instinctively in which Cloak teleported to. She can 'feel' him and where he goes by the tug on her light they share together.

As Cloak materializes, he takes a few moments to assess the situation, glancing back and forth between the two identical Bolo's before him. The yards of fabric that cover the swirling darkness unfolds to open up wider, drawing the shadows of the room closer to him as the lights flicker and snuff out. His eyes gleam brightly as a low rumbling growl can be heard from within the dark.

Hunger.

He steps forward in an attempt to swallow them both within the dark. He'll sort out which one is the threat afterwards. For now, he does not waste time in conversation. He has never been one for words. Just action.

Feasting.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
It's all about brand recognition! Costume done and signed by none other than Janet Van Dyne! Gwen would had beamed a smile if she had heard the recognition from Viola. But instead she takes a quick peek about, curious about how the heck that shotgun just .., flew off the man's hands. Eh, no matter now.

"Is everyone alright?" She asks of the hostages, eyes skimming over. Everyone seemed accounted for, no wounded. Good for her. "Stay inside, please. These guys were taken but there's something out there." voice muffled by the mask.

Masked eyes go to Viola who to her seems to be keeping a level head, "Can you help in moving the people away from the windows?"

Finally her attention on Tandy, "This not just a simple bank robbery, something out there.." because her danger sense was going mad now. She runs to the doorway to get out. Tarantulas, meet Ghost Spider!

She starts shooting webs to contain the menaces, both winged and skittery ones, large ones to get as much of those creatures as she can in one go. And no, she won't be stomping any poor spiders!

Jovian Anderson has posed:
The spiders are shocked to be webbed but while there are many, they are basically NORMAL tarantus and quite quickly webbed, stuck toharmless out of the way places like walls and cars.

The robber is absolutely paralyzed and quite shocked, trying to fight the paralysis. The webbed robber is suddenly glad he is webbed to the wall.

Inside of the darkness, the two thugs are a source of psychic feeding, their sins are myriad and plethora.

Bolo himself is not evil, but hardly without sin and the psychic assault is still working on him as he finds himself subjected to the very same drug trials that gave him his powers, attempting to 'phase out' but finding it utterly impossiblein the darkness dimension. The low chuckling from Shadow Bolo on the other handincreaases as he removes the zip ties and the collar. He is fed on, but...its slow, like trying to digest dense fruitcake, the symbiot slowing the effect. He feels his crimes butseems utterly incapable of pain or remorse for them, burned out to any capacity of empathy...while the symbiot links to Bolo and begins accelerating memories he now realizes were never his, crimes that are his and not his, double feeding and increasing the feedback loop.

Typewriter, in the other bank chuckles to himself letting his power slowly move away vast amounts of cash, but not content with two distractions, he also presses H on his wrist and suddenly a large, angry and confused Hippo ROARS causing the few remaining patronsof the bank who hadn't already fled to leave. The bats stream out of the doors any time someone opens it but there arestill plenty of animals running around the now empty bank and the few officers outside now aware something is going on cant get in for the sheer number of people leaving the doors.

Viola Fiore has posed:
Viola sees the super heroine looking her way as Ghost Spider asks for her help calming people and corralling them. Damn she wishes she was recording that!

"Will do," she says, climbing to her feet. She glances at Mr. Henderson. "You should probably stay there. Or get a jacket to cover yourself with," she says, doing her best not to show her disapproval too openly. The poor man is having a bad day.

Viola starts moving over to the other customers, getting them back from the windows as it's clear something else is going on across the street. "Let's get away, never know what might happen," she says, shooing people back away.

Tandy Bowen has posed:
Heading over towards Gwen and Viola, Daggers up a smile to the woman. "Hey, you're pretty brave. I hope you're okay." She says as she gives a long stretch of her body upwards, then watches Gwen head out the door quickly. Her brows lift upwards some, hesitating before she makes her way for the doors, pushing them open and holding her hands outwards to the cops. "Hi! We're the good guys! Uh... We're the Defenders! Kinda like .. the Avengers .. without a paycheck. We got the badguys all wrapped up!"

She tracks the way Ghost Spider went as she holds the doors open for the once captives to make their exit and get checked on by paramedics.

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
Something is wrong. Cloak isn't simultaneously within the dimension along with his various 'snacks'. It's extremely rare that someone has enough willpower to fight back, like the vague discomfort of overeating. Eventually, they nearly all settle. This one is a big different. Something isn't fighting back so much as just... existing.

He leaves the vault to return to the main bank vault, grimacing and looking discomforted when he reappears. He looks out to the street, seeing if any of the police are out there. "Dagger." He says to Tandy. "Something isn't right. I found two others. One at least is fighting back. We need to go to a place for me to drop them."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen is running now, those ballet slippers carrying her quickly across the street, "Who let the .., hippos out?" she blinking under her mask. Really. Spiders, bats. a Hippo?! She throws one web up and across to swing faster and above all the cars about. And specially above all the confusion.

And then she does something she may come to regret. Which is to shoot some globs of webbing towards the hippo. Sort of like soccer balls, but hurtful. The point though? To call it's attention.

"Hey, ugly hippo!"

With some luck it will be running after *her*, and not after innocent people. She shoots a few more just to make sure.

Jovian Anderson has posed:
The GOOD news is that because local enforcement is used to working with heroes, not only are the civilians expertly let out but local counselors and ambulances are there in large numbers to deal with any help that might need ot be given. It would normally be quite a normal affair BUT as it is...as people leave they start to back against the outside wall of the first bank to stay WELL away from the spiders, bats, pidgeons (because potential dinner) and screaming and panicked patrons from the SECOND bank are freaking them out even more.

The spotter for typewriter in the crowd texts him who hits "D" on his write and suddenly is dressed just like one of the security guards and looks panicked as he runs for the door. Oddly, the bright yellow fedora has not faded from his head though he does have facial hair just like the guard without his facial features changes.

The Hippo is ANGRY and looking around for something..ANYTHING to charge. The Hippo is happy to charge after Gwenn glass shattering on the doors as it charges out of the building after the agile hero.

In the darkness the guards have gone pseudo unconcious and are gibbering in madness. Bolo has a stronger will than most but with TWO sources of psychic assualt its too much as the memories of Shadow Bolo and the men he has to kill as a Marshal rip against his mind while the symbiot is looking for something....Shadow Bolo is not trying to phase out anymore but rapidly healing from the effects of the flashbang, almost at full capacity.

Tandy Bowen has posed:
Hesitating for a moment, Tandy looks outside at the .. zoo escaping in the middle of the street, then back to Cloak. She gives a nod of her head and rushes towards her partner, then dives into the darkness to see what it is that is going on within.

Once she steps through, she hits the dark with her light, flaring up and sending a rush of warm 'life' towards those that are captured. At least towards the two Bolo's once she spies the two of them looking nearly identical. She can feel the dark powers rippling off the other.

"Who are you two?" Her voice comes out firm as she reaches for the hand of the Bolo who isn't glowing. Any nightmares he may be experiencing immediately washes away, leaving him whole and untouched by the dark.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
A glance over her shoulder shows there's no Dagger there as backup. Instead there's an hangry hippo. Oh no... But Gwen is running, fast. She spots a corner right ahead, tossing herself up in the air and throwing a web to get momentum to swing with speed.

And now that she is out of sight of the hippo. "Come into my parlor, said the spider to the hippo..." and being the spidery sneak that she is starts to craft a trap. Which is pretty simple, mainly a large web reinforced by she using her webshooters close to the limit, creating a nice 'cushion' that the poor hippo will have no choice but accomodate itself with when it takes that corner.

Assuming it continues to pursue her that is.

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
There is little for Cloak to do to help Dagger. He trusts her to know her way around and what to do. In the meantime, he looks towards those within the first-hit bank to ensure everyone is getting out. Lingerers will get a ferocious and grouchy stare from him and a point to get them on their way out to the police.

Only once he'd assured the building is clear enough for the police will he disappear just long enough to cross over to the other side of the street. At least he appears outside, because inside...

Well, there's a spider and a hippo in combat. And this isn't some old African folk tale.

"Ghost Spider!" He bellows out and stretches out his arm to show the expanse of the cape. "If you need a matador."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Just as Gwen is starting to create the little trap she hears Cloak's voice. Well, might as well use a matador. She jumps from her perch, swinging back, one foot landing on the top of the hippo's head and nimbly going over it and back towards where Cloak is. "On my way." webs shooting out as she keeps herself just ahead of the large creature.

She looks over her shoulder to make sure the animal continues before she flies right over Cloak, waiting for it to go against him.

"You know it's the bulls they use a matador for, right?" Just to make sure.

Jovian Anderson has posed:
There are no stragglers in the first bank, as even Klepto the Customer decides not to grap a bag with the superhero at the exit and a bunch of police outside sending people to ambulances and councelors. There are a few curious looks at the man who has his hands wrapped together by a black glowing construct of liquid night but he brazenly just shrugs and just walks out since he definitely wasnt with the gang.

The "security" guard with the yellow fedora steps out into the sunlight and looks panicked and confused as he is directed towards an Ambulance slightly away from the others as several 'paramedics' strap him to a gurney.

It is now obvious why the Darkness Symbiot is angry since while i furious at Cloak it goes berserk as it sends an entire arsenal of solid darkness that phases through her as if she werent even there. Shadow Bolo recoils from her touch and even the healing nature of her power seems to have the opposite effect as he pulls out an actual regular gun since he realizes his powers will not work on her. Bolo himself is instantly feeling better on the touch and grabs a regular bolo from his belt tossing it towards Shadow Bolo who knocks the gun out of his hand. "Call me Bolo. That's my Doppleganger." He points and while Shadow Bolo seems to be considering the two spidermen pointing at each other defense, he cant say anything as the symbiot seems to shriek in terror as her lingering presence burns at it.

The Hippo is initially trapped by Gwen's actions and then runs RIGHT at Cloak as his 'matador' actions happy to have a target it thinks it can actually hit.

Tandy Bowen has posed:
As he recoils from the attack, Dagger watches the attack go right 'through' her. Her eyes squint, but when he pulls a real gun, she holds up her hands defensively. "You're what? A doppleganger?" As she taps into the well of her power, she draws the light upwards like a burning, hot, supernova. She raises her hands upwards, squeezing her hands together and fills the darkness with her living light.

Cloak is going to be well fed tonight!

As she focuses upon the dark symbiote clone, her goal is to 'remove' him from this plane of existance as she grits her teeth.

From the corner of her eye, she nearly sputters. ".. Is that a hippo?"

Gwen Stacy has posed:
With the hippo totally gone inside Cloak Gwen quips, "We will need to talk about your diet.." yet her masked face continues to look through the crowd. There is still that lingering sense of danger. As if this wasn't fully over. Yet those senses can't exactly pinpoint who or what it is.

"There's still something out here.." she murmurs to Cloak, "But I can't find it.." she runs to a nearby wall, jumping up to glue herself to it and take a look from above, scanning the crowd, the other bank.

She shakes her head.

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
"Does I look Spanish to you?!" Cloak snarls up at Ghost Spider. Well, he'd briefly been almost humorous. Almost.

The hippo dwarfs a human, but luckily there is no 'human' under that cloak for it to run in to and crush and tusk. There's just shadow, and then a very angry hippo - who is suddenly likely very cold and bewildered - joining the party happening in the Dark Dimension. Good luck, kids.

"There's something in me. Dagger is checking it out." He says to Gwen as he settles the fabric back around him. "Ain't settling. May not be... natural. Anything else in here?"

Jovian Anderson has posed:
Normally, a purge wouldnt make a doppleganger 'fade' per se, but for THIS one, in this place, the attack causes the symbiot to scatter and Shadow Bolo phases away, losing his grasp on this reality and returning from whence he came.

Typewriter, smiling to himself as the ambulance drives away hits "N" on his wrist, the tattoo briefly glowing as spiders (well...most of them) return from whence they came, nearby bats return and the hippo...kind of does. There is a disc that sort of arrives near the hippo but is so confused that it just blips away like a demented blue pacman.

Bolo looks in awe at the dopple going away, genuinely hoping it is that easy since its potentially the first peace he's had in weeks if so. "Bolo is my codename. Jovian Anderson, and ...thanks." The Hippo kneels down in total confusion at the darkness, the darkness causing it to remember all the times it tried to kill human tourists and failed. It is a very guilty hippo.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Something in you." Gwen echoes, eyeing Cloak briefly. "And yes, it seems that--" the creatures start to disappear, her head snapping back and towards the ambulance moving away. The danger appears to be converging *there*. It's fading fast but ...

"Stop that ambulance!" she then warns out, tossing herself from the wall she was on to get into pursuit. "Cloak, our jumanji board impersonator is in there!"

*Thwip* *Thwip*

She is in pursuit now, swinging in from above.

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
Leaving Tandy to continue dealing with Bolo and the Sad Sad Hippo, Cloak follows Gwen's direction to follow after this new targer - though with the quick mental note to visit a zoo once they're done to drop it off. It's not so easy to teleport inside a moving object, so instead he skips from spot to spot in a blinking pursuit.

"What is it?!" He calls up to the flying spider, clearly not aware of just how her sense work.

Tandy Bowen has posed:
Once the doppleganger has been destroyed, Tandy turns to look at Bolo and nods her head. "I'm Dagger. From Cloak and Dagger. We're members of the Defenders. So, um... was your evil you robbing the bank?" She asks, sending some light towards the hippo as well to keep it happy and sane. Poor thing.

"Cloak, what is going on out there? There's a hippo inside of you. It looks like I was able to get rid of the issue you were having. Let us know when it's safe to come out."

By now, she is holding on to Jovian's hand, or else he'll fall prey to the madness once more. " Ghost Spider okay?"

Jovian Anderson has posed:
The ambulance does not slow down but does not speed up. There is one paramedic who sees out the rear window and internally swears and the driver can clearly see Cloak moving along side it. Typewriter looks at many of the tattoos on his forearm clearly marked out but types "Q" and suddenly the ambulance DOES speed up about three times faster, driven by some external force but not at a speed either can't keep up with.

Bolo nods, "Very nice to meet you....Defenders, havent heard of them, but you did..er...defend. I THOUGHT he was going to rob the bank and instead took something out of a safety deposit box and looked at a camera..it was...really really weird."

The hippo grunts in contentment and chills. It is a slightly less Angry Hippo unless someone upsets it.

Jovian does NOT hesitate to take the ticket out of the Hotel California.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
That danger sense is fading fast, and with the rush of more ambulances to the area it gets harder and harder to figure out *which* one is the right ambulance. And as such the criminal is lost in the chaos that this street has become.

Ghost Spider looks around, still swinging but then finally shakes her head, "I lost track." she tells Cloak.

Something to track later. But before they go... "Time for a selfie for instagram." yes, she will get a selfie with both Cloak and Dagger to put online.

Brand recognition!

"Say grumpy!" *flash*

Tandy Bowen has posed:
"Did you find what it is that he stole?" Tandy asks as she feels Cloak coming to a stop. She takes Jovian by the hand and steps outside, letting him go once they hit fresh air. The hippo is also brought outside with a lure of light, then left to his own devices.

"So, this was .. a night." She says as she gives a glance around. "Guys, this is Bolo, and I killed his evil twin made up of dark force matter." When it comes to the selfie, she'll lean in towards Ghost Spider and flashes a 'V' sign for the shot before leaning back to look up at Cloak. "I need a shower. Let's find a hotel room to teleport in so I can rinse off."

Tyrone Johnson has posed:
While he can't really hear Tandy, she's strong enough in presence that he feels her confusion more clearly than he'd feel the general undercurrents of pain and fear. It's probably for the best that he can't. Cloak doesn't need to hear the screaming and sobbing in his own ears.

Her spike of confusion and concern distracts him, and the increase in ambulances means he looses visual. He stops teleporting at the entrance to a nearby alley to let Tandy, and the other sane presence he feels, out of the darkness.

Bolo gets to return to the outside world. And the hippo.

Which is about to make for a striking photo for Gwen as they all catch up and he's looking into the flash of a camera.

Suffice to say, Cloak in start light contrast is... well, he may need some filters. Light does not make him look any less startling.

"It was." He grumbles to Tandy before looking towards the face he previously ate. "...made of... hm. Interesting. We should talk later." He says, with nary an apology to add. "Another time."

Jovian Anderson has posed:
Jovian Anderson waves to Ghost Spider and Cloak. He is pleased that he is out of the Darkness not being made mad or seeing hallucinatory magic missiles. He nods and doesnt expect an apology as Cloak and Dagger vanish.

He tries to avoid the cameras and there is a slight amount of darkness around him as shots...dont come out quite clear as they attempt to photograph him.

The Ambulance gets away scott free....for now (dun dun dun) and the police manage to quell the chaos quite nicely.

Several people try to get selfies with Ghost Spider.

Lastly, as Bolo sort of limps away, he finds the original fabrige egg that his duplicate 'stole' and leaves it in the back of a police car.



Epilog: Hippo to the Other Hippos: (In Hippo) So that's how I ended up here."

The other hippos look at each other in disbelief and resume eating. Not So Angry Hippo eats a full meal with contentment and decides to stop having secret fantasies of killing the humans staring down at it at the zoo.