580/Coney Island Murderworld

Coney Island Murderworld
Date of Scene:	17 March 2020
Location:	Coney Island
Synopsis:	An eccletic group of heroes save Zatanna from the latest version of Arcade's 'Murderworld'.
Cast of Characters:	Zatanna Zatara, Gwen Stacy, Johnny Storm, Dane Whitman, Beatriz da Costa

---

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
The thing with an ever-changing format of something like Coney Island is that when new things arrived, they are overlooked as potential dangers until it's too late. The large pre-fab that is made up like a medevial castle and carries a nice cheery neon sign announcing it as 'QUESTS OF SWORDS' was a new addition to the midway recently. And it was something that Zatanna had wanted to check out. Because come on, swords! Sorcery... she was going to bring Gwen here after breakfast for them to have a fun day in the park together.

Except while standing in line at Starbucks, she didn't expect the pixelated demon to swoop down out of the sky and KIDNAP HER, covering her mouth to bring Zatanna into the recesses of the castle. And now, on telephones and buildboards around Coney Island, a evil looking overlord looking figure in giant forboding armor comes on screen, with a tied up Zatanna... in a princess dress, and gagged (DAMMIT) in the background. "I have taken your sorceress and will MARRY her to take over the world, unless you enter my gauntlet and survive my challenges! Are you a bad enough dude to save the Princess of Presi.. Presidig... PRINCESS MAGIC?!"

There's only one way into the castle's entrance, and there... at the front door is the options for the players!

> Theif?
> Mage?
> Fighter?
> Cleric?

PRESS START TO BEGIN.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Nope." Gwen swipes left, "Nope." Left... "Ugh, too ugly.." to the left with the others you heathen!

Her phone is in hand, gently playing Twenty One Pilots into the room while she goes through the options. "Oh, hello..." She starts to swipe to the left, but then moves it back so she can get a better view.

The shirt is taken out off the rack and held up to her chest infront of the associated mirror, straightening it out to see how it looks on her.

Moments later, that same phone pops up a picture of some pixilate tart... "Ugh, spotify com...er... is that Zee?" The shirt is slide back on the rack, moving away to get a virew. "Oh /hell/ no..."

It doesn't take her long to change, right in the dressing room, "Hey, can you hold onto that blouse over there for me?" The clerk is staring at a costume vigilante, pointing at the rack where she'd been standing, "Promise I'll be back in like... two or three hours, tops."

Shortly after that!

THWIP! THWIP!

Ghost Spider comes out of a webline and lands, gripping the side of a lamp post overlooking the new midway game... "Seriously, Zee? This looks like a vaudvillains wet dream..." Flipping out of her side ways crouch in a sommersault, strolling towards the screen. "Excuse me, pardon me, I'm with maintenance."

BINK, THIEF.

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny had been visiting the theme park with some of the kids from Long Island boys home he supported, currently cheering them on at the shooting gallery, while they waited for the lady from the home to do the waiting in line for Quest of Swords.

"Good shot, Mike!" he cheers before he catches sight of the demon out of the corner of his eye, the Mistress of Magic already in his grasp.

He doesn't hesitate, calling out "Flame on!" his clothes burning away to the excited cheers of the boys at the shooting gallery leaving him in his Fantastic Four suit his explosed flesh wreathed in flame.

For all that he'd made a killer entrance, the sorceress in the demon's arms stops him from letting loose with fire blasts as he takes to the sky, watching Zatanna be taken into the castle before his phone bings and he frowns putting out a hand to reach into his pocket.

How does a skin tight suit have a pocket, two words folks: unstable molecules. It's like the speed force, it explains everything, just trust us!

Seeing the message on the phone, and frankly it's not even in the top ten of the weirdest shit he's seen, he says, "Sure, let's play."

Bing. Cleric.

"Damn it, I was trying to click Fighter."

Dane Whitman has posed:
Dane Whitman was here for work!

Seriously, though, he had come by here to study some of the rides and carnival machines, looking for inspiration on some future lesson plans. They were a good subject for mechanical engineering principles, he figured, and while he was technically already getting paid, thankfully his new boss understood that the rookie teacher might need a little bit of time to put together his curriculum before he dove headfirst into teaching classes.

And if he rode a couple roller coasters in the interim, what's the harm? It's for science!

Now, a lot of folks seeing the "announcement" probably think it's some kind of marketing campaign. But the fact that it's on every screen and on his phone leads Dane to a different conclusion, so he makes his way to the entrance of the castle, shaking his head in a tiny bit of bemusement.

"Been a while since I've played this kind of game." He comments, more to himself than anyone else at this particular point. He reaches up and adjusts his "watch" and produces a...flashlight?...from under his coat. Right in time for Gwen to arrive, which produces...maybe a little less surprise than the average Joe might display. "Heh, guess that would make us the clean-up crew. Nice to meet you, but I guess formal introductions can wait."

BINK, FIGHTER

Beatriz da Costa has posed:
    What's not to like about Coney Island? Carney trash ripping people off are endless amusement as long as you watch instead of play. Amusement rides that are inspected on the honour system are great fun as long as you know that in an emergency you can fly out. So she's not looking at her phone while this is happening. She only catches it on the TV one of the more bored carneys is watching. (Nobody does the ring toss anymore. It's too last century.)
    "Wait, is that Zee?"
    Hell NO this is NOT going to stand!
    "Well, at least this is just a pair of jeans this time," she says wryly.
    A glowing, fuzzy, vaguely human-shaped lump of green plasma coalesces into place, burning everything she carries that's flammable, leaving in its wake a Beatriz-shaped roiling mass of intensely green flame. Reaching out to touch the screen, she selects the final available option.
    Zee's gonna get a kick out of this!

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
And as each of the players is chosen, they're issued their gear... Ghost Spider gets a cloak and is now...

> WHITE THIEF

Johnny gets a staff that has healing flames around the top of it.

> RED CLERIC

Oh hey, Dane brought his own sword! Well, he gets a helmet and gauntlets?

> YELLOW FIGHTER

And last but not least, Bea is issued a book.

> GREEN MAGE

Battle starts!

The foursome is dropped into a room filled with angry orcs! They were just sitting over there, having their banquet and celebrating the upcoming marriage of Princess Magic to the Demon King when suddenly... HEROES!

Grabbing their clubs and weapons, they start to rush towards the group to attack, snarling and gnashing their teeth...

Is that one Orc using a turkey leg as a weapon?

As the orcs are dispatched, the 'players' will notice over their head a numbers...

Someone's keeping Score.

Really.

Dane Whitman has posed:
Dane's not sure if this is magic, ultra-high tech, or some wacky combination of both, but regardless, he's just finished studying the gauntlets on his hands when *POP* it's fight time! And he didn't just bring his own sword, though that "flashlight" suddenly erupts into a...golden sword? Wait, that's not what that usually looks like. It's supposed to be a lightsaber-sorta-thingie! And the shield that emerges on his left arm looks a lot more solid than he's used to, but fortunately neither feel any heavier.

Besides there's not much time to worry about it as the Orc Horde bum-rushes the group.

Wait a second, did the DM give this guy extra levels or something? Because in a few seconds it's pretty clear he's got ALL the good feats. Orc start falling left, right, and all around as that golden sword becomes a blur in Dane's hand, and that shield handily deflects a savage blow from a...turkey leg?

Gwen Stacy has posed:
A cloak?

It is a white cloak, so it matches her costume, but still... a cloak?

Gwen looks down at herself, using the hood built into her costume rather than whatever comes with her gear, spinning a circle while fanning out the newest accoutrement. "Does this cloak make me look fat?" She wonders to Johnny, whose flamed on, or Bea over there reading Chauser. "Hey, does this make me look fat?"

The battle starts.

When they're dropped into the celebration of /her/ girlfriend to /that/ Demon?! "Oh hell no..." dodging from one foot, to the ther, building momentum in her run towards some of the Orcs enjoying a lovely banquet. One of them sipping tea with a massive green pinky extended, speaking in perfect english with a light dusting of a British accent, I genuinely delight in the classical association of heroism over the more accepted variance associated with this new modern era... The notion of sacrifice as a defining characteristic... it speaks to a connection with common me-AGCH!

Gwen's wrist fires...

Did she just throw a grappling hook?

Swinging around and darting across the table in a slide through Beef Wellington to switch kick the Orc right in his elegantly spoken kisser. Spinning on her back and pushing up into a forward flip, hurling a serving tray at his conversational partner like Captain America's Dorito of Justice.

"BRING OUT THE BRIIIIDE!"

Beatriz da Costa has posed:
    "What the actual f...!?"
    Undoubtedly that last word was something like "fun" or "furnace" or "fuss". Not the word you're thinking of because that would just be wrong.
    As the orcs grab their weapons, Bea stares helplessly at her book, paging through it desperately until she encounters the first spell that looks like it might apply.
    "Magic missile..." she mutters, only ... something about the game changes that into...

    MAGIC MISSILE!

    So startled at the modification, complete with a bizarre little almost-dance she does with weird hand gestures, Bea nearly drops her book as one ... two ... three ... four ... FIVE green spears of bright flame strike five orcs in horrific flares of flesh-searing light.
    Two of them, lanced in the face, drop dead on the spot. One has a limb burned to a useless crisp while the remaining two suffer more painful, rather than life-threatening, injuries from the missiles landing in their bodies.
    "Oh, wow! I see why Zee likes this now!"
    Beat.
    "No, not at all," Bea says reassuringly to Gwen. "It's not the cloak that makes you look fat."
    C'mon. She's disoriented and English isn't her first language. That must have been an error!

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny the Cleric of the Eternal Flame, lands in the banquet hall, flaming staff held in hand.

"Neat," he says glancing at the weapon just before the orcs rush them, he raises his staff and slams it down again.

"SACRED FLAME!"

Fire explodes up from under the orc with the chicken leg, roasting them both, Johnny ducks a blade swung at his head, he evades the blow and picks up the chicken leg taking a bite.

"Whywouldyouthinkyou'refat?" he asks with his mouthfull, he swallows, "Because damn."

He throws the chicken leg at an orc and adds, "Also, fyi, the food sucks here."

He kicks another orc in the chest and hits him across the head with the flaming staff sending the creature fallin to the floor writing in pain.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
As the quartet go on the attack, creatures start to blow up into pixels, derezzing away after their painful deaths. Gwen's slamming into the refined orc is followed with the toss of her mighty tray... that hits a turkey in the middle of the table, and somewhere above, a disembodied voice announces to all.

> WHITE THIEF SHOT THE FOOD!

She continues to swing around and attack, running up her score...

Bea's attacks on the Orcs are crispying them and the pixels pop and vanish as she shoots away with her magic missiles. In the middle of one of those Orcs, a key appears, floating in mid air for her to grab - when she does, it opens the door to the end of the level!

The Flaming Cleric goes to work - the chicken leg disappears in pixels -- but there's an unexpected side effect when Johnny bites into it. The air around Johnny sparkles around him, and then suddenly...

> RED CLERIC IS A CHICKEN!

Johnny is able to move around the room a lot faster than he was before. But his point of view has changed. Because he's currently a two foot tall flamecasting... chicken. Flaming feathers and all.

It's totally not because Johnny macked on Gwen.

Dane's attacks tear a path through the orcs, and soon the door is in sight to exit the level as the stairs lead upward. And it starts to tally their scores as they move.

> 500 -- 1500 -- 2000 -- 1000 <

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"I'd like to make a saving throw to swallow sadness... That doesn't hurt nearly as bad coming from the fluffy Mage..." Gwen says to Bea, carrying right over the throw into a no-handed cartwheel flip. The massive axe swung at her legs missing by a New York mile. When she lands, she immediately goes into a back-bend, watching the battleaxe swing across her in a backswing.

"UNCANNY DODGE"

Grunting Orc saying something in Sweedish that sounds an awful lot like Maybe if you diet a little more the cloak wouldn't added fourty pounds

"Does the NPC have jokes?" The Backbend goes into an bridge over kick to the Orc's right forearm, loosening his grip on the weapon and sending him stumbling awkwardly to present his back to her. With her cloak fluttering aorund her, Gwen runs towards him, leaps up with her arms in a crane position and both knees bent to send out a vicious kick square between the Orc's shoulder blades.

"BACKSTAB"

"Oh, I get it... so was that an at will or a once per encounter? I'm not caught up on fifth edition rules..." Her grappling hook hurls out to smack a rushing goblin in the face, knocking him backwards with his feet flying up into the air... The one she double kick is struggling to get his head out of a hole bust in the wall.

"My Character's name is: Gwenovere Deangelo Detori, aka The Spider of Ghosts.. The Night Shade... The holder of the cloak of unseen passage... Thank you noble Cleric. I lift pales of water every morning on my jog down to the local tavern." Patting her cloak, her skintight suit.

A chandalier falls as Gwen joins the others on the way towards the door, "I swear to god, if it says the Mistress of Magic is in another castle, I'm writing a strongly worded letter to the manufacturers."

Beatriz da Costa has posed:
    "OK, so that's a thing," Bea mutters as she looks at the flaming chicken that was once a flaming man. (In a different sense of the term 'flaming'.)
    With Dane's opening a path through the wall of orcs, and her opening the door, Bea, smart, observant woman that she is, decides it is best if perhaps she makes her way to the door. "What language are you speaking?" she asks Gwen along the way. "NPC? Fifth Edition? What are you talking about?!"
    Still flipping through her book as she runs her eyes widen and she stops dead in her tracks, just in time to get into Dane's way.
    Her arms and legs weave the mystic forces of bits and pixels into...

    HELLFIRE WALL!

    Half of the remaining orcs to one side of the path are either freshly crisped or just prevented from reaching the party. Bea chortles as she scurried off, assuming that Dane and the chicken will be better able to cope when there's only one vulnerable side.
    "I wonder what happens," she asks herself aloud, "if I say those spells backwards?"
    Perhaps the next spell she finds she'll try doing that. I mean when Zee does it it's awesome!

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Backwards.

BACKWARDS!

"HOLY CRAP, she's saying stuff backwards..." A lightbulb turns on over Gwen's head, possibly literally, "That makes a whole lot more sense."

Dane Whitman has posed:
"WHIRLWIND ATTACK!"

Dane's blade cleaves through three of the last remaining Orcs with one mighty strike (on the side Bea left uncovered), and he glances back over his shoulder to check on the others as they form up to pass through the door. As Gwen gives her character brief, he grins beneath his helmet in spite of himself. Sometimes the absurdity of it all can win through.

"Leoric Dragonbane, Fallen Paladin. Don't worry, only down to Lawful Neutral."

"Introductions" made he glances towards the door, "I'll take point." He says quite confidently, before he stops in his tracks and fixes his eyes on the flaming chicken, blinking a few times beneath his visor.

"Uh...Mr. Storm? Is that you?"

Johnny Storm has posed:
What the hell??!!

Suddenly the orcs get taller! Much, much taller! Or wait, why does his skin itch.

He looks down, seeing flaming feathers instead of flesh.

'Congrats, magical D&D game you've made the top 10 for weirdness' is what he means to mutter to himself, what comes out is "Buck-buck-buckaw!"

Crap... "Buckaw!"

Damn it.

Chicken-Johnny stares daggers at Dane. "Buck-caw," he says slowly. Frustrated his wings don't cross.

He falls into the middle of the group.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
With Gwen really getting into character... who knew she was a secret LARPer, her showing off does not go rewarded. As she moves and learnes new techniques, the voice announces,

> LEVEL UP!

And now Gwen has throwing daggers instead of grapple lines.

Bea's sudden move is noticed, as the flamewall pixelates more of the Orcs, and her score goes higher.

> GREEN MAGE STOLE THE KILLS

And when Blaziken 'buckaws' -- he spits out a gout of flame!

Dane takes the lead, with his score midling to high - as they start up the stairs to LEVEL 2!

This is the grand hall, where there are NPCs in shops, horses milling around. And lots of guys with swords. Knights and royal guards and archers. They start to attack, raiding enmasse. Fortunately, Johnny is starting to flash, so hopefully the spell will be wearing off soon?

> LEVEL UP!

That's for Dane, who finally gets a new skill... fighters always level up slower than everyone else.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Yeah booooi... wait, staying in character." Gwen broods behind her mask, flipping the cloaks hood up over her mask hood so she's hooded while she hoods. The /only/ way someone could be more hood than her right now is they were Luke Cage.

"While the..." Pausing long enough to glance at Johnny, "You know, technically, you'd be a rooster? Not that I'm reading your thoughts or anything, but I heard the announcer.. and.. let's not question too deeply, all I'm saying is if you're /going/ to take the moniker on the scorecard, I must insist, as a scientist, that you be Rooster-Johnny." With all that build up. "Can we call you the Roosterman Cockburn, Cleric of the Eternal Flame (the sun, she's talking about the sun)." Grinning behind her mask, "Cluck for yes. Crow for Hell yes."

"Hey, Leoric Dragonbane, I'm gonna find us a shortcut!"

Moving off to the side at a dash, dipping out of the main thoroughfare into the alleyway to get her Sneak on. To get behind the archers! "I'm a ninja.. I'm a ninja..." THWIP *CLINK REALLY* THWIP *STILL CLINK*, Gwen is swinging down an alley behind Shops and coming out in a rolling hurl of daggers aimmed at the backs of archer, "SUPPlIES!"

Beatriz da Costa has posed:
    "Queen Beatrice of the Nation of Flame," Bea says by way of introduction. Yes. Queen Bea. Yes, it is as lame as it sounds.
    "Could you guys buy me some time to read this book properly? There's some really cool spells I think, but I need more time to find them!" She starts reciting a few names, "Hot Seat. Hot Foot. Fire Finger. Fear of Fire. ..." Ooh. That sounds ...
    "Mr. Dragonbane, in the next room I want to try that fear of fire spell and drive a bunch of them into your sword hand, if that's OK with you?"
    Then she sees the opposition. Knights. Guards. And oh, crap! Archers!
    She doesn't wait for Dane to agree. Those archers have to be removed! The interpretive dance starts and ...

    FEAR OF FIRE

    Threads of flame spew from her fingertips fanning out to cover about half of the archers pointing their deadly-tipped arrows at the party, threading around and between them, coating their bows and arrows both with searing flames that cause them to drop their weapons. Primal fear of fire takes over and those archers break ranks, fleeing their posts to become easy fodder for the hand-to-hand types.
    The other half of the archers recognize, however, that Bea--sorry, 'Queen Bea'--is their real threat and focus their efforts on her. A wall of arrows speeds their way through the air at Bea.
    "Uh ... there's gotta be a spell in here..." but paging through the book is too slow...

Johnny Storm has posed:
Chick-er-Rooster Johnny tilts his head to the side and then turning it (so as not to spit flames at Gwen) "Cluck."

He says with a tiny tongue of flame shooting from his beak.

When they reached the next level and the archers all start taking aim and the royal guards charge forwards. Rooster Johnny rushes forward, dodging arrows at lightning speed and closing with a group of guards, something in his body language suggests a smile as he rears back his head.

"BUCK-CAW!!!" he shouts as he spews a 30ft cone of flame at them burning them to ash in their armour.

Yeah, the Infernal Chickens in Avernus ain't got nothing on Rooster Johnny!

Dane Whitman has posed:
Oh boy is that a timely level-up because Dane's "new" skill comes into play almost immediately.

"MISSILE SHIELD"

Dane's shield is up just in time to deflect several arrows, and he even shifts his stance so that a few strays don't strike Bea as she tries to sort through her spellbook. Her spell definitely thinned their numbers, but there's still quite a few left.

"I don't mean any offense Beatrice, but I would appreciate it if you could read a bit faster!" He keeps his eyes up, waiting for more arrows, and his blade occasionally lashing out at any Knight that starts to get too close as their charge becomes more haphazard after Johnny's fan of flame. Seeing Gwen appear behind some of the others, he tries to keep the enemies' attention on him.

"Come on you scoundrels, let's see if you have the steel to take on a true Knight!"

"TAUNT!"

"Uh-oh...READ FASTER!" Dane exclaims as he realizes the likely implications of that.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Gwen gets the drop on the archers -- and as she raids the shops, suddenly there's an announcement.

> WHITE THIEF IS IT!

And that means that the royal guards are actively coming after her. That is not an 8-bit version of 'Bad Boys' playing in the background.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Of2LBv61V0

PROTIP: It is.

And then Bea is coming to Gwen's rescue, but as she's trying to read -- apparently Dane is getting his MISSILE SHIELD on. And then he taunts... and they are all turning on the knight.

But what's that he may spy in the corner? A chest? Just begging to be opened?

Johnny's cone of flame roasts several figrues into pixels and finally, the spell wears off and Johnny returns to normal, well.. as normal as can be.

In the back, behind the gate, the tower where Princess Magic is being held awaits!

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Oh..." Gwen hears the announcer claiming she's it, "I definitely am..." Grinning beneath her hood, beneath her hood, beneath her mask. Two hoods. Twice the hood. Three times the disguise. Both her hands come up when Knights and royal guards change their direction to intercept here, "WHOA! Can we all appreciate that this is an 8-bit Bad Boys?"

She waves for those not taunted to come on, "Alright, let's do this."

The first swings and she dodges onto her right foot, shoulder dipping back to watch the short-sword to thrust past her. Her own hand hooks in around the inside of his elbow, using it as a counter balance to her outward spin down and under the extended appendage, "Bad boys, bad boys... what-cha gonna do..." Stomping backwards to drop him to his knee, twist her hip into his wrist, and bring the sword free and throw it at another incoming guard, "Whatcha gonna do when they come for you..."

Spinning shoulders over the guard down on his hands and knees, letting him take the spear aimmed for her. A spear that is suddenly entangled in her grappling hook and yanked free from the guards hands into her own. Whirling infront of her like a fan blade to deflect arrows harmlessly away, then over her head and across her back when she ducks forward, and sends it shooting out with a forward jerk of her hand.

"when you were eight and you had bad traits.." Running forward, gripping the spear jutting out of a Royal Guards chest, she jumps in, plants her feet, and polevaults over him into an aerial-

FAN OF KNIVES!

Hurling a series of daggers out with both arms, hitting Archers, Guards, and Knights.

When she lands, guards are still clanking to the ground.. So she goes into a dance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddoclyAwjXA

"You go to school and you learn the gooolden rule..." Cloak fluttering around her.

Beatriz da Costa has posed:
    "I'm reading as fast as I ca... Ooh! This looks good!" Bea stares at the book in amazement and a wide grin spreads over her face. "Oooh! I wish Zee could see me! She'd be so proud of me!"
    The clatter of all the arrows around her from Dane's kindly use of shield goes completely unnoticed as bliss passes over her face. She starts another dance, this one slower, longer, with more pixelated animations coalescing around her glowing brighter and brighter in intense green. Her body floats off the ground and rotates in the whirlwind of green flame that grows around her, and at the peak brightness she shouts out at the top of her lungs:

    HELL HOUND HORDE!

    Oh my. That does not sound even slightly pleasant.
    Intuition matches game reality as a circle of green flame opens before her and from it jumps a dire wolf with green flames shooting out of hits mouth, eyes flaming and smoking. And then another. And another. And another. And ... well, it's called Hell Hound Horde. You do the math.
    Flaming dire wolf after flaming dire wolf streams out of the circle, leaping straight into the fray, attacking archers and knights and guards at their whimsy, wreaking havoc left, right and centre, spreading chaos and giving the meat shields a chance to strut their stuff in style.
    "Has someone got that?" she then asks, pointing at the chest.

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny's form jerks upwards to his full height like Mario after getting a mushroom.

"Thank god," he says before coughing and spitting out a feather that de-rezzes into pixles as it floats towards the ground.

He shrugs before his head gets back into the game, literally in this case. "Yep, that's definitely Bad Boys," he confirms to Gwen. As the heat starts heading her way.

Johnny dives into the fray, swinging his staff, and roasing more guards with shouts of SACRED FLAME!

Though seeing the chest, he can't help it. He goes to open it.

Dane Whitman has posed:
"Whew!" Dane smiles again as the Hell Hound Horde emerges and rolls over the oncoming enemies. "Nicely done." He comments to Bea, taking a moment to catch his breath (and you know, let his cooldowns finish so he can use his abilities again). He spots the chest, and he starts to turn towards where Gwen is dancing, ready to call for the "Thief" to check for traps, and then Johnny is Johnnying it up, and he reaches out and shouts:

"No, wait!"

This never ends well...and isn't the fighter supposed to be the brash one with the low Wisdom score?

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Of course Johnny would open the box. And when he does, that's when the trap's set off. And it's probably a good thing that he's the cleric.

Because missiles launch from the box, magical balls of light that race and slam into the other heroes, causing them injury.

> CAUSE LIGHT WOUNDS!

But in that box, there's a holy item on a chain in the chest for Johnny?

With the guards cleared, the tower looms in the distance.

You know when you're playing a game -- and there's that save point right before the battle? Save now, right.

> 12500 -- 10000 -- 9950 -- 9000 <

At least it's one last chance to heal up with all those yummy apples lying around on the ground before going to rescue Zatanna, right?

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen skips down towards one of the vendors and leans over, now that the threat is all gone, "A drink? Yes... I will.. It seems no one can defeat me, I weep, it's all so easy..." Struck by by a magical ball of light that connects with her stomach, she drops her goblet and grips her abdomen with both arms, "EW... I feel a bit... queasy..." She drops to her knees, dramatically clinching her fist to the heavens, "Oooo the pain is unbearable.. my stomach's riddled with holes.." She suddenly falls to her side, right infront of an apple... "Oh hey, is this an akane?" reaching out for one bringing it over to clutch against her chest.

Someone was in drama class.

Sitting up with her back against the stall where she got her drink she turns the apple over in her hands, "Hey Queen, you have a magical spell in that book says whether these are poisonous? Hold on, wait, let me see..." Pat, pat, pat *AHAH!* one of her throwing knives. She uses it to carve into the apple, see if there's a worm inside, or a small man... "That was a peach." His name was James. "It was still a peach.."

When she glances up, she's rolling her mask from her mouth, "I'm going to take the plung on these apples guys. It seems like a bad idea, but we're definitely about to rock the boss level, so by videogame rules, they have to give us health items."

Beatriz da Costa has posed:
    "Ow! Ow! DAMMIT! Ow! Ow!" Time and again Bea tries to put up a wall to stop those silly balls, but each time she starts, another one hits her. She starts getting the lightly injured skin applied, then the heavily injured one.
    Wizard needs healing badly.
    "A little help here?"
    Gwen's advice is timely and Bea starts pigging out on all the pixelated apples she can find. "Ugh! They taste dated. 8-bit tops!"
    What does that even mean!? The look on her face is that of someone who has NO idea why she said what she just did.
    "I hope this wasn't a mistake..."

Dane Whitman has posed:
"AHH!" Dane yelps when struck by the projectile, staggering back a few steps and dropping to one knee, "Damn...not even a saving throw? This Dungeon Master is a jerk." He brings himself back to his feet, moving to check on Bea and make sure she's OK...mages often have low hit points!

But seeing her gobbling up apples, Dane takes a deep breath, and picks up a couple for himself, taking a couple experimental bites before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "A little mushy, but...edible, I guess. Don't feel sick." He pauses, "Actually that stinging feeling from the spell has gone away, too..."

He sighs and looks towards the tower, "Videogame rules, huh?" He looks like he's considering, but whatever it is he keeps it to himself for the moment, instead bringing his shield and sword into a ready position, "Gwendolyne...I suggest you try to climb the tower and sneak in from the top while the rest of us kick in the door. Maybe you can catch whoever or whatever's waiting for us by surprise...or get uh...Princess Magic free while he's occupied."

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny oofs as the ball hits him in the chest knocking him on his ass, flinching as he sees more fly by to hit the rest of the party.

"My bad," he calls as he gets up on his knees seing the amulet on the chain inside. "Well, probably a really bad idea but..." he reaches in to take the treasure eyes closed and head turned away.

The apples will wait until after whatever happens next.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Worst case scenario, you fall asleep and a princess (or prince, I'm not assuming nothing in 2020), has to kiss you awake." Munching on a slice of apple. Someone's definitely getting Disney+ at Shadowcrest. "Which, hah.. man, Disney sure did sell some outdated notions as acceptable dating practices. Could you imagine some bloke busting in your crib all Rick James and planting one on you while you were taking a nap on the couch?" Crunchy apple is good apple.

Say what you want, but Spider-Gwen "AHEM..." Right, sorry. Ghost Spider is still owned by Sony. She can make fun of the mouses lowkey sexually assaulting princesses all she wants.

"What's that? You want me to climb up there and free my Zee while you guys do all the heavy lifting?" Glancing up the side of the tower. Specifically at the view from the top, "So that we're all on the same page here... you want me to climb up there, free the Mistress of Magic, and wait with her... alone... while you guys fight?" Crunch.

"You got it."

She pops up and dusts her fingers off after sliding the throwing knife back in one of the sheaths inside her cloak. Moving to begin scaling the tower, "I'm just kidding, ESRB board, I'm just going to cut her loose. I'm not a heathen. Jeez.. It's like a thousand Westboro Baptist Church members cried out at once-" Adopting a whiny, nasally voice, "-this game has a hot coffee minigame hard coded in.."

Dane Whitman has posed:
"If the rules are in place, it's probably safe, Mr. Storm." Dane suggests as Johnny moves to put it on. He smirks a bit beneath his helmet at Gwen and notes, "Not -exactly- what I meant, but...sure, we can go with that."

After another glance around to make sure folks seem ready, and giving Gwendolyne a bit of a head start, "Leoric" moves to do exactly as promised, and try to kick the door wide open, ready for anything! Er well...maybe -almost- anything, even by the standards of his usual levels of strange and unusual, today's pretty exceptional.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Ascending the tower, Gwen the rogue finds a backway into the tower. Oddly enough, it's marked 'Exit'. Swinging into it, the woman may be in for a surprise. Standing in the middle of the room is Zatanna. And she is totally trussed up for a wedding. And gagged. And bound. But she's stunning!

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/42700000/Alexandra-Genlux-2011-alexandra-daddario-42707578-1280-853.jpg

With her, there's a rather short man with redhair in the room with him. "Look, I know it didn't work with White Rabbit, but come on. Look what we can do together!" Arcade gestures. "My brains, your magic, we can make a whole new Murderworld!"

"MMF mmmf MMMMF!" Whatever Zatanna is saying is not probably safe for work. In the room are monitors, watching each of the players as Arcade paces, "And my new partner would be a great addition to our family, don't you think? I even have a great name for her!"

In the castle, there's the Lord Demon. "Who disrupts my corronation?!" he demands as he rises from his throne to glare at the three arriving heroes. "You will meet your doom!" And the Demon grows and morphs, becoming a giant dragon with four heads - one for each of the players! One lashes out, spraying ice at the mage. Another moves and snaps at the cleric, breathing death magic all over the place! The fighter finds a fire-breathing head targetting it... and that last head... is looking rather confused.

"...where'd the rogue go?" asks Arcade in confusion.

Johnny Storm has posed:
"We do!" No-Longer-Rooster-Johnny announces staff raised, hand on his hip. "The Mighty... er... Vox Fantastica? ...Whatever... it's US!."

Then it's dragon time Johnny sending up flames to block the death magic, with a firey shield of faith.

Seeing Dane's dragon head spitting fire, he gives a whistle to the knight. "Hey, trade ya?" he says heading Dane's way.

Beatriz da Costa has posed:
    "Of course it had to be a dragon..." Bea mutters. Then ice is spewed her way and she throws up, by reflex (aren't macro keys GREAT!?):

    HELLFIRE WALL!

    The ice shards shatter in the all-consuming heat and those shattered sub-shards vaporize giving Bea a wonderful steam bath that smoothes out the wrinkles in her clothing, as a plus, but that makes her hair dampen and fall about her face, ruining her look. Looking over the heads on display she decides:
    1. The ice head will cancel out her fire magic.
    2. The fire head won't even be bothered by her fire magic.
    3. The death magic head is an option, but...
    4. The head for the rogue is distracted and that's the one to hit.
    It's time for a combo move!

    CREATE FLAMING PLASMA

    CONCENTRATE FLAMING PLASMA

    ACCELERATE FLAMING PLASMA

    PIN FLAMING PLASMA

    As she does each one, her voice grows louder in announcing each, her body is surrounded by more and more pixelated flame, and her feet float higher and higher into the air. In sequence an enormous ball of bright green plasma appears over her head, focusing, then, into a smaller ball roughly the size of, say, a dragon's head. That ball then moves with blinding speed at the fourth head, enveloping it before finally staying in place, no matter where that head moves, covering it in thousands-degrees heat that blinds it, burns it, and follows it around as it thrashes.
    Bea settles on the floor assessing her handiwork.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Arcade?

Well at least some things are cross dimensional. He's still a chode.

Gwen flips her hood up as she comes in through the exit and drops along the wall to walk slowly through the shadows beyond the glow of the lights in the anti-chamber at the top of the tower with a little Supreme Sneak action. Feeling her way around the wall with an outstretched hand. That dress'doe.. There's a certain amount of appreciation that goes into the craftmanship, je ne sais quoi. Besides being quiet because she's sneakin' ovah heah, Gwen is speechless too.

For practical reasons, totally.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Gwen crawls backwards up the wall until she reaches the ceiling and turns to pick her way across it until she's directly above the pair of Bride and attempted Groom.. Her webshooter (read grappling hook) is connected to the roof and she methodically lowers herself down... Feet up along the length, one hand holding to the rope (web) as she dangles, ultimately, right beside Arcade, staring at Zatanna in her dress.

Whispering to him, as her Fast Hands try to slide into his pocket looking for whatever's controlling the construct of this Murderworld. "Are those Bugle Boy Jeans you're wearing?" Head tilting in his direction so it's just two old pals having a lark.

Dane Whitman has posed:
Oh good, a Dragon. THIS Dane's got some experience with. Not so often the hydra-like variety, but the principles are the same, right? In any case, he ducks behind his shield as the flames erupt, feeling a little singed around the edges after that stream of fire subsides after a few seconds.

"Sounds good!" Dane calls out to Johnny as he suggests swapping "opponents." He rolls out of the way of the flame-dragon's head as it tries to resort to snapping him up in it's sharp-toothed jaws, and ducks under the writhing neck of the ice-dragon as Bea defends herself from it, slashing upward with his golden sword to slice that neck as he passes.

"Time to break the game." Dane mutters, the golden sword suddenly disappearing, and in a moment and a pulse of light, it's replaced by the night-black Ebony Blade. No illusion hides it's appearance. In fact "broken" pixels crackle and sizzle a few inches from the blade, as though trying to cover it up and failing.

Also? It keeps Dane from dying while he's holding it, so you know..."Immunity to Death Magic" on THIS artifact weapon! (Also is this guy sleeping with the DM or something because it's SO unfair he gets to start with that thing)

Gwen Stacy has posed:
He better not be or Gwen will have questions.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
With the gloves coming off of everyone, the dragon starts to get into the groove. As Bea launches her attacks, the ice dragon whips it's head around and lunges, snapping into the Mage, in an attempt to take her out of the game, entirely! It hisses ice, just as another head, the rogue one, attempts to partner up, just to be struck hard by Dane's blade, and it screams out...

And there's a very... feminine scream behind it.

Arcade is still a douchenozzle, even across dimensions, as Gwen goes for a remote that's just not there. "Nuh-uh, that's cheating Spider-Girl!" he chides, pulling out a gun to shoot at her. "I've upgraded. I don't need a remote anymore... not when I have her!"

And he gestures, opening a room virtually. Inside is a young woman. A teenager. Golden pixelated wings are on her back, and she's hard wired directly into the game. "Isn't she great? I found her in the forums. She's a gaming prodigy. The next generation, she //is// the game!" he points out with a manical laugh.

"I don't need a remote, when I contol her. And all she needs is a boost!" And that's where Zatanna was supposed to come in.

"I call her...

                                  EMULATOR!                                    

...and she is the new and improved Murderworld. All her. All me! It's the perfect relationship. Add in a dash of magic, and it's perfection!"

That's when it becomes clear. The girl controls the game. She is the dragon. Each hit on the dragon is affecting her directly. Arcade's using her. And plans to keep doing so.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Ahhh guns are cheating!

Gwen drops down from her dangling grip on the rope, bend and twisting in the process to avoid being shot by the DooochCanooooe. When he goes into his master plan like any great bond villain might, it's to no great surprise to anyone, but especially not to Gwen who has dealt with this schmergler before.

"Oh come on, man, you're using a teenager like a duracell battery for your twisted mind games?" Slipping backwards in a series of flips, which unfortunately take her /away/ from Zatanna and Arcade.

Trust me, she knows what she's doing. I do? She's a professional, No, I'm completely lost, stop telling people that A hero, a master of the Subtle arts, Where even are you going with this?

Gwenievere slips into the shadows and uses Murderworlds own coded abilities to disappear from immediate view. Ducking behind the dressing station and not coming out the otherside since she's crouched to the bottom of the table...

Her hand dips into the cloak, gripping one of the throwing daggers to roll between her fingers while peeking out towards Zatanna and her bindings... then over at Emulator, that poor kid, and her wiring connecting her to the game.

Her arm comes back behind her, shifting the blade and letting it loose towards one of those connecting cords hardwiring Emulator to the game world.

A distract, hopefully sending Arcade over to get her plugged back in, so she can get to Zatanna and try to get that gag off her, "You just say words /backwards/? That's it?" Glancing around the Mistress of Magic inquisitive, "I feel so .. lied to.. about magic."

Dane Whitman has posed:
"OK, maybe less game-breaking." Dane recants, hearing the scream that...doesn't quite seem to come from the Dragon itself. Thankfully he hasn't used the Ebony Blade on the Dragon itself yet, just as a means of protection...which he can do whether he's holding it in his hand...or wearing it on his belt...and so suddenly Dane flashes again, and finds himself in his full armor...something that for whatever reason he hadn't felt the need to do...and heck, the simulation doesn't even bother painting over it because...I mean come on, look at the guy.

But now with a trusty scabbard to sheathe the Ebony Blade in, he does so just in time to roll out of the way of another Dragon-bite, right in the direction he left his photonic sword, actually snatching it up in the middle of the roll.

"I've got a thing for this!" Dane calls out, "But I've got to get to the girl!"

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny frowns as the heads go after Bea to take her out of the game entirely. "Duck!" he shouts firing off a bolt of flame at the dragon, before taking a blast of flame in turn. "Oh shut up," he tells the dragon swinging his staff, that way.

At Dane's call, Johnny answers, slamming his staff down, "I invoke duplicity!" Or well multiplicity in his case as a half-dozen fire Johnny's appear beside him.

"Go for the girl Dane, I'll cover you."

Then he and the Council of Johnny's rush the dragon, trying to keep all the heads occupied and away from the rest of the party.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Emulator cries out as the cord is cut - and one of the 'heads' derezzes and goes out after throwing Beatrice to the ground. The woman's hurt, but she's going to live, clearly. However, Gwen stumbled on the secret. Four cables. Four heads. And when Gwen cuts the cable, Arcade's shouting. "No! No! Cheaters! Stop cheating!" He's running over to Emulator to try to plug her back into the game -- or that cable.

Zatanna is untied, and now that she's free, her sapphire eyes flash. "Sorry, hon, but it's still magic?" she asks quietly. Hopefully. Don't hate her?

But now that the mouth is free, she can talk. And she starts.

"Dnibnu!"

A simple enough start, her bindings releasing as the young woman pushes to her feet, still in that wedding dress. "...Arcade!" she growls, eyes turning bright blue. "You wanted a dragon? Meet..."

"ALLIZEDIRB!"

And Zatanna stands to her feet as the dress is ripped from her body -- don't worry boys, she was wearing something beneath and it's already changing into her mage's garb.

The dress rips and tears, whipping out at one of the heads, wrapping it up to cover it and yanking it back. When she sees Dane moving towards the girl in the cables, she calls out, "Free the girl, Johnny and I'll keep the dragon busy! Gwen?"

Zatanna shoots a glance towards the woman. "...Arcade's all yours."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"We're discussing this ULTIMATE DECEPTION later!" Gwen teases as she hops up, plants a mask covered kiss on Zatanna's cheek, and fires off a webline (ala grappling hook) towards the ceiling to pull herself in a winding dodge away from the transforming Dragu that is, previously, her bridal dressed girlfriend. That poor dress...

Alas.

Landing in crouch behind Arcade and his handgun, one leg stretched wide out, the other knee bent, body leaning forward onto her palm infront of her, she looks ready to strike. She doesn't, however, until Zatanna calls out to her, "Yes?" Arcade's all yours.. "Ooooh gooodie."

Crrrrraaaaack..

Gwen grips her knuckles with the oposite fist and squeezes, "Excuse me, I'd like to take this oppertunity to introduce you to DEBUG mode.." Gripping the ends of her cloak as she twists into a cortscrew approach towards Arcade, just incase he tries to shoot at her, and whips the cloak off as she spins into a landing. Using it like a weapon to entangle the gunhand, quickly twisting and wrapping it up if she's successful.

Her foot snaps forward at the same moment she bends backwards, intent on pulling the gun free... "Did nobody tell you that it's twenty twenty and you're not allowed to imprison, not one, but two, women in your creepy gameshow tower? Seriously, this is wholly unacceptable, even in a post Gold Standard era, /friend/."

Dane Whitman has posed:
The Black Knight darts forward, dodging left, dodging right between the Dragon's legs, and hurdling over a swipe of its tail as it moves to engage Johnny and the rampaging Bridezilla. Just as Gwen engages Arcade, Dane climbs up to the platform where the girl lays trapped. There's a dangerous way to do this, and a safe way, and well...as unpleasant as it might be....

"I'm sorry Miss, this isn't going to be comfortable, but it'll keep us all alive."

And then someone might wonder if there's been a major alignment shift because the golden sword is in his hand again (not the black one!)...and he promptly stabs the girl with it!

It is, of course, in it's non-lethal "neural disruptor" state. Which should, in theory, KO the girl and hopefully end the game with no more harm than something a couple tylenol and a glass of water would clear up when she awakens.

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny's fighting a dragon alongside a wedding dress Godzilla... this whole business just moved up into the number five spot for weirdness.

He and the Council keep up the pressure, on the dragon zipping in just before Dresszilla strikes, then darting clear as not to catch the thing on fire, opening up chances for Zee to take the fight to the dragon.

Slowly though the flame Johnny's start to burn out, as they're hit or his concentration wavers.

He calls to Zee. "Big fan, love the dress kaiju, wanna do a combo finish?" he says, trying to keep his mind fixed on his duplicates, the battle and his words all at once.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
When Emulator is run through, the girl screams, her golden eyes flashing as her wings expand and flare out and she slumps into the cabling, hanging listlessly as her wings extinguish and she starts to slump. The cabling is snapping away, weakening the virtual dragon, and leaving it open to Johnny and the wedding dress kaiju. "I'll wrap, you cook!" Zatanna calls out to Johnny, wrapping the dragon tightly in the binding cloth. "Let's see how you like a corset two sizes too small!" she cries out.

In the meantime, Gwen has Arcade down and he's struggling. "She's my partner! She wanted to do this!" he's complaining. "It was a fun game. Let me go, I'll give you the high score!" Really? Really??

Really.

Dane Whitman has posed:
Dane reaches out to support Emulator as she slumps, though the other hand slashes at the last remaining cables connecting her to the mock-dragon. Whether she's a willing participant or not, he's fairly confident she's not a major threat while she's unconscious. Even so, once he's got her lowered to the ground he rips out a bit of that cabling and carefully binds her hands behind her back...just in case she wakes up. She -shouldn't- for at least several minutes, but he's not sure of what she's capable of...better to take precautions.
"I've got the girl!" Dane calls over his shoulder, "You two good with the Dragon?"

Now that he's got a glimpse at the situation...things do seem to be going well. Or at least well enough that he doesn't immediately rush back into the fight, instead settling for checking Emulator's pulse, both from force of habit and abundance of caution.

Johnny Storm has posed:
"You got it, Princess Magic!" Johnny calls out to Zee, as he the remaining fire Johnny's converge on the dragon as Zee wraps it in Dresszilla.

The fire Johnny's dive right on setting the dress a light, as Johnny lands in front of the dragon and drives the fire staff into the ground. "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!" okay so maybe the reference didn't entirely fit, but screw it you take the shots you're given.

Flames roar up around the dragon in a swirling conflaguration.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Is it bad that she's considering it?

Gwen is competative, but... is she /that/ competative? No, no she is not.

"If you hadn't kidnapped my girlfriend, we might could have worked something out, but... you did.. so..." She gives a yank of the cloak encased Arcade, coiling the cloth garment around her hip to draw him closer on stumbling steps. There's a low crouch in the process, fist coming way back as she coils herself down like a loaded spring, and leaps up into a twisting uppercut,

"SHORYUKEN!"

Slow motion backwards flying DoochCanooe. Gwen lands, twists her cloak around her shoulders, reclapses the broach, and flips her hood up as he bounces across the floor and falls in a twisted heap.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
With Arcade and Emulator down, the simulator dies down -- and since Johnny is the only one that completed the whole game... he wins the Crown. And supposedly the Princess of Magic.

Don't see that one happening, not going to lie.

                                  GAME OVER!                                  

And with things cleared, now they can call the police to come collect Arcade. And decide what to do with Emulator.

And Zatanna, standing there in her -- well, she has her hands placed strategically to cover things. "I'm going to go get some clothes now thanks." With that, she's retreating.

Dane Whitman has posed:
With Emulator secured and, as expected, still breathing, Dane de-activates his sword (which incidentally looks properly lightsaber-like now!) and after his armor swaps back out for his civvies tucks it back under his coat. "Nice work, Ladies and gentleman."

He does glance down to the unconscious Emulator, "I guess we should let the authorities try to sort this all out. Unless someone wants to, I don't know...call SHIELD or something?"

There's a look towards Johnny at that, as Dane figures he's the most likely to have their number.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Gwen, now free of her need to play by the games rules, webs Arcade up from the ceiling so he's dangling there when the police arrive to pick him up. Trotting over to where the rest of her team is, specifically the .. uh... strategically covered... Zatanna, she reaches up and whips the cloak back up to drape around the Princess of Magic's shoulders. Buttoning it up beneath her neck and pulling it closed. "There now. You look like a propper Elven Maiden. Mistress of Magic.. Defender of the realm. Zatanna Elgrazi Demorne! Sorceress, Damsel, definitely not that weirdos bride."

She's grinning behind her mask, looking over at Dane and Johnny, "So, Shwarma?" Arm around Zee's new boss cloak.

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny grins as the crown appears, and gladly puts it on his head. Not getting the princess? Totally saw that coming with how keen Gwen was to get her girl back.

Hey they were a cute couple.

As their virtual surroundings fade and the crown along with it, Johnny awws faintly then sculpts himself a new crown out of fire just because.

"Hmm?" he asks adjusting his fire crown. "Oh, SHIELD, yeah got that covered," he says pulling out his phone before looking at the groups and suggesting. "Selfie for the Insta?"

After all if the day was going to be number five on his weirdness top ten might as well have something to remember it by.