7677/PoP: I'd Like to Speak to the Manager.

PoP: I'd Like to Speak to the Manager.
Date of Scene:	02 October 2021
Location:	Lost Pond Mall
Synopsis:	When Karens and Kens overrun Lost Pond Mall, it falls on a small group of 'heroes' to put them in their places. The day's saved, but the rifts are getting bigger and the things coming from them stranger.
Cast of Characters:	John Constantine, Phoebe Beacon, Ka'shira Raptorethi, Bart Allen, Rien D'Arqueness, Noriko Ashida, John Stewart

---

John Constantine has posed:
    Lost Pond Mall on a Saturday evening, it's a recipe for at least one or two Karen events on a normal day ending in Y. Today is far from normal. The amount of skreeeeeeeed out, "I'd like to speak to your manager!" is unprecedented. The amount of Karens (and Kens) that have had to be escorted from the mall is *ridiculous* and things are just getting started.

    John's response to Chas's phone call alerting him to 'trouble on the map' was a feeling of dread that crept up his spine in icy tendrils.

    A fucking *Mall*. Man's been to Hell and back more times than any man ever should but it's a Mall in Suburbia that's his worst nightmare. But, a burning map can't be ignored.

    It's in the courtyard that he arrives, more to the point in a supply closet in the courtyard. Just ignore the clattering and the banging and the, "Bollocks!" from behind the door, seriously, nothing to see there. When he finally manages to open the door and step out, one pant leg is soaking wet with mop water.

    ...and he can't believe what he's seeing. At *every* eatery in the place, there's at least one person screaming for the manager or otherwise yelling indignant, entitled crap at the poor employees.

    "What the bloody hell is *this*," muttered in complete shock and awe.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    It is a day ending in Y. Phoebe is notably not following John out of the closet in the foodcourt, instead she was standing firm, at a register, her short braids beneath a blue cap and wearing a blue apron with POEBEE written on it in sharpie. She looks like she is just half a step away from losing her cool at the Karen with the layed haircut expensive sunglasses, LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE T-shirt beneath the My HUSBAND is a such-and-such Born in JULY and if you are mean to me they will N E V E R find your Body! (God Bless America) sweatshirt, and the Victoria Secret P I N K yoga pants with sneakers that cost more than Phoebe made at the part-time gig in a week.

    "Ma'am, I apologize, but there is no way that we're going to have White Chocolate Peppermint flavoring in the middle of Pumpkin Spice sea--" she pauses a moment, catching a familiar trenchcoat from the corner of her eye as she pauses mid-sentice.

    "E X C U S E ME" the Karen said, behind those bejewled sunglasses, snapping her fingers in Phoebe's face. "ARE you, or ARE YOU NOT a *Manager*? Oh my god, some *people*."

Ka'shira Raptorethi has posed:
     Ka'shira does not look out of place at this high-end Mall. Dressed in a short-cropped Channel tweed blazer, designer jeans, and suede high-heeled boots, she definitely fits in with other ritzy shoppers. Well, she would, if there weren't a Karen-pocalypse underway. She was a well-dressed calm in the storm, so to speak.
    As Shira left the pricy boutique she'd been browsing and started for the nearby eatery, the rampant screaming gave her pause. Brown eyes shifted towards the Karen in question, as she railed at the poor Panda Express cashier. Apparently, her clearly marked Szechwan chicken was too spicy. Gaze then shifted from table to table as more and more voices lifted in the complaint. Finally, her gaze rested on the beleaguered barista with the braids dealing with her own Karen. Was this common Earther behavior? Ka'Shira just wasn't sure.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen had heard they had a working copy of cosmic chasm at the arcade here, and it is a rare find. So Bart came a running literally, but about a block away he found a quite spot where none could see him, and switched out of his Impulse costume to his normal clothes, slightly baggy jeans and a Fallout T-shirt. The young man walks into the mall, looking for the arcade, or at least a map. He resists the urge to superspeed find it, instead, waling about. His brow raises a bit at all the arguing, I mean all malls have a noise level but this one is high. So once he finds the map, he stops and starts looking about.

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
    Nobody may stop to think about it, but even a sorceress needs to drop by the mall sometimes to pick a few things up. Saturday finds Rien wandering through the mall, stopping here and there to check out the displays in store windows. A shopping bag in hand emblazoned with the logo of an upscale clothing store says that she has already made at least one purchase today. Her pace says she's not in any hurry, which is actually a bit unusual for her. Normally it's one crisis after another, so free time is something to be enjoyed.

    It starts small at first, the clarion call of "I want to talk to someone in charge!" echoing off the marble walls here and there. But after ten minutes or so, it seems the complaints have driven the normal sound of chatter that fills the mall out of existence. The complaints are coming from every side now, and growing with every moment that passes. Rien eyerolls at a particularly shrill woman who is absolutely demanding that she should be given the sale price that ended yesterday because she had terribly important hair and nail appointments and simply could not get to mall yesterday.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
About the only reason to go to the mall is the food court, which has yet to produce a ban on taking her money or hiring her, though she is not employed at the mall currently...thank everything that is and isn't under the sun that she doesn't work here.

The asian girl stands out with her shock of electric blue hair, her leeeeeeeeaning chair, her high tops up on her table, and a mound of food from various eateries.  She's wearing short neon green shorts, a raglan tee, a dark heather grey with bright sea foam colored sleeves.  She also stands out for one more reason...she's actually appears to be sleeping this way, her chair tilted back on two legs, in a swirl of Karens that are discussing about where the teen's mother must be and how they need that table and, now it is time to "get the MANAGER!"

John Constantine has posed:
    "My Coffee's too hot!
    "My ice cream is too cold!"
    "My buffalo wings are too spicy!"
    "I was next!"
    "No, I was!"
    "I didn't want *lettuce* in my *salad*."

    The complaints are growing more and more ridiculous by the second, as are the volumes of the skreeeeeing voices.

    "This is it, I've died finally. I'm in bloody Hell finally," John murmurs, still in that low pitched 'voice of awe and wonderment'. When he shifts to his second sight however, he immediately ducks and covers his head with his arms, almost like someone would if they were ducking a dive bombing bird. So far, he hasn't noticed Phoebe.

    He pulls his wallet from the inside pocket of his trench coat and bellows, "Special Agent Benjamin Dover! I'm with the FBI and there's been a chemical agent released in the mall. I need everyone to move to the exits in a quick, orderly fashion!" The ID in that wallet *looks* real, to anyone that can't see through illusions.

    Of course the Karens don't listen. More than a few of them complain that he's British and there's no way the *American* FBI would hire a Brit.

    It does, however, get some of the people not infected by whatever this is moving toward 'out'.

    It's not only in the courtyard though, in stores all through the mall the same thing is happening.


Fights are even starting to break out between the KARENS themselves. One Ken has a poor Auntie Anne's Pretzel manager by the tie shaking him about. It's getting ugly.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The Karens aren't listening, and as Phoebe attempts to explaint hat the manager is currently handling someone who's iced coffee had too much ice in it and that their hot coffee was too hot to drink at the same time, Phoebe can entirely appreciate the idea of being in Hell. Except the afterlife was a bit more monochrome than the rainbow of pinks and blacks that she was currently dealing with as another woman storms the counter, slams a drink down and demands a refill.

    "-- that's not even a MoonSense Coffee cup ma'am, that is a --"

    "She was helping me!'

    "You were waiting for the MANAGER--"

    And someone swung. Unfortunately, it swung wide, and as Phoebe, eyes wide open, dove across the counter to push one of the Karens out of the way of the other, she takes the full, multi-ring blow to her cheek, feeling it slice along the skin.

    "YOU. RUINED. MY. JEWLERY!!!" Karen the First crows in pure, unadulterated rage.

    Phoebe, meanwhile, is stuck in the cord of her register and is trying to cover her cheek, with one hand and distangle herself from the other screeching Karen with the other.

Ka'shira Raptorethi has posed:
     Ka'shira proceeds slowly into the food court, assessing the situation. Even unfamiliar as she still is with Earth as a whole, she has enough sense to determine //something// is wrong. This can't be typical. Especially as the complaining escalates to full contact brawls. She deftly dodges a pair of Karen's locked in mortal combat as they roll across the tiled floor pulling at one another's hair.
     As the 'FBI' agent pops up, he earns a mild glance of curiosity. Something about the name seems vaguely artificial. She starts to leave as directed, whether the official is genuine or not. This simply isn't her problem. However, the poor Aunti Anne's employee is starting to look a little purple.
     "Sir," Ka'shira addresses Ken. "This is no way to expedite your service." She points out reasonably in her cultured tones.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen hears the FBI agent, and then sees him. He sighs for a moment, as he recognizes the guy. He starts looking around more carefully now, pretty sure this aint a chemical spill if he is involved. seeing kids crying and being ignored mostly by their parents, he will duck behind a couple of trash cans and at speed changes into his costume. Then he is up and moving. Impulse will make sure no one is throwing a fit in the arcade, and then he starts heading around the mall, gathering the kids who are in danger or upset, and zooming them to the arcade, stopping every five or ten kids, and says "Your going to be ok, but you need to stay in here and out of the main mall. He will tell them. He reaches over to the token machine and vibrates his hand into it making it start spilling out all it's tokens. He looks to the teenager behind the counter. "I'll have that covered after this and you keep the kids safe, I'll double how ever much it is." As he heads out to grab more kids and ferry them into the arcade, he will speak into his com "Rob, I may need a loan from the petty cash."

John Stewart has posed:
John was /food/ shopping on the other end of the Mall and moving onto the clothing stores when the 'FBI' agent shows up. Wearing all black and combat boots, he doesn't stand out too much, but he's going slower than usual as he moves a cart along, his eyes darting casually from one complainer to another.

This many all over the mall? Could just be a really bad day, but just in case, John signals his ring mentally to scan the area for signs of any sort of influencing energies.

Anyone who might see it can see the green ring on his right hand suddenly flare with green light as the Power Ring scans Johhn's locale for anything unusual as he continues walking.

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
As the demands get louder and louder, Rien starts looking around with a slightly confused expression, then mutters a quiet phrase to detect and magic at work in the mall today. She sighs as the magic becomes visible, so much for a day off. Another spell designed to protect her from magic is quickly put up, as she simply does _not_ have the right hair to be a Karen today. As a Karen nearby takes a swing at a store employee who was doing his best to help her, she moves to intervene. A quick leg sweep put the Karen on the floor, then she glances into the store, and seeing it currently empty of patrons, advises the man to stay inside and close the security gate until this passes.

    "One store down... too many to go." She shakes her head and starts watching the small wisps of magic, trying to see if there is a certain direction they are coming from. There much be some source to this problem, so it's time to track it down.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Listen you witch.  I'm trying to sleep after eating-"  where did two of those hamburgers go?  Food dwindles suddenly but periodically as Noriko keeps talking to the Karens who continue to tirade as if they were a bunch of witches running naked round a fire in the forest or something.  "What's wrong?  Wine book club canceled?" the girl asks, sounding native to most people most of the time, only the faintest trace of an accent peeking through at times.

Noriko watches as physical altercations begin to bubble over as if they were in slow mo, though she is remaining as still as possible as she experiences things at super speed.  Ah.  Peace.  Kind of.  This will just give her a moment to digest a little, maybe pretend to meditate internally, and take another nap.

Finally!  Now, that is, Noriko syncs back to reality's velocity as if locking in and immediately streeeeeetches.  "Okay anyone know what the hell is going on here?"  Noriko spots Constantine looking all official in some way, at least from a distance.  She's about to go over there when she spots Impulse zipping through...and her eyes follow him at superspeed.  For now, which doesn't feel any longer than a beat or two to anyone else but her and Bart, she'll just stare...and slurp her drink through her straw loudly.

John Constantine has posed:
    Finally screeching brings John's attention to Phoebe and, oh no, that will not do. A simple gesture with one hand results in a blast of concentrated force that will send the KAREN entangled with his student flying... somewhere else. Hopefully not head first into a table, but at this point, he really does not care. "Phoebe, get the people not infected and *yourself* out of here!" That little display probably certainly pegs him as 'not an FBI agent'.

    The KEN currently strangling the poor Pretzel man turns his attention on Ka'shira. Spittle flies from his mouth when he shoots back, "MY PRETZEL DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH SALT!" Little veins pop out in his forehead and neck.

    John does that duck and weave and cover thing again, arms flailing a little over his head. Before he lobs a small ball of Hellfire off into the air, if there was more proof needed that he wasn't FBI. It hits *something* that goes SKREEEEEEEEE! as it bursts into a little cloud of inky black smoke.

    For those 'sighted', those with the ability to see beyond the realm of the mundane, little willow-wisps of inky black shadow are flitting everywhere, this way and that, that way and this and the moment they make contact with a human being, they vanish into them and... hello Karen or Ken.

    ...but where are they coming from?

    "I think this is a thinning!" John calls out to Phoebe after a brief moment spent studying the situation and fire bombing two more things that get too close, one to him and one to the girl. "I just don't know where the bloody thing is!"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe is freed from one Karen, and with a kick and a repel off the counter itself, unplugging the register she was working, the screeching other Karen, and she lands in a crouch.

    "Hey! Bacon! You're on your last warning! You can't leave!" the manager calls out before he's grabbed as well by a Ken, who begins berating him for using non-organic coffee beans.

    "Ohmigod just one time--" she whispers to herself, and she reaches to her side and -- oop, no, her bag's in the back, along with her extending staff.

    So next best thing -- broomstick. She hops to the counter and using the push broom pushes the infected Karens (and Ken) back from the counter, reaches up, and begins to pull the grate down.

    "Sorry Bert -- store's closed. Register's down! Get everyone out the back!"

    "Did that guy just launch fire?!

    "Yeah. That's my M-Step-Dad."

    "... oh sh--" the manager states, and then runs for the back emergency exit to the store as Phoebe pulls down the grate. "-- it's been steadily getting worse all day. Might be just a little tear?" she calls out, taking her hat and throwing it behind her as she goes to grab her bag. The Karens are still screeching about their coffee.

Ka'shira Raptorethi has posed:
     Ka'shira leans forward to disentangle the tie of the Aunty Anne's employee from the foaming Ken. A quick tug of the garment, with her heightened strength, should be enough to free him. "Go." She speaks calmly, but the note of command is obvious.
    She then turns full attention to the Ken, as he continues to froth and rage. "A tragedy." She responds, at the lack of salt. Her feet widen as she relaxes into a ready stance should the Ken decide to attack. "I suggest..." She starts to say, as a blast of a fireball directs her attention back to Special Agent Ben Dover. "Oh, I think he's the Manager if you wished to file a complaint," Shira informs Ken.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen continues getting the kids out of the place, opening the gate when he gets to the arcade, and closing it when he leaves out again. He blinks a bit getting an odd feeling while he is running looking around, it is that tingle as if someone is watching you, but who could be watching him at speed. He then hears Phoebe's name called out and he looks over and wants to go help his friend, but he trusts her to take care of herself. Seeing Noriko, with the ladies around him, he heads towards her, she looks unaffected maybe she can help the guy in the arcade. On his way there he then notices it is she who has been watching him. He stops next to her for a moment "Ummm, your not causing this are you?"

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
    As the problem spreads, Rien starts paging through her catalog of spells, trying to find one that will work without actually damaging them. After all, most of the spells she uses on a regular basis are for fighting demons, thus designed to inflict a great amount of damage. Well, if we can't attack the Karens, might as well try attacking the cause. Enchanted claws tear out through the skin of her knuckles, glowing with their usual soft blue radiance.

    Looking around, she takes a couple running steps and jumps onto a small shop kiosk selling cel phone accessories, using that to launch herself high enough to sweep those claws through one of the little wisps that appear to be causing the problem. Hopefully they will do the job, but there's too many of the things to take them on one by one. There has to be a source, or entry point. Has to be, because if not, there's going to be a big problem fairly soon.

    Senses alert, Rien goes on the hunt.

John Stewart has posed:
When people start getting violent, John takes his cart aside... then his civilian attire suddenly disappear after a green field that flits down his body. Green glowing eyes and a Green Lantern uniform pop into existance (literally, material alteration. The civilian attire is not underneath, it no longer exists in reality. For now) on him as he starts floating above and examining the various hotspot, a green field of energy surrounding him to keep the black energy out of himself as he tries to find a source.

Meanwhile, as he does so, John aims his ring here and there when those effects start to become violent, scooping them up with green constructed pincers (not hollow, actual pincers with all the details) and placing them as far from others as he can manage.

Magic is not his thing... but he can at least do crowd control and be a giant target as he scans for the source.

Then, he constructs a loudspeaker in front of himself, and a booming voice can be heard. "I am John Stewart, Green Lantern for this sector. There is a situation developing. /ANYONE/ who has their rationality still intact, please exit the Mall as soon as possible."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko reaches for a burger that is already gone.  All out of burgers.  "Damnit."  A Karen now goes for another's hair, her tray falling to the ground.  "Don't mind if I do," Noriko says before stooping to rescue the woman's untouched food before it gets stomped on.  She looks over to Bart, then back again.  Her eyes widen just a hair, a fraction of a micro expression in rapid time.  A HE SEES ME moment.  Which doesn't seem to matter in the next moment when the hellfire goes off.

"Wow."  Noriko blinks to Bart.  "Huh?  No.  I'm just not fluent in this dialect of asshole...wait...am I?"  Nori's eyes dart around at a higher velocity in a sudden slip, her pupils appearing larger than they are by virtue of blurring around.

John Constantine has posed:
    Red faced, veins all popping purple, the KEN shifts his gaze toward John when Ka'Shira points him out as The Manager. He *stalks* that way, hands clenched into fists at his sides. "I don't bloody well have time for this," the 'Laughing Magician' snarls. A simple gesture, a blast of force, and the KEN goes flying BACK in Ka'Shira's direction.

    A few more fireballs, a few more fried wisps and then John closes his eyes and starts chanting. Open, vulnerable and unaware for the moment, but he *has* to do something, right? He lets his senses roam through the mall and tags each person they find that's not infected with a spell that will keep them that way.

    This includes the little group of heroes trying to fix it and they might even *feel* a little 'zap' of a sensation as the spell hits them. They'll also feel the same whenever one of those things hits them. It's not *painful*, it's just like a low grade bug zapper keyed to work on these blasted things alone.

    Rien's claws do work to rend the little wisps, but there are sooooo many of them. He path to find the source takes her through the mall, down, down... down to where patrons aren't permitted. Into the ugly bowels of the place, the place where returns go to die and mannequins are stored. It's creepy enough down there *without* the rest of it. There, in the corner, is a tear in reality and from it? Those things are pouring out by the dozens and dozens at a time.

    The Green Lantern's efforts help getting those that were moving toward exits moving even faster. The KARENS and KENS that are caught and scooped up scream and SRKEEEEEEE indignantly.

    "How DARE YOU!"
    "Do you KNOW who I AM?"
    "Put me down or I'll SUE!"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe grabs the leather bag from her locker in the back of the room, and looks back. He'd ordered her out, and she shakes her head as she tails her coworkers as the manager tells her that he' ssorry, but having your family show up and cause issues is definitely grounds for termination on last notice.

    And as she goes, she takes the broomhandle and pulls the fire alarm in their kitchen.

    They might not listen to an FBI agent slinging fireballs, but that'll help get people out of the mall -- she hopes, and she reaches in and pulls an earpiece out, slinging it into her ear.

    "This is Balm. Any Outsiders in the area of Westchester's Lost Pond Mall, there is a situation."

    And she exits, looking for anyone that might be displaying Karen-like behaviors -- she had to try something.

Ka'shira Raptorethi has posed:
     Ka'shira turns quickly as she hears the Green Lantern's announcement. Ah, this sector's Green Lantern. Interesting and valuable information. Face noted, her focus returns to her situation.
    As Foam at the Mouth Ken rebounds back in her direction, Ka'shira sidesteps quickly to the side. That was an unintended result. The young woman sighs and raises her fists defensively. As Ken charges, she sides steps once more, but this time, her hands lift to grasp the sides of his head and 'gently' introduce his forehead to the Aunty Anne's counter. The fleshy thud of contact earns a slight wince from the couture-clad woman. "Right, modulate strength." She reminds herself under her breath, as the Ken falls into an unconscious heap at her feet.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will bring his hand to the side of his head for a moment "Already here, is there an exit from the arcade besides into the mall, I have been putting all the kids there to keep them safe." He then looks over to Noriko "Ok, you want to help?" He looks over to one of the Karen's and grabs her scarf and tugs maybe sending the woman spiraling away. He offers it to Noriko "You can use this to hide your face if you need it." He offers her the scarf. "Help me make sure the people are safe, and we can hit a buffet or two and talk a bit after?"

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
    Constantine's spell augments the antimagic Rien already put up, adding that 'zap' to the shell that keeps her safe from the things. As she spots a pattern in the movement of the little motes causing the problem, she traces it to an 'employees only' door. Ignoring the sign entirely, she steps in and heads down into the basement, stopping when she finds the tear in reality.

    This is the kind of thing she deals with now and then as a demon hunter, but each one is different. Fortunately she recognizes the feel of the magic that augmented her own shield, so out comes a cel phone, autodialing Constantine's number. If he takes the time to answer the call, she'll relay what she has found and suggest it might be best if he got himself down here so they can try and shut this rift. In the meantime, she pages through the various dimensional spells she knows, trying one or two to assess the severity of the rift.

John Stewart has posed:
There are a lot of people in Malls typically, and as Constantine throws around fireballs at the whatever-they-ares, John notes it, but keeps up with his crowd control. That loudspeaker he constructed remains as he floats through the Mall, repeating what he said as he goes as he goes just fast enough to get the word out in every section of the mall, one at a time.

With that done (pincering every infected person he finds and ignoring their protests as he goes) John flies over to the 'FBI agent' and float above. "You can see them and have the magic to remove them. Tell me what I can do to help you." The Green Lantern asks. John is clearly used to being in command from his tone... but is enough of a tactician to recognize when someone knows what he's doing better than him.

Constantine can easily see that his spell is floating around the man's green energy shield, but hasn't touched the Green Lantern himself yet.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I thought it was funny...like some kind of weird mass hysteria, but thinks have...escalated."  Noriko snags the scarf from Bart and rapidly works on the best way to bundle her face and head right there in the chaos.  It's ugly, but it will do the trick, and Noriko doesn't seem to need much more than that from the scarf.  "I can't believe I'm wearing taupe," she murmurs flatly behind the scarf.  She nods sharply and takes off.

So the work begins.  The girl maintains a velocity that renders her surroundings more something to dance around than to worry about, stopping to quickly spit out a disclaimer before spiriting off the next person and the next person and the next person.

Noriko finds a teenage boy hiding, unaffected and cornered and spirits him away without any of the disclaimer...well without any of it said at a speed that the poor guy could comprehend it.  He can make out, "don'tbarfonme," though, right before he is not where he was.

"Sorry."  Noriko steps out of the way of expected vomit.  "Seeya!" she flashes an a peace sign with her gauntlets, tiny electric bolts zig zagging between her fingers.

John Constantine has posed:
    Spell cast, John opens his eyes just in time to see a skreeeeeing Karen all up in his face. Apparently she heard the word that he's The Manager too. "I ASKED FOR A NON-FOAM LATTE! DOES THIS LOOK NON-FOAM TO YOU?!" There is no foam to be found in that Latte.

    John sticks a finger in his ear as if to clear it from the noise of the screeching and asks, "What in the bloody hell is a *latte*?" He dismisses any answer the woman might have with a palm out hand to her face. Seriously, talk to the hand. "I don't have time for this!"

    He actually shoves the woman back with that hand, right to her forehead. Of course that just enrages the KAREN beast further and brings forth an, "HOW DARE YOU!"

    "Anyone seen a tear in reality?! Anyone?!" John bellows above the chaos of the moment. It is, indeed, *chaos*. Tables are turned over, condiments everywhere, hair pulling, slap fights, screaming, clawing...

    The Laughing Magician is reminded, yet again, why he *hates* bloody malls when a piece of slung pizza slaps him in the side of the face. His hand clenches at his side to extinguish the Hellfire he *almost* lobbed in retaliation for that pizza to the face.

    ...really? His phone's ringing? "Bollocks!" He fishes around in a pockets and finds his sodden phone and swipes right to answer. "Little BUSY," he snaps.

    He looks up at the floating Other John. Wow, this is really turning into a day innit? "See to the injured, aye mate?" Because there are... there are poor hapless managers and employees all over the place that have been beaten on, bitten, scratched, scolded by hot coffee, blinded by hot sauce to the face and not a single one infected.

    Kids, aren't they always the ones to suffer the most? Poor things are huddled in the arcade crying for their mommies and daddies. That is the ones that aren't future criminals. Those ones are looting crane games for unearned prizes.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Oh good, you're on site." Phoebe states to Impulse. "There's a rift in reality that this stuff is coming from. John is sure of it." Phoebe says as she discards her apron for the last time, and pulls out a hair wrap and wraps her hair as she runs to the main entrance.

    "I'm establishing a healing station inside the main entrance. Any wounded, bring there. I'm going to try and purify them -- worked for Wonder Woman." she states, and she takes out a can of spraypaint. Tagging, really Phoebe? How the mighty have fallen.

    "And if you see John and a rip in reality, make sure they find each other?" she asks of Impulse. "I'll make cookies."

Ka'shira Raptorethi has posed:
     Ka'shira steps back from the Aunty Anne's counter. Slowly, carefully, she walks further into the food court, skirting a puddle of what she assumes is ketchup. She stops to pull another Karen off of a sobbing California Kitchen employee.
     At about that time, she hears Special Agent Ben Dover ask about a tear in reality. It takes her a moment to translate the magical phrases into Shiny Space Science, but she manages. These men and women were contaminated with some sort of extra planer pathogen or toxin. Wonderful. "No, I..." She starts to reply, but then recalls she's supposed to be a 'wealthy socialite.' Damn. She flings the Karen she'd grabbed and started again towards the exits.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen looks over to Noriko, and says "Got promise of cookies after." HE knows how food spurs some speedsters on. Over the Com he says "Got it aint seen it, got a Green lantern in here, and ohh John just took a pizza to the face." was there a bit of a snicker there? Maybe just a bit. "You want one of the infected first to try that? If it works maybe we can can tie them up for you or something. He will stop by the arcade and tries to calm the kids "Your mom's and Dads are going to be ok, we have Superheroes here working to help. Here they come to save the day." But then he is off again. Looking going into a store, grabbing a sweater with extra long arms, and he will put it on a Karen using the sleeves to tie her hands behind her back, and heading to drop her off where Phoebe is.

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
    Success! John does take the time to answer his phone. Knowing the man does not have a ton of patience, even before he gets his words out, she's already talking. "It's Rien. The tear is in the basement, but so far I've had no success closing it. Could use a hand shutting this problem down, then we can do the cleanup afterwards."

    In the meantime, she's standing just near the rift, scything her claws through as many of the things she can manage to keep the mess upstairs as small as she can. Still, there is a stream of them heading up to the main floor to wreak havoc. Honestly, she's happier dealing with strange creatures from beyond rather then the overly entitled suburbanites whose worst qualities are being brought out and magnified in the mall above.

John Stewart has posed:
John's seen that little Speed Force user moving around the Mall, and has a good idea who it is: Impulse. The magician wants the injured dealt with? Easy enough.

As Impulse speeds around the Mall, John floats down in front of him to get his attention. Then, he hears Phoebe. "If you two can deal with the injured, we need to find the source. It's just going to keep getting worse until the entire Mall is infected. Call if you need assistance." There's a note of command in his voice when he says it. One can easily tell he's used to leading from that tone as his ring aims for yet another of the infected, sending them to Impulse, before he starts flying through the Mall, scanning for a source of the infections... top to bottom.... and once he does find it, plug it with a Green energy shield.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko actually licks her lips subconsciously when Bart mentions the promise of cookies.  She may have just eaten, but her body never feels like it can get enough fuel, even when she does.  Maybe it's psychological.

"I want a pizza to the face," Noriko stops to say, before zipping along to scoop up some children, one under each arm.  She takes them on a circuitous route, slowing down so they don't get sick on the ride.

John Constantine has posed:
    "On my way," John replies into the phone before pocketing it again. "Basement..." Was that for The Green Lantern's benefit or just John talking to himself? It's a little difficult to tell with him sometimes.

    "Basement," he repeats as those lanky legs of his carry him out of the food court and into the mall proper. Stairs... over there. He busts through the door and down, down, down, down, he goes. By the time he gets there, he's breathing heavy and actually bends over to place his hands on his knees. There's still cheese and sauce clinging to one side of his face, his pant leg is still damp from his entrance, his shoe still soaked.

    "I hate fuckin' malls," he informs Rien before he straightens again and eyes the rift. "Bloody *fucking* hell, that's a big one." ...it is and it's growing by the second. He sucks in a breath and extends both hands toward the thing. Exhale, one more inhale, and on the exhale... he starts chanting.

    As he does so, he draws his hands together as if trying to push closed heavy doors, or doors that are stuck... or heavy doors that are stuck. The progress is slow going, his face strained with the effort, sweat beading on his forehead. Little help!

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Focus, Bart!" Phoebe responds about the pizza in her best 'Red Robin imitation' voice "As long as he hasn't set someone on fire John's priority is finding and closing that portal." Phoebe states over the 'hissing' of spraypaint. Circle she's learned, holding, concentration of power. She goes into the middle of the circle, and crouches down so that her hands press to the dirty and now spray-painted carpet. The circle glows white-gold with Healing and Light, and Phoebe creates the circle of her aura healing, fifteen feet of drive-through healing and cleansing.

    "All right, Impulse. Anyone you find, bring them to me... please." she states, watching the front hallway.

    She's not *technically* in the mall.

    Anyone who can pick up on the magic is going to sense there is a *hell* of a Beacon of Light at the main entrance. Hope you brought your Sunglasses!

    Even the couple of Karens who have made their way complaining out of the mall thanks to the fire alarm feel better as they pass through her circle, the black smoke burning out of them, purified. Even their caffeine and nicotine addictions feel better! What a good person Phoebs is.

Ka'shira Raptorethi has posed:
     Ka'shira does not see magic, so as she nears the exit doors all she sees is a young woman with spray paint. This obviously is where the wounded are being gathered. With another deep, soulful sigh, Shira turns back on her heel, to scoop up that sobbing California Pizza Kitchen employee. Propping the door open with a hip, she stoops to carefully deposither burden. With a glance at Pheobe, Ka'shira, "Are you a healer?" She asks bluntly, since the other young woman seemed to be in control of the injured.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Hello!" Phoebe greets Kashira "I am -- set them in the circle. And any of the aggressive ones." Phoebe states, glow encircling her eyes.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will deposit the Karen he had made a straight jacket for with Phoebe, and will then look around, and starts bringing carts and kiosks along the middle of the hall, making a bit dividing wall. "OK, hurt on the right, craze balls on the left." He will tell Phoebe "Once you got some parent types, I start bringing the kids over. Also, a Blue streak is not me but on our side." He tells her, and is off back into the mall. He will come up beside Noriko, and tells her "Made a hallway out, hurt people on the right, the crazies on the left, got someone out there who can help both it seems." And with that, first priority is the hurt people, but iif a infected is in his way they get deposited on the path for light detox.

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
    Rien keeps popping the little critters until John arrives, nodding at his statement. "Yes, and the basic dimensional sealing spells I've tried have not affected it." She does not comment on the pizza remnants, there's certainly a good explanation for it, and really, distracting him with such minor concerns can wait until the rift is sealed.

    When John begins his spell, Rien listens carefully to him and then adds her voice to his. In this case, since it's not a spell she actually knows, her contribution is pouring mystic energy into John, augmenting his strength so he can get the rift closed. One of the good parts of being in an entire clan of magic users is that early on you learn how to share energy to complete tasks that are above the strength of any one member.

John Stewart has posed:
It doesn't take long for John to find it, especially with that chanting from Constantine and the river coming out of the rift.

Once he does find it though, John just... stares. "Getting tired of portals lately." John mutters, before he lands to one side and focuses on the rift. Out of his Power Ring comes a form fitting Green construct; a dome that fits over the rift proper like a cork.

"If you're gonna do something, now's the time." John grates, his left hand coming up to his wrist as he focuses on maintaining the cork despite the growing nature of the hole he's trying to plug.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko isn't visible really, till she is, having returned from depositing her last two, some twelve year olds.  She looks around as Bart talks to her, assessing the scene as it goes by so much quicker than she'd like while they speak.  "Got it," she gives him a sharp nod, nothing but her dark eyes visible, the rest of her wrapped in that scarf.  It isn't really clear what Bart means by blue streak until a few small bolts gallop up from the edges of her gauntlets along her arms for a split second before she snuffs it out as she's pushing off, almost like a starter save for the sharp little cracks that happen.

It feels good to get in some exercise after indulging so much anyways, and Nori starts to triage people into the queues, though she doesn't really stop to talk much to people more than she has to.  She's really thinking about those cookies.

John Constantine has posed:
    The cleanup crew upstairs is making good time with clearing the infected and helping the wounded. But there's still a matter of all those wisps flitting about. Something needs to be done about that...

    "Jus' keep goin', luv," John murmurs to Rien. 'I hate malls, I hate fucking malls, I HATE MALLS', is the little side mantra playing in the Laughing Magician's head when Rien's added mystic energy allows him to split his attention and their shared power to finish the other half of this nasty business.

    "Workin' on it, mate," he replies to the Green Lantern. Who just made the next task a whole lot easier, if not any more pleasant. Not so much energy needed now to keep up with the closing, that bit slows to a creep for the moment.

    His head gives a tiny little tilted shake, his shoulders roll, his hands drop for just a moment to shake at his sides before coming back up again. ...and his magic splits directions. On one end, it's still fighting to bring together the edges of that rift. On the other end, it's willing everything that's left out there that came from the rift to go back *into* it.

    Easiest way to to that? Funnel them right through himself down the threads of magic going into the closing. Rien might get one or two of them, sorry 'bout that, but he does do his best to keep the funneling contained to just him.

    She does get the pleasure of seeing every one of them shoot through his back, down his arms and go all topsy turvy right into that shimmering hole in reality. His body jerks and twitches with each one. He staggers a time or two, even ends up on his knees - common position for him when one thinks back on it. That is *not* pleasant, but magic's messy innit?

    One they're all back in, he slams both of his hands together, pulling hard on Rien's loaned power and the edges of the rift *pop* back together with an audible snap.

    By the time it's over and all of them are back inside and the rift sealed? John's sitting on his ass, those lanky legs all spread wide in front of him. He pulls a pack of Silk Cuts from his pocket. No Smoking in the Mall John! Does he give shite? He lights that cigarette with that beloved Zippo gifted to him by his best mate since acne and awkward. He draws in a lungful of smoke, exhales and mutters, "*Fucking* MALLS."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe really does make amazing Lemon-Raspberry sugar cookies. And pretty much any cookie, but Bart might not be the best judge of culinary skills -- speedster appitite, she thinks, tends to dull 'good' for 'caloric intake'.

    Those leaving the mall pass through her circle. Injuries healed. Darkness cleared. Those affected have no memory of its occurance, simply walking out and wondering how they got outside, why is there a fire alarm going, and what's with the weirdo crouched down between the doors? What even is up with that? Phoebe works her magic, carefully metered. Clear. Heal the worst wounds. Her own cuts on her cheek are open and oozing a little bit, but she's focused all her energies on stopping those black whisps from leaving -- until they're pulled back in.

    As the last of the wounded and the infected pass through to the outside, some looking curiously, Phoebe closes down the 'drive through, and teeters slightly -- and then falls on her butt.

    "ooh. That's... going to sting..." she murmurs quietly, reaching up and smearing blood on her cheek a moment, and she stands, slowly, reaching up to her ear.

    "Impulse, where's John at?"

Ka'shira Raptorethi has posed:
     Ka'shira nods at the young woman as she continues to help bring in wounded and crazy Karens alike. As Pheobe heals and purifies the last, Shira watches through the Mall Foyer doors as they leave with puzzled expressions. She then returns her attention to Pheobe and the costumed young man that's she's been helping. "Is that the last of it?" She asks in her posh, cultured tones.

John Stewart has posed:
Seeing what is happening a split second before the rift is about to close, John allows the 'cork' to vanish. It wasn't the more terribly wearying experience, but it does make the Green Lantern take a moment to breath. "Nice work." John compliments, looking to Constantine. His eyes remain behind green glowing energy, but the rest of his face is uncovered, on top of that Green Lantern uniform. "You do this often, I take it."

It was less a question and more a statement, by the way the magician was basically going by improv.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will make sure the parents and kids meet at the arcade area once everything is handled. He does make a quick stop at the ATM pulling out a black credit card and takes out some money giving the kid who was working there a grand for the tokens and then a grand for himself "Thanks." He tells him, and then is back towards Phoebe, he will motion Noriko over to join them, tell her if she gets near them "I'm Impulse, and this is ." Seeing she is not wearing a mask "A friend." He says introducing Phoebe. He then looks over to Phoebe and says "This is.. another friend." He says not knowing Noriko's name. "Last time I saw him, he was heading towards the maintenance halls."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
    Rien feeds energy into John until the job is done. It's actually enough to make her a little shaky herself, so she takes a moment to sit down beside John before pulling out a silver cigarette case and taking out one of her hand rolled cloves, lighting it with a small lighter that also fits in the case, then blows out a cloud of aromatic smoke with a sigh. "Well, so much for a day off." She looks over at the Lantern and smiles, saying "Thanks for the assist, you're handy to have around, it seems."

    Looking back over to Constantine she asks, "Any chance I can learn that spell? Seems rather effective, and I'm always looking to improve my arsenal." Another pull on the cigarette follows. "I saw you pulled them back as well, do we need to worry about the people that were infected, or were you able to pull them out?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko slows down her approach to a blur.  "Uh...am I supposed to have a code name or something?" Nori isn't wearing any kind of special outfit, but her awful stolen taupe scarf disguise at least covers up her mouth and that hair no one can forget...sure it does nothing to hide her distinct brand of not-giving-a-crap running gear.

"Name's Nori," the speedster gives, omitting her last name.

John Constantine has posed:
    "Just another day endin' in Y, mate," John replies to... John. "Ditto, appreciate the assist," he adds. His blinks a few time, eyes opening wide and squeezing shut tight with each as if he's trying to clear his vision before he presses a thumb and index finger into the corners of those faded denim blues.

    He lowers his hand and looks up, "Whatever I didn't get, I'm sure Phoebe did." He'll get up... in a minute. "Sure, luv," he agrees easily enough before a little cough and a splutter goes along with some exhaled smoke. "Some sort of entitlement spirits. Never seen anythin' like'm. These things are gettin' bigger, stuff coming out of them more foreign." Talking to himself or the class? Hard to say.

    He struggles himself to his feet. "I need a bloody drink."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe teeters a little more, and leans against the doorway a moment as Impulse returns. She gives a weak wave to Noriko.

    "Thank you for your help. I'm with the guy in the trenchcoat." she explains as she swallows something down, and stands up.

    "I'd better go find him and make sure he's all right. And not... y'know. Covered by pizza." she smiles and gives a wave. "Phoebe." she introduces herself simply to Nori, then looks down and takes out the white spraypaint again and quickly destroys the circle. Might be reported as vandalisim later, but at least nothing's going to come over it.

    "Pretty sure there'll be a reconveine at the bar. You're welcome to come." she smiles, and then goes off jogging, back into the mall, trying to track down the smell of silk cuts.

    "John! Are you okay?"

Ka'shira Raptorethi has posed:
     Ka'shira doesn't include her name as the others introduce themselves to one another. She watches as Pheobe runs off, and murmurs under her breath. "Well, I suppose that's the end of it, then." She never did end up being able to eat. Ah well. With a final look over her shoulder to the wrecked food court, Shira exits the mall. As she leaves, she pulls her cell from her purse, and dials as she walks.

John Stewart has posed:
There's a respectful nod from John to the magician, and that green field around him intensifies as he float up, then starts flying out and up to the mall proper.

On his way past, John looks with amusement to Phoebe, "The OTHER John is fine." He quips, before giving a two finger salute to the woman and heading for outside, where the injured are.

He begins scanning them, checking for any major injuries he needs to fly to the hospital directly.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will make sure Phoebe is not going to fall down, and says to her "If you need help, I can help ya find him." He offers to her. To Noriko, he will add "Cookies may have to wait as my baker is a bit out of it, it seems, but we can hit a couple of all you can eat places if you want."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
    Raising a brow, Rien replies, "Well, that doesn't sound like a good thing. Any idea what's causing them? If they get much bigger, we're going to have some real problems. I've seen far too many of the things that exist out there, we don't need some of them stepping into this world. Though I admit, never heard of this kind of spirit before. Don't know how bad they might have gotten if they were allowed time, however."

    She rises to her feet as well, adding "I'm going to do a little research, I'll be in touch if I find anything." She waves to John, then vanishes in a flash of light with a short spell designed to take her back to the Clan D'Arqueness stronghold.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko just nods in return to Phoebe's wave, leaving her gauntlets at her side.  She looks over to said trench coat guy, making a mental note.  "Sure.  It was weird."  She certainly didn't see a lot of what was actually going on, but the swarm of Karens and Kens were enough to tip her off.

If Noriko is returning Phoebe's smile or anything, no one knows, because of that taupe scarf.  The girl does have Noriko's attention and there are meaningful looks, so maybe that's acknowledgement of the introduction.  "Sure...ugh," Noriko pulls the scarf off.  It's doused in perfume and she has since discovered it is also the source of her mild headache.

"I'm cool with whatever.  I just want a bite before I go home.  I need to leave word at home," with whom or what, she doesn't say.  "But I can meet you some place."

John Constantine has posed:
    "I feel like I should have Juicy written across my arse, but I'm fine!" John calls out. He winces at the sound of his own voice... too loud. At least there's no black magic goo loogies this go around?

    "Not yet, luv, but workin' on it." Then she's gone and he's left pretty much alone until Phoebe actually arrives in the basement.

    "Fucking *malls*." Still on that one, isn't he? Probably will be forever since he was even *before* this happened. He makes his way in the direction of the staircase with one glance over his shoulder just be sure the close job's holding. It is, but they're getting bigger, more difficult. What happens when one can't be closed?

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe Pauses, looking up to the Green Lantern, and with a mildly surprised expression, and watches as he leaves, then continues in, taking off her earpiece as Bart makes sure she doesn't topple.

    The injured, for the most part, are fine. Heavy injuries have been reduced to minor maladies, no broken bones. EMT's and firetrucks are responding to the alarm pulled on her way out.

    "Injured and infected are taken care of. There were two speedy types who helped sort them into triage. First time I've run a drive-through." she states, and sort of sits down on the first step a minute.

    "... I hate malls too." she states in quiet admission. "Also, pretty sure I got fired."

John Stewart has posed:
Seems like everything major is dealt with, so emergency crews are left to handle cleanup as John flies right back to his cart.

Somehow, someway, nothing was taken. Then again, it was a bit chaotic.

As he lands behind the cart, the uniform and glowing eyes suddenly disappear in a green 'phase out' as John returns to his civilian attire.

Groceries won't check out themselves...