7877/Laundry in Hell

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Laundry in Hell
Date of Scene: 18 September 2021
Location: Hell's Kitchen
Synopsis: Laundry Day is a Mildly Dangerous Day. When Phoebe Beacon is doing chores at the local laundromat, somehow a little imp is summoned. The Shadow (Natasha Cranston) comes accross the young mage after she's slung from the laundromat through the window, and Vivian Vision is *Not* hit by pants. If you're missing a sock, it might be on 52nd Avenue in Hell's Kitchen, about a block away from the Laughing Magician.
Cast of Characters: Phoebe Beacon, Vivian Vision, Natasha Cranston




Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    It was Saturday. Saturday meant chore day, because no one really cared about a seventeen-year-old errupting out of a bar, dragging a large basket of laundry with her down the street to the Happy Bubble Laundromat.

    The laundromat is like many other laundromats across the country; it's made up in pinks and sky blues, with dryers stacked one on top of another on either wall, a bank of industrial sized washers in the middle, and is largely unmanned. There's a couple of vending machines for soap if you forgot it, stain fighter if you need it, candy bars, chip bags, and soda pop by the one-dollar bargain brand can. All was quiet... for now.

Vivian Vision has posed:
Saturdays mean no school. And without school to keep her busy Vivian Vision, perhaps the worlds only synthezoid teenager, is off to explore the world and improve her understanding of humanity.

Which mostly consists of just travelling around various parts of New York to find weird or interesting things. Thankfully New York is a pretty weird place most of the time. So it doesn't usually take long to find something.

Even if most of the time that something is a crowd of people pointing at her and asking silly questions about robot uprisings or making Terminator references..

Natasha Cranston has posed:
            Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of Man?

    Laundromats are popular in pulp media as fronts for organized crime; there's just something irresistible at the opportunity to make a 'money laundering' pun. In reality, this is much less often the case - for one, a laundromat just doesn't process enough of a cash flow to really make it worth it; for another, diners and takeout places are a much better cover.

    None of that is pertinent to Natasha's ventures this evening; a much more straightforward extortion case, easily enough resolved. But it's a nice night, and while the Shadow doesn't normally patrol, why waste an opportunity to strike just a bit more fear into the hearts of low-lifes?

    Echoing footsteps along the pavement, flickering shadows in the streetlight. Just doing their bit to help the criminal element sleep a little less easy tonight...

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    And then the For Now.

    Phoebe was wearing a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt promoting some free item day or another at a Gotham sports venue when one of the washers begins to rumble. Her hand was paused half-way into a Sunchips bag (those things are never quiet), and she takes out an earbud. Her eyes narrow a moment and she rubs at her left wrist as she comes to a stand.

    One by one, the washers not currently in use begin to snap open to the sounds of drumming and deep barritone singing to the back and forth melody of the agitators in the washers.

    She takes the other earbud out, and reaches for her bag, when she is lifted up by force and shot through the front window of the laundro mat!

    "FEAR! FEAR ME SMALL MORTALS!" comes a bubbly sound and deep voice, as if rising from the bottom of a well. "I HAVE COME TO CLEEAAANSE THIS MISERABLE WORLD OF YOUR FILTH!"

Vivian Vision has posed:
New York is always finding ways to be strange and new for Vivian to experience. But it's never been quite that unusual before...

So much so that at first Viv doesn't even really react to the sudden smashing of glass. Perhaps this is some sort of weird promotional stunt?

The synthetic teen does however land for a closer look. Using her enhanced senses to zoom into the interior and performing some online checks to confirm this really isn't some really weird viral marketing. She also attempts to look for any internal security cameras in the laundromat. The better for safely viewing the inside without putting herself or others at any risk.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    ... Well, that was unexpected. And loud. The Shadow makes her way to the source of the disturbance. Fading into visibility next to Phoebe, she leans down to help the young woman up.

    "Are you injured?" comes the question. "What did you see happen?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Cameras? In the laundromat?

    Only set to the vending machines in case someone tries to steal from them. The machines otherwise all have hard readers.

    But Viv wouldn't miss the overflow of fine foam, accompanied by black eyes as it fills the laundromat and causes the camera to short.

    Shattered glass lines the street, and Phoebe was glad that she was able to get her backpack in front of her -- at least that's working in her favor. She coughs a moment, shoulders sliced up a little bit as she takes a deep breath, and looks to the Shadow, and croaks out "All of the washers started singing and then I got shoved out a window." she states rolling her shoulder a moment as she draws her legs up. She's lost a shoe. The Shadow would see that her foot's healing from a long shard of glass that's cut across it, and Phoebe nimbly rolls up to her feet.

    "Some sort of... bubbly spirit?" she asks, looking at the place in disbeleif.

    And the creature from inside begins to errupt through the broken glass like a Michelin Tire Man, except fizzy and smelling of Rose Bliss Laundry Detergent, reek with the scent of artificial flowers and clean linen.

    He gives a mighty roar, and turns to smash a surprisingly solid fist into someone's parked car, setting off alarms up and down the street!

Vivian Vision has posed:
It's not that unusual for a small business to have security systems installed. But perhaps Hells Kitchen is the sort of place where you'd at best get a pretend camera intended to scare off petty thieves.

Still her senses far exceed what Humans can perceive. Zoom functionality, different wavelengths of light and her hearing is equally superb. She walks a little closer, cautiously until she knows just what she's dealing with, which seems to be a foam monster...? Part of her mind starts running this against various databases she has access too. Perhaps the Titans have encountered such a foe before!

Then again perhaps they haven't. Unless Vorpal was left in charge of doing the dishes...

"Please stop causing property damage or I will be forced to detain you until the authorities arrive."

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    Natasha has seen enough strangeness in New York to retain an open mind, but Phoebe's description still gives her a moment's pause. "... A what?" the Shadow asks, a moment before the creature in question starts pushing through the window.

    "... I see," they continue, helping Phoebe up with one hand while the other draws a gun in case it doesn't heed the synthezoid's warning...

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The large, foamy monster pauses as it regards Vivian. Its head seems to roll onto its shoulders, and then it begins to laugh. Every sound that comes out of it is tainted by the bubbling breath of people drowning.

    "YOU DARE TO COMMAND ME?" it howls it laugher, and then belches forth a disgustingly slimey, cheap-liquid-detergent, slightly grainy material at Vivian, colored dull denim blue to try and dampen the Synthoid!

    "DON'T LET IT TOUCH YOU!" Phoebe calls out, and giving a nod to The Shadow, and a lsight smile in recognition, Phoebe exhales, and stretches her hands out.

    She holds up her right hand, light pooling against her palm a moment as she tries to think of what she can use to create a binding circle that can't be scrubbed off the street!

Vivian Vision has posed:
Vivian Vision doesn't move at all. Not even when the girl shouts her warning. But then she doesn't need to move. By shifting herself out of phase with reality she just allows whatever the creature is firing to pass through her like she's not even there. Because in all practical terms she isn't.

"Your use of the word 'dare' suggests that I would have any reason to be intimidated by you," she points out with a shrug. "You appear to be largely composed of bubbles and liquid. I can generate energy beams which will cut through steel. You might not be aware of this but the majority of liquids evaporate when exposed to extreme heat..."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... lasers. That... is such a good idea." Phoebe states in response to Vivian's warning to the entity, and she turns to The Shadow. "If you can clear the street, I'll see if I can get a containment circle, but I can't have anyone near it." she comments to The Shadow. "Thank you for your help, again." she replies to the mysterious figure with its scarf and hat, and then looks back to the Demon, and dashes forward. From her right hand bursts a spike of light as Phoebe channels her power into her staff, the golden, shining staff coming in to sweep down and through the left leg of the loud, bubbling, spewing, expelling figure, and skids to a stop under Vivian.

    "If I give you a picture, can you eye-laser it into the street?" she calls up to Vivian, taking out her phone. "It has to be done perfectly to scale!"

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    The Shadow nods. "That... Can be arranged," comes the reply as the figure rises and takes a step back, straightening and spreading their hands.

    Nothing seems to change at first -- but gradually, the few onlookers that were around this late at night blink, shake themselves, and walk off with a vaguely puzzled look on their faces as if wondering why they'd been standing there in the first place...

Vivian Vision has posed:
"Provide me with verbal permission to access your phone and I'll view the image directly," Vivian replies with a nod. Giving the soap demon a look of complete dis-interest that will hopefully enrage it enough to focus it's attention on her.

And of course waste it's time trying to attack an out of phase synthezoid.

It won't take much effort to break into a cellphone. It'll likely be over before Phoebe has finished saying the words. And the adjustments to create a scale model engraving in the surface of the road... Well they're already underway before she knows what the image even is. Factoring in the heat needed to cut asphalt without melting it and making the image smudge. Along with a variety of other considerations.

There's rather a lot more to precision cutting than most people think. You can't just go round eye lasering things at random!

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "You have permission! Look for Circle-underscore-holding-banish-oh-two-point-one JPG! Mind the Coptic!" she calls out, and as the laundry-spewing creature -- it's now attempted to launch stolen laundry up at the unphased Vivian.

    She breathes out, in a moment and -- oh. That was her jeans that just got launched at Vivian. That's bad.

    "... arrugh why my liiiife." she complains, and then she gives a whistle to the creature:

    "HEY BIG FIZZY AND UGLY! Your momma wears army boots!" she calls out.

Vivian Vision has posed:
Being a synthezoid has many perks. Thinking faster is one. Multi-tasking is another. And density control is also pretty excellent. Rather than simply phase through the laundry Viv lowers her density until she's practically weightless and with an idle flex of her toes leaps about three storeys up.

Easily evading the incoming jeans. Although sadly that means they'll land on the streets of Hells Kitchen and no doubt need washing even more than before..

It also gives Viv an ideal vantage point to begin lasering from. Her yellow eyes blindingly bright as she cuts a neat magical circle into the asphalt below.

It's hard to say if tricks will work with magical beings, but just to be safe she summons up a dozen holographic illusions of herself and begins moving them around. Why bother dodging when you can make someone attack thin air after all!

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    That is a perk! -- and THAT is a perk!

    Phoebe narrowly avoids getting plastered by her own jeans, from the washing machine-sprouted demon. She turns about, the blue liquid being spewed striking her skin and making it blister slightly. She grits her teeth, and then as Vivian mutitasks eye-lasering the street and being a target, Phoebe moves to the side of the circle being traced.

    "Lead him this way!" she calls out, letting her staff go and the light disappearing as she draws down. The heat from the melted asphault is really, really warm.

Vivian Vision has posed:
With the request for the demon to be lead in a specific direction Vivian switches from playing a simple holographic shell game to directly controlling everything visible within a rather large sphere around her. The demon's ability to 'see' visually being limited to only the things Viv wishes.

She can't really control the magical senses such an entity might have. But hopefully it'll be enough to herd it into the circle for the mystery mage.

And of course she can act as bait herself. The circle cut she applies a few blasts directly to the demon. Nothing deadly. Not that she calculates anyway. But painful? Hopefully!

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Well, when you get somebody angry enough, they're likely to do something stupid. Phoebe is *VERY* familiar with hte idea.

    With squealching sounds, the demon cast in laundry foam reaches out to try and grab Vivian -- one step... two steps... THREEE --- and into the circle he stammers.

    Phoebe gives a soft 'please let this work!', and activates on the circle she has been practicing. It lights up with the same light, golden flames licking at the air.

    The foam falls away, the whole of the creature deforming down into this little grayish blue and red imp with overly large ears and a TREMENDOUS underbite!

    "HOW DARE YOU MORTALS INFRIGE THIS UPON MEEEEE RELEASE ME BEFORE I BREAK YOUR BONES!" he calls out.

    "Don't think so." Phoebe states, switching to Coptic: <I know the truth of thy name: Dolmozor! Return to Hell by my command! I cast thee down!>

     -- and the little demon resists... breathes out -- and then goes SPLAT, and ends up in some sort of gross, burnt sock-smelling pile of ash and goo.

    ... and Phoebe just sort of... sits down in the street.

    "Oh. That worked."

Vivian Vision has posed:
"Please rest assured that I have contacted the authorities to explain the situation," Vivian says from up in the air. Still hovering although now that the danger is passed her holographic images seem to be gone. Although in actuality she's still providing the area with a privacy shield to block casual passers-by from getting involved or filming the event. "And arranged for the road to be repaired... Although given the way the city allocates funds..."

She coughs awkwardly.

"You should also rest assured that I will encrypted all the personal information I had access to. So that even I won't recall it unless the situation is extremely dire." Her head tilts to one side. "I think perhaps you should return home to rest. If this will be a problem let me know and I can transport you there."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Oh, no, ah... thank you." Phoebe states, and she takes out her phone, and sends a text. "I only live about a block off. I'll call my roomate for a ride." Phoebe gives a smile, and then gives a slight wave. "Haven't seen this much chaos since giving a favor to my friend Terry." she gives a smile to Vivian, and drags herself up. She teeters slightly, and her phone beeps at her like an old fashioned car, and she sort of goes to start retrieving her socks, pants, and underwear from being strewn accross fifty second ave.

    What a night!