9034/Metropolisn't: Bulls and the china that (did not) love them

Metropolisn't: Bulls and the china that (did not) love them
Date of Scene:	10 December 2021
Location:	Downtown - New Troy
Synopsis:	Bulls strike, people turn into fine china, and somehow the heroes save the day!
Cast of Characters:	Kaida Connolly, Megan Gwynn, Alison Blaire

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Kaida Connolly has posed:
It was a normal day in downtown New Troy. People going about their day, looking at various shops, enjoying some shopping in preparations for the upcoming holiday. A couple smiling as they look at a necklace in Tiffany's. A smiling child stares up at a painting of Superman that his mother is offering to buy him. An older couple smile as they buy a pair of tickets to their traditional viewing of a play of Scrooge that they see yearly.

It's a perfect day with just the lightest sprinkle of snow and then a woman screams. She is staring at a man on one knee, holding up a ring and instead of her future husband, the man is now a sculpture made of literal china. Then another scream as a rather large bull stamps a hoof down and lets out a snort. Then another seems to step out of an alleyway.

The screaming, gasps, and panic begins to set in as around the area, objects and people begin to turn into pieces of fine china, complete with price tags hanging by strings off them. China dolls and china sculptures.

Then there's the sound of shattering as a fourth bull flips and breaks apart a china car.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
It's getting close to Christmas and Megan still has some last minute shopping to do. And there are so many sights and sounds to experience here although a lot of stuff is pretty pricey. Still, Megan enjoys a little window shopping as she peers this way and that..Before she hears a scream..And sees lots of people turned to China. And are those bulls? "Heyy what's going on?" she frowns as she peers around, senses peeled wide for any sign of dark magic being used.

But those are bulls let loose in a China shop and that's definitely not good! She quickly takes to the skies, rushing towards the nearest bull, attempting to shower it in a flurry of pixie dust. She doesn't have a red flag but maybe she can calm it down Pixie style!

Alison Blaire has posed:
It is a perfect day to get your holiday shopping done, well ahead of the rushing crowds and the last minute, down-to-the-wire panics. Even a budding pop star can get much done without being recognized, provided that she wears the appropriate winter attire to hide recognizable features: A red beanie, the requisite candycane-themed holiday sweater, a tasteful green scarf and sunglasses to keep the glare off. It's just a young woman doing her holiday shopping and probably buying gifts that are a little more fashion conscious than her own choices, one can hope. Even if her face does happen to be plastered on one newspaper or another because of her impending Holiday appearances, she's made the effort to apply make-up with the reckless abandon of an amateur instead of her usual, careful style. Emphasizing the wrong things can also do a lot to make your features not register as familiar-- some people use glasses or tiny domino masks. It works.

She watches in amazement as a bull piles through a car that is, apparently, made of china, and stops dead on her feet, her shopping bags hanging limp by her side.

"Of course," she says to the universe in general, and to the street in particular, "Just when I finally got all of this done..."

The bags are quickly set aside and she notices that reinforcements are already at hand, as a flier whom she can't quite identify immediately because of the confusion rushes at the bulls. This means she should probably take the crowd control task in order to keep the bulls from rushing at bystanders... and from crashing into the people who have been turned into china statues-

This is normal, she muses. She has seen weirder, and she doesn't know what that says about her.

There is enough sound being produced from the crashing and the stomping and the screaming, she thinks, and so she rushes to put herself in the path of as many of the rampaging beasts as she can. "Toro, Toro! Ole!" she calls out, trying to get the attention of the bulls that aren't being targeted by Megan, and quickly releases a chaotic burst of multi-colored light aimed at the bulls, in the hopes of blinding them or stunning a few of them.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
Really, she should sorta feel bad about this but she also kinda doesn't. The bulls are endangering people and her sword is very tiny. So, when one of the bulls lets out a loud screeching roar of pain, if one looks close, they can see what appears to be a mouse between its shoulderblades giving it a tiny stab followed by another as it runs in the wrong direction.

"Wrong way!" The mouse calls out as it runs along the rampaging back to the other side and gives it a stab that makes it turn in time to avoid a poor bystander who is made of not but china.

Meanwhile, one of the bulls lets out an angry noise at Megan even as it starts to slow its rampage thanks to her dust. The bull tries to escape her though, stomping away at a slower speed as it sneezes out and huffs out more of that dust. The muscles on its body losing definition as relaxation takes over.

A scream escapes a woman as she is plowed into by panic stricken people who knock her poor husband over. She rushes under him and catches him before he can break, staring up at her husband of thirty years in his now near porcelain state. She stares in disbelief as a bull zeroes in on them and starts to charge only to be intercepted by a young woman releasing a stream of bursting light. The bull rears up and roars as it turns and starts kicking and thrashing about. It moves with all the rage found at a rodeo as it goes into a spin and begins kicking, its eyesight damaged.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
The fourth bull still seems interested in absolutely destroying the car of china it has found and is moving on to another car that's next to it. The damage is brutal but for now, people are giving it a wide berth. However, as it rampages about, it can be seen that several objects and people are suddenly becoming not but china statues.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn narrows her eyes as she focuses on the bull that seems to be calming down, "Alright, too much breakable China around here, better send you to the zoo, for now..Sihal Novarum Chinoth!" she waves a hand a5 the relaxed bull, hoping to teleport him to the nearest zoo before turning to the next bull. She'll worry about the China transformation after the immediate threat is out of the...Heey is that Dazzler?! She squeaks and waves to her, "Hii!" she calls, but is quickly distracted by the next charging bull.

Alison Blaire has posed:
The Dazzler recgonizes the voice, and her face gives the fellow Xavierite a grin, "Well hello the- whoa!" the wave is aborted as she focuses back on the bull that is kicking and flailing. It has stopped charging, so at least there is that, but it is still a threat.

"I don't want to practice animal cruelty, but we need to get them subdued before people get seriously hurt!"

She switches over to using her concussive photon blasts to try and knock the bucking bull out. She can leave the one destroying the cars alone for the moment, as no person is immediately being harmed.

But there is one thing that does attract her attention.

"Is that a... a mouse?" she says, calling out to Megan, briefly distracted by the unusual sight (a dangerous thing, surrounded by bulls)- Nick Drago /had/ told her of knowing a mouse girl. What were the odds?

Kaida Connolly has posed:
The bull being ridden by the mouse races by Dazzler's bull and straight into a not made of china bus and stumbles back after the collosion. It's unclear if the bull is truly hurt by the hit by the bull is certainly not fully into the idea of colliding with such an object. The mouse that was on its back is clinging to a window sill on the bus now, watching the bull stumble back and then she's a blur. A moment later, the bull seems to lose footing on both its right legs and falls to the ground fllailing as a blur races by it.

Megan's bull, now mostly docile and confused by what is happening, suddenly vanishes and a very confused giraffe stops eating from a tall tree when it looks over at the bull that is suddenly sharing its enclosure. They both stare at each other for a very long moment when the bull just lets out a huff and casually lays down, tucking its legs and going to sleep. The giraffe stares a bit longer before going back to eating.

Meanwhile, the bull Dazzler faces stops its rampaging as blasts of concussive energy start hitting it. The thing turning to try to focus on whatever is hitting it and charges right at Dazzler, taking several hits as it goes. It suddenly trips up due to all those blasts and Dazzler is left with a stumbling, skidding and still very much momentuming bull coming at her.

The fourth bull finishes dislodging horns from the second car it decided to hate on and turns its attention toward a couple of women in an embrace. Both seemed to have changed into a pair of china dolls, price tags hanging off each woman's bow on their hair, trapped in an embrace of love and fear. The bull then begins to charge.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn beams at Dazzler but blinks and glances at the mouse, about to head towards her charging bull. "Woah!" but as the fourth bull charges towards a helpless pair of China encased women instead, she blinks and rushes towards them first. "Sihal Novarum Chinoth!" she repeats as she extends an arm towards the two women, attempting to teleport them to a nearby indoor store. "Hey ugly! over here, I'm your target!" she yells at the bull once the two women are hopefully safely out of harm's way.

Alison Blaire has posed:
"Yes!" Dazzler says as the bull goes down. And then "No!" as it continues to move towards her.

Exerting a concentrated burst of energy, the young woman propels herself into the air with celerity, leaving a trail of glittering light behind her as she passes over the bull. And then has to spend one or two more bursts to right herself and land well, instead of cracking her skull. She lands in a crouch and takes a deep breath, turning wildly to see what the bull's trajectory is as it crashes- and whether she will need to erect a barrier to keep it from crashing /into/ people. She knows Megan can take care of herself- but just in case, if the barrier is not needed, she will send a photon blast at Megan's charging bull, so that she can daze it while it is distracted by Megan. Because teamwork is caring!

Kaida Connolly has posed:
The bull bucks its head and horns right at the area where the two women were. The statues appearing inside a nearby store to a stunned surprise of people hiding inside. The bull huffs out an angry sound as it turns to look at Megan who dares to call it out. It scuffs a huff along the ground, air bursting out of its nostrils, super heated into mist by the warm blooded bull. It then suddenly races right toward Megan with reckless abandon.

"Look out!" Kaida calls out in a tiny and yet very projected voice as she races away from her bull and starts toward the last one. The bull seems to be intent on colliding with Megan only slowed slightly as a blast of photons cause it to stumble slightly but not fall.

The bull that Alison disabled comes to a halt a few feet from the couple, one a china statue, one not. The one able to, lets out a sigh of relief and hugs gently to her former husband.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn narrows her eyes, anticipating the bull's charge and flies a little ahead of it, trying to draw it away from the crowded street and towards a nearby alleyway, "Come on, toro! let's have some fun!" she grins and winks at Allison as she lends a helping hand to slow down the animal. Once it's far enough from the crowds, she will summon her soul dagger, turning to face the creature and attempt to stab it in the head.

Alison Blaire has posed:
And, in the midst of all the confusion, cell phones have come out here and there and are taking video. The Dazzler and her powerset are too recognizable to not spark recognition, and soon enough there will be video posts on social media along the lines of 'Can you believe they held a bullfight at the Dazzler concert?' and the like. And then her manager will be calling her, hyper-ventilating and reminding her about the property damage clause of her contract. But that's for later.

Now, her main goal is to keep the bull within her line of sight in case Megan needs another combo attack. Giving a grin and a thumbs up to Pixie, Alison keeps moving, also trying to find where that blur of motion that stopped the other bull went-

And that's when she crashes into one of the statues.

"Oh no!"

She reaches over, trying to catch the porcelain woman before she falls, but all she manages to do is hook her hand on that price tag and, for a tense second, the statue is kept suspended, part way from falling to the ground, by the tag.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
Kaida runs around the corner just in time to see Megan stab a bull in the head and then, she's standing over a tiny statuette of a china bull standing on the ground in front of her. It's still trying to be menacing in its own way. As much as a bull in a charging stance made of china and not moving at all can be. Kaida walks closer to it slowly, looking at it carefully as she watches for it to move.

Unfortunately, out in the street, Alison is a lot less lucky. She grabs the tag and the statue of an old man is stopped for a moment. Just a moment. The string snaps a moment later and she watches in slow motion as the man begins to fall. Michael Andrews begins to sing his sad song about a 'Mad World' as the statue slowly descends to the ground and then...

"OOF!" The old man calls out as he hits the ground and groans in pain, "I think I broke meh hip!" He whines as he lays there human and not shattered.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn blinks as her dagger negates the spell on the bull, turning it back to China. "Woah! So a spell then..Well this makes things a lot easier!" she smirks, ignoring the China bull as she rushes out of the alley and leaves a trail of pink glitter behind her as she chases down the last bull, trying to corner it and catch its attention as she waves her bright, glowing pink dagger at it. "Hey, toro! Over here!" she calls, "I mean, what does toro even mean!?"

Alison Blaire has posed:
Let's be honest: Broken hip is much better an outcome over broken man. Alison will take it.

"I am so sorry, sir, please don't move!" the pop star says, kneeling by him and taking out her phone to call 9-1-1.

Not that it hasn't already been called, but you never take chances. "An ambulance will be here soon. Please make sure he doesn't move, keep him comfortable..." she instructs to a bystander who rushes to help, and she stands up.

She looks at the tab in her hand, with a thoughtful look, and hears Pixie's faint, shouted question.

"It's Spanish for bull!" she calls out, and then frowns. Or was it Japanese for 'tiger'? No, wait, that was Tora. She thinks. She's not sure.

She walks towards another statue and peers at it, but she doesn't remove the price tag. "I'm going to check something!" she calls to her fellow Xavierite. Pixie is more than capable of dealing with that bull now, so Dazzler peers in to see what is written on that price tag.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
Having been stabbed a few times by a mouse and then tripped on to its heavy side, the bull that Megan comes at is in no way excited by the idea of fighting anymore and just slumps down to the ground. It doesn't take long before it simply is a small statuette on its side. The man that fell down doesn't move, that's for sure. He's glad to wait for an ambualance.

As for the price tag? Well, it's what seems like a reasonable price for a statue of that size made of china. In other words, expensive as hell.

"Anyone have any clue what that was all about?" A small mouse girl casually walks up toward Alison and then looks over at Megan briefly, casually cleaning blood off of her blade via the crook of her arm.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn finishes stabbing the other bull and breathes a sigh of relief, peering around. "Oh Geez, that other bull is still at the zoo..If I break the spell on him, it should turn the rest of these folks back to normal..Be right back!" and she vanishes in a flash of pink light, gone for several minutes.

Alison Blaire has posed:
"That should be good! We need to get these people dispelled before somebody breaks," Dazzler comments to Megan before she leaves. But then, she is being addressed by a little mouse.

This is normal. More mundane. Compared to what had just happened. "Your guess is as good as mine," she tells the little mouse, flipping over the tag and remarking on the price. "There were bulls and this is not pamplona. And people turned into statues but there's no medusa nearby."

She glances down at her. "You're a friend of Nick's, right?" It is very possible there are multiple talking mouse girls in the city, after all.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
"I do know a Nick." She states and nods her head, "I assume you mean the same one." She nods her head. Meanwhile, when Megan arrives at the zoo, the bull is already a statuette. It changed back not long after it arrived. She can see it near a grazing giraffe and she startles a zookeeper who is now curious about Megan's presence as well.

"How'd that old man turn back?" She poitns at the one on the ground, "What'd you do to him?"

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn returns a moment later, only catching the last part of the conversation. "Ooh, you know Nick too? He's a friend of mine!" she smiles cheerfully to the mouse girl, "I'm Megan by the way, or Pixie, what's your name?" she nods to Allison, more like gushes, "Oh my gosh, it's Dazzler! This is sooo awesome!" now that people are hopefully turning back to normal, Megs is totally geeking out over her favourite singer, Nick being a close second of course.

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison smiles at Pixie, "It's just me. You did a great job with the bulls. But we have a problem, the statues aren't coming back. Only that man over there did..."

Kaida's question makes her frown a little. "Well. I accidentally pushed his statue, so it crashed to the ground and turned before it hit it. But I am afraid of doing that t the others- what if they don't turn and, instead, they shatter?" she shakes her head and glances at Megan.

"This looks magical, that's more your wheelhouse than mine, I think. We need to find a way soon before there are any accidents, though."

Kaida Connolly has posed:
"Hi, Megan! I'm Kaida!" The mouse girl declares and then looks at the statues that are still all about and tehn blinks at Alison, "You did? He did?" She then looks at the others and clims up the nearest statue to peer at its face. Her eyes go to Megan and she tilts her head, "You know magic?" She hmms, "I guess it makes sense given you, well, look like some kind of magical being." She then casually grabs the price tag on the statue and whistles, "Expensive!"

She then looks over at the man on the ground and peers at him carefully, "He was a statue with no price tag?" She asks, trying ot look him over as she hops off and runs over to the poor old man on the ground.

Alison Blaire has posed:
"No, I have his price tag-" she raises a hand "--here."

She pauses and glances at the crumped-up piece of paper that lists an amount much higher than the down-payment for her first car. "Right here."

The mouse's observation causes Alison to get that 'jinkies' look across her face, and she strides over to one fo the other statues. "Let me try something..." she says, and grabs the price tag of a porcelain statue depicting a rather well-dressed man in the middle of taking a selfie.

Yank.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
And suddenly he stumbles and blinks as he realizes he is not a statue anymore. He gets quite the selfie on his phone. A face of himself stumbling and confused. He looks around in complete confusion and then looks over at Alison and blinks again.

"Whoa, what happened? Are you Dazzler?!" He asks of her and then looks around again. Kaida lets out a hooray and a cheer before she gives a thumbs up.

"Awesome! I'll start pulling tags!" And she's off to the races, pulling and cutting free tags all over. Megan, for her part, did try to touch them with hre dagger but it did nothing till she also got a tag off. Seems the tags were perpetuating the spells.

Alison Blaire has posed:
"No," Alison says in good humor, "Just a lookalike. There's a contest going on."

She leaves the perplexed ex-statue with no further explanation, and begins to pull tags with Megan and Kaida, trying to get people and things back to normal as soon as possible.

As she does so, she remembers the time that she got into trouble with her father as a child, for pulling off price tags at Nieman Marcus because she was bored. Of course, she had been grounded, and she had been subjected to one of his rants. 'What,' he said, 'do you think this anti-social behavior is going to help you do later in life, young lady?' he groused.

"Saving lives, dad," Dazzler says with a smirk as she pulls off another tag. "Saving lives."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn blinks around, "Soo it's the price tags. Weeird. Didn't work that way with the bulls." she shrugs, putting her dagger away and starts to pull off tags, "Still, wonder who orchestrated this..Some sorta transmogrification spell I guess, enchanted tags. But how'd they get them on these people in the first place?"