10572/Battling Fafnir

Battling Fafnir
Date of Scene:	29 December 2019
Location:	Central Park, Manhattan
Synopsis:	The great dragon Fafnir attacked Midgard. While he was defeated and sent, not back to his own realm, but Limbo...both the Sorceress Illyana and the Hulk also entered Limbo with him.
Cast of Characters:	Thor, Magik, Phantasm (Drago), Aquawoman, Rave, Hulk

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Thor has posed:
What just happened? A great portal has appeared, as the stars aligned, again. This is a massive portal...the great dragon Fafnir pokes his snout through, with the flames from his belly rushing out in a gout over all the land! Central Park is very much on fire immediately.

Elsewhere, the Watchman of Asgard notices Fafnir got out, and so it is Thor arrives on the Bifrost. By the time he gets there, though, the dragon is halfway through the portal, as his massive bulk looms over the sky. "That's not good."

Flying up, he says, "Back, Fafnir!"

The dragon looks mildly annoyed and roasts him with super hot flames.

"Hard way it is."

Magik has posed:
Central Park stands the West 59th subway station and home, wherever 'home' is for the petite blonde trudging her way along the nearly abandoned paths with a steel cup of coffee. Given the shortness of daylight, she shares her space with the occasional jogger, an IT veteran of the server wars headed in early, or a resident out with their dog. Lacking a dog or business suit, 'jogger' might be the right description despite the harrowing dangers an unaccompanied young woman might have. Woe to any mugger or dragon picking on Illyana, even if it's indirectly by a gout of flame pouring down and birds flying away in alarm. The patch of grass up ahead scorched from brown to a wall of fire blocks her view, if only temporarily, to the man up there and the serpentine beast. She needs a moment or two to swill her coffee down before determining there is, in fact, a massive silhouette against the sky.

<<Hmph.>> Russian on her tongue comes as flat and unperturbed as it gets. Her eyes tell another story, flickering with excitement and something older, primal in its making. She sets the cup down at her feet and waves a hand in front of her, partly to keep that deadly smoke and soot spiraling up from the scorched conifers from reaching her throat. A handwave shouldn't do anything. By rights, it //doesn't// do anything. Except when it does, allowing her to breathe.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
What else is happening? A certain performer has decided since his contractually obligated tour from hell was over that he'd do something he'd been promising his friend he'd do for a long time. Take some personal time. And what better way to enjoy said personal time than to practice his powers and have a nice jaunty little flight in the air? With his AMAZING three foot wingspan, the purplish black corvid has taken to the skies. Looping here and corkscrewing there, and he was about to shoot across the park when something caught his eye. The bird breaks mid-air, standing on nothing as he stares at the portal

"Oh you've got t-"

The wings flap harder, as Phantasm flies out of the way of the pillar of flames.

Aquawoman has posed:
Coffee is one of the things that makes the surface world bearable. There's no coffee in Atlantis, and honestly that's a pity. Mera was enjoying a steaming mug of the stuff in Amnesty Bay when news of a dragon appearing in the sky over New York reached even the sleepy hamlet. The sleepy hamlet where there's certainly nothing better to do early on a Sunday morning.

Her arrival in Central Park is heralded by a rising wall of water from the lake, sweeping across the burning trees as she comes to a landing a short distance away. A raised hand forms a fist, the water hovering above the ground as she considers the scene with narrowed eyes.

Rave has posed:
When most people got up for their 'early morning run' in New York, it was probably around the block or maybe a little further. Some might even be adventurous enough to go around the park itself...but most people didn't go for the -whole- city and up a few buildings to boot. Then again, Rave wasn't most people. The 'bluenette' speedster was dressed in the usual activewear one might use for exercise, lacking any real fancy 'super suits' some of the world's heroes had. As she zipped to the top of one of the nearby apartment buildings, hurling herself over the railing and onto the surface with a little whoop of joy, the girl was practically beaming from the exhileration as she took a moment to look out over the skyline below.

On the list of things she expected to see? A dragon wasn't one of them. "Whoa..." comes her astute assessment, then she's moving in a glowing streak of neon light towards the park. That looked very much like a 'clear any civillians' situation.

Hulk has posed:
Bruce had actually been testing a new suit to use during Hulk combat when the news suddenly interrupted for a 'special broadcast'.

Of course, With Bruce having parked his mobile home in central park at the time, suddenly being surrounded by fire that literally came out of a hole in the sky set off all the right (wrong?) warning bells. There was no time to put on the suit...

Instead, Bruce suddenly felt his world go into a familiar darkness as one Jade Giant came out, and seconds later, two massive green arms smashed down into the parking lot as Hulk transformed completely, and looked to the massive fires surrounding them.

A finger comes up to scratch his forehead, "Where did fire come from? Hulk did not cause this." Hulk grumbles, before he brings both his hands up above his head... and *CLAPS*.

The resulting shockwave went out for a good couple of miles, and could probably be seen for miles more, as Hulk sought to put out the flames.

Thor has posed:
The Dragon thus far hasn't noticed the other heroes that oppose it...to one of his might and bulk, it really only recognizes the Asgardian King thus far. "...Out of the way, King of Asgard. These are not your people, and I must feast!" The dragon's massive bulk makes it hard to actually stop his forward momentum. Mighty as Thor is, that's a friggin huge living creature.

"...Guess nobody told you I spend a lot of time on Midgard these days, and I spend a lot of time protecting it. Go home."

Fafnir just says, "No" and punctuates that with yet another gout of flame that would set everything ablaze again if it could. Mera will notice the flame appears to be hot enough to turn water to steam in a hurry.

Magik has posed:
Illyana is small, so much smaller than a dragon or the bulk of the aquifer in the southerly side of Central Park raised in an impressive wave. Those are grand sights, to be sure, and she appraises the redheaded woman at the head of that aqueous wall with interest for a moment. A quick nod gives approval, perhaps. Nothing suggests she's anything but a civilian except her purposeful stride headed towards the firebath enfolding the dragon and its portal. For about, say, twenty feet until the shockwave of the gigantic clap knocks her off her feet and halts this triumphant walk for at least a few meters. The momentum sends her bouncing back into a roll from which she rises, dusted somewhat by the detritus in the air.

Hands clench and unclench with the embers around her. Shimmering black steel envelops her shoulder, metamorphosing from the fitted moto jacket that serves as the only protection from the formerly cold winter day. Others coalesce from absolutely nothing, vambraces locking around her wrists, leather buried under glittering starstruck metal. "The only wooded space in the city is not your hunting ground, <<zmei>>." Her voice rises in a ringing challenge, her Russian accent giving an unequivocal edge, entirely outsized and disapproving for a university student of no real significance. Easily overlooked -- except that the soul-blinding brightness erupting from her sternum outshines the fire there for a moment as she pulls something straight from her chest. Give it a few seconds, and the greatsword almost as tall as she is emerges in all its harrowing glory. Soon as that happens, she's running straight on for Fafnir and Thor. Plus one for deranged woman.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As the shockwave goes through, the phantasm's flight path does not alter nor does it seem to follow basic physics or the common pattern of flight with his attention being somewhere else at the time, namely on the GIANT PORTAL in the middle of central park with the Dragon peeking through. The bird shoots up in flight to dodge yet another shot of fire. "HEY! CUT THAT OUT!" The raven snaps angrily at the dragon. "This is supposed to be my day off!"

Aquawoman has posed:
"Gods and fishes," Mera mutters as the dragon breathes out fire again, sweeping the lake water over the landscape once more before returning it to the source with a gesture. The fire is going to be a problem. But caution isn't Mera's habit. Seeing Illyana's charge, she nods approvingly toward the other woman in turn.

"As the lady says," she agrees, drawing a bident from a harness at her back to level it at the dragon. "This is not your place, beast." She strides forward, arching a brow in Thor's direction as she approaches. "I assume it's not under your control?"

Rave has posed:
Seems like it was the night for bright lights and big noises. Fast as she was moving, Rave wasn't immune to the shockwave of the Hulk clap. With a shriek, the speedster was sent tumbling in a glowing streak before skidding down into the grass. "Ow..." the girl groans, climing up to her feet just in time to see Illyana's little transformation and weapon-drawing from her chest. Alright, that was particularly awesome, but she'd have to appreciate it later.

A rush of light and the gathering of dramatic heroes was joined by the young woman in now slightly dirty active wear, the brightly glowing hair and blue eyes the only thing suggesting she was anything other than a crazed jogger. "What she said!" the young woman calls, apparently happy to simply insert herself into the situation with a gesture towards Mera as glowing energy dances between her fingertips. Did lasers beat Dragon? Rave had no idea, but she might be about to find out!

Thor has posed:
"I answer to no being, woman. And I had not heard you were his Queen. What business have you here anyway?" Fafnir evidently figured out Mera was a Queen, but got a little confused on Queen of what exactly.

"She's, uh, actually married to someone else, and you need to stop..."

Thor's attempts at negotiation go sidewise as the great beast lowers his head to try to swallow Illyana on the spot. "Sorceresses always tasted better."

"Not today!" And Mjolnir goes flying out, to hit the dragon in the side of the head. But it only slows it down a little bit...Illyana will still have to dodge on her own.

"We need to force him back to his own realm. He's not kidding about feasting." Hopefully the resident sorceress can open portals.

Hulk has posed:
The shockwave dealt with the visible fire... but them the massive dragon breathes fire yet again, rendering his efforts moot.

Worse still, the fire gets ON him, burning Hulk who responds with a feral roar. "Hulk doesn't like FIRE!" Comes the shout. Within moments, Hulk leaps from his position in the parking lot to land directly in front of Fafnir.

Literally directly in front of him.

"Hulk doesn't care where you're from. Go back where you came from before you burn more of Hulk's favorite park." Hulk slams his fists together, directly challenging him, "Hulk Strongest there is, and will SMASH you back if you don't."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"... Ok. Fine." The commentary bites out of the bird betraying a bit of anger. Seeing as the talking raven is a bit low priority as they're being attacked by sorceresses, gods, rage monsters, DJs and Sea Queens, the bird shoots up into the air before zipping back down at Fafnir full tilt.

During the descent, the raven's form stretches out, becoming somewhat more humanoid in appearance, with the exception of the cloaked attire and glowing eyes in the void where the face should be. And the claws. Yes the claws. Coming down upon the dragon's head, they jab right for the eyes.

Magik has posed:
That black-bracketed sword does not slow Illyana's dash into the flame-bath. Russian myths and Slavic tales of dragons at hand, she bounds in erratic zigzags with the occasional leap rather than a straight charge to avoid being munched outright.

Light trails away her, a war standard riding into battle -- and raw material for Rave to work with. To anyone with any kind of magical sensitivity, the Soulsword blazes with the fury of a contained sun, almost vibrating in a crescendo in proximity to the dragon. It wants what it wants. "I /like/ you!" she calls out, bright as day, but to Thor or the Hulk or Mera is almost impossible to tell.

Two paths collide behind the electric-sparked trail of Mjolnir and Hulk landing -right- there in front of Fafnir's terrible maw. The collision jars enough to send off the ground. Maybe right into his mouth. Habit and practice throw her to the side and forward in a lunge to show all the other tasty targets. Maybe it's enough to avoid that slavering maw. Maybe it isn't...

And if it isn't, the expert upward swing of that almost six-foot long blade is going to be calamitous to eldritch tooth and supernatural claw, a riposte against the phantasmal claws going for Fafnir's head. A gift, courtesy the sorceress-queen of Limbo.

Aquawoman has posed:
A hint of a smile plays at one corner of Mera's lips at the dragon's mistake. "Really, your highness, who was in charge of sending out the wedding invitations?" she drawls with dry humor. "How could they forget this...creature? And the groom's name. Inexcusable, really."

Her smile deepens as the battle is joined, all too eager for the opportunity to get her hands a little bit dirty. There's a glint in her eyes as she measures the distance between the creature and the ground, considering the tactics at hand, before she reaches a hand toward the lake water once more.

A thinner stream of water shoots out this time, a narrow lash to tangle around wings and claws before, with a pulling gesture and a closing of her fist, the water hardens and begins to tighten around the dragon like a net.

Rave has posed:
Raw material indeed! Rave was no sorceress, nor was she a god. The lines between Meta-abilities and magic might seem thin at times, but the energy the flows through the air like it were drawn towards Rave was light and heat. Weddings, Queens, all of that left more questions then answers...but then the hulk lept down to try and punch the thing, and some giant bird-guy was clawing at its face. Looks like they had the right idea!

Stories she'd heard of dragons were myths, fairytails and such; Rave had no idea what was fact of fiction. But hey, the guy in Sleeping Beauty did the job with a sword and she was a walking laser-cannon! Lifting her hands, the heavy bolt of glowing energy leaps through the air towards the creature's flank.

Thor has posed:
"I'm sure it got lost in the mail, what with going to Muspelheim, realm of fire, where they can't even have paper because it incinerates instantly."

Fafnir had multiple attackers, and first in line was the bird. His defense here is simple. He just...closes his eyes. Once Phantasm tries to beat on his eyelids, it's like beating on a brick wall made of scale. Then his head whips around, counting on his sheer bulk to send the bird man flying, no matter where on his face he happened to be.

A mighty claw swiped at Hulk. Hulk is strongest there is, but Fafnir is massive and weighs close to 20 tons. Also, he's a magical being and his claws are magic too. He could actually hurt Hulk if he connects properly. Not that pissing Hulk off is wise...

Fafnir's massive jaws are quite able to catch something human sized, and Illyanna could easily find herself in the belly of the beast! OF course, being inside of a dragon when you've got a magic sword is sometimes not so bad a thing...except, of course, it's also inside the stomach of a magical fire creature and the temperature is insane in there. Blast furnaces are ice baths next to being inside this thing.

Another Claw swipes at Mera, "If ye be not Queen of Asgard, then ye be Lunch, no matter how much water you play with."

Thor, for his part, tries to save Illyana by throwing Mjolnir once more, figuring being eaten to be the worst fate the dragon is dishing out.

Hulk has posed:
When the claw lands, Hulk disappears with Illyana, whom is grabbed by one of Hulk's massive hands and enclosed in a 'protective' shell.

Of course, this means Illyana gets a front row 'seat' to the gigantic dragon pulverizing Hulk.

Earth shatters around him as one of his arms come up to 'block' it. All he manages to do is not get sent flying by the sheer mass of the attack, having been forced to save a puny human trying to take on an eldritch abomination. "Hulk... will... SMASH!"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Snarling as the eyes close, the shadow figure does something a little unorthodox. Yes, more so than being a talking raven or turning into his current form.

He closes his eyes and falls back, passing through Fafnir's head and landing in the mouth. Glowing eyes open, claws slash quickly at anything soft inside. The eyes close once more, allowing for him to pass through the lower jaw of the dragon and out once more. Cheap shot perhaps but maybe that'll be enough.

As the shadow man falls, the phantasm vanishes from view.

Magik has posed:
<<Mother Night,>> Illyana swears in Russian and drops to a smaller morsel on her knee, but it's more like Brother Storm answering. Mjolnir is the unstoppable force in all its scintillating metal blurring by faster than the eye can see. Hulk is the immovable object, and she doesn't even bother to close her glowing eyes when he seizes her. It might knock the breath out of her, but so be it. Shadows roil past her and she even dares to smile at the viciousness unleashed with such bravery.

Puny human indeed: one mighty gulp or great green hand is all it does take to surround the sorceress. She surely doesn't need ketchup to be a tasty snack for Fafnir.

Immense heat emanating from the dragon's gullet distorts the shimmering armour turning brighter by the moment. The air bends as a golden line blossoms out around the petite blonde, enscribed on the ground at the speed of thought. It rips open to reveal a doubled image: a plane of harrowing terrors, psychedelic swirls of black rock and magma waterfalls spindled in defiance of Euclidean geometry. Wicked serpentine shadows delve behind a frothing starless sea turned oil-slicked obsidian. Here, at least, there is nothing to burn.

Gravity being what it is, the natural state of things is to fall /into/ the portal.

Aquawoman has posed:
Mera laughs, more and more water rising from the lake at her command to wrap around the dragon, carefully avoiding the fire-breathing parts. It may seem harmless for the moment, but there's a larger plan at work. As the dragon swipes at her, she sidesteps swiftly, sweeping her bident across her body to deflect the blow with a ring of the metal.

"A curious sort of honor you have, beast, but honor nonethless! A pity you must be banished. You would make a fine war-beast." With those words, a spark of electricity lights, then turns to an arc that courses between the tines of her bident, crackling blue and white before it leaps to the water now surrounding the dragon.

Rave has posed:
Ordinarily, Rave was used to being the most 'showy' spectacle in a fight. Right now? She was being put to shame! Still, when Illyana looks set to be gulped down there's a moment where the neon speedster makes to dive towards her and seize her out of the way...right up until that magical 'portal' opens up and she diverts herself sideways. Nope, she wasn't running into some crazy other diamension, the magical girl could look after herself.

The fight may well be moving in slow-motion for Rave, but the bolts of burning energy she had been pelting the dragon with didn't seem to be doing much. All this time to think and not a lot to do with i- Hey! The attack from the familier shadow-man had got a reaction, perhaps there was something to that! Skidding to a stop for a moment to catch a breath, the cast-off lights and glow of street lamps, flame and magic alike begin to warp and flow in some strange airborne 'liquid-like' trace until it meets the girl's form and seems to absorb into her skin. Eyes and hair blazing, she takes of in a flash of light, headed to unleash this new charge towards Fafnir's eyes. If it wouldn't burn him, at the very least it was going to be like shining the worlds biggest laser pointer in its eyes.

Thor has posed:
"I'll say. In the unlikely event anyone earns his respect, he'll never forget it, not even 1000 years later. Still, he'll eat anyone he doesn't find respectable. I had to battle him for a month in his own realm before I got there." It's clear the screaming masses below aren't about to earn this mighty being's respect anytime soon, and the heroes have lives to save.

Phantasm fades through reality, through the dragon's skull, and claws at his great tongue and insides of his mouth. Some blood was certainly spilled before Phantasm felt more fire coming and phased like life depended on it. Cause it did. Not a second too soon, either.

The dragon expected to win the claw match with the Hulk. To its surprise, it did not, as the mighty being raged through his claw and actually pushed it away. That's not a thing that happens to him every day, or even every century. "The green thing calls itself Hulk..." It appears as though the dragon remembered that name.

Rave succeeded at blinding the creature for a moment, and the dragon is forced to shut its eyes...but then, the dragon's breath pouring forth from his mouth doesn't have to hit Rave straight on. Like horseshoes and hand grenades, almost will work just fine. "Annoying creature."

Illyana's portal is not yet big enough to suck the dragon in, though he certainly feels the pull of Muspelheim behind it. "You are not strong enough, sorceress. I shall have my feast."

Thor continues to do battle with the creature, as it now aims a claw at Thor. But even mighty Fafnir cannot move Mjolnir, and so Thor holds its claw off. Fafnir appeared to be expecting that, and used his other claw to try to clasp Thor. But that too doesn't work as Mjolnir spins and pulls Thor upward. "At least you haven't gotten lazy, King of Asgard."

Mera parried the dragon's claw, and it seems to like that. "Whatever you are queen of, it must be a fine realm. I shall have to devour it later." It was too busy trying to clasp Thor, and wasn't able to strike back.

Hulk has posed:
As if on cue, Hulk suddenly roars, his mass growing from ten feet to eleven feet as Hulk drops the puny human on the ground... before Hulk leaps directly at the dragons head.

"HULK SMASH!" He roars out as both arms come up for an overhead smash right between the dragons eyes.

Hulk, being one of the few creatures in this universe capable of directly attacking the mighty dragon, seems to be hell bent on smashing it back through, as he said he would.

Magik has posed:
On the other side of the gilt-edged portal is Limbo, and no mean feat for Illyana to sink her feet onto its distorted, anguished soil. Her knees almost give, her face in shadow. The thin meniscus of that reality surrounds her as the portal reaches Muspelheim on the other side, two superimposed images of the world put together. All that matters is that she stands within Limbo, the Soulsword point down between her feet. Defiant, she hauls herself up behind the violence mere meters from her, gaze lifting slowly to take in Thor's predicament after trying hard to keep the dragon from swallowing them all and burning the city to the ground.

An anchorage point serves to link two places together, Limbo's energies feeding into her -- to the portal. She stands in the midst of it, holding open the shimmering gash. Having home ground advantage counts for something, and it gives a toehold for the Hulk or anyone else to leap through and back rather freely.

"You face two queens and one king, <<zmei>>. You do rather suppose about our strength," she replies, the odd, inverted flow of time stirring her hair in waves. Show no weakness. "Do try to keep up. Or are you too weak to try and devour my lands?"

Aquawoman has posed:
"I suspect you would fare poorly beneath the waves as well, beast," Mera assures Fafnir, pouring more water into the strange shield around the dragon even as Hulk leaps to the smashing. In fact, she seems to share the sentiment, if not //quite// the same ability to follow through on it. She leaps from the ground as well, though she aims to land on one clawed foot to loosen its grip on this world, striking out with the tip of her bident.

The weapon plunches into the water that surrounds the dragon and bursting into a lightning strike, the electricity sparking through the water all across the dragon.

Rave has posed:
That wild gout of flame headed her way was a good reason for Rave to be moving. Even at her speed she could feel the wash of the heat filling the air. The glowing girl was the definition of hit and run with her tactics, but it wasn't like Fafnir really had the means to give chase against the annoying speedster that was peppering laser bolts against it. Between magic, muscle and the hybridization of both in some, there were far bigger threats.

Thor has posed:
"Respect is not given. It is earned." And this dragon doesn't look like he's going to run out of energy anytime soon...

Except then, Hulk comes in and smashes. He felt that one. It might not have broken bone, but bone was surely tested, even protected as it was behind magical scale. Rarely has this creature felt such a blow. That earns Hulk a claw swipe...before it remembers Hulk defeated a swiping claw, and uses both claws to cut the green thing from his face.

"I shall devour you first, and your lands next!" And the creature tries to bite Illyana again. The portal is still too small to force something his size through it. It needs to get bigger.

Mera leaps through and channels Thunder through her trident...which gives Thor an idea. "Hold it steady, Mera!" Thor was fond of combining his strength with others, and since she could channel lightning on her...he channels the lighting of Mjolnir at her trident, with the idea of conducting it into the dragon!

Rave's laser beams seem to be distracting at the very least, and the dragon's perhaps a bit less accurate than he might otherwise be.

Hulk has posed:
Those massive green fists just keep going. By the time the dragon has brought up both claws, Hulk has already managed a couple more blows to the face.

Of course, he's too busy punching dragon face in when the claws come back, and Hulk doesn't have the time to grab onto dragonscale to keep on him... and Hulk gets swiped off that face.

The last thing anyone in the vicinity sees of the Hulk is the Jade Giant disappearing through the Limbo portal from the sheer force bulleting him through.

Aquawoman has posed:
"For as long as I can!" Mera calls back to Thor, moving away from where Hulk smashes and Rave distracts at the dragon's head. Also the fire-breathing part, that's really for the best for her to avoid.

As Mjolnir's lightning joins her own, she cries out sharply, the water surrounding the dragon shimmering for a moment as she struggles to balance the flow of power. The combined power crackles across the water and the dragon, a blinding web of energy that burns and stinks of ozone.

"Now!" she calls to the others, guiding the water free of the areas where they're striking to let them finish the beast without also finishing themselves.

Rave has posed:
Between lightning at water, there wasn't much more that Rave's plasma-hot blasts could add to the mix. That didn't stop her from throwing one more bolt of her own power at the creature's head to keep it back from the channeling pair. When they let loose their strike? The speedster is already zooming back towards the edge of the trees, skidding to a stop to watch in awe. Even for her, the release was bright enough to have her covering her eyes in reflex, leaving her to miss the disappearing of the 'not-so-jolly' green giant.

She wasn't going to be able to catch him anyway!

Thor has posed:
The portal is finally big enough for a 20 ton dragon. As it sinks into a realm not its own, it roars in rage. "You said you were sending me back to my realm." Thor nodded, before grinning. "Yes, /I/ said that. I don't recall anyone else saying that. Besides, I've never heard a sorcerer follow orders anyway."

The enhanced shocking Trident, along with Hulk giving the thing a concussion by beating on his bones, causes him to fall from the sky into the portal that yawns.

"I'd like to point out you WOULD be going home if you'd turned and left when I told you to."

Fafnir has the last laugh, possibly. "...Down I fall...but I take your green friend with me!" And, in fact, the dragon's probably going to land on Hulk because, since Hulk was thrown down, he'll land first. Having a massive dragon land on him will surely piss him off further...

Rave's last few lasers hit, but other than causing some red marks on his scales, it...wait, no. A laser happens to strike exactly at a point between his magically armored scales, and that makes him roar.

Aquawoman has posed:
As the dragon falls and the portal closes, Mera leaps back from the edge, not particularly eager to get pulled into...wherever that is. She's breathing hard, though it's more from the focus of channeling the energy than any physical exertion. Which could be related to the amount of lake water she's managed to pull free of the portal at the last moment, hovering almost absently in the air.

"Well," she muses, glancing up to remember the water and directing it back into the lake. "That was a brisk morning exertion, wasn't it?"

The shadow has disappeared, Illyana and Hulk through the portal, so she raises her bident in a salute to the bright blur that is Rave at the edge of the trees.

Thor has posed:
Thor actually seems distressed at how it ended. "Hulk! ...He'll be alright, very little can kill him, but that does not seem to be a realm I want my friend trapped in. We'll have to rescue him as soon as we can. We may have to rescue the sorceress as well. Not sure if she can get out of realms she puts herself in."

"Yes, quite the warmup. Give Arthur my regards, I'll have to stop by to visit down there later when there's time. It's a beautiful realm, and I don't remember having time to explore last time I was down there."

He also sees Rave out of the corner of his eye, and, "Well met, friend!"