10587/Surviving Infinity: Happy New Year

Surviving Infinity: Happy New Year
Date of Scene:	30 December 2019
Location:	Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Synopsis:	The New Years party is attacked by an invader seeking a 'stone'.
Cast of Characters:	Iron Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel (Danvers), Beast, Siryn, Rogue, Archangel, Shadowcat
Tinyplot:	Surviving Infinity

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Iron Man has posed:
In about an hour, it will be midnight in New York City!

The parties are heavy and ongoing throughout the city. In particular, there is an entire block of Greenwich Village that has been taken over by Tony Stark, to hold one of the most massive parties of the city (perhaps of the year?). The billionaire truly has staged an epic event, with some of the most incredible talent the world has to offer putting on a fantastic show.

There aren?t fireworks specifically: there are high tech energy displays, making the whole of the event environmentally friendly. The blasts //are// louder, brighter, and more intense, though, making the apparent pyrotechnic displays something to behold!

Vendors and games and seating areas dot the block, and the businesses surrounding it reap benefits of the ongoing parties and celebrations. On stage is a parade of performers and bands; periodically a comedian has made a showing to introduce the next performer, or to say something about the year as a whole.

In a core ?VIP? area in an expensive club overlooking the block party is an area that currently houses the Avengers (and special VIP friends), with an open balcony allowing direct contact with the party itself. Tony has been up and down and all over the place within the party: mingling, laughing, and drinking.

There has been a parade of drinks into the celebratory Avenger, certainly. He currently is wearing one of his Iron Man guantlets (that was put on sometime within the last half an hour) and has been firing blasts to accompany the various energy firework displays to entertain those just below the balcony. So far, it has not been dangerous, but it has been an exciting party!

Captain America has posed:
It's a helluva lot of noise and there's a part of Steve's heart glad that his oldest friend isn't present. If it weren't for the audacious grandure on display, the sheer volume of the celebration would be overwhelming. Steve meanders through the VIP gathering and greets here and there new faces. He has two champagne glasses in his hand, one for himself and one for Janet.

The socialite is like as not hobnobbing somewhere else in the throng and, for now, Steve elects to check in on Tony instead. He's heard another repulsor round get shot off and some loud screeching cheers -- indeed, such a show.

Despite his size, the Captain shows up beside Tony with marked stealth given the hectic party around them. "Found another nuance to add?" he asks of Tony with a faint smile. Steve himself is in a well-fitted tux with a holiday-red pocket-square and, of course, the design is a la JVD Industries.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol hasn't dressed up too fancy for the event, because there's almost never been a situation where she'd go that far. She's wearing a black leather jacket with muted brass adornments over a simple black short-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of fitted jeans with knee-high black boots. About her waist is knotted a grey knit scarf, near enough if she feels the chill but at present just put where she won't lose or misplace it.

In her hands she nurses a mug of cider (not the hard kind) that has been mulled and heated up, her hands wrapped about it even as she gives off warmth of her own thanks to the energy reserves within her cells. She stands on the balcony, leaning sidelong against the rail and looking out over the colossal party below.

Her brows furrow for a moment as she watches Tony mingle and celebrate, lips pursing and blue eyes a mix of concern and something else. After a moment she simply sighs, takes a sip from the mug, and turns back in search of her 'plus one' for the event.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy is in a suit, tie, and no shoes when he waves his badge and enters the VIP area. Letting out a hum as he takes in the sights, sounds, spectacle, he makes himself comfortable by first getting a drink and a snack. Looking at one array, he smirks, and leans over to the server. "I'll be forever in your debt if you can run to the kitchen and find some Twinkies." And to emphasize the debt part, he pre-tips the young lady 20 bucks. Then with a laugh, he takes a small sip of champagne. "If this were French, I'd feel guilty. But since this is American, I'm comfortable for a good old USA pairing with the sharp, distinct flavor of a Twinkie."

Siryn has posed:
There was a small disturbance in the general noise around the area as one of the invitees shows up through a somewhat... crowd-skipping means. It's a means that Theresa Cassidy is regretting just a tad given how freaking COLD it is in the designer dress she wore as she uses her powers to float above the crowd and then finally descend when there's a suitable spot open to do such. That little odd vibration in the air ceases soon as she does as well. She wasn't called Siryn for nothing.

Tugging a jacket tighter about herself for just a moment she lets out a huff, and adjusts the invitation badge she'd originally been given before opting to skip the line in such a way. The dress is a long slinky black number that rested off the shoulder... When she wasn't covering it with a purloined suit jacket borrowed off another invitee whom she glances around for. "Thanks for the lend, Warren. I'm so used to long sleeves any more."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue had been invited to this party via Carol and she'd come along with the older woman after meeting her at her apartment in Manhattan. Wearing a pair of black slacks and a black leather jacket/top with a low scooped top that goes down to mid chest, she has a white scarf wrapped around her neck to help block some of the skin that her black leather top shows off there. Her hair is done up in a bun in the back and the white bangs flow loose and free down the sides of her face. Since she's not 21 for another 25 days, Rogue is sticking away from alcohol (at least visibly anyway) and is just instead mingling and roaming, smiling to those she recognizes but otherwise just observing for the time being.

The specialized fireworks do draw the look from her green eyes, surrounded by thick black eyelinder. She doesn't realize they're not real, though, admittedly.

Archangel has posed:
Bedecked in a charcoal checkered suit made of Indochina wool, with a black belt and shoes, Warren's already surrendered his suit jacket to Theresa to keep her warm. He chuckles as he considers the readhead. "You look amazing tonight, by the way." he points out as the fireworks are going down. His wings are settled behind him, keeping him warmed as he looks up at the explosion. "He's outdone himself as always!"

There's a shake of Warren's head and he grins at Theresa. "I see Hank over there, want to go say hi, or want to mingle elsewhere first?" comes the inquiry as he offers his hand to the redhead mutant.

Iron Man has posed:
"//You//," Tony begins to Steve, "Are going to have to be one hell of a lot more specific than just that, because I am a cavalcade of excessive, //explosive// nuance," Tony directs to him. He pointed at him with gauntleted hand, one red armored finger extended to truly press that point in an important way. The palm is down, there's no threat there, of course.

"He /is/," agrees the black haired supermodel to Tony's left, that doesn't seem to be deterred by the fact that Tony is not, in fact, single. Perhaps she figures that after a few more drinks, that might not be so important to the playboy after all. Or she's had enough already to only remember what she feels like remembering.

"There are /deep fried/ twinkies on the street level," Tony calls sideways towards Hank and his waitress, with a flash of sly grin. Tony's in his element in parties: his attention everywhere, multitasking his variety of social requirements with pleasure. Similarly, a wave is aimed to Carol (entirely overlooking any message in HER expression), and by proxy, Rogue as well.

Tony orients back to Steve. His ear-riding headset chirps at him, and he pauses, listening to it, then deliberately taps the side of it with gauntleted hand. His other hand is busy holding a drink. "I'm going to go say something inspiring. If you want to say something, you can go after me, though I know I'm a difficult act to follow. You could ... call everyone to assemble for shots or whatever." There's a sly smirk. "I brought your shield, so you can wave it around if you want. It's behind the VIP bar." So considerate.

Tony's having a good night.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy meanders a bit as he lets the server he tips do her thing. He smiles and raises his drink to everyone he sees with a hearty "Happy New Year." Tony's intervention though gets more than loud party greetings. He gets a big thumbs up and a called out "You know how to party Tony. Happy new year. You too Steve." Then with a deep fried twinkie on a stick, he resumes mingling, grinning to Rogue when he sees her. "Looking good. While I look like I just got out of class."

Captain America has posed:
"Don't think I need to be more specific with that whole rigamarole you just shared right there," the man chimes in after the super-model and Steve laughs despite himself. Tony's side commentary about Twinkies has him looking curiously towards the interior section of the VIP club. He does spot Hank and then Carol and Rogue; all get an obvious and sincere greeting-lift of one of the champagne glasses from the Captain.

"Happy New Year to you, Doctor McCoy!" His voice carries well enough. He then glances over at the bar and back to Tony with a wry smirk. "Thoughtful of you, bringing the shield. You can carry the evening with your speech. Only reason I'd need to speech is if you stumble at the mic." Tony gets an eyebrowing from his friend. "Gotta figure out where to set down this champagne anyways, taking up a hand..."

Knowing that the genius-inventor will be fine without his presence, Steve ghosts his way through the crowd to the bar in question. "Hold this for Janet Van Dyne, please." The barkeep nods. It is safe, the champagne. Steve sets his aside as well to slip behind the bar. Ah-hah: indeed, there it is, his shield. There's a signature Rogers smirk as he glances back towards the stage, content to linger behind the bar to see just what the man gets up to.

Siryn has posed:
Theresa Cassidy slides the purloined jacket off her shoulders to offer back to Warren with an apologetic smile. "Here, no sense in you walking around half dressed up all night. Besides, it's a bit warmer down here with all the people around." Her hand slides into his giving it a small squeeze in return when he suggests going to mingle.

"Lead the way. I know a few faces around here, but you're more the socialite than I am." A waiter passes by with a tray of drinks causing her eye to stray momentarily. Then she gives Warren's hand a tug toward the VIP area. "Let's go say hello."

Archangel has posed:
"More than happy to say our hellos." Warren responds with a grin as he slips the jacket back on. "Remind me to find you a wrap or a stole for you to wear sometime." Because Warren totally plans to see her in the dress again as he follows her tug to start his way towards the VIP area. As he notices Steve, he raises a hand in greetings and chuckles. "Are we doing selfies for the New Year?"

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol lifts her hand to return the waves in her direction, putting on a friendly smile as she does. Despite whatever is on her mind, she doesn't want to be the one to bring down the tone of the whole affair. She can worry about it another time.

"Having fun, Trouble?" she asks Rogue, taking a few steps in the direction of the young mutant and standing alongside her, "I almost stayed home, but after Christmas Eve I thought it might be better if we both came along."

That said, she lifts the mug she's carrying up to her lips and blows on it to cool the contents down a little. She takes a wary sip and then simply sets it down on a nearby table, fishing her phone from her pocket and waggling it in Rogue's direction.

"Come on, take a photo with me," she half-asks, half-demands as she sets it to photograph mode and hands it off to one of her fellow 'VIPs' before finally posing alongside her for the picture, "Then we've gotta go say our hellos. Can't mope up here all night, much as I've been trying to ... "

Rogue has posed:
Rogue catches the motion from Tony and she raises her right gloved hand from the cup of coffee she's got to sweep a little wave over toward him. She knows the likelihood of getting much more interaction than that with him on a night like this is nigh on impossible, might as well try to paint the moon pink with a paintball gun.

With the words from Hank drawing her attention away from Tony, Rogue takes in what he says and his words cause a big grin to spread over her dark smoky red painted lips. "Psssh... Hank, you always look like a million damn dollars t'me, sugah." She says in a way too flirty voice, which is well... normal for her. "Want me t'fly down an' snag you a bag'a them fried twinkies?" She asks him, still grinning softly before she takes a sip from her Starbucks coffee cup.

For Steve, Rogue places her gloved left hand's two middle fingers up toward her lips and blows him a kiss. A simple and sweet gesture that is flavored with a smile there-after.

Carol draws Rogue's attention back though and the offered photo-op. "Psssh, this is way better than just sittin' in my apartment, or hangin' out in the music store with the bums down there for New Years." She says with a grin, moving to take the photo with her idol and good friend. "This photo is gonna melt some hearts, ya know?" She teases, lowering her cup of coffee out of frame because thats just soooo Game of Thrones faux-paux to have a Starbucks cup photo

Iron Man has posed:
Tony isn't in some hurry to get down to the stage. He really isn't. They will wait for him. In fact, on the stage, there's a clear flurry of uncertainty and the comedian at the mic begins to vamp: stall for time, that is.

This clears Stark to take a somewhat meandering path through the VIP area. It allows him to photobomb not just Carol's, but probably Warren's. Tony's photobombs aren't just in the back, though: he gets right up in front, to dominate pictures, in his showy way. "Great to see you, Carol. Rogue; been ages, still not drinking with us? Shame," Tony teases them.

And then he's swanning over to Warren, leaving Rogue and Carol to take their picture of just them in peace. It's like the man can smell photography opportunties, and there's some press just past the others, on the way to the stage, that will definitely slow him down even more.

The reporter there, which Tony does not avoid even a little bit, begins to ask him about tech announcements, and the supermodel, and Tony's engaging, flippant, but steering him towards stageward, to entertain Tony with his questions while he goes toward his favorite thing - being the center of attention on a stage.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy laughs, nodding to Rogue. "You're too kind. I'll never get tired of Southern charm." But then as attention turns to the stage, he starts walking in that direction himself. Shaking his head, smiling at the awkwardness of the comedian trying to drag it out. If Tony's going to talk, he's going to listen. Well, first he'll grab a couple more fried twinkies, and a fresh glass of champagne, and THEN he'll listen.

Captain America has posed:
Caught in a decidedly neutral if comfortable lean against part of the backside of the bar itself, Steve glances over and unfolds his arms at Warren's hailing.

"Are we? Didn't plan on it," he replies, his smile polite. A hand is offered to both Warren and Theresa. "Nice to see you again, Warren. I don't believe I've met your date. Captain Rogers," he introduces himself to Theresa.

And then there's a Tony!

And then there's not a Tony, for the stage calls as does the rest of the public social media sphere. Steve, as ever, is quietly in awe of how the tech mogul navigates it all.

"Watch, he'll try 'nd call me up on there to speech too," he asides to Warren and Theresa in good-natured rue.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"That one might," Carol laughs, holding up the phone to show the first selfie in which Tony is the main focus and the two women are mere background players, "Come on, let's get another one with just us."

Once both photographs are taken and uploaded to social media (because she's been doing that more lately with some outside insistence) she begins to drift in the direction of the stage. Her mug of cider is forgotten, but it wasn't like she was really into drinking it anyway. She pauses by the bar for a moment, pressing her tongue against the back of her bottom lip and looking thoughtful.

She glances up as Steve talks about being harangued into giving a speech of his own, leaning over to momentarily interrupt the conversation with a broad grin on her face, "He's been making fireworks with that gauntlet blaster thing of his all night. Are you gonna do some shield tricks?"

Siryn has posed:
Theresa Cassidy finds herself meeting and greeting far more suddenly than anticipated but at least it keeps her attention from wandering to the many various things going on. It was quite the hopping party with the fireworks, food, and drink as well as the stage. When Steve comes over to greet Warren and her she offers her hand in turn giving his a firm enough shake. Though she's good at keeping it from being too heavy of an accent it's obvious she was from Scotland to anyone familiar enough with the accent. "Pleasure to meet you, Captain Rogers. Theresa Cassidy, but everyone calls me Terri."

"I do have my phone if you want pictures, but it's probably not as good of quality as Warren's," she assures with a little laugh. Tony's calling out earns a solemn nod as well. "He's got a lot of energy for as much as he's drinking. Does he ever take a nap?"

Archangel has posed:
"Terri's one of the instructors at Xavier's. Art and art history, if I recall right. I've been looking for a reason to ask her out, Tony gave me an opening." Warren confesses as he watches Theresa introduce herself and then glances over and up at where Tony is preparing to take the center stage.

"Are you kidding? This is victory lap. We're just the peanut gallery." he points out in a little bit of amusement. "I can't blame him for it one bit..." then he pauses, looking over at his date. "Would you like a picture, Terri? I can get one of you with the Captain, if he's okay with it."

Rogue has posed:
Southern hospitality only goes so far, so after having one photo bombed by a Stark shaped intruder, Rogue has to give him an audible "Booooo! I'll be drinkin' next month too!" as he sashays his way toward the stage. But the second photo is captured and a grin is given to Carol.

With a speech seemingly imminent, Rogue starts to slip off toward the back of the crowd, not one to get mixed in with a lot of people who're bunching up close together. She steps off to the side, and finds a place to set her drink down to check her own phone... its 2027 after all, people are even more addicted to their phones than ever before!

Iron Man has posed:
Something else is going on, at the stage, where the comedian was stalling for time. A brilliant blue glow begins to extend outwards along one side, making the band there back off with uncertainty. They were clearing out already, but they do it more efficiently. There's no fear: after all, twists in entertainment and odd tech is the norm for a Stark party. Even so, that bright blue portal looks too much like the ones many New Yorkers remember from the Chitauri attack years before. And the figure that steps out of it isn't a recognizable Avenger.

It is a woman, dressed in a mix of black tech and blue silk. Her arms and legs have clear tech armor, her bust swathed in blue lengths of wrapped silk that drape over her upper torso, leading into more of the black armor. She's helmeted, though the bottom of her face is exposed, showing an odd, reddish skin tone and hard jawline with a ridge of spines. At her left arm is a weapon, some sort of snub-nosed black rifle. She says something to the comedian, who bails off the stage immediately.

During this time, Tony has made it to the stage at the opposite end, the comedian rushing past him. That the music guns up into a cacaphony suggests all of this was planned, though those that know Tony will suspect otherwise.

Tony wouldn't share his spotlight in this way.

The armored woman closed on the mic, and attempts to say something boldly. There is no sound.

Just a Tony making an 'nuh-uh-uh' gesture of gautleted hand at her, promoting a laugh from the general audience. "//Nope//; as the host, I will be controlling all audio and visual displays this evening," Tony snarks, his headset picking his voice up and projecting it in full sardonic glory.

Siryn has posed:
"I wouldn't mind some pictures to commemorate the evening. Last time I had pictures taken they were mug shots," Terri teases in a way that made it hard to determine if it was actually the truth or not. A little nudge of her elbow is given to Warren's side though when things start to go all colorful on stage causing her to frown just a little.

"This was planned, right?" Alas, she didn't know Tony enough to know for certain, so she just holds back a bit tipping her head toward Warren with a questioning look.

Captain America has posed:
"Nice to meet you too, Terri," the Captain replies to the redheaded young woman. He returns his hands to sling thumbs into his dress-pant's pockets. He glances between her and Warren. "'m not bothered if you want a picture. By all means."

Carol's sudden appearance has the Captain doing an exaggerated flinch in place, as if to reward her with a mockery of genuine startlement. He reaches out to try and pat her shoulder with firm affection, grinning back.

"No, m'am, no shield tricks tonight if I can help it. Thing's better off behind the bar. Tonight's a night for celebrating the incoming new year and peace."

But even as he moves to take up a stance for a selfie, there's the foreign glow of a light not put off by any of Stark's known technologies -- that, and Tony's drawn full attention to the sudden intruder on the stage.

"Selfie's gonna have to wait, folks." Steve's voice slips into controlled steel even as he stoops to pick up the spangled shield from its tucked lean. It might class with the tuxedo, but this takes precedence over fashion.

"Pincer movement, let Tony keep her attention," he quickly says to everyone in ear-shot even as he begins to nonchalantly sidle towards the stage as if he were simply a curious bystander and not Captain America.

Archangel has posed:
As the request for the selfie is granted, Warren started to feel around for his phone to catch the moment so that Terri would have a reminder of the evening. And just as things were lining up.. Tony's interrupted by the arrival of someone that clearly wasn't on the invitation list.

When he portal opens, Warren was ready to assume it was all part of the game. "Of course he'd hire a teleporter..." he starts to say. Then Steve is speaking up, and Warren's realizing how serious the situation could be. "Theresa, you good?" he asks her quietly. His wings flare behind him, stiffening in preparation to change if needed.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
All the ease seems to drain out of Carol as she spots the portal. Admittedly she doesn't know the full limits of Tony Stark's technical wizardry, but at the same time portals seem like they may be pushing the envelope. When the woman steps out of it, her brow furrows again and she turns to say something to Steve only to find that he's spotted it, too. She glances sidelong at Rogue, gives her a nod, and then moves to travel the long way towards the stage - the other side of Steve's pincer.

Carol's own procession is less bystander and more of the meet-and-greet variety. She steps through the crowd, shaking hands as she goes and sharing a few momentary words. All the while she continues to glance back towards the stage, watching Tony and watching the strange figure he's speaking to. She meanders slowly, even taking a moment to pose for a selfie as she does her best to not look like she's booking it for the stage.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy tenses up at the sight of the portal as well. You never know. Though he's not one to waste a perfectly good Twinkie, or two, so he starts approaching the stage. Squeezing closer as much as a guy his size can squeeze, downing both twinkies, and dropping the stick on a tray. The champagne is downed in a gulp as well, leaving his hands free. In case something is going wrong. Eyes open, ears alert, head moving. In case anything ELSE teleports in as well.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue laughs.

Rogue laughs while staring at her phone.

Rogue isn't paying any attention to the stage or whats happening on it.

On Rogue's phone is a big inflatable arm waving tube man like the ones you see outside of gas stations, and its arms are flapping around and hitting people on the side streets down below near Times Square. She's watching a live feed of the show down there and the camera is zoomed in on the big green flowing arm waving man as he slaps and annoys people to the point where some are hitting it with sticks.

She's 20 years old. She's not paying any attention to the stage or whats going on on it. Besides, the bright light of a portal opening just kind of makes her think of the giant fireworks that were going off a bit ago too!

So she just stays off at the back of the crowd, the balcony on her right and the rest of the private party room on her other side.

Iron Man has posed:
With a visible snarl, the intruder in black armor and blue silk brings the rifle around, looking out at the mixed laughter from the packed audience, her gun starting to color with a dark purple blaze at the end, as if charging.

"Heeey hey, babe, my eyes are up here," Tony says, snapping gauntleted fingers at the intruder loudly, while his other hand fans to one side in a gesture meant for Avengers: a call for assist. She doesn't like the snark or snapping, but does aim her rifle at him instead of the crowd. A crowd which isn't sure if they are in danger or if this is a show.

She raises her voice, though it's hard to make out with all the music. "You stand in the presence of Mikonia of the Sybalt Order, sent by the armies of Titan; Your rudeness will be your demise. I require---"

"//Earth is closed//, Mickey. Come back next year. At least give us a damn //hour//," Tony interrupts, lifting his other hand to show the watch there. Less than an hour to New Years'.

"I will take what I need from your second in command," Mikonia says, her gun flaring into a rain of pulse energy bolts!

Captain America has posed:
Here and there, Steve can catch movement to his left and right where the others make their own way towards the stage through the throng of bystanders. //Keep her busy, Tony, keep her busy,// he chants as mantra in his mind. His own attention is keen and unwavering on the extradimensional visitor in her darkly-hued and translucent armor both. The gun, in particular, he watches for signs of sudden intent to use.

And then there's a little TOO MUCH distraction from Tony. With a sudden push-off of a nearby table to send it groaning across the floor, the Captain leaps into the air and hucks the shield towards Tony with the leonine shout of, "TONY, INCOMING!"

Shield, not gunfire, though both apply.

Archangel has posed:
Steve's not the only one that can throw projectiles in his case. As he spreads his wings, creating a shield between any stray shots and Theresa, Warren's wings lose their angelic appearance. Taking on the gunmetal grey and then full metallic of the wings of the angel of death, Warren's skin pales and then turns that same shade of blue as when he was Apocalypse's horseman.

Rising into the air, he's getting above the crowd. "I don't see a VIP pass on you. The party for the would be world conquerors is in a back alley on Fifth Avenue." With that, one wing pivots, and several razor sharp pinions are flung towards the alien weapon.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy fortunately doesn't need to TURN colors after Tony throws that line out, and the respose is plasma bolts. He's already big and blue. Ready to sacrifice the suit, he LEAPS onto the stage on all fours, and gets to rolling. "I'm sorry but the man's right. We've closed the books on 2027 and no new invasions will be accepted until the new year," he calls out, constantly moving in an arc around the armed woman, being a hard to hit target and distraction if nothing else.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"Okay, not a light show," Carol announces to those around her, waving both her arms urgently to one side in the universal 'get out of the damn way' gesture, "Everybody out! Rogue!"

The last is a call at the top of her lungs as the blonde rises above the madding crowd to hover in mid-air, a brief glance given towards the young mutant before she fixes her attention upon Mikonia. There's a brief cascade of sparkling light around her, and the simple casual wear is suddenly replaced by the iconic red and blue of Captain Marvel.

"Sorry, expensive sound and lighting equipment, I'm sure Tony can afford to replace you," she mutters to herself, before she aims a fist at the gun-toting lady and lets fly with a lance of golden energy.

Siryn has posed:
Theresa Cassidy pats Warren's arm lightly as she steps away. "I'm good," she assures him with a solemn nod. It wasn't her first scrap that she'd been in, though with the amount of people here? She was going to defer to those who had worked together on teams before. Having a random unknown jump in was likely not a good idea with this many people around. "Though maybe he ought to make sure she's not asking for help or something before--No, nevermind. Fighting it is." Sighing she flashes Warren a grin and gestures him forward. "I'll find my own way home."

Rogue has posed:
<Ur wite hair looks like skunk stripes amd bet i could beet u in a fite 2>

Rogue narrows her eyes at a message on one of her social mediage apps.

<'Beet' me? You're gonna hit me with a beet? Okay Dwight. Tell Jim I said 'Whats up'.>

She hurriedly taps out a response, thumbs expertly tapping away at the screen of her Starkphone. Being a somewhat known entity in the world, she gets a lot of weird traffic on her profiles.

<Meet me at the park in Salem Center if u wanna go a few rounds, Balboa>

A proud grin at her responses is the expression on her face as she looks up when she hears Carol shout her name... but that expression is wiped away like a card house in a sandstorm when she sees whats going on on stage. Replaced with sudden confusion, a quick look right and then left.

"What the he---" Rogue reacts.

She takes flight, leaping into the air with her white bangs trailing along the sides of her face and her white scarf fluttering around in the air behind her shoulders! She flies toward Carol to reinforce her and support her with all the punching power she's got.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony got a very clear expression of alarm when it becomes apparent he is about to be shot. "...Parley?" Tony gets out, lifting his gauntlet with an intention to at least shoot Mikonia in return even if he's about to be shot to hell. But then Captain America's quick defense is coming in, in the form of a flung shield, and Tony adapts to survival. They've not run THIS drill that many times, but enough: Tony snatches the shield with the guantleted hand and drops to duck behind it, partially off-balance for multiple reasons: the force of the shield, the angle, and the DRINKS (Tony is highly functional but come on). The bolts from the gun splatter everywhere, bouncing off the surface of the Captain's shield, into the big machines just beyond Tony that were responsible for many of the audio and visuals related to the stage.

Mikonia did not just stand there and shoot, either: she advanced, and moves up to lash sideways at Tony. He didn't see her coming, and can't entirely block it, he partially loses grip on the shield and her kick sends him flying backwards into the machinery, hard.

Beast's arrival on stage interrupts her going for the kill: she dodges to a side and follows his movement with a spray of energy bolts nipping at his rolling heels. She does, however, seem to be concerned with Beast closing on her: she did move.

The reason why may be apparent: she has some sort of shield for projectiles, and the lances and flung arrows from metal wings richochet off. Most of them go upwards into the sky, though all of it makes the crowd scream and begin to stampede away from the stage in a churn of sudden panic. Theresa, amid the crowd now, will be able to direct a lot of it, but the whole of the street is packed with people.

Archangel has posed:
Warren moves when he realizes that his flechettes are not going to have an effect on the shield. For the moment, the winged wonder is switching from offense to defense, using his wings to shield the crowd as he works in concert with Theresa to get the crowd cleared from the area. "I don't think she's here looking for help, Terri."

Captain America has posed:
Granted, Steve does slam into a few people when he lands and he's apologetic as fast as his mouth can manage even as chaos breaks out close to and around the stage itself.

"Excuse me, sir, sorry, m'am -- yes, sorry, m'am -- get to the exits! Get to the street! NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR SELFIES!" The young and rich upstart having turned to make a face with the fight going on behind him is gripped by the front of his fancy shirt and bodily frog-marched for a few steps. The kid's then released to stumble away into the crowd. "Goddamn Twitter," the Captain growls under his breath even as he turns and then sprints for the stage. "Selfie sticks, worst invention in //HISTORY//." Venting some of his adrenaline in this manner, he then enters the immediate area of the stage.

Shield -- shield -- gotta get the shield -- duck a deflected projectile, DAMNIT ALIEN FORCEFIELDS ARE THE PITS -- Tony -- where's Tony?! Dancing in a bowed leap out of the immediate path of another flaring round of counter-fire, he tucks into a roll and unfurls to skid on his hip towards the machinery as if he were stealing third base. Those dress-pants won't survive without some serious scuffing.

It brings him up alongside an slumped, unresponsive Tony. A quick grab for the Vibranium shield has it slipped onto Steve's arm and then up between himself and the genius-inventor. "Somebody kick me a first aid kit?!"

Whether or not anyone hears his frantic call is a shot in the dark.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy just keeps on moving. Best way not to get shot, while seeming menacing. Next he makes another leap, climbing up some stage light rigging. On the way up he sees if there's sufficient help in getting people out of here. Once getting high enough, he does his best to swing on a rope from up high. His plan was to attack, but his hearing picks up Steve, and he swings to Tony. "I'll do what I can," he grunts as he lands, proceeding to check on Tony. Breathing? Beating heart? Bleeding? No first aid kit, but he has a wool jacket to tear into bandages if he must.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"Force fields?" Captain Marvel audibly groans, rolling her eyes skyward as she floats there above the crowd, "What's the damn point of cosmic powers if everyone has a force field?"

Business face on, she glances over towards her fellow Avengers on the stage. Okay, they can take care of Tony. So, rather than play defense or fire marshal, Carol goes on the offensive. She moves quickly towards Mikonia, speeding through the air as she tries to put her shoulder into the woman and - more importantly - distract her from the makeshift trauma center that has formed in the wings.

No snappy quips from her, just putting every ounce of her strength into trying to throw her off balance or, at the very least, to put herself between her and her fellow Avengers.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue had seen the medical kit in an emergency box on the wall beside the fire alarm. She'd noticed it when she'd come in the room as things like that just always stand out to her when she's in public situations like this, BECAUSE of situations like whats unfolding now.

So when Cap yells for it, she sees Stark down and her eyes narrow... She turns and flies right toward it, rips the whole thing off the wall and then flies right on back toward Hank to toss it to him since he's between she and Stark now. "Here!" She tells the Beast.

With that out of the way, Rogue once more flies toward Carol to back her up.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony is unconscious; it's likely he hit his head on the machines when he was flung, though he doesn't seem to be in horrible shape otherwise.

Mikonia follows the movement of Beast sharply, starting to anticipate where he is. It's like she has powered, high tech armor that can sort out where someone will be before they're there: a lovely autotargeting system. And just because Beast stops to help Tony does not stop her from continuing to light him up and the area around him, uncaring about the downed inventor.

Still, Captain Marvel's intrusion gets a lot of attention: Mikonia was using her targeting system to try to shoot Beast, and she's hit quite firmly, as her dodge came a little late. Her shoulder crunches from the impact, probably broken, as she's spun out and away from Carol's mighty hit.

Blue portals suddenly spark into life all around them, a hive of potential allies being summoned, perhaps, though nothing yet comes out of them. There are four total, now, all over the stage...

"How DARE you!" Mikonia snarls at Carol, bringing the gun up to release not a spray of bolts, but a charged blast in response. "Your pitiful planet will melt if it dares stand against us. Give up the stone, and---"

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde is late arriving at the party, having said she'd make an appearance at the party of some friends from work. She's just walking up to the door when a stream of people starting running out, ducking to the sound of some sort of weapons fire. "On New Year's Eve? Really!?" she groans and then phases through a wall into the room, not trying to navigate through the press of people hurrying to get out.

Kitty looks over the room, spotting Captain Marvel attacking someone. That must make them the bad guy. The line about melting a pitiful planet that Kitty is quite fond of only further confirms this. "Portals are bad I gather?" she calls out as she runs forward, ghosting through people on her way to the stage, though she's got a bit of room to cross first.

Captain America has posed:
"He needs what's in an aid kit," says Steve firmly, running hard on adrenaline now. His attention is neatly divided between wondering if Tony's going to wake up in some vindictively timely manner and where the nearest little white box sporting a red cross is! Rogue's on, however, and the necessary box clatter down to them.

"Alright, good, we'll get him stabilized." Steve can only speak after turtling up behind another round of shots fired in his direction, all of which ricochet off the shield and miss him and Tony both.

It comes to him -- and it's nuts -- and maybe it'll work -- but when Mikonia is distracted by Carol, he grabs at Tony's gauntleted hand and shakes it in Mikonia's direction, like that might make it shoot at the intruder. "Shoot! C'mon, shoot, SHOOT!" he hisses at the gauntlet while Tony's fingers likely flop around weakly.

The sudden glimmer of portals all around them makes his heart leap up into his throat. Oh no: reinforcements.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy covers Tony, fearing a shot. "No blood, no ambulance. Look sharp," he mutters giving Tony a tap to try to rouse him. He then starts rolling again, and starts zig zagging toward the armed invader.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"No!" Captain Marvel snaps at Mikonia, defiant and unyielding even though she has no idea what it is she wants - but given the nature of the intrusion, if she wants this stone? She probably shouldn't have it, "Get your own damn stone!"

As the charged blast is angled at her, Carol lifts both of her arms to cross them over her chest. The two glimmering bracers she wears there - a birthday gift - are not enough to deflect or nullify the blast. More likely, she's using her arms to try and cushion the blow somehow. The blast strikes her true, and with no time to dodge out of the way she is sent skidding backwards across the floor.

She remains still for a moment beneath a pile of ruined tables and chairs, tendrils of smoke rising from her. But she's already stirring, pushing herself to her feet.

Rogue has posed:
With Tony down, Steve trying to use Tony's arm like its a rifle, and the others busy too... Rogue can't even notice Kitty's arrival sadly so.

Her focus is entirely on Carol and the fighting weird woman that she has NO IDEA where she came from! So she zips past the stage and sweeps in on the south side of it to land beside where the live music had been playing mo moments ago...

When Carol gets blasted down, Rogue's eyes narrow, she looks over to her left and then steps over...

A moment later and a piano is flying toward this Space Woman Mikonia. Shield or not, its a grand piano... quite a thing to have flying at you! Rogue had kicked it and now she's running full sprint toward the woman to try to get in close with the Piano as her cover!

Iron Man has posed:
Nope, Tony's glove doesn't shoot without his say-so, Steve. Nothing happens. Flop flop.

Miknoia absolutely hates the close combat, and is relieved to see Carol go flying. She's quick, and is prioritizing dodging: and she's started to use the portals she set up. Not as summons, but as traps. As she falls back, she twists around behind one of the portals, hiding behind it to evade a PIANO. The portal then flinches, suddenly lurching forward at Rogue, to attempt to entrap those pursuing her; the piano partially hits the portal, which sheers it in half, as half is sucked inside. She can't shoot well while she's doing this dodging behind portals, but Mikonia does charge her weapon up, the huge pulse on the end of the rifle getting blisteringly strong.

No slouch at fighting is this invader, she's clearly broken her shoulder from Carol's slam, but she's still very dangerous.

Two of the other portals lurch suddenly, closing in! One of them lances across the right side of the stange, and entirely overtakes Tony, and Captain America. The portal flares green and disappears, taking the two to who-knows-where. Gone, just like that.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy decides to take advantage. A piano turns out to be one thing that's bigger and heavier than he is to be flying at Miknoia. So, Hank uses the moment to try to wrap her up a big ol bear hug. Or more precisely, pin her arms and keep her from shooting anything further. "Planet's closed, the moose out front should have told you." A move that takes him AWAY from Tony just in time to avoid getting plotted off planet.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde's eyes dart left and right, taking in the battlefield more fully, spotting Tony down and Cap apparently waving Tony's hand towards the attacking woman. "Where's Lockheed when I could use him," she grumbles. As Rogue does her rendition of Ebony and Ivory with Mikonia, Kitty diverts to one of the bars, going behind it and scanning the bottles before grabbing one.

Time to drink apparently. Kitty opens the bottle as she heads back for the stage, hoping she'll be overlooked by Mikonia what with musical instruments of destruction going her way.

Reaching the foot of the stage, Kitty takes a full drink from the bottle and then pulls out a lighter. A plume of Everclear shoots out of her mouth and Kitty ignites it with the lighter. Though getting a bit of the burning fluid on her hand in doing so. She shakes it and then suffocates the flame against herself even as she lets the rest of the mouthful of alcohol-turned-flamethrower go.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Captain Marvel is only just rising to her feet, squinting against the light of the new portals suddenly manifesting themselves here and there. In the chaos she doesn't even seem to notice the one that swallows up Tony and Steve, instead tracking Kitty for a moment - where'd she come from? She opens her mouth to say something when she starts ... breathing ... fire. Okay.

But then her attention turns to Rogue, eyes widening as she sees the portal lurching suddenly towards her. Carol is quick, and she rises up off the ground to speed through the air at a dizzying pace. Both hands shoot out to grab Rogue by the shoulders, trying to move her out of the path of the portal only to turn her back to it.

"Careful there, Troub - "

Then it moves again, a sudden lurching motion that Carol's cosmic senses fail to warn her of. It's a quick motion, a blink and you miss it kind of thing, and then both Rogue and Captain Marvel are disappeared into another of Mikonia's very hungry portals.

Iron Man has posed:
Mikonia laughs bitterly as her portals work to her advantage, eliminating opponents from the battle. Four are gone. She's winning, easy.... right?

Hank grabs her on her injured side, and she snarls in very real pain. She's nearly caught, entangled by Beast for a moment, but she's quick enough to spin out before he can fully trap her. Still, the blur of pain in her vision makes her stumble towards Kitty, and a flare of flame is everywhere. Unable to see, she releases the blast from her rifle in roughly Kitty's direction, but the aim is off: Kitty should have decent time to dodge, unless she's blinded by her own fireball.

On fire now and highly injured, arm useless, Mikonia decides to retreat: she stumbles sideways and hurls herself through one of the remaining portals, with a snarl of hatred. This isn't over, not if she has anything to say about it.

//She'll be back.//

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy makes one last grab for her before she makes her escape, and he looks. "Kitty, I didn't see you. We'd better make sure Tony's alright..." He whirls around. "Wait, where's Tony? Oh Steve got him out of there? Nice fire trick though Kitty."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is on her way at full tilt toward that Mikonia lady when she catches sight of Kitty breathing fire and it makes her stutter step and stop. 'I bet she was in the Circus and learned how to do that in the circus cause she goes everywhere and knows everyone and does everything. Sigh. I still love her thouh-- Carol?'

Carol sweeps in and snatches Rogue up and just as she's all wide eyed she sees a Portal then sweep in and snatch them BOTH UP!

Gone is the Southern Belle, into wonder land...

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty was just getting ready to phase and try to follow up the fire breathing attack with one coming up out of the floor, when she sees Carol and Rogue disappear through another moving portal. The young woman looks back and thinks she might see the gun swinging her way. She dives and phases both to be careful, with no idea what kind of width the gun's attack has.

The shot wizzes past her, hitting the bar that Kitty got the bottle from and sending wood, shattering glass and booze flying everything. Kitty continues, phasing through the stage and then pops up where the attacker was, only to find Mikonia already departing through a portal as well.

"Hank, they were teleported out! Can we track the somehow? Can Blink trace other's teleportals?" she asks as she climbs back up to where she's standing on the stage.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy starts to realize the magnitude of this. More and more people he's noticing are missing. Hard to even be sure. So he grabs a bottle of champagne, a dish of twinkies and nods. "I don't know, but we can start finding out. Right now."

Iron Man has posed:
The stage is empty of portals now, as the last of the glowing blue doors used as traps lurches, then collapses. Fireworks and cheering in the distance hit strangely on the suddenly nearly empty stage, and emptied street. Drones have arrived, searching, searching, guiding the stragglers, and trying to find those that are now gone.

There's some bursts in the air from the programmed Stark displays, lighting up the night around Stark tower with heroes that move and fight in displays of light and technology!

And as the new year approaches, there's a grand shout from Times Square:

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"