10598/A Rogues Family Christmas Special

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A Rogues Family Christmas Special
Date of Scene: 31 December 2019
Location: Englewood, Buchanan, Central City (Gem Cities), Missouri
Synopsis: Somebody gets a very special recipe
Cast of Characters: Flash, Shocker, Tombstone, Psylocke
Cast of NPCs: Captain Cold, Kid Flash (West), Impulse, Turtle


Flash has posed:
The Flash's rogues gallery liked to self-identify as Rogues, as they disliked terms such as supervillain and supercriminal. They weren't bad people. None of them believed that killing was acceptable or hurting innocents. They might rob a bank, threaten the people in the back, taking them hostage, but they would to a man, or woman as the case may be, would take a bullet rather than see that hostage come to harm. The Flash was in on it. The Central City and Keystone Police Departments were in on it. No one broke the pact, and all was good. The minute the Flash or police start treating the Rogues as if they were paper tigers, well, all hell would break lose.

So, it was not unsurprising, to Flash at least, that he got on well with them. He had even borrowed the couch of one of the rogues when his apartment was being rennovated. Most heroes didn't have the kind of relationship that he did with them. He knew it. He had talked with others and been amazed to learn that their enemies will kill or harm innocents. That they will commit unspeakable acts. It scared him a little.

So, when he invited Psylocke to attend a meta Christmas Party in the Gem Cities, well, she probably expected to see Impulse, the original Flash, Kid Flash, or people like those, who to be fair, were probably there too. But so too were the likes of Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Trickster, and the like.

He had come to pick her up, in costume, even though they knew each others identities, and ran her across the country to the site of the party. It was a converted Warehouse. On the outside, it looked like any old industrial site. But inside, well, it was as if a master tradesman had gone to work. It was a multi story open floorplan home and office building, with a dance floor area, pool and arcade area, bar, a few offices, bedrooms, bathrooms, a gym, indoor pool, and anything else that they had wanted. There were images of the Flash, the Rogues, adorning the walls, some blown up digital photographs, while others were like 1940's style movie posters. There were also trophies from past battles. And tonight, it was all decorated with Christmas trappings. There were a few trees, mistletoe, tinsel, snowmen, penguins, even an ice statue of the Flash, which was connected to a hot chocolate machine. With the press of a button, hot chocolate would pour through the statue out of a pitcher he held and fill up a mug you hold just so.


Shocker has posed:
Banging on the warehouse door, Herman Schultz--in his costume as the Shocker--cups his mouth with one hand.

"Hey! It's me! I'm on the list, right?" He steps back and mutters to himself. "I swear to God, Meyers, if you pulled one over on me ... I'm on my last eighth of a tank of gas as it is."

He looks up and calls out again. "Guys! I'm here for the thing! ... Anyone?"

Tombstone has posed:
This was quite an unexpected developement for Tombstone's holiday. He was all the way in Central City to visit his Auntie Matilda, a tradition he kept every year. Besides that, he really had no reason to be in Central City, the home of a certain red speedster. Last night, he had a rather brutal run-in with some loser villain from Bludhaven who stole his name. After giving the guy a savage lesson with his fists, Tombstone found a invitation on him. Tomstone, always being one for a party, decided to go.

As Tombstone walked towards the warehouse where the party was being held, he straighted the green tie that was tucked into his red tuxedo jacket. Yep, he was going festive tonight. The tall, pale man walked towards the entrance, raising a brow when he heard a familiar voice. Upon seeing Herman, Tombstone chuckled and said," Herman, da hell is yo ass doing here?"

Psylocke has posed:
Admittedly, Betsy was a bit unsure about this particular party. It was out of her usual circle, after all. Hellfire Club. Upper crust. Even X-Men. But when she was invited to a party for Metas by Barry, she had not expected this.

Heroes? Certainly. And there were a few of them around, various speedsters that were associated with the Flash and some others. But it was the villains! Or Rogues as they preferred to be called, according to Flash.

He had explained they were on good terms. They even had a dental plan. She really found it utterly insane and had to come see for herself. Finding herself with a glass of champagne, and using her psionic abilities to scramble any visual of her face so she wouldn't be 'memorable' to anyone there. She would be introduced as Psylocke. She turned to Flash to say, "Pretty sure I have psi bladed myself. Are these literally the people you fight?"

Flash has posed:
The Rogues were all dressed in either their usual costumes, in Christmas themed versions, Hanukha versions, or whatever was appropriate for them. Boomerang and Captain Boomerang, no relation, greeted the Shocker and Tombstone, mid arguement about whether or not Die Hard constitutes a Christmas movie. As they greeted the two out of town honourary Rogues, the discussion ended, though the reprieve was short-lived.

Captain Cold was going around carrying a plate of his delicious prosciutto brussel sprouts, which the Flash took and suggested, "Psylocke, you have to try these. They are the best." Yes, Barry was suggesting she take food prepared by someone who by most metrics would be considered a supervillain. Captain Cold, the defacto leader of the Rogues said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Psylocke." He enunciated his words with incredible precision. "Any friend of the Flash," he paused, looking over at the original Flash, "second Flash, is a friend of mine." Even when he was trying to be nice, the guy came across as creepy. She really must have accidentally psi-bladed herself and this was all some kind of dream. The Flash seemed to be enjoying the food at least.

Shocker has posed:
Nearly choking as Tombstone's quiet voice reaches his ears, Shocker sputters. "Oh, Jesus--heyyyy, Lonnie. Just came to party, you know how it is."

Then, he's greeted by the Boomerang bunch and makes his way inside. "I cannot /believe/ how good these guys have it! A whole clubhouse, getting along with the superhero who keeps putting them away ... I can't even imagine it." Herman shakes his head and chuckles mirthlessly. "Spider-Man won't even leave me working vibro-gauntlets after any encounter."

For a moment, Herman stares at the woman talking to the Flash. "And I have to stare at Ox's ugly mug whenever we all try to get together. The luck of some crooks ... !"

Tombstone has posed:
Tombstine couldn't help but grin at Herman's reaction, but said nothing as he was let into the party. He was impressed by the Rogues crib, and was even more impressed when he saw the Flash. Spider-Man would never do something like this, for obvious reasons. Tombstone, after grabbing one of Cold's brussle sprouts started to look for the alcohol.

Psylocke has posed:
She was going to need a shower. And bleach. Lots of bleach. After talking to Captain Cold. Just something off about him, the creep level alarm going off pretty high. Yet, Psylocke accepted the little plate with some of the prosciutto brussel sprouts and gave him a smile. Even in the worst of conditions, she could smile when modeling. She just applied the same principles here. "Thank you."

Only when he had moved out of earshot did she look over at Flash again. Had he sampled everything already? She was pretty sure he had. "You are comfortable eating food here. Is it your metabolism or something else?"

When her eyes fell on those entering, she considered. "Are those some of your Rogues too? I thought Shocker was in New York generally?" She gave a nod in their direction, a polite greeting to Flash's Rogues in her mind.

Flash has posed:
Trickster and Mirror Master practically fought each other to get the last prosciutto brussel sprout on the plate that Captain Cold was circulating, even though there were more in the kitchen. They were that good. Mirror Master was the one to ultimately won out.

With the Captain out of earshot, the Flash explained to her. "I know it may not seem like it, but this is a safe place. If the Rogues wanted to poison me, or anyone else, they would have done so a long time ago. They have rules and discipline. There are limits." In fact, Captain Cold gave Mirror Master and Trickster a bit of a dressing down for how they fought each other for that last brussel sprout. Surprisingly, they apologised to each other and shook hands. It was almost like a parent disciplining two brothers.

"But no, Shocker and... Tombstone? They're new. Must have been invited by someone." Meanwhile, Impulse had found a second plate in the kitchen and was offering more to everyone at super speed, slowing down just enough to offer and let them take one, before moving on to the next one. He offered Tombstone two, being such a big guy and all. To Shocker, he asked, "if you need to use a private room to remove the mask, the first door on the left is free."

Shocker has posed:
"So," Shocker says, sidling up to Heat Wave, "does that Rainbow Raider guy look like a complete idiot, or what?" He rolls his mask up slightly to take a bite of a dip-laden tortilla chip.

Heat Wave stares back at him. "Whatever, Crazy Quilt."

"What? No," Shocker says, shaking his head. "That's someone else. I'm the /Shocker/."

Heat Wave snickers and pivots on a heel, turning to chat with the Weather Wizard. "...friggin' Two-Ply Man over here..." Heat Wave says, much of his commentary lost in the din of the party.

Shocker sighs and tries to take a drink of punch. It spills on his absorbent quilted armor.

Tombstone has posed:
Tombstone grins and nods at Impulse as he took two of the sprouts. As a kid he hated the damn stuff. But, the Captain was a damned good cook if these things were a sample. Tombstone's eyes eventually rest on a plate of brownies. Tombstone grinned, if these were like his Auntie Matilda's, he would enjoy these quite a bit. Tombstone took a bite, and gagged. These things tasted terrible. As Tombstone tossed the rest of his brownie in the trash he muttered to himself," Whoever made these has no idea how to bake a good brownie."

Psylocke has posed:
"That isn't right." Seeing the exchange between Shocker and Heat Wave, Psylocke found herself walking over to Shocker. She wasn't thinking, just reacting. Flash could follow or not, she didn't look to see if he was. Her napkin was offered to Shocker, to help with the spilled punch. "They obviously have no taste. I happen to know fashion and what you have on? It's fabulous."

Probably /not/ what a supervillain wants to hear about themselves but it was the best she could do at being supportive after he was bullied by the other rogues.

It was like someone kicking a puppy. Not to be tolerated.

Flash has posed:
The Flash followed suit, even getting a tide pen in one hand and a solution of baking soda and vinegar in the other. Knowing that the Shocker was someone who used electricity, he offered them up, "not sure which one you want to try, but either of these should help."

Meanwhile the Top was deeply saddened by how Tombstone had reacted to his brownies. He sniffled a bit, trying to hide it, and gave Tombstone the softest little puppy dog eyes he could muster.

Shocker has posed:
The Shocker stares at the Flash. "I ... you ..."

He stares for a long moment. The hint of a tear trickles down his cheek, but it's absorbed by his quilted mask.

"Thank you," he says, taking the Tide pen. "You ... uh ... don't have about twenty more of these on hand, do you?" Herman leans in and whispers: "And can you tell Spider-Man to be nicer to his enemies?"

Tombstone has posed:
Tombstone turns around after his negative critique of the brownie, only to come face-to-face with Top, who was obviously upset by his opnion. Tombstone muttered a swear to himself as he scrathched the back of his head, he was bad at these kinds of things. He then sighs and says," Listen man, next time use less salt ok." Top just nods sadly and sulks away. Tombstone swears to himself and walks towards the hard eggnogg. Instead of using the punch cup however, he uses two big red plastic cups and fills them to the brim.

Psylocke has posed:
"I'm certain he could get them rather quickly," Psylocke says, keeping her napkin since it wasn't needed after all with Flash's offerings.

She glances over to the discussion of Tombstone and Top, just shaking her head again at how completely insane this was.

Flash has posed:
In the blink of an eye, the Flash had returned the mixture of vinegar and baking soda to the kitchen, pouring it out, washing the cup, and putting it back, then moved on to collect any other Tide Pens, before heading out to get more. The other speedsters around could see what he was up to. But most thought he was just a red blur.

When he returned, to exactly where he had been standing, he held a bag with 20 tide pens. "Here ya go, Shocker, and I don't know him, but when I meet him, I'll try to put in a good word, okay." He put an arm around the Shocker, "don't let it get to you."

The original Flash, Jay Garrick, was doing something similar with the Top, trying to console him after what Tombstone had done. And even Captain Cold came over to the New Yorker, offering up, "It doesn't matter which side of the law you stand. We are all people, and we can be hurt by more than just ray guns and bullets. The human tongue can be as viscious and deadly as the finest adamantium blade. And its scars may never heal. You should remember that." Tombstone may now need a bath now after that 'pep-talk'.

Shocker has posed:
"Oh, yeah, sure," Herman replies, half-paying attention to the Flash, half-focused on liberally applying the Tide pen to the damp stain on his costume. "I know it'll come out. It always does ..."

He wanders off, his vector skewed by only glancing up occasionally to avoid bumping into anyone. He still manages to step on the Pied Piper's foot.

"Oh, God, I'm /so/ sorry!" Shocker says, accidentally wiping the Tide pen on Piper's sleeve, while Piper stares at him angrily. "Oh, narts ... let me get a towel."

Eyes wide, Shocker heads to a closet, then a bathroom, and then out the window.

Tombstone has posed:
Tombstone held in his annoyance as Cold gave him a lecture, his voice making him very uncomfortable as he did. Tombstone took a note to take 5 hot showers once he got back at his Auntie's place. After the lecture-pep talk was done, Tomby sat down at a couch, still holding his two big cups of the bourbon infused egg-nogg and started to drink it, he had always had a high tolerance for alcohol and it took a lot for him to get drunk. He ignore the looks of surprise some of the Rouge's were giving him as he got up to get a third and fourth glass, seemingly unaffected by the first two.

Flash has posed:
With the Shocker heading back into the party, dealing with the stain and mingling, the Flash tried to explain something more to Psylocke, but he was pulled aside by Captain Boomerang and Boomerang. It seemed that they wanted to hear his view on whether Die Hard 2 or 3 was better.

Meanwhile, Abra Kadabra meandered up to Psylocke, asking her for advice on his costume and how he might improve his look.

And next to Tombstone on the couch were the Pied Piper and Turtle. Poor Pied Piper. He was trying to have a conversation with Turtle, but he was just so slow, it was like spending twenty minutes for the next sentene. As the Turtle leaned forward to get his drink from the coffee table, Pied Piper mouthed to Tombstone, "save me."

Tombstone has posed:
Tombstone looked at Pied Pipper, then at Turtle, suddenly a idea formed in his mind. Tombstone suddenly got up and walked past the couch. Suddenly, he "accidently" tripped, spilling his nogg all over Turtle, hoping it would make him get up and leave. Tombstone, not wanting to stay for the aftermath of this move, looked at his watch and said," Look at the time, got to go." He then walked out the front door then ran until he was out of sight from the building.

Psylocke has posed:
The New York Rogues seemed to find the setting a bit challenging. They were gone not too long after their arrival.

Turtle was slowly getting up from the couch to go clean egg nog off himself. Pied Piper was relieved he was safe from the conversation.

Abra Kadabra got a once over. "You can't really beat the classic tuxedo look so I think you're doing a nice twist on that." At least it wasn't his old ballet inspired version. Or what looked like it had been. "Maybe button up the shirt a bit. Remember, less is more when it comes to exposure." Said by the woman in a one piece bathing suit, in essence. Though at least the top was extremely modest.

The night continued that way with her getting to meet a lot of the Rogues. It was an enjoyable time. And she even got the recipe from Captain Cold. All in all, a good night.