12536/The Yule Lads: Scene One

The Yule Lads: Scene One
Date of Scene:	07 December 2020
Location:	Rockefeller Center, Midtown Manhattan
Synopsis:	Summary needed.
Cast of Characters:	Zombie-Girl, Nightingale, Thomas Raith, Buffy Summers, Iron Man
Tinyplot:	The Yule Lads

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Zombie-Girl has posed:
Zombie-Girl emit It's a brisk evening in Manhattan. A rather sizeable crowd has turned out for the New York City Christmas tradition of the lighting of the tree in Rockefeller Center. For many New Yorkers it marks the official start of the Christmas season in the city. Leading up to the actual lighting there has been a number of musical acts. Around the periphery there are a couple of food trucks and stands selling merchandise. Attending this event is special guest Tony Stark. In fact a large button in the shape of an arc reactor has been designed (despite the tree still running off the normal electrical grid) that when pressed will light up the tree.

Out in the crowd Zee is hanging out with her new allies, Buffy and Thomas. She's been so busy with investigating the Sanctified that she hasn't done anything fun like this in a while.

Nightingale has posed:
     Indeed, there were a number of musical acts. But, there were also those singing carols amongst themselves. Somehow, a young woman in a cream colored turtleneck sweater, dark blue jeans, and soft black boots seems to have gotten one of those little huddles of holiday cheer started. The lights gleam off of her pale gold hair like a halo, and well... there's the wings. No missing those, especially not during the holidays. Big, white, feathery angel wings, right in keeping with the season. Smiling, she raises her voice in song with the rest. Some sing in English, but she's opted for something a little more traditional.

"Veni veni, Emmanuel
captivum solve Israel,
qui gemit in exsilio,
privatus Dei Filio.

Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel,
nascetur pro te Israel!"

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith for his part has come to the party win a heavy white overcoat, though otherwise you wouldn't be able to tell from his dress that it's below freezing out. He has one arm around Buffy, and the other hand around a togo mug roughly the size of his head. The steam rising from it smelling strongly of chocolate as he grins. "Coming out here was the second best idea I think you've had." He says playfully to Buffy offering her a sip.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers had been convinced to come out and have some fun after dealing with a break-in at the Magic Box. And what a night it is, even if it's a bit brisk out tonight. She's dressed in a hot pink leather jacket, light green shirt underneath and dark blue denim jeans underneath. Not the most festive of clothing but it's the closest she could find to Christmas colors.

At least she's got some holly clip in her hair which kinda clashes with the hot pink jacket but oh well. "Woow, look at all the decorations! Glad I decided to forego patrol to check this out!" she grins as she peers around, and nods to Zombie-Girl once she finds her in the crowds. "Hey Zee! Glad you could make it. Isn't this something?"

Of course she's brought Thomas out with her tonight, mostly because he was the one who convinced her to go out and have fun tonight. of course that hot chocolate looks good and she grins, leaning over to take a sip. "Mmm, did you make it yourself? It's a bit cooler than I thought it would be out here tonight." but it is winter afterall.

Iron Man has posed:
"And so I said Warren, buddy... you gotta stop eating so many Oreos!"

There's some polite laughter, and even a bit of genuine laughter, as This Year's Special Guest Tony Stark banters with the hostess up on stage. He'd probably get a bigger reaction from the crowd if he'd showed up in the latest version of his armor, but the 'normal' suits that he wears are almost as impressive.

This one was made by Xandarian immigrants who came to New York City with big dreams, and some startup capital from the Maria Stark Interstellar Development Fund.

All Tony got was a lousy suit made out of Space Cotton.

"But enough about that guy... who's ready to light this sucker up!?"

Zombie-Girl has posed:
The hostess laughs at Tony's joke, perhaps a second longer than is polite or comfortable. On stage the mayor is standing next to the big arc reactor shaped button. "Well Mr. Stark, if you might do the honors?" they say and sweeps an arm between Tony and the button.

Zee is a bit less well dressed than Buffy, dressed in her usual Church rummage sale chic style. She has a black hoodie on, and her usual black wrap around sunglasses that hide her strange eyes. It's utilitarian, but it does help hide her appearance somewhat. Despite this there has been a few "damn mutie freak" thrown her way, despite the fact that she isn't a mutie.

Buffy, for a brief moment gets a weird vibe. It could be her supernatural sense, or it could just be the cold and excitement for the event, it's so slight that it's really hard to tell.

"Yeah, it's been a few years since I've been here. Last time was with my gram-gram. Also, I was still sucking air," Zee says to buffy.

Nightingale has posed:
     Indeed, there are a few 'mutie freak' comments thrown Shannon's way, despite her angelic appearance and simple enjoyment of the season. But she doesn't let this ruffle her feathers. Rather, she just smiles at the bigots, nods, and turns towards the tree when Mr. Stark calls out to the crowd.

     "Come on, let's get this ball rolling!" she replies, laughing and applauding with many in the crowd. She's in fine spirits, her eyes a-twinkle, and her smile like a little kid's on Christmas morning.

     But whoever said a trip into the city would be uneventful...?

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith rolls his eyes at the epitaths being thrown around, shaking his head slightly. "You know, he mutters casually, "If these people had any clue how many things are walking around them every day that consider them food, they would be a lot more accepting of evolution of their own species." he can't help but be annoyed for Zee's sake. And the Angel girl. I mean who disrespects an Angel at Christmas? Why not just kick a pregnant woman out of your hotel while you are at it. He makes eye contact with the Angel, giving her a dazzling smile of encouragement.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers glowers at whoever shot 'mutie freak' comments at her new friend and that angel girl and mutters something under her breath. "What a bunch of jerks. Dont listen to them...But you know, we should totally do a fashion makeover sometime, maybe try some foundation.." she chuckles, "I guess I'm not exactly the fashion expert that Cordy is, but I could still give you a few pointers." Buffy does arch a brow at the Gram comment, nodding slowly, "Well heck, at least you can enjoy the night with us, right?"

She leans into Thomas as a cool breeze ruffles her hair, wishing she'd worn something a bit warmer. At least her shirt underneath has a nice flannel lining. But for a moment she does pause and peer around, frowning. "Huh, what's that..?" she glances around, trying to figure out what it is she just sensed, but tries her best to shrug it off, laughing a bit. There are a lot of people here, and it's cold. Yeah, must be the cold.

"Wow, that's a big button, this should be good.."

Of course Buffy also notices the girl with the pretty angel wings and smiles at her, "Wow, nice wings. Guess she must be dressed up as an angel.."

Iron Man has posed:
"Well I'd love to, Britney! It'd be a huge honor!"

Tony looks as if he'd love nothing better than to push the big shiny button, and for a second that looks like exactly what he's about to do. But then, he seems to think better of it, and takes a step back.

"Or... maybe it'd be better to ask a friend of mine to do it."

There's a sound like engines whining overhead, and spotlights raise up to illuminate the now-familiar figure of Iron Man!

Iron Man descends onto the platform with Tony and Britney, waving to the crowds as he does.

And then the armor pops open, revealing...

An attractive woman in a bodysuit.

"Oh look! It's this year's Miss America! What are you doing here, Consuela?"

"Oh, I heard you had a big flashing button for me to push?"

Zombie-Girl has posed:
Zombie-Girl shrugs. "Yeah, I mean I've never been much for the girly-girl stuff. But I'm not going to say no to a makeover. Right now I have to keep a gym membership just so I have a place to get a hot shower. It took me a couple of visits to get the burning smell off after the thing with the Chad demon." A look of thought passes over her face and she says, "Do they make foundation for gray skin?" She spares a look over to Shannon, the other woman getting grief for her appearance. She considers that the wings could be an elaborate cosplay, but they sure do look pretty real.

The crowd goes nuts when the Iron Man suit descends from above. This cheering is mixed in with whistles and catcalls when Miss America steps out.

"Oh rad," Zee says. "I don't remember it being like this. This show has more twists than an M. Night Shambala-ding-dong movie."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon smiles right back at Thomas, unperturbed by the epithets hurled her way. One might think that she was simply dressed up as an angel, except well... the wings -move-. She extends one and moves it as if waving at him and Buffy, taking care not to hit anyone next to her. Why be unfriendly, after all? She is, though, just as quick to tuck her wings back in neatly behind her, completely ignoring any rude remarks.

     One finely arched golden brow lofts as the Iron man suit makes its landing, only to reveal an unlikely passenger. Shaking her head, she laughs and applauds with the rest. "Nice one, Mr. Stark!" she calls out, her eyes a-twinkle.

     It certainly seemed as if this was going to be an event to remember!

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith opens his large coat and wraps it and his arms around Buffy, letting her into it's warmth. He just shakes his head at the stage commenting wryly, "In case you were wondering, Stark isn't White Court. He's just rich." He says amused, taking another large sip of his homemade cocoa and looking over at Zee amused before asking Buffy, "Any reason she couldn't use the gym at the Magic Box? It'd have to be cleaner, and she'd likely get less funny looks."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers chuckles and nods to Zee. "No worries, I'm not all into super girly girl stuff, at least not anymore. But maybe we can help you blend in a little better." as for grey skin, she just shrugs and smiles, "who knows, but we'll figure something out!"

She peers back towards the display on the stage and smirks. "Heh, go figure he'd have a 'surprise' like that inside the suit." she rolls her eyes as she shuffles in next to Thomas, grateful for the warmth. "Heh, money will buy everything..But then, I guess you're no slouch in the financial department either, are you?" Buffy smirks and playfully nudges Thomas as she says that. "Oh, and you're more than welcome to hang out at the gym in the Magic Box, Zee!"

Shannon is given another nod and wave, "Hey! I love the wings!" she calls out to her, "Are they real?" cuz she's curious.

Iron Man has posed:
As This Year's Miss America steps out of the opened-up Iron Man suit, the crowd gives her a much more enthusiastic response than they did to Tony. But Tony should get at least partial credit for their enthusiastic response, since she showed up in his suit AND the bodysuit she's wearing says 'Stark' on it.

She hams it up a bit on the way over to the Big Shining Button, really getting the most of her very brief period of fame.

"Oh hang on... look out there!" Tony puts his hand up to his forehead to shield his eyes from the light, as he catches a glimpse in the crowd of Someone He Knows. Sure, there are probably other people in the crowd that he knows, but Shannon is pretty distinctive. Especially during the holidays.

"Look! Somebody's built a life-sized Precious Moments figure! Wings and everything!"

One of the cameras turns in the direction that Tony is pointing, and now they're on TV.

And then...

This Year's Miss America pushes the button!

Zombie-Girl has posed:
When the button is pressed the button glows like the arc reactor that it is mocked up to be. Half a second later the tree lights up into a brilliant and warm white glow. On the front of the tree the special color variable bulbs briefly display a red Avengers A, before returning to the white glow. The experence is, in a word, magical. The feeling that washes over the crowd is one of awe and wonder. For a single perfect moment the worries and stresses are forgotten and a pure feeling of comfort and contentment like a child seeing a tree on Christmas morning is felt by everyone.

But the feeling is all too fleeting

Just as quickly as this feeling comes on it is pulled, no, torn away. A collective lamenting sigh comes from the crowd. Where there was feelings of warmth and joy now there is a bitter bone-deep chill and lonliness. Despite being shoulder to shoulder with a crowd the collective feeling is like being abandoned by one's self in the arctic.

The quality of the lights of the tree also changes from a warm glow to something sickly and arcane.

Zee bends over and places both hands on her knees, like she were out of breath, despite the fact that she doesn't need to breathe. "What, what was?" she asks and tries to get her bearings.

The tree then shakes.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice. The sound of a small group of arguing voices issues forth from the tree.

"Hey, stop pushing!"

"You pushed me first!"

"I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon smiles sweetly at Mr. Stark, extending one wing to wave in his general direction. But she's squirming, trying for a moment to melt into the crowd. Somehow, though, she had a feeling it would be about as effective as the time Kurt called her out in the Danger Room.

     As in it wouldn't be effective at all.

     So, for the moment, she just goes with it and laughs, hooking her thumbs in her pockets and keeping her eyes on the tree. It's a magical moment, indeed, the warmth and beauty of the lights something she would never forget. "Beautiful. Something on my bucket li..."

     The rolling waves of loneliness and cold hit her like a fist to the stomach, making her gasp lightly and stumble backwards a few feet. "What the heck...?"

     Something was wrong. Very wrong.

     Closing her eyes, Shannon calls to mind every friend she's made over the past year and some months, the adventures she's been on, the heroes she's come to know as friend, family both adopted and blood kin. Each memory is wrapped around her mind and heart like armor against the cold threatening to engulf them all.

     "Nice try," she mutters, brows lofting as she listens. "What the...?"

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers peers towards the Christmas tree and lights, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the wonderful light display. "Wow, it's really beautiful, never gets old, from year to year.." she sighs as she leans in against Thomas, enjoying the warmth of his nearness and his coat.

But then there's that bone-chilling feeling again and she narrows her eyes, tensing slightly as she peers towards the tree. Buffy has got into the habit of never leaving home without some sort of weapon on her, although tonight she had hoped for a bit of a break from all of that.

"Great. What now?" she sighs, realizing all she has on her tonight are a few wooden stakes.

Iron Man has posed:
"Huh. Well now... isn't this something?"

One of Tony's eyebrows perks up curiously as he looks at Britney. She just kind of shakes her head 'no' and shrugs at the same time. While biting her lip, but in a nervous way.

So... this isn't part of tonight's scheduled event.

"Sorry Consuela, I know we had a whole thing where you were going to get back in the armor and fly back to my place, but looks like I'm going to need to steal my armor back for a few minutes."

Consuela looks flabbergasted as Tony hops back into the open armor, and it starts to seal around him with. Not only flabbergasted, but also quite a bit put out.

"But it's FREEEZING out here, Tony! And this bodysuit you squeezed me into is POLYESTER!"

The metal faceplate sinks down over Tony's face with an audible 'CLANG!', and then Iron Man's eyes light up.

So do his repulsor rays.

"Don't worry, Consuela! These guys won't go more than three rounds, tops."

Zombie-Girl has posed:
Figures step out of the tree one by one. Each is dressed like a stereotypical Christmas elf, but these are no elves. Thirteen individuals step out from the tree. Each standing from 6' all the way up to nearly eight foot tall. Their body types range from emaciated, to stocky figures rippling with muscle. For the most part they look nearly human. They have thick, brutish facial features that make them look like overgrown neanderthals. Briefly they look around, some of them scent the air. One particuarly eager one of these beings leaps down from the stage and lands with a thud in front of the crowd. This one is quite fat, and he points a large sausage finger at a man in front of him holding a hotdog. Nervously the man holds up the hotdog in a placating manner. The troll snatches the hot dog, and scarfs it down in all of one second.

"Yeah, I don't know if this is part of the show," Zee says and strips her sunglasses off to reveal the lick of hellfire boiling from her eye sockets.

A few of the trolls eye up Tony, but only briefly. They exit the stage, or leap down from it, breaking off into three groups of three and one group of four. The crowd steps back as they enter, as though they are deciding if this is a planned part of the show or not.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Ballocks!" Shannon lets out a few decidedly less than angelic oaths, reaching into her carryall. Within seconds, she's pulled out her phone and what looks like a Bluetooth earpiece. The earpiece is tucked into place, and she's swiping through numbers on her phone. "Come on, come on... where the heck... ah-ha!" If successful, then Mr. Stark might very well be getting a call right about now.

     "Hey there... it's Nightingale. Let me see what I can do about getting some of these people out of the way while you do your thing."

     Fingers crossed, hopefully the message got through. Otherwise, this could get even messier, very quickly! She intersperses herself between the trolls and the edge of the crowd, her wings flaring out to their full span, leaving no doubt at all that they are very real. "Come on, folks, let's give the man some room to work here!"

     Damn it, where were the authorities when they were needed for crowd control?

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith blinks as the wave rolls over him and a shudder takes over. "Buffy..." he says softly as he tries to pull away from her in a hurry. His saphire blue eyes going from Saphire blue to almost pure silver in an instant. His Hunger seeming to take him all at once.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers eyes the poor girl on the stage who is left high and dry by the billionare playboy, in a very thin looking bodysuit and rolls her eyes. "Well what nerve.." but she's clearly got more important things to think about right now. Like those...Elves?!

"Uh, seriously? I mean, those are the ugliest elves I have ever seen! And yeah, I do mean to offend..Could you have come up with a more clever disguise?" in the chaos, she doesn't initially notice the hunger in Thomas' eyes, already rushing towards the 'elves'. "Zee, Thomas, let's go!"*

And with that, Buffy pulls out a wooden stake. And they may be made of wood, but over the years she's learned to sharpen and shape them to perfection, about a foot long each, cuz you never know how big or tough the next vamp is gonna be. Or in this case, ugly elf.

She rushes at one of the groups of three as the winged girl covers crowd control and sends a spinning back kick at one of them with enough force to break normal bones. "That's for ruining my holiday dreams!"

Iron Man has posed:
Inside Iron Man's helmet, Tony observes Santa's Magic Helpers with the suit's HUD, already getting scans and letting the onboard computer's run through a few simulated battle scenarios. By the time they need anything, hopefully the suit will have already told him what to do.

He still gets partial credit though, since he built the thing.

"What do you have for me, Dummy? Any ID match? Any obvious weaknesses? Friends of Thor's?"

"Mwoop!"

The current on-board co-pilot leaves a bit to be desired. Tony just sighs inside his helmet. "Why do I even ask..."

"Oh hey! Nightingale... yeah, I thought that was you out there. Sorry about putting you on the spot, but you looked so Precious Moments-y that I wanted to put you on top of the tree and... actually... hey, you're probably more of the expert at this than I am, but what do they actualy DO with the angels on the tops of trees? Are they made of cookies or something?"

Now that he has someone other than Dummy to talk to, Tony's infamously fast mouth just sort of starts running, but that's usually when he gets his best ideas, so let him gab.

Externally, the Iron Man suit is already online, though some of its weapon systems still seem to be spooling up. There's quite a lot of them to go through, so that could take a second.

The suit rises off of the ground about two meters, propelled upward by the Rocket Boots that haven't really used 'rockets' for years. Using his gauntlet-mounted repulsors to keep himself steady as he hovers, he gets an angle that allows him to target all of the trolls at once.

"Hey! Hold up a minute! We apologize for cutting down your Keebler Tree, or whatever this whole thing is, but you can't just wander out into the crowd in New York City without going through Customs! Or... Immigration..."

Zombie-Girl has posed:
Zombie-Girl looks to the trolls, then to Buffy, then back to the trolls. "Well... okay. Yeah, I guess it's horrible violence time then," Zee says before rushing to the other side of the stage from Buffy to go after another group.

A third group is running through the crowd. It's at that moment that the crowd decides that it's a good time to panic. The trolls don't seem to be actively malicious, but in their blind run through the crowd they don't seem to have any concern if they push someone down, or even walk over them. One man gets pushed to the ground so hard that his skull actually bounces off the ground, right before his leg is stepped on in such a way that it has to be broken.

The fourth group stops when Tony tells them to stop. "Don't stop us, we're hungry," a rotund troll says and holds his right arm out. From the sleeve of his shirt a meat hook comes out, followed by a long iron chain.

Thomas Raith has posed:
What do you get when you have a creature that feeds on emotional life force energy, that takes a mate that is a virtual bottomless well of life force? You have a monster that is kept fat and happy. What do you get when that same creature then has his resources and reserves of emotional energy scrubbed away by some outside magical force? You simply have a monster. Thomas tries, valiantly for control of his Hunger, but the assault was just too quick and he was too unprepared. His motions, always fluid take on an almost feline languor as he rolls his shoulders and looks around, then starts walking in the direction of the pretty little winged girl. An aura of lust and desire radiating off of him into peoples minds mixing with the depression and fear... some people are going to need therapy.

Nightingale has posed:
     A very un-Precious Moments-y string of oaths is pretty much what Mr. Stark hears at this point, as Shannon sees the man hit the ground. There had to be a concussion involved, and his leg didn't look good at all. Doing her best to direct the crowd away from and around the injured man, she takes up a position right next to him. Her right arm straightens, and there is an audible, metallic -click-, with a metallic rod coming out of her sleeve and into her hand. With a flick of her thumb on the outside of the piece, it extends outwards on both sides to form a bo staff, which she brings up into a proper ready stance. No fuss, no muss, no fancy twirls. This wasn't the time for showmanship.

     "Never seen a tree topper angel made out of cookies there, but maybe that's something I could try another time. They could be made out of a lot of different thin... the heck...?!"

     Her voice in Mr. Stark's ear trails off as she catches sight of Thomas coming her way. And she'd seen that look in inebriated patrons who were just a little bit too deep in their cups to care just how fresh they got with her. "Oh, hell no," she mutters, hopefully audible by Mr. Stark. "I don't think so..."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers narrows her eyes, and hopefully after that troll experienced some major bone cracking, she finishes with another well-placed kick at its face to send it slamming into the ground with a satisfying crunch. She's about to whip around and tackle another troll when she spies Thomas losing control.

Well, he can be just as dangerous or moreso than these trolls and she curses under her breath as she takes off after him at a sprint. "Thomas! No!" she yells, then launches into the air, attempting to tackle him to the ground.

Iron Man has posed:
Crowded area, lots of potential innocent bystanders... pretty much a nightmare scenario for heroes of all types.

But Tony had a solution for that by the time he'd built the Mark II...

Onboard systems target each individual troll, lining up shots for the shoulder-mounted multiple projectile launchers. If it comes to that, he'll be able to fire off a dozen or so bullets, simultaneously and nearly silently.

But... it's Christmas, so maybe try to keep the bloodshed to a PG rating?

"Oh hell no, what? Talk to me, Nightingale..."

Their Bluetooth conversation is, fortunately, not audible by the trolls, unless they have some sort of heretofore unmentioned Bluetooth-Stealing Powers.

Externally, the boombox speakers on the hull of Iron Man's suit project loudly enough for everyone to hear, even over panicking crowds.

"You're hungry? Well shit, there's a great shawarma place literally like... a block and a half from here."

Zombie-Girl has posed:
Zombie-Girl rushes a group of three, only to have them stampede past her. She manages to nab one of them by the back of his shirt and pulls him backward. Reflexively, he spins around and brings his elbow into the face of the undead girl. Her nose crunches under the impact and her head is rocked back. It's a solid hit, but she's been hit harder. She shoots forward and wraps both of her arms around his waist, lifts him into the air, then slams him hard onto the pavement. She's already raining down blows on him by the time the other two trolls notice their brother's predicament.

The troll that Buffy kicks falls hard onto the pavement, it just lays on the ground with a comically dumbstruck look on its face on just how it managed to get into that situation. After Buffy runs off it rolls onto its stomach and tries to climb back to its feet. His pair of brothers start to help him up.

"Shawarma?" the troll asks and points his meat hook at Tony. "You will take us to this shawarma," he says. Its unclear if its a question or a command.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith is tackled hard from behind, his focus entirely on the prey that he did not sense the Slayer coming up behind him. He manages to brace himself for the hit to the ground, rolling over in her grip to try and force her off of him. His features giving proof to the term Devilishly Handsome. The angel girl forgotten almost that fast in favor of his vastly preferred Doe..

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon breathes a sigh of relief as Thomas is tackled to the ground. "I Lucked out there, Iron Man. Had a very, very strange character with what looked like a -lot- less than pure intentions heading my way. He's been contained."

     But what -hasn't- been contained are the trolls that continue to menace the crowd--and one of them was very close to the injured man she was protecting. There is a flash of dark, dully gleaming metal as her staff is twirled, and brought right upside one troll's head, staff meeting skull with a sickening -crack-. "The sooner we get some authorities here for crowd control and the injured, the better! This could get way out of hand real fast!"

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers narrows her eyes as she tries to hold him steady, but he is in all reality, just as strong as she is, perhaps stronger, if well-fed. "Dammit Thomas, focus! Don't lose yourself now!"

She finds herself rolling around the ground with him, stubbornly hanging on and refusing to let go. "If you're hungry, feed on me! You know I can take it!" she tries to shove him down again, to pin him to the ground if she can, desperate to nip this in the bud, and to get him to focus on her instead, staring intently in his disturbingly pale eyes.

And then she leans over and kisses him. Intensely.

Iron Man has posed:
"Well, I already ate, and I was planning to spend the evening in a hot tub with This Year's Miss America. So I meant more like... YOU could go there yourselves and I would just leave."

Over on the platform, This Year's Miss America suddenly looks a bit uncomfortable, and puts an arm over her chest. Probably just to stay warm, really.

"Trust me, Consuela, you haven't lived until you've tried repulsor-powered water jets. They really..."

The trolls don't look amused by Tony's attempt to avoid doing his Superheroic Duty.

"Fine... yes... I'll take you guys there. Dinner's on me! But you guys HAVE to promise that you'll pose for a photo op afterwards, and then you'll go STRAIGHT BACK to... The Evil Keebler Village? Don't think I caught where you're all from."

This Year's Miss America tries to slink out of view, along with This Year's Rockefeller Tree Lighting Ceremony Host, Britney.

Turning slowly, hovering a few meters in the air, Iron Man lights the way toward the Shawarma Palace, like a Post-Modern, slightly Art Deco, Christmas Angel.

But before he takes off, he looks over his shoulder at the couple wrestling on the ground.

"Hey you two! This isn't Jersey!"

Zombie-Girl has posed:
THWACK! The troll that Shannon smacked staggers. A bit of blood oozes down the side of his head. He lashes out with both arms and manages to swat Shannon's staff aside. The other pair of brothers each rush at Shannon from each side, planning on turning her into an Oreo with gross sweaty trolls being the outside and Shannon being the stuffing.

While Zee is turning the troll's face to hamburger, she is pulled off by one of the others. He wraps his meaty mitts around her neck and lifts her off the ground. His grip squeezes, cutting off her air. Though it's not air she really needs mind you. Another walks close enough to her where she can kicks off his stomach while at the same time causing the one holding her to stumble and fall. He lands flat on his back with Zee on his stomach.

The troll that buffy kicked didn't forget about Buffy. He has no concept of the heart wrenching moment she and Thomas are having. So he walks over and delivers a kick right to her side, hard. The trolls are strong, but not inhumanly strong. Not slayer strong for sure. One would probably put them in the realm of a peak human athlete if that kick meant anything.

"Good. Yes. Take us to get..." the troll with the meat hook says to Tony before his words are cut off by a rumble. The tree shakes again, this time hard enough that ornaments are sent scattering. "Uh-oh," the troll says looking now suddenly nervous. "Mom is coming."

A new figure emerges from the tree. A troll like this others. But this troll stands at a little over 13' tall. She is the quintessential old hag. She's the child eating witch that children seem to instinctively have an inborn fear of. She grins, showing gnarled, yellow, crooked teeth that look like a mess of poorly placed steak knives.

"Children. Fetch mama dinner," she says in a growling voice.

Thomas Raith has posed:
When is a kiss more like an attack? Thomas blinks and shudders as Buffy opens the flood gate, pouring her energy into his hunger with the force of someone trying to drink from a firehose. He shudders and his eyes transition from Silver back to dark blue before rolling back into the back of his head.

Nightingale has posed:
     While Shannon's staff might have been brushed aside, her grip remained strong, and it is not knocked out of her hand. But then, there were two more trolls coming her way to contend with. "Merde."

     She takes a quick two steps back, reaching up to grab the trolls by the scruff of the neck and use their own momentum against them, in a bid to crack their skulls together.

     Some Oreos were not sweet at all.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers continues to hold Thomas down, eyes fluttering closed as she lets him feed on her, and for a second the entire world melts away, leaving just him and her, alone in space. She notices his eyes going back to normal and she blinks, cupping his face, caressing his cheek gently, "Thomas? You back with me now..? We gotta...UGh!"

She cries out in pain as the troll kicks her in the side, losing her grip on Thomas and sending her rolling off-balance. "Dammit, that really hurt..." She snarls, leaping gracefully to her feet  rushing at the troll with a yell as she kicks it in the stomach. Hard. "And stay down!" gee, she should have brought some rope to tie it up with or something.