13082/Widdershins pt. Deux

Widdershins pt. Deux
Date of Scene:	21 April 2021
Location:	Central Park, Manhattan
Synopsis:	Ulik and his brothers show up and lay claim to about 50 square feet of land in Central Park. Promise to come back later.
Cast of Characters:	Thor, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow (Romanoff), Slipstream, Quicksilver

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Thor has posed:
    The day before the Scarlet Witch had faced an aggression caused by grizzled mottled yellow and green creatures that had surged forth from one of the tunnels in Central Park. It had been a riotous affair, with the monstrosities rushing about like hunch-backed hooligans seeking to steal and terrorize as they accosted the good people of Manhattan. Only for the Kobalins, as the creatures were known, to be seen to by a gathering of magic-users and a great strong man who set upon them with much vigour.
    It left the park needing some small measure of repairs as there was a good amount of damage done by great fists pounding into the earth, demonic feet leaving burning tracks, and no small number of goblin-like corpses. Luckily SHIELD was on scene to handle some of the disposal and recovery, and there were no fatalities on the part of the citizens of New York, but a few injuries and the loss of property.
    Yet without those worthies? It would have been much worse.
    Likely before her departure, the Scarlet Witch would have noticed that some of the background energy that had perhaps drawn her attention at the first... it remained at a steady level. One of the SHIELD teams set up a series of sensors and agreed to notify the Avengers if the spectrometer rose further than normal in a short period of time.
    Five minutes ago... SHIELD sent out the warning. The numbers were rising, and fast.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff is never far away when she knows where she's going. And she... apparently knows where she's going. Crimson flame announces her arrival before the Scarlet Witch herself appears, within that flame that isn't actually flame. The crimson flame fades away as she starts walking toward where she remembers the hole having been. Still is? She isn't sure if it still is. But she's aiming to find out!

Her steps take her straight toward that location. And likely that of the sensors and any SHIELD teams that are already on sight. She doesn't look overly thrilled that her warning wasn't heeded. Not by SHIELD, oh no. But by the little monsters she'd let return to their homes the previous day.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
It was a tumultous time for Natasha. She had taken a leave of absence for a month from SHIELD due to an incident. That had led to a lot of follow-up in the next week and she'd taken that week away from the Avengers. Not entirely. She was available if anything big happened but she wasn't able to perform her duty-shifts at the mansion. Really, it wasn't that unusual for Natasha to be absent from time to time so it wasn't a hassle for the rest of the team.

When she received the alert, she headed for Central Park the old fashioned way. The motorcycle was black with no markings to indicate who made it. It allowed her to move easily through traffic and she followed the directions to the coordinates.

She parked the bike, leaving the helmet behind, and walked quickly toward the area where the readings were coming from.

Slipstream has posed:
As a blur of blue light fizzles out, Drake appears next to Wanda as he goes into a quick to slow down trot. He brushes himself off a bit, then offers her up a smile. "Hey Wanda. Heard you need some backup. What are we dealing with today?" He asks as he gives his bomber jacket a zipping up, then taps Snowball on his back to detach and float forward as she gives a light 'chirp' from her internal speakers.

As he looks around at the mess and the SHIELD presence, he clicks his tongue against his teeth a few times. "I hope they brought enough hefty bags." He says as he trots along with her.

Quicksilver has posed:
There's a grumble from Pietro in regards to the warning that comes through. Although, the interruption of it wasn't really an interruption. It wasn't as though he had significant plans. Although his sister could have at least given him a 'ride' to get there! He harrumphs under his breath, finishes tying up his shoes, and then takes off at a run.

He arrives right after Wanda does, and he mentally sticks his tongue out at her. He's her brother, he's allowed! Sometimes. She might not zap him for it this time. He closes the remaining distance from where he'd stopped over to her, and moves along with her.

Thor has posed:
    The entrance through which the Kobalins had assaulted the park was in the depths of the jogger's tunnel that creeps underneath the roadway, underground and creating that oh so lovely place that many a film of the past had used to capture the wonder of nature with Central Park when combined with the isolation of New York. It is near there where the sensors were set, in the shadows and depths of that tunnel, though no SHIELD personnel were on site at the moment.
    Yet as the Avengers drew nearer to it, it's visible now, whatever that doorway was. It glows with a crimson outline, looking for all intents and purposes like a Victorian era manorial double door that one would see on the front of an old mansion near London.
    The energy surges and seethes, growing stronger as the small monitors next to the door flicker and click with the rising energies.
    It's perhaps just as the heroes settle into place, their arrival abrupt. Perhaps there is a moment... two when some of them may notice a sudden spike...
    And then the entire tunnel explodes with crimson flame lashing out to engulf nearly everything it can within those confines before the ceiling, the walls, the road above, the grass, everything in a titanic explosion that gave only the slimmest of moments as warning.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Given Pietro a ride? Now, where would the fun in /that/ be? Wanda's lips quirk up as she sees her brother. "Took you long enough," she says. Does she know about the mental tongue sticking out? Maybe. Maybe not. She nods to Natasha, then she nods to Drake. "Don't know yet. Yesterday it was.. well. Closest I can come up with is goblins. They looked more or less like they were from one of the Asgardian realms. Maybe the one their dwarves come from. As terrified as they were yesterday.. well. Unless they're forced back, I doubt they're going to come back here. Maybe it's whoever sent them here to start with."

Wanda stops abruptly, holding up her right hand in a fist. The universal signal for 'stop'. "Something.." She shakes her head and her other hand lifts to join the first, palms facing forward. Crimson power bursts from her hands, forming a bubble of energy in front of her and anybody who's with her just as the thing explodes. She braces against it, but lets face it. Holding off the blast from an explosion? No easy feat. Sweat already glistens on Wanda's skin from the effort of only a few seconds of time.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Natasha was still on her way to that point. Last one to the party it seemed. Wanda apparently knew where she was going and speedsters--nuff said. She was within sight of them and returned the nod from Wanda, working her way toward conversational distance when the explosion happened.

Instinctively she hit the dirt, avoiding anything that might be coming her way. But then there is nothing so she rolls to her feet to see Wanda doing her thing. "Seems they weren't kidding something was building," she muttered to no one in particular.

Slipstream has posed:
As he walks along with Wanda, Drake gives a glance over towards the rumbling of energy and the rippling red wave that suddenly lashes forward. His eyes widen and he throws his arms upwards, then peeks out over them as he sees that Wanda is currently manhandling the force of nature. "Shit, shit, shit .." He pushes off on one foot, his body warping with blue light as he blinks forward once to snatch Snowball in mid-air, then rockets upwards into the sky as his flight wing tingles along his left wedding finger.

He can feel the rush of wind hit his face as he arcs upwards, then glances down to see how the Scarlet Witch is holding up. Upon spying Natasha hitting the ground, she becomes his next destination as he flies down towards her and stumbles into a landing. "Hey, I don't know if she can hold it long, what should we do? If we pull her out will that blow?"

Quicksilver has posed:
Things with a crimson outline should often be considered as dangerous! As example number one, Pietro mentally presents his sister. Dangerous to a lot of people other than himself. Usually other than himself. Most of the times other than himself. His thoughts might slightly digress, but he has time for such a thing to happen. Pietro's attention flicks across the monitors near to the door, taking note of the ever higher ticking energies there. Oh look! It's an energy spike! Oh, piss. It's an energy spike. Energy spikes tend to mean -bad things-! Like the wonderful fun and joy of explosions! Things are never as simple as they start out being. Go check out the alarm, they said. Try not to get blown to bits, they should have said.

Even as the explosion is beginning, there's a brief glance towards Wanda who is... being Wanda and not needing to be rescued, at least not yet, and distracting her while she's casting could be exponentially bad. And he's already turned to be running back from the way they had come since he had been slightly ahead of Wanda. Right! Priorities! His sister is safe and distracting her while she's doing -that- would be bad, so next on the list is... tick, tick, tick... Drake should be fine since he's a speedster but slower than himself (no offense intended), Natasha has Drake heading towards her so should be fine if the explosion gets that far which based on his calculations seems unlikely. Which leaves... himself. And Wanda. Little beads of sweat, trickle-trickle on her skin. He skids to a stop and then easily slides into place in the best place he can think of -- directly behind Wanda. Right at hand, just in case. "I got your back, Sis. You say the word and I'll get you clear," he says, giving her a brief look and keeping right close. He's not leaving her.

Thor has posed:
    Debris, cement, stone, bits and clumps of grass and dirt all fall from the sky in that now utterly open tunnel as the explosion washes across them. Though no longer a tunnel really, more a great crater in the ground with each half of the road blasted upwards, twisted and burnt. It would almost be comical to view it in the abstract, like a cartoon explosion on an old highway were it not moments before a beautiful scenic part of Central Park history.
    It does, however, leave behind a swirling reddish vortex that before had perhaps been the subdued focus of power that had been held behind that mystic door. Only now it was rampant and twisting, offering a fractal twist of reality through which several large figures emerge onto the center point of that great crater. Each perhaps twelve feet in height, brown and yellow furred monstrosities with powerful long limbs, great tusks, and blood red eyes. They seem shaped more like creatures from the ape-family, yet the armor they wear, the weapons they brandish, and the fiendish intelligence in their gaze it is clear there is... a canniness to them.
    Which is proven when one remarks loudly, "Midgard?!"
    Another barks a laugh, "Blood and sunder! Midgard!"
    The larger one turns to its comrade and snarls, "Kerlik, return to our tribe, tell them to come through. We shall stake our claim here."
    "Yes, Chieftain Ulik!" The darker furred one salutes as it rests a hand upon the eight foot long broad sword upon its hip, then turns to move back into that swirling vortex.
    Only for the tallest one, wearing heavy plate armor and wielding nothing more than large rough looking gauntlets upon the end of his fists. "You!"
    He gestures toward the Avengers, "You represent the people of Midgard?"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Look at Wanda. Here. Trying not to get blown to bits. She doesn't look to her brother when he zips up behind her. Doesn't even answer verbally. There's a single nod, and her attention is fully invested in her shield. Once the explosion dies down, Wanda releases the shield and takes a breath. Watching that swirling vortex and the things that emerge from it. "Three stooges?" Her brow furrows, and she snorts a laugh. "Pietro," she glances over her shoulder at him. "First, stop hiding behind me. Second, why do those guys remind me of the Three Stooges done in giant form?"

Then, "Everyone okay?" Only then does she look back to the big dudes. "In a manner of speaking, yes we do. I take it the little guys didn't give you our message. You're not welcome here if you're only out to cause trouble."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"What is with claims lately?" Natasha asks Drake since he's next to her. "C'mon." She closes the distance to line up a bit to the left of Wanda. However, the other woman seems to have the discussion well in hand.

She just waits, arms at her sides, making no threatening movements. Those here would know arms at sides meant she could grab weapons more easily with minimal movement but hopefully giant monster don't even recognize what she has on as weapons.

Twelve feet tall. This was going to get interesting.

Slipstream has posed:
"I don't know, everyone is a businessman these days, huh? Claim this, claim that." Drake attaches Snowball to his harness once more on his back, then follows after Nat. He gives a glance from Wanda to the three tall giants, tilting his chin upwards at them. He gives a visible swallow, then clears his throat.

".. I get the small one." He says with a side whisper to Natasha before he folds his arms over his chest. He keeps his stance slightly parted, feet dug in to the ground in case he may need to push off.

Quicksilver has posed:
"You'd think we'd be old hat at not getting blown up by now, ne? There always seems to be something trying, though," Pietro comments, a touch on the wry side. And he's not wrong! He glances briefly past Wanda and towards the explosion, making note of the crater and finding it briefly impressive. Briefly. But then it's not anymore. And then there's the vortex, which happens to be red. See? Harmful things are usually red! Example A... wait, Pietro reins his idle thoughts back. Large figures are coming out of the vortex. And that is likely worse than the vortex itself, potentially. They are... well, let's be honest, they're big and tall and hairy and ugly.

Represent the people of Midgard, did they say? Oh heeeeell no, he doesn't! Pietro tries not to laugh at that. He tries very very hard. Mostly manages it, too. But there might be a smirk and a snicker that escapes. Then he looks to his sister and arches an eyebrow. "I'm not hiding behind you. I'm just here in case you need me to pick up your ass and run," Pietro comments, quirking a grin. "And, well... offhand? Because they look like the three stooges but in giant form?" he suggests, smirking a bit. There's a glance towards Natasha and Drake, but his attention shifts back easily to his sister.

Thor has posed:
    "Ah yes, the Kobalin tribe. They spoke of this path they took, trod it well." The great troll rumbles, its voice rocky and cold like the winter. "And then fled, speaking of such ills and horrors. They advised us not to come."
    Then Ulik smiles, a fanged wide smile as he straightened up, the pulverizers upon his fists /clanking/ loud as he plants them on his hips and gives a good chortle. "Alas. We are not Kobalins."
    A gesture is given with a toss of his furry and bearded chin, "This land is ours now. If only for the gathering of tribute. Offer us enough and we shall depart with little to no mayhem." Ulik looks over his shoulder at his brother who still remains, "Refuse, and we will lay waste. Of course."
    They seem so polite, for grim and gruff trolls. Yet they also seem earnest in their promise of mayhem. Gralik, the other troll, is busily kicking the debris and dragging his foot in the remains and detritus, drawing out a rough circle as he already starts marking where 'their' territory is to be.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff glances at Natasha and Drake as they come up beside her and Pietro. She grimaces at Pietro. He does have a point. Something is always trying to blow them, or something near them, up. Wanda..? Other than noting the crater is really more concerned with the vortex and the things coming out of it. She, for the moment, ignores the big things too and concentrates on the vortex. There's a thoughtful expression to her face. She glances back at Pietro and raises a brow. Points to the space behind her, and waves her hand at him in that space. "Hiding. Behind me. Pick me up and run indeed," she mutters.

She nods about the Three Stooges though. "Well." She shakes her head and looks at the vortex again. "You would have done well to heed their advice," she says, her tone somewhat on the distracted side, not even looking at the big dudes. Almost as though they don't really matter to her. "Uh huh. Lay waste. Gotcha." Her hands glow crimson and she flies up into the air to get a better look at the vortex.

Slipstream has posed:
"This sounds really familiar." Drake says as he scrubs his hand back through his hair a few times before he looks to the three giants. Fee Fi Fo. "So, you guys want some type of tribute and then you'll leave us peacefully .. and not come back, right? What is it that would please you three strapping lads? New York is really famous for it's cheesecake. It's practically currency." He says as he bobs a bit back and forth on his feet, glancing over towards Wanda and Pietro for a moment, followed by a slight tilt-tilt of his head.

He watches Wanda fly upwards into the sky, then gives a glance to Pietro as he mutters the words: Schoolyard Recess Bully?" He suggests to him as he gives a few quick hops on his feet. He eyes the distance of the portal behind the giants, then glances up to Wanda.

Quicksilver has posed:
Why do the bad guys always lie? They aways say, give us what we want and there will be no mayhem. Except, there's always mayhem. Whether the bad guys get what they want or not. "Y'know, I think they don't understand the concept of the fact that this land is our land and not theirs," Pietro comments, one of his eyebrows quirking up a bit. Then he looks to Wanda, and he snorts softly. "I can hear you muttering, Sister-dearest. Do not pretend that I cannot," he comments out of amusement.

Then he takes a moment to look past her, and he gestures slightly towards the vortex. "Can you close that?" he asks. And then she goes flying off to leave him on the ground. Well. Harrumph. He might have deserved that. Lifting one of his hands, he pulls his fingers through his hair and takes a moment to scan over the others. And he raises an eyebrow slightly at Drake. And then his gaze turns back to the large fellows, and he grins. Oh, now that could be fun. He turns his gaze back to Drake, then lifts a hand to give a thumbs up.

Thor has posed:
    "If this cheesecake you speak of is sufficiently wondrous, then indeed!" Ulik says with a bright tone to his voice, even as he steps around and gives a nod to his brother's work marking out their area for surely the great amounts of tribute they're going to accrue.
    Once the circle is marked the slightly smaller troll pulls a heavy rod from the pack of weapons it carries upon its right hip, small weapons likely made for smaller people, perhaps trophies of a kind. Yet the rod telescopes somewhat and presents a blinking greenish light that shines bright when he stabs the rod into the ground.
    "There. We are not tactless reavers. No. We shall grant you time needed to gather this tribute, and then we shall return in..." He looks over at his brother who /shrugs/ those great metal-plated shoulders. "One? Two weeks time." Then dismissively Ulik waves a great gauntlet, "Some time along there."
    That said they start moving back to the vortex.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"Of course you can," says Wanda distractedly, eyes still on the vortex. Finally she sighs and shakes her head. No. Not going to work. At least, not without a lot of effort and no considerable amount of time in her part. "Not easily. Nor swiftly. These guys need to be taken care of before I even attempt such a thing." And then the trolls are leaving. She blinks, and floats back down to the ground. "Okay. See you then. With cheesecake," she says. She eyes her brother and Drake, expression curious. "I'm almost afraid to ask what you two are discussing."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"That didn't go as I was expecting." She'd heard Drake and seen Pietro's response to him. But she was not privvy to whatever they were planning.

As the beings went back toward the portal, she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. "We are not negotiating with terrorists. Otherwise they will just show up later and want even more. So in a week, we need to be prepared. They called this place Midgard. Maybe Thor will have information about them."

Slipstream has posed:
As they leave, Drake waits until they're just out of sight before he glances to them. "Yeah, that was weird. I honestly figured they'd give me the finger when I mentioned cheesecake. Guess they don't got cake in budget Asgard or wherever they came from." He says with a few hop son his feet, then gives a slight grin to Wanda. "It's nothing. Probably wouldn't have even worked, but it'd make for a hell of a story if we survived it. Just something he and I have been practicing on. Speedster stuff."

He gives a glance to Natasha and nods his head. "I think that's the strat, getting hammer time involved. Do you want me to run patrols here for the next few days to make sure nothing else comes through and report back if it does?"

Quicksilver has posed:
The speedster tilts his head a bit to one side and looks towards the big fellows. Really? They'd accept cheesecake? That's pretty remarkably hilarious. Who would have thought they'd accept cheesecake? But they seem to, and then leave a blinking beacon before they start to head to the vortex. Pietro gives a soft chuckle to himself, but says nothing. They haven't entirely left, yet.

His gaze turns to Wanda, and he gives a small nod to her answer. He hadn't expected it would be easy to close the vortex. Things like that aren't generally easy. Then he quirks a grin at her. "Well, I might be able to tell you. Later. Y'know, before two weeks comes around. It would have been hilarious if it worked," he says, his eyes showing a spark of amusement in them. He looks over towards Natasha and Drake, and then his attention turns back to Wanda. "You're thinking on something, I can tell."