2215/Log 2215

Log 2215
Date of Scene:	29 August 2017
Location:	New York City
Synopsis:	Allison Gulliver asks John Aaron for help with a problem. He brings along Jen.
Cast of Characters:	Wu, Ares, She-Hulk

---

Wu has posed:
    The phone call was as vague as it was unexpected.
    "Mr. Aaron. This is Detective Gulliver. I've come into something that I think I need your expertise in. Could we meet at Four Freedoms?"
    Time and date were 1PM and today respectively. And, at 1PM sharp, with the accuracy of a mechanical clock with a 25m long pendulum, Alice appears in the plaza, her low heels clacking against the pavement like a metronome.
    The plaza itself is a little unusually empty for the time of day, likely a result of the threatening drizzle that almost, but not quite, entirely fails to materialize. To her usual ensemble Alice has added a beige overcoat, slightly rumpled, like she's channeling Columbo. She pauses only to pick up four hot dogs from a vendor, covering each in a different topping, before proceeding to the most central point in the plaza for ease of spotting.

Ares has posed:
    Upon receiving that call, John had told Jen calmly, "She's a friend." He tapped the receiver against his chin. "Might need some help and she does nothing in half measures." There's a pause as he looks over towards the emerald amazon, his brow quirking. "How do you feel about Chinese food?"
    And that was enough for him at least, for he had met and helped the young detective before, and would not call on him lightly. His arrival was without fanfare, and also without vehicle. What preceded his arrival was merely the swirl and twisting of reality in the nearby park, just a twist enough to make it seem like a carnival fun house mirror had suddenly appeared. Then, when it unloaded the two, it swirled back to normal.
    "The four freedoms." He says as he starts to walk towards the meeting point, possibly espying Alice on the way.

She-Hulk has posed:
    "Home away from home," She-Hulk murmurs upon their arrival, looking up at the building where she spends time with her teammates. She follows John as he begins to walk then motions to the hot dog stand. "Best kosher dogs in the city. For the record. I'll have to take you there sometime." Being such a big-spender and all.
    Her attire is casual, a pair of jeans and a form fitting tank top. The misting in the air doesn't seem to bother her, not the slight lowering of temperature because of it. She tucks her hands into the front pockets of her jeans as she falls silent, relying on John to spot his friend.

Wu has posed:
    Alice is easy to spot; she's trying to be spotted, after all. And Ares, in return, is easy to spot given both his own rather massive presence, plus the addition of a green giantess. The surprise reaction is mercifully brief before her usual mask of neutrality is slipped into place. The one with the blandly professional smile pasted on.
    "Mr. Aaron, good to see you again," she says as they approach. "I've heard good things about the sausage vendor over there," she adds, motioning to the hot dog cart. "I thought I'd pick some up for you. I wasn't aware of which topping you preferred, so I used all of them in various combinations."
    She extends the bag with the hot dogs two-handed to Ares, bowing slightly and inclining her head.

Ares has posed:
    A small smile creeps onto John's face as he accepts the bag and then opens it, offering some for Jen to consider should she wish. But for now he avails himself of naught. Instead he steps to the side and gives a nod to Alice, indicating she can wander along as she would and they can speak as they move, unless they find somewhere decent to take a seat.
    "It is good to be seen, may I present to you Jennifer Walters? You may speak openly in her presence should you so wish, I hold no secrets from her."
    A few paces then he adds, "Tell me, Ms. Gulliver, what has passed?"

She-Hulk has posed:
    The bag is claimed and will likely not be returned. Not with Harv's dogs in there. It doesn't matter what's on top, they are heavenly. She glances up as her name is offered. "Shulkie," she automatically corrects. "She-Hulk if you wanna be formal. Not big it on it myself."
    As they begin to walk, she digs a hotdog out of the bag. She walks along quietly as she begins to munch the offerings. A little moan of happiness comes from her with the first bite but she waves the bag holding hand in the air by way of apology, urging them to ignore her.

Wu has posed:
    "Pleased to meet you, Ms. Walters... Shulkie," Alice says, stumbling over the familiar form, frankly and curiously eyeing She-Hulk as she clutches the jade pendant suspended around her throat by red silk. The eye-raking appraisal over, she nods to herself, it seems, and drops her hand from the amulet. She follows alongside Ares as he strolls.
    "There's been some trouble," she finally says after a period of silence as if she's trying to find the right wording. "Some of it is ... uh ... my fault. There are rats in the sewers. They escaped me in Gotham, but I've traced them to Manhattan now."
    Rats. In sewers. And in other news the Atlantic Ocean is wet...

Ares has posed:
    The tall man with the broad shoulders quirks an eyebrow sidelong towards Jen, smirking a little before his attention slides back towards Alice. He lifts his chin to offer a nod and a small grunt, "That does not seem seem to be beyond the norm," He is garbed for the casual, jeans, black t-shirt, sneakers. "What is it you are not telling us?"
    He continues along for a bit, pausing near a set of benches that are around a nicely tended to nature feature along the sidewalk. He glances towards Jen and Alice, offering for them to have a seat should they so wish with a sweep of his hand, though he'll remain standing. "And how is it your fault?"

Wu has posed:
    "The rats are... a little larger than usual," Alice offers, seemingly a bit reticent about details. Her hands are held out demonstratively at golden retriever size. Then, after a moment's consideration are expanded. To about great dane size. "Maybe a bit bigger," she adds.
    She nods appreciatively at the offer, but remains standing herself.
    "And they're made of stone," she adds as an afterthought. "That's probably a detail that's important too."
    There's a bit of a pause as she considers how to answer the rest of the question.
    "And ... I ... kind of made them?" she adds.

She-Hulk has posed:
    At the offered seat, Shulkie plops down and there is a creak of protest from the bench. It stops a moment later. Nothing breaks. Shulkie continues to work on her hot dog while listening until the revelations about the rodents are revealed.
    Made giant stone rats. John certainly has interesting friends. While a thousand questions come to mind, she allows herself to finish chewing the last bite of that first hot dog before opening her mouth. See, Momma raised her right.
    "You made giant rats? Out of stone?" she murmurs softly as she sets the bag down on the bench beside her. "First, that's an awesome skill set but not sure why you chose giant rats if you can do that. Second, Why?"

Ares has posed:
    John eyes Jen sidelong, but then turns back to face Alice fully, his gaze narrows slightly as he adds, "Yes, indeed, why?" He leans against the edge of the other bench that corners against the one She-Hulk occupies. He crosses his arms over his broad chest and considers the two women each in turn. "And how did they escape your influence? From what I had seen last your powers are considerable."
    That having been said he'll lean over and apparently taken by the smell of the hot dogs, he liberates one from She-Hulks's grasp and takes a bite of it himself, looking thoughtful.

Wu has posed:
    "Well, I was working on animating statuettes of a different kind," Alice explains. "Like the terracotta warriors, but much smaller. I'd seen in a recent affair how useful it could be to have small scouts under my control."
    Alice turns pale for a moment, wincing and pinching the bridge of her nose. She sits herself, now, rather heavily, more like a brief collapse onto the bench. For a few seconds she pauses before restoring breathing and the neutral face.
    "For those to work, of course, they have to have some of my essence in them so I can see through them. It's a complicated procedure and there's some waste product."
    She has the good grace to look a little embarrassed.
    "I thought I'd properly disposed of all the waste products, but ... I was wrong. Some rats got the little traces that were left. One thing led to another, and now I have some giant rats made of stone wandering around and broadcasting everything they see and do to me."

She-Hulk has posed:
    "Hey!" The protest isn't at the confession of powers gone awry. It's at the giant of a man stealing her second hotdog. She makes a snatch for it but he manages to keep it out of reach. With a puff of air blown upwards, pushing her hair up off her forehead for a moment, Shulkie digs into the bag for the third of four provided to them by their lovely hostess.
    Even as she pulls out the hot dog, she looks back to Alice. "Sounds like an honest mistake and a huge headache. So you are seeing visions of sewers dancing in your head. No wonder you aren't eating."

Ares has posed:
    A hand is extended towards Jen to keep her at arm's length as he bites into his hot dog, chewing for a time as he listens to Alice over the sound of his own devouring of various entrails and remnants wrapped in a bun. He gives a nod as he perhaps recognize some of the magical elements, but he furrows his brow near the end at her revelation of the creatures' origins.
    A small grunt is given as he murmurs to her, after having swallowed, "Do you have a way of tracking them? Some sufficient way for us to make sure we find each and prevent them from escaping?"

Wu has posed:
"I've seen worse than sewers," Alice says gravely. "Try a few of the Hells for starters. I do an unpleasant job. Have you ever been covered head to toe in black blood of the Earth?"
    That has to be a joke right there. It HAS to be. But her face is deadpan. If it's a joke, she's the world's greatest poker player.
    "They're constantly bombarding me with their visions, yes," she says in response to Ares. "My problem right now isn't whether I can see them or not, it's how do I stop from seeing them before they drive me quite literally mad. The senses I was supposed to be receiving were purely artificial and under my control, so I didn't filter them. Now I'm using a few protective charms..."
    She winces and pinches the bridge of her nose again.
    "...They're not perfect, but they're letting me be coherent. I think I can track them to their nest at least. I'm ... not sure how much I can do if I get too close to them, however."

She-Hulk has posed:
    Shulkie holds her tongue again. Or maybe she's chewing.
    Either way, she doesn't say anything. She does glance over at Ares, giving an arched eyebrow that says it all. He knows her well enough to read the message. Then she goes back to working on her meal since it looks like they won't be getting anything else for a little while if things go as she expects.

Ares has posed:
    The incognito Olympian waves a hand to the side, as if brushing away whatever concerns Jen might have for the moment. Instead he turns his head back towards Alice and focuses on her fully. He squints and listens as she speaks on the various elements she has faced in her time on earth... and Hell, but he seems not exactly riddled with curiousity. Instead he gives her a nod, "Then you have sufficient knowledge for us to address this matter."
    He is content with one of the hot dogs, leaving the others to the green giantess as she would. He pushes himself to his feet and gives a nod, "You can focus on leading us where we are needed and we'll take care of these homunculi you have created."
    A glance back to Jen is given, just in case she's alright with that course of action, but then he looks back to Ms. Gulliver. "When would you wish to embark on this effort?"

Wu has posed:
    "Did I mention they're breeding?" Alice asks. "I mean they started as two, but there's eight now."
    One bombshell after another.
    "I'm not sure what triggers it, but they seem to double periodically. Have you ever done that exercise with one grain of rice on the first intersection of a chess board, then two on the second, four on the third and so on? Imagine that the rice grains were instead large stone rats. Who ... well ... act like rats. In all ways."
    Beat.
    "Sooner might be better than later."

She-Hulk has posed:
    The third hotdog is polished off and Shulkie rises to her feet at John's offer. She picks up the bag with the fourth dog still in it, considering. Until her attention snaps back to Alice.
    Breeding giant stone rats. And the woman is sharing their vision. Ewww! A shudder goes through her frame and she shakes her head.
    "Okay, now that crosses certain lines. Are they breakable?" That's what most things in life boil down to Shulkie. Smashable or not smashable. Although she uses breakable. Wouldn't want to infringe on her cousin's thing.

Ares has posed:
    "Indeed," John nods towards Jen and then looks back to Alice. He rises to his full height, rolling a shoulder slowly through its range of motion and grimacing faintly at the crackle. "Sooner it shall be, then." He lifts his chin and asks of the sorceress, "Are you capable of taking us to where they dwell? Or is it something that I could aid in our transportation?"
    That asked he does take a moment to reach for bag to toss it in the trash lest Jen should stop him for whatever reason. He'll then extend a hand as he makes ready to bring forth another portal if it is so needed.

Wu has posed:
    "I have a link to their nest established." Alice pulls a square of rice paper out of her trench coat's pocket, one adorned with a complex array of Chinese characters surrounding a large central one. "I just need to activate this and we'll be near it." Her face goes more serious. "I don't know what will happen to me on the other end. Eight of these things are sending everything they see, hear, touch, taste, smell, and think to me. It's almost overwhelming me at this distance. I don't know how well my charms can hold if I get in close. Don't count on me for anything."
    Pause.
    "Except maybe some screaming?"
    She moistens the back of the square of paper with her tongue and slaps it onto the bench beside them. Nothing visibly happens.
    "Just step on that. And watch out, you may fall a short distance. I'm a little bit distracted at the moment and my calculations may be off by a tad."