2433/Little Park of Horrors

Little Park of Horrors
Date of Scene:	13 September 2017
Location:	Queensland Park
Synopsis:	Chaos erupts during the blooming of a 'century sunflower' in a community garden in Queensland Park. Fortunately, several superheroes are on the scene to mitigate damage and injury.
Cast of Characters:	Superman, Martian Manhunter, Power Girl, Miss Martian, Origami, Supergirl, Gravitas

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Superman has posed:
In a small community garden in Queensland Park--one of the few green spaces that the "park" designator adequately describes--a small celebration has begun.

What's the occasion? It's the blooming of the century sunflower, a weed that supposedly unfurls its glorious petals when a particular celestial alignment--in this case, an eclipse--occurs.

And today is such a day! The garden is practically overflowing with citizens of all stripes, from local residents to moguls to photographers to ... well, you name it.

"Welcome, welcome all!" the garden's volunteer organizer, Claudia Gomez, says happily. "In just a few moments, the eclipse will approach totality and we can witness the sunflower's blossom in all its beauty!"

Myriad conversations cause some din: "/I/ heard this plant is from another dimension!" "Is it really worth it to have a garden spotlighting a flower that almost never blooms?" "Are the snacks gluten-free?" "Think this place'll get bought and turned into a Big Belly?"

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn has heard some of this before when wandering around in his various identities. Today, he's in the form of a tall african american man, well dressed but not enough to stand out. He mingles in with the crowd, watching the interactions of the Humans, and enjoying a day where their curiosity draws them together.

His mental scans occasionally move about the park, because you can never be too careful with everything happening lately. They are not intrusive, more just a portion of his early warning system, attempting to identify potential threats and malicious intent.

Power Girl has posed:
    Among the crowd, Karen Starr had been watching the celebration for a while now. In a pair of blue jeans, a button up shirt, and the typical pair of glasses, she looked like most any other person out there. She was curious about the flower, especially after the rumor that it was from a different dimension.....

Miss Martian has posed:
    A red-haired young lady is in the park, she had heard of the celebration and the blooming. Certaonly she had the ability to see this happen again in the future, but why not see it now?

    The girl, a pink-skinned girl, not green at all is dressed in a pair of black and white striped overalls, a red blouse under that, and a railroad conductor's cap. She strolls through the park, sipping on a straw which is thrust into a sweet drink made of cherry syrup=doused crushed ice.

    She too is lightly scanning the minds around her when something about the African-American man draws her attention. She turns and finds a spot to watch both him and the center of attention both.

Origami has posed:
Miyako Moore drifts along in back, looking around idly. This almost never happens, and with all the rumors around the flower.. well, there's just too much risk that somebody is going to show up and start trouble. She doesn't know anything about the flower itself, and it really doesn't mean much to her, but all these people? She doesn't want anything bad to happen to them. She sniffs at the air softly, aimlessly following a scent of old book that nobody around her notices, looking around to see which way she is wandering.

Supergirl has posed:
Just to make things more confusing another blonde mills through the crowd looking like Karen. She wears a tan skirt with a polo shirt and cardigan with some sweet mary janes. Pushing up her glasses and tightening her pony tail she braves the crowd looking like an under age librarian.

Gravitas has posed:
    Victoria is not just in the park she is also celebrating. She bobs and bops as she travels, her feet sliding easily along the ground thanks to the black roller skates she's wearing. The girl is a riot of color. Dirty-blonde tresses, blue eyes, caramel skin, and clad in a bright pink "Metro City Bomber Girls" Roller Derby T-shirt and black jeans. Throw in the incandescent smile and she's pretty noticeable despite being a few inches shorter than average. No trouble here, at least, and she's an expert skater so she doesn't even run anyone over.

Superman has posed:
As the sun begins to hide behind the moon, the sunflower's petals begin to slowly open. So very slowly.

The inside of the few petals that have unfolded so far, at least, shows a brilliant near-infrared that's almost glowing. There's plenty of ooh-ing and ahh-ing. And lots of selfies. So many selfies...

Suddenly, the ground rumbles. An explosion in the distance, perhaps? But that doesn't seem to be the case.

"Did anyone else feel that?" asks a bespectacled man with a Daily Planet press lanyard on.

Then, the ground rumbles again. The earth begins to shift. And groan.

The garden's center lifts, a makeshift hill that explodes!, revealing the sunflower to be some sort of illicium, both in terms of its floral appearance and its function on the head of what appears to be a massive worm-like creature with an enormous maw filled with dagger-like teeth.

It roars, a sound that's part shriek and part cement mixer. And then it rises, dozens of large centipede legs helping pull it up through its hole.

The creature looks about and belches fire onto the snack table, igniting everything and melting much of it.

The sun sneaks further behind the moon. And the creature's illicium finishes unfurling, revealing a very, very small--but definitely present--red sun in its center.

[It's a MALGOZIAN SLAUGHTER WORM from the nightmare dimension! - Ed.]

Martian Manhunter has posed:
There are a few people that J'onn notices are not human, but a few of those he already knows given his connection to the League. To Karen he sends a mental message, J'onn's familiar psionic presence should not be a surprise *Hello Karen. It's J'onn.* and he follows it with a mental picture of his current shape.

He does feel M'gann's touch, and is extremely interested in something he has not felt in many many years. Just as he starts to try to pin point the psychic activity the 'flower' 'blooms'. Mentally he sighs, and verbally adds "Well, perhaps it is too much to ask for a normal day..."

Power Girl has posed:
    Karen certainly feels it....and even the second rumble before the worm erupts out of the ground. Karen starts to back up. She hears J'onn with her mind and makes a face. "Well...he's right. too much." And she uses the distraction to zip out of the line of sight of everyone else.

Only for Power Girl to return and.....keep her distance when she flies in. "Red Sun.......that....can't be good, especially during an Eclipse."

Origami has posed:
Miyako Moore sighs. "Fire. It had to breathe fire." She opens her bag in one smooth motion and lifts a square sheet of paper. She reaches up and tears it in half in a clean stroke, then closes her hands together to fold it like an accordion. She turns and tosses one side of the paper, which unravels longer and longer as it flutters through the air. It grows wider, paper turning red and a pattern of brick appearing across the paper as it thickens, slamming down as a solid wall of papery brick between the worm and a bunch of screaming, hopefully fleeing people. She ducks behind the edge of the wall and looks around to see if she is really the only one on hand to deal with this... thing.

Miss Martian has posed:
    M'gann lifts a hand while everyone is busy running or looking at the creature (or so she hopes). She reaches out with her telekinesis and tries to smother the flames on the table. Defending the people is her first priority. Further flaming breath she hope to be able to block with a well-placed shield. Of course, it would be much easier to put a bubble around the monster's mouth or its whole body... but she just didn't think of that.

Supergirl has posed:
Glasses come off, the hair drops, from around a handy corner, Supergirl isn't far behind Power Girl. She rushes through the crowd towards the flower. Seeing a little girl trip in the chaos she ducks and weaves to scoop her up. "Hi, hold on to me and you'll be ok." She tells the girl, pushing off to fly her to the edge of the crowd before setting the child down.

Gravitas has posed:
    Victoria yelps when she sees the worm and then hurriedly pivots, skating away as fast as she can. Apparently her Roller Derby experience hasn't prepared her for facign down a gigantic wyrm monster that breathes fire. She quickly skates back and around a corner of her own, ducks into a doorway - and pulls pretty much the same trick as all the other heroines. Gravitas is a less well known entity, but she does know Supergirl and Power Girl. It's a latex convention in the sky. "Power girl! Do you have any idea what's going on up here...?" She stops short when the Kryptonian does. "I couldn't save the snacks. Darn it..."

Superman has posed:
Clark Kent, the Daily Planet reporter, says that he'll call the authorities and ducks into a nearby alley. At the same time, the snack table flames are doused.

Moments later, Superman flies in and touches down in front of a young mother and infant, just as the giant worm attempts to incinerate them. Behind the Kryptonian's cape, the pair is safe, but Superman winces. "That...that's not an entirely comfortable feeling," he says, and looks up toward the red sun before helping the mother and child toward safer ground.

The worm twists about and begins moving to try and eat a cluster of attendees in gardening hats. Unfortunately for the predator, a brick wall appears out of nowhere. The worm slams its face into the wall and shrieks again, skittering about for a better vantage point.

"Thanks, Supergirl!" a rescued child says to her savior.

Superman begins to fly toward a man past his prime, but he ends up leaping and then stumbling. He runs toward the man and points toward a building across the street. "You can make it! I'll cover you!"

The worm skitters past, and one of its insectoid legs swipes at the Man of Steel. A wound opens up across his chest, and Superman looks down at it. "Take care not to get too close, if you can help it," he calls out.

All around, fireballs roil in the air. The worm shoves its weight against a building at the edge of the garden, and cracks begin to run up its brick facade. It's not going to stay up much longer!

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn first turns invisible during the commotion, and once that's done he shifts to his Martian Manhunter form. He grimaces as he see's the flames, thankfully small at this point, but likely to spread if not dealt with immediately. He sends another message to Power Girl, pausing as the flames go out on their own, a sense of the telekinesis in play... Interesting... *Karen, I will attempt to divert it's attention to allow the people to escape. Also, be careful, as I"m not sure the effect this Red Sun will have on you.*

He flies high above the fire and the crowd, to land on the opposite side of the Malgozian Slaughter Worm, and becoming visible. His shape grows in size to match the monstrosity's mass, and offering the most likely target. He positions himself so that any further flame attacks will not endanger any humans.

Outload the Martian Manhunter adds, "Superman, If you can deal with the fire, I can keep it's attention..." His fists growing to three times their size, and attempting to grab the worm, "...You may be able to use your vision from a distance to burn it.." He supplements his physical strength with a tremendous telekinetic push to move it away befor ethe building collapses.

Power Girl has posed:
    "Looks like we've got a worm with a red sun. Priority goes to clearing the people before you engage, Gravitas." Power Girl says to Gravitas. Then she gets the message from J'onn. "Correction, make sure EVERYONE that can't fight is out before you engage, Gravitas." Power Girl says before she flies off to help another family out as well....

Origami has posed:
Miyako Moore sighs deeply and studies the building for a moment as she starts running that way. She starts twisting the half sheet of paper into a roll, running her fingers along it, then throws it, javelin-like, at the building. It glitters, metal-like, slamming into the side of the building lightly. The other side of the bar drops to the ground, as it lengthens into a giant I-beam shoring the building up a bit. She frowns, since one brace isn't going to keep that building up by itself for long! "What IS this thing?"

Supergirl has posed:
"Be safe!" Supergirl calls to the girl and rushes back into the fray to help get the last stragglers out. "Is that a red sun? Really?!" She calls out and makes an exasperated noise when she finally rejoins everyone. "Oh Superman, you're hurt!" She frowns and looks to the worm, unleashing some heat vision action on the worm.

Miss Martian has posed:
    M'gann isn't just a lot of pretty faces and has other abilities than telekinesis. She sees that there are a number of caped heroes and heroines about to engage the creature but perhaps not as many working on the crumbling building. Except for Miyako, of course.

    She sets her cup down on the grass and gives it a momentary look of longing. "Please be here when I get back." she mutters to it, then warps light around herself to become invisble a moment, as J'onn did earlier. When she reappears she's green, though her hair is still as red as before. Her clothes have changed as well. That done, she lifts off the ground and moves quickly to the building, where she takes ahold of the created I-beam and braces it with her main strength, careful not to bend it.

    M'gann reaches into the building with her mind, contacting all of the brains inside. *Flee! The building is going to fall down! Run now!*

     She looks back towards the now-giant J'onn and the others. She disengages from the building's inhabitants and then tries to link all the heroes together, though if they refuse she won't press the issue. *The people should be safe now.* she advises, her psychic 'voice' sounding something like a teenaged girl.

Gravitas has posed:
    "...Don't engage the worm," Gravitas repeats back to Power girl, nodding as she does so. She takes a deep breath and leans her head back, those blue eyes turning toward the sky. Then she reorients herself on the nearby building. Gravitas nods once and then she shoots towardi t like a shot. There's a dull boom, the roar of a body accelerating toward the speed of sound for a short burst. WHe nshe's close VIctoria places a hand against the building in question, still floating. She's cocnentrating visibly, brow furrowed, fingers slightly curled as she buttresses the building itself - with gravity. Even if it's smashed people may be surprised to discover that it doesn't collapse but instead falls at a comparatively leisurely pace. She's drifting down toward the ground as she concentrates. Lots of parts to an entire building, after all - and that's if she even fully succeeds in what she's set out to do.

Superman has posed:
The worm thrashes about, chomping through a lamp post and demolishing much of the garden's flowers and crops under its numerous limbs. It spies another handful of individuals hunkered down between some planters.

Psychically, the creature's thoughts are simple, reflecting its drives: FEED. MATE. SLUMBER.

High above, the eclipse moves through totality.

Hearing the Manhunter's words, Superman blows a blast of ice-cold breath at a parked car that's caught fire. Just as the automobile is extinguished, Superman's breath gives out, and he gasps. "I'm tapped out," he says to Kara. "But we can do this! I think--I think it's only active during this eclipse! If that's right ... we just need to /hold on/ until the sun's back! We can do that!"

Beneath the worm's ground-churning skittering, a fire hydrant bursts and sprays water up into the air. The worm, meanwhile, attempts climbing up the wall of another adjacent building. It manages to reach about thirty feet up before it slides back down to the ground, with a large amount of debris clawed down with it.

Dozens of tenants in the crumbling buildings (albeit crumbling much more slowly than is expected) pour out onto the sidewalk, running toward the already-gathered crowd from the garden. "What's happening?!" "Are we going to die?" "Help!" "Why didn't I move to Jersey when I had the chance?"

Martian Manhunter has posed:
*Well done, young one...* J'onn responds back to M'gann, no pressure from his side of the link, but a curiosity can be felt by the other Martian. Then outloud, he adds, "Thank you for the assistance on the building..." his words are meant for Miyako.

J'onn grows two more pairs of arms, both with giant hands greater than his increased stature, and attempts to use all his limbs to hold the worm on the ground

"Through the darkness, we will find the light, Superman?" The Martian quips to his friend. He's willing to take several gashes to his torso in order to keep the monster from climbing any more buildings.

Power Girl has posed:
    Power Girl is actually sweating at this point...and her speed is slowing quite a bit. She takes a deep breath.....and then gets an idea. She looks towards Gravitas. "I have an idea." She 'thinks' towards J'onn. "Can you and Supergirl knock it towards the ground. We may have a way to pin it. I think." She says flying over towards Gravitas. "Gravitas. I'm going to need your help. If you can increase gravity to the point where something can't move, wait for the worm to be knocked to the ground.....and PIN it there. It may stop it's rampage."

Origami has posed:
Miyako Moore looks over at the people being looked at.. but now there's a pool of water and spray in the air over there. Another wall there wouldn't help! "Ugh! Too much water over there now. I'm open to ideas! I'll try to distract it!" She reaches down and draws out another sheet of paper and starts folding, fingers flittering in a well practiced way as a shape forms in her hands. She bends the wings down one in each hand then shoves it away from the water spray. The figure grows, flaps, and screeches angrily as it gains altitude, growing to the size of a hunting cat, and swoops to attack the worm on the side opposite the people distractingly, pecking and buffeting it with its geometric wings!

Miss Martian has posed:
    The buildings taken care of, more or less, by Gravitas and Miyako free M'gann up to help further. She flies quickly to the fallen light pole that the beast snapped off and she flies OVER the melee (though this might make her a target from a gout of worm-flame) and then down again behind the creature and the other Martian. She telekinetically bends the pole and then tries to slam both ends into the ground on etieher side of the thing, like a giant staple. Hopefully that will help a little while Gravitas gets her powers online.

Supergirl has posed:
Worried for her cousin Kara rushes over. She waves her arms at the worm, moving away. "Woah! Over here you big bug! You should have stayed a flower!" Yeah that's right, laying down the mean smack talk over here. She glances to the others, weary of voicing her worry about the lack of yellow sunlight due to the eclipse.

Gravitas has posed:
    "I've been praticing this one with Superwoman," Victoria calls out now, shifting her weight slightly as she does. The girl takes a half step back and then looks up at the apartment building. She bites her bottom lip and as the last tenant is clear it begins to collapse toward the ground and into rubble. Stones are thrown clear of the implosion but as they move toward Tori they slow and fall to the ground. Then she turns on her heel and moves toward the worm. "Okay. So... I am pretty sure I can hold the thing down. All you have to do is get it where you want it. Just - pick a place!" Victoria swallows, hard. "Okay. It's only a giant death worm thing that breathes fire. Fires are cool. You can't have s'mores without fire. Except mom has that microwave thing... Focus! Right. Stop the worm..." She tenses, waiting as instructed for something to happne.

Superman has posed:
The slaughter worm's attention is definitely distracted by the origami bird. As it shifts to try and attack the bird, it moves off-balance and falls to the ground.

There's a loud THUD! as it makes contact with the earth, and the ground is shaky for a few moments.

Then, M'gann's telekinesis binds the worm to the ground with a bent telephone pole.

The sun begins to peek out from behind the moon as the eclipse wanes.

"If you can, restrain it but don't kill it," Superman says, a hand to his chest wound. "It's just doing what it knows how to do. It's not the worm's fault--and we can always rebuild," he adds with a smile, looking out at the crowds of observers. "We just need to find a more appropriate home for it."

The worm writhes and wriggles about in its bonds, much of its attention focused on the Supergirl out of its reach. The petals of the illicium on its head begins to fold back up as the sunlight slowly begins to brighten once more.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
"Understood, Superman." J'onn says as he continues to use his own increased mass to hold the worm down, "It's thoughts are primitive, but not malicious..." He grunts as he takes two more sharp legs to the ribs.

"Anyone that can help pin it down, I will try to keep it from breathing any more flames..." Then J'onn uses two of his four hands to keep the mouth closed while the petals begin to show signs of closing on their own.

Origami has posed:
Miyako Moore nods, "Copy that!" She pulls another sheet of paper out and starts working it in her hands, moving around a bit to stay out of reach. She tosses the paper out, and it turns grey and starts growing quickly, before slamming onto the ground on four trunk-like legs and trumpeting from an elephantine trunk, flipping triangular ears and trodding forward to try to pin the worm. The origami crane, undeterred, keeps pecking and beating on the worm, trying to stay on the side away from the people, even if this puts it into obvious danger.

Power Girl has posed:
    "Now. It should be a little easier with a bit of help, but pin it all your might." Power Girl doesn't yell it....but the command is there. She crosses her arms under her breasts since it's Gravitas' show right now....not hers.

Miss Martian has posed:
    M'gann drifts down again and tries to land at about the worm's middle. She doesn't grow, but she does increase her mass a great deal. Not enough to crush the worm but it should hopefully help keep it down a little, like a human-sized paperweight.

Supergirl has posed:
Looking at J'onn and hearing Superman, Supergirl nods. She makes a face and rushes in to help pin the worm down. She makes a face as she holds onto the worm. "This is totally weird! This is totally weird!" She says and looks up, willing the sun to come out faster almost.

Gravitas has posed:
    "...Maybe not quite as hard as I can," Tori whispers. "That might not be very good for the, um. Garden. Okay. Let's do this." Victoria lifts her hands like she is tryign to encompass something enormous. The girl's hair floats out behind her, wild curls splaying like they are weightless in the air. Other people might feel it as well. The sensation of things slowing down, the sheer intensity of gravitic waves gathering around the worm. The ground starts to buckle and crack as its weight increases. Debris pulls in around it. The scent of ozone is on the air.
     Tori wobbles where she is flying twenty feet above, blue eyes wide. Sweat begins to bead on her forehead and then slowly roll down into her eyes. She winces but avoids the urge to flinch. The worm sinks into the softer earth. Just a little. Fortunately the garden is built on top of a paved bed. "It'lll thrash - but I think the, um, telephone pole will... Handle it..."

Superman has posed:
As the sun returns to its pre-eclipse brightness, the worm grows still--almost docile. It looks about as if for some means of escape, but it's held fast.

The gash along the Man of Steel's chest begins healing quickly, and he floats a full foot above the ground. "Seems like things are returning to normal--as can be, at least," Superman says, approaching the worm.

The gathered throng creeps closer to the worm as well, looking around at the carnage and the seemingly defeated creature. "Well, I never!" exclaims one matron.

Looking to his super-powered companions, Superman puts his hands on his hips. "If we can make sure it's secured--for its own safety--then we can take it to a place I know." Even as he speaks, Gravitas works to keep the worm pinned. "The place tends not to have many eclipses, so it'll work until a more suitable permanent location can be found." He smiles again and chuckles softly. "Anyone up for a trip up north?"

Martian Manhunter has posed:
As the worm settles, so does J'onn, and his grip loosens so as not to crush the poor beast. Once he's sure it's under control, he steps back, lower set of limbs sinking back into his body. As he slowly shifts to his normal size, hands returning as well, he nods to the gathered heroes, "Very well done, friends. Your help saved many lives today.." echoing Superman's comments

Looking over, J'onn nods his head, "I can be of assistance, Superman."

Power Girl has posed:
    Power Girl takes a deep breath as the sun returns in full force. She then looks to Gravitas and puts a gentle hand on her shoulder. "good woork, Gravitas." She says gesturing for her to come over with her. She even waves to Superman and J'onn and Supergirl. "We'll save the narrator a bit of his voice and say the day was saved ourselves, hmm?"

Origami has posed:
Miyako Moore shrugs a bit. "If you think it helps? Anything my origami can do to keep people safe. I.. *think* this will fit on a paper airplane, if it helps to carry it.. Barely.." She gestures at the crane and it implodes into a crinkled piece of folded paper, but leaves the elephant for the moment.

Miss Martian has posed:
    M'gann drifts off the worm again. "Maybe we can just soothe it with good thoughts until we get wherever you want to go, Superman." the green girl offers. She glances at J'onn a moment, there may be thoughts sent back and forth. "I'd be happy to go. I can carry anyone who want to travel along in a bubble, if you like."

Gravitas has posed:
    "If someone else wants to, um, carry it I can make it lighter so it's easy to handle? "Tori offers, gritting her teeth while she speaks. he takes another deep breath and holds it, tensing slightly while she cocentrates. "I could move it probably but I might, err. Crush the poor guy. Moving things with gravity is harder than it look." She puffs softly. "Keeping him calm when I ease up would probably be a good idea. Sounds like a plan, I guess...?"

Supergirl has posed:
"North?!" Kara smiles brightly. "Yes! I am very in for a trip north." She claps her hands, excited as she drifts over to inspect her cousin. "Feeling better Kal?" She wonders and studies him and the worm.