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Once upon a time…on Midgard, five gentlemen were in the same general vicinity of each other, in New York. Along the street, each person heading under their own tasks, doing their own things. What they did not know, however, is that ALSO nearby, was a pondering, plotting man in a black suit, with a gold and green scarf, piercing eyes, and far too much time on his hands this afternoon. The sun is casting long shadows for an early wintery evening, when the man in the black suit plucks, with his vision, the assortment. He KNOWS Reno. He knows his neighbor. The others, sure, he's not met before, but there's a sense about them that they may just be exactly what he needs for this little adventure! Its enough. And if they freak out, he doesn't care. Baby, its /kidnapping time/! "Excuse me!" He calls, loudly.
Simon Williams had just gotten out of a cab. Does he need a cab? Heck no! He's Wonder Man! He can fly, daddy! But, it does tend to freak out the normies, plus flying around carrying luggage looks a little silly. He's pulled out outside a hotel, having just come back to town after doing a few reshoots on his next feature, "Double Cross Saloon". It's an oater, so he's had to spend time on a horse that did not enjoy having a several hundred pound Ionic Wonder sitting astride him for eight hours a day. Simon pushes up his sunglasses, slipping a tip to the doorman when he hears the stranger cry out, raising a hand in greeting to what he's sure is probably an autograph seeker. Probably figured out where he was staying from the trades, the real fanatics knew how.
You can take the man out of New York but… And now he's returned, Kevin's been enjoying getting reacquainted with the city he grew up in and lived in for so long. Traffic is heavy enough at the moment to make crossing against the light without any show of unusual abilities unwise so he patiently waits on the corner. Though it might not look like it, he's paying attention to everything and everyone around him and when he spots Reno, he turns and waits. Then a shout attracts his attention and he looks over.
The Ghost Rider….was Robbie Reyes today, leaning against his pure black '63 dodge charger. Sleek and as badass as is looks, it's extremely modified, and leaning against it is the monster and hellhunter. He cracks his neck then as he looks around, perhaps with Reno and Danny, them being his Defender buddies. He wears his signature leather jacket with a black t-shirt underneath, coal black jeans, combat boots, and biker gloves, flicking his keyes into his hand over and over again.
Then that scarf-wearing trickster god shows up and calls out to everyone. "Huh?" he says as he looks on over to the man in green.
Reno was out with his Primo because that's just how the pair of snappy Puerticans ROll. Cousin in tow he was about to greet Kevin and Danny when… theeeeere it was. "Heeeey Danny that's Kev! Dunno if you remember him. He's good pe..pole." His words faded off and dread set into his heard. A faint whiiiiine came from teh small crow man's throat. "Ooooooh man, no bueno. I feel like one of them life lessons comin on. One of them life lessions that read like you shouldn't oughta a one that man." He took a deep breath and looked to Loki "Loki, man, que pasa." He looked to Danny and Loki "Remember that time when Gidge and I had to begotiate with them angry lil union dudes? This that guy"
Loki moves towards them, a plaintiff look in his emerald eyes. "Oh…thank Odin's beard…I am in /desperate need/ of your help." He attempts to look totally pathetic and helpless! He points at Reno and murmurs, "Hush, you. This time…its extremely important. And…congratulations, you are all invited!" He spreads his hands wide. Then, there is a flash of gold, and he attempts to just graze each person with a touch of his long, pale fingers!
Danny wanders periodically for absolutely no particular reason and has been known to turn up nearly anywhere. But this time, he was meeting up with Reno and Robbie. He wanders over in the direction of Reno and Robbie, giving them a smile and lifting a hand in a wave. "Yeah, I remember Kevin," he says and lifts a hand to wave to him as well in greeting. Then he glances over at the greeting.
Simon Williams raises an eyebrow, "Odin's Beard? Is he an agent?" he says, pulling back a bit after the unexpected touch but not particularly afraid. He hasn't been afraid of much in a while to be honest. He looks at the others nearby, unsure of who they are or what's going on, but starting to shed his leather jacket to give this weirdo a piece of his mind.
Robbie looks to Danny, giving him a little wave while he looks over at Reno as he hypes up a story for him….then his attention is fully on Loki. "Wait…that was him?" he says then, rage on his face but it's too late to react as Loki is able to touch him with those golden fingers. "the hell?" he tries to brush off whatever was put on him with his hand. Though he tilts his head. "Who's Kev?" he says then as he knows somethings about to go down…
Loki? Kevin didn't recognize the supposed godling but certainly knows the name. "You've met him before?" he asks Reno, nodding a greeting to Danny, though keeping an eye on the trickster god. Loki's quicker than he guessed and as each of the others are touched, he sways away from the hand, avoiding the touch.
Reno looked up and introduced to all of them waving a hand Loki, tour guide to the stars, guys. Guys? …hold on t'your shorts." That said reno just folded like meat origami as feathers showed up and folded into a small birdie bundle. He flapped up and perched, clutching to the leather on his cousin's shoulder with pointy birdie feet mindful not to wing-bip him in the head.
Without further ado…the group is drawn into what amounts to a magical toilet, a swirling portal made of magic, bent across space, sucking in everyone he touched. The travel is nearly instant, so that glimpses of whatever space they went through, do not linger in consciousness, but its not a /pleasant/ sensation, particularly when its a surprise. Thankfully, the view is simply beautiful. They are in a wooded area, but at the edge of a ravine, from which there pours a waterfall that is so light and airy that all it does is mist the ground below. Naturally, below, it is very thick and jungle-like, because of this, and the light pop of magic is not noticable at all amidst the din of animal and bird and insect sounds that immediately assault everyone. Loki is no longer wearing a suit, but a more recognizable Asgardian leather outfit, with his big, shiny, gold horns. "Welcome, everyone, to Vanaheim!" He spreads his arms wide.
-— New Activity ---
One moment, Danny was on the sidewalk saying hello to Robbie, Kevin, and Reno, and the next he's being flushed down a metaphysical toilet. It's decidedly unexpected and remarkably uncomfortable. Welcome to Vanaheim, which Danny promptly defiles by bending over and hurling into a bush. This may be his first interdimensional travel experience, and the soup he had for lunch decided to lodge a protest.
Simon Williams finds himself looking around with curiosity, his brow furrowed at Loki's proclamation, "Anaheim? Isn't that near Sacramento?" he says. His constitution can withstand interdimensional travel quite well, so he's not particularly staggered by the journey, but he's definitely concerned that he's both potentially lost his luggage and the multiple designer clothes inside, but that he's been apparently kidnapped to a part of California that is NOT Los Angeles and that is just…not…cool. He points a finger at Loki, "Since this seems to be your shindig, daddio, why don't you fill me in on just what exactly's going down hereabouts, huh?"
Robbie was instantaneously transported along with everyone else….to Vanaheim. "Vanawhonow?" he says then as he looks to Loki and walks on over to him. "Alright asshole…take us home." he says then in a manner that was -certainly- not a question. Either way, he cracks his neck, ready to do some business. Though with Reno on his shoulder, he might not get too into it. "Why did youy bring us here?!" he questions the God of Mischief…while not knowing a rats ass about the God of Mischief.
Reno hunkered down and was about to address the issue when, "Awwww danny. No me gusta, man. You alright? Hey… hey it'll pass I promise." The crow squint to Loki and one wing went flapping lacking an arm to gesticulate, "Hey you can at least like say hey, this is gonna suck. Please when I rip yous though like time an space an stuff jsut like don't look right or left. That too much to ask? You know that leaves like this wicked mad hangover and then there's like equilibrium loss and… bush ruining." The wing gestured like that. that there. "Soooooo like… we gotta see somethin, we gotta learn…somethin…oooooor you're bored and like fucked up and need someone to cover for your ass, man? Just level with us."
"I need to rest before I take you home. I need your /help/. I would ask for it, but you mortals just have this incessant habit of /questioning/ and making certain you are going to come back /alive/, and what's a Hijimura…and what is it doing in love with a Marilith? Its endless! No no…better to just feel out for powered people, then bring you here, and let things sort itself out. I am /Loki/, by the way." He flourishes his hand. "Prince of Asgard. Perhaps you've heard of me?" He does glance to Danny, and seems grateful that Reno is helping out there. "Level with you. Yes. Its actually none of those. This…is a /romance/." He pauses to let that sink in. "Separated lovers. That sort of thing. I would take care of it myself, but…I cannot be in two places at once. First…there is a vile creature who used to be a man. He now looks like a very large, muscley, brackish brown toad with razor sharp teeth and venomous glands all over him. Then there is the Marilith, who was, I am sad to say, a transformed woman. She now has 6 arms and the lower body of a snake. She is formidable in strength, and bites as well as strangles. Its simple though. If we can bring them together, the connection between them when they were both people, should ignite their memories." He lifts his hands. "I had nothing to do with this sort of curse! But…fixing it does earn me a bit of good will, you could say."
Danny straightens up, waving Reno off a bit. "I'm fine," he rasps just a little bit and then looks around at where they are a little more closely. Then he looks back over toward Loki, then the others and says, "You could have just said that from the beginning." He rubs a bit at the bridge of his nose, still shaking off some of the discomfort. "So.. we're in Vanaheim .. and we need to bring two transformed lovers together so that they can remember who they are… do I have that right?"
Simon Williams just stares for a long moment and slowly takes off his sunglasses, revealing his glowing red eyes. Danny taking this in stride as well as he does leads to Simon looking his way with equal incredulity, "You followed that?" he says. "I've heard better plot synopses from the guy selling Cracker Jacks on the Universal lot! What a load of hooey!" he says. "Snake ladies? Toads with teeth? Funny gods and princes? It's like an Errol Flynn picture. Do I look like a swashbucklers? I don't even know what a swash is!"
Robbie does =not= look pleased as he attempts to grab Loki by the collar, looking at him as he turns his head to Loki before he hears their apparent objective. "ah…huh." he looks at Loki like he definitely doesn't believe his story. "Really?…really?" he shakes his head a moment before he gives up on Loki. "Fine, where can I find them." he says then before he looks to Reno, cracking his neck. Though he does't look like he was in the mood for reuniting anything….more separating.
Head from shoulders…arms from body…
Loki smiles softly at Simon. Green eyes travel up and down the handsome man with a leering appreciation, but those lips…say he's up to something. "These fellows can vouch for me. But…also…I think the creatures may be able to as well. So…which do you want to catch? You can choose! Venomous toad monster, or…deal-deathing snake woman? Catch one, find the other. That's all. Then we go HhhoOOO-" He's grabbed by the leather collar and he arches his dark brows up and stretches his chin. He has no idea what Robbie might be capable of. For Robbie though, he would note that Loki does not jostle like a human. He's clearly /heavier/ than he looks…maybe upwards of 400lbs.
Reno tried to help Simon out. "Pretty sure that's them things one wears across their chest. ya know, withthe buckles on it. Makes one's tailfeathers look real swishy." From teh man who became a talking crow; self-proclaimed expert on all things. All of them. Especially running away. "Sooo we got a lady with dry skin we gotta reunite with this guy that she has the hots for who's retainin a lil water. Where they live?"
"I'm going to vote that we bring the snake to the toad," Danny says, for no particular reason other than to put in a vote to get them moving forward on this adventure. He doesn't seem against helping, for whatever reason. The story actually seems to intrigue him. He slides his hands into the pockets of his jeans and looks between the others. "Anyone else have a preference?"
Simon Williams frowns and crosses his massive arms across his chest, "I don't give a good damn. But I'm not letting this guy out of my sight," he says, pointing at Loki. "If he's the ticket home, then he's going to stay with us the whole way - or his ticket's gonna get punched," he says. Yeah, that's a pretty good line. Will anyone remember it as a bit of dialogue from his third movie, "Hoodlum's Race"? Probably not. Not many people saw that one.
Robbie keeps his grip on Loki's collar, and even lifts him a small ways off the ground so he could see directly into Loki's eyes. A narrowed look then before he just growls and sets Loki down back on his feet, letting go of the Trickster God. "Fine. But any tricks from you and I'll burn you alive." Robbie is -not- in a good mood. Hopefully Reno can talk better sense into him….Either way, Robbie just starts walking, until Simon speaks then. "Good. If he tries anything, can you punch him in the face for me? Thanks." He sighs a moment, before patting Danny on the shoulder. "Only choice we really have."
Sure, Robbie could just head back to earth by summoning one of his vehicles…but he can't really bring back Danny or Reno with him unless they want to get burned alive by hellfire. Something Robbie is completely immune to. No other choice.
Loki definitely has no idea that Simon is quoting from his films! Its like the man has an arsenal of one-liners! He holds up his hands and smiles 'innocently'. "God of Mischief…just thought I would…remind everyone." he brushes his hand down his front. "Helgen, then? Excellent. I am certain you will absolutely appreciate the uniqueness of her beauty and marvel at the abhorrent offense to nature! You see…the two have a curse upon them that prevents them from accidentally running into each other in this forest, but, we force them together, yes yes, everything will be fine! But, honestly, do I look like a woodsman? She's around here somewhere. " Apparently planning on being slightly less helpful than is useful.
Reno pipes up for preference "Bagels over… pea..nuts… okay we're… sorry was hungry." He paused and looked from Danny to Robbie and back and sighed. Here was hoping he wasn't going to be used as a lawn dart. "Hey you. You guy… kidnapped with us trying to find Anna-someone." Anaheim, Reno. It's place not a - nevermind. The bird shrugged and said "C'mon, just two people in love forced to be apart. If there ain't a more noble cause… other than bringing a bird lunch? What is there? " He isghed and the crow squint to his cousin and added the rider, "And if he gets us eaten we have bbq frog legs. I mean ya know, I'm flexible on this."