shieldsup | First Shield: A lack of unstable molecules...[Action/Voice]

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First Shield: A lack of unstable molecules...[Action/Voice]

[Action]

[Early in the evening of July 9th, Susan Richards wakes up in a very, very strange place, an unfamiliar couch. In YOUR living room. She blinks and looks around, extremely confused. When this strange, blond woman sees you...her eyes go wide she disappears, clothes and all. Astute listeners may hear the sounds of her feet as she gets up and moves away from you and the couch.]

Wha! What on Earth?! WHO are you and WHERE am I?

[Susan's voice is pretty demanding for an invisible person who just woke up in your house, and it seems to be coming from all around you, her powers distorting it.

Maybe you could help talk some sense into her? Explain the situation? Perhaps you're feeling pretty mad? Break time, go nuts! This isn't locked to anyone!]

Voice

[Much, much later, Susan's voice will appear over the journal after she's collected herself and gotten out of whoever's house she wound up in]

Hello everyone. This is Susan Richards of the Fantastic Four. If there are any members of the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the X-Men, or even anyone that just recognizes my name I would appreciate it if you would get in touch with me. Hell, even if you are just feeling helpful and are willing to share information, I'd really appreciate it. I've just arrived and I need help getting my bearings. I don't want to impose, but I really need some answers.

Also, if anyone comes across a blue jumpsuit with a 4 on it, I'd ask that they not touch it, its made of highly unstable molecules that can react oddly to anyone that isn't me.

[Her voice isn't terribly upset, more confused. Its not like she's never woken up in strange places or been in rough situations alone before. Thats...sort of what the Fantastic Four do!]

(OOC: Feel free to break time with the action portion of the post! I've got nobody in particular who needs to find her so she can wake up in anyone's living room that wants an Invisible Woman)

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[Expect silence for...well...a little while as she thumbs through the book. After a while, she comes back into view, slumped in a chair]

That. This. This is really, really crazy.

"I probably wouldn't have called them assholes if I was working for them. And I don't like to go around attacking people, even people who threaten me."

Thats good, I'd rather not have to hurt you.

[Only half listening, she's pretty angry, and VERY confused at this point]

"... Granted, if you keep threatening me, I might start to take it personal."

[She's just full of surprises today, isn't she? So for a long moment, he can do nothing but stare.]

You're... what? Since when?

[Has that much changed since he was captured?]

We ever deal with someone called Apocalypse?

You know what. Maybe I want you to. Chump.

[You keep saying things, Harry, and they keep rubbing her the WRONG way. She can't help but think...who the hell is this guy, why the hell am I in his house, and why can't I shake the feeling that he's going to keep being unhelpful until I do something about it]

"You know, I've been called antisocial in my day, but you bring it to a whole new freaking level."

[Alright, you ASKED for it. And since Ben isn't here...]

You know what, buster? I'm sick of this. ITS CLOBBERIN' TIME!

[An invisible ram of solid force slams into Harry from...somewhere in the room]

Yea. He's dead now. Or something like that. Gone.

Since I found out Reed was building a prison in the Negative Zone.

[Flat. Emotionless. Followed by a heavy sigh.]

I didn't like the idea of turning in our friends to begin with. Then I found out about that. We had a fight. I left, and took a good portion of the Baxter Building with me.

If I'd thought about the specific words for a minute, I probably could have avoided the whole mess, but I was a little distracted. I started gathering my will as soon as she spoke again, and when I heard her shout, I hissed, "Riflet-"

That was as far as I got before a giant with an invisible croquet mallet smacked me across the room, sending me careening into- and through the door of the unused bedroom.

The jacket protected me from the worst of the impact, but that still stung.

"Alright. You want to play? We can do that."

It wasn't a spell I'd used much. Hell, I wasn't much good at veils, never had been... at least, not until Molly Carpenter, illusion-weaver and mental-manipulator extraordinaire, had become my apprentice.

Let's just say that I'd gotten a lot better at being hidden. I began creeping quietly around the room under the cover of my veil, assisted by a minor sound-suppressing effect I'd added to the veil- and by the fact that almost two decades of detective work have made me pretty good at sneaking, when I want to.

[Pepper has to wonder just how much difference a few weeks can make; Billy adores Iron Man, almost idolizes him (at least so far as the armor goes). So is it because of the different time, if there's something Susan knows--or because Billy also sees Tony for who he is.]

Fair enough. [Although Pepper wants to ask Billy right away, she's already asked a fair bit of Susan--Sue. It's only right that she gives on her end.

When the woman tries to brush aside her concerns, however, Pepper gives her a polite smile.] I'm sure it must be a relief. But you'll understand why I want to be cautious. It's a small village. It'd be all too easy for a casual remark to be overheard by the wrong person--or even said directly to them, if for example, you don't know what someone looks like because your version of them died before you were born.

[She takes out her journal again, flips back a few pages. Then she'll turn the book toward Sue, so she can see the video of Howard himself.

It doesn't play for long, but at least this way, Sue will have an idea. She sets the journal aside after it's done, then does a quick tally in her head.]

Tony's been Iron Man for a little over two years now. [Not counting Luceti, as Pepper silently reminds herself.] I'm not sure about Steve. SHIELD gave Tony some information on him recently, but I didn't get a close look at it.

[That had been part of Tony's homework. Pepper just bribed him to do it.]

Cute.

[That was all she said before a shockwave of invisible force engulfed the entire room, hurling furniture, books, everything in the room backwards into the walls.]

[At the mention of the prison, he visibly winces. Still no good memories of that place, especially since he'd already been imprisoned during the war. He really doesn't want to go back there.

It takes him a long moment to find the words, or the courage, to respond to that.]

I'm... sorry it got that bad.

[Sue watches the video of Howard and nods. She'll be avoiding this man for the time being.

The rest of it doesn't entirely add up, though. Iron Man being new she can understand, but its the idea that SHIELD has something to do with Steve and Tony. Does that mean the rest of the Avengers as well? That...is a big change. The Avengers were founded privately, by Tony, Janet, Hank, Thor, and Bruce shortly after the Fantastic Four...]

Pepper, what does SHIELD have to do with Steve? And...if you don't mind my asking, who are the Avengers in your world? Some little things aren't clicking the same and I'm pretty curious.

Oh, hell.

I'd been expecting some sort of attack, but this wasn't quite what I had in mind. Still, with a barely audible whisper- "Riflettum"- I was able to conjure a shield and hold it together.

Unfortunately, there was still nothing anchoring me in place, so I bounded across the room in my protective bubble. I'd learned how to take that kind of abuse due to hard experience in the Deeps beneath Chateau Raeth, but it still wasn't fun, and it still disrupted my veil, at least momentarily. I was able to call it over myself again before she could follow it up, thankfully.

This lady, however, was starting to piss me off.

Its not your fault. It's Reed's. Don't apologize.

[She shakes her head, and the wince isn't lost on her.]

I'm sorry it was so tough on you too, kiddo. Believe me, it bothers me that things got that bad for everyone and I hated that the FF stayed out of it as long as we did. But after Johnny was attacked...

[Susan saw, at least briefly, a flicker of Harry as the veil broke. Not long, but enough to give her a general idea of where to keep attacking. Some sort of shield spell? She felt that, when her shockwave had hit his shield.

Still, she wasn't about to let up. This time she created a large, flat, tensile surface...like a spongy wall and cast it out in the general vicinity she had felt her shield connect with his. A little trick she'd learned from Reed. It would engulf him in bubble that she could harden into a prison if he didn't find a way out...]

Okay, this time there was no big dramatic effect... but I did feel power. Large quantities of it, moving toward me.

I stretched out with my senses... but this didn't feel like the rushes of power she'd used before. It felt softer, more pliable. A force field of some kind, maybe?

Well. Nothing for it, she was going to hit me anyway. I dropped the shield and the veil, and levelled my hand, shouting "Forzare!"

A wave of pure force drove across the room. She was still invisible, so I couldn't aim, but this thing was broad enough and unfocused enough- thanks to the lack of a blasting rod- that it was just as likely to hit her anyway- assuming this force field didn't stop it.

I'm pretty sure they're the ones that found him. [The differences are comforting, easy to talk about. Pepper's very glad for all the ways that her world isn't the same as Sue's.] Of course, I don't know for sure. It's all "classified."

[She bends her fingers when she says the word: air-quotes.]

The Avengers I know are Tony and Steve, obviously, along with Bruce Banner, an Asgardian named Thor, and two SHIELD agents: Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov. Or, they were SHIELD agents. I'm not sure how things ended up for them.

[She pauses then, makes a guess at what question might come next.] SHIELD called it the Avengers Initiative, but it got cancelled at first. Then--well. The world needed them. SHIELD had gathered most of them after another Asgardian named Loki stole something from them. It ultimately led to an alien invasion, and the Avengers broke away from SHIELD, and saved the world.

[To give the short version.]

[Oh god, he'd almost forgotten about that.]

The war's been hard on everyone. Super heroes fighting super heroes... it's wrong. [Another pause, and then-] How's he doing? I only saw it on the news...

[The force field did stop it. Sort of. The rubbery texture bowed inward and wrapped around Harry's field like paper around a rock. Sue didn't allow it to solidify, so a spongy mass of invisible energy sort of globbed itself at a wall, harmlessly breaking apart.]

And I see you now. Game over.

[A force cage springs to life around Harry, binding his arms, legs, and mouth.]

No more of that. Lets stop before you get hurt.

[Her face becomes visible, over near the door. Annoyed, but not angry anymore. She's fairly sure you're some sort of mage and if you work anything like Stephen Strange then she's locked you down for the moment.]

Now, lets start again. I'm Susan Richards of the Fantastic Four. When I let you loose, you are going to tell me where the hell I am, how the hell I got here, and why the hell I'm not at home. Make one false move and I'll make a force-field in your small intestine. Blink once if you understand.

Edited 2012-07-11 19:05 (UTC)

She had me. Dammit. My arms, my legs, my mouth.

Well, hell. I could still cast without my mouth. It would give me a bitch of a migraine, but I could do it. I gathered my will, preparing to throw a fireball at the door, where-

Oh, hell.

Susan Richards of the- Oh, hell.

There is no way my luck was this bad.

... Oh, who am I kidding? Every single moment of my life experience has demonstrated my luck to be exactly this bad. I glared daggers at her, but I blinked.

[Much easier to talk about here, just minor differences]

That is a change then. The Avengers were the ones that found Steve in my world. They were originally Thor, Tony, and Bruce, as well as two scientists. Janet Van Dyne and Hank Pym. Natasha and Clint, Black Widow and Hawkeye? They're members too, but joined later.

SHIELD is a separate entity, created in the aftermath of World War 2 by Colonel Fury. Don't take that as a condemnation, though. Until Hill took over, SHIELD's been nothing but good. Things have been really difficult these last few years, since Nick retired, but I know Maria's tried her best.

[The last bit gets a curious glance. Aliens and Loki?]

I'm familiar with Loki. He's tried to attack my family on more than one occasion. Do you know which alien species he was working with? The Skrulls? Baluurans? Shi'ar? Chi'tauri?

[None of them particularly friendly folks...]

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First Shield: A lack of unstable molecules...[Action/Voice]

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