2014.03.07 - Death by Chocolate

"G-guys? Any there? This is Axiom and we've got a little problem I could use some help with," is the call that comes over the YAL app. It's followed by an address in Upper Metropolis near Morningside heights. The evening is warmer than it's been recently but there's still snow on the ground and the sun is still high enough to provide light. And that light is helping everyone see quite a scene.

People have scattered, some having called the police and others having taken cover to take video with their phones. An apartment building's doors have been smashed out and coated with an odd brown goo. Windows up on the third floor are in the same state. Why? At least two dozen 7-foot tall humanoid figures that seem to be golems made of an equally odd solid brown substance are on the street. Some are smashing random objects and chasing people and others are crowded around a card trying to peel it open. Two others are trying to catch Axiom as he dodges their strikes. "M-man these guys are faster than they look," Axiom yelps, dodging a punch that cracks the pavement a bit.

Speed reaally wasn't paying much attention to the request that comes over the comms...until Axiom mentions that the 'guys' are 'faster than they look'. This sounds like a job for...SPEED!

"On my way...you can boost but don't you be stealing my powers without asking me," is said over the comms as he negotiates the snow, slush, and icy patches en route. Luckily, he doesn't touch down long enough to mess with too much traction, but he uses some of the snow to make an impressive entrance by snow-waving one of the nearby monsters.

"What, is this some sort of poop monster? That's kind of gross." That said, he goes to distract the monsters currently trying to chase the other.

The call for help goes out, and members of the Young Allies start to appear. With a flash of light and a crack of thunder above the scene a single figure in black clothes with moving starfield patterns and a crimson red shawl like cloak appears. "Iwantusalltohearoneanother, Iwantusalltohearoneanother, Iwantusalltohearoneanother!" Is chanted up in the sky first to make sure that everyone on the team can hear eachother's voices like they are right next to one another, for the sake of those that can't or won't use com devices. "I...oh I am really hoping that they are just made of mud." Wiccan can be heard as he looks over the scene.

Hulkling is, of course, right behind Billy in matters of dramatic entrances. The green teen swoops through the air after the thunder-crack, flying with a pair of large membranous wings. "..I hope they're mud and not, you know, poo golems. Like on that webcomic." Teddy says. Hey, it had left him a little unsettled.

"Right, Ax! I'm a couple blocks away, I'll be there ASAP." comes Terry's voice over the comm/magic. Unlike the others, he doesn't have any built-in transportation other than his legs... so it'll take about a round or so for the cavalry to show up.

"Any t-time," Axiom replies over the comm. "And I d-d-don't steal powers! Whoa!" Axiom yelps again, blocking a punch with his staff and ge11tting sent flying into a snowbank. The monster that gets hit with all the snow seems to freeze on the spot for a moment, slowly turning towards Speed and letting out a dull groan. The others that had been after Axiom turn towards the speedster and start chasing him. They're about as fast as Axiom himself which is indeed faster than they look like they should be. The thunderous entrance doesn't seem to get the golem's attention but there's thankfully no smell so they're not that one brown option. There's a yell for help from inside the car the other golems are now working to flip and a few people running from others.

"You could have fooled me! But still, don't do it!" Speed says over the coms as he weaves in and out of the brown golems...they may be as fast as Axiom, but they're not as fast as he is! Seeing that one of them freezes when he gets hit by the snow, he makes sure to skid some of the slush onto the others as often as he can. "Hey! They might be freezable! Mud monsters?"

Wiccan knows well enough that Axiom can hold his own, and with Speed on scene there is someone to back him up if things get really dicey. The golems on the car though, those need to be taken care of quick. Swooping through the air in just the way that bricks don't Wiccan aims for the monsters terrorizing poor innocent civilians. "Freeze, Freeze, Freeze!" He chants just before a cone of cold and snow blasts from his finger tips hoping to freese the water inisde of the mud golems. "It is copy them, not steal. Steal would imply you didn't have them to use for yourself while he did it."

"So... he pirates them." Teddy says with a grin, being a smart-ass. The muscular twin swoops quickly towards the nearest group of civilians in the way of the golems. He's going to try to snatch them with his arms and swoop them out of harm's way, depositing them on a nearby rooftop before repeating the process. "Guys, I'm on crowd control, take care of the muddies and I'll rejoin you once I've gotten people out of the way."

A'running onto the scene comes Trauma -- or Terry, it's hard to really tell considering the teen doesn't really do the costume thing. It's not as impressive as an arrival as others, but without saying a single word he opens his mind. Probing for fear, doing what he can to sort out what the golems might be afraid of... assuming, of course, they aren't some sort of mindless creature. In which case... the black-clad teen will definitely think himself out of his league.

Axiom would reply to the comment if he weren't busy digging himself out of the snow. Give him a moment or two here.

The slush-spray distracts the golems that it hits, the beasts pausing before starting to chase Speed. They may be horribly outclassed in the speed department but they're determined.

The spell from Wiccan doesn't seem to be freezing those creatures but it gets their attention and it's definitely slowing them down. A few raise their arms to shield themselves as they lumber at Wiccan. He might want to watch his back though. From that broken third floor window, another golem is jumping and aiming to tackle the mage out of the air.

The civilians rescued by Hulkling babble some thanks, one clinging to his arm for dear life. The other asks for an autograph and if the blond wants her number. Meanwhile down below that car is getting it's roof peeled of to reveal a rather frightened looking college student inside. Again he yells for help, batting at the golems reaching for him with an ice scraper.

Luck is not on Terry's side. There's fear but none of it from the golems. And one has noticed him. It lurches his way to grab him for a bearhug. At least that close, Terry will figure out just what the monsters are made of. It's not poop and it's not mud. No...these monsters are all chocolate.

"Pirated...stolen...they're mine and I don't want anyone using them without my permission!" is said as Speed zips between the legs of one monster. "What -are- these things?" he asks, reaching to tap at one as he passes. Skidding around, he takes a moment to sniff at whatever it was that is now on his hand. He looks up in time to see another coming out of the window, "Incoming!"

Wiccan's cone of cold does not work. Not good. Especially since it does nto even distract the golems enough to keep them from tring to peel the car for the crunch human surprise inside. Wiccan is just about to cast a spell when he hears Speed yell out, and thankfully looks up. He has just enough time to roll out of the way (all done in air since he has yet to land of course) before the thing can slam into him. "Gettheciviliansafe, gettheciviliansafe, gettheciviliansafe!' HE chants out trying to teleport the man in the ar away before he does anything else.

"Heh, just imagine how the people you do the same to feel like, if you feel that way." Teddy says, taking advantage of Billy's spell. He swoops down towards the golem about to reach for the student as Billy casts his spell. He will try to body-slam that arm away, since he has considerable leverage... "Wiccan, if they're mud, try to burn them-- turning them into claw will make it easier to bash them!"

Of course, with Terry's attention focused on trying to pick something out -- and evade everything /else/ -- he might notice the golem that's noticed him, but that's about as far as he's able to get before it snares him up in that bearhug. "Eww--.. huh?" he asks in momentary confusion, before blinking once, twice. "Guys!" a choked voice offers out as he struggles to break the hold -- not very well, admittedly -- "They smell like... like /chocolate/"

The golem that Speed slides under tries to grab him only to end up tripping and falling. He does get something on his hand. A slushy mix of chocolate and snow. And about thirty seconds later he'll want to catch...or move. Since Wiccan's spell teleports that terrified college student right to Speed. Speed's a superhero so he's apparently been deemed safety.

The golem that Wiccan dodges crashes into the pavement and breaks apart into a sticky mess of chocolate chunks and chocolate syrup along with a creamy filling all over the street. Thankfully his spell sends the terrified young man to Speed which makes the car wrecking golems pause. They stare in dull confusion before looking around for their apparent target.

One of them doesn't get the change though. It gets body slammed by Hulkling and parts of it shatter off. And Teddy gets a chocolately shower at the same time. This one has almonds in it too. The other golems close by rip pieces of car off to swing at Hulkling.

"It's not pirating or stealing!" comes a frustrated remark from Axiom as he gets free of the snow. Seeing Terry's trouble, Axiom runs towards his friend and strikes with his staff...only to pierce the golem. It lets Terry go and staggers back but both YAL members get sprayed with chocolate.

"I still don't want you doing it without my permission!" Speed insists, sniffing at the slushy goo on his hand. It -does- smell like chocolate! "Who is making chocolate monsters?" is asked before a college student is teleported right in front of him. "Whoa...go...over there," he points to some distance that is away from any of the choco-monsters. A frown is tossed at Hulkling, "You..." he starts, and finally demands, "Shut. Up." Now isn't the time for that lecture!

Leaning down, he quickly gathers snow/slush into some snowballs, "Hey! Fudgey! Over here!" The monster is then pelted by a barrage of rapid-fire snowballs.

Wiccan blinks, then blinks again, then blinks a third time. "Is that...." Yes, yes it is. The golems are not mud, or the other thing. They are chocolate. And, given the lighter color milk chocolate too. This is cruel, cruel and horrible. Especially after Wiccan gave up chocolates for at least a month because he ate too many he picked up at an after Valentines day sale. "Right, choco-golems. Fine, then lets make S'mores!" The last is said with as much menace and portents as one might say 'Castle Doom' or 'Dark Forrest' or even 'The Dentist!' There is a crach of thunder over head and Wiccan starts to spark as he draws in some energy and points to the nearest Golem. "Burn With Me." He casts his spell while quoting the Dr Who rerun he was watching when the call for help came out and throwing a gout of flame at it.

Hulkling coughs and aghs, as a little bit of the golem got into his mouth, and then--- "CHOCOLATE?... what on earth..." the young teen stares, unbelieving. But then, Terry is in a choco-embrace. "Hold on, I'm coming for you!" he says, zooming towards the golem holding Terry. Hulkling is going to try to choco-smash through its stomach so it releases his teammate.

With the aid of his powers, Trauma can grow to Hulk-like strength and endurance. Without them... yeah, he's little more than a civilian himself. So there's a definite relief as Axiom stabs the golem that was holding him with that staff, a moment of victory at the feeling of the ground under his feet once again... and then a groan at being covered in chocolate.

"...this /has/ to be my punishment for trying to hide from Valen--" Terry was grousing, at least until his eyes caught sight of the charging Hulkling. Unable to get out of the way in time, he just braces a bit for what he expects to be a second choco-shower.

Second choco-shower indeed. The golem ends up feeling like a wall does when it meets the Kool-Aid Man as Hulkling impacts it and sends chocolate flying everywhere. Axiom had been stuck by the impact frees him and knocks him on his butt. He blinks up at Hulkling before looking to Trauma to make sure he's okay and then back up at Hulkling. "This is w-weird," understatement. "And I t-t-told you I wasn't going to do it without permission," he adds for Speed over the magic-comms as he gets back up.

The college guy babbles a bit as Tommy rescues him, hiding behind a mailbox. "This is freaking crazy, bro! I just opened a box of candy and suddenly monsters started coming out! Oh man I shouldn't have let Steve talk me into smoking with him last night," he babbles on, still holding that ice scraper defensively. The monster Speed targets meanwhile starts towards him...but it doesn't even get a chance to get close. Thankfully the mix of slush and snow forms a nice painful iceball. And when whipped at super speed...well they're forming deep craters in the golem. Chocolate syrup and rassberry filling ooze out before the golem falls over and shatters.

The golem Wiccan targets isn't faring much better. Even as the flames melt it, it keeps lurching after him...and jumps. Too bad it's just melted mess and ends up splashing the pavement instead of tackling the mage.

"You opened...where's the box?" Tommy looks back at the college kid, continuing his attack until the golem falls over. "Where did you buy it? What did you do to it? Come on, man...we need answers here!" He looks over at the others before looking up at the window where ethe golems came from, "Is that your place?"

Wiccan's eyes glow bluish white as he keeps power funneling into his spell. As the Golem leaps he floats backwards and starts turing the fires on other monsters. "Burn!" He commands melting down as many as he can get into fondu. Hulkling lands next to Terry afer raining chocolate on him again, with an apologetic grin "I'm sorry... are you ok, man?"

"Only damage done is to my pride... I'll live." Terry replies, taking a moment to forcefully expel some of the chocolate that'd gotten in his mouth. It might be chocolate, but those things were alive. Ish. Which means that he's pretty sure that he doesn't want to be eating it!

So, without his powers to lend him an upper hand against the monsters... Terry decides to think back to advice that Kate had given him. That he's never powerless to /help/ as long as he tries his best. So with that thought in mind, he looks around now for any civilians who might still need evacuation.

"I dunno, man! Still in my apartment probably," the college guy says, waving the ice scraper at Speed. "I didn't buy it! It came in the mail yesterday!" he says, looking almost like he wants to climb inside the mailbox. "Yes! Those things wrecked my apartment an chased me out here!"

Those golems that had still been around the car are starting to stack on top of one another to get to Wiccan. They're still melting but it looks like Wiccan will have to be careful if he doesn't want a hot fudge shower.

There are a few civilians still around. Some hiding in an alley seem distressed since one seems to have fallen and injured her ankle and the girl with her doesn't know how to help.

Axiom looks around at the scene and spots three golems lurching at Speed from one direction and two more from another. "Hulkling," he looks up at the chocolatey shapeshifter and points at one of the golem groups. "Fastball special?" he suggests, offering himself as a projectile.

Speed holds out a hand to the student, "Keys. Now. I'm going up there to get the box." Because if they have the box, they might have a clue as to where these guys came from. "Wiccan! Can't you just magic them back to their Whitmans Sampler forms? Shrink them?" Once he gets the keys, he's going to run into the kid's apartment and look for that box.

Wiccan hits a point where he is pretty sure staying where he is is going to mean that Teddy will end up with a chocolate coated Wiccan before he decides to move, and move quick. Up and away he goes letting the flames he is creating die, but keeping the chocolate he has set on fire burning....and an that is a horrible smell burning chocolate. "That....is a good idea. Backtonormal, backtonormal, Backtonormal!"

Hulkling picks Axiom up "Don't mind if I do!" He says. Truthfully? He's been dying to try this out. He reaches back, takes stock, and ZOOOOM--- throws. "Just try not to get killed, okay?"

So that alleyway is exactly where he's going into -- Trauma might not know too much first aid, but can at least lend a hand, or a shoulder as the case may be. "Hey you guys -- need a hand? We can probably get away from the trouble if we take the alley the rest of the way. I didn't see any bad guys when I was /coming/ from that way..."

"The door's open!" the college guy replies. Inside the apartment building, there's a trail of some damage and chocolate footprints and hand prints leading up the stairs and to the third floor. One apartment has thr door torn off it's hinges and looks like a mess inside. In the living room area, near an overturned table and smashed TV, there's a red box of chocolates inside one of those flat-rate postal boxes...and liquid chocolate is pouring out of it and rising into a humanoid shape. Another golem is forming.

"Don't worry. I trust y-y-you," Axiom flashes a messy smile Hulkling's way. He readies himself and holds in the yelp that he wants to make when thrown. Staff at the ready, he crashes through the three golems in a spray of chocolate and various fillings. Tumbling when he lands, he coughs and spits out chocolate. "That...w-w-was...AWESOME!"

The girls jump when Terry appears, one ready to swing a trashcan lid defensively before she sees he's not a chocolate monster. "Yes, help!" the uninjured girl pleads, the injured one reaching out to let Terry help her up.

The golems that haven't been melted or shattered all seem to go rigid as Wiccan's magic strikes them. They fight against an unseen force as they shrink and begin taking the form of small pieces of candy. More easy to squish at least.

Speed races in to try and close the box before another golem can form. "Get in there, you bastard..." is murmured but, if he can, he's going to grab both the candy box and the postal box down to the others. "Dispell it! Dispell it!" is offered over the coms. Maybe there's a hidden geek somewhere inside of the speedster...or he's been hanging around Billy too much.

Wiccan hovers in mid air, his short hair sticking nearly straight out and his cloak caught in winds that, oddly, are not touching anyone else as light glows around him like a halo. "Breakthischarm, Breakthischarm, Breakthischarm!" He chants at the box trying to make whatever is causing it to send forth creatures of chocolaty evil to stop. That, and if he can get the blowbakc aimed so that it hits the person that created the box instead of them all the better.

Hulkling runs down the street towards where Speed was as Billy begins to cast his charm. "This is the source of all of this mess? ... doesn't look like much."

The box closes easily enough. Of course written on the lid is 'Happy Valentines Day, Jerk'. Closing the lid doesn't stop the golem forming though...it just results in a 2-foot high one that chases after Speed with even less hope of catching him than the bigger ones. Down on the street there's a few golems left. Axiom joins the others, holding his staff up and providing cover. The box is indeed charmed in some way. The magic fights back a little but it's no match for Wiccan's power. The box glows and shakes before the candy box within starts burning away. The golems and candy meanwhile freeze...then explode. More chocorain. But it looks like the day is saved.

Speed moves away from the box and manages to dodge most of the chocorain before he comes to a stop. He looks for the college student, "Who the hell sent you that? That is one messed up present, if you ask me. Come on..." he reaches to drag the guy from his hiding spot behind the mailbox, "Time for answers."

Wiccan drops to the ground and walks up behind Speed. "That...was not the worst I have seen but someone had power...and a lot of pent up anger. Who could you have p...annoyed that badly?" HE asks the person Speed is acosting who, apparently, is the rason for the Chocopocalypse they hae had to deal with.

Hulkling stands next to Billy, arms crossed. "Just a name is all we need. After all, think of this: If we can't get to them... they can get to you. And next time, we may not be around to help."

Having helped the girls in the alleyway to safety, Terry returns... still more or less covered on chocolate, but relieved to see that none of the remaining chocolate on scene is moving. So he ambles over towards the rest of the team, looking between his candy-coated fellow heroes. "So... I take it we won?"

The guy fights being dragged, pushing at Speed. "Let go!" he demands. "The return address was from my crazy ex-girlfriend!" says, not eager to get anywhere near that box or what's left of it. Covered in chocolate as well, Axiom sighs and tries to clean his staff off. "T-tell us please," Axiom adds in to the others, smiling quickly to Terry. The student seems to debate before Hulkling's words reach him. He glares at Speed before giving a name and address. Across the city.

Wiccan raises an eyebrow as the guy finlly gives the name and adress. "I wonder what she is going to say he did to deserve this." Wiccan says gesturing around him mostly jsut for his team mates to hear while he shakes his head. "Right, now to wait for the cops so we can make sure this guy is in protective custody and to start clean up. Mind a boost Axiom?" Wiccan asks the last before starting to chant his normal clean up everything and make it so the tax payers don't have to shell out too much spell "Looks like we have someone to visit after this..." says Teddy, nodding. "Someone certainly is bitter over something." Pun intended.

"I'm not sure if I'm the best or the worst person to bring along for that. I might just agree with her." Terry quips, a bit of a smirk on his lips. He's not the biggest fan of Singles' Awareness Day.

Axiom nods, boosting Wiccan quickly. The college guy meanwhile looks like he might argue with the heros but a quick look from Axiom quiets him down. The police will arrive soon enough to do their jobs. Of course their target probably isn't staying put...they'll have to track her down. But that's an adventure for another night!

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT TIME FOR MORE YOUNG ALLIES ACTION!