2014.09.14 - Frisbee Fracas

Diana is out enjoying the sunshine, along with a few Amazons. Needless to say, it's drawn a crowd out- six Amazons wearing gym shorts and sports bras, drawing out the attention of the curious and the appreciative. Two of the Amazons are lying out on towels, while four others, including Diana, are playing Frisbee. A few park patrons have joined in with slow hesitation- the Amazons play Frisbee like no one's business, but since it's hard to throw a Frisbee with any real velocity (even with super strength), it's a harmless enough pastime.

Not far from the Amazons' display, but just out of sight of it, Zatanna Zatara looks bored! She's set up a little table to play three card monte. Not for money, but just as an excuse to do cool magic tricks in front of the general public, and maybe get on Imgur's front page.

But there's no crowd fawning over the famous magician. Why?

Zatanna wondered about that for a while. She did some tricks to amuse some kids, and drank wine out of soda cans instead of having lunch. Still, it's about time to pack up. "Yawa og elbat," she says, and her table disappears. She's dressed... casually, for her, which is still flagrantly ostentatious, lots of tight leather trousers and fishnet sleeves and other unsuitable-for-sunshine gear. "Now to go see what's GOING ON over there," Zatanna announces, finishing the rest of her wine-in-a-soda-can and throwing it at a trash bin. It almost misses, then alters trajectory in mid-air and falls into place.

The weird quotient wasn't high enough so there's a contingent of quintuplets approaching. Two carry their own chess sets under one arm after a light afternoon of competitive gamesmanship/hustling, with two walking along unencumbered, and the fifth cradling a half-eaten hotdog loaded down with so much junk they're all in danger of being exiled to Chicago where good taste goes to die. Even if it's just one girl actually eating the sewer dog and fastidiously, carefully catching overflow with a napkin held underneath during each bite, the rest seem to have that smug self-satisfaction that goes along with unhealthy life choices as well. The spectacle ahead brings them each to a steady stop, slowing down and then halting all in rhythm to watch high-stakes Frisbee action.

Hyde came here last week, and he'll probably be here next, too. Despite all the amazing fan service going on with the grass and the Frisbees, he's captured by the tiny miracles Zatanna performs for disinterested nine-year-olds. By the time he actually approaches, the magician is packing it in, but he jogs to catch up. "Wow, where'd it go? The table," the big guy asks, hoping she'll slow down.

Frisbees might be hard to weaponize, but they are actually just a cut down discus, which has lost about 99% of its weight and almost all hardness the clay and metal disks had. But on the other hand they can fly pretty far if getting a bit updraft from a slight wind, just like the disk got in midair, carrying it towards one of the trees, hitting a lonely foot dangling out of it. The leg belonging to it, tucked in a riding chaparajo and blue jeans, is retracted and then the young woman the leg was attached to literally fell from the tree, landing on both feet and a hand, picking up the poor imitation of a weapon. The lonely blue eye of Robyn Locksley peered onto the plastic object, then she picked it up, giving it a swing with the hand before doing a spinning throw into Diana's direction. She was not a bad thrower, so even if it was not entirely a good object to throw, it could still go pretty fast - just that it would not hurt too much on impact.

The Amazons are playing for keeps. The game had turned into four Amazons versus something like ten opposing players, including a couple of mutants. But the Amazons play Frisbee with an intensity bordering on a battlefield. One of the players makes a desperate lunge for the errant disc as Robyn hurls it at Diana, with no small amount of force.

Diana leaps fifteen feet into the air, intercepts the pass, and with a glimmering of light on her silver vambraces, twists in the air and hurls it like a missile at one of her sisters, before her feet ever touch the ground.

"My thanks!" Diana calls, waving once at Robyn and flashing an exultant grin. She charges across the field just in time for one of her sisters to complete another pass to a 'touchdown', and the Amazons let out war cries of victory. The gathered opponents groan and the crowd begins to disperse a bit, the four Amazons walking over to their impromptu picnic area to drink water and eat some of the food they'd brought along.

A few more bites and away goes the hotdog, with mild clapping from the two unencumbered Cuckoos with the third joining in once she's gotten past the chewing part of that last bite and cleaned her hands off with the remaining napkins. They start to move forward as the general crowd starts to disperse, arrowing towards one of the other Amazons that've come along with Diana on the afternoon outing; pretty much exactly in a broadhead-like formation too, with the five girls spreading out to present a mobile screen against getting in the way without a risk of trampling, "Hello." It's a four-part harmony, with the fifth Cuckoo waving in exasperation while she's still swallowing the last bit of lunch, her eyes taking on a phosphorescent glow momentarily before all five are capable of small-talk with the junior Amazon that's part of the retinue. Small things. Weather. Wind variations. That familiar Central Park smell. Etc.

Zatanna does slow down for Hyde, though she continues to move toward the commotion. "Huh?" she says, turning to look at the tall, muscular man. "Where did it go?" Zatanna pauses for a moment, then shrugs. "You'd have to ask the table that. What it does when it's off-duty is none of my business, really." Zee says it with a straight face, and then winks and breaks into a wide grin.

The grin returns swiftly when Diana jumps twelve miles into the sky to play especially hardcore Frisbee. "Wooooo!" Zatanna cries, and then puts two fingers into her mouth to whistle. "Go Diana!" She's at the fringe of the crowd, but maybe she can still be heard.

And Hyde takes Zatanna completely straight, although he's never seen a table with a mind of its own, until now. Something new and strange and he just missed it, a small sense of his bewilderment and wonder written in his expression. He'd ask if she could bring it back, but not if the table's off duty. That might be rude. He can't help but follow as Zatanna's attention draws away from him to the Frisbee fight, but he's too fascinated with magic to let it go. "Does it have a name?"

The only reaction the girl with green pullover has for the cheerful greeting of Diana is a harsh nod, which is somewhat respectful for the stunt she just pulled to catch it. Then she turns to grab something from the tree, pulling out her backpack and a thin, long fabric bag with a strap on it. Both of them get secured to her back within a few moments, and then she looks back at the gathering people over her shoulder, the only working eye darting over the area while the dead, golden globe stays hidden under the eye patch. Shall they cheer for their Diana-girl...

Diana walks to the Cuckoos and with a perfect diplomatic motion, greets them all individually and at once- a touch of the shoulder, a gentle clasping of hands, a few flashes of a smile, and then she's gone, leaving the junior Amazon to talk with the quintuplets.

"Why do you all look identical?" the younger Amazon says with a blunt frown, her auburn hair a bit mussed from the activity. "Is that common among humans? I'm Pylla, by the way," she says, introducing herself.

Diana's head whips around at the whistle and catcall, and she spots Zatanna immediately. She lifts up onto her toes and waves enthusiastically, then with long-legged steps, moves to meet the other woman. With enthusiasm, she hugs Zatanna tightly and then gives her a warm kiss, cupping the woman's cheek for a breath. "Hello, Zatanna! What are you doing at the park today?" she inquires of the Mistress of Magic, giving her hand a squeeze. "And who is your friend?" she asks, looking at Hyde with curiosity.

Not expecting the personal touch, the Cuckoos step up the politeness from near-supercilious to finishing-school dignity, with matching - of course - smiles and even a synchronized wave of the right hands as Diana passes by to talk with her friends. Their attention refocuses to Pylla with five short, quick nods, "We're an anomaly compared to others. It's hard to define common; do you mean for our social, economic, racial or personal background?" Three of the Cuckoos face towards Pylla, holding back some of the full-force chorus effect that makes even their soft voices pretty attention getting. The other two kind of let their attention wander; coincidentally it's the two holding the chess sets, with a mild if floating interest towards stalk Robyn.

Zatanna looks to Hyde again. "No," she says, casually. "It's a table." Before Zee can elaborate on what that means, she's hugged and kissed, in that order. So much for not making the front page of Imgur!

Zee's breath tastes like wine, but at least it's expensive merlot.

"Oh, you know, just in the park, hanging out," Zee says, even though she's dressed for a show. Then again... she's always dressed for a show. "This is..." Zee's arm settles around Diana's waist comfortably, as she looks to Hyde. "...a table enthusiast I've just met."

Hyde lacks the glazed-over gaze of a starstruck fan when Diana comes over to talk to him (by proxy). He treats her the way he treats everyone he's just met, like a longtime friend. "Hyde," is his response, along with a warm if not dumb grin as he waits for the two famous women to introduce themselves. The man's right hand is offered to shake. He really has no idea who they are.

Robyn was clearly carefully from her movements, the long bag containing something like a staff or similar. As she once more turned the head towards the group behind her, she noticed the two Cuckoos eying for her, the intact eye staying on the left of them, while her hands searched the pockets of her sweater, hiding that they were pressing together to fists. It took a while in which she stared back at the one, her body tensed up and immobile.

Pylla considers the cuckoos thoughtfully. "I mean, as humans," she repeats. "Are there many humans who are identical to one another? No two Themyscirans look the same- we're each crafted from the clay of the earth by the Goddesses. But, that makes us all sisters. Are you all sisters?" Clearly, the concept of quintuplets is a new one for Pylla.

Diana rests her arm around Zee's mid-back- even with the heels on; Zatanna is a few inches shorter than the Princess, who barefoot stands an even 6' tall. "Good day to you," Diana says with polite courtesy to Hyde, shaking his hand. Firmly. "I did not know tables were subject for enthusiasm. Are you a collector?" she says, taking Zatanna's statement a bit too literally. "I am the Princess Diana of Themyscira," she explains with a very slight but formal nod. Even wearing gym clothes, she looks like a creation of the gods, though the vambraces and the tiara are an odd contrast to the casual dress.

Zatanna is an odd contrast to casual dress just in general. "Zatanna," she says to introduce herself, also offering a handshake. "I'd list my titles and accomplishments, but... well, when you go second after Diana, it all sounds so much less cool." She gives Diana the barest pinch.

"It's not quite that simple." The three-part harmony addressing Pylla is pleasant, with more obvious smiles among the three girls facing the Amazon. Elaboration takes a few moments until they've heard that Pylla has to say, however, "And yes, we're all sisters. Oh, our understanding of Themysciran society is far from complete, but from what we do know there're a lot of similarities. Our mentor has been very helpful in pointing us to other similar societies though none have been as complete or as long lasting as Themyscira, from what we understand." Flattery never hurts, though the quality of it is a bit strained. The two Cuckoos with their eyes on Robyn seem relaxed enough but there is a little shift, just a subtle thing like a school of fish eddying out of the way of a cross current, that has the other three keeping Robyn in their field of vision too now.

The grip surprises Hyde who winces when the princess squeezes a touch too tight, so his handshake is given more cautiously to Zatanna. The whole table thing is his own fault, but he's a little dim to understand that the magician could be poking fun at him. A negative shake of his head answers Diana's question, his attention switching from one woman to the other. "I just really like magic. Can you show me how to do it?" Nothing big. Just a little request.

Seconds pass, then Robyn's single eye gets averted from the one quintuple she had stared upon and turned to the other one that had looked at her with longer interest. Her mind raced, the hands clenched in the pockets of the sweater. Were they up for the bounty? It was still hanging over her. Another three seconds passed, then she turned fully towards the gathering, the backpack and the bow in its bag moving a bit on the back of hers.

Pylla looks at where the Cuckoos are staring, then looks askance at the trio addressing her. "Is she a foe of yours?" the junior Amazon asks, looking at Robyn again, then turning as well so she can keep an eye on the one-eyed girl as well, her expression idly curious. She's clearly prepared to treat Robyn as a threat if need be, but by the same token, as Robyn makes her approach, she assumes a polite posture, trying to look 'friendly' but coming off more haughty than anything.

Diana barely reacts to the pinch, but smiles back down at Zatanna, squeezing the woman against her side again. "Zatanna is very good at magic. She has tricked me many times with her ability to make coins appear from nowhere, or made a ball disappear from her open palm."

"No, not quite. We're quite easy to get along with, Pylla." All five of the girls turning towards the younger Amazon, each of them bobs their head in a down-the-line sequence as well as making a brief wave too, "It was nice to meet you. We'll have to speak again sometime, but this probably is something we should address. Enjoy the weather while it lasts~"

Parting as politely as can be, they all turn as one and get on the move; again in that chevron formation with one girl at the lead - one of the Cuckoos carrying a chess set, actually - and the others fanning out at either side, two to the left and two to the right. Kept somewhat narrow to avoid being a path-blocking wedge in the park of course, since walking space comes at a premium in this city even when out in the park, "Excuse us." A little 'peek' forward from the Cuckoos to get an idea of just where this kind of confrontation is going, as they make a psychic look-see into Robyn's head for a second while just one of them takes up speaking duties as the rest go quiet, "Something wrong? We seem to be blocking your view."

"My ball-handling skills are very well praised indeed," Zatanna says, with a perfectly straight face, while being squeezed. "But there are three things you need to understand how to perform magic," she says.

"The first is stagecraft. The second is cold reading -- just a bit. And the third is hsihsah Hsikrut fo pitefink a -- you know, the magic words." As she talks, she moves her hand this way and that, gesticulating. Diana can hear what Zee says under her breath, but only just. Her murmuring skills are unparalleled. But a second later, Zee removes her hand from Diana's hip. She presses her palms together -- and when she pulls them apart, she's holding a handtowel at both ends, apparently pulled from thin air. She leans back against Diana, mopping the Amazon's brow faintly. "You are SWEATY."

The Quintuples move closer to the scared one-eyed, but her reaction is cold, and she eventually pulls the left hand from the pocket, holding it almost artificially flat and nonthreatening as she searches for her side, the fingers searching for a bulge under the pullover just in front of her pelvic bone, which was a switchback knife. As they speak with just on of theirs, the blue eye darts towards the one, her head shaking once. "Not blocking my view really, but Quintuples in all exactly same size? Either your mom must be a breeder, or someone payed a bunch of surrogate mothers."

Coins and balls aren't exactly what he had in mind. He's been shown those before and they hold no mystery. Hyde's ears are uncanny but, even upon hearing the backward-spoken tongue, it's just gibberish to him. Now, conjuring a large object from nowhere, that's more like it, but it's not instructional and it was way too quick for him to pick up. The act itself has impressed him, given the newfound wonder in his blue eyes, but it just raises more questions.

Diana lets Zee mop her brow, then accepts the towel and without any sense of self-consciousness, starts wiping her arms and chest town. She is indeed wearing a fine sheen of sweat, no doubt due to the highly athletic motions she'd been going through.

"As I said, she's very good," Diana says with a slight smile. /This/ trick, she knows and understands, though she doesn't let on. There's magic and there's /magic/. Zatanna is among the best at both.

"We really wouldn't know either way." The lead Cuckoo takes a half-step back, her sisters take a half-step forward, and all five of them close ranks to a line out of easy reach - maybe not a quick lunge - from Robyn with a touch of nerves there. Not nervousness per se, just the edginess any clean-cut troupe of preppies is bound to run across when chatting up strangers on the street. Or in the park. Whatever. "But if you're going to be rude, why don't you make like a tree, and go..." It's not what you say but how you say it. Hopefully that's true, because what the Cuckoos suggest probably isn't physically possible for Robyn without a great deal of manual dexterity to make up for the lacking depth perception. Gracefully sweeping back to a more self-contained cluster, all five of the Cuckoos sweep their arms out and to the side, pointing further along the park pathway and clearing the way.

Zatanna's usual response to being asked how she does magic is to do something literally impossible, that human hands can't replicate on their own. Part of it is to maintain the mystique about her stage magic. Another part of it is because she's a show off. See also, her PDAs with Diana.

Since Hyde is busy staring, Zee just circles her other arm around Diana, intentionally making it a bit difficult to wipe herself dry. "What if I LIKE you sweaty?" she trills in a teasing sing-song... and then sees past Diana, the Robyn/Cuckoos situation. "Diana," Zatanna says, her voice shifting into Serious Justice League mode. "Keep an eye over there. Might be something going down."

Hyde is still listening, but his hearing is divided as the man leans his head to look around the two overly friendly women for a glimpse of the potential altercation beyond, and to listen in with his bestial hearing. It's as though Zatanna read his mind. He's a guy who loves to see people get along, so the building tension in the other group is aggitating him. He's not about to go barking and running amidst ankles to break it up, yet.

"Great, the first bunch of clones I see is a chorusline which wants me to strip in public." Robyn snerks, the hand on her hip twitching a moment as the fingers find the button she would have to upp up to get access to it. Sometimes depth perception does matter, sometimes it is not really needed. For what the strawberry blonde does now, it for sure does not matter. "Because the word is leave, and trees let their leafs fall. Sorry girls, not going to show you that." The bag over her shoulder slowly slides to the side, then begins to fall, the left hand darting back to catch it, the blue eye still gazing along the line of five.

Diana looks over at the altercation and nods once at Zee, then strides over to where Robyn and the girls seem on the verge of a fight. "Is there a problem?" The word 'children' goes unsaid, but the glory of Diana's visage is two-fold; it makes her a ravishing beauty, but also very usefully, can make her appear like a nightmarish conflation of every authority figure anyone's ever had in their lives. Her expression is quite stern, and she obviously doesn't miss Robyn's furitive motion in her pocket, playing with a weapon.

Without Robyn being the one to leave, the Cuckoos let their arms flap to their sides after another few seconds of offering the invitation to vamoose. It's like an Ethel Merman routine the way their eyes go up, roll to the sides, and then splash back down again all as one. "If this is a weird rough trade thing, we're not interested in such a creepy approach." Still giving it a few seconds there is a distinct back-step from each of the girls before they start to turn, and then head along towards the trail leading to the southern section of the park. Coming to a stop just then for Diana though, that is a presence that demands a bit more explanation, "We've never considered it polite to stare." Going along the odds, 1 - 3 - 5, and then back along the evens, the Cuckoos flash smiles like poorly-wired christmas lights, "You'll have to excuse us though, we'd prefer not to be mixed into anything like this on our weekend."

Hyde watches with his jaw agape. He wouldn't have gone over there yet, giving the girls the benefit of the doubt to solve their own problems. With the make-up of the people present, a good number of bystanders have withdrawn cell phones to Youtube or Liveleak all of this. Anytime superheroes show up, things have a good chance of throwing down, so there's a good deal of disappointment when the unhinged sisters show intent on exiting stage south. Whether or not Zatanna notices, the man tries waiting for her to look away before he flickers out of sight. One second he's there, and then he's gone. At least it's caught on half a dozen cameras and will most certainly show up on the net somewhere.

"They started and told me to do like the tree and leave." Robyn remarks towards Diana as she moves the bag that had slipped from her shoulder to the front, getting a better hold upon the bow in it. "Just said I'm not gonna do a strip in the public."

"As long as you cause no trouble," Diana informs Robyn politely. Seeing the woman not immediately prepared to pick a fight, and the girls departing, Diana takes a step back, then turns to face Zatanna, keeping Robyn in her peripheral vision. "I think we're headed back to the Embassy soon, actually," Diana informs the dark-haired magician. "You can come with us and relax if you like?" the Amazon says, inviting Zatanna to join their little group.

"Sure," Zatanna replies with a grin. "I've been looking for some new ways to feel terrible about my abs lately." She winks, obviously not meaning the comment seriously, and moves with Diana to join the group for adventure.

Robyn shruggs slowly, the right hand leaving it's pocket to push the hood of her pullover onto her head again. "Whatever you say..." is all she comments as she turns to leave, the bow in the bag in front of her again getting tucked to her back, more securely this time.