2013.08.18 - Nothing to Fear...

A warm August evening is the perfect time for a free concert in Central Park. Several local bands and singers have gotten together to put this show on, looking to brighten everyone's weeks. Of course there are places to buy the music from each performance and booths to donate to charity. Posters have been showing up around the city for this all week and a crowd has gathered to enjoy the show. Right now a young woman's on stage with her band singing about squirrels of all things and the crowd seems to be in a good enough mood. There's an unease in the air though. Not anything specific, just a general rise in anxiety that people are feeling.

Not very far from the concert area where the crowd is gathered, three robed figures stand around some arcane symbols drawn on a concrete slab with what appears to be blood. Various bits of magical trinkets and pieces of things best left undescribed rest within those symbols and the figures stand at triangle points. They're aware of the movements of two darker forces and tonight they make a bid to earn their master power before it's too late.

Closer to the concert is Axiom. He's real close...hidden up in the rigging above the stage. In uniform and armor, he's taking a short break to enjoy the show...mostly because he's pretty sure people will be mad at him if he drives himself nuts with research and investigations of the Chthon and Malekith problems.

Having met a little ways off, by one of the fountains, Fern and Leo arrive walking along one of the paths. The pair are clearly together, talking as they approach the growing crowd. Fern looks mildly surprised as she says, "What, the Bullshark failed before? It seemed to work just as it should this time." Not really. Her attention shifts as they near. "Bigger crowd than I thought there would be." But it is a free concert, and free is a magic word.

Leo moves to place a hand lightly on Fern's lower back, "Just try not to get lost," he teases her slightly. "And I'm sure the communication failure was all planned, along with the appearance of Thor." Again, humor in Leo's tone as he uses sarcastic words. But they do not come off as overly cruel, as he honestly does find Fern amusing as all get out. His eyes though scan the crowd, as he takes in the music. Leo is an alert individual, trained before he was even permitted out in public; never take things at face value.

Dressed in civilian clothes, 'Chris', aka Lor-Zod, is in the crowd, though near the edge. It's not really much of a disguise, just a change of clothes, but being small he's likely just another kid there to enjoy the music to most of the audience, and not drawing much attention.

"Tt." Damian makes a dismissive sound under his breath as he walks in the concert looking more than a little ill at ease. He's actually got ear buds in and a plain white t-shirt with his blue jeans. He looks fairly relaxed as he wanders about. Not really enjoying the company that he's currently in or enjoying the music too much. Music's just never been something that he has much experience with since he was raised purely for two tasks. As it is, he's begun to enjoy various types and this just isn't it. He's here to donate money in the name of the Wayne family and that's it.

Alert and observant is a good thing. Those types of people will notice the unease growing first. And then it begins. Various trees and flat surfaces have different posters on them. Not ones for the concert...ones that no one can seem to figure out. They hold an odd symbol...a symbol that suddenly starts glowing. A fog begins to creep into the area, growing thickly and making many people lose sight of their own feet. Mere moments later, the air itself begins to feel heavier and a few feet behind the crowds by one of those charity booths, the ground itself starts to burn and someone screams. A shadowy figure seems to fade slowly into view. Nine feet tall, humanoid, and sporting four muscled arms it's there but not quite there yet. Looking at this odd shadowy thing for too long will bring on greater feelings of anxiety and even a little paranoia. A deep chilling laugh comes from it and a few people that have noticed it yell and try to get away. Others think it's just special effects for the show.

Up in the stage rigging, Axiom frowns when he spots the trouble going on. "Wh-what the..." he trails off quietly.

Fern's not quite so observant as Leo is, her attention more on him than the feeling of the crowd. "Don't lose me," she tosses back lightly. It's a glowing poster that first catches her eye, "Oh cool, the posters glow." Even the fog might have been dismissed as machine made. But the very large, many armed creature is a little bit harder to explain. She takes a step closer to her companion, frowning, even wincing at that laugh. "Leo?"

Leo felt something was 'off', but couldn't pinpoint him. He has never felt magic before, and he has never seen a crowd in a panic before. But when the glowing poster is pointed out, "That's...," not right. Well...least he gets a semi-answer with the very large and many armed creature. And here he is, supposed to keep his powers a secret for now still, in his nice clothes, with his already newly replaced phone, and...

Leo calmly moves to unclip his phone from his belt and holds it out to Fern, "Can you keep this safe for me? If I break another one, Father may not let me replace it," he says with seriousness. And he just hopes his Father doesn't murder him for whatever he ends up deciding to do today. He then clears his throat, "Now, perhaps we should exit from the flight path of the growing panicky crowd," and he starts to lead Fern off to the side where she will have some cover behind a short stone wall, like the ones often surrounding public park concert areas. He is smiling slightly, aiming not to show his uncertainty to Fern, though in reality he is thinking of how the hell he is supposed to evacuate people without revealing his powers!

Lor-Zod catches sight of the glowing symbols first, and blinks, his smile fading as he steps out away from the crowd. Ducking behind a tree as he notices the fog roll in, and an instant later he's flying out in costume. Normally, he'd probably give a warning, but the fear he feels just looking at the creature spurs him on and he's immediately on the attack, flying in to try to knock it away from the crowd.

The figure and the fog gets Damian to go,"tt." again. The young teen glaring at the creature as if it he were more annoyed at its presence than truly afraid. However, given the bat family being afraid and wanting to fight it do often go hand in hand. The crowd is examined as he considers his options. He doesn't have a suit with him and he's only got about five or six knives hidden away on his person. It was meant to be a light stroll after all. He schools his appearance and begins yelling for people to run, feigning fear that he doesn't really feel.

Flying at the creature turns out to be a very bad idea. It's not entirely solid yet and Lor-Zod goes right through it. As he does, he'll find himself hit with fear. Like being doused in ice water, the misty form of the creature dregs up things the young Kryptonian fears and forces them to the front of his mind. Like a nightmare when awake. Of course the misty creature just laughs. "A mortal not of this world. Quite interesting," it laughs.

Between the panic spreading and the calls to run from different people, the crowd's moving. At least most are. Some are too busy screaming and trying to fight or get away from things only they seem able to see. Others have fallen, either shoved by the crowd or passed out cold. The music has stopped as well, the performers abandoning their gear save for the drummer who's cowering behind some speakers. Those still running only make it as far as the glowing posters before something stops them. A faintly glowing red barrier that only seems to be there when people try to leave. You can come in but you can't get back out it seems.

Axiom meanwhile has seen enough. Carefully making his way down from his perch, he's hopping onto the stage and grabbing a mic. "Ladies and gentlemen! Please r-remain calm! Take cover and help one another. Don't worry, we'll handle that thing," he calls out, voice amplfied by the microphone. There's a momentary pause in the crowd, a few people calming but it doesn't last long, the shadowy creature growling as it becomes more and more solid. "The Thorson, not one of those brats accursed Odin has been making me fight but close enough," he rumbles. As he becomes more solid, he becomes more clear. Purple fur, tusks from the lower jaw, and those powerful looking arms...the Lurking Unknown has been brought to Earth for a short time. Time it hopes to use to gain power by feeding on the fear of the mortals present.

Fern automatically takes Leo's phone when he hands it over, slipping it into her skirt pocket with her own phone. She follows his lead, but protests softly, "We should help people get out." She is thoroughly clueless to any exceptional things Leo is capable of, and in light of that can't really blame him for wanting to get clear of trouble like most people do. Still, it becomes a non-issue as their progress is halted short of their destination by the barrier. "No, we can't go that way," she says, turning to take hold of Leo's arm, looking to him. Thankfully she was spared from impact with the obstruction by others who ran into it before her, and the bright flashes of red as a result would look downright festive in different circumstances. She looks to the stage as Axiom takes the mic, immediately frowning deeper as something about him seems familiar, but her eyes go right back to Leo.

That is when Leo watches and...learns. Trapped, which greatly displeases him. And the monster is calling out information that should not be so easily obtained. Leo decides he does not wish to get close to -it-. Sure, most people likely wouldn't remember whatever the monster said, but a few could, and Leo has his secrets he is...protective of. He forces a smile on his face as he looks down at Fern, "Alright, we will do something. First, this area is somewhat safe from trampling, I want you to stay here. When someone passes close, we try to calm them and get them thinking straight. It may not seem like a lot, but if we can even calm one person, they can help calm another, and so on. Just be careful, they could lash out at you blindly Fern."

Leo refuses to panic! He is a LUTHOR for goodness sake! Luthors do NOT panic. Absolutely NOT. Awwww man, his Father is going to -murder- him!

Lor-Zod falls to the ground after passing through the creature, and when he picks himself up he's saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can do better..." Then he pauses, shaking his head a little as if to clear it, but he's now totally distracted and barely even noticing the creature behind him.

Panicking isn't in Damian's nature. No matter how scared he is. Damian is both a Wayne and a member of the Al Ghul family. He gets a knife from his pocket and and twirls it a little bit as he watches the big purple thing. He keeps the weapon mostly hidden on the inside of his wrist as he tries to make his way towards the Lurking Unknown. Purple Fur and big tusks and grotesque musculature, these things Damian notes and will have to file away to have a nightmare about it some time. However, he doesn't have time for that. "Father, I'm sorry but I may have to break my word." He mutters under his breath.

It's true that most people aren't going to remember tonight as anything other than a really bad dream. That's just the effect the Lurking Unknown has on plain ordinary people. People keep panicking, some beating on the barrier near Fern frantically while yelling about things like bees and spiders and snakes (oh my!) that don't exist.

The Lurking Unknown doesn't seem all that concerned with the people in the way, ignoring them even as it knocks some out of the way. "Where's the Thunderer, whelp? I owe him for years ago," the beast bellows, approaching the stage.

Axiom meanwhile curses softly. The masked teen focuses on his teammate Lor and reaches out to boost him. Along with the usual rush of power, Lor will feel that fear lift right off him like a weight off his shoulders. Hope and faith are useful for chasing off fear it seems.

The bellow of the beast washes through Fern like cold water in her veins, and she glances over at it, freezing for a moment. It's like looking directly into one of the things she fears most in the world, that she usually only has to face in nightmares. She drags her eyes back to Leo, puts her effort into focusing on him, nodding to his words. Then she does what she always does when she's terrified. Puts her energy into ignoring it and doing something for others. "Yes, I'll be careful, Leo," she says softly, only the faintest tremor in her voice. She turns, stepping toward a woman that looks older than she is herself, who is frantically brushing her hands over herself, muttering about spiders, her voice getting higher, into the range of near panic. "It's ok," Fern says gently, hands out as she approaches, to either comfort or fend off an attack. "There's nothing there... really."

Leo looks at Fern, really studies her. Alright, he's impressed. But he may as well make true on his words. He is approaching someone as well, keeping an eye on Fern for her safety. "Hey man, whoa! Chill out, you are seeing things. It isn't anything there, I'm serious. Just take a deep breath and think logically for a moment. Would things just 'magically' appear like that? Seriously? It was likely something in the water. So just ignore the loud sounds and other strange things, and stay calm. It will be over soon." Leo -hopes-. Cause if he has to get involved, he...really doesn't want to get involved, cause if he does, that thing better keep his trap shut cause he will rip it apart...somehow, someway.

Lor-Zod blinks again as the fear washes off of him, and noticing that familiar sensation looks around quickly, and waves as he spots Axiom. Then, though, he's up into the air again. This time, he doesn't approach the creature too closely, but flies so he's facing the creature from the opposite direction of the crowd, calling, "Hey! Don't count me out so fast." He glares at the purple creature to let loose a blast of heat vision at its back.

Sneaking his way over until he's able to get close enough that he is sure that he can manage it, Damian finally throws the knife that he had in his hand towards the Lurking Unknown. He's trying to make sure it goes into it, although he's not too sure wear the thing's heart is, so he'll settle for just hitting the thing and seeing if the weapon will even do any good. Lor-Zod's heat vision is noticed. "Tt." Comes from him. When did Superman spawn a kid? He makes a note to mention it to his father later.

The knife finds it's mark. It's hard to miss something big like the Lurking Unknown. It sinks in about halfway, a thick black blood oozing out from the wound. The beast doesn't seem to hurt by it but it does get his attention. The creature turns to look at Damian and he'll find the fear pressing at him more intensely. Before the beast can do much more, Lor-Zod's heat vision cuts a burning path in the fur and the creature bellows out in anger and pain. Turning to face the small Kryptonian, the beast swipes at him with thick claws.

The man that Leo grabs doesn't seem all that there. He's busy yelling about rats and trying to get away from. Until something hits him. The way the clone of a clone is hoping is helping and getting the man to calm down. "Wh-what? What're you talking about?"

Things are just getting worse by Fern. She'll start seeing actual spiders that no one else seems to. Big ones too that'll start chasing her. But if she pays attention...she might notice something. Sure there are still red flashes all around from people trying to get through the barrier, but one area is surprisingly dark. Axiom meanwhile is leaving the stage. Staff in hand, he's rushing towards the Lurking Unknown...but keeps stopping to help up people that have fallen but not passed out.

''Fear is contagious. You can catch it.'' The words, from a well known author, are proving more than true in the contained area. The woman Fern is trying to help isn't calming, her voice still rising in pitch, and her rantings about spiders is starting to play into Fern's own fear. "It's all in your mind," Fern says as she touches the woman, "It's not really..." The words stop and blue eyes widen, a short cry coming from Fern as she jerks her hand away from the woman and shakes it, as if to dislodge something. To her, there's a tarantula clinging to her arm, and as it falls, Fern notices another spider on the ground, as big as a labrador puppy. The woman is forgotten for a moment as Fern backs up, her eyes darting around for an avenue of escape. The red flashes are like a strobe, and Fern's gaze sweeps quickly past people, the young woman turning, then pausing, looking back. And she notices that dark patch. Some might just dart for it themselves, but Fern turns, because she came here with someone and she's not leaving alone. She moves to Leo and the man he's helping quickly, grabbing Leo's arm, pointing as she says breathlessly, "It's dark... I think there's an open spot..." Although she can't quite be sure if it's open, or if others are just avoiding that spot for some reason.

The heat vision even catches Leo's attention though! Well, explains the 'not from this planet' comment from the dark being. Leo scowls darkly up at the sky. He finally says to the man when the creature is being damaged, "They are -illusions-. Make believe, only in your head. Your fear gives them power, blinds you to the truth. Just chill the f#$* out and pet the rats, cause they are less threatening than a piece of grass cause they are -NOT- real." And then finally, "Ah, screw this. What am I thinking? This is the most ineffective means of assisting the situation as there is." Leo grumbles at his cowardliness. He lets the guy go, and suddenly he is by Fern. "Fern, keep trying to help. Remember..oh, I don't know, fear is the mindkiller." It's a Dune quote. But he then says, "If it is blocked, I don't think it will hurt you, the others get knocked back, but nothing major. Try it. If it's a hole, call for others to join you," he informs Fern.

Leo is then moving, running mostly normalish as he heads toward a stone bench. He takes a deep breath, "Please don't regret this," he whispers beneath his breath. He then leans over a bit to touch the stone bench. As he lifts it and flings it, he does so from the waist. And he throws it with all his strength toward the monster's head...that high up and in that direction...it would land well past the stage if it went through and likely wouldn't harm anyone. There are slight holes on the ground where Leo's feet twisted as he threw powerfully.

Lor-Zod flies back a bit, pulling back just far enough to be missed by the claws, and then lashes out with another blast of heat vision. Trying to lead the creature away from the crowd. He's not one of those chatty superheroes, he's just fighting and doing his best to keep its attention through action.

Kneeling down, Damian has a minor tremor in his right hand for a moment when the fear hits him but he otherwise keeps his emotions under tight control. He pulls his jeans leg up a little reveal quite a few knives and he pulls one from the holster. Breathing in slowly, the teen hero tries to relax his body and only after a moment does he finally throw the blade, aiming for the beastie's eyes. "tt." He mutters as he stays low, trying to be hard to find.

The others aren't so much avoiding the spot as not noticing it at all. They're running right by it like it's not even there. Should Fern follow it, she'll find two more glowing posters on a pair of trees but will be able to slip between the trees. A short path and she'll come upon three cloaked men around their little magic triangle. All three have heads bowed and are chanting in voices that just don't seem right.

The Lurking Unknown is not a happy fear monster. He's not following Lor-Zod, mostly thanks to that heat vision cutting another burning patch on his body. "What is this?! A child like you shouldn't be able to harm me!" he bellows out. There's another pained yell as he gets a knife in the eye. The beast pulls it out quickly but before it can retaliate, there's a bench to the head. Stumbling and trying to shake off a daze, the creature glares in Leo's direction. "Now a golem," it growls, one of those four hands lifting and pointing at Leo. Another points at Lor. Both glow before balls of glowing purple fire are launched at them both.

In the crowd, the fear seems to be ebbing away. Especially around Axiom and when the adopted asgardian prince steps up to check on someone near Damian, the littlest Bat will find the fear lifting right off him too. "Don't worry, people. It's all j-just fake. Tricks. We'll beat that monster and s-save you all," Axiom's urging people, encouraging others to help people up and away from danger. He has no idea what if any effect he's having on the fear spell.

One day, when they make a movie about this concert gone wrong, there will be a desperate kiss in the moment before Leo goes, a bittersweet portrayal of a first kiss that might also be the last for either one of them. But this ain't the movies. Fern nods automatically, then looks puzzled, "But what..." And Leo pulls away and starts running. "Leo!" Fern yells after him, not attempting to follow. She's still watching as he lifts the bench and hurls it. "Oh." It's a small sound of surprise, lost in the tumult going on. She takes a moment to think /Aren't there any 'normal' boys any more?/, before she turns and gets moving. Not yet knowing what the dark spot will bring, she makes a beeline for it alone, weaving through the crowd. When she reaches the gap, Fern cautiously steps through, sure that she's going to get fried like a moth in a bug zapper. But no. She's about to call to others to come through when she hears something.... chanting? She follows the path and stops when she sees the men, engrossed in what they're doing. It only takes her a moment to jump to a conclusion, she's an avid horror fan, after all. That looks like a spell, so she's going to disrupt it. Or try. And she takes off running, glad she wore her good sandals, and attempts to run full speed, full body, into one of the figures.

And that...if only Leo knew, he would die right now in shame. It never crossed his mind! Suddenly, he really wishes he was a normal boy, a real living boy! Alright, so the golem part got him, along with Fern's internal thoughts, and he can swear he can see the thought bubbles. Still, the purple fire -stuff-...well, that is not normal ladies and gentleman. Therefore, Leo is going to declare DODGE! And he isn't even a true geek.

Leo leaps off to the side with inhuman speed, landing in a roll and then coming back to his feet. And of course, he aimed practically for another bench that...darn people, he passes that one for his next bit of ammo. "Ah, here we go," and TOSS! For some reason...his hair feels like it is standing on end, his skin feels itchy, and his stomach is rolling. He wasn't even hit by that purple thing and it...whatever it is, it is bad. His Father is -so- going to kill him when he gets home. Maybe he can hide out at Fern's place? Under the bed. Maybe she will forgive him for not stealing the kiss.

Uh-oh, that fireball thing doesn't look good. Much like Leo, Lor-Zod dodges. Unlike Leo, he dodges straight into the sky, at a few thousand miles per hour. He waits long enough for the fireball to miss, and then he's flying back down. He's braving another physical attack, but this time aiming so his whole body won't pass through the creature if it doesn't work, just his arm. And if he misses, he'll hopefully hit the ground with enough force at its feet to jostle it.

Staying low, Damian lets out a sigh of relief when when the fear lifts. He hates these things. However, he's not sure what he can do. It's pretty obvious that his blades are not doing anything other than annoying it. His blue eyes watch the lurking menace and his brain begins trying to find the possible scenarios to deal with the thing. It seems to be able to be hurt, but not seriously by things. So he just holds a knife ready as he tries to think of what to do.

It's a very good thing that Leo and Damian dodged those fireballs, the trees struck by them instead seeming to wither away like the life was being burned out of them rather than any burning happening. Another tossed object from Leo distracts the Lurking Unknown from firing another blast and makes an opening for Lor-Zod's punch to come through...and punch a hole clear through the beast. The bits of monster that get punched through turn into that same black sludge that oozes out of the cuts Damian's made. The creature roars again and stumbles back.

It looks like Fern is having good luck now. The man she hits goes sprawling and knocks over another. This snaps them all out of their chanting. "Kill her!" the one still standing commands, taking a knife from his belt. Back by the Lurking Unknown, there's a noticeable change. The big purple beast is starting to look less solid.

Fern manages to keep her feet beneath her, shifting her weight to pull back as the man goes the other way. She stands for a second, not sure if that accomplished anything. Until the guy gives the order to kill her. Fern isn't going to just wait with that hanging in the air, so she turns and moves to sprint down the path. She just got this dress, she doesn't want blood all over it. Especially not her blood. The one thing she's got going for herself right now is that she's small and relatively quick on her feet. Not knowing if he's anywhere near, Fern still screams out, "Leo!"

His name! He...has never really heard his name screamed before, it causes him to pause. And then poor Lor-Zod is by himself with the monster, because Leo is suddenly gone. He is heading toward the opening that he remembers Fern mentioning, and then he is there, catching Fern with one arm, and slamming a foot down toward the men chasing after Fern. The stomp isn't just a threat though, it literally cracks the ground open, and sends dirt and rocks flying upward as he infuses his stomp to send out strong vibrations in the thugs direction. "Hands off," his tone obviously threatening and warning of great danger, a slight glow of red to his pupils briefly during the power use.

Lor-Zod loops back around and into the air, shaking sludge off his hand. He doesn't try that kind of attack again, as the creature starts to become less solid, but returns to his heat vision, now making sure if it passes through the creature he won't hit anything but grass.

"NOO!" The Lurking Unknown yells out, the heat vision forcing him back. He's losing more and more solidity, falling apart into sludge. "You useless mortals! I was so close!" his angry yelling trailing off to gurgling as it loses a jaw. Axiom skids to a halt in time to watch the creature collapsing into a puddle and the ooze evaporating like it was never even there.

The first thug after Fern gets sent sprawling, clonking his head on some roots and passing out cold. The other two, seeing their fellow creepy robe enthusiast up ahead, start chanting quickly. Spell ready, they toss glowing purple knives at Leo and Fern.

Fern throws her arms around Leo and holds on, squeezing her eyes shut, half waiting for an impact or to be pulled backwards. Neither happen, but there's a moment of feeling like they're in an earthquake, as Leo stomps. With the healthy dose of fear for her life, she's got a surprisingly strong hold, and clings to him like a barnacle.

And then Leo moves. He doesn't let Fern go, knowing the safest place for her is at his side right now, but she will feel her feet not touching the ground anymore and if she looks things will seem a bit of a...blur?

Leo is a blur to the minions too, unless they are not base mortals perception wise. He moves behind one and jerks his elbow to the minion's head. He controls his strength to the poundage logically required to knock him out before he lifts a leg and just kicks a booted foot at the other guy's chest. He could actually go through the guy's chest, but he thinks that would be messy and Fern would disapprove, so once again he restrains himself and let's the tree greet the third guy if possible.

Lor-Zod flies over to land by Axiom as the creature vanishes, either unaware of the hidden side of the battle or, if he hears it, perhaps figuring that Leo's got it handled. "Thanks for helping me. Never felt anything like that before. It was weird."

The glowing knives sink into the trees behind Leo like they were slicing into warm butter. Probably good he dodged. The THUNK of the clone's elbow and boot hitting robed weirdo comes before dual pained noises and both go down like tons of bricks. It's the knocking out of all three of them that causes another reaction. All those glowing posters? They stop glowing.

Axiom dusts himself off and collapses his staff back down. "You don't have t-t-to thank me," he says, smiling to his teammate. "Huh? I've boosted you before..." he trails off, confused. "Did you see where that other guy went? He m-might still need a hand."

Fern chooses not to open her eyes, because she can feel the movement well enough to know that seeing it might just make her motion sick. When the movement stops Fern still waits another few pounding heartbeats, before cautiously opening her eyes. It takes her a few more seconds to move, taking a shaky breath as she pulls back enough to look at Leo. "The cops are probably on the way," she says softly. It's a statement of fact as well as serving to remind him. She doesn't know his situation, but many of the 'special' people she's met prefer to keep their 'business' and pleasure personas separate. "Are you alright?" she asks, genuine concern in her eyes. Concern that she doesn't show to the guys who wanted to off her, not even looking down at them scattered around on the ground.

Leo looks over at Fern, "I'm more worried about you. I'll be worried about me when my Father is in the same room as me." He then moves to actually take Fern's hand, "We have to go. Getting questioned by the police will make this much worse." He then leads Fern out of the little 'clearing' area, and when he reappears, he...thinks he sees Damian retrieving some knives and slipping away. He shakes his head. His eyes then land on Axiom and Lor-Zod. He waves a hand up in the air, hoping they notice, and then point toward the clearing area purposefully. He says mostly under his breath, though iffy if Lor-Zod thinks to listen in: "Cultists. Make sure the cops find them." He is then leading Fern away from the 'scene of the crime'. His expression is a bit stiff, and his movements aren't as graceful as they normally are. He...is really nervous about how his Father is going to react to this apparently.

Lor-Zod grins and shakes his head to Axiom, "Didn't mean the boost, meant what that thing made me feel. Scared, really scared, but of stuff that wasn't here. Scared of disappointing my parents, scared of being sent back to the Phantom Zone. Weird." Then he shakes his head, looking around again. Spotting Leo, he waves back and then nods to the quiet words. He says to Axiom, "Cultists summoned that thing, I guess?" He lifts up and flies over to where Leo indicated.

Axiom just blinks at Lor-Zod a few times. "Huh. I guess that stuff didn't work on me," he remarks with a shrug. "I'm glad it's not d-doing anything to you anymore," he adds. He spots Leo too and Lor-Zod answers his question before he can ask it. The mention of cultists gets him tensing. "Let's check it out," he says. Looks like the two Young Allies will handle the police and media, giving Leo plenty of time to get away with Fern.