2014.03.10 - Slugs on a Boat

The plan had been simple. Fox was going to rent a boat and take Eddie out for a nice spin around Liberty Island, have a little dinner aboard ship, and just generally try to relax now that all the crazy is dying down after Darkseid was defeated, at long last, by Superman.

Of course, things often fail to go according to plan.

Fox and Eddie put out to sea aboard the boat, and just as Fox has barely had a time to pour some sparkling cider and steal a kiss, quite suddenly, a distress flare splits the sky, exploding above a tour ship that was circling the island from the opposite direction.

Sighing as he leans against Eddie a bit, Fox says, "Well, that looks like trouble. Did you bring a costume?"

After his earlier adventure with Billy and Teddy, Eddie's arrived to meet Fox smelling of the ocean and with a slight tan. He'd definitely been surprised by Fox's plan and he's stayed close to Fox in the boat. Dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved Spider-Man shirt, he blushed after the kiss. The flare going off makes him jump and almost spill cider on himself. When asked about his costume, Eddie nods and picks up his backpack from where he stashed it. "It's in h-here."

"Better suit up! Mine's below. Be right back." Fox turns and ducks down into the ship's cabin, where he gets his costume things together.

Meanwhile, Eddie will be able to see dark things climbing up out of the water along the sides of the tour ship...

"W-w-wait," Eddie squeaks. He's not about to get changed out in the open like that. He frowns a moment and looks towards the ship. Frowning, Eddie fishes his binoculars out of his backpack and peers through them to see what those things are.

Just a minute or so later, The Fox emerges from below, all suited up. Reaching out to lightly clap Eddie on the back, he grins, "I figured you wouldn't want to change at the same time as me. It's all yours. I'll get us over there." And he heads to the helm to steer them towards the imperiled ship.

"I d-d-don't want to change where everyone c-can see me either," Eddie murmurs. He gives Fox a quick peck on the cheek and ducks below deck with his backpack. "Careful, there are things climbing on that b-b-b-boat," he warns as he goes.

"'Course there's things climbing the boat," The Fox says with a sigh. "There's ALWAYS things doing... something creepy." And then a huge grin spreads across his face. He can't help it. "Game time."

After a few moments, Axiom emerges from below deck. He's adjusting his armor as he steps up alongside Fox. "Any idea what those things are?" he asks.

Fox grins as he sees Axiom, nodding to him, and pulls their boat alongside the ship. Peering up at the things crawling nearby, Fox says, "They look kind of like... slugs?"

Indeed, the sides of the ships are crawling with inky black slimy things, each about a foot long and perhaps a quarter as thick. They're wriggling their way up onto the deck, where people are starting to shriek and scream.

Fox tosses a grappling line up to clink its way onto the deck above, give it a testing tug, and then says, "Here we go!" And then he's up the rope quite swiftly, showing a hint of his enhanced dexterity. (And a view from below of that not-at-all modest costume, of course.)

"Slugs?" Axiom stares. He moves to the edge of the boat, peering at the creatures. "What the..." he trails off. All the screaming and shrieking has him jumping though. He waits for Fox to throw the line, watching it. And then he's watching Fox a moment, a faint blush on his cheeks. He shakes it off though and scurries up after Fox. Sure he's slower but he's got no enhanced dexterity.

Once they reach the deck of the ship, it's clear things are taking a turn for the... weird. There was clearly a cocktail party going on here, and the guests are currently huddled toward the rear of the deck. Meanwhile, each of the "slugs," as it reaches the deck," is sprouting long, spindly arms and legs and little heads with two tiny, googly eyes. They wobble about for a bit, getting used to their legs, and then begin to... mingle.

The slug-people speak in a language that sounds kind of like mud squelched between one's toes, and they still look, well, gross--but they're acting just like they're guests at the cocktail party. Some pick up discarded champagne flutes or martini glasses, others daintily sample hors d'oeuvres from the buffet, while a couple are starting to pair up and dance.

As he lands on the deck, crouched and ready for action, The Fox declares, "What... the hell?!"

Axiom's arrival on deck is...much less graceful. He trips on the railing, faceplants, tumbles, and lands in a crouch trying to act like he meant to do that. It takes a second but when he sees what's going on, he tilts his head to the side. "Uhh...what in the w-w-worlds..." he trails off. He frowns a moment before looking to Fox. "C-can you check on the people? I'm g-g-g-going to see if I can get some information," he requests of his boyfriend. Taking a deep breath, he approaches one of the slug-people with a martini glass. "Excuse me," he tries to get some attention. "Can you understand me?"

Fox gives Eddie a nod, crossing over to approach the cowering passengers. "You people okay?" he asks, and amidst the chorus of panic he manages to work out that nobody's been harmed, though it seems the captain and crew have flown the coop in the lifeboat. "Whatever happened," Fox mutters, "to going down with the ship? Anyway, folks--come on this way, and I'll help you get down to our boat."

Meanwhile, the slug-fellow Axiom has approached sets down its glass to regard him thoughtfully with one googly eye. It then repeats in a slow, mucky voice, "Unnndeeerrrsssstaaaaand."

There's relief on Axiom's masked face when he gets that response. He hopes it means they can understand him at least. "That's good," he says. "My name is Axiom," he introduces himself and waits to let the slug-fellow process. "C-can I ask what you um...are all doing here on this boat?"

The slug-thing peers at Axiom almost suspiciously for a moment, and then it finally burbles out its answer, reaching over to pluck a crab puff from the nearby table, waving it vaguely at the hero. "Fffaaancyyy paaarrrtyyy," it drawls muckily. With its free hand, it reaches into itself, squashing around, and then it withdraws a mucky, tattered flyer, which it offers to Eddie.

The paper advertises "Upscale Vistas Liberty Island Boat Tour: Drinks and dancing! Champagne and nibbles free with your purchase of a ticket! Bring a date! We do weddings and Bar Mitzvahs!" The creature shakes this at Eddie, then drops a mucky thing on the ground with a splat. It makes a wet, sputtering noise, and then speaks more clearly, "Spessshhhial occasssion. Fancy Party."

Fox, meanwhile, begins ferrying the passengers off onto the smaller boat--it'll be crowded, but there's barely enough room. He also thinks to lock the door to down below deck, just to make sure nobody finds his or Eddie's things.

Axiom blinks when the puff is waved at him, wondering about the things he gets into. He winces slightly when the slug creature reaches into itself. There's a moment of confusion when the flier is produced but he leans in to read it. When he does, Axiom blinks again. "D-did you buy a ticket?" he asks. "Oh! Wh-what's the special occasion?" he asks next, glancing to see what Fox is doing and giving him a nod of approval.

The creature points down at the glop it let fall to the deck, which proves to be a heavy gold coin, salvage from an old shipwreck by the look of it, if still covered in goo. The creature proceeds to cram the crab puff into itself where a mouth might be, munching until its gone, and then gives a petite little burp. It declares, "Coooveeer chaaarge. Keeep the chaaaange." Then the might-be-a-mouth gives a might-be-a-smile. "Spawwwn's joining daaay," it declares, waving its tiny little muck-hand at the odd pair dancing in the corner, their googly eyes locked in a might-be-a-romantic-gaze. "Celebraaatiooonnn," the speaking creature emphasizes.

Fox, meanwhile, makes his way back up to the deck, now clear of bystanders, and flashes Axiom a thumbs-up, slowly drawing near, cautiously.

Axiom looks down where pointed and crouches down a moment to examine the coin. "Wow," he says quietly, reminded of the Asgardian gold he carried around for awhile. Standing back up, he nods a little. There's some confusion at first but once Axiom looks at the dancing pair for a moment, realization dawns on him. "Oh! Congratulations," he says. As Fox approaches, Axiom nods to him. "Is everything okay, Fox? We're at a wedding p-party right now," he explains, not seeing any danger.

Fox's expression shifts, his eyebrows lifting behind the mask, and he says, "Seriously? For--uh, these--er, people?" He looks at the partying slug-folk, rubs the back of his head, and says, "Well, crap. They scared everyone away. What do we do, now?"

The proud papa slug gives another vague maybe-grin at Eddie, nodding its little bump of a head. "Yeeesss. Wedding parrrtyyy. Thaaannnk yoouuu." It picks up its glass again, nodding to the heroes, and then steps over to gain the attention of the other slug-people. They pause, looking to it, and as he begins to burble in their language again, it appears Papa Slug is giving a toast.

Axiom nods to Fox. "Seriously. There's the h-happy couple," he says, pointing to the pair pointed out to him. There's a little shrug to the question. "Umm...well they d-d-did pay," he murmurs. "I guess we c-c-could go radio back to shore that we have things under control, let then p-party go on and then take the boat back to p-port and explain what happened," he says quietly, falling silent as the toast begins.

Fox stares a bit, then catches himself and looks back to Axiom, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "Well... awesome. I guess we could ferry those folks back to shore, then come back out and, whenever these nice people finish their reception, we can get the ship back to its berth." He speaks softly so as not to interrupt the toast, and when the slug-folk break into applause (and, slight ew, the couple share a splorchy kiss) he joins in. As this dies down, he murmurs to Axiom, "Wanna go do that, then?

"Do th-that? But we're in the middle of...oh!" Axiom blushes furiously, thinking Fox meant kiss. "S-sure. Let's get t-t-to work."

Fox grins, patting Axiom on the side with a quick brush of one glove, and then gives a wave to the gathering. "Enjoy the party, folks! We'll swing by later to see the ship home." Then he hops over the railing, landing on the smaller boat below, and begins assuring the people there that all is well, they'll get them home, there's nothing to worry about. Then he gets on the ship's radio to advise the harbor patrol.

End.