2013.03.26 - What's Your Sign? Part 1: Age of Aquarius

The UN General Assembly is currenly in an emergency special session that has lasted over a week. Thus far, no consesus has been reached, and tensions are mounting.

Which makes it the perfect time for a little disruption.

A pipe bursts in the ceiling, and water comes shooting out, absolutely drenching half the S section of ambassadors. There's a great deal of commotion as they all try to move out of the rapidly forming lake that the floor is becoming, and then something /else/ comes crashing down from the ceiling.

It lands on the President of the General Assembly's desk, utterly demolishing it. And it's not an "it", but a "he", a half-dressed man with fish scales growing from his skin.

"IT'S THE AGE OF AQUARIUS, PEONS!"

Everyone stops and stares. One Ambassador in the back (it's probably Chile) lets out a muted laugh.

Aquarius stops. "Do you think this is a joke?" he calls out, gills flapping. "The Zodiac is now in charge of the United Nations!" More pipes in the ceiling burst, and as Aquarius stretches out his hands, the water pouring out of them coils in the air like tentacles and begin to smash furniture, and the Chilean embassador gets tossed into a potted plant.

Alarms start blaring. The front doors of the building open up and people come bursting out of it, panicking, tripping over one another in their attempt to flee. Guards open fire on Aquarius, but a wall of water protects him from the bullets. Soon, they too are fleeing.

'Retired' Army Captain Steve Rogers happens to be in the UN building visiting the office of the Department for Peacekeeping Operations. It may or may not have something to do with the Army and SHIELD - that's on a need to know basis. The announcement for averyone to please calmly and quickly evacuate interrupts.

Camly and quickly. While the General Assembly is under attack. Right.

Running down a 'Authorized Personell Only' stairwell, Steve sheds his outer clothing revealing the uniform of Captain America and hits his comlink. "All available Avengers - report to the United Nations building immediately!" Emerging from a side hall into the chamber, Cap assesses the situation.

Janet herself isn't inside the UN building but happens past just as the first wave of people start to run out, that getting her to pause. "Weirrrrrd," she utters, letting the word be drawled out just before she goes against the rush of people to go /inside/

Once within the interior of the building she starts to shrink, shedding her outfit-of-the-day, her black-and-gold costume worn underneath which is a good thing as a naked heroine would be /so/ difficult to explain. Taking to wing immediately to avoid getting stepped on, The Winsome Wasp hovers overhead. "Hey Cap. Am already here. Talk about lucky happenstance, huh? What's the sitch?"

Bruce is at least in Manhattan, shopping for /respectable/ (AKA non-Good Will) clothes at the insistence of Ms. Potts, so he's close by. Because he doesn't exactly have a license, and taking the subway wouldn't get him there fast enough.

Also putting him on the New York subway is a horrible idea.

His heart is pounding by the time he's run the few blocks to the UN building, so it's not long before the Hulk is on scene. Which actually causes more panic, but Cap's order is still ringing in his ears so the big green guy just stomps in through the front doors, the crowd parting around him.

It's going to take a long time to repair the damage Aquarius has caused. He's still standing on the remains of the big desk up front, a wall of water shifting and swirling around him as his water spouts utterly destroy every piece of furniture in the massive room.

He's cackling as he does it. Clearly, he's enjoying himself.

When Captain America and (okay, he can't see Wasp) makes his appearance, Aquarius smirks. "Turn back now, Avenger, I control one of the elements! You're no match for my power!" Another pipe bursts, showering more water down on the room, and rising from the puddles on the floor are five vaguely human-shaped forms. They're pure water, but when they strike at the Captain, there is definite force behind their fists.

Then the Hulk comes through the front doors, and okay, maybe that does give Aquarius a moment of pause, but then he's creating more of the water shapes, sending ten of them at Hulk. They latch onto him like leeches, and soon enough the big guy is stumbling around, swinging his arms as he tries to get them off. When he grabs at one, the water surges out from between his fingers. It's no use.

Captain America raises his shield to take the brunt of the watery punches. Quickly dripping with water, he flies backwards to slide accross an equally wet table. Cap rolls on his shoulders as he goes over the far edge and stands up.

"The 'sitch', Wasp, " he says wiping water out of his eyes, "is Aquarius here is going to flood the place! If you can get him to drop the water wall, have at it!"

When a punch to the watery figures seems have exactly the effect of putting a fist into a bucket of water, Captain America swings his other arm to slice through one of the creatures with his shield edge.

"Hulk!" Cap yells, "See if a shockwave will disrupt them!"

Absolutely no where near the UN, Sif got the call anyhow. It took only moments for her to don armor, helm and sword and then teleport to Captain America's location. She actually ends up suddenly appearing into existence but a few feet from him.

She pause only long enough to take in the situation and assess what is happening around her. While it goes against thousands of years of training, silver blue eyes cast over to Captain America and a brow arches. "Plan of attack?" Yes, she's actually asking for his orders in this.

"Right, Cap!"

Wasp approaches the watery barrier and ponders for a second, trying to make sure she doesn't get too wet in case that'd hinder her wings' ability to hold her aloft. Aquarius is then given an inspection of his own, albeit a bit shorter of one. "Hey, fishface," she calls out while her hands are held before her, her expression grave. "Time to send you twenty-thousand leagues under the sea!"

As soon as she's done speaking her Stings fly from her hands, there being no form of restraint exhibited. Hopefully this will work!

It's not quite "smash" but good enough, because the Captain is asking Hulk to be destructive, and he likes that.

So, he does as he's told, massive hands coming together to clap a shockwave of air into existence, and it /does/ work. The watery forms shake and collapse back into puddles, but it's not long before they're reconstituting themselves.

This makes Hulk angry. He abandons his previous tasks and starts flinging bits of destroyed desks and chairs around instead.

Aquarius still hasn't noticed Wasp, but he has noticed Sif's sudden appearance. He creates a few more water forms to send after her, but then something tiny is yelling at him.

He blinks and looks around, and it's only barely in time that he spots Wasp before she tries to sting him. Luckily for him, though, his wall of water slides in place quickly enough to absorb the energy and dissipate it. Then, one of the water tentacles from the ceiling comes down to try and swat her.

The water forms aren't very agile or powerful, but they're basically impervious to harm. Hulk tosses a chair leg at one like a dart but it sails right through its head and buries itself in the wall beyond. Cap's shield does manage to take off one's head, but it forms another from water immediately afterward, and jumps at him.

Sif is probably the best off, only because there are just two water creatures approaching her, and their punches and kicks are clumsy, slow. It seems the more Aquarius has to stretch his focus, the less cohesive his creations are.

A grunt of frustration escapes Captain America's lips as the thing grows another head. Then Sif appears and that semi-devious 'I have a plan' smirk crooses his face. And when doesn't Cap have a plan?

"No blunt attacks," he tells the Asgardian. "Split them down the middle like flatworms! Double them!" As if to undserscore his point, He turns the Shield of Freedom perpendicular to the ground and cuts at a water-man from the top, through the sternum and and crotch. Then he bull-rusdhes through to force the halves apart.

"The more he makes, the weaker they get! We need to strain him to get the water wall down! When it drops, pile on Aquaruis!"

"HULK! Where's that shockwave!?"

The Goddess had just arrived on the scene and, catching on to what Cap is aiming to do, nods her head. Her sword is spine once before she moves. Her attacks are quick, deft and precise. Nothing less than one might expect from the Goddess of War.

The swat connects and sends Wasp flying. And not only is she flying but she is heading right for Cap! The itty-bitty-heroine-committee-of-one, soaked to the bone and disorientated, hits the soldier straight in the chest, bouncing off his many pecs of American epicness after that impact. "Oooooph!"

Hulk lifts his head. He's being talked to again, and- oh, right. Another thunderclap that turns a few of the water creatures into puddles, and reforming them just takes up more of Aquarius's concentration.

"YOU CAN'T WIN!" Aquarius screams, even as his creations are being systematically destroyed over and over again. The more they are, the harder it is to create them again, and when one makes a leap at the Captain, it dissippates into- well, just water before it hits. Steve may get splashed, but that's it.

The shield is the only thing he seems to be focusing on maintaining. Even the water tentacles are starting to flail about, uncoordinated.

Having arrived with Sif, Thor takes a moment to survey the scene before acting. Indoors... means minimal storm work and definitely no earthquakes. But it's okay. He has his hammer. Which can create lightning on its own, which would be very bad, THor notes to himself, as he sees his teammates standing in at least a few inches of the liquid. Thor clips Mjolnir to his belt to keep himself from inadvertantly calling in an electrical attack, and then strides forward boldly, using his fists to wade through (get it?) the water monsters.

Reaching a gauntled hand into the water, Captain America plucks Wasp off his foot before she drowns. He sets her on his wrist behind the shield. Ducking his head behind it, he sloshes his way toward Thor. He swings his other arm in a judo chop to split off watery limbs and addresses he God of Thunder.

"Thor, we will take care of the water men - Sif's blade has got their number! Pound the daylights out of that water wall with Mjolnir, let's see if it gives Aquaruis any feedback! We need it gone so Hulk can get at him directly!"

A look is tossed over her shoulder at Thor and a wink is tossed to him. She's got this part handled. A sharp nod is given to Captain America at the vote of confidence as well as the compliment before she continues to systematically cleave her way through the water men.

Wasp shakes herself off, blinking, still dazed. "Thanks," she yells out although she's too small to be heard. She'll just stay put for a bit before trying to do anything else.

Hulk needs no fancy weapons. He's cleaving water creatures in two with his bare hands, and honestly? It looks like he's having a lot of fun with it. The General Assembly hall is getting more and more trashed as he stomps back and forth across it, but at least he's helping out.

It seems as if Thor's entry into the battle is the figurative straw on the camel's back. The creatures are beginning to shake as if someone has dropped a rock into a puddle, and one of the water tentacles spouted from a burst pipe in the ceiling falls apart completely. It's still pouring water into the already flooded hall, but it's no longer a threat.

"This is an outrage!" Aquarius cries. "I command the power of the oceans! Of the rivers! You should tremble at the very sight of me!"

The water creatures dissolve, and instead, Aquarius pulls several water spouts from the floor, sending one at each of the heroes still standing.

"YOU CANNOT DEFEAT THE ZODIAC!"

Steve Rogers, known as Captain America, has a voice that could command a god. And he often does. The God of Thunder pauses only long enough to glance at Steve and nod his head.

"Aye, Captain," is Thor's response to Steve's command, left fist pounding through one last creature as his right hand redraws his hammer. Thor flings himself via Mjolnir forward and toward that wall of water, ignoring whatever water-sprites he made have to go through to get there. Once before the wall, the Thunderer doesn't stop. He deoesn't even pull up short. Rather, the Asgardian brings both hands to Mjolnir's haft, angles his body to bring the hammer over his head, and then lays into the wall with all the might of his arms, his body weight, and the righteous relic of Mjolnir.

"Thou doth think thou commands the oceans, mortal? Come then. Let us see thee withstand the might of a Storm and the power of the Earth. I challenge thee: thou can not stand long against Thor, the God of Thunder!" Thor, boasting, and seeking to draw the creature's attention fully and goad him into attacking him and thus further weakening that wall. Yup. It sure sounds like the Thor of old: pridefilled and arrogant.

The waterspout bowls Captain America off his feet again, pinning him against a wall. Inch by inch he forces the shield forward, holding it with both hands until he's got an air pocket for himself and Wasp. For the moment he still can't put a foot forward against the gusher, but behind his legendary piece of gear, the Star-Spangled Avenger is laughing. He fully expected Thor to answer Aquaruis' rant with that sort of challenge.

"I think you're out past your depth, Aquaruis!" Then just to add insult to insult; "Hey Hulk! Are you going to let Thor have all the fun? Go on in - the water's fine!"

And to think, some folks say Steve has no sense of humor.

Water spout? Pin the Goddess of War? Puh-lease! Before anyone can even blink, Sif has teleported once more. This time, she pops back in right next to Captian America and Wasp. A wry smile curves her features as she listens to Thor before asking, "How close do you want to get, Captain?" Because she can get him right next to the man if need be!

One of the arm straps is held onto now, Janet getting jostled from Cap's arm when he got hit by the spout. Necessitated her in having to improvise. Seeing Sif arrive like she does, Janet blinks and suddenly speaks over their com devices. "Hey, Sif. How about you or Thor teleport behing Mister Fishstick and try to knock him out, huh?"

Maybe Captain America isn't the only one who can come up with sound tactical ideas, huh?

There's nothing for Hulk to fight except one measly water spout, now, and that simply won't do. The Captain's goading does the job; he launches himself across the room at Aquarius, arms above his head, and brings his fists down on the water shield.

The combined might of Thor, God of Thunder, and the Incredible Hulk is too much for Aquarius. His water shield manages to protect him from the assault, but the force of it is so great that the shield vanishes into mist.

The water spouts fall. Even the water flowing from the pipes in the ceiling slows to a trickle.

Aquarius looks up at both the Avengers towering over him for a moment, and then puts his hands up. "Uhh... I surrender?" He even drops down to his knees and puts his arms behind his head, helpful-like. There are no more prideful boasts out of him, no sir.

ELSEWHERE:

The Latverian ambassador crumples to the floor, smiling even as blood flows from his nose and mouth. He reaches out, weakly, for the woman standing in front of him, but she kicks at his hand before he gets a chance to touch her $200 stilettos. "I have it," she says into the phone pressed to her ear. "It was easy to grab him in the panic. What do you want me to do with him?"

Virgo picks up the ambassador's suitcase and begins to walk away. "No, it's fine. He won't be a problem for us in the state I've left him. I'll be on the next flight back." She hangs up, and smiles.

Thor straightens as Hulk comes in and helps him drop the shield. There's a heartbeat that Thor hesitates, pushing a wet stringy lock from his face.

The Hulk glares down at the prostrate form of Aquarius before him, but he at least recognizes the fact that the man poses no further harm. So all he does is snort and heft Aquarius up over his shoulder, holding him by his ankles, and turns to go- and then there's Thor. His hand tightens into a fist, but at the last moment he just blows out a heavy breath and makes a noise at the God of Thunder before stomping away.

Hey, it's progress.