2014.07.23 - All Will Be Well: The Terror that Flaps in the Night

It was supposed to be a simple nice summer day. It was aslo supposed to be a moment for Billy Kaplan, AKAA Wiccan, to practice some meditation techniques he had recently been working on in a beautiful nature filled area. Being that he has lived almost his whole life in New York, his choices for 'nature. tend to be a bit limited. It was either teleport to some other part of the world and hope his not always reliable powers can get him back, go to a park, or the Botanical Garden. The plan was perfect...except apparently he picked the day that the Garden would be attacked by insane animal hating plant people.

"Flee! Flee in Terror for all it will do you! Your animal centric domination of the world has come to an end! The Day of the plant is at hand, and once the Bloom of Dispair bears fruits there will be nothing you can do!" Amidst the chaos created by numberous plants suddenly becoming animate and attacking park goes stands a single ranting fingure with bark like legs, a deep green torso and arms, and a mop of wile purple hair that looks almost like silkly thin flower petals. Behind him is a massive nest of vines has sprung up in the middle of the Botanical Gardens with large flower buds slowly swelling as they prepair to bloom flanked by a pair of red wood trees standing near it like body guards.

Not far away is a costumed Wiccan cloaked in a spell designed to make him go unnoticed unless he makes hismelf known trying to sneak closer to figure out just exactly what is going on. "Bloom of Dispair? Why do I not like the sound of that?"

Bloom of Dispair? Well that's going to summon a certain someone. Someone who's been listening for hopelessness and threats to hope. Someone that appears in a flash of blue light and the cry of a hawk. It's Axiom, his costume a lot more blue than usual and with energy practically bleeding off him. That lantern-like logo's still on his chest too. Floating in the air, the costumed teen looks around and scowls when he sees the ranting figure. "I'm guessing y-you're who Adara sensed..."

The purple haired villian all but ducks as Axiom alelars in a flash of light and the cry of a hawk. "Bird!" He trows his hands up to protect himself from sharp beaks before realizing it is a blue and white costumed teenager. "Adara? Who is this Adara? No, it does not matter, of course whomever he is he sensed me. I am the leafy destruction of all the kingdom Animalia! Get him boys!" The green man points at Axiom several of the vines on the ominous looking plant behind him swell and suddenly shoot out a wave of thorns at him.

In his hiding place Wiccan is a little stunned at Axiom's sudden appearnace, but ends up grinning as he chants to himself. There is a flash of light where he was hiding, and a crack of thunder in the distance as a small cloud of black and red smoke appears on top of a large boulder that had orgionaly been placed in the park as a perfect place for kids to climb and sit while taking in the plants. "I am the Protector of all things Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral! I am the teenaged mystic whose afternoon you interupted..."

"Not another Super Hero! Gett him!" The villian calls out cuasing another set of vines to send houndreads of thorns slicing through the smoke making it dissapate showing...no one there."

Wiccan drops out of one of the Red Wood sized trees standing menecingly near the Bloom of Dispair smirking while he says, "I am not over there at all. Is it me Axiom, or are villians getting a lot more gullible than they used to be?"

Axiom frowns a bit at that reaction. He's sensing the fear and it's decidedly unpleasant. As the thorns come his way, Axiom just smiles a bit and starts dodging. He's not exactly...graceful...but he's weaving between the thorns and evading them. Not that he really needs to but Axiom is really trying to restrain himself from using Adara's power too much. The sudden crack of thunder makes him jump and look around. The smoke appearing has him blinking. "What..." he trails off. The voice is recognized though, Axiom smiling. When the thorns are launched through the smoke, he gasps and starts to say something but then Wiccan reappears and he's grinning again. "It's n-not just you, Wiccan," he says, quite pleased to see his friend. "What's with the smoke?"

The purple haired villian jumps a little as Wiccan ends up behidn him and turns to face him forgetting all about Axiom for the second. "Gah! New York is infested with Heroes! Your like...like cockroaches! Well, just call me the Exterminator!" With that he gestures towards Wiccan and sends a dozen or so vines bursting out of the groun to try and ensare him.

Wiccan grins and then shrugs a little at Axiom. "I was trying something new, and figured with a distraction I could get in close and try this...Fire!" Just as the vines burst out of the ground flames burst out of Wiccan hands. He was getting ready to aim his hands at the big flowers, but with a bunch of thorn covered vines attacking him he instead moves to incenerate those first.

While Wiccan is incenerating the vines a small low growl starts to sound from behind Axiom in the bushes.

"I like it," Axiom remarks with a grin. He gets ready to defend his friend if he has to when the fiery spell begins. The thorny vines appearing makes him jump and he starts moving to aid Wiccan when he hears the growl. A glowing staff appears in his hand and he turns around quickly. "Alright, who's in there?"

"Ahh, no! Fire!" The green man yells out at Wiccan. "Stop him! Stop him!" He yells while several vines seem to drag themselves out of the bushes each one laiden with..watermellons. The vines bow up and start throwing the fruits at Wiccan intent on using the fruits to try and dose his flames.

When Axiom turns around there is a sharp bark like noise while a massive venus flytrap like plant with person sized mouths bursts out of the bushes snapping at Axiom.

Axiom yelps, definitely not expecting that. He thought he might get attacked by a dog monster but a barking plant is not expected. He reacts on reflex, thrusting his staff forward to use it to keep those jaws from closing around him. "H-hey! You really shouldn't try to eat me. N-n-now cut this out please!" THe staff does its job, and manages to keep Axiom from being bitten into or swallowed by the giant barking venus flytrap. Unfortunetly he only has one staff, and the plant has several mouths. Two more try and snap at Axiom one from each side while it keeps growling at him.

"Go on, eat him, bit the stupid glowbug of a hero!" The villian yells out cheering on his pet.

Wiccan gets pelted by several of the watermellons and loses his concentration on his fire spell while trying not to get bruised and covered in the sticky wet juices from the fruit. "Hey, hey, Shield, Shield, Shield!" He yells out creating a forcefiled of pure engery around him.

Unnoticed by both heroes so far, the flowers on the large vine like plant swell even more and start to lift pointing towards the sky.

Axiom may only have the one staff now but seeing that its just a construct, he could make another. He doesn't though. No, he's got something else in mind. "I r-really didn't want to use this..." he trails off. That hawk's cry sounds again as a pair of glowing blue wings form on his back and shield against the mouths. "L-last chance. Back off or I g-g-get mean."

The plant creature does not listen to Axiom, not that it really could respond much since it is not exactly a full thinking creature, instead it keeps snapping at him and trying to bite him.

Wiccan lets several watermellons hit his shield before he draws himself up to his full height, nad floats several feet above the ground. "This has gone on long enough." In one move he gestures in front of him dropping the forcefield and then throws several bolts of lighting from his hands to fry the watermelon plants and try and hit the villian of the day.

The villian of the day though manages tod ive out of the way of Wiccan's attack before looking behind the mage and starting to laugh. "Hahahah, too late! It's too late! Now you will know, now you will feel the despair and your end!" He yells out starting to cacle while the massive plant he had grown in the gardens starts to bloom giant man sized florescent orange flowers from which starts to float a nearly glowing sickly purple pollen.

"Fine," Axiom murmurs, closing his eyes. When he opens them, they're shining blue. He uses those wings to throw the plant creature back with an added burst of energy. Turning, the wings melt away into shimmering motes of light as Axiom gives his staff a spin. His eyes go wide at the sight of blooming flowers and he starts moving forward. "Wiccan! C-c-can you contain that guy? I'll handle the flowers!"

Wiccan nods at Axiom as he takes a deep breath and raises a hand to point at the villian. There is a problem though, the pollen from the flowers is already floating in the air adn gets sucked into his lungs as he prepairs to cast a spell to bind the badguy while Axiom deals with the flower. "I..." Wiccan drops out of the air to the ground instead of using his magic while letting out a sigh. "why...whats the point if a pathetic loser like this guy can cause this much trouble and we are the only heroes that bother to show up?"

The plant man keeps laughing as he gets to his feet. "Yes, exact...hey! I am not pathetic damnit! Oh, just go on and give up trying live already!"

Axiom's got that glowing blue barrier around him as a shield. Of course given that it's him, it'd take more than flower pollen to affect his mood. He floats in the air near the flower, looking it over and realizing he really isn't good at telling flowrs apart. "No, we can't just blow it u-" he sounds like he's arguing with himself. But then he notices what's happened to his friend, both via his eyes and Adara sensing the effects. He cringes, almost visibly in pain. "Fine...we'll d-d-do this," he says, letting his staff vanish and lifting his hands. Sapphire colored flames appear on his left hand and he unleashes them at the flower. He points his other hand at Wiccan and starts emitting waves of pure hope and positivity at him. "Don't give up! You're an amazing hero, Wiccan! One of the b-best there is! Remember that! S-so c'mon! Get up! All Will Be Well!"

Wiccan starts to slump mroe as dispair and crushing depression well up inside of him from the chemical reactions caused by the flower pollens. That is until he hears Axiom. "No...I'm...he starts not sure if he is going to argue with Axiom or agree with him while he feels the power his friend weilds starring to fill him. "Oh, that sucks...and now I am really not happy." He says as the effects of the dispair pollen get burnt away.

The saphire flames hit the Dispair Bloom causing it to go up into flames like dry kindling. The flames catch not only the plant on fire, but the pollen in the air goes up in flames too, jsut a breif flash of fire cleansing them from the area.

"No, no no!" THe plant man yells. "You can't do this, I won't let you do this!" He appears almost beside himself in rage as he starts to grow and all the plants in a 30 foot radius around him start to writhe and move. "I will kill you all!"

"No, you won't. You will fall asleep!" Wiccan's voice rings with the eldritch energy of his powers as he casts a spell on the villian.

As soon as the pollen and Dispair Bloom are gone, Axiom snuffs out the flames by clenching his hand into a fist. He keeps the other pointed at Wiccan, adding in his trademark boost to his best friend. The free hand forms up a construct sword and Axiom starts walking towards the plant man. "You have threatened to tear the faith from others. To destroy their hope. I forgive you but this can not go unpunished. Prepare to meet your end," Axiom speaks but it doesn't sound like his voice. No, it's more like Adara's. Just as he's raising his sword-hand to strike...his other hand comes up and Axiom ends up punching himself square in the face. "No!" back to his voice...and now he's fighting his own hand...

Even as Axiom raises his sword arm, and almost inunison with the other teen Wiccan calls out, "No!" Raising a hand and unleashing a torrent of power aimed to push the unconcious palnt man out of striking distance of that sword. Something powerful, something different seems to leach into Wiccan's words as he puts himself in front of Axiom even as he fights his own hand. "You Will Not kill him. E...Axiom? Whomever you are inside my frined I will not let you use him to Kill!"

"Do not get in my way, Mortal," Adara's voice growls out. "I t-t-told you before I wouldn't stand for this," Axiom's voice counters. And then there's Wiccan. Adara seems ready to strike at him but those words bring pause. Rather abruptly, the struggle stops and Axiom ends up knocking himself to the ground as the sword disappears.

As Axiom knocks himself to the ground Wiccan is there quickly putting hands on his shoulders and staring into his friend's eyes. "Who ever you are in there, I do not know what your game is but listen to me. If you make my friend kill someone so help me I will tear down reality to get to you, I will not let you rip what faith he has in himself from him like...the way others have done to some of us mortals." Wiccan knows what it is like to be taken over by a cosmic level power from within, and to have them use his body for things he would not do on his own and he is livid that Adara would do that to Axiom. "Where there is Life there is change, and where there can be change there is always hope."

Axiom starts to get back up, muttering something about having a long talk with Adara when they get back. He jumps and goes quiet when Wiccan grabs him by the shoulders. The teen goes still, eyes flickering blue for a moment. "You speak with much wisdom for one so young.," Adara's voice is quieter now. The blue fades and slowly the glow resumes around Axiom. He sags slightly and manages a smile. "I'm in c-control again...full. Thanks to you," he says to Wiccan.

Wiccan looks pissed still, but also a little...sad or maybe something else along with it when Adara speaks again through Axiom. "It's not age that brings wisdom, but experiance." And he has had a lot of experiances he would trade a number of years of his life away not to have had, but thanks to his friends and family is not going to break from them. "Good, now lets clean this place up...and you can explain to me exactly what happened just now?" He asks his friend before summong ropes and chains to make sure that the plant villian will still be there when the police get there for him and starts lookign around to see jsut what needs to be done to put the botanical gardens back in the shape they were in before the fight.

Axiom leans in to grab Wiccan for a quick hug. "Hey...all will be well. For real," he whispers. Standing, Axiom looks around and takes a breath. "I c-can handle clean up if you want. And...it's complicated. After the fight with the Kree, Adara needed t-t-to find a host and since I'm supposed to protect it..." he trails off, looking like the kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Wiccan gives Axiom his best Spock look, raised eyebrow and all. "Clean up is easy. Fixed and whole, fixed and whole, Fixed and whole!" Wiccan chants the spell he has used many times until the pwoer wells up sinde of him and bursts forth like a wave of energy covering everything and putting the Botanica Gardens to right. "As for the other bit...your host to the big space bird and you wait till I see it take you over to tell me?" Wiccan is not sure if he should be worried, annoyed, or proud because he is probably the perfect host for the very spirit of the one thing Axiom has always represented to Wiccan. Hope.

Axiom watches the cleanup and then shifts a little sheepishly. "I'm s-sorry," he says. "Adara's just kept me b-b-busy and it's hard to find time to send a text when I'm like...patching pieces of the ozone layer and cleaning space j-junk."

Wiccan nods and eyes Axiom for a long second and then shrugs. "Ok, well we have time now. Lets go back to the HQ and you can tell me all about it." There is a smile and then Wiccan starts to chant again to open up a portal between where they are now and the headquarters for the Young Allies.