| It's Showtime! | |||||
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| What: It's been more than a year since she last appeared, defeated and the source of her power taken. But now the sinister songtress known as the Dazzle Diva has returned. And she's looking to make Times Square her stage once again. And she's got some surprises for any heroes that try to get in her way. | |||||
The Crossroads of the World is often host to shows and odd displays so no one's really batted an eye when a crew arrived earlier this morning and began roping an area off and constructing a stage. People have tweeted about it, wondering if there's going to be a concert or some viral marketing stunt. It's later in the afternoon when the stage has been finally completed that some city officials show up to start asking questions. There's no permits or records and they're hopping mad. In the middle of an argument with the mostly non-responsive stage crew, they don't notice a bright pink Limo pulling up.
Axiom, power boosting member of the Young Allies, hasn't been paying too much attention to the activity in Times Square today. He's only passed through a few times. At the moment, he's in an alleyway, sending a quick message to a teammate about a few things they need back at the Terminal. When he hears some of the yelling going on, he peeks out of the alley and frowns. But for now...things look mostly peaceful...
Really, Steve isn't about to interfere in an argument about who has what permits. He's got more important things on his mind right now - as usual. At least this week is better than last week. He cruises through the area on his motorcycle, looking for trouble that actually warrants the attention of an Avenger, as opposed to the local cops.
Cir-El has paused on her patrol of the city to listen in on the arguments below. She finds the new costume interesting, except for the specific frequencies of light it reflects for color, it lets all light pass through from outside to inside only. This is very useful to her, as it lets her charge her solar batteries, while still being decently covered. She waits on top of a large sign and listens...
It's been a long, tiring day at school, so what better way to take a break than to stop by the comic shop? Times Square has the best one in the city, and Miles is just coming out of it with a small bag hanging from his hand, and an Asian boy walking beside him. Miles pauses as he hears the yelling, looking towards the stage and the limo as it arrives curiously. His friend doesn't even seem to notice, chatting away about some comic or another.
Things are about to get more worthy of Avengers attention. While the city officials are angry and ranting, the stage men...all in jump suits and sporting dazed looks...continue their work. Music begins to play from speakers on stage and the limo door opens. One of the city workers looks over in time for a blast of shimmering pink light to lance out of the limo and knock him a few feet away. Some people scream...a tad more lyrically than may be expected. From the limo a woman emerges. Hot pink pants, a matching tube top, opera gloves, and a butterfly themed mask might be familiar to some. The woman strikes a pose and runs for the stage. Glittering lights trail behind her and she vaults, landing on the stage and striking another pose as pyro goes off.
"Hello, New York City! Your favorite star is back! The Dazzle Diva!" she declares, the stage crew clapping and cheering. Some people in the crowd are confused but others are joining in the cheering. They think its all just a show. "And now," she smirks, the jeweled pendant around her neck glowing. "How about a popular song...but sung correctly?" she laughs, signalling for the music to change. It does...to what some might recognize as Taylor Swift's 'Shake it off'. The Dazzle Diva smiles to the crowd and begins to sing. She may be good but people trying to leave from the area are turned back by some of the stage crew. Captive Audience?
Axiom meanwhile face palms. "Her...again..." he groans faintly, tapping a quick message to his team and starting to take some things from his belt.
Of course people in the area might just notice something strange. They can't really talk. No...for some reason, they're singing everything they try to say. There's even a compulsion to break into actual musical numbers. Heroes and civilians alike. This will be all over YouTube.
And...the blast of pink light is enough to get the Sentinel of Liberty to skid the bike into a turn...and then power it into the square. He dismounts before he reaches the captive audience, though. Yeah, it looks like it's just a show, but she did toss that guy on his butt. What's going on? He reaches over his shoulder to unhook the shield.
Cir El jumps off the sign, it takes about two seconds to reach the ground. She lands and and sings, "...Standing up to the challenge of you rival..."
Not quite what she intended to say...
Miles Morales blinks at that flash of light. He frowns, watching. His friend, who looks towards Dazzle Diva with suddenly wide eyes, starts to say something, only to start singing, "I think we're in trouble," to the tune of 'Everything is Awesome. Miles blinks, passes his friend his bag without saying anything, and dashes, disappearing from view into the nearest alley he can find.
Dazzle Diva keeps singing and dancing as she goes through the song. Some of the stage crew have torn off Velcro jumpsuits to reveal they're just wearing bright pink shorts and begin serving as backup dancers. Keen eyes might notice all the men have identical butterfly tattoos on the back of their necks. Some in the crowd are filming on their phones but they haven't noticed growing signs of trouble. Like the displeased people on the edges of the crowd that aren't being allowed to leave.
And then Cir-El makes herself known.
Dazzle Diva cuts off after a chorus and blinks a few times before looking rather angry. "You'll pay!" the music takes on a more ominous tone than Ms. Swifts peppy pop number. "For interrupting my show! I'm the only star around!" she sings, firing off a bright pink beam at Cir-El. One she may be surprised to find out stings quite a bit if she lets it connect. Its got enough force to knock even her right off her feet and brings an electric jolt of pain. There be magic in this fight and it brings a mix of oddly musical screaming and cheering from the crowd.
Axiom's still in the alley, quickly working on a little magic of his own. He's not as quick a other sorcerers, having to to prep most of his spells before he can use them.
Okay...that's it. The chick fight is starting, apparently, and Captain America? He doesn't go straight for the diva herself. He's going for the roadies trying to block the crowd from leaving, bent on making a gap in the crowd so at least the sensible ones can run. He *tries* to say "I suggest you stand down now." Of course, it comes out...musical. Surprise? Captain America has a decent singing voice. Probably the "peak human in all ways" thing.
Not knowing want an attack can do, it is generally a good idea to avoid it, and having Kryptonian speed, it is generally possible to dodge attacks. Her father (in her memories) generally is able to take a blow or two from anyone, and so does not dodge much. She is not quite as tough, and things do hurt her. Not that she lets things that that stop her.
She sings, "Look out now, here comes trouble. Here comes trouble headed your way..." and rolls under the beam and into the Diva's legs.
With all the 'music', the telltale *thwip* of a webshooter is probably inaudible, but The Spider is soon swinging out over Times Square. As he swings over the Dazzle Diva, he sprays some webbing down at her to try to tangle her up while she fights Cir-El. He tries to stay quiet, to keep from singing with everybody else, but the urge to sing has him humming a tune rather loudly.
The men slowly look towards Captain America and stare at him. They've got the same dull, dazed look on their faces. Lights are on but no one's home in there. Initially they do nothing but after a moment, one lunges at the Sentinel of Liberty with speed and strength similar to his own!
On stage, the music is changing once more. Now its sounding a lot like Applause by Lady Gaga. Which Dazzle Diva begins to sing along with. The Diva proves to have more than a nice set of pipes and killer dance moves. As Cir comes in low, she jumps and twists in the air. More shimmering blasts rain down at the artificial half-kryptonian's back and the Dazzle Diva lands quite gracefully despite the heeled boots she's wearing. Just in time for some webbing to strike her leg and stick her in place. A positively furious glare is shot The Spider's way but it melts into a little smirk. "Little Spider-boy. Let me blow you a kiss," she sings and does just that. She blows a kiss Miles' way...and a glowing ball of light flies from her lips. In the air the ball bursts into a swarm of glowing pink and purple butterflies that start flying rather rapidly at the Spider. And if he's not careful, he'll notice they're incredibly sharp. Sharp enough to cut through his webbing. And while the bug swarm chases the Spider, the Dazzle Diva is starting to glow and burn her way free.
Okay...they're being mind controlled. So, Cap's trying not to hurt them too much...but while they might have his speed and strength, they don't have his skill. Or the shield he gets the guy to hit instead of him. "They're under her spell!" he tries to warn the others. That...wasn't quite the word he was going for.
Cir-El decided it is time to bring the house, or at least the stage, down. She plants her feet and starts swinhing herself back and forth, using her strength to shake the whole stage apart, while singing, "Shake, shake, shake...shake, shake, shake...shake your booty..."
The Spider shoots a web out to the side to dodge the razor-sharp butterflies, just in time as they snap his previous web as well. "Butterfly Alert, I better move before someone gets hurt," he sings, as he swings and dodges this way and that.
It's not a nice noise when face meets shield but the man goes down all the same. He hits the ground, out cold. After a moment, the tattoo on the back of his neck peels right off his skin and starts flying away. It starts breaking apart in the air though, crumbling away into glitter in the wind. The remaining men rip off their jumpsuits to reveal they're all in just the pink shorts too. Quite a sight it is as about half a dozen scantily clad men attack Captain America with dance-like martial arts.
The butterflies are fast but turning isn't their strong point. They've got to go up and turn wide, giving The Spider a head start. But they're after him soon enough, the ones at the front of the pack emitting a shrill noise before firing off little glowing pink needles at the Spider. If any connect, he'll find a numbness spreading from the point of contact. And for some odd reason, his costume turning pink and glittery in the same area.
The stage is surprisingly well built. It sways and shakes but doesn't seem to be breaking. The music skips a few times at least. It eventually switches to Dancing Queen even. And this does not make Dazzle Diva happy. She's stuck for a few moments but not for long. The pendant around her neck glows and a pink flames erupt around her. The webbing burns away and the Diva launches herself at Cir-El with some very impressive speed for a non-super speedster, swinging a powerful punch at the girl's chin.
That alley Axiom's in? It's glowing faintly blue now while the hero puts some power into his spell-in-progress.
She has pinkness. As a superpower. Steve's met enough really scary girls for pink as a superpower to make sense. Of course, before the war? Pink was a boy color. "You realize," he sings, "That pink was a boy color until *Hitler* made us change it around!" Yeah, he's threatening her femininity, even as he fights her roadies. Who probably prove her heterosexuality nicely.
That amulet, it seems to be a power source. If she lets the woman hit her, Cir-El might be able to grab it at the last second and throw it high into the air...
The Spider twists and dodges in the air, shooting webs this way and that in his attempt to dodge the attacks. His singing gets louder and more panicked as he gets hit by one of the attacks, his leg starting to turn pink.
Thankfully the numbing isn't instant but its still fast enough thank panicking isn't a bad idea. It doesn't spread too far from each needle though so that's helpful at least. The butterflies keep chasing though, intent on cutting the Spider up if they get to catch him. Whoever knew butterflies were so deadly?!
While the amulet is definitely a source of power, grabbing it turns out to be a very bad idea for Cir-El. The Dazzle Diva has learned since her last defeat. Learned when he amulet was taken and she spent several months stuck in jail until she managed to break out. She's taken precautions. When Cir-El grabs the metal, magic expands from it it and pushes her hand away along with sending magic fire racing along her arm. At the same time, the punch sends the Superlass flying to crash into Spiffany's. And it's not even breakfast time. Pleased with herself, Dazzle Diva turns to look at Captain America. "And just what's your point, hero?" she sing-asks, dancing again. "It's just my favorite color," she laughs, watching her backup dancers keep fighting even as Cap reduces their numbers from 6 to 4.
Its then that Axiom steps out of the alley and unleashes the spell. Bolts of blue light strike the speakers and there's a record scratch. When the music resumes, its a more rock oriented number. The glow around Dazzle Diva dims a little and the glowing butterflies chasing The Spider slow down. "YOU!" the Diva Practically snarls when she spots Axiom. The power booster flashes a quick smile before applying his boosting power to the Spider to help him along. He offers a quick salute before running to help Captain America fighting the dancers, jumping and kicking one. "The power's in music and we can steal the show!" he sings out, hoping the others catch on because his spell is already wearing off, the music starting to switch to a Beyonce song as Dazzle Diva blasts the balls of light off the speakers.
"Got it." Power's in music and we can steal the show. Or maybe, the Avenger thinks, just turn this into a very acoustic performance. He keeps fighting the dancers, but he's keeping his eyes open. Somewhere, she has to have a sound board. If he can, say, throw his shield at it, he might be able to put a dampener on this.
Her head is swimming, her body feels like she has been struck by lightning...not much else usually packs that kind of impact. She imagines, as she lies recovering, that she probably has burns under her gloves that go halfway up her arms. Cir-El is not a happy camper. She cannot make out what is being said through the ringing in her ears from the blow that accompanied the shock. She forces her eyes open a slit to see what she can see. She can not do much until she recovers a bit, but there is ONE thing...she releases some of her stored solar energy not in her focused red star burst, but in a blinding flash from her outstretched hand...
The Spider's singing has changed tunes, "I'm just your average ordinary every-day, super-hero..." He waves a cheerful thanks to Axiom and takes advantage of his new lead to change directions, swinging down at Dazzle Diva, shooting a web at her mouth as he gets close, but if he's on target, instead of just letting the web go, he grabs it, letting go of the web he's swinging on and tags his venom strike through the webbing connecting him to the Diva. Then he lets go of that too and at the very last split-second, shooting another web out and swinging up and away again before he'd have crashed into any crowds.
There is indeed a soundboard. Behind one of those massive speakers and being operated by one of the mind controlled henchmen. He's got big headphones on too so he's easy pickings. Axiom's humming a tune as he fights the thugs alongside Cap, hoping he's not in the way. Even in this mess, he's fanboying.
The big flash of light helps distract those dancers. And the crowd. Several yell out in surprise and pain, shielding their eyes. It also creates an opening. With her back to Cir, Dazzle Diva doesn't get hit directly by the flash but she does turn to see where it comes from. This leaves her open, webbing clamping over his lips. She's knocked back by the venom shock, he magic keeping her from passing out. Before she can strike back against the Spider, she sees the butterflies coming towards her and quickly dispels them with a wide gesture of her arms causing glittering lights to rain down on the crowd.
Captain America ahas, and then spins away from the dancers. The shield is released, flying towards the sound board. It's aiming for the equipment, not the obvious man operating it, but even Cap might not be *that* precise on all occasions. Maybe. He's probably pretty close.
Cir-El is still too weakened to stand, but sees where the woman in pink is, and lists her hand slightly, releasing a weak beam of force at ankle height towards her. not really enough to more than bruise, but enough to sweep someone off their feet...and about all she can manage.
The Spider would probably make a joke as Dazzle Diva dispels her own butterflies, but he's still too busy singing. As he swings up and away, he shoots a web out backward, giving a tug to change direction so he's swinging back towards Dazzle Diva even as Cir-El is releasing the blast of energy, coming at her feet first. Trying to help keep her distracted while Cap goes for the sound equipment/operator.
The shield flies through the air towards its mark. It slices right into the board, sticking into it half way. There's sparking, the roadie backing away. And then...BOOM. The shield goes flying into the air straight up as the sound board explodes. The music dies, fading out. As it goes down, the glow around Dazzle Diva fades again as the music boosting her abilities dies. The attacks from Cir-El and The Spider hit at the same time, feet coming out from under the Diva and Spider-boot connecting with chin. This sends the sinister songstress flying a few feet to hit the ground behind the stage. She tries to get up...and then falls back out cold. As she passes out, people will find they're able to speak normally again. And after a few moments of silence, there's an eruption of cheers from the crowd that remains.
The shield flips up into the air. Cap runs forward, reaching to catch it on the return. "Should have thought of that sooner. Good work, Axiom." Yeah, he remembers the young man's name - he's usually pretty good with names.
Cir-El lies where she is, soaking up the sunlight and letting her body heal rapidly. It will be about five minutes before she rises to her feet if unaided, as she remembers her father saying, we would not be heroes if there were no risks involved. This time she bit off more than she could chew, if it had not been for Cap and the guy in the spider suit, she would have been hurt worse. When she gets up, she will say, "Thanks you two, I may be Superlass, but I do have weaknesses." As her actual creator, Brainiac, would say...all flesh is fallible.
The Spider bounces back from the hit to Dazzle Diva, flipping and landing on the ground on his feet, reaching down to check his leg. As the urge to sing stops, he coughs and says, "Finally! That was so weird. I mean, I like music as much as the next guy, but that was a bit much." He reaches to offer Cir-El help up, if she needs it, and says to Captain America, "Nice throw!" Then he too nods to Axiom, "Thanks for the save. Again. You keep saving me when things are chasing after me."
It the numbness fades a little slower but its soon gone. Faster if the Spider puts weight on and walks. Thankfully, the pink fades away too. This is followed by the remaining stage crew just collapsing. The tattoos all crumble away off their necks but they're out cold. It looks like things are good.
Since the fight is done, Axiom lets out a breath and stops boosting the Spider. Cap's praise makes him blush and smile though. "Th-thanks, sir. Sorry she was causing trouble...s-s-sort of one of my bad guys," he says sheepishly. When he sees Cir-El, Axiom jumps. "Oh m-man, are you okay?" he asks, clearly concerned. Another smile is offered Spider's way. "You d-don't have to thank me. It's always great teaming up with you."
The shield is snapped back onto Captain America's back. He glances around. Now, far too late, the cops are starting to show up.
Cir-El remembers, "Axiom, right? We met the other day. I will be fine, though it might take an hour or two of sunlight, depending on how badly the amulet burned me. Magic can knock the stuffing out of me just as much as it does the next girl." She thinks, when last they met, she was in the black costume with the blue came, but it was about when she first got this one. Her mind is still a bit fuzzy. This fight coming so soon after the demon battle that had exhausted her, well it just proves that she is mortal. Sometimes, when one is as powerful as Cir-El, it is easy to forget that, to take for granted that you can handle everything. The Psychiatrist had called it the Superman Syndrome, a kind of appropriate name...
The Spider nods to Axiom, likely smiling under the mask, "It is! Hope to again soon... but I better get going," he adds, as he hears the sirens. Cops and Spiders don't exactly get along in this town. Waving to the others, he shoots a web up, tugging on it and launching himself into the air, to swing away.
Nodding, Axiom tilts his head to the side. "Y-you can go rest up then if you want. I'll stick around and help the c-c-cops," he offers to Cir-El. He waves as The Spider swings off and then reaches for the zip-cuffs in his belt so he can go bind the Dazzle Diva up for the police.