2012-10-18 The V Factor

Lines stretch around the building as people from all over the New York City area wait for their chance to be the first contestants on the country's newest reality singing show. The V Factor! With four secret celbrity judges and their spinning desk inside waiting, everyone's eager to get in and sing for the cameras. The cameras aren't just inside though, some are out among the crowd. Just local news stations looking for a filler story and interviewing people in line.
A certain young hero named Axiom isn't in line today. No, he's on the roof of a nearby building and peering down at the crowd. He was tempted to join the auditions but decided against it. For now he's just idly sipping a drink while watching the activity below.
The V Factor? A reality show where folks go up and sign and get picked on by the reality show's required Grouchy British Guy. Robbie Baldwin swears those guys are England's main export. As for auditioning? Well, they don't do auditions in the shower, so there's no way in hell that Baldwin's going to even attempt it. Also, he has an in on show business if he pushed for it, so he figures he can't qualify or something. That, and he's not much of a singer. But maybe all the girls would vote for him...though he's seen how girls in school react to the young male singerson this shows...uh...yeah...and.
One of the perks Speedball likes with his powers is the birds-eye view he can get, now. He can get to a rooftop without having to sneak past building guards and locked doors or skittering up the fire escape. Which he has never done before. No. Honest. Still, what he does see is at least one familiar face also going for the high road and avoiding the press of the crowd, and some angling is required for the blue-clad teen with the bubble force field to land on the rooftop Axiom is on. "Heya," he says, coming to a stop to lean over the edge of the roof. "What's shakin', bud?
Having returned to New York, he wanted to visit back with a friend as well check out NYU one more time before making a decision to possibly start college. Better late then never right? Having heard that the tryouts for this new reality show was today, Jynn decided he would try to get in and watch. He wasn't a singer by no long stretch, dancing maybe but those dancing shows have been pretty lame, well except for "Americas Best Dance Crew." but that was a rarity in and of itself. So here he is in line with a few others who were waiting to see who will get on this show and who wouldn't.
Star was actually somewhat curious about the show. Not that she wanted to try out for it but it was suppsed to be a reality show, right? Imagine her surprise when, as shes's walking by the line, she sees Jynn.
That causes her to stop, which gets more than a few unpleasant remarks tossed at the woman along with the typical ogling. "Hello, Jynn." Of course, in the alien's hand is a tall coffee which is still steaming. Nice and fresh!
Axiom jumps and almost drops his soda when Speedball suddenly appears. Coughing a bit, he blinks at Speedball. When it registers with him who it is, he smiles. "Hey. I'm j-just watching the crowd while I'm taking a break. What about you?" he asks, in a pretty good mood.
Down on the ground, officials from the show are coming outside to tell everyone that they will be opening the doors soon. A cheer rises up out of the crowd, drowning out the sounds of a bright pink limo and pair of matching vans that drive up. The doors of the van open first, several men exiting the vehicles. They may be dressed in clubwear but they're armed. They line up in front of the limo and speakers crackle to life getting the attention of the crowd. The song might be recognized by some as one that played during commericals for a theme park without the lyrics. Once most of the crowd is looking, the limo door opens and a tall woman in pink to match her car steps out. If those pants get any lower or that top gets any smaller, we'll need black bars. "Make way, amateurs! The Dazzle Diva has arrived!"
"Grade-A bored," Speedball readily answers. "Figure I'd come down to see the festivities. Good thing I ran into you; if there's purse snatchers, I won't get caught blindsided again. Crowd like this, I bet every pickpocket in town is drooling all over themselves." He talks like he's born and bred in the city, but he's from Connecticut and it shows, so very much. He turns to lean against the edge to flash Axiom a grin. "Still, people-watching never hurts. Has that one hottie judge shown up yet?" Then, there's a commotion from below, and Speedball turns around, just in time to see the van and limo pull up, and the occupant to emerge. "Wow," he says, and there's that quaver in his voice like it's actually twitching. "That's...outrageous. Truly."
Turning as he hears his name called, Jynn looks over to see Kori. He hears someone say something about the way she is dressed and Jynn simply turn to look at the one who said it, "Back off." he says in a low voice, getting the woman and her friends to actually move back a few steps. Reaching over and taking Kori's hand he pulls her into a hug, "Hey Kori." he smiles. Well at least now he has someone to watch all the festivities with. "So what brings you all the way down here?" he asks. He sees the steaming hot coffee in her hand and all he could do is smile. Moving his arm down about her waist, he looks ahead as someone from the inside comes out to tell them they will be letting people in shortly.
"Well this is bigger then I thought." he tells Kori. But it's then that he sees the pink limo come to a stop, it was accompanied by music. He knows who that is and honestly he couldn't help but shake his head. Having only met Dazzler once, he looks to Kori while he waits for her response.
Jynn's hug is returned. "I was in town and wanted coffee. Besides, it's reality television so I thought it would be beneficial to look in to it." Her coffee is brought to her lips and a sip taken before she arches a brow when the limo appears and the the woman within makes her announcement. Her nose wrinkles in distaste and her head is given a shake before her attention returns to Jynn. "How are you?"While the Green Lantern is becoming a more and more common sight around New York, he's not exactly the sort to drop in like a blazing comet and ruin the fun. He's here incognito, wearing denim jeans, a heavy sweater and a canvas jacket. He doesn't seem terrible affected by the fall chill in the air, passing by the crowd without a second glance for individuals. He seems to be looking for someone. Upon spotting Starfire, he grins, then quickens his pace, practical work boots clomping heavily on the asphalt as he dog-trots towards the distinctive mane of red hair.Starfire has partially disconnected.
"I don't think the p-p-pickpockets are here. Too many cameras and too tightly packed a crowd that'd jump on any thieves. We'd have to worry m-more about people trying to buy and sell those audition wristbands," Axiom replies. He's been in the city his whole life so he knows these things. "Um...which judge?" he asks awkwardly. And then...that woman and her minons appear. Axiom stares a moment and then looks to Speedball. "Uhhh..." he trails off.
No, not Dazzler. She might have to sue though. When there isn't much of a reaction to the Diva's entrance, she scowls. "Boys!" she calls. This is followed by a few of those men pointing their guns to the sky and shooting. This sends the crowd scattering as the 'Dazzle Diva' laughs. "That's right! Scatter hacks!"
And before Speedball can admit that the 'you know, she was big in the Nineties' woman judge could probably be an excellent cougar to Axiom, there's a sudden burst of gunfire. By reflex, the blond guy jumps back from the edge of the roof. "Someone wants to cut to the front," he gasps out. More guns, and a self-admitted Diva. "Catch you downstairs," he says to his buddy as the boy hurls himself over the edge of the building, the multicolored bubbles trailing in his wake.
He's going to try and land on one of the gunman, but he's not above some smack-talking on the way down. "Hey, Lady Blah-Blah!" he calls. At least, if he draws their fire, it will be drawing fire away from the innocents. "You get to deal with Speedball, the original Teenage Dream!" No, no he isn't.
Chuckling a little, "Alright." he says to her. "It could be fun, this is my firs time to something like this myself honestly." Looking to the cup of coffee he honestly wish he had something to drink, but for now he would wait until they get inside. It's possible that a vendor may be selling something, shrugging his shoulders a bit and well it is getting cold out, maybe they would have hot apple cider inside? Yup all of this is going through Jynns head as he stands there in line for a moment.
When some of the people don't react to the woman with the bad music, Jynn cocks a brow up and looks back to the limo and thats when gunfire starts ringing out. Jynn quickly ducks down at the same time he pulls Kori with him so to keep from getting hit. He doesn't knwo if she is bullet proof or not, but he doesn't want to find out teh hard way. He quickly looks at the gunmen trying to get an accurate count of how many they are dealing with.
Another sip of her coffee is taken before she tosses Jynn a smile. "Good." And then she chuckles. "I would say 'mine too' but that's kind of obvious." And yet another sip of coffee is taken. What? Some people are addicted to cigarettes, some to alcohol, some to illegal drugs... Koriand'r is addicted to coffee. In every shape, size and flavor.
The shooting starts and something is muttered under Starfire's breath. Did the alien just cuss? Then she's pulled down suddenly which has her letting out a soft 'oomph' before blinking at Jynn. "Be careful." It's the only warning he's going to get before she pulls away from him and lifts herself quickly into the air.Kyle was just about to say 'hi' to Kori when the first bursts of gunfire go off. He only stutters for a moment, then breaks into a run and leaps skyward. Between his feet leaving the ground and the moment of impact, he bursts with a brilliant streak of emerald light and skyrockets past Kori, travelling like a green comet.
"HiKoriComingThrough!" he yells. "Get the shooters! I've got the civilians!" Kyle streaks through the crowd and lands between the gunmen and the crowd, and with a swift gesture throws a brick wall into existence. Aside from being green tinted and kind of see through, it's a pretty solid looking wall.
"Catch me?" Axiom is surprised by that. He hopes not literally. The masked teen watches as Speedball jumps and then starts running for the fire escape. "I n-n-need a jetpack or something," he mutters.
One of the gunmen goes down with a strangled cry as a teenager lands on his back, his gun spinning away. This gets the attention of the others and the Diva. She looks Speedball over and her face, a stylized and glittering domino mask over her eyes, scrunches up in an annoyed expression. "Oh look, a twerp," she snaps. Kyle's appearance gets a smirk from the woman before she snaps. "Fine, you super heroes can be my debut performance!" she calls out, throwing her hands to the air. Little motes of light dance from her fingers and everyone will suddenly notice something very strange. When they try to talk, it'll come out as if they were singing everything they're trying to say instead of just speaking it. The music from the limo suddenly changes to an upbeat techno-dance beat and the Dazzler Diva begins to sway. "Get 'em, boys!" she sings out, tossing a blast of energy Speedball's way. The remaining gunmen scatter, some shooting at Green Lantern and others at Starfire since she's in the air too.
When Speedball lands on the gunman with a *SPROUNG!* noise as he contacts his kinetic field, the newbie hero ricochets off the gunman into the pink limousine. "Sorry about the paint job!" he calls...until he realizes his singing it. "What theeeeeeeee." Apparently, he /can/ hold that note. He careens into one of the vans, but he doesn't seem to be hurt by the impact, and is trying to barrel into another gunman to take him down the same way. "Oh reeaaalllly," he chants, before getting a wicked grin on his face. Oh, one does not get a chance to do this every day. He takes a deep breath, and the voice sounds weird and reverb-y enough when he talks normally. Now, it's music time!
"So you can make me singbut only that one thing?Speedball's my name,and all the same,til now, I thought my powers were the most lame!"
Having taken to keeping his guns hidden on him, Jynn nods his head to Kori, "You too." he tells her as she lifts off. He then notices a green blur and words, shaking his head. He watches as a teenager lands on one of the gunmen, yeah that looks like it really hurts and possibly the gunmen may have some broken bones. Shaking his head, Jynn has gotten somewhat of an count of the gunmen, eleven now that one has been taking down. He looks around and sees that the peoples safety here is the utmost priority, he didn't want to get into a gunfight, so as he is getting ready to make his move, the Dazzle Diva starts her performance, "Ooooohh great....unnnh huhh..." he sings. His eyes widens a bit. "What the hell..?" his voice doesn't sound all that bad, but this woman just got on his very bad side. He doesn't sing and the fact that he is when he speaks, only has made him mad.
Jynn darts out from where he is and quickly rushes towards the nearest gunman, he sees that he isn't paying too good of attention which allows Jynn to get the drop on him and Jynn goes to town. He throws a flurry of palm strikes and knee strikes in an attempt to quickly disable and knock out the gunmen he is fighting before any of the others are able to get a bead on him.
Starfire simply smirks as Kyle goes by, her head being shook. She isn't one to talk while fighting. She sees no point in it. Sure, it may distract your opponent but it likely distracts you as well. Instead, she simply shoots of two starbolts aimed at two of the gunmen who have opened fire on Kyle. The entire time, her eyes dart around to make sure she can keep track of ally and foe alike as well as watch and make sure the innocense are kept safe and protected, not that she doubts Kyle's ability."Get those gunmen!" The Green Lantern shouts. Sings. Shoutsings. "Do it fast, and like a pro! Wherever they shoot, that's the way I'll go!" He throws his arms out in a wide arc, green walls rising all around him. He seems utterly focused on the task- it takes a significant effort to do so, clearly taxing him. "I can keep them from hurting the kids, but I can't put all these thugs on the skids!"
Anotheer gunman gets sent sprawling by Speedball but doesn't stay down like the other. He sits up and starts shooting at the masked marvel. Apparently he is not a fan of the song.
The man Jynn ambushes really isn't expecting a ground level assault. He goes down hard. Unluckily, two of the nearby gunmen in matching mesh shirts turn Jynn's way and start shooting. Thankfully, marksmen they are not.
The starbolts miss the men directly but impacting the ground still sends them flying and flailing. Starfire's attacks draw the attention of the Dazzle Diva though and she flings a blast of energy to rival the princess' own starbolts her way. "There's only one star of this show!" she sings out.
Green Lantern will feel a sudden surge of power his way. One he might recognize from the last time it happened. A power boost that makes those bullets bouncing off his shields even less effective. And if he looks up, he'll get to see Axiom mimicking his powers and sending a thug sprawling with a flying green fist. "Hey, superhero!" he sing-shouts down to Kyle. "How about I take these people out of the way so you can go play?" he doesn't seem all that bothered by the singing. Of course seconds later a grenade bounces off the pavement and towards Kyle's shields.
The sound of Axiom singing brings a smile to Speedball's face; he's trying to imagine how they might explain this to Wiccan later on. He expects the result to be a lot of weird looks from the mage and having their eyes checked for redness. He bounces away from the second gunman, and the bullets fired at him bounce off his field, and end up outting holes in the pink vehicles around them, maybe a tire on one of them. He buzzes past Jynn with a salute before hitting the limo and bouncing up. On the way, he passes Starfire face to face. His eyes widen a touch, and he makes the 'call me' sign before he bounds past.
He lets the momentum carry him in midair, and finds himself getting closer to the dastardly Dazzle Diva. He opens his mouth again
"Cause you still whine and moanIf you know what I meanstanding way back in your tacky limousineYou can't handle Speedballcaught up in your self-liesfrom your bad fashion sense to your autotuned linesminions from seven to zero in three-point-fiveBaby you're still off-keynow shut up and fight!" *
* (To the tune of "Shut Up And Drive" by Rihanna.)
Towards the end, he rears back, ready to kive a kinetic-field boosted punch to the sinister songstress, hoping to bring things to a crashing conclusion.
Managed to take out one of the men, he now has two shooting at him, using his enhanced reflexes something he hasn't really known about, all of this is basically to him training from when he was a kid and what he's been doing until now. Finding that he is able to out manuver the shots, Jynn quickly spins behind a car, easily reaching behind him, he pulls his gun and quickly ducks out from cover and fires two shots towards the lead gunmen who's firing at him. The ammunition he fires is harden gel rounds which aren't able to penetrate the skin, but does hurt like hell when hit which if the man doesn't get behind cover he will find that out as two of the shots are fired at him. One shot to the chest and the second one to the knee.
The energy hits hr almost dead on. It's enough to send Star flying backwards and into the building itself. Here's the answer everyone wanted: No, the Princess is not invulnerable. Her head smacks with an almost sickening thud before she falls the the distance between where she hit and the ground below. There's also now a chance one of those stray bullets will actually hit her."Kori!" Kyle screams in anguish as Starfire goes down. The Green Lantern grits his teeth, fists clenching, and turns murderous eyes on the gunmen. Green flames limn his body, and he starts levitating skywards, a solid sphere of energy manifesting around him like a protective shell. "You're going to pay for that," he declares. The Green Lantern makes an aggressive gesture, and brick by brick, the wall starts falling apart- flying towards the thugs, reinforced by Axiom's 'boost' power that protects the civilians. "And I'm /done/ singing," he adds, a green shell shimmering around his skull. The bricks accelerate with whipcracks of sound, hyperkinetic bullets of solidly manifested emerald light.
Between Jynn's bullets and Kyle's brick storm, those gunmen really don't stand a chance. They end up knocked around, some bleeding and all bruised horribly. Hopefully they get health coverage from Dazzle Diva.
Speaking of th Diva, she's grown annoyed with Speedball. She goes sailing from the punch but is apparently tougher than she looks. While her face is sporting the signs of being punched, she's standing. "YOU..." she scowls, the singing actually stopping for a moment. She pushes her hair back and lifts a hand. "You little brats have annoyed me enough. Don't get too comfortable because next time I'll really be showing my stuff," she sings before firing off a blast of energy...at her limo. Which explodes along with a flash of light. When the light clears, the Diva is gone. And hey, no one has to sing anymore!
Covering his eyes dramatically, Speedball says, "No, anything but that! I'm underage!" Sure, he's peering through his fingers, but it's the principle of the thing. As he connects with the Diva, the rebounding superhero is hurtled back, landing and making a few skips along the ground on his back, occasionally flipping over onto his stomach as he goes end over end. "Oy," he says. "Anyone get the number of that Lita Ford wannabe?" He perks up as he comes to a stop. "Hey, we can talk normally!" He tests something. "And Iiiiiiiiieiiiiii-" And *squeak* goes the voice. "Oh, man, back to normal..."
Having hit the man he was hoping for, Jynn ducks back behind the car he was using for cover. As the assualt that was done at the same time of his firing, Jynn looks back around only to see the woman having got hit in the face. He shakes his head, Jynn heard Kyle call out for Kori. He couldn't look yet but as he watches the gunmen are all down and the Diva is really pissed off now. But so what, no one asked her to come and start a fight that she couldn't handle from what it seems. Jynn is already reaching for his second gun when she screams out and fires a blast at her car which sends him tumbling backwards as well as sliding until his back meets the bumper of another car which takes his breath away. Coughign a bit, Jynn slowly gets to his feet and holsters his weapons, he quickly rushes over to the crowd of people who didn't manage to get away, "Is everyone alright?" he asks."I'm good. You three?" Kyle looks around, dismissing his wall with a gesture. Civilians look around in wonder as the shield he'd established vanishes into nothingness. "That was good work, kid," he tells Speedball. "You too," he adds to Jynn. Axiom gets a friendly clap on the shoulder and a familiar grin as the group is joined. "What's your names?" he asks, looking from one young hero to another.
Still mimicking and boosting Kyle, Axiom's in a costume that's a fusion of his own and the Lantern's. He lands with Kyle, smiling back at him from the clap on the shoulder. "I'm okay, Green Lantern," he says. He flashes a grin Speedball's way and then looks towards Jynn.
The crowd that didn't run stares at them all, a long moment of silence and faintly mumblings. And then the applause starts. Its followed quickly by cheers and soon the assembled crowd is cheering and clapping for the heroes. Camera phones snap pictures and the news crews that didn't flee are regrouping and focusing on the assembled group. Axiom blushes at all this...and starts glowing with white light. It gets him blinking and he frowns at himself. "This again..."
When they first met, Axiom had told Speedball that he knew Green Lantern, which impressed Robbie. He did believe Axiom, but actually seeing the hero in the flesh is another thing entirely. And said hero just said he did good work. It's all Speedball can do to just stand up and not bounce around out of nervousness or being on a total ego kick. "Speedball," he blurts out. "And thank you, really. But what about the people. And what about that b-girl!" He was about to say 'babe' but he saw how GL reacted to her getting hit. "K-kori? Is she going to be okay? Was anyone else hurt because I'm really sorry because control is not my strong point and I'll oh please let me learn how to shut up now." He finally stops to catch a breath, and then he hears the roar of the crowd. He turns, and smiles, all bravado to mask his surprise. "Thank you, thank you!" he calls out to the crowd. Ham, thy name is Baldwin.
Jynn nods as he sees that everyone is alright, dusting himself off now. His black and crimson eyes scanning each of the guys here, the heroes. As Speedball and Axiom speak up, he knew Kyle, or at least met the guy in his none costume form. "Kyle, you and I've met once before." he says as he looks to him. Nodding to each, "My name is Jynn." he says. He doesn't have on any snazzy costume or anything. "Where's Kori, is she alright?" he asks Kyle. "I heard you call out." he says as he turns and looks to Kyle.Kyle glances over his shoulder. Kori's long since lit out. "I think she's fine. She did the right thing- bells got rung hard enough that she bailed, instead of making herself a liability on the field. It's good to meet you guys," The Green Lantern says. "I guess you all know who I am already." He extends a white glove, offering to shake each hand in turn.
Thank you, kinetic field and gloves, because this way Speedball doesn't dose Green freakin' Lantern with nervous palm sweat. "Speedball. No, wait, already said that," he mutters as he stops shaking Green Lantern's hand. "Thank you," he manages to stammer out, trying not to go crowd-diving at the moment. "It's great to meet you, and Jynn. And tell Kori when you see her."
"We've met already, GL," Axiom just blinks at GL as the handshakes happen. He looks concerned as Kori is spoken about. When Kyle answers, Axiom nods. And then he sees the approaching media and looks to Speedball. "C'mon, we should g-g-get out of here," he suggests.
Nodding his head, he steps back as Speedballs nerviously shakes Green Lanterns hand, then Axiom in time. "Alright, I will try to catch up with her soon just to make sure she's alright." he says. He then steps up and shakes Kyles hand, he looks off to see the media and knowing the police will be here soon. "Well, if we don't wanna answer questions, time to get outta here." he says as he brings his jacket down over his guns and walks off."Yeah, for sure. You guys be careful getting out of here. Don't get mixed up with the cops, but if you do, don't let them pigeonhole you, all right?" he warns them. "I'll take the heat for it if they do. JLA and stuff." He waves Jynn off, gives Axiom a friendly punch on the shoulder, and walks off to do the boring bit of hero work- make official police statements and make sure the civilians are all right.
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