2012-07-26 JLA Dinner Party

----
Shadowcrest - Dining Room
The dining room of Shadowcrest is a rather impressive place, what with it's chairs from every era imaginable, and matching place settings, and the massive singular slab of enormous tree that stretches down the length of the room, half the size of a football field, taken from a single giant oak. But at the moment, it is even more spectacular because there appears to be a feast laid out that has no rival.
Translucent servants of a magical nature wander about, bringing food and drink to diners, and cleaning up after them. They seem to be from the various eras and cultures of the mismatched place settings.
----
Zatanna Zatara has had a busy day. She's been running all over the place (and when you are the Mistress of Magic, that includes other dimensions), preparing for her dinner party tonight. Some of the Justice Leaguers she knows fairly well. Some, not at all. And the Titans she needs to know better. She's hoping this will be a less scary icebreaker than meeting with military peeps and swearing pledges.
She waffled for a while on what to get people that she couldn't just magic up, which would feel like she made no real effort. So she has gift cards for Lacey's Department Store in Metropolis at every place setting. Someone needs to explain to her that gift cards are how normal people show no real effort in gifting. For her, it's special though!
Place cards sit at each space at the table, with Titans and Justice Leaguers alternated to inspire conversation between the teams. Zatanna herself is wearing a rather snazzy black dress, whose material seems to be spotted with stars and planets in the night sky. Long white gloves, black pumps, a miniature black top hat perched jauntily on her pulled up hair, and a wide white grograin ribbon around her waist ending in a bow complete her outfit.
As her guests arrive, she welcomes them each in turn, with an appropriate beverage, and once everyone is in attendance she leads them into the Dining Room.
Elsewhere in the mansion, in the Library to be precise, one of her new purchases sits unopened on a table. She went to a strange, dusty, used book shop and found a theoretical tome on modified uses of the Key of Solomon for securing non-demonic entities. She bought it just to add to her collection, without cracking it open to make sure it wasn't just a bunch of hooey. She was in a rush, you see.
Superman enters through the portal wearing a gleaming white kryptonian suit with his familiar El crest and long red cape. He approaches Zatanna with a wide box. Inside are pastries from France. He kisses her chastely on the cheek and whispers something into her ear before making his way to observe the room.
Superman, in dress uniform. J'onn...just in uniform, but likely to attract some attention nonetheless. He enters behind the Kryptonian. Somebody, at some point, has told the Martian that it is appropriate to bring a gift for the hostess. His gift? Wine. Rather nice French wine. (Were he and Kal shopping together or is it just a coincidence?)
Following closely behind Superman is his cousin, her normally blue costume likewise in a formal white for the event. Kara looks around at the decor, amazed at the home. She smiles and bows to Zatanna. "Thank you for inviting us to your home, Ms. Zatana."
Wildebeest was kinda distrustful of magic... it's not something he's really comfortable with. He's seen enough Disney Movies to know that it's a scary thing. He almost went out and bought an actual suit. And then just went crosseyed at the various choices and came back to the Tower and decided let magic decide what he'd wear. He'll be happy as long as it's not uncomfortable and doesn't force him into shoes. Wilde slides his key into the door of his tower room, arriving in his teenage form... rather than the 12' tall battle one that most have seen so far. And wearing the 'Ballroom Dance' suit from Beauty and the Beast. Hey... one of his favorite movies. And no shoes!! Double Win for the No-Longer-Baby Wildebeest! "This is so cool. Hey guys!" Wilde waves to the others arriving.
Piotr finishes putting on his red JLA uniform in preparation for the meet and greet Zatanna's putting on. Since it's a dinner party, he's added a strip of red cloth with eye holes to tie around his head. He doesn't eat or drink when metal so needs to hide his identity this time. Normally, being metal transforms his features enough to make a mask unnecessary. "Hurry up Illyana or we'll be late." he calls. Giving one last inspection in the mirror to make sure the mask is straight, he nods in approval and turns. To find Illyana already waiting for him. "Oh, there you are. Good. Shall we?" Going to different doors, they put their skeleton keys in the lock and turn. Since he's wearing the ribbon around his wrist, as he steps through his costume turns into a red dinner jacket worn over a white dress shirt with dark, dark blue slacks and black leather shoes. The mask becomes a black domino mask flecked with golden stars that match Zatanna's dress. Glancing down at himself, he looks at Illy. "How do I look?"
Illyana isn't one to let another dress her if she has a choice. Especially with magic. She chuckles at her brother, "So you've told me for the last half an hour." She chides him. Though really, he has to. Illyana doesn't have a head for time, given that it runs funny in Limbo and she's in and out of there so much. She's dressed in an off-the-shoulders purple dress that brushes the floor with a gold bracelet and matching mask that covers her eyes and trails down along the outside of her cheekbones just a bit. As they come through the portal, she steps up to take Colossus' arm and smiles up at him. "Fabulous." She says with a broad grin and teasing glint to her eyes. 
Aqualad doesn't have a whole lot in the way of formal dress, but he figures its polite to make an effort. So he goes with the magic thing, wearing his usual uniform when he steps through the door. He ends up with a suit, something that he has to pick at fairly uncomfortably for a moment before he composes himself enough to head toward his seat and the rest of the guests, eyes sweeping the room of familiar faces. "Huh. Weird."
Firestorm arrived earlier. Several hours earlier, actually, since he wanted to meet Zatana before the party and ended up (failing) to help her picking gifts, now he is waiting for the others in the dinning room. He looks vaguely uncomfortable out of his red-gold outfit; instead he is wearing a dark blue suit with a dress shirt underneath. The clothes made specifically for the occasion... about 30 minutes ago, through atomic rearrangement. Not bothering with masks, for obvious reasons.
A formal party. As Nightwing. He almost didn't go but there was a little voice in his head that said 'Why should you? Batman wouldn't show at a party like this!' That's why he got out one of his formal suits, tucked escrima sticks into the lapel pocket, a few items from his utility belt into his pants pockets and then put the mask on. "I look like Tuxedo Mask..." is murmured at the reflection before he just sighed and shrugged out of the jacket. The ribbon was picked up and looked at for a moment before it was tossed back on a table. The jacket was taken back up...Tuxedo Mask it is. At least he knows he has the equipment he needs. He takes the key, sticks it into a lock, and then steps into the portal, looking about as if to note all of the exits and potential stealthy spots. He finally approaches the hostess and offers a bouquet of flowers that he brought along. After all, it's only polite to have a gift for the host/hostess and with minors he wasn't about to bring booze. "Zatanna, I presume? Nice hat," is offered with a smirk.
Zatanna smiles at whatever Superman whispers, and she flashes him a wink. "Ooh pastries!" She hands them off tono one. Wait, you can sort of, kind of, see a hazy figure dressed in archaic clothing take the box and carry it into the dining room. Nearly invisible servants. Nifty. She accepts the wine and presses a light kiss to J'onn's cheek. "Perfect! Thank you!" It too is handed off to a ghostly butler.
Zee gives Kara a hug. "You're most welcome, Supergirl, and please, it's just Zatanna. She grins and brushes off the shoulders of Wildebeest's jacket. "Don't you look dashing, young fellow," she coos. Colossus and Magik get a broad smile. "Welcome! Welcome! Love the masks, and that dress is gorgeous, young lady!"
Aqualad gets a gentle lapel straightening. "And another dashing young gentleman. Welcome to my home." Dick gets a grin, since Zatanna has known his boss for a very long time. "My how they grow. Good to see you, Nightwing." She takes a breath from the bouquet and hooks her arm through the young man's. "These will be perfect on the table. Everyone, please take a seat in the dining room. Firestorm is already here as well. Dinner will be served momentarily. If there is a specific type of cuisine you like, you just need to ask the servant assigned to your seat, and they'll see it provided for you." This is the cool side of magic.
Superman begins to mingle around, stopping to greet Firestorm especially. Out of all of the Justice League members, he knows this one the least. "Good to see you here. We're glad to have you...both here and on the team." His face pulls into a grin, "Find the place okay?"
Martian Manhunter smiles at Zatanna, then heads towards his place, with a nod to Superman. Much of his attention is on the Titans who are present. (not all of them, it seems, but that's not that surprising). Aqualad draws quite a bit of it. As does NIghtwing. Mask plus suit...of course, J'onn has no need to hide his face.
Supergirl returns the hug gently and smiles at Zatanna. "Alright, Zatanana. I'm sure this is going to be a great event for us all. Seeing some of the other Titans, Supergirl walks over to them, waving. Nightwing gets an amuses smile and a teaasing arch of her eyebrow as she appraoches. "Nightwing...surprised to see you here after our discussion." Her smiles turns softer and she seems genuinely pleased to see him. "I'm glad you came. It's nice for us to all socialize."
Wildebeest blushes heavily, not that you'd notice it, when Zee greets him so warmly. He can't help but bite his lower lip and toescuff lightly at all the attetion. "D'awwww.... you look nice also Ma'am." He glances at the others, his ears flicking a bit. Offer a light nod, as if saying... yep, I'm the best dressed one here. "Awww, I didn't think to bring anything." Cause well, what kid does most of the time. Stuffing his hands in his pockets just to check. Not even gum. As Wilde's walking to the dining room and Zee is explaining, he starts humming 'Be Our Guest' to himself. Ok, someties magic can be cool. He offers a wave to his fellow Titans as he finds his seat.
Colossus grins down at Magik and escorts her to their hostess where he makes the appropriate greetings. Various people get a nod from across the room as he catches their eyes and others are inspected curiously since he hasn't met any of the Titans. Though only Illyana has seen him in the flesh before, he's just as tall, just as broad and just as muscular so figures most people will figure out who he is. Waiting till Illyana has taken her turn, he walks her into the dining hall before releasing her arm so they can take their assigned seats.
Nightwing is more than happy to be Zatanna's escort for the time being, "It's been a while, Zatanna, but you're looking good yourself.
Magik sketches a curtsey for Zee at the compliment, "Not quite as show-stopping as yours, but I'd never attempt to compete with a showman." As Colossus leads her into the room she nods to those she knows, her long blonde bob likely the main recognizable feature for her. She gives her brother's arm a pat and then heads over to take her place as well.
Aqualad offers a dry smile at Zatanna, attempting not to fidget too much when she does her adjusting. "Thanks. This is...a nice place." It's not like he's been exposed to a whole lot of magic, it's a little hard to get used to. Nightwing's name draws his attention momentarily, but he breaks it long enough to find where he's seated and move over that way. Hand raises at his fellow Titans, and then he settles down into his appointed place.
Firestorm greets the others as they arrive. He has yet to meet half the League membership, so he is hoping all of them show up. Superman invited him into the League, which was an immense honor for him, given he has been active as a superhero far less time than the others. When the Kryptonian comes to meet him, he nods sharply, "thank you, and thank you again for... everything. And this place is puzzling... must be all the magic around."
Nightwing is more than happy to be Zatanna's escort for the time being, "It's been a while, Zatanna, but you're looking good yourself." He leans in to murmur something to her before glancing over at Supergirl, "It's important to meet those that we're going to be working with and getting to know them as people...albeit masked, is a good start." He flicks a glance to Superman before he notes the other Titans present. He watched the video of the first meeting so seems able to recognize folks from that. Back to Zatanna, "I'm impressed. Martha Stewart would be so proud of this setup."
Nightwing whispers "Sorry Batman won't make it. He sends his regards."
Martian Manhunter is, oddly, keeping a slight distance from Firestorm. Like, oh, the other end of the table. Yeah. Fiery guy makes him uncomfortable, even if he's a teammate...and wouldn't be ON the team without good control over his abilities. "Magic is...intriguing," J'onn notes, quietly. "But I don't pretend to understand it."
The offerings on the giant table seem to be every kind of cuisine one can imagine. Ok, any Earthly cuisine. Zatanna nods to nightwing's murmur and puts the flowers Nightwing into a vase, and sets it on the table, where the rest of the gifts from the guests are there to share. She settles into her chair at the head of the table, doffing her hat because it's polite, and lifts a glass of champagne to toast to the two teams.
Zee clinks a knife to the side to chime for attention. "I'd like to say thank you, to every one of you, for stepping up to be the good guys in this crazy world of ours. I look forward to working with you, learning from you, and teaching you."
In the Library, the book opens of its own accord, and pages flip wildly to open to the very center. There, a modified summoning circle in strange, dark brownish ink, begins to glow eldritch green, the color of pea soup. A low chant emanates from it.
Rise from the Pits of The Ancient
Rise from the Abyss of Old
Come forth
From the Darkhold
Rise - We Summon Thee
Come by The Other
Come by The Great Shadow
Come by He who holds the Darkness
Come forth to create the Cataclysm
Gather forth to do His bidding.
Witness
From the Blood of the Wolf Emerge
Spawned from Him Who Is Yet Old Among The Elders
Fire, Water, Wind and Earth
Gather for His Second Birth
Come into the Final Hour
The Sun Grows Cold
The Blood Goes Sour
Gate to Darkness
Gate to Wisdom - Open
Those in the dining room who can use or sense magic, feel a slight tingling discomfort, akin to Spidey-Sense.
Having no magical abilities whatsoever, Superman remains blissfully unaware as to what's going on. He's busy clasping Firestorm on the shoulder, "You're welcome. We're all looking forward to working with you, Firestorm. I think this will really help prevent another attack." He gives the shoulder another slap and moves towards his seat to begin looking over the wonderful feast.
Supergirl smiles and nods to Nightwing before moving towards some of the other Titans. She waves at Magik and her large escort. "Hi, Magik. Nice to see you here. I was hoping to run into you and talk some more." She looks over at Colossus, not recognizing him in his human form. "Who's your date for tonight? One of the Justice League?"
Wildebeest sniffs at his glass a little bit, just curious what it might be. And then glances up to Zee. "It all looks delicious." Wilde offers, fidgeting in his seat a little bit. Of course unaware of any magical shenanigans. As long as Mojo doesn't show up, he's fine and dandy like cotton candy.
Colossus reaches for the glass on the table at his assigned place and lifts it in return to Zatanna at her toast before taking a sip. Yet to take a seat, he's watching the others, trying to identify who's who and catch their names as others identify them. Supergirl's question gets him to look over and then laugh a bit. In seconds, flesh transforms to metal and then back again. There's no change in height, just mass. "A pleasure to meet you, Supergirl. I am sure we will get to know each other well over the coming months." With Illyana on the Titans, he has lots of reason to visit their tower.
Martian Manhunter is, of course, oblivious to magic...astral disturbances, of course, would be a beacon, but pure magic? He might as well be a mundane human where that is concerned. He reaches for his glass and takes a sniff, then a sip. You don't swig wine, after all.
Magik is sipping at her drink following Zatanna's toast when Supergirl asks her that question and the beautiful, elegant ambiance of the evening is almost ruined by a spittake on the part of the blonde. She manages not to give the poor person across from her a bath though she has a bit of a coughing fit. "Date? Nonono, Colossus is--" She stops then, eyes narrowing as she looks off towards the direction of the library. Then she frowns, looking over towards Zatanna. "What is that?" Hey, it might be just part of Zee's house!
Aqualad isn't much for magic. Nor for the drink, a sip taken before he gingerly sets it aside. There are other things to attend to, after all. His eyes turn toward the Martian Manhunter, the boy clearing his throat before he asks, "You're the Manhunter, right? I saw you in Washington, after the fight. I didn't get a chance to say anything to you."
Firestorm does have some extra senses that usually keep him aware of things like unexpected energy flows. But magic is different. It is outside the vast knowledge of physics Martin Stein gave him. For the nuclear man watching magic events is like seeing paragraphs written in an alien alphabet. And this is Zatana's house, he has been noticing weird stuff for a while. He was the one in front of Illyana, so he was trying not to laugh at the blonde sorceress' reaction when she asks the question.
Nightwing is also completely clueless to the likes of magic being worked. He doesn't even have any powers...unlike, well, everyone else here. He isn't going to let that intimidate him, however. When he gets to his seat, he also lifts his glass in the toast, "To our charming hostess who has helped begin this new venture with gestures of friendship." He even seems to take a sip of the champagne...unless it was forseen and whatever is in his glass isn't alcoholic. He takes those few moments to continue to observing the other guests.
Zatanna digs into what looks like a big old helping of homemade mac and cheese with bacon and poblano peppers in it, and panko breadcrumb topping. It may or may not be Alfred Pennyworth's recipe. Shhhh. Don't tell! As the tingling of magics reaches her, her head snaps up and she swallows down a mouthful of food. She turns in the same direction as Illyana. "Something's going on. Magical in nature."
Zee frowns, dabbing at her lips with a napkin before setting it on the table and standing. "I should go check it out. Being as this is magic not natural to Shadowcrest, I wouldn't mind some company? Everyone else, please continue your meal." She heads out the door aiming for the library and the source of the sensation.
Out of the book rises a clawed arm, greenish-black, followed by another. They push the portal wider, to begin the creature's climb through. It is some 10 feet tall with a head that ends in points made from four leathery horn-like protuberances, a hunched back, small waist, muscular digitigrade legs also ending in claw-tipped feet, and a long, spikey tail. It resembles something drawn by Geiger. So do the rest of them who pour out after it.
Large maws open to bellow in rage, full of poisonous fangs, and their eyes glow an ominous red. The N'Garai have arrived and they are hungry to do Cthon's bidding.
Colossus looks from magic type to magic type since he is as clueless as all the other non-arcane heroes. But it's Illy he watches to see what she decides to do and when it's follow Zatanna, he sets his glass down and goes as well. Naturally.
When Zatanna looks concerned, it's clear that this is not part of her home's Natural Goings On. She sets her glass down and stands. "I'll come with you." She does call herself 'Magik', so one would guess she knows something about the stuff. She follows Zatanna out of the room.
Martian Manhunter also stands. "I will help..." Because they might need a telepath there. He can sense things the magic users cannot and vice versa. Leaving the table, he moves to follow Zatanna and the others.
The concern of Zatana also gets Supergirl's attention. And as Ilyanna moves to follow the Mistress of Magic, Supergirl rises to join her. "I'll go with them," she says to Superman and Nightwing, not fairing for confirmation. Kara moves quickly to catch up to Illyana and Zatana, ready to charge forward to protect the two sorceresses.
----
Shadowcrest - Library
This massive space is clearly Shadowcrest's Library. Floor upon floor upon floor of books, mundane and mystical, line the walls of the rectangular room, disappearing up into darkness where some shelves can only be reached by levitation or flight. Some books are warded, some are booby trapped, and some are locked up in vaults to keep them out of innocent hands.
The bottom floor is full of long wooden tables and chairs used for reading and research. The second and third floors have half-floors reached by stairs, which have comfortable sofas and chairs in areas surrounded by banisters.
----
The Library has multiple entrances, but the most direct one is the one Zatanna takes. She pushes open the double doors from the wide hallway to see a fleet of N'garai climbing out of a portal. "Oh damn. I should have checked that book at the store," she mutters. She gapes for a few seconds as the rest enter behind her. Then she snaps out of it. "Krow sehtolc!" she casts, and is suddenly in black leather pants and jacket, white corseted top, and heavy-duty boots instead of formalwear. "Laes siht moor!" Behind her and her mini-entourage the doors seal shut, as do the other exits from the library. She has to trust in the other half of the two teams to handle the ones already out in the mansion.
Martian Manhunter follows her in. "What are these beings?" Some grasp of their capabilities would be useful...the fastest way would be to read Zatanna's mind, but his limited experience has shown that magic users tend to have solid defenses...and be very wary about letting anyone or anything past them. Red eyes scan the room, assessing, trying to work out what the creatures are. What kind of minds...if any...do they have?
Supergirl's floating in the middle of the room, eyes disbelieving what she's seeing. She knows she can be hur by magic, and that's giving her some pause. But the creatures are still pouring out of the portal, and something needs to be done. Whatever they are, they're still living things...probably. So, the Girl of Steel inhales sharply and unleashes a wide-angle cone of super-breath, trying to push the creatures back.
Colossus overtakes Magik and moves to walk directly in front of her. As he enters the library and spots... things, he transforms into metal. Forget about what are they. "What can they do?" He's familiar with Illyana's demons and is not happy to see another species of them here. On the bright side, he's always wanted to destroy every one of Illy's demons he's come across and can finally satisfy some of that desire.
Magik lets her brother take the lead, forming a very formidible shield. When they get to the library and see the creatures the blonde sorceress summons her Soulsword and drops into a defensive position. It's a great dress, but it's really going to be a pain to try to fight in it. "N'Garai!" She calls out, recognizing them immediately. "Watch out for their venom!" As Supergirl uses her super-breath, it buys a little more time for Illyana to call add, "Stabbing is better than punching!"
"The Great Devourers," Zatanna hisses back at J'onn. "The N'Garai, children of the Elder God Cthon!" She leaves out the bit about them heralding the apocalypse as she whips her wand out of the inside pocket of her jacket. She doesn't really need the thing, but she feels more confident directing spells with it. "Draw eht srood!" she points the wand at each door, and mystic wards appear on them, to bar the N'Garai from breaking through them and leaving the room.
Their minds are not human, or human-like. They feel disgusting to touch mentally, like something so deeply unclean that one may need bleach and fire to cleanse that sensation away.
Supergirl's hurricane force breath shoves the demons back, giving the heroes room to breathe and formulate a plan. "Supergirl, can you use that to keep more from coming out of the portal!?" Zatanna calls to the girl. She grits her teeth and grimaces at Colossus. "Listen to Magik! They can take a lot of blunt force trauma, but piercing should hurt them!"
Well, not fire. J'onn snaps his shields up...then he hears what Illyana says about blades. And he has a feeling these things are not something anyone would question him using lethal force on. His hands shift, the fingers turning into sharp claws. Not quite blades...unlike Piotr, he doesn't turn into metal...but NASTY claws that swipe at the nearest of the demons.
It's kind of hard to speak when you're exhaling, so Supergirl just nods. The gale-force wind is kept up for a little longer, then Kara takes a quick break to inhale again. The wind returns , blowing back the advancing demons. As she exhales, Kara floats towards Zatana, letting the mage have a clear view of the action, but close enough for her to intervene if somethign nasty breaks through to try and attack.
Stabbing. Wonderful. Colossus is a little low on things to stab with though from his considering look, he does briefly consider smashing some furniture. But that's more likely to supply clubs. "Protect the mages." he tells the others. "They'll seal the portal and dismiss these things." Working with Illyana has taught him that much. Unconcerned about their claws or venom, he reaches for the nearest one coming for Illyana and tries throwing it back into the portal.@emit Stabbing. Wonderful. Colossus is a little low on things to stab with though from his considering look, he does briefly consider smashing some furniture. But that's more likely to supply clubs. "Protect the mages." he tells the others. "They'll seal the portal and dismiss these things." Working with Illyana has taught him that much. Unconcerned about their claws or venom, he reaches for the nearest one coming for Illyana and tries throwing it back into the portal.
Magik's... well, magic is as limited here as it is on Earth. Which is to say slow and weak. She moves towards Zatanna so that she doesn't have to yell, making sure that Colossus can keep her in sight to protect her and peel off any aggro. "My sword can disrupt just about any spell, but I'm worried about the damage it might do to Shadowcrest! I can try to disrupt the portal if I can get close to it."
Zatanna dives under a table, barely avoiding the chomping, slavering jaws of one of the demons. "Emit ot ylf!" she casts, and leaps into the air, soaring above the chaos. "Magik! We're gonna need to close that portal or they're just going to keep coming! Try the sword!" She loops up and around to dive bomb the ones nearest the book. "Cigam sworra!" she casts, and arrows shoot from the tip of her wand to bristle on the demon's bodies like quills. A few go down. Then she gestures at Colossus. "Evig mih a raeps!" The moment after he shoves a demon back into the portal, a long roman-type spear appears in Piotr's hands.
J'onn's claws go through one easily enough. It thrashes in its death throes though, all claws and fangs and whipping tail. Supergirl keeps the others from getting out of the book, so Illyana can approach.
They're tough...some of those claws actually cut into the Martian, releasing green fluid that's probably blood, although surprisingly little of it. In retaliation, he strikes at them again, claws first. Focusing on keeping them back and away from Illyana, who's supposed to be closing the portal. He'll ask where they came from...later. Somewhere unpleasant, no doubt. They remind him of particularly fanatical white Martians. Except worse.
Despite the actions of the others, Supergirl can't bring herslef to use deadly force on these creatures. Instead, another breath is taken and exhaled, keeping up the wind baricade over the portal. When one of the N'Gari misses Zatana, Kara lashes out with a kick, tyring to knock it back and away from the sorceress.
To say Colossus is surprised to suddenly be holding a spear is an understatement. But after a moment, he grins and lunges forward to stab one through the chest. That it remains alive and slams a clawed fist into his head, the claws failing to find traction on him, is as surprising as the spear having shown up. Shaking his head more out of reaction than because it needs clearing, he tries to get the thing off his spear while avoiding its attacks. Short stabs, Piotr. Don't impale it completely.
There's no hesitation to Magik, once she gets the go from Zatanna she's moving in towards the book, twisting away from any of the demons that manage to get past the heavy-hitters defenses with an agility that says this isn't new to her. Hell, she's more used to fighting demons than supervillains. The Soulsword comes down on a N'Garai limb as one starts to slip through and then Illyana's leaping up onto the table, bringing the sword up in a two-handed grip with the point faced down towards the portal to bring it down.
"Go for the heads, boys and girls!" Zatanna hollers. "These are demonic creations! Don't hold back!" Once Illyana gets close enough to the book, she waves her wand and casts, "Stekcip dnuora reh!" A ring of iron fence pickets with pointy sharp ends appear in a circle around Illyana, the table, and the book, slanted up to impale any demons charging at the sorceress. "DO IT!" she hollers to the young woman.
Supergirl tenses as the order is given. She's not happy at all, but Zatanna knows what's going on. The blonde girl's eyes flash red for a moment, and then a blast of heat energy shoots out. Kara turns her head and body, sweeping her heat vision over as many N'Gari as possible.
Colossus finally just grabs the demon by the throat, takes hold of the spear coming out the back of it, and then pulls the demon off and throws it at a demon trying to get to Supergirl. He rushes forward toward the book where Illyana is, slashing left and right just to clear the way more than kill any of them. He needs to be near Magik in order to protect her. If nothing else, he's a good distraction for the demons. in place of going after Illyana.
You don't need to tell Illyana twice. Her arms come down, the fiery Soulsword piercing the event horizon of the portal. Fingers crossed there's somewhere to stand when this is over, boys and girls.
The Manunter proves to be just as apt as a demon hunter, and he cuts them down as they near. Supergirl's heat vision smokes through the N'garai like the jets of a plane, turning a swatch of demons back into the ash from when they were likely formed. The ones charging at Colossus die on the end of the spear or on the pickets around Illyana and the book. Zatanna lends her magical oomph to Illyana's own, briefly empowering the sorceress with the authority to throw invaders out of the Zatara mystic mansion.
The sword strikes and the entire house goes quiet, as if drawing a breath. Then there is a silent, creepy, wave of force that seems to blow through them all. When it passes, the demons, living and dead both are gone. The rest of the mess though? Not so much. The book is nothing but a charred smudge, scarring the table where it burnt down.
Zatanna lands near Illyana, the pickets vanishing as well. "So much for a nice quiet dinner among new friends," she says with an apologetic expression.
Martian Manhunter stops pretty much mid stab. After a moment, his hands return to normal...which has the side effect of making quite a bit of the demon blood on them fall onto the already trashed floor. "Is everyone okay?" he asks. Quiet dinner? Well...depends on whether people have lost their appetites or worked up bigger ones.
Supergirl floats down slowly to the floor. Her white outfit is streaked with the soot and ash of the incinerated oponents. "I am unharmed."
Colossus drops the spear and reaches up to lift Illyana off the table, giving her a hug before setting her gently onto the ground. "Da, I am quite well. They could not harm me though they were very strong." They could easily have overrun him by sheer numbers under other circumstances.
Magik wipes at her brow with the back of one hand, the other still holding onto her sword. She accepts Colossus' help in getting down. Her dress is a complete loss, ripped and torn and covered in soot and blood. "I'm good." She says, sounding off.
----
MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE DINING ROOM
----
"See.... I knew it. Disney taught us magic was evil." Wilde downs his glass off sparkling cider before nervously pushing back from the table. Just in case... like it comes to life or something. He naturally scoots towards one of the remaining JLA membrs. Finding them the safest place to stand.
There is a loud slamming sound, as if doors shutting ominously, from the direction the other group went. Then there is the more ominous sound of the doors blowing off from the kitchen entrance, and a flood of N'Garai swarming into the dining room. This, is not good.
Superman doesn't wait to ask questions. These people were certainly not on the menu. He flies towards one of them and attempts to deliver a crack against it's jaw with a large fist. "Wilde and Firestorm, you join in," he yells. "Nightwing and Aqualad, see if you can figure out a weakness."
Wildebeest offers a slightly lull-like growl under his breath when the monsters burst in. "No fair, I'm wearing good clothes." Wilde leaps up on the table, running through the food and leaps at the huge group of the N'Garai and throwing a punch at one of their heads. "Party Crashers!" He growls, as he's swallowed up by the army... and then grows 3 sizes... well, to 12' tall anyway and bursts out of the group.... N'Garai sent flying.
Aqualad's head tips up when the disturbance starts, half-rising before other take up the charge to go off and investigate things he doesn't understand. He'd be mostly satisfied with that, if the doors on the other side of the room hadn't blown open. He's up on his feet, eyes snapping toward Superman, back toward the monsters. And then he ruins the drinks. Everything that's liquid rises from the table, spilling from glasses, rising into the air in a mess of droplets that all rush to his immediate area, forming into two hardened swords in either hand.
Firestorm also stands, but seeing already half the heroes are already going, including Supergirl and the Manhunter, he decides his help is unlikely to be necessary. "So much for a quiet dinner, but maybe it won't take long..." oh look, monsters come running from the kitchen! "Oh maybe it will..." he murmurs bleakly. Superman reacts first, of course, like a hero, while he stands watching like an idiot. Fortunately the Krytonian command snaps him out of his inaction. "Right, I will stop them!" He raises his hands, which glow with nuclear fire, the air transmutes into steel, blocking the way from the kitchen and perhaps trapping some monsters halfway. That is, he figures, better than blowing up half of Zatana's house with energy blasts.
As soon as Zatanna is up and indicating that something might be wrong, Nightwing has disappeared. His glass is still on the table, but he seems to be nowhere in the room...unless one looks deeply in the shadows of the ceiling rafters. "On it," is called as he suddenly dives from the ceiling to tackle one of the things, a tazer in hand. Luckily, he dives before the air behind him turns to steel, "Careful where you put that thing!"
The N'garai, sometimes called The Great Devourers, are highly resistant to blunt damage. The strike from Superman barely slows the creature down but, in turn, it can't seem to break the Man of Steel's skin with its fangs. It tries though, shattering a few of them on a white-clad bicep.
The creatures swarm over Superman and Wildebeest, as they are the clearly most threatening creatures in here besides, perhaps, Zatanna's Great Aunt Edna's jello mold.
The steel wall traps several of the creatures, but others can be heard running amok outside of the dining room as well as the ones now charging at Firestorm and Aqualad.
As the creatures start multiplying like crazy, Superman begins to get overwhelmed. His punches aren't doing what they should, so instead he tries a new tactic. A massive gust of air comes out as he tries to push them into the far corner with his super-breath, creating some space between them to give the others an easier way to attack.
Well, his punches don't really seem to do much damage. But he can still throw them and toss them around. Eventually he gets the idea to start using his claws and horns. Slashing at them and goring them with his horns. It looks like the satanic version of a Bull Fight. Thankfully in is 12' form, thir claws and fangs are having trouble shredding him as easily.
Aqualad starts with a chair. A foot hooks against the seat he'd been occupying, kicking it in the direction of the creature charging at him. He'll have to appologize to the hostess later. It's more of a test to see how much it slows the thing down, though judging by the way they take hits from Superman it probably won't be much. He doesn't move, though. Apparently he's waiting for it to get to him first, keeping track of the movements around him in the process.
Firestorm curses, as he was too slow to prevent many of the critters to get to the dinning room. He throws a blast of plasma to the first one charging him, and that of course will also set the room on fire. Agh. Zatanna will murder him. Wait! New plan. He looks at Aqualad. "Hydrokinesis, right? I bet they are not amphibious. Here, catch!" A wall of water forms in the way of the demons, formed by several tons of liquid.
Nightwing jabs the shocking end of the tazer into one of the demons' eyes in the hopes that it'll take it out so he can move on and help attack some of the others. He flicks the switch up to 'Max' and turns the thing on before tumbling onto the table. So much for that jello-mold; it's now all over his foot. With a grimace, he shakes it off before grabbing one of the carving knives and throwing it at another demon.
WHOOOSH! Superman's breath pins the fleet of demons into one of the corners. They look really, really mad about that.
Wildebeest's horns prove to be his biggest asset in this case. As he spears a demon on one, it flails then weakens considerably, although it's tail whips back around to try and stab him during its death throes.
The N'garai coming at Aqualad bats aside the chair with a vicious swipe of its arm. It then leaps at him, fully off the ground, its stinking breath smelling of ichor and sulfur.
The wall of water seems to momentarily confuse the creatures, but then the other set of doors bursts upon on the opposite side, and more pour in from there. Maybe saying "I'm Sorry for burning down your dining room" is preferable to "I'm sorry I let a demonhorde overrun your house"?
The evil jello mold clings very tenaciously to Nightwing's foot, and the N'garai he tasers screams in agony and whips its tail at the Man Wonder, trying to blindly strike him. Two more get up on the table, trying to flank him. One gets a knife in the face for his trouble and clutches at it in pain.
Still more crash in and Superman pulls his next trick out. His eyes turn crimson and hollow, giving him an almost demonic look before red beams shoot out towards the newcomers, bringing some intense heat their way.
Wildebeest growls just a bit as the creatures tail does manage to stab his shoulder, Wilde ripping it off his horns and throwing it towards the flailing creature toward the one that's running around on fire thanks to Firestorm. "Stupid things." He growls, as he turns his focus to wade back into the mass of monsters. Clawing and goring and throwing.
Okay, now it's a party. Aqualad's lips split into a grin when that mess of liquid just pops into existance in front of him, and he doesn't hesitate to use it. The boy lights up in vivid blue, the tubes of metal in his hands glowing, the tattoos that run across his arms, even his eyes take on an electric blue hue. The demon lunging at him is literally blown away by the tide of water that come rushing to his call, flung aside as the liquid begins to whip itself into a whirlpool. "Other side!" And the water goes that way, enough pressure behind it to tear the skin off of anything unfortunate enough to get in the way. The fire, though, that's left alone. Demons make good kindling!
"Oh hell, more of them," notes Firestorm completely unnecessarily. The critters are not stealthy. But Aqualad has put the water to good use, so maybe he can stop them. Instead Firestorm joins Superman at frying demons, aiming a stream of plasma to the ones Superman had blown into the corner previously.
It's a shame that Nightwing can't witness some of the Titans in action...he can peripherally, but he's busy fighting off demons and jello. Since the knife seems to be effective, Nightwing does a backflip over the tail whipping at him and lands in a crouch so that he can grab two more of the knives. So much for their dinner as he tumbles all over it. So much for the suit, too -- it's a goner. With a knife in each hand, he starts swinging, slicing at whatever part of a demon comes too close.
Superman's heat vision seems to work very well. His eye beams punch through the N'Garai heads like fiery javelins, sending the acrid stench of burnt demon into the air. Many go down.
Many also fall under Wildebeest's sharp parts. And then comes the water. The force, again, is blunt, not sharp, and though it throws then around a bit, it doesn't seem to hurt them much. The spread of food though? It's now pretty waterlogged. OH NO NOT THE PASTRIES!R%RThe plasma works really well on them as Firestorm shoots them up. Especially when they are hit in the head. Same with Nightwing's knife skills. Stabbing damages, stabbing in the head kills.
Ever heard of 'Bull In A China Shop'? Well, that's kinda the effect that you get when Wilde roars and chases a group of them out of the dining room and into other parts of the house. There's screeching, roaring, snarling, and the sound of splintering wood and breaking fragile things. Oopsie. Hopefully Zatanna won't turn him into a throw rug after this.
Aqualad is mad with power! Everything must be soaked! He does, however, get the hint about cutting these things down. The mess of water switches from causing general chaos to moving in precise arcs, swirling into pin-points of pressure that slice through skin from end-to-end. It's a mess, really. The remains are all flushed down the hall, food and chairs too, probably expensive things.
When you find something that works, go with it. Superman continues the onslaught of his heat vision, mixing in a few fists, and knocking some of them out into the foyer and the hall as they begin to head that way.
As the number of demons starts to become manageable, Firestorm stops using lethal force and switches to using matter transmutation to trap them in concrete and metal blocks. They might be sentient beings, after all. It is slow, though. "Can you see what is going on with Zatanna's group, Superman?" He asks to the guy with the X-ray vision.
As long as he's being attacked, Nightwing is going to fight back. He still has those knives and is still slashing at the demons. Since their heads are the most vulnerable, that's where his aim goes. "Get them in the heads!" So the weakness is found a little late.
Aqualad's change of tactics proves much more effective. The piercing bolts of water slice through the demons like a knife through butter. Also, having water in the breathy bits that are now full of holes really does some damage too. The heroes fall into the swing of how to hurt or disable the thngs, and soon, they are standing in a disaster area of a wet, slightly scorched, dining room, in a pile of defunct demons. The rest of the house goes quiet, as if drawing a breath, then there is a silent, creepy, wave of force that seems to blow through them all. When it passes, the living demons and demon corpses are gone. The rest of the mess though? Not so much.
Superman turns to the rest of his teammates. He's still a bit surprised, truth be told, but he seems pretty happy they have been victorious. "Is everyone alright?"
Splosh, the rest of the water just gets dumped in a huge puddle around Aqualad's immediate area. He stops glowing soon after, brilliant blues fading and dying as his power slackens. A big breath, exhale, and reply of, "I'm good." And, to Firestorm, "That was a good idea." And, when he surveys the wreckage, "But. I might have gone overboard." Hopefully Zatanna won't magic him into a mop or something.
Firestorm nods. "I am alright, but Wildebeest charged down into the kitchen, and he was injured." Yes, the dinning room looks like a war zone. But it was a war zone. He can fix most of the damage, though, if he has an hour or two. "We also need to find Zatanna, Magik and the others."
"Overboard?" Nightwing calls from his perch on the table, "Is that a pun? Please tell me it wasn't intentional..." he tries to shake off the remnants of that macaroni dish from his foot. Looking about at the pile of dead demons and destroyed room, he shrugs, "Anyone have a number for take-out? I think dinner's ruined." He hops easily off of the table but keeps those knives handy. "I can check on Wildebeest if you all want to check on the others.
----
SOON AFTER, IN THE LIBRARY
----
The Library looks slightly trashed, but not quite as bad as the dining room. Zatanna slings an arm around her fellow JLAers. "Thanks everyone. Maybe I can order pizza? Someone will have to wait outside to get the delivery though." She grins tiredly. "We should check on the others though. I know a lot of those things got out before we sealed the room.
Superman looks around at the wreckage and then to Zatanna. "Any idea who it was? I heard there's this guy in Central City who you might want to call to help you clean up."
Aqualad looks a bit different than he had before. Mostly gills. Also, webbed hands. And he's drenched. The boy enters at a steady jog, skidding to a halt when it becomes apparent the danger has been taken care. Water bearers are stuffed back into pockets, then he slinks back to stand at the edge of the door. Almost like he's trying to block the view of what's back there. Nope, nothing to see there. "What happened?"
When her cousin comes in, Supergirl moves up to him. She looks him over, making sure he's okay. "Maybe we should form search parties to explore the rooms?
Magik's purple dress is rather a mess, ripped and torn and stained. She's standing next to her brother at the table in the middle of the library, her fingertips trailing through that charred smudge with a frown on her lips. In her other hand she has a flaming sword, silvery armor cover that left arm from fingertips to shoulder.
Martian Manhunter seems...pretty much untouched, but he does have demon blood on his hands and is looking, at this point, slightly annoyed. No doubt at the interruption.
"Is he wet? Why is he wet?" Zatanna asks, jerking a thumb at Aqualad, eyes widening. Supergirl's statement has her looking back at her. "No, they're banished. Magik's sword closed the portal and sent anything of them back to where they came from." Zee is also no longer in a dress. She's in mostly black and white leather.
Firestorm follows the others into the library, checking to see if they are alright. Then he looks at Zatanna for explanations, too. However, "Nightwing went looking for Wildebeest, if any of those monsters is still out there we need to find them as soon as possible."
Colossus transforms back to flesh and reaches up to lightly touch Illyana's arm. "You may put the sword away, Li... Magik." he suggests gently. "The danger has passed. The portal the demons came from has been closed." he tells the others. One thing he knows from hanging out with his sister, it's portals.
"There was some trouble back there too. We took care of it." It's a bit of an understatement, but Aqualad goes with it. His hands tuck into his suit jacket, a slow jerk of his head back the way his group had come. "Ordering something might be for the best." He doesn't expound any more on that, and he even manages to keep a straight face when he says it.
Category:Logs
Category:Events