2013.03.17 - Asgardian Hood Ornament

(Note: The first part of this log is missing.)
"Only because I'm older, dear friend," Thor retorts as he once more puts a warm and friendly hand upon Eddie's shoulder. The pair are walking the streets of New York, the world's Metropolis, with the teenager who's carrying a bag from the comic book store they left a few minutes ago.
"Besides, what with all I have seen thee try to do, thou needs only to have more faith in thyself and more..." Thor pauses as the right word for what he wants to say here seems to escape his grasp. Instead of words, the Thunderer, dressed in Midgardian blue jeans and a tshirt with a light over shirt, puffs up his chest and thumps it with the other hand.
In jeans and a Scarlet Spider t-shirt, he makes them himself, Eddie smiles a bit as Thor puts that hand on his shoulder. "Faith in myself..." he trails off, not sure that will ever happen. He blinks, looking lost at the chest thumping. "Huh?"
More bumming around in the city for Domino. Jocelyn's proving to be good company, if not a bit of a jinx. It happens. They're both still alive, her BMW is still doing fine. With another item checked off of her list she starts up the car and begins to pull out of the underground parking garage. She's got places to be, she's on the clock, and as luck would have it the street beyond is clear. Traffic lights are favoring her, there's plenty of space to zip out and hit the pavement running!
Naturally, she picks up the pace so she doesn't lose her window. The thing that she's not counting on finding up on the other end of the ramp, directly in front of her car? That would be some big blonde guy in blue jeans.
"Oh, -shi--"
This might sting a bit.
Jocelyn is not the one who alters luck here! These days, Jocelyn is starting to wonder more and more often if draining off some of Domino's psionic energy would actually be a good idea. Of course, Jocelyn recognizes Thor's energy signature immediately. She doesn't speak, she just charges up her strength and toughness with some kinetic energy and pushes her long legs straight down through the floorboards. Luckilly, with where her feet are situated, she doesn't hit anything vital, and no fluids come flying through. She then just slams her feet into the ground and attempts to stop the car Flintstones-Style.
Sorry Domino. You're gonna need some bodywork.
When Eddie doesn't seem to understand that chest thump, Thor grows thoughtful. Stepping away from Eddie a bit, he turns to walk backwards, so he's facing Eddie as he walks, talking a bit with his hands to try to somehow talk around just what he meant.
"Heart. Nay, not Heart. Thou doth have plenty. I mean.. That is... thou art brave too, but... pride? Nay, even that is not exactly-" His words are cut off aburptly as Domino greets him with what might just be a Midgardian tradition: car to body.
Thor staggers as he's hit, toppling over to the sidewalk, knocking over a trashbin that was nearby, and tearing down part of the burgler bars from the window he was near as he tried to catch himself. Tried, and failed miserably. Thor looks up at the smashed front end of the car which has a nice Thor-shaped indent in the front bumper and the hood and ...oh dear. Thor frowns in dismay from amid the bits of rubbish and refuse he landed in.
That confused look doesn't leave Eddie's face. "Pride?" he's not sure it sounds right. And then there's suddenly a car hitting Thor. It takes the teen's mind a moment to process this but once he does, he lets out a startled squeak. "Thor!" a quick glance to make sure that Thor is okay however unlikely it may be for a car to hurt him. And then Eddie moves to check on the driver of the car, heading to the drivers side door to look in the window. "Hello? Are you alright in there?"
Crack! CRUNCH. -Yerk!-
Seatbelts. They're there because they work. Between Domino on the brakes, Jocelyn on the pavement, and Thor at the bumper, this blacked out German coupe comes to a -very- abrupt halt.
With all the patience in the world the alabaster-skinned woman turns to look at Jocelyn, then down at the floorboards where she can now see daylight shining through. Just as slowly she looks toward the hood, already noticing an upward curve where there didn't used to be one. Normal people didn't..leave dents like that. Not without running at highway speeds--and she should know!
She opens her mouth, closes it, forces a toothy smile to her blackened lips, then simply shakes her head before snapping the car into park and undoing the belt. The windows are tinted way black, though Eddie isn't kept in the dark for long. The handbrake gets wrenched into place in the same instant that she pushes the door open.
Eddie... She's seen this kid before. "Yeah, I'm fine, how about you and --" Thor. -Great.-
Luck's an unpredictable thing. More often than not, things happen for a reason. Such a reason may not become clear at first. Right now, her car is in dire need of some bodywork and a new radiator.
On the upside, now she can get her flask back from Thor. So, there's that.
"Hey, uh..you alright up there, Hammertime? Man, I hope this one doesn't go onto my record," she adds in a muttered tone.
Jocelyn is in disguise. Because she's not really keen on being seen in public right now. She looks over at Eddie, then over at Thor. She unbuckles after that jarring experience and takes a few deep breaths. Right then. Back in town. Yanking her legs back through the holes she made in the car, the tall girl steps outside, the fake tattoo on her face and the odd hair style, which is black instead of her usual red, rather notable. Eddie likely wouldn't have a clue who she was until she spoke.
"Everyone alright?" she asks, surveying the damage. Yeesh. This car? Was going to need a tow. At least she wasn't the one driving it this time, so no marks on her nice, new driving record!
"I am well, my thanks," Thor says as he rises smoothly to his feet and sets the burgler bars off to the side. He dusts himself off, brushing an old Snickers wrapper from his sleeve as he does so. Domino he recognizes, Jocelyn he does not, but to both he smiles before his eyes fall upon their car.
"Odin's Beard, my apologies for thy conveyence," Thor says softly, stepping forward without so much as a limp to set a hand down on the crumpled hood of the car, as if the fact that the driver hit him was not the reason for the damage.
Eddie jumps back when the door is opened, just in case...and to avoid beind hit with a door. When Domino gets out of the car, Eddie blinks. He's seen her before too. "I'm fine," he answers autometically. Jocelyn just gets an odd look as she exits the vehicle, Eddie looking her over for injuries. Then she speaks and the power booster blinks a few times before frowning. "We're okay. Your um...c-c-car isn't though."
Which is crazier, that Domino ran over an Asgardian or that said Asgardian is apologizing to -her- for doing so? The woman gets a sheepish grin about her, reaching around to rub the back of her neck. "It'll buff out."
Yeah. Right.
Was it a glare on the windshield? Maybe one of her weapons was biting into her as she was behind the wheel? Sunglasses got in the way? Doesn't much matter anymore. It doesn't even seem like an apology on her behalf is necessary, Thor's doing just fine!
"Listen, this kind of thing happens with me a lot. Granted..not usually because I'm driving into superheroes, but it's good to keep things interesting. I'll be right back."
Not two minutes afterward, Dom's on the phone. "Yeah. It's me. I know--I know," she sighs. "Just--parking deck, lower Metropolis. I'll need a spare. Usual fare. You know how this works. That long?" Another sigh follows. "Right." Just as quickly she puts the phone away and calls to the others from the trunk end, "Everything's fine!" Thank goodness for damage control.
Catching that look from Eddie, Jocelyn smiles a little. "It's me, Eddie. I'm just getting back from clearing up some misunderstandings back in my hometown". Stupid misunderstandings. She reaches into a jacket pocket and pulls out a moist towellete and wipes at her face, removing the tattoo. "See?" She wasn't sure if Eddie had kept up with the news, so she really wasn't sure what reaction she was going to get from the boy. Or anyone back at the manor, really. "Thor, you don't need to apologize, I think. We couldn't get the car to stop quickly enough. Brakes aren't that good on it".
Thor looks confused at Domino as she rattles on and goes to make her phone call. Thus, he turns to Jocelyn in time to see her wipe her face and- "OH! Jocelyn," the Thunderer calls, voice pitched a little higher than normal from surprise. It's obvious now that Thor didn't recognize her at all. He'll probably never stop falling for that.
"Nay. I was not mindfull of my surroundings. It may have been able to slow it down enough to avoid damage to it," Thor is saying, not realizing that the fall tore up his over shirt and the knee of his pants.
Eddie nods. "I guessed it was," he says. The removed tattoo just gets a little quizzical look but no comment. "What w-was in the news sounded a lot more s-s-serious than a misunderstanding," Eddie says simply. He's not going to jump to blame or anything but he does want to know what happened. When Domino finishes her call, Eddie glances her way. "Where were you g-g-guys going in such a hurry?" he's curious.
Nonchalance, it's a wonderful tool. A quick stop at the trunk and Domino returns to the group with a large and quite obviously heavy bag slung across one shoulder. Just..don't..ask what's inside.
"I'm usually in a hurry," she answers Eddie with honesty. "I can be patient. Doesn't mean that I like to be. This is inner city traffic, when you see an opening you've gotta act fast. Trying to make an opening isn't quite as fun."
That said, she's right back to looking at Thor. There's amusement in place this time around. "You apologized when I struck you in the face, too. I didn't cause any permanent damage back there, did I? Really, it's okay. No one got hurt, no report needs to be filed." Not that she would have any sooner filed a report if someone got turned into road pizza.
Jocelyn doesn't have to ask! She probably has a pretty good idea after road tripping with Domino what sorts of things are inside that bag. "I'll be glad to give you the story Eddie, but not out here," the girl says to him. This being the scene of an accident, well, she'd much rather not have that conversation here. She instead grabs her bag from the back passanger side of the vehicle. "It's a rather complicated tale, and not one suited for just anyone to overhear". Which was code, of course, for suggesting they go somewhere else to speak.
She lets Domino speak about where they were going. She takes her jacket off and offers it to Thor. With her height, it should actually fit the guy reasonably well, though it might be a smidge tight. "Here. Your shirt is all torn up. You might want this," she says to the Thunderer.
"Nay, I am-" Thor is starting to say when Jocelyn offers the jacket. He hears the code, but hte code translates way differently to the Thunderer. For instead of playing along nicely, he smiles, shakes his head at Jocelyn, and just takes off the over shirt to toss over a shoulder. Because a too tight tshirt's better than a shredded overshirt over a too tight tshirt.
"The shirt, apparently, is too damaged, but little else. The rest was my own doing. As for a story..." This is EXACTLY what Thor was just talking to Eddie about. "...I agree this is not the place for such tales. Come! Let us find good drinks and good food and we may all share tales of our glorious battles!" And Eddie can get more practice at good old Asgardian story telling where in the feats are exagerrated at each telling to the point where even the ones there are doubtful as to what really happened.
And this is how Loki ended up birthing a horse...
...and alcohol, long winters, and primitive humans helped too.
Nodding, Eddie offers a small smile. "Alright. As long as you're all okay," he says. When he sees Domino with the bag, Eddie offers her a smile. "W-want me to carry that for you?" he offers, trying to be helpful. Thor misssing the code just makes Eddie blink and his shoulders slump a little. He doesn't bother to correct though before taking a breath and smiling. "Y-y-yeah, c'mon. Food's on us this time."
Eat, drink, and be merry. Domino passes a hesitant look over to Jocelyn. Their track record in that department could stand to be better. It's followed up with a quick glance to her watch. "Only if someone else picks up the tab," she announces.
Eddie's offer is quite appreciated. However, if anyone's going to get busted with the contents of this bag, it should really be her. She's not going to put all of that on the shoulders of a kid. "Thanks, Eddie. I'll be alright."
If she happened to be lugging around potatoes, he'd be more than welcome to do the heavy lifting.
Speaking of heavy lifting, there's Thor with one less layer than before. Ehem. "..Yeah. I'm up for settling in with a drink."
"If Thor is suggesting what I think he's suggesting, I don't think a tab is necessary," Jocelyn says with an easy smile. "Your place?" she comments to Thor, though it's phrased as a question. "I could use a chance to clear some of this gunk out of my hair". She missed her shiny red hair! She'd been undercover for way too long. And she'll follow the others along.
"Aye! My hall is always open to friends and comrade-in-arms," Thor declares happily, face breaking out into a warm and pleasant smile. This as he puts a hand to Jocelyn's shoulder since she's the only one nearby currently. He looks to Eddie, almost as if seeking permission. "If Eddie is alright with the interruption in our outting, that is. He was explaining 'comic books' to me," Thor adds. This was, after all, Eddie's day.
"Alright," Eddie replies to Domino. He'd be happy to carry potatoes. He blinks a few times when Jocelyn suggests going back home and then nods to Thor. "It's okay," he says, looking around. "Guess we're w-walking."
And so it was decided that they would go to Thor's Hall here on Midgard. A lush apartment in SoHo which has been remodeled and redecorated to something one would find on Asgard. Thor also offered to carry Domino's bag, but didn't press if she said no. In the end, Thor holds open the door to his apartment for everyone, bowing to the ladies as they walk inside.
"Welcome to my hall," entones the prince warmly. Asgardian hospitality never diminishing. "Come in, please, and make thyselves welcomed. I shall get thee drinks, if thou wouldst tell me what thou doth thirst for," Thor adds as he steps in the close the door behind himself.
Following behind Thor, Eddie stretches slightly when they get home. "I'll b-b-be right back," he offers, heading to his room to put away his comics and send a quick text to both Billy and Vic saying he was back from a day out with Thor. Returning to the main room, he offers a smile to Jocelyn and Domino. "So..umm...wh-what happened?"
"Some water would actually be perfectly fine with me, thank you Thor," Jocelyn replies to the man as she enters. "I hope you are doing well since we last fought together," the woman tells him. She then looks around and sighs. "So. You heard the news. Well, it was true and false. I've told you before that my mutant power sometimes causes me to overload, I think. That happened when I first manifested it. That's what the article is referring to," Jocelyn explains. So, yeah. She did kill those people. But it was an accident, one most mutants and metahumans could understand. "Thor has seen it happen, in fact. When I overload, I lose all control, and I didn't know I could fly at the time". She frowns, pausing, and glances at Domino.
"Eddie is like us, and he already knows about me," she explains. Her attention returns to Eddie. "So, we had to go to Detroit and clear things up so that I can walk the streets without every cop on the planet looking for me". Which wasn't an easy task, as there wasn't really any precedent for a mutant power leveling a building in the legal system. At least not yet. "Also, there's some group that has an old axe to grind with me, and they took the opportunity to make my life a bit more difficult by greatly exaggerating the past. But, we've got some information on them, and I suspect they won't be in business much longer".
Warmth, posh interior design, a chance to shed her gear *whump!*, and her poison of choice. "Hard to go wrong with rum if you have any," Dom suggests while looking around the 'hall' of the Thunder God. And here while being offered drinks free of charge she's also making a connection with an A-list superhero. It's something most people could only hope to achieve, let alone those who are somewhat more flexible with their sense of morality. Perhaps running into Thor is going to be worth the cost of repairs!
Eddie's question is well handled, though Dom does nod when it's pointed out that he's one of them. "Yeah, we've bumped shoulders a time or two before. For a city of umpteen million people I would have expected it to be slightly larger."
Thor bows to each again, then heads to the kitchen. He tosses his torn shirt on the floor in a corner, right next to that beautiful Asgardian relic, Mjolnir. One sleeves drapes carelessly over the haft of the weapon. In the kitchen, the Prince very easily gets a short fat tumbler of the kind mortals say is best for the dirnking of spirits, a large plastic vessel with a picture of the Statue of Liberty on it, a very large steel mug, and a smaller white coffee mug. He's learned, by now, how to work the capecino machine, even if his foam-art is pretty well non-existent. He returns to the living area with everyone's drinks: water for Jocelyn, rum for Domino, a mocha for Eddie, and mead for himself. Motioning for everyone to sit where they like, Thor ends up next to Domino, and so he quips at her with a chuckle, "This is but a village in mine eyes."
Eddie sits down across from Jocelyn, listening quietly. "I'm sorry," he offers softly when Jocelyn mentions the accident. "Why w-were you disguised then?" he asks, wondering about that. "If you cleared everything up, why hide like that?" he goes on, head tilted to the side. There's a nod offered Domino's way when Jocelyn mentions he's a mutant, Eddie laughing quietly. "I n-noticed that people with p-p-powers or c-costumes tend to be kind of attracted to one another like magnets," he says. "That or Wiccan's rubbing off on me," he jokes about his friend's tendancy to just attract weirdness and random things.
"Thanks, Thor," Eddie chimes when the mocha arrives, taking a sip. "A village?"
"Because the news hasn't reached everyone yet, and we just got back, really. I haven't had a chance to clean up," Jocelyn replies, taking a seat in one of the chairs across from Eddie. "And I had to be in disguise so much while I was out of town that I've gotten kind of used to it. Until I got it cleared up, I was not exactly someone who wanted to be identified by either the police or some of the shadier sorts. Though I kind of like this hairstyle," she has to admit. "Thinking about keeping it". The teenager shrugs a little at that.
Taking the water, Jocelyn takes a drink of it. "Thank you Thor. Your hospitality is appreciated. We've been on the road for awhile". She'd been here before, so she had a better idea how to behave.
The hammer's almost easy to miss with the rest of the decor, but Dom's already seen it in use. Frankly, she's afraid to touch it. She understands weapons, but Mjolnir is on its very own plane of existence. Nitroglycerin seems like it would be safer to handle.
Heeey, the god has rum! Good man. Thor earns himself a light salute with the drink in her hand. "Strange, but true," she agrees with Eddie's observation. Thor, though... "If -this- is a village, I don't want to live where you came from. Asgard, where everything's bigger? Thought only insecure men and sociopaths like me had that problem," she jokes.
"Aye, a village. I shall tell of it, of Asgard, when Jocelyn is done with her tale," Thor says, remembering his manners and not following Domino's line of thought just yet. The floor is Joce's after all. He turns his blue eyed gaze to her, and waits. Same sort of waiting as he did the day the three, Domino, Jocelyn and Thor ran into each other again. Just waiting for the right time to act.
Nodding, Eddie smiles. "I'm s-s-sure you could get cleaned up here if you want," he offers to Jocelyn. "It's a n-nice style," he adds. When Domino brings up Asgard, Eddie just snickers a little. He's been. Of course the joke just makes him facepalm.
Jocelyn isn't much of a storyteller. "Thanks. But, yeah, that's the story, really. Nothing too fancy while we were in Detroit," Jocelyn says with a shrug. She glances over at Thor. It seemed he wanted to tell a story now, and so with a dip of her head, she yields the floor to him. "If you'll pardon me, and do not mind my using your facilities," she says to Thor.
Dom doesn't know how things work around here, but it's easy enough to follow the lead of others. Nevermind her phone vibrating with an incoming message. She scrolls through the screen with one hand and drinks rum with the other, very nearly choking on the brew when the second picture comes through.
"Looks like our new ride is ready when we are, Joce."
Category:Log