2013-12-31 - New Fear's Eve

New Years Eve, Times Square.

"...I'm your host for this evening's Rockin' New Years Eve, Maggie Jackson, and with me is Mr. Norman Osborne!" the chirpy blonde former pop star says into the microphone, dressed snuggly yet fashionably against the chill.

"I hope everyone out there is having a /great/ time tonight in the greatest city in the world!" Osborne says into his microphone, waving to the crowd. A cheer goes up. "We're just a short time away from midnight, and tonight /truly/ has been a blast, Maggie. Thank you for having me with you."

The pop tartlet giggles, then gestures to the large stage set up beneath the giant ball. "We've been so blessed to have a myriad of performers tonight! Let's give a big welcome to... uh..." she fumbles her cue card, but smiles. "Well, he needs no introduction, so let's take it to the stage and enjoy the show!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlfbGC5ap0M

Natasha Romanova is milling about near the stage, glad for her earmuffs and warm, knee-length coat. She has a warm knit hat over her head as well, to keep away the chill, and is nursing her second beverage of the night.

"Come to the party, he says," she grumbles under her breath. "Do not do paperwork, he says. /Enjoy/ your New Years Eve, he says. Ha! The Director has an odd sense of /humor/." The Russian spy scowls, a little bundle of annoyance in a sea of glee and merriment.

Noriko has come to do just that; party. Her time off from Xavier's, her reconcilation with her past (mostly) in Japan, has her in a fine mood. A rockin' mood. Perfect, for a rockin' Eve. When the artist comes on, she doesn't seem to show any recognition, but she's certainly glad that with all the crazies about, and odd costumes, her gauntlets are barely garnering a second glance. Having come alone, the girl just seems to want to dance, have a little fun, and forget all the crap that comes with being a mutant. Or, being her. She's got on a cute yellow coat, with poofy white faux-fur sleeves and hood, matching boots. And, of course, yellow earmuffs. She could never, ever, put a hat on her pretty electric blue hair. She doesn't seem to be minding the cold one bit.

New Years Eve! Woo! This is one of the many reasons why Clint Barton loves New York City. The Avenger is over by the stage near Natasha dressed in a leather motorcycle jacket, black with purple highlights and a black knit cap with a purple H on the front; the rest of his garb matches with the purple shirt and black jeans tucked into his black combat boots. He's got a bottle in his hand and while this isn't his sort of music, he's getting his white boy groove on all the same. "C'mon Nat," he smiles over at the grumpy super-spy. "Ennnjooy yourself. Seriously. It's New Years and nothing's on fire yet!"

Bruce Banner has been convinced to go out in public. The cold isn't really bothering him because of the large, poofy down coat, making the slight man look like a purple marshmellow with legs. In his mittened hands is a thermos, which smells of hot chocolate. Bruce isn't really standing around anyone in particular, but he actually appears to be having fun. He does not recognize the music, but he shrugs and relaxes a little. 5R Natasha Romanova pages: Yes. Totally. Also if you want to throw out songs in poses, let me knwo and I can throw you the next on the playlist.

That artist is joined by a few of his fellows and a more poppy, upbeat song plays (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr1okBUa1kk), and Natasha sighs, shaking her head at Clint's 'dance' moves. She notices Bruce, and gives him a small wave, before turning a critical eye to Clint and commenting, "You know, in some cultures, how well a man dances is considered a direct parallel to his sexual prowess," with a small smirk.

High above the dancing, singing, drinking, partying throng, a thin man, garbed against the cold, waits. The building he is perched upon offers him a perfect view of the crowd and of the ball, awaiting its drop to the street below, just like every year.

But this year... oh, it will be /different/. It will be /better/.

It will be... frightfully delicious.

Looking around at the stage Dor'rain narrows his eyes at the music. Watching the lights and partiers, no one stands out in the sea of faces, and he is not really focusing on his scanners. Looking around the area he watches some youth's dance and party. For him the idea of Violence during festivals is very alien. For him Festivals are times of peace, and and enjoyment. Meant to be enjoyed by all. His perch gives him some vantage point as once in a while someone spots him, but thanks to the black color of his armor he is easy to move from the shadows out of sight.

"Are any of those cultures American?" Clint smirks as he continues to 'dance'. He spots Bruce the human puff jacket marshmallow and the smirk becomes a grin. Hard to believe he's Hulk sometimes. Clint dances over towards his fellow Avenger and grabs his arm. "Bruce, didn't you see the signs? No wallflowers allowed, come hang with Nat and I," he says tugging Banner towards Natasha.

Okay, so it's not really Noriko's style of music; but there's people. People having fun. Well. Most people are having fun, and Noriko certainly is a people person. Mostly. She blows a noise-maker in Clint and Natasha's direction, and laughs a little bit, grins wider, and takes a swig of her own drink. Which appears to be something warm. And smells exactly like hot apple cider. Hey. It's cold.

Bruce smiles and waves back at Natasha, though before he can say anything Clint is dragging the quiet scientist over to join the other avengers. "But I don't believe I saw any signs that said such, besides it is so loud!" Though sadly he is not in any state to stop Clint from dragging him over. "Hello, Natasha," Bruce says politely, before taking a sip of the hot chocolate.

"One can only hope they change the genre of music soon," Natasha laments. The white boy dance is /not/ attractive. But of course, there's one more song of the same type as Clint drags Bruce over (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwElAIGJths). Natasha actually laughs lightly as Bruce protests in his polite way at being dragged closer to the stage, and she offers to dance with them both-- though given the type of dancing and twerking a few of the younger types nearby are in the process of doing, she wouldn't be quite shocked if Bruce, at least, declined. She grins at Noriko as she blows a party favor in their direction... beginning to loosen up. Clint is right. It's a night off. Nothing going wrong.

The thin man on the rooftop checks his watch against the giant countdown above the crowd, smiling. He reaches up to double check that his mask sits on top of his head. "Three more songs," he says to himself. "And then the fun truly begins."

Kara Zor-El came to Times Square because.... well actually she has no idea why she came. She doesn't even understand the whole celebration. Another year. Existence continues so it should be celebrated? They didnt have that on Krypton. Lots of people here too. Pushing into her. She should have just watched all this from one of the rooftops or maybe in the sky. But nooooo.

See it like it's meant to be seen! Jim said.

Totally does not get this whole thing.

And what's with all the silly glasses people are wearing? And if one more person asks her if she's cold dressed like that...

Well, at least hte music is good.

"That's the point!" Clint says shouting over the sound of the speakers to Bruce. When Natasha offers to dance he nods and is about to grab some space on the street when he spots Kara in the crowd and grins "Hey Kara!" he shouts waving an arm. An arm that bumps Noriko's cider. "Crap, sorry!" he says turning around "Did you get any on you?"

Kara Zor-El peers when she hears her name. What a coincidence. Among the thousands of people here that she'd see a couple that she knows. She recognizes Clint from the Helicarrier, and Noriko from that time she helped her with that supervillain that had the kryptonite. She waves a little. "Hi." she says as she makes her way over to them. "Lots of people here. Does this happen every year really?"

Bruce shakes his head as he declines the offer to dance. It is fortunate he is even present for this celebration. He stands quietly, sipping on his hot chocolate. He blinks as the song changes and rubs his forehead in response to the loud music, but after a few deep breaths relaxes. That being said, Bruce smiles as he sees so many people having fun.

"Kara, is it?" Natasha asks curiously, peering over Clint's shoulder. "I am Natasha. It is good to meet you." She looks around. "Yes, every year. It is always noisy and crowded," she notes, finishing the drink in her hand. Bruce's declination isn't exactly shocking to her, and she flashes him a smile anyway.

The group departs and another takes the stage, firing up a different sort of tune. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGzFpJYqLS4)

Natasha grins slightly, elbowing Clint. "Dance? It has been since... hmm... was it London? No, I think it was Versailles."

Luckily, the drink had one of those nifty plastic lids on it. Noriko grins at Clint, shaking her head, "No worries," not one of the many New Yorkers, it'd seem, that would take an affront to such an accident. But, when he calls out Kara's name, she turns to look, and grins wide. "Hey! It's you!" She waves a gauntleted hand eagerly towards Kara. "I'm back in New York," she says, promptly. "We should totally hang out." Then, because it's her nature, she offers to Clint, "I'm Noriko. And, I totally kick ass."

She turns then to study Natasha, still grinning. Yet, as she turns towards the Russian, she frowns, pointing a metallic covered finger towards the stage. "That guy probably shouldn't be going under the stage with a torch, should he? I mean, while they're performing and stuff? Is that normal?"

Kara Zor-El smiles a bit. "All because it's a new year on the calendar. My cousin really likes this time of year too. He said you're supposed to make all sorts of promises to keep to resolve to better yourself in some way." She looks at a guy who runs past wearing 2013 glasses and alien antennae. "Though some of this stuff still doesn't make sense."

He runs past again with a friend wearing a beer helmet going "WOOOOO!!!!!!! TWENTY FOURTEEEEEEEN!"

Kara pauses. "Some doesnt make any sense at all."

Kara Zor-El looks at Noriko and smiles. "And... hey. Nice to see you again too."

"Versailles," Clint says with a smile. "Remember we chased our target back to Paris, drove his car into the river, made that joke about him being in Seine." A smile from Clint then and he turns back to Noriko. "I bet you do," he grins. "I'm Clint Barton, seems like you know Kara, these two here are Natasha and Bruce," a pause "Sadly he won't change his name to Boris."

The mention of the guy with the torch causes a bit of a frown to cross Clint's face. "Huh, yeah, could be part of the show, but then there's those guys," he nods to where a trio of men are walking through the crowd wearing gas masks. Though with all the crazy head gear going on, that could just be a style thing.

Natasha laughs, her eyes lighting up happily at the memory. "Yes, and then we--" she breaks off that train of thought. Really /not/ the time to discuss... uh, business. Totally business.

The mention of the guy with the torch draws her attention, though-- she glances first towards the stage, where a girl in ripped fishnets and overdone, brightly coloured makeup is stepping on with a handsome bald man-- and it would be a lie to say Natasha doesn't ogle for a moment.

Okay, totally ogles. For more than a moment.

But she quickly looks to where Clint gestures as well, the gas masks. "Those... are not costume pieces, Clint. Those are same as military issue, from what I can see."

The beat starts again, and the music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExTpasiTAUs) blares from the sound system.

The man on the rooftop smiles, pulling the burlap mask down over his face, waiting on the song to end.

"Timber." Bruce smiles and raises his cup in greeting to Kara and Noiko, "Indeed, and I won't change my name because I am capable of finding moose and squirrel." He chuckles. The mention of torches and gas masks catch his attention, and the smile fades to neutrality, but Bruce shrugs and says, "But yes, tonight is for having fun..." Natasha remarking on the gas masks causes Bruce to look again and as he is familiar with gas masks, his discomfort becomes more evident.

Kara Zor-El saw the gas masks, but figured it was just customary to dress up in ridiculous stuff like everyone else is doing. She looks over. She asks Clint, "So... what's the reason people dress in the weird stuff anyway?" She peers closer.

"Because it's fun to let loose, once in awhile," suggests Noriko, to Kara, loping an arm around the other girl as if they were, and had been, BFF's forever and ever. "Go wild and crazy. Let out inhibitions. Or," she points to some sexy anime cosplayers, "Just pretend your someone else for a minute, and look good doing it." She grins at the guy who'd been whooping earlier in the alien getup. "Or, just plain nuts."

But, as the others mention 'military issue', and so forth, she frowns, too. "You don't think they're like, trying to wreck the show, do you?"

As he gains a look of the area Dor'rain chooses to do something totally against common sense. He had seen a number of people dressed up in various costumes, so what he does is activating his armor, he figures if he can't be see he is an alien, though his legs might give him away, Dor'rain sealed in his armor moves down to the street area. A couple of people make the mistake of thinking he is a new Iron Man Armor suit others a costume. A number shy away, But Dor'rain is also not too far away from the location of those wearing Gas masks. With in eye shot of Natasha, Clint, Kara and the Others.

Only those with Tech or special vision could see through the suit. Dor'rain's actions and movements are passive, not aggressive. It doesn't take long before some people dressed up in home made space suits mostly made from Tin Foil and are utterly drunk seem to think he is just some guy in a home made suit.

Clint's cheeks colour at what Nat mentions and he clears his throat "Annnd moving on," he says turning to take a closer look at the guys in the military issue gas masks, frowning. "Want I should have a word with them?" he asks Nat.

Then to answer Kara's question "Well don't know about those three, but the rest of the people are just drunk and silly, not sure why that's the custom for New Years though, just sort of what we do here."

Kara Zor-El shrugs a little. "Well, it's not like they're armed or anything." she says after a few moments looking at them. "Maybe they just didnt want to wear the stupid looking glasses?"

"I am not sure," Natasha says in response to Noriko's question. "There are many police here, I would think a few kretins would know better than to cause problems." She doesn't even notice Clint's blush to tease him, her gaze is focusing on the stage-- rather, where Noriko had pointed out the guy climbing under it. As the song ends, the countdown speeds up-- where there had been twenty minutes left until midnight, the seconds begin flying by at double the speed. Then triple.

A crack. The stage, which was where the ball would have stopped, resting lightly as it fell, begins to buckle slightly upon itself.

The drunken crowd, still dancing, swaying to the final song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLDXj2kI9H8) before the scheduled last speech of the evening from Osborne and the inevitable ball drop.

The sound of the music disguises, for all those without ridiculously badass Kryptonian hearing, the snap of one of the support cables for the ball.

For the moment the issues with the Stage and the ball have escaped his attention. Dor'rain's scanners are not set to trigger an alert unless there is something serious, oh say like the tower the ball is on starts to sway enough that it will actually fall and hit the crowd, something similar. But as he joins the Rythem of the crowd Dor'Rain moves. A few people ask him about the tail, he says, "Counter balance for his outfit." A few remark on his legs and he comes up with "Stilts." As an explanation. The music is good. "Eh, you're right, Natasha," Bruce says, and relaxes a little, well as much as he can with the loud music, lights, and other things causing a sensory overload for many. A few deep breaths calms him a bit and he takes a drink from his thermos. He looks over to the clock, now moving more rapidly and says, "Hey, what's up with the clock?"

Kara Zor-El looks up at the beam on the building. "Actually... there might be a problem after all" She suddenly blurs out of there. The next second, she's flying up to the building where the ball and beam are. In the blue outfit.

"Weird," agrees Noriko, about the clock. She squints at it, "Computer hackers having a joke?" At least, she hopes that's all it is. But 2 + 2 = Trouble, most often in her world. Then Kara's taking off ... and she squints further to see where the Kryptonian is headed.

Clint looks up at the clock and nods to Bruce. "Yeah, that's not good," he says and wishes he'd remembered to bring his bow and arrows to the party he didn't have much more than a couple of throwing knives. Though when Kara flies off, he frowns, and heads to the gas mask guys. "Don't like this, going with universal plan B, assume everyone is a badguy until I learn different."

He starts towards the guys in the masks "Hey, you there! Stop! I want to talk to you!"

The guys in the masks look at Clint with curious head tilts, but don't challenge him. They seem strangely relaxed, their body language cocky, even.

Natasha watches Kara take off, her expression unreadable. "Of course. Any time I try to have a night off, something happens," she mutters with a scowl, her stance tensing.

The stage cracks again as the clock flies towards zero. The music cuts off abruptly, and a voice-- not Osborne's-- comes over the loudspeaker.

"This is the time," a calm, soothing male voice says, "where another would tell you to move in a calm, and orderly fashion away." The voice pauses, chuckling softly. "I'm afraid I'm not that kind of doctor. Panic, boys and girls."

"Oh, please. Panic."

The cable holding the ball, too strained under the weight, snaps, and the ball begins its descent towards the collapsing stage below!

When he notices someone flying from the crowd, Dor'rain tenses and he opens up his scanners, scanning the area around the flying woman. Dor'rain lifts his left arm up scanning the area around the Clock when he notices it's time spinning out of control. He is almost instinctively on guard, ready for trouble. The shouts from Clint draw his attention, as he notices the men in gas masks. A Quick scan of them and the area might tell Dor'rain what the hell is going on.

When the Voice comes over speaker and he starts to say Run, Dor'rain snarls under his helmet. Ok This is not good. As a Result As panic starts, Dor'rain uses his Scanner to try and isolate the Channel of the frequency of the speaker system, if he can override it and transmit translated instructions to vacate the area in an ordered fashion, to follow local law enforcement he will. Panic on this scale is not good.

Noriko realizes they're in for it, and her minimal hopes of it just being a hacker, or someone mucking with the systems goes down in smoke. "Alright." She tilts her head one way, then another, moving her fingers to adjust a knob on her gauntlets. And, as some people do begin to panic, likely, she keeps her focus, looking and waiting for the real threat. Banner is not too pleased with the response of those confronted by Clint, nor the voice coming over the loudspeakers. The sensory overload, combined with the threat to life in the area, leads Banner to his only real option. This option is why Bruce Banner can't have nice things. His brand new, purple coat, a Christmas gift to himself, is now in chunks on the ground. In the place of Bruce Banner stands the infamous green brute, giving out a roar to inform those that wish to cause problem with this great New York City tradition, that they have screwed up.

When the last cord snaps, the ball starts to fall towards the beam.

Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, flies at it and grabs the huge ball before it contacts by one of the metal loops which was holding the cords. She peers at it. "I'm pretty sure this isnt what they mean by 'when the ball drops.'" She looks around from her vantage point in the air when the PA system is causing a panic. "Oh Rao, what now?"

Clint walks up to the guys with the masks and gets in their faces, flashing his Avengers ID card at them briefly as he does. "I'm with security, would you guys mind coming-" he's lying but he stops when the PA announcement begins. "Futz," he says. "This isn't going to be good."

"Meddling fool!" Dr. Crane growls from his perch. However, he had planned for a similar contingency, had the cord not snapped as expected-- and a single shot rings out from a nearby rooftop, hitting the mirrored ball and sending a rain of glass down on the panicking crowd and waiting heroes below.

A heavy, thick red and black swirling gas begins pouring out, almost like water, from the remains of the ball. Had the ball hit the ground, Times Square would have already been filled with the gas... but for now, the gas is pouring out far more slowly, though it is beginning to fill the area-- starting with the area by the stage.

The bros in the gas masks laugh, advancing on Clint menacingly, cracking their knuckles. "Breathe in deep, guy," one of them taunts.

Whatever the gas is, Natasha knows it can't be good, if the goons on the ground level are masked against it. She jumps backwards, grabbing onto Bruce's arm and flipping up to stand on his shoulder for a better vantage point. "Thanks for the lift, Hulk," she says, surveying the crowd.

Those already hit with the gas are screaming in terror, clawing at their faces and arms, running aimlessly, and/or flailing their arms at unseen opponents. This, in turn, is causing those still yet to be hit by the gas to stampede away from it.

As The gas starts to come Dor'rain's suit hermetically seals. Detecting chemicals in the gas, Dor'rain can not identity these earth based chemicals. So many. As a Result Dor'rain will need to Get to some Leverage. Seeing the Guys in the Gas masks his reaction is to stun them. Lifting his Right hand he will take aim, but when Hawkeye is there he has to move. As a Result Dor'rain will change tactics. He is going after those Gas Canisters. Looking around he moves, crouching down to jump up, trying to get to one of the building Sides and then move and scale so he can get scans of the area with the canister releasing the gas.

Kara Zor-El sees the ball shatter, releasing the gas and letting it spill out everywhere. "Crap!" she says before deciding what to do next. Supergirl starts to inhale to try to take in the gas since... well... she's Supergirl and gas doesn't hurt her, right? She's done it with other poisonous fumes before. Just inhale all the gas, fly up into the exosphere and release it harmlessly. Right?

Not right.

Other gas wasn't specially tailored by someone like Scarecrow like this stuff was. Hulk roars in anger at the gas leaked by the ball, but is stopped from charging towards it by the presence of Natasha on his shoulder. He grunts and says, "Welcome." Anger is plain on his face, but he glances at those around him. Fortunately, the Hulk is given a wide berth, because really, who wants to get close to the Other Guy? The gas gets closer to him, but the Hulk doesn't care and continues breathing normally, he is busy trying to find who is responsible for this mess.

As The gas starts to come Dor'rain's suit hermetically seals. Detecting chemicals in the gas, Dor'rain can not identity these earth based chemicals. So many. As a Result Dor'rain will need to Get to some Leverage. Seeing the Guys in the Gas masks his reaction is to stun them. Lifting his Right hand he will take aim, but when Hawkeye is there he has to move. Crouching down, He will Jump, more then human Dor'Rain comes from a planet where the Gravity was at least Twice earth gravity. So he can try to clear the crowd and jump on the Stage. Hoping to get close to those guys in the gass masks

Kara Zor-El inhales the gas and blinks for a moment, coughing afterwards. She looks around, then widens her eyes. There arent a hekuva lot of things which scare Kara. Another planet blowing up? Sure. But what else?

"RAO IT'S DOOMSDAY!"

Annnnnd that's when she makes a beeline with her fists forward at Hulk. Who looks like Doomsday to her because of the fear gas.

Clint looks up at the spilling gas and that pretty much confirms this isn't going to be good. The fact the Other Guy is out, seconds that. He catches sight of the guys in the masks moving in and takes a deep breath, before he rounds on them and throws a kick, hard, into one of their sternums. Then the fight is on, he punches, kicks and elbows trying to grab one of the masks off their faces before the burning in his lungs got to be too much. Another one gets hit and possibly goes down he reaches for the guy's mask and then WHAM. Kicked in the gut and the wind gets knocked out of him leaving him gasping for air... which is so very bad.

"Shit." Noriko can be so eloquent, when the time calls for it. Uncertain if the gas is flammable, or explosive, she does not risk, yet, utilizing her weaponized powers. Yet. Kara has flown off, and many people are going crazy. It's pure chaos. She can do at least one thing ... or a few. She turns another knob, and she's moving through the crowd with literally eye-blazing speed, and to the power box fueling the stage. Another knob turn, and Noriko's draining the soundstage of any, and all power, making the speakers on it utterly useless. She might not be able to fight gas, or a faceless villian. But, hopefully she can shut him up. She doesn't notice, yet, just how quickly the gas is spreading, though.

Natasha spies the incoming Supergirl with a confused look. "Dooms...day?" She jumps, flipping backwards off Bruce's shoulder to allow him to block. Or punch. Or whatever it is the Other Guy feels like doing. The gas hasn't made it to her yet, but she spies Clint, fighting the men in gas masks in a cloud of it. "Clint!"

The chaos. The panic. Too many civilians, some fighting each other, trying to hurt each other. Whatever the gas is, it's stirring their aggression.

She pulls a earpiece out of her jacket, tucking it into her ear and punching through to the helicarrier. "This is the Deputy Director. We have a Code Blue in Times Square, I repeat, a Code Blue. There's some sort of gas--" she pauses, dodging as a civilian runs at her, swinging at her with a crazed look on his face. She whips around, knocking the guy out with a well-placed backhanded punch. "I need a full unit here to help contain the civilian population. Mandroids wouldn't be overkill. And someone try and get in touch with To--oof!" Another man in a gas mask cracks her heavily across the back of her head, knocking the earpiece to the ground. She whirls, shaking her head slightly to ease the stars she's seeing.

Hulk looks at the charging Kara and snarls, but fortunately Natasha is off of his shoulder as Bruce takes a few steps and swings at Kara, with the intention of neutralizing her without permanent harm. "Hulk smash!" he bellows, knocking aside a few of the men in gas masks that had the misfortune of getting near the Other Guy.

As Dor'Rain Manages to get to the Stage, those guys on the stage are gonna get a nice nasty Stun blast for their trouble. In a sealed suit he is not at danger for the Toxin. Once Dor'rain has put them down. Then he turns to take stock of the Situation. Dor'rain has thankfully taken to carrying a number of non-lethal tools. What does he have. A Number of Glop grenades, and stun grenades. As a result he starts Chucking a few of the Stun Grenades. Similar to earth Flash bangs, only it produces a constant bright light. Forcing people away from it. As a Result Dor'rain throws them into areas where he can hopefully use them to direct people away from the area. Seeing the guys knock Natasha over also makes him lift his Right hand to try and stun them as well to give her protection.

What's Dor'rain's only issue? Clint is right next to him, and Dor'rain doesn't know the Toxin's nature just yet, or the fact that he has possibly inhaled the gas. Clint rolls around as the gas takes effect, scratching at his skin as the gas takes effect, then his eyes seem to focus on the guy with the gas mask. "I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE!" he roars at the guy as he grabs a throwing knife and jams it into the guy's stomach. "You won't take me again Skrull bastards!" he raises the knife in both hands to stab again.

Natasha's favorite thing about her weapons is that she can carry them on her anywhere, and if anyone notices the wristguns under her coat, they would have just assumed they were heavy, strangely styled bracelets. She crosses her wrists quickly, activating the Widow's Bites into electrical stun mode, lifting her hands and firing from the sleeves first at the guy who hit her-- not nice, bro-- and then spinning, hearing Clint snarling about Skrulls.

Her second shot is for the man Clint is targeting with the knife, who crumples, unconcious. Skrull, or not, better safe than sorry. She steps backwards, away from the creeping gas, looking quickly for her earpiece. "Send a team! Now, dammit, Hill!" she snarls, hoping where ever it is, the earpiece picks up her demands. "Or I will have you on field detail with /Barton/ for the next year."

She dials back the intensity of the stuns, and begins picking off the more aggressive of the civilians-- letting people kill each other may be the easier thing to do, but she knew Uncle Nick would frown upon it.

Scans from the area, the people, and the gas. His onboard computer gives him the read out. Fear Toxin, Weapon's grade. Over the speaker on his belt, he shouts, "FEAR TOXIN, Weapon Grade!" His suit protects him from exposure. But with this much chaos, With Supergirl fighting Hulk he looks around. Nothing he has on him would combat the toxin on a large Scale.

Looking at the stunned men near Barton he will look to the woman as he comes over to grab hold of one of the gas masks, and then Toss it over to The Widow. He doesn't know who she is, but Dor'rain has more important issues.

He is suddenly mobbed by people, calling him a monster, alien, and soon Dor'rain is set upon by fear maddened humans throwing, even police are shooting at him. His armor is more then able to withstand the small arms fire, but he now has to contend with a mob of angry civilians. Forcing him to use his wrist weapon to start stunning people.

Natasha might want that team sent fast.

Kara is almost at Hulk when he swats at her, which does cause her attack to stop and her to get knocked aside in the air a bit, but she quickly recovers. Why? Because.... Supergirl.

And it pretty much only cements the idea that she's fighting Doomsday! She recovers midair and flies back at Hulk and ...

Now Kara has had trouble in the past with holding back her strength. And in this case, she's not even trying to - after all, it's Doomsday. And.... is that Superman on the ground? OH NO!

Kara punches at Hulk again, this time connecting with his jaw - really, really hard. Trying very hard to belt him unconscious.

After all, as said before.... it's Doomsday. And he's going to kill her cousin.

Noriko is pushed back by a mob of chaos infused people, and luckily for her she's pushed -away- from the gas cloud, rather than towards it. She's able to manuever out of gripping hands and fingers, with a brief shock that sends the fear gas into overload on it's victims and creates, however temporary, a small personal bubble of space for her to free. She knows there's no way to stop Kara - not without Kryptonite. Or the Hulk, for that matter. So, her mind goes to trying to purge the gas.

She takes a que from other people - bashing someone over the head to rob them of their mask. Maybe she learned some of her manners from Logan. And fitting the gas mask on - she hopes right, she turns dials again on her gauntlets. And, ... no idea if it'll work or not, she begins to run. Fast. In circles. Around the stage.

She's seen The Flash do it, or rather, video of it. And it's that which clicks in her head ... She's nowhere near his speed, certainly. But she's -damn- fast, all the same. Super fast. And maybe. Just maybe. She can funnel the gas, like he can. It's all she can think to do.

Clint growls as the Skrull goes down unconscious. He rounds on the person who stole his kill and utters a quiet heartbroken "No," when he sees Nat's features shift and become green skinned and alien. He hurls the knife in his hand and then rushes her two more being produced from somewhere as he rushes at her. Normally a bad choice, he was better at range, but he wanted to feel this thing that took Nat die up close and personal. The Hulk snarls as the Kryptonian is swatted away, but only moments later her fist connects with his jaw, causing the Brute to stumble backwards, leaving tiny craters where his feet were. He had no quarrel with Kara prior to this, but being attacked for what appears to be no good reason is enough to gain the Hulk's wrath. As he continues breathing, he is not paying attention as he inhales some of the gas. As he prepares to level a punch at Kara, his fist cocked back and then going forward, but it is no longer the Hulk, instead it is the scrawny, barechested figure of Bruce Banner, falling forward on the cement.

As soon as Banner is on the ground, he curls into a ball, muttering under his breath. No doubt he is cold, but he does not seem to feel it, as he remains curled into his little ball of fear.

"Clint..." Natasha's tone is both questioning and resigned-- she sees the weapons in his hands. Whatever this gas is doing, as far as she can tell, it is heightening aggression. As he gets closer to her, she dodges gracefully, almost like they were--

"When I asked you to dance earlier," she quips, "I didn't mean like this." Normally such a line would bring a short laugh from the man when they sparred. She brings a wrist up to catch one of the blades, the knife cutting through the sleeve of her coat and scraping angrily across her wristgun. A leg lashes out to try and bring him down. "Clint, it's me, it's Natasha. You don't want to hurt me."

Meanwhile, in the fight between Supergirl and the Hulk, that's not what Kara sees, thanks to the fear toxin. One second, she was fighting Doomsday. Then a boom tube appears, right when Kara punched him! And while he got knocked back, he's still standing - JUST LIKE DOOMSDAY. And ... he went into the Boom Tube? And there's Superman on the ground (Banner) - dead.

Kara looks horrified and turns her head around, looking. Because where there's boom tubes, there's....

"DARKSEID!!!!"

Kara whips her head around and sees the person she REALLY fears most. The one who has brainwashed her in the past to try to kill her cousin. Then again to try to kill the Justice League. The blond Kryptonian girl's eyes glow red and.... she fires beams of heat vision. Just missing hitting....

Scarecrow?

Okay, this is probably not what Crane expected to happen today.

"Heh, well then, better be a good one Skrull, 'cause this is your last," Clint replies to the dance quip blades flashing. He throws a kick too, just when she moves to sweep his legs, and he goes down hard on the cement, but not before he throws a knife as he falls. They didn't put World's Greatest Marksman on his posters for nothing while he was with the circus and the knife blurs on a course for Natasha's throat.

With People on him, Dor'rain Can't transmat up to the Devastator. Not with out people coming up with him, And with him that would be a bad thing. Dor'rain's suit can handle a lot, with People yanking on him, Someone does something incredibly Stupid. They Grab hold of a power cable, and then yanking it from the socket, someone brings it and then Jams it right into the Back of Dor'rain's armored back.

When the Cable gets into his shield and then to his armor connecting right onto one of the computer ports someone managed to pull open, it sends it's entire current through his body armor. And that of course is an issue, It causes his armor to lock up and jerk as it sends the current into his body. Screaming out it's enough to short out his computer systems making the armor finally crack. Dor'rain goes down asz the armor isn't pulled apart, but it does let the humans open it. And with it they start attacking and beating everything they can see, screaming mutant, monster Alien. Anything they can do.

The chaos, the beautiful chaos. The fear. The terror. The people below, fighting and tearing each other apart.

If he still possessed the facilities for it, Jonathan Crane would weep with happiness. This little experiment worked out far better than the doctor had dreamed. He surveys the chaos with a sense of accomplishment, but then a heat-beam blasts right by him.

Fear? Alas, Jonathan Crane cannot feel fear, though he desperately wishes he could. A moment-- the barest second-- of that wrenching emotion courses through his veins, but it is gone again, too soon. Still, a lack of fear does not mean a lack of concern for self-preservation. The man starts towards the rooftop's door and his escape.

Natasha's arm flies up, just barely in time for the knife to glance off her wristgun, and she drops on top of Clint with all of her weight, driving him into the concrete, straddling his waist. "Stay /down/, Clint," she growls, one hand pressed against his chest, able to fire a stun with a bare twitch of the muscle.

Banner remains in the ball for a little while, quickly muttering to himself, rotating between "Dad! No! Help!" and similar phrases as he continues rocking a little. The cold begins to take an effect on him, but he is not going to be moving for a little while, lost in his little world of trauma and fear.

While not -all- the gas is rounded up with Noriko's 'funnel run', much of it is, disspating away from spreading any further, and in a cyclone around the stage. And, as she draws energy in ... she realizes a fatal flaw in her plan. She's not sure where to 'take' or how to 'end' the thing so the gas is eradicated and doesn't spread further. She can only hope it 'goes out the top' or something, and is dilluted through air currents. But, certainly too busy to help any of the other heroes.

Kara Zor-El flies after Crane. "BURN DARKSEID!" Another shot of heat vision, narrowly missing the shorter-than-he-should-be Darkseid. When he runs into the rooftop access? She rips the whole door and wall out. But... he's gone. She looks around. He must have boom tube'd away!

Being not human has it's benefits. Such as when one of the people put a police Handgun to the side of his head, and pulls the trigger. It's enough to knock Dor'rain out completely. His armor sorts out the computer issues, reboots, then reseals it's self.

The Bullet did not penetrate his skull as it was a .9mm. But the Armor seals him inside. There are still issues such as with the computer link to the Devastator. Dor'rain is left on the ground being kicked, hit, shot but for the moment he is protected.

The steady beat of helicopter rotors above signal the arrival of SHIELD agents, dressed in lightweight but effective biohazard suits with gas masks, carrying gear to help disperse a rioting crowd. A half dozen mandroids arrive as well, in the event that there are any powered bad guys around needed a special touch.

Dropping from a ladder from a second helicopter, gas mask hanging around his neck to be brought up only if needed, chewing on a cigar, Nick Fury lands lightly, surveying the damage and looking down at Natasha and Clint. "You know..." he says, shaking his head, "I would ask you both for a sitrep, but I'm not sure I want Clint getting up."

"You don't, Director," Natasha replies, as Clint shoots Fury a look that is pure murder, reaching for a nearby fallen knife. Natasha sighs, flexing her wrist slightly, the shot of stunning electricity hitting Barton in the chest, knocking him out cold.

The steady beat of helicopter rotors above signal the arrival of SHIELD agents, dressed in lightweight but effective biohazard suits with gas masks, carrying gear to help disperse a rioting crowd. A half dozen mandroids arrive as well, in the event that there are any powered bad guys around needed a special touch.

Dropping from a ladder from a second helicopter, gas mask hanging around his neck to be brought up only if needed, chewing on a cigar, Nick Fury lands lightly, surveying the damage and looking down at Natasha and Clint. "You know..." he says, shaking his head, "I would ask you both for a sitrep, but I'm not sure I want Clint getting up."

"You don't, Director," Natasha replies, as Clint shoots Fury a look that is pure murder, reaching for a nearby fallen knife. Natasha sighs, flexing her wrist slightly, the shot of stunning electricity hitting Barton in the chest, knocking him out cold.

The SHIELD agents begin mopping up the mess, arranging for medical teams to get in, and so on. The effects of the toxin have begun to fade, but the lingering effect of the aerosal newt stays with those who are mutants or altered.

Natasha stays with Clint as one of the SHIELD medical teams retrieves him and takes them both to the helicarrier, along with Banner and any others in that realm that might need their care.

Kara Zor-El pauses as she's holding onto a section of wall overhead. She looks up at the wall she's holding. "Uh...... someone's going to need to explain what happened."

Then she realizes there's no one on the roof by her.

"Dang."