2014-08-31 - Runaway Program!

Nico Minoru managed to get a part time job waitressing for a couple of days. It's not legal, but the waitress who had the job desperately needed someone to cover for her while she dealt with a legal problem. Or an illegal problem. Either way, we find Nico Minoru in a Black Cat outfit wobbling among tables getting tip money for food for the Runaways.

She's also managed to get Molly in by saying she HAD to have her here because it was either she watches her 'little sister', as Nico was calling Molly, or the waitress had to work her own damn shift. So Molly was allowed into the club, though not allowed to buy drinks or hang with the adults.

Molly Hayes had been trying to get a job too as a professional video game player. Luckily, the club had arcade games to keep Molly busy while Nico worked. Unfortunately, Herowood wasnt hiring professional video game players. And Molly was told no one on earth hired professional video game players. And to stop asking. And then that they'd give her 4 tokens if she would stop asking.

So about an hour into Nico's shift, Molly looks around Planet Herowood to find Nico to try to see if she could get $5. Or at least see if there were any real superheroes hiding out among the people in costumes. Why Nico wouldnt wear a costume for real superheroing, but would wear one for waitressing was beyond her.

"Nico? Um.... could I maybe get $5?"

Nico dodges some guy's grabby hands, ducking around a table with a tray full of empty glasses. She slides the tray into the dishwasher slot, losing a glass as she does which tumbles to the ground and is caught by the floor. Doesn't break. Lucky night for her, as she catches her heart and puts it back into her chest.

Which doesn't stop her from jumping again as Molly shows up, making her look like a scaredy-cat. "Mol, I swear. Which would you rather have, food or more g oh never mind I know the answer to that." She fishes in her little belt pouch they gave her for change and pulls out her tips. "Please don't spend it all too fast, I really haven't been doing well enough yet. Hey, how're you doing?" She actually pauses long enough to look at Molly seriously as her next order dings.

Molly Hayes smiles a little. "I'm doing okay. Just playing that game, Warp Trek... I just got the high score so I put MOL up there. Sucks to be CFK!" Then pauses. "Isnt this the best job ever? You get to dress up like a superhero even when we're not doing hero stuff. Plus they're having you wear the stockings that you normally wear too!"

Nico Minoru sighs. She takes the tray for her order, hefting it as well as she can, and looks at the table number. "Best ever, not sure about that right about...now. Scuse me Mol, I'll be right back." She has to head to her table real quick, deliveries to make!

Molly Hayes was about to head back to the video games, but stops a few seconds to watch Nico. She doesnt look as totally thrilled as Molly would be if she got to dress up like a superhero in a normal job, like some reverse secret identity thing. She starts to head back towards the games, trying to think of how to cheer up Nico. Maybe if she wins some tickets she can get Nico a present. Like... for 100 tickets, she could get a comical-looking eraser.

Nico manages to (just barely) not spill yet another of many in a line of drinks on customers. She's really not doing well, but she wears the Black Cat outfit so well that she's still getting tips. Along with looks from elderly gentlemen who have been teaching her about the things they'd like to do to a younger lady. She's actually just about to brain one of them with a pitcher of cheap beer when...

The doors all slam shut in a sound that's so cliche'd it should be patented. SLAM! And the speaker squeal, dragging everyone's attention as the music cuts out. And a slow, evil laugh begins over the loudspeaker system.

Molly Hayes blinks and looks around. "Wow... they really get into the whole theme thing here." She runs over to Nico. "Nico.... nico is there dinner theater here? Maybe I can get a job doing that. Like show biz?"

Nico actually drops her jug of beer over the head of the customer at that point, losing the grip on the thing. Luckily nobody really cares after a little while about little things like that. "What the hell's going on now," she says to nobody in particular, then heads to where she saw Molly last. Spots her by the games.

A voice comes over the speakers, the laugh ending. "I, have chosen this place. Only I, have the power." Yes, he pronounces the pauses. "Only I, Control Freak, am worthy of this. I have discovered the ultimate game! Come, all you so-called Super Heroes. To the ultimate show. To My M.M.O.!"

Nico extends her arm, reaching for Molly, then there's a flash and suddenly everyone who was dressed like a super hero vanishes from the building, leaving only normality behind. And Molly. Who wasn't wearing an outfit at the moment, even though she's totally a superhero.

Molly Hayes looks around when everyone in costume vasnishes. "Nico?" She looks around. "Nico!" Then frowns when she hears the announcement. Her shock at her fellow Runaway and surrogate big-sister-type person vanishing makes way for whining. "Aw cmon! I should be in this! I'm the one who likes to wear costumes. How'm I going to find where she-"

She puts a finger up. "Wait! I know how I can find you Nico!" Then runs off to the coat check room, grabbing a tablecloth and one of those cloth napkins, some rubber gloves from the bus boy's tray, and a magic marker from the prize booth by the video games.

Some rustling behind the door of the coat check room as Molly 'borrows' some Ugg boots from one of the other waitresses and...

"Control Freak might have gotten everyone else but..." Molly jumps out dressed in her makeshift costume. Cape made from a tablecloth, napkin-mask, Princess Powerful (with a lightning bolt for some reason) written on her shirt in magic marker, and wearing the Uggs boots and gloves. "He forgot about PRINCESS POWERFUL!" She pauses and looks around. "Ahem! I said you forgot about Princess Powerful!"

Molly Hayes stomps her foot. "Aw cmon I said you forgot about PRincess Powerful. Thats the cue!"

The voice calls out from the speakers, chuckling arrogantly. "Why not. You want in, kid? You got it. Don't blame me though, the others are doing about as well as I expected noobs to do in My Game!" And Molly vanishes in a flash of light as well!

- - - - - - -

Iron Man flies across the sky of the city. You can see him in the distance. He...apparently doesn't really know how to fly though, the path being more than a little erratic, and he slams broadside into a skyscraper like a panda gripping a tree. Slides slowly down the side, having done no damage to the building.

A group of other super heroes huddles under the awning of a building, the New York skyline very recognizeable in the distance. It's interesting to see the Punisher looking terrified as he hugs Spider-Woman for comfort, with Deadpool grabbing her ass. Some things never change.

Black Cat can be seen nearby. She stalks across the street, back and forth, traffic magically avoiding her. She moves far more catlike than Nico did, but it's GOT to be her. The cursing she's doing has a distinct Nico flair. "swear you'll feel it in your black heart and I'll cram the rest down your throat when I get ahold of you you pile of.."

Molly Hayes looks around at all the scared waitstaff and club-goers in costume. She runs around, looking for the one person who probably ISNT scared. "Nico! Nico where are you?" Then she finds her and runs over. "Hey... Nico!" She looks around. "I think we're in some sorta video game according to the voice. So I made my costume and he sent me in here too!" She pauses. "Nico did your boobs get bigger?"

Nico Minoru checks her chest. She gets a sweatdrop icon over her head, literally, in a bubble. "Molly, this ...oh, I ..." Speechless for a moment, she realizes she's got finger claws and can't even adjust herself without slicing her chest open. "Aaagh! Molly, I'm supposed to be Sister Grimm, not the Black Cleavage!"

Molly Hayes crosses her arms. "Well maybe now you'll start dressing in a Sister Grimm outfit - we could make it a thing! Though I bet boys will be totally into you with .... you know... big boobs. AW man, I should have made my costume with big boobs too!" She pauses when she sees he sweatdrop icon, and gets on her tiptoes to poke at it curiously. "Don't worry - I have a brilliant solution. Just summon the Staff and do a magic spell to bring us back to the real world!" She smiles proudly. "I thought of that all on my own."

There's a lightning bolt and suddenly a slightly rotund Thor appears next to the Punisher/Spider-Woman bonding ceremony. With a haughty laugh, Control Freak aka Thor slams his Mjolnir down on the ground, causing the area to shake and shudder theatrically. "Run in terror, my minions! The best of you may eventually earn the right to become my sidekick. Under two point seven rules with the optional Asgardian download pack I have the power of the gods!"

Nico's sweatdrop icon vanishes, replacing itself with a * in a balloon over her head. "I just get in trouble with the boobs that I have! I don't need oh the staff, right." Looking over Molly, she realizes she's actually shorter than she was before and rolls her eyes. "Perfect. Well, good time to use the claws." She cuts her arm with a finger, grinning as she tries for the staff.

Molly Hayes shakes Nico Cat's arm. "It doesn't usually take this long to get the Staff?"

Molly Hayes pauses when the Staff of One doesn't emerge right away. "Um.... maybe it has a longer trip to come out of you because of the bigger boobs?" she offers not-so-helpfully. Then says, "I'm gonna go hold him off until you get the Staff okay?"

Nico Minoru looks at her arm. She says, "Okay, Mol..I mean...Princess Powerful." She sounds more confused than she's been in ages. Shakes her arm to get it to bleed. "Aw come ONNNNNN normally I can't get rid of the thing!" Of course, the boob physics in the game make her seem even more comical than necessary doing so...

Control Freak slams his Mjolnir into a car, causing a comical wave of crushing on it, and laughs! He looks over at the two girls and says, "Oh, the little girl who decided to be a super hero. Welcome to my game! I've got clipping turned off, and the gore and death options off for the worldbase, so don't worry. I won't hurt you too badly unless you manage, somehow, to win. Which is impossible. I'm a GOD here!"

Molly Hayes frowns. "Oh yeah! Well I met Thor once and he wasnt a fatso ... fatty Mc... McFatpants!" She nods to herself. "Besides, I don't just play a hero on TV, I am one! Prepare for PRINCESS POWERFUL!"

Then she kicks him in the groin. Which probably isnt how much heroes fight. But Molly does it a lot.

DING.

That's apparently the sound that happens when you kick a hero in the groin in this game. It sounds out from over everyone's heads as Control Freak Thor gets raised up in the air. He comes back down, actually vanishing into the concrete as his clipping code lets him past the system barriers, and he flies up from out of the street a little ways down. Over his head his life bar shows 90 percent.

"Not bad little girl. From that hit I'd say you've got about fifty strength with no skill bonus," he says as his monologuing works against him for once. He was so focused on Molly that he didn't notice the random enemies that were in the area, and start gathering around him like game thugs shooting bullets into him from about a foot away in classic poor tactics.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me. You're level one mobs!"

Nico Minoru is looking at Molly, and runs up to her quickly. "I can't get my arm to bleed, Mol. Pr...princess. We have to get the blood turned on. Can you take him? I'm ...wait, I'm Black Cat. I can fight too!" She clicks her fingers open, noticing the claws again. "What did she have for powers?"

Molly Hayes looks back at Nico while she's fighting Thor Freak, while the mob is zerging him. "Um.... lessee.. Black Cat? I think she has like... cat speed or cat agility and claws and .... I think maybe she can give people bad luck? I'm sorta more into Spider-Man and Iron Man." She then says, "Gotcha!" to what Nico says while he's beating on the noobs. "HEY! MIGHTY SNORE! BETCHA CAN'T HURT ME!" She waves her hands around. "NYAAH NYAAH!"

Mighty Thor slams his Mjolnir into the ground, dropping the horde of level ones to zero hp. They fall to the ground in a wave of video game lightning aoe effect damage. Control Freak looks a little annoyed for a second, then stands up to his awe-inspiring bulk and hauls back his Mjolnir for a throw. "Oh I can hit you, Princess Powerful. Level ten attack, boomerang toss!" And he throws the hammer at Molly with intent to cause serious hp loss!

Nico Minoru says, "Okay, bad luck. Pretty sure it should be fairly simple, let's try..." and she picks that time to wiggle her nose and wiggle her fingers, and finds it for some reason necessary to also wiggle her butt in what turns out to be a debuff. Over Control Freak's head a black frowny cat appears, making something different. Probably luck based.

Molly Hayes jumps out of the way when the hammer comes barrelling at her. "uh oh..." then scrambles up from the ground and sticks out her tongue. "Missed me missed me but don't kiss me because you're faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!" She pauses when she notices the frowny cat face over him. "Ohhhhhhhh I get it!" she says, looking back at Nico, then back at Thor Freak. "Ha ha! I didn't even get a skinned knee! Laaaaaame Thor! I met the real Thor and he didnt need weight watchers!" She sticks out her tongue at Thor Freak and makes a raspberry at him. "Thhhbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbpt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" while wagging her hands by her ears.

Control Freak decides it's time to brag a little, laughing as Molly dodges the hammer. "Little noob. That's a level ten ability! Level ten abilities are owned only by the top players in the game, and they always have a secondary effect. This one's....a boomerang!" And the hammer comes hurtling back, aiming itself at the back of Molly's head as Control Freak struts. Literally. It's kind of disturbing.

Nico Minoru shit. She sees the hammer coming and dives for Molly to get her out of the way, hoping she's in time. She's level one and her priorities have never changed. Wait...a thought, she yells suddenly on impulse "Mol, catch it!"

Molly Hayes turns her head when Nico yells to her, and she grabs at the hammer. "YOINK!" she yells as she actually grabs the hammer. "Hey! NINJA'ED YOUR HAMMER!" She pauses. "Wish I could sell it on Ebay now..." Then waves the hammer at Control Freak. "HA ha ha ha neener neener I have your hammer! PEW PEW!" she says aiming it like a gun.

Control Freak goes through the motion required by his animation to catch his hammer and comes up dry. "What? That's not right, must be a glitch." He looks around and actually seems a little surprised. Then annoyed. "Princess Powerful. I can see you're going to be my nemisis here. Good, I needed a challenge." He clicks his remote on his belt and flashes a few times, coming up in a new outfit. All grey, kind of like he's wearing tights. All over. "Fear me now, little nooblet. For I have any power set I choose to download!" He settles to the ground, lacking flight in this form.

Nico Minoru narrows her eyes. "He can only have one power set at a time, Molly. I don't recognize that one. Pretty sure the environment is slightly interactive though, want to try plan two on him?"

Molly Hayes responds to Control Freak. "You need a diet and pimple medicine more than a nemesis!" She looks back at Nico Cat. "Plan two! Of course! Let's do it!" Then asks, in a low voice to Nico, "What's Plan Two again?"

Nico Minoru circles around a bit, trying to get behind Control Freak. "Throw something at him!" She feels a little concerned, as Control Freak doesn't seem to be worried about their conversing. Planning. Tactics.

Control Freak actually looks just as happy as he did before, though he still is down ten percent of his health. He actually buffs his fingernails on his grey shirt, the little lightning bolts on his shoes a suggestion of what's about to happen.

Molly Hayes takes the hammer she just got and was about to throw it at Thor Freak, but stops. "Heyyyy... wait, you said the environment's interactive right?" She pauses and looks up, seeing a little ? in a corner and hits it with her hand to bring up the help screen to see the directions on how to do what she's planning on doing. "GOT IT!" Then points the hammer up "I CHOOSE YOU, LIGHTNING!" - summmoning lightning from the sky to fire down at Freaksilver.

"Hey that's my hammer no fair!" The LIGHTNING strikes and a section of the street is left crackling, and Freaksilver is down a healthy portion of his health! He kippups to his feet, which just looks odd, then he's suddenly standing in front of Molly, looking absolutely angry!

"Okay kid, that's it. I've got downloads that'll handle you." He doesn't look like he's in the mood to play anymore, and he runs at sonic speed to a place on top of a truck where he can access menus. Touching the remote he starts scrolling and mumbling.

Nico Minoru swipes at Control Freak as he passes, but a level one character has nearly no chance to hit at any range. She curses, then sees what he's doing. "Come on..." she says, not wanting to give away the game. Blood and gore option on, allow for character death. Come on you arrogant jarhead. She looks at Molly and says, "Doesn't matter what he does, we'll find a way to knock him down."

The menus click and Control Freak goes hulk. Red hulk. With Thor's Hammer. And Captain America's Shield. And he laughs, stomping on the truck and crushing it. "Now I am all powerful, and I will personaly take the time to destroy you both and remove you from my game! Danger room safeguards are off, baby!"

"That's what I needed," Nico mumbles, nicking her thumb with her ...other thumb. "When blood is shed, let the Staff of One emerge. Bitch." Appearing, coming to her hand, the game becomes a bit more even. "Give me ten seconds, Mol."

Molly Hayes nods. "Please say you will have God Mode access?" She then runs around, waving her hands. "Nooooooooooooooooooooob! You're a nooooooooooooooooooooooooob! The noobiest noob who ever noobed!"

Control Freak level 100 launches himself (itself?) at Princess Powerful, and impacts with the ground in front of her like a tank shell. Strong isn't the word, he's death walking, and he tries to stick those hands on Molly to toss her to the moon. Which isn't really a moon, and he couldn't do that. Game isn't programmed for that. But he wants to try.

Nico Minoru uses a spell she's been considering for a long time. "I got it, Mol. Watch my game. HEAD CODER BACKDOOR ACCESS MENU." A small box frame appears in front of her face with a flash, and she gets an evil look on her face. Starts hitting little things on the screen and making interesting noises.

First option chosen: Princess Powerful. Level maximum, strength maximum, skills: all. God mode on. Avatar upgrade: adult. Molly's avatar becomes herself, but as a young adult. With no weaknesses and absolute maximum strength.

Molly Hayes is about to get grabbed and thrown to the moon, when suddenly she glows and changes. Molly blinks when she suddenly transforms to what she'll look like when she's old. Like really old. Like.... 24 years old.

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140219012817/marveldatabase/images/c/c7/Molly_Hayes_(Earth-TRN311)_0001.jpg

"Woah! Hey Nico lookat this metal thing I haveon my arm! So cool!" Then she smiles and grabs at Red Freak's arm to break free of the hold. Then grabs his arms and starts to spin him around, faster and faster before letting go, tossing him up in the air and bringing her fist back for when he comes back down so she can wind up for the punch. "Watch this! Are you watching? Watchit!"

Control Freak starts screaming like a little girl, trying to reach his control! "You're cheating, that's not a fair download it's my gaaaame!" He's not having a hell of a lot of luck. Apparently his hands are too big for the buttons.

Nico quickly uses the staff itself to download a new avatar to the game. She says, "Sister Grimm ," to the staff, and new options appear, and her avatar shifts too. Giving her the form of a gothic witch and a lot more comfort than she's had in a while.

"I'm watching Mol. Totally watching, give him hell."

Molly Hayes watches as Red Freak flies upwards.... "I heard this one from Chase, he said it was on Tv a long time ago before remote controls and color and stuff." Then Red Freak comes sailng (and screaming and complaining) down, at which point Molly pulls her fist back. "Bang Zoom TO THE MOON!" she yells as she slams a fist at Red Freak. And up he goes again.

And up.

And up.

Molly peers with both hands. "I think we need higher resolution...." she says as Red Freak goes flying up at the moon with a very distant 'plink' when he hits it and the moon shatters, causing coins to rain downward and 10,000 points to appear in the sky. "WOO HOO!"

Adult Molly looks over at Nico. "And you know what the best part of all this is? When I get older - I'm totally gonna have boobs and a cool costume!"

Nico Minoru wanders over beside Molly a moment, looking upward. "TV didn't always have color?" she asks idly, then oohs a bit at the fireworks and coins. "Nice shot. I think you mighta cracked the hard drive." She puts her left arm UP, over Molly's shoulder for once and says, "Taller than me too. Well, I can wear heels. You look good." She smiles, hoping it comes true.

Nico gives Molly a little push, and says, "Control Alt Delete," holding the staff in her grip.

Game Over.

Play again? Y/N