2013-03-27 - Malice in Wonderland

         Various invitations - word of mouth only, started in certain circles, and it grew out of that. Friends told friends, and those friends told more friends. And, once people get near the area, it's not hard to tell; sure, most of the warehouses in the area are either closed down, or simply shut down for the night; and those that are still operating it's hard to tell because the windows are either non-existant, or blocked. It's the noise; the dim dub-dub-dub, techno beat that throbs from the huge warehouse where all types of cars, motorcycles, and other motor vehicles are parked outside of. Outside, a pair of burly muscleheaded bouncers seem inclined to let just about anyone in; not so much checking for ID, or looking for anyone, but making sure that no 'adults' are allowed in - shown by the guy in his mid-thirties who is promptly turned around by one bouncer, while a group of teenage girls and boys, dressed in the colors of the rainbow and fluffy boots, are allowed in.

         Inside, the warehouse has been completely gutted, and redone. It's an array of flashing light, loud, techno beats, and a mass of teenage an twenty-something flesh in all kinds of various costumes from fluffy boots in bikini's, to phat pants, even a few people with animalistic themes, or fairy wings; several girls have their bodies covered in candy jewelry which are occassional simply pushed or wrapped around some strangers wrist or neck.

         There's a station set up on one side of the warehouse for drinks, and food, though only a few tables to stand around or sit to consume those products. And, on the opposite far side, there's a stage where the huge loudspeakers are pumping out the jams. The DJ, aman in a psychedlic Chesire Cat mask that's three times the size of his head, is laying down some tracks, while a smoking hot blonde in all white, her costume lightly 'rabbit' themed complete with tail, and ears, is dancing near him. This, certainly is the place to be tonight.

         Jeanne is there, promptly at the agreed upon time. She is dressed in a pair of black and white phat pants, a pink & black t-shirt, and several pieces of LED jewelry. She waits, paitently, for Julian and Laura both.

Laura has managed to catch up and manage to get Scott's permission to come to the dance, and has also told Hope about it in the hope that the girl might get out of the Mansion and have some fun, given Rachel isn't available. So Laura comes in, wearing a very shiny black vinyl trenchcoat and a piar of six inch platform boots that go up to her knees which she somehow has managedto balance over in. She's not going to be gcaught dead wearing something that has flashing lights on it. Her face is done up in dark makeup, and she has on darkblack lip gloss and eye shadow, and large fake eyelashes, giving her a psuedo gothic appearance.

Superboy's gotten away with some crap in the past when it comes to showing up to 'normal' parties, but most of those were actually explicit costume parties. There's a strange compromise in Conner Kent's outfit as he enters. Apparently he still has those round sunglasses that went out of style years ago. He's spiked his hair up, but, from the neck down, it's still very much Conner Kent. Sure, the flannel's unbuttoned and untucked, giving a early 90s Seattle kinda look, and the work boots have been traded in for a pair of sneakers, but there's still something of the Freshman from Smallville in the appearance of the young man as he looks around, raising an eyebrow at the mask on the DJ.

"Looking good, ladies." Julian Keller arrives on time (wonder of wonders). Normally he'd have gone for "fashionably late" but he somehow suspected that Laura and Jeanne might be the punctual type. Black, white, and red are his colors of choice, tonight, with a pair of black phat pants silk-screened with white and red flames and some "racing stripes" of similar colors, coupled with a ribbed black tank-top that has a red "Atomic symbol" smack-dab in the middle of the chest. Subtlety thy name is -not- Julian Keller. "Didn't keep you waiting, did I?"



Hope does not really have traditional friends, but luckily, Laura clued her in. Wait, luckily? Hope is just vaguely lost and confused, but she agrees to go. She only has her uniform and Xavier's Institute work-out clothes and sweaters, so...she has to get so-called creative. First, she brushes her hair till it shines and is very straight. She wears her uniform with her armored boots - and yes, even the hidden knife - but not her glove gauntlets. She left the ragged brown half cloak behind. Hey, her uniform is clean darnit!



No make-up, no jewelry, no dressy clothes, and armed for combat. Well, that is Hope's type of partying after all. When she sees who they are meeting though, Hope gets a confused expression on her face. She waves awkwardly, "Hey." She keeps alert, and seems to sway awaywhen someone seems about to get too close. This is going to get rough for her.

         "Julian, Laura." Jeanne greets her associates formerly, precisely. She enters the rave with the others, pausing at the display. She's researched this, and she knows the dances, knows what to expect. At least, as far as one can be educated off the internet. She asks the two with her, "Shall we go dance? Or would you prefer some other social activity?" The question posed to both Laura, and Julian. She notices Kon, points out, "He does not blend in."

         As the various arrivals find their places, meet, hobnob, with the others and experience the rave, another man joins the two on the platform; his costume brilliant white with black spots and covering his entire body; the suit glows in the blacklight that occasionally hits them through the flashes. He joins the smoking rabbit-themed blonde on the platform, and begins to dance with her. The music changes, as the set of tunes expire, and while the DJ says nothing at all, the general crowd seems pleased at the change; an even morerapid tempo. The lights begin to pummel the crowd with an array of electric rainbow and strobing glory in time with the drumbeat, even as the DJ sways, and scratches, huge, oversized Chesire Cat head grinning in a fixed, mad sort of way at the people below.

         People dance. Laugh. Make out. Gyrate. Move. Skip. Eat. Drink. Socialize; it's damn good party.

Superhearing, an... interesting power to have at a rave. Kon manages to get his hands on some glowing jewelry, helping him blend in a little bit better. He slips around the main dance floor, still getting a feel for the place, feeling a little out of place as he looks at some of the costumes (if some of them can be called that) on display. Hope in her combat boots gets a look, and then he spots a Superman Hoodie, and, leaning to try and get a look under the hood, he starts to weave his way that way.

"Dancing. Dancing is good." Julian notes towards Jeanne, gesturing towards the floor. His mood is so good that his expression doesn't even darken when the redhead with the superpower of being crazy appears. Nor does he even make a rude comment. Maybe it's because she doesn't seem...quite comfortable here? In any case, he even sort-of smiles towards her, but his hands go out to take one apiece of Jeanne's and Laura's (unless they pull away, of course) and lead them towards the massive dance-floor.

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<p class="MsoNormal">Julian's a good dancer for an amateur. He's got rhythm, he's got more moves than just "bump n' grind" and most importantly? He has no shame!

<p class="MsoNormal">As Laura says, Seattle-Kon does not blend in. So, it's not especially difficult for Cassie to notice grunge-boy checking her out. Which pleases her a good deal, actually. She sticks out her chest a little, perhaps to tease him, then she moves away from him into the crowd towards the goth girl and the knot of people around her.

<p class="MsoNormal">Hope doesn't smile back, or trust in Julian's smile. she does not follow them to the dance floor, lingering behind. She doesn't really say anything, except start to look for a place to retreat and stake out. She starts to head toward the wall, away from the flashing lights that mess with her eyes. Social and dancing, Hope is not...and she soon has her back to the wall for protection, and her arms wrapped about her own waist for comfort. She mouths silently to herself, though lips barely move, 'I will not run...'

<p class="MsoNormal">   Jeanne is an amazing dancer, rocking out the moves in perfect rhythm and execution, her body thrusting, twisting, turning and moving in such a way as to make her stand out amongst those her. She watches those around her, too, and asks above the sound, "Are we having fun yet?" Generally, this question is asked in a teasing, or sarcastic sort of manner; Jeanne's question is sincere. She actually wants to know if this is 'fun'. Eyes trek the girl on her way towards them, but she's no longer watching Kon, yet.

<p class="MsoNormal">         The tracks switch yet again, and the crowd seems pleased at the choices the DJ is laying down. The duo dance partners - somewhere perhaps in their twenties, though it's hard to make out the guy's features since he's covered in a full facial hood that matches, seamlessly, with his costume, continues to throw down their own groovy dance moves.

<p class="MsoNormal">         People who are very good at observation, picking out patterns, might notice that amongst the crowd, a decent portion, randomly spread throughout the huge warehouse makeshift dance floor - seems to be almost synchronized in their dancing, lost, into the music.

<p class="MsoNormal">         The very, very good music. It's really damn good music. Pumping into the ears of the teenagers, and the ordinary, everyday 'heroes', too. It makes you want to - listen. To just - move. To drift and let the movements take you...

<p class="MsoNormal">Laura is enjoying the music a bit, not sure what the song is but following the beat. Seeing the look upon Hope's face, she keeps a steady finger on the girl's shoulder to help reassure the redhead, then smiles, "Relax. NO one will try and stab you in the back. That youcan't quickly shoot with a plasma rifle." SHe's not sure if Hope is packing anything, but she's guessing that it's incredibly likely she's armed somehow. Laura tries to keep the other girl over and tug her towards the other group, heading towards Jeanne on an interceptcourse.

<p class="MsoNormal">Conner pauses, seeming to consider if he should give chase or not for a moment, when Combat Boots comes over and pulls up a piece of wall. He glances off towards the hoodie'd girl, then looks back to the redhead. "You okay?" he asks her, the concern genuine, his focus on the individual meaning he's not paying much attention as the crowd slowly starts to synchronize, though he does blink and turn his head, as if listening to something. He frowns with concentration.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Yeah, this is a pretty awesome party!" Julian answers Jeanne, moving a bit closer so he can more easily be heard over the thumping beat of the music, "But don't think about it so much. Just clear your head and move to the music, y'know?" Which is precisely what Julianis doing, which may explain why after a few more moments, he's starting to look a bit more like those "synchronized" dancers.

<p class="MsoNormal">Cassie should probably be upset that COnner doesn't give chase, or that he's paying attention to another girl. All these things would probably be true, but the music is... well, there's something about it that is different from an average DJ's mix. So, a few steps awayfrom the others, she stops to listen and watch the people on the stage. A few moments later, she reaches up to drop the hood of her jacket back onto her shoulders, revealing the raven wig. "Huh.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Hope is having none of it. Yes, she likes the music, it might even be better than David Bowie, but that dance floor sends chills down her spine. "Too late, been there, done that," her tone sarcastic for the back stabbing comment. "And I don't have any guns on me," not even her time traveling device. So she jerks free of Laura's hold and goes to keep her back to the wall, letting the others go to the crowded dance floor and to chat with Conner and the hooded figure. Though Hope watches Laura, as if...thinking her behavior strange.

<p class="MsoNormal">         "It is an experience," Jeanne admits. She notices, briefly, the synchronized dancers, even as she, too, begins to join their number, along with Julian, and potentially Laura. For the first time, Jeanne actually 'lets go'; though it's not by her choice ...

<p class="MsoNormal">         As more time goes by, more of the teenagers, the twenty-somethings begin to move in the same pattern; unthinking, lost, into the music. In the grooves. A mellow voice rings out, during the throbbing dub-dub-dub, "Very good, cats and kittens," as smooth as Barry White's. "Now, everybody just keep movin' along, slide up in here, and get close. The Hypno Hustler's got somethin' to say to you. I need you to do somethin' for me. You're likin' this party, aren't you? You want more, don't you? Yeah, cats and kittens, I can tell. Youneed more. You want more. So. You're going to have to earn it. Doin' me some favors. Doin' us, some favors."

<p class="MsoNormal">         The smoking blonde, and the man in the black-spotted white body suit stop their dancing; the woman smiles, hugely, at the crowd. The Chesire Cat DJ - the Hypno Hustler, turns towards the blonde, "We got a very important date for you. It's tomorrow night. You're

<p class="MsoNormal">going to go home, get your mother's jewelry. Your dad's wallet. Your roomates stash. Your uncle's sportscar; you're going to bring them here. For us."

<p class="MsoNormal">         Considering just how many kids there are -- that could end up being in the hundreds of thousands. "BUt that's only the beginning. We're going to have -lots- of parties, -lots- of raves. Don't you kids want that?"

<p class="MsoNormal">         A resounding chorus of 'Yes', murmured but loud due to numbers, against the low-throbbing music.

<p class="MsoNormal">The music, the beat, the drive, it's all funky to Laura. As the sound picks up, her enhanced senses amplify the audio signal then, the signal working stronger on her than the others. She dances, and makes an audible pout out as Hope swings away from her, letting her hand drop. The music feels good, the music feels great. Maybe there is something to this rave thing after all. Her smile is sent over towards Jeanne, and she looks brightly. SHe's glad she came here! She nods up at the instructions from the man. She wants to help make thedate!

<p class="MsoNormal">He'd recognize that wig anywhere. The weird music is distracting, but able to hear all the weird subtonal aspects of the music, helping him avoid their effects. When the Hypno Hustler starts making his demands, he looks to Hope and Cassie, then turns. His sunglasses drop down on his nose and, with a glimpse of bright, blue eyes, a speaker lets out some sparks and dies as an invisible beam of heat melts a key component. He's facing away from Hope when he does it, but Cassie might recognize it for what it is.

<p class="MsoNormal">Go home tomorrow and get his parents stuff? That's gonna be a tall order for Julian, whose parents live on the other side of the country. He frowns and starts to consider how he's going to work this out. Maybe he can convince Mr. Stark it's an emergency and he needs toborrow a quinjet or something. He'd try to fly himself but he's not sure he can push himself at full speed long enough to make it across country. In fact he's pretty sure he can't. He's actually starting to get upset...he doesn't want to be left out!

<p class="MsoNormal">Cassie blinks and shakes her head as a nearby speaker suddenly sprouts a tony puff of smoke. "Wha'?" and she rubs her face with her hands, the hold on her attention slipping. "Conner?" Yes, it must have been him. She turns to look at him a moment, then crosses to the young man. "You're spoiling the party!" she says emphatically, but probably noone can hear but him anyway over the music.

<p class="MsoNormal">Hope blinks her eyes, and rubs at her ears, her heart seeming out of rythum. Though perhaps it is only her sheer discomfort level and emotional frustration and upset that protect her from control. But when the jerk DJ starts talking about all the goodies they are goingto rack in and the unified responses, her jaw drops open. What she wouldn't do for her wrist band to bodyslide right now. Her eyes are once again drawn to Laura. Ooookay, beyond creepy. "that does it." She places one fist within the other hand in turn, cracking knuckles. The lights are flashing, the crowd is thick, and if she can try to keep in the so-called shadows. She starts to head for the stage. Alright! This is more like her kind of party anyway. Maybe it wasn't so bad coming after all, it might even be fun. Her movements are confident and smooth, and she weaves about obstucles such as dancing people, chairs, tables, cables (hahahaha, pun not intended) with well-practiced ease.

<p class="MsoNormal">    Jeanne dances, to the thrum of the music, even as one of the many speakers is shorted out; it will, eventually help perhaps - but for the present, it just lowers the din of the sound. She decides that her funds she'd stashed away aren't really as important she thought, and that certainly Mr. Stark wouldn't mind if she sold some of his research ideas to the highest bidder -- it is, afterall, for a damn good cause, and even Mr. Stark likes to party. Certainly, she reasons, he would understand. It's only logical.

<p class="MsoNormal">         The smoking blonde moves up to the speakers, then, pushes the DJ slightly out of the way, and leans in. Her voice, pleasent enough but by no means as smooth as the Hypno Hustlers, suggests, "Someone's trying stop the party. That one, in the sunglasses." She points, towards Kon. "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." She begins to laugh, as the Chesire Cat headed Hypno Hustler prompts, "Someone's trying to stop the party, kids. We don't want any party crashers, here, do we?!"

<p class="MsoNormal">         Nearly the entire throng of dancing teenager stop dancing, in unison, then, and turn to face Kon; anger, betrayal, rage, in their eyes. Those closest to him begin to grab at him, clutch for clothes, flesh. It's no longer just the three onstage any hero is goingto have to fight.

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<p class="MsoNormal">There's a hiss from Laura, as her eyes flash at the command. She has her target. Her eyes flash, and she goes to join the throng oer of kids and teens charging towards Kon. She's not using her claws, thank goodness, but she's going to run and leap and give the teened titan a hopefully good thrashing along wtih the solid mass of people running towards him.

<p class="MsoNormal">Superboy's face falls at Cassie's words. "Come on, not you too--" and then he's made. He quickly turns, placing his hands over Cassie's ears, pressing his forehead to hers. "Close your eyes, don't listen to anything else, listen to me. It's mosquito tones, it's why they didn't want any adults here." He speaks quickly, quietly, and when the crowd gets to where he stands, he's not there. It's not the subtlest transition in the world, but on other side of the warehouse, Superboy's taking off the flannel and sunglasses, and, with another blur of motion, he's turned the shirt right-side out, revealing the red S-shield on the chest. "Okay, seriously, what is with the mind controlling villains and the Alice and Wonderland?" And then Laura's coming at him. Yeah, he recognizes her, and he's also seen her in action. He slips out of the way and, not even bothering with subtlety this time, blasts another speaker with the heat vision as his telekinesis reaches out along the floor, ready to grab and immobilize.

<p class="MsoNormal">Superboy is suddenly going to find that his telekinesis isn't the only game in town. A pale green aura of energy flares up around Julian (and around Superboy, for that matter), and his hand reaches out towards Superboy, to attempt to grab and immobilize -him-! No more fancy superspeed dodging for him! (At least if Julian gets his way). Of course, this display of power is hardly subtle...it's not hard to spot where it's coming from, which makes for a prime target (and probably makes Hypno-Hustler and his crew salivate when the realizethey've got a meta under their thrall).

<p class="MsoNormal">Cassie puts her hands over Conner's as he tries to block out the sound for her, she doesn't stop him pulling her close. "Huh? Conner, what's..." and then he's gone, across the room. Too much is happening, this is all terribly confusing. One thing makes sense, though - people are attacking her boyfriend. "Hey! You... hey!" and she pushes through the crowd... they can hardly get in her way, though she isn't trying to hurt anyone just yet. There's a young man, one she saw earlier, his green energy is reaching for Conner. "Stop that!" and she reaches for Julian's shoulder from behind.

<p class="MsoNormal">Shit! Hope glances back at the chaos and realizes...someone could die because she isn't fast enough. Her own saftey is pushed to the back of her mind as she starts to run toward the stage full speed now! Though shortly, another speaker gets blasted, she cannot look back to whom as it would risk causing her to trip up. She manages to get past the crowd easier due to their distractions with the other interfer, and reaches the stairs, moving to leap up them in one bound.

<p class="MsoNormal">   Jeanne seems about to do one thing, when Cassie makes a grab for Julian. Clearly, Cassie needs to be stopped, and immediately Jeanne initiates a perfect takedown move on Wonder Girl. No, she has no super strength, or quickness. She's just damned good. "Superboymust be stopped," she says. "We need to party. I'm mad."

<p class="MsoNormal">         The woman in the rabbit themed costume calls out to Kon, "If everybody minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster than it does." But - she certainly seem pleased when Julian's power manifests, even after the second speaker is burntout. Quite a few more speakers to go, but it's certainly good progress.

<p class="MsoNormal">          Even as Hope reaches for the stairs ... a black circle opens underneath her feet and her legs are chopped out from under her. Onstage - if anyone is paying attention, the guy in the white and black-circled costume has one hand sunk into the stagefloor, and he smirks at Hope. Points her out, to the Hypno Hustler.

<p class="MsoNormal">         "Uncool, cats. Uncool. Little bird here wants to come up and take us offstage, while Superboy is trying to shut us down."

<p class="MsoNormal">         Meanwhile, the White Rabbit grabs an umbrella, from behind the DJ booth and points it at Kon, in mid air whose fighting with Julian's telekentic powers. An orange carrot flies out of it, headed straight for Superboy.

<p class="MsoNormal">     The sudden flip over from Kon-El's Tactile Telekinesis is enough to slam Laura over to the ground and pin her wriggling form to it, making a mash as people are sent tumbling by the metaentity melee. Her eyes still empty, murmuring the command, "Must.. Stop.. Superboy. Dance.. Must.. Go.. On.." Oh no! She's slipped into Shatner monologue! Hopefully the slamming of Julian will loosen the grip enough for her to get up and get on with the smashing!

<p class="MsoNormal">The fancy teke work still requires concentration from Superboy, concentration that means he doesn't notice Julian grabbing him until he's already airborne, breaking the much needed connection. "Wondergirl, the stage, I got this," he says, and locks eyes with Julian. "Hello," he says, announcing it loud and clear, piercing through the music. "My name is Superboy." He catches the carrot, having gotten an arm free, immediately wrapping it in a telekineticbubble to contain any effect it might have. "And I will be your distraction for the evening." When he lashes out at the field, it's with his full, tank flipping, building catching Kryptonian strength.

<p class="MsoNormal">Well, Julian might not be much more trouble tonight. He staggers back, the field around Superboy popping like a balloon (along with apparently some blood vessels in his head given the rather significant nosebleed that now appears. He actually falls back onto his posterier, clutching at his head and moaning in pain, far too dazed to recover just this moment.

<p class="MsoNormal">Cassie goes down in a heap, and this is what she gets for tryng to stay on the ground. She pops right up, this time floating just off the time. "Who the hell are..." but then she reaches for Jeanne. Cassie is fast when she wants to be. very fast. Strong too. If she catches ahold of Finesse, the lady is going to be flung at Hellion at a fair clip, but she's not intending to really hurt them overly much. But, as it turns out - Julian isn't where Cassie thought he would be.

<p class="MsoNormal">Hope lets out a quiet yelp and instincts hardened by years of real combat experience are what saves her from saving into the 'other dimensional space' that spot is half made up of. She catches to edge of the 'spot', and pulls herself up with a grunt and rolls out quickly. "You really want to start something with me?" Her upper lip curls back. "Then let's play." Even as she is coming up from that roll, she already pulled her knife from her boot, which is a combat knife almost eight inches in length. She is already moving, but it's in an unusual pattern...taking the few extra seconds to reach the target...which can be a lot...honestly, she's hoping for the DJ's hand in the keyboard, but she might have to get through white tail first. But her primary goal other than reaching her target? Not to get hersteps predicted so easily and thus dropped again, though she is ready to drop and roll at a moment's notice again.

<p class="MsoNormal">        Jeanne cannot match Cassie's quickness; she is only human. But, she's a damn good human. Even as she's picked up to be flung, she moves with the pick-up, and wraps a set of strong, gymnist thighs around Wonder Girl's neck, and she begins to squeeze. Hard. She is not going to be thrown, if she can help it. It doens't hurt that Wonder Girl has to pause, because Julian isn't where she'd thought he'd be.

<p class="MsoNormal">         The carrot explodes with the same level of force as a tank artillery shell. And, White Rabbit fires another two at Superboy; gotta keep the Kryptonian busy until her pet telekenetic can take him down. "You don't think we can take you out, Superboy? Impossible, you say?! Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. You should too."

<p class="MsoNormal">         Hope proves more agile than Spot has anticipated, and this time it's a punc that's leveled at the side wall, on one of the side-speakers that Hope ambles across; he's not pulling his punches. Not only that, but several people - ordinary people, are clamoring behind Hope, after her, and running to tackle her, to prevent her from spoiling their damn good time.

<p class="MsoNormal">         Hypno Hustler calls out, "If they take us away, cats and kittens, there won't be another party, -ever-. Don't let them ruin it. Get in front of the speakers, if you're not doing anything!" And, quickly, many people who couldn't reach Superboy, or Hope, begin making a wall of flesh around the remaining speakers, to prevent Kon from laser-eyeing anymore. Sure, they're buying time, while they try to work around. A sign of desperation.

<p class="MsoNormal">At this point, there's a hiss over from Laura then. The command from the Hypno Hustler hitting her hard again. She flips up to her feet as Superboy's tactile telekinesis lets up, and goes to charge towards Cassie. In this case, the command is telling her to go all out,and with a *SNNKT* her claws come out as she charges towards Wonder Girl, letting out a feral cry!

<p class="MsoNormal">Superboy can't just avoid the things, not when they pack that kinda punch. This puts him in the unenviable position of actually having to stand still and take the blows, even as he reaches out with his teke along the floor, trying to catch Laura, and herincredibly dense claws, before she goes airborne and people find out how well Demigod invulnerability holds up against adamantium. "Did you get lost on your way to Gotham? Seriously, I thought the crazy themed villains was more Batman's thing."

<p class="MsoNormal">White Rabbit may have to wait quite a while before her "pet" TK can be of much use. Oh, he tries. He sort-of straightens up and reaches out again, but as soon as that green glow starts to materialize around Superboy and light up his eyes, it winks out again as Julian clutches at his head and drops back down to his knees. He had never really been able to test the limits of his TK before tonight, but suffice to say they can check the column for "not standing up to Kryptonian strength anytime soon."

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">"Sorry...can't...think right." He murmurs, swaying a bit as a wave of lightheadedness and vertigo hits him. Hey, what's that on his face? Oh, that's the floor. How did he get there? He's not unconscious, but he's veering awfully close.

<p class="MsoNormal">Cassie shakes Jeanne once, gently. "Get off!" Then harder. "Don't make me hurt you." Unfortunately, she can't see very well, least of all Laura headed for her. So, enough of the charade - she lifts off, meaning to launch herself through the air - passenger and all - for the stage and the Hypno-Hustler there. Barreling him over would be nice. Might get Finesse off her too.

<p class="MsoNormal">The thing is, Hope isn't going to go easy on them. She won't cut or kill them, but she will knock their head against the floor with a powerful strike to knock them out and even kick one in the gut till they are throwing up and on their knees. They are mind controlled....she won't break them, but she will take them out for the count. She is flipping backwards, fingertips catching on the floor as she kicks backwards to land back on her feet when a punch comes rolling toward her out of no where, her red hair almost being caught within Spot's fingers. But as she comes up, she stops running toward White Rabbit...she instead throws her knife true, aiming between the girl's ribs while she is distracted. Hope doesn't even think about how damaging that could be, she only thinks to stop White Rabbit from taking out her only potential help. And then they are on her, the precious time it took to throw the knife, giving the party goers the chance to gang up on her and force her to really start fighting for her life from the madgirls and boys.

<p class="MsoNormal">         Jeanne's grip is -strong-, and tight. She's not going anywhere, even when she's shaken, hard. Instead her thighs tighten further, trying to restrain Cassie's windpipe from getting oxygen; but when they're airborne, she realizes she's fighting someone a good deal stronger than her. That doesn't stop her, though. She's a strange girl, like that. She goes for the ride, and will prove at least a cumbersome and interferring presence, if nothing else for the moment.

<p class="MsoNormal">         Unforunately for White Rabbit -- her umbrella only holds so many of those carrot explosives. She pulls it up - completely unaware the Hope's thrown a knife at her, only to have the knife lodge into the thing's hollow point, perfectly. She drops the Umbrella, angry, and startled. She turns, says to Spot, "My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that." And, she runs backstage, then, to do just that. There are sounds of massive metal moving.

<p class="MsoNormal">         Spot looks up as White Rabbit starts to flee, at Wonder Girl flying at him, and Superboy. It's a bit much. He slips into one of his 'Spots', and is suddenly out, at the entrance; looks like the merry threesome have called it every man for himself. The Hypno Hustler remains onstage though, perhaps believing too much that the kids can save him, either by being shields, or the force of Julian whose - well, not much of a force, "STop them!" He cries, desperately.

<p class="MsoNormal">Beware the Carrot of Doom! There's a flip over from Laura, as she continues her charge. But, fortunately Superboy is on the case as Laura was squished once more over on the ground then as she's pancaked. Her face hits the ground, and the concussive force is enough to knock her unconscious for a few moments, probably giving her a concussion. Don't worry - she'll get better!

<p class="MsoNormal">Superboy looks mildly relieved when the rockets stop coming and he turns. The TK reaches out. He's not striking this time, but he IS gluing every member of the crowd within 20 feet to the floor, as if they'd stepped in superglue. Their legs just aren't strong enough to lift their feet from the floor. He takes a deep breath and lets out a piercing whistle, right at the edge of hearing, louder than the music, escalating up into the mosquito tones on the very edge of human hearing, somewhere between speaker feedback and adog whistle. Speaking of Dogs, the retreating White Rabbit will find herself confronted with an unwelcome, furry and flying visitor on her exit.

<p class="MsoNormal">Oh yeah, thanks Superboy, let out the ear-piercing whistle that's louder than the speakers. That'll do wonders for Julian's headache. As evidenced by him flopping back to the floor after having managed to push himself about halfway back up. He thinks he'll just stay here on the floor, clutch his head, and moan, thank you very much!

<p class="MsoNormal">Hovering over the stage now, Cassie decides to make use of Finesse. If she won't let go, Cassie will use her to hopefully batter Hypno-Hustler into submission. "Call your people off of..." but then hopefully the villain will be unconscious soon and his hold on the kidswill fade.

<p class="MsoNormal">An elbow to noses as they break and crunch, feet slamming on insteps as people crowd about her to make people crumble in pain, and boy, can Hope headbutt! Not once, not twice, but three times! And people go down. She seems like she is wild and uncontrolled as she lets out an almost feral cry, but each movement she makes is with purpose so she does not hit the floor and go down, and even when a guy tries to pick her up from behind, she slams her head back to break his nose and send him stumbling back before she knees the next guy thatgets to close so hard, he will think he has a busted nut, and a punch sends someone else stumbling and rolling back. None of these are injuries that people won't recover from, but nor are they ones they will easily forget...hopefully they will remember, crime doesn't pay. The knot is freeing up on her only because they have to trip over each other to get to her, not knowing how to fight many against one. "Someone shut him UP!" Hopefully Cassie will crash land into the punk, and save Hope the need to beat him senseless.

<p class="MsoNormal">        Jeanne makes a good whack-a-mole stick, or in this case, a whack-a-Hustler stick. The cheap, styrofoam cat mask is crushed, and the Hustler is down for the count, slamming against the DJ board, and slumping down before he can even activate any of his defenses, leaving it open for someone to shut down the system, completely. The lights, due to his slumping form, have revereted to bright white lights, already dulling the thrallhood.

<p class="MsoNormal">         White Rabbit is unable to get to her huge, mechanical bunny ride thanks to Krypto. Spot? Spot, is out the door, and on a motorcycle, and headed far, far away as fast as the bike will take him.

<p class="MsoNormal">On the ground, Laura is starting to pick herself up then, a dazed look over in her face thanks to the cranial reset she just underweant - aka the boot to the head. She gets up, blearily looking around at the chaos, tryign to piece together what happened.

<p class="MsoNormal">Superboy, carefully, keeps his hold on people, their feet glued to the floor as he walks over, smiling as he hears the bark outside. "Stop the music!" he calls out to Cassie, offering Laura a hand up. "Something wrong with the music, used it to control you guys," he says, watching her carefully, turning to Julian only briefly. "Sorry about the headache, man. Been there. I couldn't let you keep me airborne like that, a lot of people were going to get hurt."

<p class="MsoNormal">Julian is pretty vaguely aware that someone's talking to him. "Go 'way..." He mutters, still clutching his head. Thinking straight and conversation are not his strong points right now!

<p class="MsoNormal">"On it!" she calls in response to Conner's voice. She brings her hand down hard on the DJ equipment (and of course, hard for her is likely to make it into so much electronic garbage). Luckily, she doesn't use Finesse - in any sense of the word - to eliminate the threat. "Going to let go now?" Cassie asks Jeanne, though it is rather difficult to speak when one's throat is being squeezed.

<p class="MsoNormal">Oh good! People start to well, STOP attacking her! Hope actually kicks the last stubborn person away, and starts to run, leaping off the stage as she looks about, "Anyone severely injured?!" She doesn't mean the whines of broken noses and hurt stomachs, she means...andthat is when her eyes land on the very much bleeding and mostly passed out Julian. She frowns and starts to head to him, "Did he even get hit?" She missed the exact moment it all happened and he went down. She moves to reach for him to help turn him over, "Mr. Keller,"forgetting to calling him by his first name, "Hey," her tone sounding worried as the medic in her starts to check his eyes and pulse. If Julian bothers to open his eyes, he will see a curtain of red hair half shielding his face as green eyes look into his intensely with concern.

<p class="MsoNormal">        As the music fades - and the hold, Jeanne does just that, unwrapping herself, and planting her feet on the ground. She looks - confused. Slightly disoriented. But, there is memory of what occured. She frowns, slowly, and doesn't apologize for her actions. Instead, she notes, almost as some sort of side-note to Wonder Girl, "You are remarkably resilient," in a detached sort of observant way. She frowns; her own head hurts, aches in an unpleasent way. But she regardless looks over the mass of people, confusion reigning as they all get their senses back - sounds of protest, other groaning, many shuffling out of the building before something even weirder happens. The rave, is clearly over.

<p class="MsoNormal">         "Is Julian still alive?" She does not see him.

<p class="MsoNormal">Laura slowly comes back over to face existance, rubbing her forehead a moment later. Mind controlled by a disco afficionado. Yeah, this one is not going to be over in one of the official writeups. Her bruises over are healing, and she retracts her claws, taking that the scenario seems to be under control.

<p class="MsoNormal">If that's the telekinetic, I overdid it breaking the hold he got on me, gave him a tk headache," Superboy calls. "Someone should probably call the cops," he says. He watches Hope, raising an eyebrow. "He should probably see a doctor, but if he hasn't blacked out by now, odds are good he'll be fine, just have a massive migraine for a few days, maybe not want to even think about using his telekinesis." The Kryptonian seems to speak from experience. He flies over to Cassie, chuckling gently. "Glad it didn't get you, at least, it was pretty rough as is, never had to fight a group that size before. You alright?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Julian's clearly had a pretty massive nosebleed. He's...semi-conscious. Definitely disoriented, but it's probably not life-threatening. Pretty much the equivalent of a serious concussion, though. He does open his eyes, looking a bit bewildered before a somewhat confused smile flits across his face, "Hey...it's you." He frowns, "What...happened?" THen the frown turns more towards a scowl, "Sucks...s'posed to be fun...for them." It's not exactly clear who "they" might be, and Julian isn't really going to be forthcoming with answers, because he does, finally finish passing out.

<p class="MsoNormal">"You might say that." Cassie says to Jeanne with a grin. "Sorry if I hurt you or anything. I didn't mean..." she continues, but then Superboy joins them on the stage. "You!" and she is suddenly at his side, hugging him tight. "Are you alright?" she asks, touching his cheek with a hand. "Police. Let's get the kids out first. Then call them?"

<p class="MsoNormal">"I am a trained field medic," Hope says. "And most people are clueless about mutant physiology anyway." The girl's fingertips are a bit rough from the life she has lead, but are confident and gentle as she looks over Julian. "Try to stay awake, you gave yourself a concussion. Did you drive a car here? Cause, you are seriously not driving back," Hope says seriously. She moves a hand to flip her hair back and looks about for Finesse, because Julian is already out like a light. She waves at the girl, "Over here!" She then says to Cassie, "Aren't they witnesses? But I sure as hell don't want to be here when the cops get here." She doesn't even legally exist. "Hey, can someone find my knife for me? I'm actually really fond of it." She then points toward Superboy, "Heeeey, you are strong and stuff, right?" Yep, Hope is about to rope Cassie's boyfriend into something.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeanne nods to Superboy, and Wonder Girl, "Well done." Then, she heads over to Julian, asseses his 'injuries', far more clinically than Hope did, and prescribes, "You will live, Julian." She nods her silent thanks to Hope, allowing her to help Julian to his feet. She simply stares at the man, then goes to look towards Laura. "And you are well, also?" Afterall, Laura's the closest thing she has to anything that could be called friend.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Cops will come with ambulances, and we could use those," Superboy remarks, and looks around. "I'm fine, better than my sparring partners, at least," he says, and giving her a gentle squeeze, flies off to Julian's side. "Strong enough to have done this to him when he tried to lasso me." He stares intently at Julian's head for a few moments. "Okay, not a doctor, but, well, he's not bleeding anywhere blood isn't meant to be. Telekinetic backlash, I've been there, it sucks." He looks to Hope. "What do you need?" he wonders, as one of the partiers has recovered enough to actually get on calling the cops.

<p class="MsoNormal">Laura nods over at Jeanne, and shakes her head distractedly, "I'll be fine." She takes a few breaths, and then looks over around then as she goes to start sniffing for Hope's knife. She heads up to the stage, and is able to grab it with little trouble then to walk backover towards Hope to return it.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Ummm...you realize we could likely get Mr. Super to do this for us, right Fin...umm..Jeanne." Right, not superhero clothed, they never met...shoots! They never met, she shouldn't know Jeanne's name! Hope is there to help Jeanne with Julian's dead weight. "Superboy, right?!" Right, black hair, Super shirt...Superboy! "Here, carry Julian for us. Does he have a car here?" The question is sent to Finesse. Keep the girl distracted! Darn it, Finesse is too smart and attentive to mess up around!

<p class="MsoNormal">When Laura returns, Hope smiles thankfully, "Thank you Laura," her tone matching her words as she accepts the knife and slips it into her boot with practiced ease. This is of course done after Superboy takes Julian's weight.

<p class="MsoNormal">Cassie looks at the gear she has just smashed. "I think we should take as much of this as we can." and she takes off her hoodie and spreads it out next to the ex-soundboard. She begins putting what looks like important hits there - motherboards and other components shehopes are useful. "I don't want anyone else getting this."

<p class="MsoNormal">       "The police will confinscate it," notes Jeanne, in her methodical manner, "And then likely SHIELD will confinscate it from them. It will be safe." This, she is certain of. She nods to Laura, once. "Good. I would not like for you to be injured," is her firm statement. Then, her cool eyes fixate back to Julian. "We should get you home."

<p class="MsoNormal">         But, Hope's statement gives her pause. With a definitive certainty, she notes, "We have not met." And, simply stares at Hope, trying to work the puzzle out.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I think that's technically evidence, Cass," Superboy remarks. "Your boyfriend called your name at one point," he points out to Jeanne and looks to her. "Think you can ID his car or whatever you're getting him to a doctor in?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Laura adds, a moment later, to cover for Hope if necessary, "You have been in the news a lot, particularly with the Olympics."

<p class="MsoNormal">Hope smiles brightly at Superboy, her life saver! She adores him! Cassie may not appreciate that. "It's likely something red and obvious." And Hope motions for the exit, "Let's leave -before- the cops get here." Still, she will stick around if needed to make sure Julian stays stablized and gets cleaned up and basically play nursemaid...unless Jeanne really wants to take that over, Hope wouldn't argue with her!

<p class="MsoNormal">"It's technically dangerous, Conner." Cassie responds. "Then it'll end up in Luthor's hands, or Cheshire's." But she has what she wanted, then she reaches up to pull off the black wig to toss it in the pile. Then she ties up her hoodie into a knot. "I hope the other kids get out of here before they get here." She rises.

<p class="MsoNormal">Laura shakes her head over at Wonder Girl, "Setup is too bulky to be useful. Requires several hundred pounds of equipment, enclosed area, and large support system for magnification. Too inefficient for portable use."