Players:
Summary: She-Hulk cannot make it to a book signing, so she sends stand-ins.
Date: February 17, 2010
Log Title Book-Signing Bedlam
Rating: PG
NYC - Barnes and Noble
Featuring 4 floors of books, music, movies, and other novelties, this Barnes and Nobles is quite large. On the first floor a bookshop by the windows offering WiFi and hook ups for customers with laptops. Books of all types and genres cover the first two floors, the third floor is dedicated to children's books and other novelties, and the fourth floor is where you can find many varieties of music. This Barnes and Nobles has most things covered.
She-Hulk doesn't quite appear, by permission of her player.
There's a bit of a kerfuffle at the book signing zone. The Strictly Fabulous She-Hulk, a barely authorized biography, is supposedly being signed, but without the She-Hulk, as she's been caught up with… well, the standard thing. Saving the world? Sure, that works. Probably true too!
Keld Jonahl has been dispatched, on her behalf, to apologize to her fans. Scary fans. Equally split between strange men and very desperate housewives. Oh, and there's the agent, smiling in fear. Keld takes off his sunglasses and waves. Probably should have come in costume but the Black Leather look handles the weather better.
Of course, since one Green person can't be there, another one can. Sure, Keld is the one hired, but Aaron heard about it, so decided to make his way in, just to help the alien with his… social issues. Brushing his hair back over his shoulder, he moves through the crowds to the other Avenger. "It's not that bad. Sure, Big and Green couldn't be here. But Big is here. And now Green is." He says with a bit of a wink, before coughing and straightening his face.
Omri showed up hoping to meet an Avenger. It was a bust, which is a bit of a disappointment. He sighs, leaning against a bookshelf, watching to see how the store is going to spin this. He watches the two men, clearly with the book company or some other agency repping SheHulk. Checking his watch, he waits.
Omri showed up hoping to meet an Avenger. It was a bust, which is a bit of a disappointment. He sighs, leaning against a bookshelf, watching to see how the store is going to spin this. He watches the two men enter, assuming they are with the book company or some other agency repping SheHulk. Checking his watch, he waits, not realizing who they are for the moment.
"HEY! Its that alien guy!" … yes, one of the She-Stalkers, the very special men from all walks of life (except the successful ones) who have determined that they MUST date the Jade Giantess.
"That alien guy" is your basic six-three heroic-looking guy who might be just another bodyguard, but in fact, yes, a set of three blurry photos of him kissing Jennifer Walters, then a taller greener woman, and finally the She-Hulk, a series of cameraphone stills… which appeared on SlashDigg.Supers back in the summer of 2009. Of course it was taken up by the Post (who were promptly visited by several OTHER lawyers) … all very odd. But the face COULD be familiar, or at least the gold-tinged skin, perhaps.
The alien in question speaks up, and he does have a vaguely odd accent. Televisional. "Attention, shoppers and book signees. I regret to inform you that She-Hulk is currently dealing with a crisis in Washington and will be unable to sign for you. If you wish to have your books signed and delivered to you, please let the agent here," and he indicates the still-fear-grinning Miss Szerblof, "know what your delivery information is, and we'll handle it."
RABBBLERABBLE … the noise is instant and incoherent.
Chuckling, Aaron shakes his head softly. "Ok, folks. Sometimes, things kick in and certain people have to handle it. It's part of being an Avenger. Trust us… we both have to do it sometimes." He explains, moving along to meet with the alien and line alongside him. "That, and she's a lawyer. Who can stop her?" He grins. He's just about out of jokes. He's not a comedian… he's a cop. "But we'll be sure to make sure that she gets your books, and gets them back to you."
Omri watches the two men a moment, and then he smiles, finally recognizing them. He smirks, watching them try to control the less than happy crowd. As several of the more fanatical folks become more agitated, he steps just out of view, behind a rack of Twilight books. Quickly glancing around the corner at one of the fans, he takes a moment to read their feelings about She Hulk, and a moment later, his shape ripples and he looks just like She Hulk. Stepping out, he walks into the open so some of the fans can see. They begin screaming in geeky glee, and Omri runs, the crowd of fans trying to follow. He ducks around a corner, again his form ripples, and he returns to looking like himself. He folds his arms, and watches all the fans run off, smiling.
"Well, that was an interesting diversion," Keld murmurs, and his eyes change color to a dark red for a moment as he scans the area. Of course, a handful remained, and these ones, the now-less-terrified agent talks with while the two Avengers are left to their own devices for a short time. The others should start trickling back in smaller numbers in a while, but for now…
"That wasn't her, of course," Keld says conversationally to Aaron.
Aaron looks up at Keld, staring for a moment. "You know, in our line of work, I never would have guessed that it wouldn't be She-Hulk here. That she'd just be telling us she was off in Washington, so she wouldn't have to come in." Yes, it's a little snide, but that's the Green Man for you. "And, considering that the identicards say she's in Washington." He coughs, giving a smile to an upcoming person and nodding.
Omri emerges from the aisle of bookshelves, with a soft smile. He gives a gentle nod to the two Avengers, and then turns his attention to a rack of nonfiction books about Europe.
Keld is distracted ALMOST immediately from the man who seems very satisfied with something, by the demanding croon of one of the shorter, less greasy Stalkers, "So how is she in bed?"
How is WHAT? It's a good thing the alien does not have flash-vision. He looks at the little man and smiles in a way that only touches his mouth.
"I cannot tell you but I could show you. Of course … you might not survive."
He pats the suddenly terrified man on the head, "go do your book signing sheet now. There are better things to think about."
He looks over to Aaron in exasperation, "Are they always like this?"
"Capechasers. They want in the beds of anyone with a badge, a cape, a cowl, or a silly spandex suit. You should see the online fandom." Aaron shivers. "I made the mistake of looking for myself. I found fiction and drawings of myself. It was… not my favorite moment." He hangs his head slightly as he looks over at a sickly little plant that's not being properly taken care of here. He reaches out to it, and it reaches back, wakening to full health.
Omri glances over at the two Avengers again. He furrows his brow a little, and then sighs. He shoves his hands in his pockets, and nervously walks towards them. He pauses, seeing Aaron use his power, and he grins, remaining close enough to be awkward and having approached, but far enough from them that he doesn't initiate. He shuffles his feet slightly. He should say something. 'Hi, I'm Omri, I want to be an Avenger,' is what goes through his mind. "…hey…" is all that comes out, however.
This isn't a She-Hulk stalker, not at all. And he was moving around that area where the people went… OK, worth a try at first contact then.
"Hello. I'm Keld Jonahl." He offers his hand to shake. That could mean two things: first, he's just offering a handshake, or second, he's curious and wants to try to communicate with this new alien.
Aaron just raises an eyebrow as the guy says hey. "Hello. Officer Aaron Simmons." He adds on, following Keld's intro. He'll wait for anything resembling a handshake. After all, Keld's the stronger of the two. In his own way.
Omri reaches out and shakes Keld's hand, "Hi. I… heh…" He shrugs, a little sheepishly, "I know who you both are," he offers, with a gentle smile. "Sorry about the SheHulk thing…" he says, glancing away, "I was just trying to help…"
<OOC> Keld tries to do two windows at once. AIEE!
On the contact, Keld's mental presence is there, but in a sort of passive, take it or leave it as you wish, fashion. He murmurs, "Thank you," and it comes across that connection as a completely different word with a very similar meaning, before the handshake ends. "The ugly mob is still ugly in its way, but somehow more manageable when not in full swarm."
Aaron raises an eyebrow. "Sometimes, that's how it happens. Like catching Spider-Woman alone against an army of AIM goons. You just show up to help and boom." He shrugs slightly, offering his own hand, now. There's nothing different in it. Well, other than the vine that crawls down his arm to wrap around the wrist as he shakes… if his hand is accepted. Yup. There are apparently vines of some kind under his uniform.
Omri does shake Aaron's hand, and he smiles at the vine's touch, but doesn't really say anything more. He looks back at Keld, and speaks to him in his native homeworld's tongue. "That language is amazing," he says in Dakkamite. "What is it?" He gets a bit of a wonder to his grin as he asks.
Keld blinks. OK. Uh. That's a new one. Ability that is.
"It's the common speech of Dakkam, my homeworld," he answers. "And you're the second person now I've met here who has spoken it to me."
He looks over at Aaron. "My story is much simpler. I fell out of the sun and crashed into New Jersey."
"I remember when they brought you home. And you went around the mansion kissing people." Aaron says with a chuckle. He knows it's purpose now and isn't bothered by it, but at the time it was a little on the freaky side. But then, Aaron never recieved the transfer of knowledge. He didn't understand any of the Dakkamite, of course.
Omri smirks, and explains in English, "I don't… um… I don't really know the language, eh. Just… I sensed it from you. It's just this thing I do…" he shrugs, as if it's no big deal. He doesn't really say anything about the kissing, in fact, he's a little embarrassed by it. "I um…" He sighs, a nervous little huff, furrowing his brow. "You don't happen to have an application do you?"
At Aaron's words, Keld puts a vague expression of distraction on … alien body language, 'I am slightly embarrased and amused to be able to amuse my friends-of-the-moment with it.'
He answers Aaron, "TRIED to kiss everyone. Jarvis looked horrified, Miguel thought I was coming onto him, and you got called away for duty. Only She-Hulk was man enough to teach me English," and he grins at that.
Omri's answer, though, causes him to pause. "I never did find the applications myself. So, wait, you don't really speak the language? Klonz asawru stathr? S'kasieth-ta argro?" Which are, of course, "Do you understand Asaru? Can you speak Shiar Trade argot?" Naturally.
"Yes, well… the life of a cop." Aaron says with a shrug. "Prevents you from a lot of interesting exposures. Though, if you had… I'll bet Tim would have had a blast about it. But…" He shrugs again, slightly. "He's not around anymore, so…"Shaking his head he looks to Omri. "There are no applications. It just… happens. You become. You're chosen, basically. Like I said. Right place, right time, proving yourself, and boom. You find yourself with an A on your belt."
Omri nods at Aaron, "Oh." He nods a little more, thinking, and then nods a final time. "Okay…" He seems a little disappointed by that answer. He then turns back to Keld, and his empathic powers brush against his thoughts again before he answers in the appropriate languages. "I understand it," he answers, "And I speak that, but only as much as you do." He grins, and then shrugs, switching back to English, "I read the languages off those around me. You speak them some, so I can some. It's not just mimicry or memorization, I can actually think in it. It's like I really fully do know them as well as you. They'll stay in my head about a day before they begin to fade."
Keld looks over to Aaron then back to Omri. "You've never been approached before about this ability?"
Because, this man is the perfect spy.
"Some people can go under the radar." Aaron says to Keld with a shrug. He's got no say in anything. He's glad for that, too. He's just a soldier/cop. That's all he ever needs to be.
Omri shakes his head, "No, sir. I moved here hoping to meet one of you." He smiles, "I was starting to think it would never happen, eh." Then he shrugs a little, shyly. "I'm no She Hulk…"
Keld laughs. "Not at the moment, no. I'm …" and he looks down in surprise as the agent with the unpronounceable name tugs on his sleeve.
"Pardon," he says to Omri, shrugs to Aaron, and is led over… and ends up with the heap of books to be signed. To deliver to She-Hulk. It's not that they're too heavy, its that there are two full boxes, and Keld comes back with one under each arm.
Aaron blinks at the number of books. "Don't look at me. I can't carry them. Normal strength here." He says with a grin. "Plants." He shrugs before coughing and nodding. "Well, keep an eye out and do good works. That's how it happened to me."
Omri nods, and he gives a little smile, "Okay. Thank you." He gives another shrug, a nod, and then he quietly shoves his hands into his pockets once more and turns to go.
Keld coughs, "Uhm, you did help out here. We could trade business cards. I understand it's the ritual on parts of this world, no?"
Of course, any of that has to go through the current leadership of the group. So, that's not Aaron, so he remains silent and seated.
Omri stops, and turns, "Oh, um… yeah, sure!" He pulls out his wallet, and removes a card for a local technology corporation called, CircuiTech. His name is on the card, Omri Laroche, and his title is Linguistic Relations. He grabs a pen, and scribbles his cell phone number on the back. "I'm a translator for them, but… here's my cell…" Then he hands the card to Keld.
Keld is carrying two boxes, but after a moment's graceless ness, he sets the right one on the floor, and reaches into his top left inner pocket, pulling out a preprinted contact card for himself. It's basically a blind email and contact address, but it CAN reach him, and quickly if needed. "Thanks. I need to meet more people, y'see. All I know are either artificial, other Avengers, or people that want to do bad things to … everyone."
"Or, if you can't get a hold of us by normal means, you can always contact the NYPD and ask for officer Simmons. They'll take a name and send it to me. I'll remember." Aaron says with a nod.
Omri takes the card, and he nods, "Thank you, sir," he says, sincerely. "I'm none of those things, so… heh…" He shrugs, and he nods at Aaron, as well. "I will remember that." He lingers another moment, and then quickly turns to go. Leave before they hate you. Eep!
