Participants:
| Scene Title | Pretty Ice Demons |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Warren goes hunting crocs, Elle doesn't want to be wet, Nadira can't help but stare, and Bao-Wei just wants you to leave. |
| Date | August 24, 2010 |
Despite it's name Coney Island is a peninsula, and only formerly an island. This small piece of real-estate is the southern-most point in Brooklyn, with beachfront property abutted by the Atlantic Ocean. A neighborhood of the same name is a community of 60,000 people in the western part of the peninsula, with Seagate to its west; Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east; and the Gravesend neighborhood to the north.
This area was once a major resort and site of amusement parks that reached its peak in the early 20th century. It declined in popularity after World War II and endured years of neglect. Since the bomb, Coney Island has fallen into a tragic state of disrepair, most prominently evidenced by the closing of the amusement parks on the island, notably Astroland and Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park. The latter of those two serves as a rusting and monolithic ferris wheel that overlooks the decrepit state of the island. It's once bright carnation red paint peeling to reveal rusted steel.
Much of the amusement park areas surrounding the beach are now closed off by chain-link fence, though some portions have been battered down by vandalism and portions of the closed amusement parks are now used by gangs and other unsavory figures as meeting sites. With the NYPD stretched to its limits, police rarely have the availability to respond in a timely manner to this small and remote penninsula, making it a relatively dangerous part of Brooklyn.
It's early in the morning, and Elle hasn't gotten a chance to yell at Warren, since when he called her out here, they were getting on four boats. Eleven men, plus Warren himself, take small motorboats just large enough for about four people at max out on the lake. There's three men on each boat, though one particular boat has four people, counting Elle. Warren places a hand on her shoulder for a moment, then hunches down to stare at the sonar. Each boat has one sonar and two harpoon launchers, but he hasn't told Elle what he's looking for yet.
This might be the time that she really realizes he's crazy, since as one of the men fires a harpoon into the lake, Warren explains, "We're hunting vampire crocs, mate." he explains in his best Croc Hunter impression.
Elle is very, very unhappy right now. She has an extremely large scowl written across her face; despite the rather pleasant weather, the electric blonde is dressed as if she's preparing for the worst, with a full rain outfit on, complete with a yellow raincoat over the blue summer dress she wears today, oversized rain boots, and even one of those old rain hats, with the hood of the rain coat drawn up over that. Under all of this also happens to be a life jacket.
The electric blonde is currently sitting as far in the middle of the boat as she can, her arms crossed as she scowls at the harpoons. "If these vampire crocodiles attack me or splash me with any water, I'm gonna kick your ass." She growls this out to Warren, looking like she's pondering doing just that, anyhow.
While not on the boats, there's someone else near the water. Nadira stands near the shore, idly having decided to take a walk in the area, occasionally tossing the last bits of a hotdog bun to some of the birds. Peering over at the water, though, she notes the boats. A bit odd to be harpooning things.
Nadira might be able to hear the sound of harpoons firing on the lake, with Warren and his men in the distance. They no longer wear the biker gear they used to, his men wear completely black suits, either buttoned or unbuttoned, with a black shirt under them, and they each, oddly enough, wear a biker helmet with large red numbers on the front, none going over 40. Warren himself is the only one who wears a white shirt under his unbuttoned suit jacket, with white leather gloves on, and no helmet himself. "Don't you worry, if we get a vampire croc, I can attach a gatling gun and have the ultimate weapon."
This might be considered one of his fun days, when he's not on a particular mission, but who knows how seriously he takes these missions. "Alright, everyone start firing, then pull your harpoons up, then fire again!" Which they do. Fire, reel, fire, reel. They catch quite a few fish that get thrown back, boots, and random pieces of trees and trash. "There's things moving down there, just keep going!"
Elle is even less happy about the fact that the harpoons being fired into the water are jostling the boat around in ways that make her very unhappy. She scowls at Warren's rather…crazy talk, crossing her arms and doing her best to glare at the water instead. "You really need to start being careful about things, Warren Ray." She scowls. She better not get in trouble for this, too.
For now, she plays the part of the very angry girlfriend who really doesn't even want to be out here, sulking with her full sulking power, which admittedly tends to be more cute than it is deadly, thanks to the face her parents gave her.
This might work out much better if he would wait for something large to come onto the sonar screen. Something does, eventually, at the rearmost boat. Something slow drifting far below the surface, seemingly dragging along deep in the baywater. It waits for some time, as harpoons pierce the above and sink like many rockets into the depths, only to be reeled slowly back in. They all seem to fire together, rather than apart, and in short time, they are acting nearly in unison. Per this, the thing creeping up from behind does not jerk into the sonar until they have already fired most of them into the water again.
The sonar goes from specks and lines to bleeping over something roughly the size of a boat closing in on the four boats.
The water is already chilling, and rather than warm water coming up with the harpoons, the metal has become frigid from that submerging.
Nadira's safely on shore and not anywhere out near the boats. However, that means she's got a good location to really watch. The bun is tossed out of the way, standing back as her gaze flickers over the water and eyes the boats. Her arms fold over her chest. "Huh."
"You're too adorable to scowl. And I'm being very careful." Warren's eyes take on their silvery reflective form when that large mass appears on the sonar, then he takes note of the harpoon wires, knowing something's up now. "I don't know what's going on, but I think we have something. And as a great woman once said…"
He slips a grenade from his pocket. "Take chances!" then pulls the pin, "Make mistakes!" and finally, tosses it into the water at the big blob in the area furthest away from their boat. "Get messy!"
Elle is staring at that big shape on the sonar, a frown on her face. Then, she's scowling at the grenade. "DUDE, fuckin' grenades?! Try to show a little concern for my life here, I hate water!" She holds on tight to the boat, watching to see just what happens with an unhappy look on her face.
The grenade hits the water and plummets-
-but nothing happens. Well. There's a burp from under the water, as if it could possibly have been a dud.
On the contrary. It worked- but only after being flash frozen. Something bobs to the surface- a giant slab of ice, shattered through the middle. What happens next is more hands-on.
The shape ascends lighting fast, shark-like. The rear boat is hit from below, and quite literally, is launched ass-over-end through the air and over the water, spraying foam, men, and supplies. At the surface, rigid, discolored spines pass in an arch before descending again. Unfortunately, there is little time to act upon the movement; the top of the water immediately crusts over with a thick layer of ice, trapping both the other boats- and likely, freezing over any of the men that have been scattered by force.
"… the hell?" Nadira stares towards the water, catching sight of the boat as it's sent into the air. She continues to stare, narrowing her eyes to try and squint and see better what exactly is going on out there.
Warren doesn't have time to acknowledge Elle's grenade outrage. When his men go flying through the air and that big shape flies over, he immediately dives down to cover Elle while keeping his head turned up so he can watch it all. Those eyes don't want to miss anything, they want constant inspiration.
But then it descends, and when he stands up he looks around at the frozen surface, rubbing his chin. The men from that boat are dead, and with the water frozen, it looks like a new plan is in order. "I don't think this is a vampire croc." he says as he stares down at it, eyes widening. "It's a god, a lake god! Elle, stay there where I can keep you safe." He grabs one of the men next to him by the collar tightly, then holds him over the side of the boat, pulls a knife from his jacket, then slits his throat as blood pours into the water. "Lake god! I don't mean any arm by coming here, I was hunting, but I didn't realize you'd claimed the area. Take this sacrifice as an apology!" he yells into the lake before finally pushing the man over the side of the boat and on to the ice.
Elle's first response would be to run. But that involves water. Then, suddenly, Warren's covering her, and she's halfway on the verge of panic, squirming under him. When he stands, she stands too…and her first response, since she can't run away right now, is to punch Warren, hard, in his right arm. "Motherfucker, you're gonna get me killed! Why the fuck did I ever let you talk me on to this fucking boat!!!" Even Nadira can likely hear the little blonde's screams as she punches the man a few more times.
Then, Warren is slitting some dude's throat. That's one way to get Elle Bishop to stop attacking him. She just kinda stares for a moment. Then, aiming one more punch at the crazy man's arm, Elle returns to her spot right in the middle of the boat, ducking down and praying that she's not gonna die or drown or something.
There are no words. Literally, and figuratively. He is not in a place to speak- but as the body hits the ice, and red mixes with the frost, Bao-Wei Cong cannot help but find himself perplexed. Utterly so. He stays attached to the crust of ice below, one eye swiveling to follow the shadow of red and black overhead. Another boat to his back, he hefts backwards at it; the second boat simply tips over, spilling onto the ice. The hole below is essentially a cellar door, and something is now using it as an exit.
Doing his best to remember what Bella advised, the thing that creaks and cracks out onto the ice roughly resembles- well- nothing, in particular. It appears like a moving sculpture; it has short, stumpy hind legs, long forelimbs, a hunched back, and a long, jagged muzzle. Of course, lastly, that one shining eye deep in its black socket.
To be quite honest, Cong had several things in mind- and so he has ended up as some bizarre shape that is not quite any of them. But, if it works, it works.
The Egyptian woman on the shore is a bit bewildered as to what's going on. Boats flying, boats tipping… it's a bit bizarre. Still, being on shore doesn't offer her enough of an opportunity to really see what's going on. She moves along the shore, trying to catch a better view at a different angle.
"Lake God! I see you've accepted your sacrifice. Everyone bow!" The three men in the remaining boat, and the two men left in his boat, all bow down on one knee, followed by Warren himself bowing with his head lowered. "Lake God, we are your humble servants, at your disposal. We hope you'll share your power with us, but we're…" He looks around and counts for a moment, then lowers his head again. "Thirty-four men and eight women strong. You will be our new god, if you so accept. We can expand your territory far beyond the lake, and spread the word of your existence."
Elle is left sitting, scowling, and being generally angry and pissed off at her 'boyfriend.' As everyone bows, Elle rolls her eyes, despite the hulking ice-beast that has just used a boat as a cellar door that is looking right at then. "Oh, come on, Warren. It's not a fucking god, it's probably just some Evolved or something. Admittedly, a terrifying one, but—" She stops herself in her babbling, and aims a small kick at Warren's rear as he's bowed to the ground. "Stop bowing and talk to him like a person!"
Then, she's looking at Cong, her brows raising. "Are you a human underneath all of that scary ice and exterior?" She calls this, waving a hand. At least there's ice, so less of a chance of getting wet.
A hollow noise emits from the creature's mouth when it opens, like a whistle without a catch. Bao-Wei lopes forward to inspect the stain and dropped man left to the icy water. His eye turns up to watch the primary boat. Putting his nose to the ice, the red begins to seep towards him, and the water freezes over the corpse, draining it as well in little time. Cong can hear Elle speaking, but he does not seem to want to answer her. There is intelligence glimmering in his eye, however, as it considers her.
"Go home, boy." The toothy mouth opens wider, tinted with brown and red. The voice echoes off of the water, like a low-pitched bullhorn- it is an order, not a request. To confer with the demand, the ice begins to flake away from the top of the water, portions squealing and grinding up to the construct, its ice becoming exceedingly more dense.
Nadira's gaze remains on the situation. Clearly there's a creature, clearly it's causing quite a bit of death… but she stands there. Like a trainwreck, she can't look away, but her eyes fixate on the water. She can't really do anything, and she's not sure she'd want to disturb the water in that way. No, not now. Not until she understands.
"Not a lake god?" Warren asks as he looks over at Elle. Whatever psychotic episode he may have just been having seems to suspend when she suddenly says something rather logical, and he crosses his arms and really considers the situation. "I have a factory. I can help you and get the resources you need to get fixed. If you're not a god, I don't think you want to stay in a lake."
He points to his eyes, blinking a few times. "With my eyes, I can make impossible things, you can work for me and be more than this! My group is all about following your ambitions and doing what you want."
Well. That was…surprisingly easy. Well then, maybe this keeping him in check thing is easier than she thought. Then, he's offering Cong a job. The little blonde makes a rather frustrated gesture, stomping her feet on the floor of the boat. "Warren Ray! You don't even know this thing, and you're offering him a job! At least ask him about himself before you go offering employment!"
But then, her eyes are back on Cong, the little blonde suddenly leaning over the edge of the boat as if to get a closer look at him. "You are human, I think. Somewhere in there." She points at his eye. "I'm Elle. Do you have a name?" Maybe she's a bit crazy, too, talking to this ice beast thingie as if he were just another person.
"You can call me Xuan Wu, or simply. nothing at all. We have met once before. I did not like you then, I do not like you now. Go back to where you came from. As you will not find me with such ham-handedness after today."
It speaks in a familiar, resounding manner, though hard to place. It also seems to have other plans. The mouth closes, and it begins a steady lope out across the water towards the beach of deserted Coney Island; the surface freezes solid ahead, and begins to flake apart behind. They may move the boats again, but the waters are now littered with jagged bergs, knocking and bobbing to and fro.
It could be a reenactment of Titanic now, all the icebergs floating about in the water. Nadira stands on the shore, contemplating the sight of such a creature out in the water and the fact that it let some of the boats go. "It's not just a beast… more like Ammut." She murmurs. "But what could you be doing out there in the water all alone?" Her arms stay folded over her chest, and her gaze drifts back to the boats. And what could they want with the creature in the first place?
Warren takes a black card from his pocket with red writing on it. A Locos business card with a few numbers on it, then he tosses it on to the ice. "I'm not one to argue with all powerful Lake Gods, but give me a call if you need anything." He looks down at Elle, giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, he even says we know eachother! But I'll take you home and we can relax in a hot bath." He pushes one of his men aside, then turns on the boat motor, expertly navigating the boat through the ice as the second boat follows along after them.
"You! Indian girl!" he calls out to the shore with a wave, though she still can't quite see them from this distance. "You should run or we're going to kill you once you see our faces!"
Elle waves after 'Xuan Wu' or whatever his name is. "Well, for what it's worth, I like you! You're kinda pretty for a freaky ice demon thing!" She waves after the creature, before turning to stare at Warren, her jaw working for a moment. She promptly slaps her hand over her face. "Warren, stop it. You already killed one of your henchmen, you're not going to kill some stupid passer by who we know nothing about. Seriously, can we just have normal for the rest of the day? I need to talk to you when we get home."
An apologetic wave is offered toward the Arabic-looking woman on the shore. "Don't worry, I won't let him kill you, but could you please leave before you see our faces? We'd really appreciate it. I would really appreciate it."
Though halfway out of range, Cong is close enough to hear the departure. He pauses on his trek long enough to turn and watch, maw opening up and hide glinting under the sun. Nothing more, nothing less. Unless the situation calls for it, he is looking to alleviate his curiosity- and to see if he needs to do role-reversal and save yet another incidental damsel.
Death threats? And racial profiling? Hmph! Nadira idly glares towards the boat. She'd seen enough to know that clearly they had no respect for human life. Besides—she didn't need to see their faces. If she needed to recognize them again… she'd already heard their voices. She doesn't run, though, no… her escape is the water. She wades into it, fully clothed, and promptly swims down below the surface, out of the way. She'd never been one for literal running away.
"If it's for my dear Elle, we can have a day of normal. Now, don't worry, this isn't a real grenade." Warren reaches into his jacket again, but when Nadira sinks into the water, he sighs and removes his hand, shaking his head as they finally hit land. "Normal day it is."