Summary:Dazzler's concert on Coney Island attracts an odd crowd… Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Wednesday night at Coney Island. Not the best nights for partying, but sometimes an up and comer has to take what she can get. And, even with a weekday gig, it's a lot flashier than the clubs and pubs Alison normally plays. And it's not a shopping mall. She hasn't stooped that low…yet.
The show has just finished, Alison 'Dazzler' Blair waving goodbye to those who came along on this cloudy evening. All around her are the 'special effects' of exploding, cascading lights of various colors and shapes. She blows a kiss to the crowd before heading off the outdoor stage near the beach. The auburn haired teen dressed in boots, fishnets, short shorts, and a t-shirt with 'I sing for my supper. It's why I'm so thin' written on it. There are a couple of people who want selfies, which shocks Alison, but she's happy to have them taken.
"Ooh! Ooh! I would like a 'the selfie'!"
A redhead blows through the crowd right to the front of the line. She's not exactly bowling people out of her way, but just moving with a lot of momentum and excitement and it takes moments to push through the crowd. She comes up about eighteen inches short of Dazzler, looking positively awestruck.
Well, and looking down at Alison. She'd be towering over most people anyway, but low-heeled wedges bump her up to a solid six-six even, and that's before factoring in the whiplash of her flowing, unconstrained red hair. "I am very much a fan of yours, Miss Dazzler!" Kori announces, with an awestruck expression and huge smile. "The performance tonight was very much 'the awesome'. I have been to all of your shows this month!"
Ben Grimm is sitting off to the side, having taken in the performance by happenstance. He had a box of Coney Island hotdogs cradled in one massive, orange hand. His other hand is lightly picking them up between his index finger and thumb, so that he eat half of one in one bite, then finish it off with the next. He's dressed to 'blend in' tonight, which means a tan trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat. Still, there's enough rocky orange 'skin' showing that he is attracting a few picture takers himself. He tries to ignore those people. As Koriandr sweeps by in front of him, he looks up, pausing in his gnoshing to track her with his sharp blue eyes. She's not something one sees everyday.
While crowds of people aren't always the best choice for Bruce Banner, he felt like going out tonight and doing something. And while he doesn't have much money at the moment, he at least can afford a coney dog, munching on it as he walks along, watching those around him. Thankfully, he's not the most remarkable looking of people. So it's unlikely somebody will actually recognize Bruce Banner after he's been out of the paper for years. And even when he was in the papers, people were probably more likely to remember the pictures of the Hulk. He just had to hope nobody tried to mug him or something. It really was baffling how often that happenned in a city full of superheroes.
He stops when he sees some people gathered around… somebody he doesn't know. Kids and their music, am I right? And then a very tall, oddly colored woman is moving through the crowd, the scientist studying her with some curiosity. He could only assume the odd coloration was a mutation of some sort. She certainly didn't look normal. He pops the last of the coney dog into his mouth, chewing and then swallowing. He glance around, his eyes halting when they spot familiar rockey hide under a trenchcoat and hat. One brow twitches upwards. Ben Grimm. Hmm. He doesn't think he'd recognize him, but still. Best to be careful. He turns carefully away from him, tugging his ballcap down a little.
"Thank you" Dazzler responds to Starfire's compliment as she signs an autograph. Then she looks up at the speaker. And up. And up. Eyes widening in that blue wing shaped make-up she wears. "Wow. You'd definitely be my biggest fan" she grins. "Nice to meet you." It's hard to miss the awestruck expression though Alison is not really used to such things yet. "Umm…you want a selfie or something?" As for orange rock-people and secretive scientists, Alison is rather distracted by the tall orange woman towering over her. A few of Alison's fans drifting nervously away.
"Oh yes, I am of the hugness for a fan of you!" Kori's English is getting a little scattered with excitement. She's got a … weird accent. Not a trace of odd inflection, but she puts stresses on the wrong syllables and her grammar is a bit wonky. She's wearing high-waisted jean shorts in pale blue and a red flannel shirt with the tuck-tails tied off below her breasts. It exposes a few inches of her stomach between navel and sternum.
She turns around a little too gracefully and leans down, holding her cell phone at arms' length. An open-mouthed grin is on her face and she holds up a 'V' sign with her fingers as she and Alison scoot in for the shot. It takes some finagling to get their heads on the same level, and the older-model phone goes *pckcht* to immortalize the moment.
Ben Grimm is oblivious to Bruce Banner. His focus is on Koriandr and Alison, not far away. He takes down the next hotdog in his usual two-bite pace, grinding the food beneath stony teeth. At some point, though, Koriandr is leaning down and Ben becomes aware that his staring could turn creepy. He turns to look forward, devouring another of the hot dogs that, for him, is finger food. Some people nearby him discretely point and snicker, enjoying whatever private jokes they have to make at Ben's expense.
Bruce's attention gets drawn back to Dazzler and Koriand'r, watching curiously as the singer and the alien take a picture together. Eventually he turns his gaze away, not really wanting to stare. He spots the snickering people near Ben, and his lips curl downwards slightly in a frown. That sort of attitude was annoying. Not enough to actually make him angry though. He tried to keep a lid on his temper, after all. With varying success. He makes his way over to throw the container for his dog into the trash near the Fantastic Pilot, nodding in the direction of the two women. "You see some interesting people out and about, don't you?" He speaks in a casual way. Like talking to A) A celebrity and B) Somebody who's made of orange cobblestone was normal. He certainly doesn't look like somebody who ran in Ben's particular circles. Just some somewhat lanky guy in a cheap suit.
Alison is a secret mutant so she's not bothered by Kori's height, skin color, or fashion sense. Some guys nearby are also not bothered. Quite happily leering and making comments about Kori's flexibility and moral fiber. Dazzler grins for the selfie, cheek pressed against her fan, thumbs up. She will even wait to make sure the photo came out fine before dashing off. "Wicked retro phone. You even got it to make the photo noises. That's pretty cool. Oh!" Alison has an idea, grabbing a t-shirt from a cardboard box near the stage. She looks at it, looks at Kori, shakes her head and tosses it back to grab a larger one. "What's your name, biggest fan?" she asks the orange skinned Daisy Duke, a large pen poised to sign the Dazzler t-shirt; the kind that was printed at a print store rather than anything professional.
"Oh yes, my phone is the coolness! It was the cheapest one at the used store," Kori tells Alison. "I was very pleased to win the game of shopping that day— I paid less than anyone else! Several phones were MUCH more money." It's at least three years old, practically an eternity in the cell phone game.
"My name is Koria— Kori Anderson," Kori says. Her eyes go wide. "Oh! Am I getting the shirt of fandom? Oh, they joy!" she says, clapping her hands and bouncing once.
Kori's eyes land on Ben, then go wide. She abruptly breaks into motion and moves towards him with an entirely too-light tread, stopping much closer than most people would risk and certainly inside Ben's bubble. "I know you!" she declares, and leans back so she can point at Ben in a gesture that'd be overdramatic if it weren't so enthusiastic. "You are Ben Grimm, Of the Fantastic Foursome! Oh, it is a joy to meet you today! What happiness! TWO celebrities in one day!"
Ben Grimm looks up as Bruce addresses him. For this first time his eyes settle on the scientist incarnation personally. Ben considers the man for just a moment - enough time to make a snap judgment and not an iota more. "It's nice," he answers. "Girls like that getting alon—". He doesn't quite finish the sentence, because Koriandr is suddenly bounding over to him, full of energy and pointing and her oddly-worded excitement. Ben's gaze snaps over to her and blinks. "Uh… hey ya!" he rumbles. "It's good to meet ya, Doll." His bearing has a way of making the sudden pet-name more of an honest, uncultured, blue collar thing, rather than anything truly condescending. He seems to be searching for what to say next. Damn it, where was one of the Storms when you needed them?!
Well, that girl certainly seems enthusiastic. If she wasn't over six feet tall and built like an amazon, he'd wonder how old she actually is. And…. then she's moving through the crowd, seemingly like she might take flight any second and drawing in close to the guy he just tried to start a conversation with. Whelp. He edges a little away from the bubbly woman, his brows quirking upwards. He can't help smiling at her friendliness. She seemed nice… unless it was all a front. He's met some people who seemed friendly but were up to no good. He considers the rocky man, then leans over and whispers to him (not that everybody can't hear anyway), "Offer her an autograph." Then he starts towards a concession stand to order a soda. He had enough form a part-time job, and he was feeling thirsty.
"Kori Anderson" Alison repeats before she starts to sign. "'To Kori, love Dazzler. Thanks for being a fan.' Here you are." But when she looks up, her biggest fan has gone. A moment of confusion before she spots her talking with a guy trying out for the role of a flasher. Alison meanders over there to hand the t-shirt to Kori before recognizing the rocky fellow. "Ben Grimm. Gosh. You came to watch my show? Thanks. Did Johnny come along?" A quick glance around but since there are no squealing girls, he probably didn't.
Alison looks between the orange Kori and the orange Ben, her eyes narrowing. "Are you two related?" she asks before a smile of acknowledgement to Ben's friend as he heads off to get a soda. She could do with one of those. Bouncing around on stage is hard work. "Hey, Mister" she yells after Bruce. "Could you get me a Coke?" Fluttering eyelashes and a star smile follow to try and convince him.
Kori accepts the t-shirt absently, still goggling at Ben. Is she… blushing? Her skin looks a little ruddier than usual. "I am not a doll, I am a real person! Observe me respirating!" Kori offers. She holds still for three seconds. "See? But it is the okayness!"
She turns to Dazzler and hands her the camera. "Oh Miss Dazzler, will you please get a picture of me and Fantastic Mister Ben Grimm? I will show my friends tomorrow, I met the handsomest member of the Fantastics Foursome!" She'll get that right eventually, and immediately plasters herself against Ben's side with a giant beaming smile.
"Oh, wait! I should put my new shirt on!"
When the camera flashes, it immortalizes a few things— Kori's naked back, Ben's eyes doing a good impression of dinner plates, a half a dozen people all staring utterly agog, and the cart vendor spilling Bruce's soda into his hands.
Kori gets the shirt tugged into place and ties it off again under her ribs. "Okay, now I am the ready!" she tells Dazzler, and loops her arms around Ben's shoulders again. Cheers!
"Eh?" Ben answers Bruce inelegantly, but the other man has left. And here Ben is, without his self-appointed Cyrano. Ben scans for just a moment, spies the retreating form of Bruce, but then is confronted with a wise-cracking Dazzler as well as Koriandr. The Thing looks back, first toward Alison and then toward Koriandr.
To Alison? "Ah… yeah." He doesn't have the heart to tell her he was just eating hot dogs near where she performed. But he can offer part of the story, truthful as it is, "You were real good, kid." The question about Johnny brings an inevitable sigh from the rock monster - or maybe it was Dazzler's joke - but that is soon forgotten, thanks to Koriandr.
Ben's focus turns to Koriandr then, in time for her to demonstrate that she's breathing and not a doll. He even makes a point of not looking down at her chest as she demonstrates. What a gentleman! Not that his discretion is long-lasting. Ben clears his throat at the way she plasters herself against his side and offers such flattery, far more often targeted toward Johnny. He had pulled his hat off, though, seemingly willing to do the picture - a rare occurrence for him - but then it happens. Koriandr turns away from the camera and whips her top off. Right there beside him. It is with the sort of shocked lack of preparedness that he can't help but stare, at least for a moment. He looks forward again, seeming even more rocky than normal with his discomfort. Still, he's obligingly putting an arm around her waist, resting that rocky mitt on her skin. His features twist into what might pass for a smile on his stiff features. Words are failing him, he's just… taking the picture. Take the picture, Ben. This is how humans take pictures.
Bruce Banner stopped and glanced over his shoulder when he hears a shout. Seeing that she's indeed talking to him he gives her a puzzled look for a few seconds. Then finally he sighs and shrugs before continueing on. Okay, a medium was fine. He orders a Coke for her, and a root beer for himself. This probably takes a little bit. He's reaching for the soda when there's a flash behind him, and he gets soda all over his hands. He turns back towards them curiously. …hey. Wasn't she just wearing a different shirt than that? He stares fora time, then shakes his head before getting the refilled drinks and starting towards them. Once there, he offers the coke to Alison. "Here you go, Ms….ah. I'm sorry, I'm kind of behind on the music scene." He looks between Ben and Koriand'r, and tilts his head. "I feel like I missed something." He sips at his soda, noting how friendly the alien girl seems with Ben. Hmmm. He just gives a wink to the… well, okay. Pretty much total stranger. Still! He can feel happy for the guy, having a very pretty if unusual girl seemingly flirting with him. "I think this is the part where you give her your number, too."
Alison has learned something today - how fame is fleeting. And she isn't even that famous yet! One moment, she had the biggest fan in the world, the next she was reduced to a photographer to capture Kori with the next big Thing. Sure, she'll take some photos. One of them without nudity. "Ben, could you try a smile? Oh…sorry…" He is. A quick check of the photos taken before she hands the camera back to Koriandr. "That t-shirt looks good on you."
Alison takes the Coke with a sigh of need. "Thanks. How much do I owe you?" She finds a couple of bucks to hand over. Nowhere near enough, but all she has. "I'm pretty underground" she explains to Bruce's ignorance of her. "But getting bigger. I mean, I have a fan." A wave of her hand at Kori mooning over Ben. "Had a fan" she corrects with a laugh. Her phone beeps and she checks it. "Damn. I have another gig to get to on the other side of town. Nice to meet you all. Thanks, Ben, maybe you can come watch me again. You too, Kori. I'll keep an eye out for you." Which won't be hard with Koriandr's height. Alison peers at Bruce for a moment. "Do I know you? I feel like I know you." But then Dazzler shrugs it away, grabs the box of t-shirts, and heads off into the crowd.
"Oh, I do not need the number of his cellular phone," Kori assures Bruce. SHe beams a smile at Dazzler and accepts her phone back, and bids the woman farewell with a wiggle of her fingers.
She looks back at the two gentlemen, still with one arm looped around Ben's shoulders. "We have yet to formalize it, but I am preparing to rent several floors of the Baxter Building in order to house my friends," she tells Bruce. Wait, is that supposed to be a secret?
She looks back at Ben and beams enthusiastically. "We will be the roommates! Well, neighbors," she admits. "But it will be the funness! I am so excited to be able to work near the Fantastic Foursome— Mrs. Fantastic Invisible Girl was so kind to me, and Mister Fantastic Fantastic" (yes, she's getting some titles wrong), "he was so kind and offered me modelling work. We may be moving in this week!"
Ben looks toward Bruce as the man returns. And winks at Ben! Can Ben flush in the absurdity of this situation? Maybe… though there is no indication of it on his rocky skin. He does seem awkward and tense though, even for a golem. When Bruce prompts that Ben should give Kori his number, the Thing opens his mouth to make some excuse for her - why this isn't what she would want. But then she does it for herself.
Some of the tension fades from him with that reassurance of non-interest. But then… she relates that she is going to be moving in to the Baxter Building, and Ben is left in that no-man's land of uncertainty once more. His eyes flit back over to her and then helplessly toward Bruce. Save me, Cyrano, his look may as well proclaim. But he offers, at least, "I… I'll be real glad to have you in the building, Doll," he manages. It is an awkward attempt, and far from a charming offering, but it's something.
Bruce takes the couple bucks from Alison with some reluctance, then waves after the future pop megastar before turning back to the other two. The comment about renting part of the Baxter Building is actually a little startling. What? But… it's the Baxter Building! Kind of a big deal. Who was she again? "Well. Sounds exciting. Living with superheroes and all. And famous ones at that. I just hope you're ready for all the supervillain attacks." He notes the uncomfortable lock on the rocky mans face. He's clearly not used to dealing with women flirting with him. Not that he IS, but it's easier to see things from the outside. He smiles a little. "Still! Living together will let you take becoming friends nice and slow so that everybody is on the same page, right?" He takes another sip, then adds, "My name is Bruce by the way. Bruce B- Flagg." Yes. A very clever alias.
"Oh, my thanks, friend Fantastic Ben Grimm!" Kori squeals with an entirely girlish air and hugs Ben again, redundantly. She's a bubbling fountain of affeciton, this one.
"It is nice to meet you, Bruce B-Flag," Kori tells the fellow. "I am Kori Anderson," she proclaims, and touches a hand to her sternum. It's an exaggerated gesture, like she's used to speaking across a significant language and cultural gap.
Her hand falls and she rests her fingers on her hips, brow furrowing at Bruce. "No, I think we will become the fast friends if we are cohabitating," Kori assures Bruce. She looks at Ben, and nods once, firmly. "Slow friendships happen when you only see a friend once in a great while. I will see Fantastic Mister Ben Grimm all the time! And he will see me! We will become 'busom buddies' in no time, won't we, uh—" she pauses her words, brow furrowing.
"Oh! 'Old chum'," she says, and beams up at Ben again. God knows where she heard THAT line.
Ben looks like a giant, orange statue of a deer caught in headlights. Not that he seems uncomfortable with what's happening, or opposed to it, he is just paralyzed. His arms fold around Kori as she presses up against him once more in her exuberance. He remains more or less paralyzed at least for those first moments. Should he say something about the possibility of supervillain attacks? Likely, but he can't get the words out in time. Bruce gets something of a grateful smile from the Thing, before Kori explains that they will be fast friends. Bosum buddies. Yes, if Ben could blush, he would be - so he probably can't. He looks over toward her and he nods once. "Best of friends," he confirms, quite possibly missing an opportunity that Johnny wouldn't let him live down having missed, if he were here. "And, uh, yeah, it's great to meet you, Flagg. I appreciate the… uh, help."
Bruce can't help finding Kori likable. She's strange. She doesn't seem to entirely get social interaction. And she has no concept of personal space. But she seems friendly and sweet. And as far as he can tell, she seems genuine. He's suspecting her of having some ulterior motives less the longer she talks. That kind of wide-eyed sincerity is really hard to fake after all. "Hmmm. Well, I guess we'll take the friendship a little slower then. Assuming I ever even seen you again. Not that I wouldn't want to. You both seem nice enough. I'm just not sure why we'd run into each other. I don't spend a lot of time at the Baxter Building." Slurp. "Still, I'll keep an eye out in the celebrity gossip section for when you two start going steady." He IS trying to help, right? He's not teasing Ben or anything? … maybe it's both. He smiles over at the ever-lovin blue-eyed Ben Grimm. "No problem. Anytime." He glances around then says, "Though maybe I should leave you two alone to talk?"
Kori blinks at Bruce. She breaks from Ben and backs up two paces, then two more, and holds her hands out with her palms outstretched and thumbs level with her eyes. She squints at Ben as if measuring, then at Bruce, then looks down at her feet and rocks back and forth from heel to toe.
"I think we're very steady at the moment, but sometimes I miss these things too," she tells Bruce, finally. "It is very difficult to pick up some of those subtle inertial forces," she adds, reassuringly.
She bounds back over to the gentlemen again, holding her shirt in her hands and with fingers interlaced in front of her thighs. "I do not think you need to go, sir," she tells Bruce respectfully. "I have noticed that the only time people leave to talk meanly to themselves, it seems to be about someone else. And I do not say mean things to people behind their backsides," she says, seriously. "Better to be honest with someone and then possibly fight a duel of honor than to be a…" Her nose wrinkles. "Gossip." She shudders.
Ben looks from Bruce to Kori and then back again. He spreads his hands slightly toward Bruce as Kori takes the literal interpretation of Bruce's teasing, but then he adds, "Yeah… ah, stick around if you want." He glances toward Kori. It's a big moment for Ben, to not be dragged kicking and screaming into socialization by Sue Richards. "You, uh, want to look around? Get a hot dog, maybe play some carny games?" He looks back toward Bruce. Seemingly the invitation is also being suggested to him, although not quite with the same outgoing quality, meager as it is, as the invite to Kori has. He's not going to explain why Bruce is suggesting he might take his leave - there would be so much awkwardness involved that it might break the dimensional construction of spacetime.
Bruce blinks a few times at Koriand'r, and his lips quirk. He was getting the strong impression that English might be a second language for her. Weird that she didn't have any sort of accent, though. "Yes. I suppose we're pretty steady at the moment." He gives his head an amused shake. "That wasn't why I suggested my leaving. And really, I have to get going. Maybe I'll see you two again sometime." He offers a hand to Ben. It's much, much smaller and skinnier than the big pilots. More like his teammate Reeds than anything. Honestly, he has that kind of booky air about him, albeit not as strongly as Mister Fantastic. If Ben takes it he shakes, then smiles over at Kori. "You two have fun. Don't get up to anything too scandalous, alright?" Then he raises a hand in a wave to both, and turns to start walking away.
"Farewell, sir! It was very nice to meet you. I will avoid the scandals," Kori promises Bruce. "I am keeping a 'low profile'," she confides and nods, knowingly.
She turns back to Ben, popping on her toes and resettling her weight. "Oh, I am grateful for the invitation, but I am only here for the music, and the music is gone," Kori tells Ben. "I must return to the cabin, we are packing up for the move to the Baxter Building and I need to help Dani with her pegasus and then we are trying to figure out how to take the IKEA furniture apart so it can be moved. But I will see you most soon, I am the sure!" she says, beaming. "And it would make me happy if you would call me your friend, Mister Fantastic Ben Grimm," she adds.
Ben Grimm does reach across to take the offered handshake, giving a huge finger and a light touch of his thumb on the back of Bruce's hand by way of a handshake. It's a delicate touch, but it has to be, given his strength and the unyielding, stony quality of his skin. "We'll see you around some time, Flagg. You… ah, know where to find me, I guess." Then, he looks back over to Kori. Shot down! But politely, at least, so he nods. The pegasus is apparently not news to him, for all he says is, "Yeah, all right. Good to meet you, Kori. Hope to see you soon." He is a touch more reserved this time than last time he spoke, but still, amiable in his way.
"Oh, I am sure we will! I am so excited!" Kori bounds forward and crashes into Ben, hugging him again. "I am sorry, I will stop acting like a foolish bumgorf," she says, and laughs at herself. "I am just very pleased to meet you in person. Such rugged features!" She reaches up and palms his cheek. "It is very the handsome." They're more or less on the edge of the crowd, so Kori looks around and backs up a few steps. "We will consummate our cohabitation with the ceremonial eating of the hotted dogs, and of the pwnings of the newbs on the xboxes!"
She's hovering. Flying, really, eighteen inches off the ground. "Farewell, friend Ben Grimm!" With that Kori angles her face towards the upper east side and shoots off in a blurry streak of tangerine skin and burning red hair.