2019-07-13 - Krakoa in Bloom

Summary:

When the rose garden wakes up, an unlikely team up saves the day.

Log Info:

Storyteller: Scott Summers
Date: Sat Jul 13 18:36:53 2019
Location: Botanic Gardens

Related Logs

None

Theme Song

None

bruce-bannerpamela-isleypeter-parker

It's a warm day in the gardens. It's the type of day that brings people out to explore and learn the gardens. And for the most part, people are just enjoying the scenery - a little bit of green in the otherwise concrete, glass and steel jungle of the streets of New York.

Though there is always those few. Today, it's a small group of hoodlums, street punks that have been going through the gardens, harassing people, scaring kids - and they're currently at one of Spidey's favorite hot dog carts, near the rose garden. One of the punks pushes down the man running the cart, while another one is getting behind the cart to start to push it towards the gardens itself.

With the man down at the moment, the freshly bloomed roses of the garden are in danger.


All he wanted was one of Big Jake's chili dogs. Not too much to ask. Big Jake's wife made the chili fresh every morning. And since he had helped Jake during that one dust-up, Jake had promised him free chili dogs whenever he came by.
Jake had one of Spidey's PanicButtons, and it showed up in big, angry red on his HUD. So, ten seconds later, he had been heading towards the botanical gardens at flank speed.


Which is where, oddly enough, Pamela Isley, PhD, is currently standing, though she's adjusted her skin pigmentation so she just looks like your typical ginger and not a supervillain (reformed-ish). She didn't pay the hoodlums much mind at first, since they weren't at her part of the park. However, when they start to push the cart towards the roses…

That, she will NOT abide.

Suddenly, a vine snakes out from the nearby bushes, entwining itself into the axle of the hotdog cart so that, well… the punk is going to have a bit of a problem pushing it towards her beloved rose bushes. Certainly has nothing to do with the attractive redhead in a green blouse and denim jeans looking at the flowers, of course. Honest!


Bruce is here at the gardens to just relax some away from the big crowds. It's not like gardens draw out huge crowds, after all. Unfortunately, today they are drawing something else. He'd noticed the hoodlums going around, and had been trying to ignore them. But now they've knocked a man over, and are apparently trying to steal his cart. Sighing a little, he steps out in the way of the cart. He's pretty average height, lanky and not particularly intimidating. He looks a little nervous. Not about them, just in general. Still, he speaks to the one pushing the cart. "Guys. Come on. This is New York. You know how this town is. You really want somebody in a costume to show up and ruin your day? Just… give the gentleman back his cart and we'll pretend nothing ever happenned, alright?" He's trying to sound reasonable.


The vine wraps around the wheel, bringing the cart to a halt. The punk on the cart pushes at it a few times. "This thing's busted, man!" he complains, as he notices the redhead. "Well, hello there." he says, before waving his friends - the four of them, towards where the redhead is. "Dibs." one of them says with a smirk. "Vino, you couldn't flirt with a prostitute in a brothel after paying her!" catcalls one of the others.

But then there's Bruce, in the way. "Out of the way, loser. White knights are for chess games - unless you and the lady.. you don't mind if we talk to her, do you?" one of the other punks croos at the scientist. The skinny one. Not the va-va-voom one.

When Pamela tugs at the vine, she feels something. And after that first vine responds, several more do. Suddenly it's as if the rose bushes are coming alive, whipping out thorny vines towards the punks, as the whole garden seems to heave and move. There's a moaning, angry, guttural sound as it rises up, one hand forming from hibbiscus clutching a cherry tree. It sounds angry, as if the whole garden is going to rise up in defense.


And then a voice comes from overhead. It is a calm voice, almost playful. Amazing he can keep his composure when the whole garden is starting to look like John Carpenter's Thing From Another World.

"Boys…you are out of your territory and hip-deep in sheep dip. Run. NOW." Spider-Man is perched sideways on one pole, looking down at them. The guy in front of the cart doesn't look like much, but then again, neither does Peter Parker. The redhead…geez, what is it with him and redheads lately?…doesn't seem to notice the plant-thing and he calls out to her, "Lady! Move! Get out of here!"


Pamela looks disdainfully at the boys moving to surround her, "Now, boys, I doubt you'd know what to do… eh." She pauses, then looks back at the rose bush, and… well, she does something that most people would not expect.

That is to say, she leaps over the fence and holds her hands out towards the writhing rosebush, "Shush, it's okay… it's going to be all okay. Relax… relax…" And she's using her empathy with flora to project as much calm as she can there. Since, well, if Spidey can keep the gangers in line, she can at least take care of this.


Bruce sighs a litlte at the words from the punk. "Guys, really. You don't want to do this. It won't end well for you. Give the cart back, and leave the lady alone." He doesn't recognize Pamela immedietly, though he has seen her before. His back is to the garden, so he doesn't see the greenery moving at first. Then he hears the shifting and crackling of foliage, and he turns around to consider the tree-wielding shrubbery raising into the air. "…right, that's not what I meant, but that doesn't look like it's going to end well for anybody. You should probably start running now." He doesn't seem as worried about it as he should be, staring up at the rising choloryphil-laden guardian. He glances over at Pamela. "Ma'am! You should probably get out of here too!" He hears a voice from above, turning his eyes towards the man clinging to the flagpole, blinking a few times. "That's more what I was expecting." He begins to back awa from the plants, keeping an eye on them. Spider-Man was there, he could definetly handle it right? He notices what Pamela is doing now, and his brows twiwtch. That seemed a little odd.


With the gardens coming to life, and Spider-Man right there, one of the punks gulps. "Oh man, he controls plants too?!" he yells in a panic. Yes. It seems that they are going to heed good advice, and get the Duck out of Fodge, since it seems that flirting with the woman that is /going/ into the plants isn't a good idea either. "You're all loco! Loco!" one of the punks yells as they start to run away.

But the plant creature rips up the path or retreat, showing how large it truly is. From beneath the rose bushes, a pair of eyes, made of molten lava open, as a mouth, filled with sharp stalactites and stalagmites opens up in a roar. A vine lashes out, the thorns on it cutting Pamela's face as she approaches. It's as if the creature is trying to defend itself from her!


Crap in a hat!

The punks aren't in immediate danger, but the redhead IS. He aims a webline, then fires. The line arcs across the expanse, hits Pam dead center in the upper back, and then she is pulled forcibly…okay, YANKED might be a better term. And suddenly she is 20 feet up, held rather easily by the guy in the red-and-blue costume, and he is checking her scratched face. "Are you all right?"


Pamela shouts, "NO!" as she gets pulled back, her concentration broken for the moment. When Spidey grabs her, she suddenly goes from her normal look to a rather vivid green of skin, with who she is becoming immediately obvious as she glares at Spider-Man.

Poison Ivy then snaps, "I was trying to calm it down, as these punks awakened it in the park here with their antics." She then focuses her attention on the plant creature once more, trying to keep it calm and peaceful as she says, "It's just a baby, it doesn't know what it's doing, just that everything is scary and people are attacking it… I'm trying to calm it down."

She absently mutters, "And before you ask, no this isn't part of a nefarious scheme of mine."


Things are getting strange fast. Bruce's eyes flit between where Spider-Man is holding the now green-skinned redhead, and the molten eyes staring at the punks. Something about the whole thing is very familiar to him, and he has a sinking feeling in his stomach as he quickly puts together something he once read about a living island with what's happening here. Apparently it did put off some spores after all. And from what knows about it, if this thing grows up here in the middle of the city…

The scientist rushes towards the eyes and mouth, shouting out to Spider-Man, "She's right! It IS a baby! And we do not want it growing up in New York!" He tries to remember if the information mentioned anything about some sort of core to these creatures. He's really hoping the whole gardens isn't it. He stops between the younger men and the rocky mouth, raising his hands towards it. "Just calm down, kid. We'll figure something out, okay?" God he hopes it can understand english. And that he doesn't end up having to do something he'll regret. He can already feel the adrenaline thrumming through his veins, and is fighting changing. Some streaks of green on his skin and a shift in the coloring of his eyes show that it's not entirely working.


Things were starting to turn for the creature and Pamela - it was reaching out with another vine, when Spider-Man suddenly yanks the motherly figure away. "RRRRGH!" it roars, as it does, spewing just a few driplets of lava that spill onto the pathway. It continues to rise - thankfully for Bruce, it only seems to be the size of the rose gardens itself.

The creature takes on a vaguely human form as it cries out one word.

"KRAKOA!"

And it's lashing out with vines to try to swipe and knock Spider-Man away from Pamela. Trying to get to the woman.

And save her from the evil spider person. Bruce's words draw the creatures attention - and it /feels/ the radiation in Bruce's blood. And that draws it towards him with one large step that shatters the pavestones of the pathway.


Spider-Man jumps to the side as the vines lash out, landing on a light-pole. ALICE fills in the blanks for him a moment later. The HUD fills with her picture, and the information he really didn't know.
Pam can hear a quiet voice come from the mask itself. Female, calm, so not the wearer."Dr. Pamela Isley. AKA Poison Ivy. Powers: Control/manipulation of flora. No known recent criminal acts, free on own recognizance."
It rings a bell, but for him, it's not history he finds important, it's the here and now. And it had attacked her. If this was a plot, it had gone sideways on her, and he didn't think it could based on her…area of control.

"Look, Doc, you want to calm it down, you should do it BEYOND striking range." He does drop from his perch to the ground, and Pam finds herself on her feet again. He looks at the guy…running at it.
Did EVERYONE take suicide pills this morning? Jeez!
"Sir, you should get back before that thing decides to PRUNE you!" He looks to Pam. "'Scuse me." Then he fires a webline and launches himself towards the giant plant, loading up the heaviest webbing he has. Maybe he can save that guy from his own stupidity!


Ivy gestures, "Wait, not like that, try to keep everyone else clear!" She sighs, and moves slowly towards the baby Krakoa, focusing everything on just keeping it calm, it's alright, things are going to be okay, it doesn't need to eat anyone, it's fine, we're fine, we're all fine here, right now, thank you.

How are you?


Alright. What do you know about this thing? The adult version was big enough to encompass an entire island. It was dangerous enough that it's basically a black site now, hidden by the world goverments to keep anybody from going there. It was created by nuclear testing… nuclear. Right. He grits his teeth, and stops fighting the primal response buidling up inside of him, hand clenching at his sides. "Like the way I smell, kid? Alright." Then he's swelling up. The spindly human frame blossoming into an inhuman one of muscles and emerald skin and rage. His clothes tearing away, some bizzare quirk of the process ensuring that his pants, and it's always only the damn pants, survive more or less intact and seemingly bigger than they were before. The radiation the creature is sensing skyrockets, practically coming off of him in waves. Though luckily for those around him, not literally. The Hulk's first intinct is just to rip the thing out of the ground and toss it into space or something. But, it's not like it's at fault for existing. Like him. He growls, then tries to calm down some without doing so enough to turn back into Banner. He slowly raises a hand towards the beast, as though offering a dog his scent. He rumbles out, "This what you're wanting?"


The webhead approaches Krakoa, and the living garden swipes at him. He's large, slow moving, easy to dodge, until it starts sending vines out at the man that's harassing him and keeping it from focusing. It cries out it's anger and frustration - but at least it's not erupted yet.

Ivy's emotional control over plants are starting to take root - the Krakoa turns to her for guidance. It's scared. Frightened. Hungry.

And it's that last one that draws it's attention to the feast that the /other/ green person is offering. There's gren Ivy and now green Hulk. Catching the scent of the irradiated blood, the Krakoa lumbers forward, towards the scent, reaching for Hulk curiously, though the large man may have enough time to dodge - it's toddling, after all. Shaky on it's legs. Unsure. Usually it just burrows.


Maybe he can get close enough to web the guy like he webbed IvyWHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!
Spidey is able to dodge the vines, then suddenly retreats as the small pink human becomes a big green MAN and suddenly he is feeling every bit the small-time working-class vigilante that has no freaking business in doing this sort of stuff. And right now, he's not able to stop it. Ivy and…whatever THAT guy is…might have something.
So, he's going to avoid going off half-cocked and observe. From back here. Where he's not antagonizing it.


Poison Ivy moves closer towards the Krakoa, "Shhh… it's okay, everything is going to be fine, alright? You're safe." She keeps walking up to it, to the point where, if she can, will try to put her hand on its arm, keeping it from eating the Hulk. Or anyone else, really. "Would you like to come with me? We can take you someplace safe."

Well, it's not like the Disaster Zone isn't already shot, right?


The Hulk doesn't try to move out of the way of the grasp of the Krakoa, if it decides to pick him up. He's reasonably sure he can beat it if he has to. And making it upset at this point wouldn't help anybody. Though the usual urge to smash is always a little hard to resist. He grunts a little, glancing over at Ivy, then the farther back Spider-Man. "Either of you people have SHIELDs number or somethin?" He looks back to the living landscape. "I think it's gonna take something big to fly this guy to a deserted island somewhere."


Picking up Hulk, Krakoa first tries to stick him in it's mouth, and realizes it can't pierce it's skin. It makes a frustrated noise and chews on the large green man until the green woman touches it's arm. There's a low roar from the creature, but a vine curls around Ivy's hand - as if it's taking it in acceptance that she's planning on leading it away from the garden.

It feels safe with the woman, as it starts to move where she decides to lead it, lumbering slowly along.

A few curious bystanders are already getting the images on film of the 'Unlikely Family' on a stroll in the gardens.

As police are moving in, to provide help where they can, there's a few botanists that are heading to the sport that Krakoa /was/ and lamenting that they are going to have to replant /everything/ it uprooted.


Spider-Man watches them just…go. The big guy is being used as a teething ring or something, and the green womanDr. Isleyis just leading it along.

For a moment, he wonders what contribution he made in this whole green mess, where the greenest living thing in the whole area turned out to be him.

Then he spots the cart, tilted slightly against the wall, and smiles wryly.
He walks over, rights it easily, then begins pushing it. The cart is better than 800 pounds, but he could lift and carry it if he wanted. But pushing was easier.
A minute later, Spider-Man had pushed the cart out of the garden area and towards the police line, where an ecstatic Big Jake whooped as Spidey wheeled the cart past the line. "I think you should take a look at the left front wheel, I think the axle is bent there."

Ten minutes later, Spidey is sitting on the ledge near Big Jake's cart, which is now open for business and is capitalizing on the lookie-loos. He is also noshing on a fresh chili dog, with soda and fries.

Always glad to be of service to someone.


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