Mittens is able to see through her portal that there are some punk teenagers (ranging from 13 to 18 years old). The bouncy castle is vacated, but surrounded by children who are upset. "Let us back in!" "No fair!" "I'm gonna tell!" and such like.

But the lead teenager says with confidence, "Go ahead and tell. That's exactly what we'd like."

The teens appear like so:

Teen 1: Probably about 13 or so, this redhead boy has some standard beginnings of bad boy look to him. A t-shirt that has a dragon on it, worn out jeans, and a tattoo on his arm of a pokemon.

Teen 2: Could be 15 or 16. This boy has a studded black leather vest, a black t-shirt with a skull and crossbones on it, black leather pants, and a pair of sunglasses resting on his scruffy blonde hair.

Teen 3: Probably 17 or 18, this boy is built like a football player and has a goofy grin on his face. He... looks like he hasn't bathed in a week and has equally worn out clothing with holes in them. His shirt has the fading image of a fist on it.

Lifelight looks at Serena curiously as she makes movie references.

Then slowly looks in Mittens direction. But without a report from Mittens yet, Lifelight goes back to watching Serena and smiles again. "We should watch a movie together sometime."

Mittens is sure to not hide what she sees, tilting the window to show whomever is interested.

"Is it just me?  Or does this feel like the eldest guy is neglected and this rude behavior is a desperate cry for help?"

Maybe Mittens needs to stop jumping to conclusions about kids being mistreated just from one or two ticks on the list of things to look for.  More likely that his family loves him plenty and he's simply a rude, dirty kid.

"I'd say, 'This looks like a job for: (heroic tone) Park Security,' but...  I dunno.  My Adventure Sense is tingling.  I've got this sneaking suspicion that Park Security won't be able to resolve this without someone getting hurt.  Very likely the security guys."

Maybe it was the 'come at me bro' comment of telling one of the festival-goers to run for help.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:47, Wed 11 Mar 2020.

Dane chuckled, and set his burger down. "Back in a minute. This shouldn't take long."

He stood up, moving more lightly than expected for a man of his size, and walked over to the bouncy house. Gently stepping through the crowd of younger kids, he poked his head through the door of the bouncy house, and said, "Ok, kids. Time to give the little kids a chance. Everybody out."

He stepped back, and held the flap open to facilitate their exit. He has a smile on his face, but it didn't touch his eyes. There was a set to his shoulders that indicated he was not inclined to ask nicely twice, and he added, "Now, please."

The 16-year-old says with a grin, "Oh wow. Portals and Rampage. I love this game. Hey Brandon, check it out! Your dad's here!"

The big kid says, "Hi, dad!" and hurries over to give Dane a BIG hug!

Yes he looks like a football player. Yes he is as strong as one. But that's no big deal for someone like Rampage. However, the guy stinks to high heaven something fierce. Like rotting human flesh that got cooked over burnt rubber in a paper factory.

The 13-year-old is trying to act like he isn't intimidated by Dane, but it is obvious he is MORE intimidated by the 16-year old.

For the more observant, the other interesting thing is that this Brandon's stink doesn't seem to be bothering anyone else yet, and was only noticed by Dane when he got within a few feet of him.

---

Meanwhile, Maverick figured Dane easily has this handled and doesn't bother checking it out. He came here to relax. And hang out with his buddy Donny. If it gets serious, Mav will get involved. Not before then.
This message was last edited by a game editor at 00:31, Thu 12 Mar 2020.

  Matt's awkward sense is tingling. "Huh, I'm so used to everything being either a disaster of peaceful these days.  I've kind of forgotten 'it's just a prank bro' tier problems were a thing."  Turning people into candy is a bit beyond that tier, we know who listens to the narrator.

  He would probably have remained anti-social if he had powers that belong listed next to plastic icecubes with fake flies in them too.

  Turning to Mittens, he comments "Would it be cheating to ask you to suggest Dane go full throttle embarrassing Dad?"

Of all the times to remember that Kurt Russell starred in the most horrifying movie of her childhood, The Thing, of course it's now that Mittens starts to wonder if the skull shirt boy is actually a monstrous alien posing as a human.  (Kids: Don't be like Mittens and sneak into your Dad's man cave to watch one of the top-shelf movies deliberately placed there to be hard to reach.)  Maybe it's the fact that the youngest is more scared of the teen than Manly McDane that triggered the memory.  Does he have nightmares of having his arms swallowed by a friend's giant belly jaws too?  Funny, how even knowing that having Matt around means that at worst only silly cartoon consequences to violence can happen, Mittens is near petrified from this irrational fear.

"Th-that's not...  What?  What's with acting like Dane's his Dad?  Someone call the Men in Black for me.  Something's waaay not right here.  Especially with Sunglasses."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:36, Fri 13 Mar 2020.

Seraph looked up and her eyes flared and hardened. Whereas she had seemed far more like Serena whilst relaxed, she was definitely heading towards Avenging Angel territory which was evident to her friends when flames began to lick up the feathers of her wings.

"What am I missing here?" She asked in a voice that was starting to hiss.

In reply to Maverick Sargas (msg # 379):

Dane made a face as the stinky teenager got close and then HUGGED him, but curbed the impulse to throw him off. He turned to the clear ringleader, and said, flatly. "What do you want? You're taking up room in a kids' bouncy house. And you stink. I asked you nicely. Why are you still here?"

The ringleader says, "We were just catching your attention, really. See; I don't believe in heroes. And since this event is going to be reported on, I plan to have Brandon here make a big enough stink that the world will see you and the rest of the fakes for what you are."

Brandon says, "Stiiiink... heh-heh..." still with that goofy grin. "Is it your turn to play bouncy castle, dad?"

The 13-year-old begins hiding behind the ringleader.

Lifelight blinks a few times, looks at Serena, then slowly looks at the portal. She hears the conversation and says, "Why don't they believe in heroes?"

She personally witnessed and was involved with this same group of heroes not long ago in saving the world from an alien invasion. It was televised. Those who don't have tvs have likely heard about it by now.

But for all her trivia and insight, Lifelight doesn't understand certain mentalities like refusal to believe the truth because of some deep hurt. So this is one of her blind spots and she is unable to offer an insight to the others.

"Oh thank goodness that this isn't a case of alien body-snatchers posing as Earthlings!  Probably."

Mits has consumed enough superhero media to recognize this plotline.  Either someone the punk kid loves was "falsely" accused of a crime and is now in prison solely on the word of a vigilante, or they were seriously injured in the scenery destruction that resulted from a clash between a superhero and a villain.  Either way, blame the hero because that's more dramatic and sells more comics.  And is true to life because people are emotional and want to lay blame on those they believe should be in perfect control.  ~It's the NYPD Commissioner's fault that my husband committed suicide!  Because it's his duty to ensure the mental health of every single New York police officer!~

Miss Adventure turns a sheepish smile over to Seraph and Matt, "Sorry I uh...  With the threat of an impending alien invasion hanging over us I kinda jumped to the conclusion that acting weirdly means that horror movie monsters were about to jump out of those kids' bodies."

Poof!  A kingly puppet appears before the small children deprived of the castle.  It speaks with a voice similar to a familiar king puppet who often appears on PBS, saying, "Greetings, my loyal subjects!  I am King Hiccup!" (Trumpet fanfare plays) "*Achoo*  Pardon me.  I see that our beloved castle has been invaded by giants.  Fear not!  For I, King Hiccup," (Trumpets) "*Achoo* pardon me, have sent in my valiant giant knight, Sir Rampage," (Trumpets) "to learn why the giants' feelings were hurt and help them be happy again!"

Mittens answers Antoinette in her best William Shatner impersonation, "Well...  That's what we'll try, and find out."

She hoists a big news camera on her shoulder and points it at Sunglasses.  "This is Mittens Rather reporting live at the Weston City Park Carnival for the Parahuman Accountability Blog: shining the light on dark truths and asking the hard questions.  Here we have a group of three youths holding a bouncy castle hostage.  The leader has stated, quote, 'I plan to have Brandon here make a big enough stink that the world will see you and the rest of the fakes for what you are.'  Let's see how the famous parahuman, code-named 'Rampage,' responds."

Seraph smirked. "Actually horror movie monsters might jump out of Brandon's body because he smells like a three day old corpse."

She stood up and sat at the corner of the table up until the point the camera came out. "Oh! Does my hair look all right?" She asked Antoinette (it looked gorgeous and was starting to smolder as her powers manifested more). After fixing hair that didn't need fixing she stepped in front of the camera.

"That's right, Mittens. We appear to have a group of punks here trying to cause trouble by keeping the smaller children out of the bouncy house. I will point out that the stench from one is enough to gag a maggot and they are attempting to confront well-know hero, Rampage. We will of course remain on scene and bring you all the news that's fit to bring you."

She made a cutting motion with her hand. "How was that? All right for my first actual reporting gig?"

She turned around and looked at the teenagers and the flames from her wings flared higher. "Jokes aside I really don't like bullies so I suggest these three get out of the way, take some showers, and piss off down the road."

In reply to Serena Wyndham (msg # 387):

Dane frowned at the ringleader, and said, “So why don’t you give the kids their bouncy house back, and then you can spring whatever plan you think will be so clever on me. So come on out of there.”

He stood back and walked a few yards away, and then said, “Just so you know, while this is all conversation, no lines have been crossed. But if a single one of those kids gets hurt, we will have a serious problem. And if that stink gets any worse, I’ll going to have my angelic friend there fly him up and drop him in a lake. Also, you hurt a kid, intentionally, with enhanced abilities, you risk a domestic terrorism charge. So come out of there, and decide. Do something dumb, or let me buy you all a soda or something.”

Then he smiled without any humor, and added, “By the way, I don’t need any powers to deal with three teenagers. I’ve fought in wars, saved lives in battle, and ended a few too. Choose wisely.”

The ringleader is shaken by Dane's intimidation (and to some degree, pardon the pun, Serena's firing up). Brandon is too stupid to think there is anything to be afraid of. The 13-year-old says, "Big D, we c-caught their attention... c-can't we keep this to d-discussion like he said?"

"Big D" calms himself lest he look scared, then nods and says, "Alright sure. Brandon... I think your dad's serious about the bath. So... turn off the stink."

Brandon says, "Oh! Sorry dad. I forgot I had that on..." and just like that, he no longer burns the lungs of those nearby.

The younger kids are giggling from Mittens' puppet show. They cheer for Rampage. "Rampage! Rampage! Rampage!"

The teens all vacate the bouncy castle and soon, the younger kids get back to having fun.

The ringleader notices Serena and what she says, then replies defiantly, "Suggestion noted, but you're not my mom. You're on fire, lady, you should stop, drop and roll before I assault you with puns."

He looks at Dane. "....were you serious about treating us to cokes?" his tone suggests he is surprised by Dane's offer and doubts he meant it.
This message was last edited by a game editor at 04:41, Wed 25 Mar 2020.

Lifelight looks Serena over and smiles. She answers in her usual soft tone, "Your hair is nice."

Serena's performance for the camera is wonderful. But when she tells Mittens to cut, Lifelight says with her usual smile, "Mittens said it's live."

Lifelight hears the cheering children and joins in, but with her own spin, "Rampage! Rampage! Rampage! Seraph! Seraph! Seraph! Miss Adventure! Miss Adventure! Miss Adventure!"

Dane smiled, his body relaxing, and he said, “Definitely. Why don’t you grab a table. Coke? Orange?”

Dane took drink orders, and returned with three large sodas of the requested flavors, and set them down at their table, and then sat down himself.

“Rule number one about being a superhero is, never use force if you don’t have to. So now that that’s settled, what’s all this about?”

OOC: Maverick, not sure where you were headed with this, but we can sunset this part of the scene unless you want to play it out further?

The teens make it clear they are standard issue troubled teens. They enjoy the coke and well, being kids, coke means all the sudden Dane's a hero. Well that and the way he composed himself.

Their problems are easily addressed. Their problems are on a much smaller scale than planetary occupation. Stuff like how their neighborhood is ruled by drugs and both police and supers can't address all of it because it is such a constant issue that when you crush one drug ring, another pops up.

Maverick was watching all this and asided to Donny quietly, "That is how a hero deals with problems. What could have been violent, ended pleasantly. Villains will try to get you to be violent, and sometimes violence is necessary. But it isn't always the answer."

The teens are eventually sent their way and without any real trouble. Three confused kids down... many more to go.

Maverick goes to Dane. "Mr Sinclair? What's your favorite drink?"

OOC: Honestly, was mostly curious where you all were gonna go with it. ;) You handled it perfectly, of course. XD Was doing a dry run since Truth and Justice said I can run small stuff on the side for you guys. I'll give you guys some real villains next time.

"Wheee!"

King Hiccup somehow enjoys the bouncy castle with the kids for a little while before bidding them farewell.

Mits laughs from Seraph's amazing reporting!  "Perfect!  Yeah, what Antoinette said.  You're a natural!"

The TV camera goes poof.  "Thanks for the cheers, Antoinette!"

Though inwardly ecstatic about Rampage's hero speech worthy of an He-Man PSA, Miss Adventure is sure to point out for the teens the flip side of the message: that being mean because your frustrated will most often only get your desired outcome farther and farther away.  Such as taking a bouncy castle hostage.

"So as penance for your wrongdoing, and to prove that you're actually serious about cleaning your neighborhood, I'm appointing you as the leaders of the newly formed Block Club (secretly a Neighborhood Watch).  Your first task will be to learn everything you can on how drugs have been kicked out of neighborhoods before.  Spoiler alert: Most times it only takes just one motivated person willing to work with the local police."

Mits smiles at Mav's question, though inwardly kicking herself for not thinking to ask the same, so she splits the difference. "And in case your wondering, grownup drinks are allowed as an answer."

As proof, Mits proudly shows off a picture of her walk-in fridge full of exotic spirits.  Most of the labels are unreadable unless you happen to know the many languages of the world.  ( A sampling from the Japanese section of the fridge: https://keyassets.timeincuk.ne...-recommendations.jpg )  "Fun fact: Ninety-six countries in the world do not have an age restriction on alcohol, and in many U.S. states too.  (Just no purchasing allowed.)"

Dane smiled. "Sam Adams for casual. Barbecues and so forth. Ardbeg or Glenmorangie for cigars by the fireplace. They're Scotch. Scottish whiskies, if you didn't know."

He was drumming his fingers on the table, and then stopped. "That conversation with the kids bothered me. Kids that young shouldn't be so hopeless. After I leave here, maybe I'll be take a look around their neighborhood. See what I can find out. If there's a sudden uptick in gangster hospitalizations, that would be a shame."

Mav nodded as he took note of Dane's drink preferences. When Dane comments about sudden gang hospitalizations, Maverick couldn't help but smile. "Can we trade contact info? In case I see or hear anything..."

In reply to Maverick Sargas (msg # 395):

Dane nodded, and took out a business card, and slid handed it to Maverick. "Please keep me in the loop. Those kids were a good reminder that it's all well and good to save the world from alien invaders, but if we can't save their neighborhoods, does it really matter? So I thought I might create a street level persona and see if I can make the bad guys a little nervous."

  He was mostly just walking through the Children's Festival because he enjoyed the happiness and joy that it brought to the people.  The long black trenchcoat and motorcycle boots might have looked a bit odd, but the wraparound mirrored shades were definitely different.  Nor did he have a child, but to those who knew him, it was understandable.  In his left hand he held a large slushie, in his right was a big bundle of cotton candy.  He'd staked himself out a seat on one of the park benches, and was watching the children play.  He also kept half an eye on Seraph, keeping tabs of where she was in the park, but he was enjoying the festival too.

Seraph had an itch between her wings, like someone was watching her (beyond the multitude of people who were watching an fiery angel walking or flying around the park) but she couldn't put a handle on who it was. She went back to eating her dinosaur leg and looking around every now and then.

"I'd help but no street-level persona for me. Still, feel free to call me if you need a hand," she said. "That kid threatened me with puns. I have never been threatened with puns before. Did he think I'd laugh myself to death and that would be that?"

In reply to Serena Wyndham (msg # 398):

Dane chuckled. "If I have to call you, we're in big trouble. And puns aren't that funny."