Lucas glances around at the crowd and nods his head as he listens to her speak. A slight crease furrows his brow at the mention of always being blonde before that thought is swept away by the flood of words, "Yes, I met them both and I am not a robot. Though she did ask me the same thing. She also asked me what was underneath my skin." Lucas holds up his hand to stare at it thought, "Is that truly the first thought most people jump to? What is under the skin? That is disturbing.

"Well, like, people usually come in two flavors.  So you've got your humans who are made outta metal, and those are like, people who have prosthetics and stuff or they're cyborgs, right, and then you've got people who wear metal like a suit, and those are more like, y'know, knights and deep sea divers.  So I just finished watching all of the Marvel movies 'cause a guy asked me if I wanted to see a movie with him, and so it's like-- you've got your Iron Man and you've got your Cyborg, but Cyborg was actually DC, but I read up on that because Karl got called Superman.  Anyways."  She shook her head and continued, looking for the big ol' friendship obelisks.

"Most people don't have metal skin that's like actually skin.  Except for Shivery Greg, but he's very cold because copper is really good at dispersing thermal energy as a heat sink."  Bex turned and smiled at Metro.  "So it's less about trying to be disturbing and asking what's in your muscles and bones and stuff, and more a lack of comprehension.  'cause we aren't thinking about situations in which asking what's under somebody's clothes is the same as asking what's beneath their flesh, you know?  It's like the crystals always say, Metro."

Lucas blinks rapidly, "The crystals always say, Metro? I didn't know I was that popular." He waits a beat before continuing on, "To answer the question though, mainly metal, hydraulic fluid, cable, gears, and wiring. All at least partly mimicking a normal humanoid form. Also, Cable, Bucky Barnes, and also Machine Man though he is a robot. But, I might have been a robot too. So, you don't get that weird cross Marvel/DC thing going on. Then you could call Karl, Hyperion instead of Superman and still keep it Marvel. Hyperion is also usually more of a tool then Superman so it kinda of even fits."

"I'll have to google those when I get home!" Bex confirmed with a smile.  "I don't really know much about the comics, but it sounds like you've got a lotta stuff under your skin that isn't skin-stuff.  But anyways, it's nice to meet you!  I'm not actually Nurse Joy."

Bex cast a furtive glance around before leaning over and whispering to Metro.  "I'm actually Becca.  But I'm in disguise 'cause the police got mad at me for riding Wooly Jumper on the sidewalk so I don't want to get in trouble again."

Lowering his voice as much as he could, "Then you do need to dye your hair pink to really sell it as Nurse Joy. Otherwise, you are just Becca in a nurse outfit. So, do you have anything you want to know about me besides what my insides look like?"

Bex considered that.  "But there are a lot of blondes, so isn't that okay?"  She shook her head.  "That's okay, I'll talk to Buccaneer Shoecannon later.  So!"  Turning to look at him, Bex held her hands out towards him, as if she had an invisible box between her palms.  "So, you aren't an owl and you don't do superhealing, so like... do you fly?  Do you... uh..."  Her brow furrowed.  "...drive really fast?"

Becca's phone buzzes to indicate that she received a text message. A few seconds later, Lucas's phone does the same.

"One sec, Metro, somebody texted me..."  Bex pulled her phone out and hmmed.  She typed out a response.

Lucas glances at his phone and types a short response before responding. "I am defnitely not an owl. I also can't heal people really fast. I can...run really fast? And let other people run really fast. If that helps you at all.

Bex nodded.  "That's super cool.  I can't do anything like that, and I wasn't turned into metal or anything, so like, you're definitely super cool.  That's awesome!  We're gonna be best friends!"

She moved towards the stone pillar to take a look at that.

Lucas falls silent at that and trails after her and to the side keeping an eye on her, "And yet what I believe you can do is most impressive in it's own right. Rather more impressive then simply running rather quickly."

"Oh.  I don't think so, though!  Yoga is good for the body, but I don't know that it would help much if your body is mostly made of metal.  Like, yoga is really awesome, but it's hard to stretch iron and stuff!  I guess you could do really, really hot yoga..."  Bex scrunched up her face and considered that.  "Your mat would catch on fire, though.  I guess you could use asbestos but that's dangerous, so probably don't.  I don't even know if yoga would help physically.  But it might help emotionally!  I really enjoy doing my sun salutations, even in the winter!"

There was a quiet whispering, and Bex nodded.  "And anything else is just the power of friendship!  And you know what?  Friendship is the most incredible gift in the whole world.  That's why I'm so happy we're gonna be best friends!"

Becca and Lucas receive additional text messages...

"Yes, I am sure we will be. I don't have to be metal, I can be many things. Though I think I would prefer tai chi to yoga as a form of exercise." Absently pulling out his phone, he glances at it and texts while still staring at Becca and the monolith. "Are you going to leave a message for the builder? Or maybe make a video of them?"

Bex texted back while from behind one of the pillars, a strange sight appeared.  A sheep with springs for legs bounced its way from the shadows.  Everything about it was vaguely reminiscent of bubblegum.  Like a mareep, but pink.  With springs.  Constantly in motion, constantly bouncing.  It made its way over to Metro and sniffed curiously at him, while Bex was on her phone.


Smiling, Becca looked back up at Metro.  "Ummmm... how do you think we should leave a message?  Like, I don't wanna graffiti it, but I guess the Crombiford Slatherer could, like... paint something nice.  Right?"

Coming from Grant Park, Karl spotted the pair...no, trio now with the addition of the bouncing sheep near the pillar at Millennium Park. Glints hinting at Metro from what Steph said about turning metal, and if he had any doubts that the blonde 'nurse' was Becca the arrival of the not-so-imaginary creature chased them away.

He strongly considered just 'nope'-ing the heck out of there and going elsewhere.

Come on Karl, it's Christmas Eve. Becca is weird but nice, and Steph said Metro wasn't that bad despite trouble with time and space. At least say hello.

After a moment's hesitation and a sigh, Karl arced through the air, slowing and landing near the group. He was wearing a pretty form-fitting short-sleeved athletic wear top, slightly looser shorts and sneakers, horribly underdressed for the weather but apparently not bothered by the cold.

"Hi Bex, Metro. Uh..." Karl searched his memory a second "...and Wooly Jumper, right? Or is this a different one? Merry Christmas."

At the sight of the pink springy sheep, Lucas sighs and shakes his head while singing softly, "The Wonderful thing about Tiggers, Is Tiggers are wonderful things, Tops are made out of rubber, Their bottoms are made out of springs, Their bouncey, trouncey, ouncey, pouncey." Even as he sang he moved slightly to get a few different angles on the bouncy creature. "You could...." He stops when Karl appears and his slightly smiling face smoothed over into a metal mask, "Karl. Merry Christmas. As I was saying you could just write a note and leave it next to it? Have a pen and some paper if you don't."

There was still a five foot circle of melted snow around Bex, and she waved up at Karl!  "Hi Karl!  Look!  I'm in disguise!"  Yes, loudly declare that fact.  Great idea.

"Y-har, and don't be fergettin' wot that we already met, Karl Brennan!  'Tis I, Buccaneer Shoecannon!"  That voice--similar to Captain Hector Barbossa, of Pirates of the Caribbean fame--came from Bex's clothing.

"Oh!  I don't have a pen and paper, Metro.  It'd be awesome if I could borrow some of yours!"

Wait, the outfit was Buccaneer Shoecannon? That wasn't just her alias at the moment?

She was wearing...somebody? Even if she conjured them up, that was pretty weird. Even odds she was just messing with him or changing her game as she went, but still.

"Uh, hi Buccanurse. I didn't recognize you...outside." Not sure of the proper protocol for addressing a fictional pirate captain composed of clothes, Karl offered an awkward salute.

"I left a note in another one. Figured I'm easy enough to find anyways, see what this might be about. Did you put anything in Metro, or can you, I don't know, 'feel' anything about them? Just boxes or does stuff put in just whoosh away or something?" Karl shrugged. They had seen weirder.

They were standing there with weirder and some of her creations/friends right now as a matter of fact.

Lucas absently unzipped his coat and put one hand into the inner pockets patting around absently while he stared at the talking Nurse Joy costume. The spring loaded sheep was surprising, but within the limits. That she would wear.....his frown deepened as he pulled out a small pad of yellow legal paper and a pen marked with the seal of Chicago. "Here you go." He zipped up his coat and shook himself. "We haven't done anything with the monolith yet. Nurse Joy was about to write them a note." He shrugged and nodded at Becca, "She's in disguise after all."

"'Tis a great mark o' me craft, that a man of yer caliber didn't surmise at the first peep that I, the great Buccaneer Shoecannon, was before ye, Karl Brennan.  Yahar."  Bex accepted the pen and paper and nodded, moving to the stone and writing on it.

Dear Stone Pillar Person, she began in her best cursive.  My name is Daydreamer and my social media is mostly Daydreamer05.  I do yoga and make silly videos with my friends.  I would like to be your friend, because I think friends are the most important gift the world can ever give you, and that you can ever give the world.  This is contested by the crystals, who think the best gift is more crystals, but I do not listen to them anymore.  You might like the crystals, because you made a bunch of big stone pillars. Anyways, I thought I was going to meet an owl today but I didn't.  But I did meet a friend instead, and that makes me very happy.  It would be really cool if we could be friends also.  If you would like to be my friend, please send me a DM or also you can just make another pillar that says something and I will probably see it.  Love you bunches.

With a nod, Becca offered the pen back to Metro and the pad as well, once she removed the sheets of paper that had her essay on it.  She folded it up nicely and put it either in or on the pillar, depending on whether there was a receptacle for letters.

Handled, Bex turned to look at Karl and Metro again!  Wooly Jumper nuzzled into Metro and then into Karl.  "Did you hear that Stephanie got grounded, Karl?  I asked if she wanted me to help her sneak out, but she's very honorable.  You have a really good girlfriend."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:48, Fri 07 Jan 2022.

Karl pat the springy sheep by the simple expedient of holding his hand out while it bounced up and down to meet it.

"Yeah...she's something else. I don't get the whole 'grounding' an adult thing, but different family dynamics, some cultural attitudes clashing."

He scratched the back of his head with his free hand, the one not currently playing paddle ball with a not-so-imaginary sheep. "So...Metro. We didn't get off to a great start the other night. Reset?" Karl asked, tilting his head a little.

Lucas waves his metal hand absently as he stares intently at Becca with a frown only barely paying attention to what was going on around him, "Sure, sure. It's fine. Fresh start and all of that." He shook his head with a grimace, "I am still working on her nurse uniform being a pirate. I thought my powers were odd." Glancing at the bouncing sheep, "You wouldn't happen to have a friend that is a very large bipedal salamander that is on fire, would you?"

"I can't count all of my friends," Becca answered with a smile.  "Buccaneer Shoecannon can turn into any set of clothes!" she explained.  From behind Karl came Roger Duckington.  Roger was a duck with a bow tie.  He was suspended in the air, but he didn't flap his wings fast enough to actually be flying.  He sort of... walked in the air.  "And that's Roger Duckington!  He's a duck!"

From behind one of the stone pillars emerged an anthropomorphic cow wearing a greaser outfit.  His belt had a large fish emblem for the belt buckle, and he had on a jetpack.  "And look!  Jimmy the Fish is here!"

"Yeah that was a new one on me too..."

"A salamander on fire? No, I...oh, you meant her. Of course." Having had some prior experience with Becca trotting out extra friends Karl wasn't as startled as he might otherwise have been by the new arrivals, but they were still distracting.

"Uh, hi again." Karl greeted the new arrivals with a little wave.

"My first thought hearing about these 'mailboxes' was that it was your doing Metro, with your connection to the city and trying to get people together. But apparently not. I haven't heard any announcements from the city itself or anything like that, no official labels like parks department or anything like that. Wonder if it's some group that had them made, or another one like us who could just make them themselves."