QUIT RUNNING IN THE HOUSE

[maskormods]

TEST DRIVE MEME

Considering apping into MASK OR MENACE? Want to dip your toes into the setting and get a feel of whether your character will fit into it? Or maybe you're just cruising and want to play around? Then you've come to the right place!

Pick any of the following scenarios below or feel free to make up your own, but don't be afraid to throw yourself at anyone's thread, either!

And remember to have fun!

01. Your memory is hazy and you might feel increasingly frustrated or anxious, or maybe you're excited as soldiers march past, barely glimpsing you. One second you're somewhere underground, the next you're enveloped in blue light, and suddenly you find yourself directly under Flordia sun's bright and burning glare. A female soldier steps toward you with a wide smile on her face and directs you to a car, ready to debrief you. You realize you are not the only one, surrounded by equally confused or eager faces... and you're all sporting a digital tattoo on your wrist.

02. Welcome to Cape Canaveral, where the smell of the ocean is in the air and locals are more than pleased to see new imPorts roaming their streets. They wave, they cheer, they ask for pictures as politely as they can. The more inhuman you look, or if you're wearing a costume, the more likely locals are to approach. Hey, enjoy the moment! The popular malt shop is offering you a free drink if you need it.

03. The technology in this world is certainly something. The cars are clearly modeled after popular 50s cars, but they hover several feet above the ground as they drive down the street. There are digital jukeboxes in restaurants, motorcycles also hover through traffic, advertisements can be seen on a digital projector on the taller buildings. Even kids on skateboards appear to drift a safe ten feet off the ground while playing!

04. Wherever you are, you can hear the loud revving of an engine, distance at first before you finally see it: a hovercar bursting around the corner, going beyond the maximum speed limit and just barely making its sharp turn. It doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon, not with two police cars trailing it... and uh oh. Those skateboarding kids don't have much time to get out of the way as the car comes speeding down the road. You've been brought here for a reason Hero — so you better act fast.

Comments

Luke Cage | Marvel Comics (616)

[notiaraincluded]

2. Seeing people milling around some guy in an unfamiliar costume looking for pictures like he's some kind of mascot at Disneyland is a reminder to Luke why he dropped the costume bit years ago. That and the place who made the shirts stopped making them ages ago. He doesn't even want to think about the tiara. Moving through the crowd left relatively alone, he constantly finds himself looking down at the spot on his arm where they marked him. Each time he looks, he feels the desire to level someone or something.

Sure, he was pissed about being whisked away from his family, any father worth a damn would be, but he could've taken that in stride. With friends like Doc Strange, it comes with the territory. He could've even gotten behind the whole 'we need your help' shtick....if they hadn't put this damned tattoo on him, practically branding him. He'd fought too long and too hard against registration to just let this go.

Looking up ahead, he sees a place offering free drinks. Doesn't look like they serve the kind of drink he really wants, but he needs something to cool his head so he can think. He'll just put it on Uncle Alternate Reality Sam's tab.

OMG HI I DON'T THINK THERE ARE WORDS FOR MY EXCITEMENT

[notdaredevil]

The moment he caught the sound of a familiar pulse, just in passing, Matt knew he'd be throwing all his plans for the rest of the day straight out the window. Because he'd know that heartbeat anywhere. They might not always be the closest of friends, or always see eye to eye, but there are few people Matt would be happier to figuratively see right now, and Luke Cage is definitely on that short list.

He's had cause to think about Luke a lot lately; it's hard, not to consider this whole registration business, and not come up with what happened to his friends and allies as a result of it. Danny went to prison because he was pretending to be Daredevil. Maya had been stranded in Japan. They'd uprooted Luke and Jessica's entire life. To him, if nothing else, these would be compelling arguments to throw in with their side, even without all the ethical and legal violations of the entire act...if he'd felt as though he could. If his life had allowed it to, or if he hadn't been making excuses, trying to leave them out of his collateral damage, or...but it doesn't really matter now. He's here, and he's made his position clear this time around. Drew the lines and set up for the long haul.

They haven't talked for awhile, though. That gives Matt some need to consider for a moment just how to approach him, and what to say. Luke's anger is screamingly obvious to his heightened senses, the compulsive way he keeps looking at the spot where Matt knows the tattoo must be. He sympathizes, and has no desire to make it worse, but it's hard for him to just pretend that everything is all right and normal. Well, normal for them.

It only takes a moment, before he gets up from his coffee and crosses the street, to catch up.

"Luke. Mind having company, if you're going for shakes?"

It's almost casual. It would be, if they weren't meeting again under such potentially grim, grave circumstances, because to everyone who's lived through this before in some capacity or other, the severity of what they might all be in for can't be ignored or denied.

[notiaraincluded]

His first thought when he heard someone call his name was that it might be another one of the people from the government like that one woman who smiled way too damn much to be normal. But no...definitely wasn't her. Not only that, but the voice sounded so damned familiar!

When he looked to see who it was, to say that he was surprised as hell would be a definite understatement. Matt Murdock was here! At least, he was pretty sure it was him. These other worlds could be a pain in the ass with thinking you know someone.

"Matt?! That you?"

[notdaredevil]

And doesn't Matt have stories to tell about that. Practically everybody he's met so far knows exactly who he is, and has a history with a Matt Murdock he doesn't remember being. He's tried to be as kind about it as he can, reconnect where he can and try to feel out what the situation was...and then there's the Harvey Dent's, who see this as a second chance and a shot for redemption, and break into his house through the window.

Secretly, he hopes Luke isn't going to be one of those people, because truth be told, he's getting a little tired of it. Not that it'd diminish how great it is to have him around, period. It's just that he'd like to have regular conversations again, about who to hit and look isn't that Stilt-Man again and the moves of mafia bosses and what to do about that demonic invasion. Normal superhero stuff like that.

"None other. As though you know any other blind lawyers anyway."

No doubt about it- really glad to see Luke Cage. So much better than running into the Punisher, who has already gone about making himself a pain in people's asses already. You can have conversations with Luke Cage. He has a sense of humor, and his head's on pretty straight. He's a good guy to have at your side, and have watching your back. And if it does turn out he owes Luke some explanations, or apologies, from before...well, he's well prepared for that possibility by now.

[notiaraincluded]

Turns out Matt may have struck gold in this situation since any apologizing for actions he'd done had already been covered in this Luke's world. Admittedly, it'd been a dark time when they'd found themselves on opposite sides in Hell's Kitchen, but that wasn't the real Matt at work and Luke knows a thing or two about demonic possession. Spoiler alerts: it's not fun.

His sense of relief is obvious even for those without superhuman levels of perception. It's a familiar and friendly face. It's also someone he knows that he can depend on to cover his ass if things go south here...which he's pretty sure will happen at some point.

"Man, you've no idea how happy I am to see you right about now."

[notdaredevil]

It feels like the most natural thing in the world to do that friendly pat on the shoulder thing, right now. His happiness is as obvious to Matt as the cars rushing by them or the time of day. And the feeling is mutual. This is good. The more of them there are, the better, even though it's terrible to think of being glad to see your friends in a situation like this. But he and Spider-Man had talked about that. Better to have each other. Better their families and friends, the people who could only get hurt, not be there. He'd been glad to find Spidey too, no matter what, and their chances for getting something accomplished look better and better the more of their allies show up.

"About as thrilled as I was to hear you. I know it's a terrible thing to say, but- I'm glad you're here, Luke. I've been hoping to run across you or one of the others ever since I came. It's just been me and Spidey...and Frank Castle."

There'll be time to talk about that later, though. Those are some details, less important than the groundwork, and the fact that Tony Stark's out there gunning for round two of his registration policies.

"I was serious about the shakes, by the way. You've probably got a lot of questions, and I've got a lot to tell you. You might want to be sitting down for some of it."

[notiaraincluded]

Oh hell. Just hearing the name Frank Castle brings back all manner of memories, none of them fun. Luke had even been forced to work with Castle during that odd middle period in his life when he'd left behind Heroes for Hire, but still hadn't quite...found himself.

"You're not kidding. The guys in charge here aren't really helpful, but when has the government been all that good about sharing information? Where the hell are we?"

He'll go ahead and get that first question out while they make their way to the malt shop. It's the most important one and, hopefully, the one that will provide him with a means of getting back home to his girls.

[notdaredevil]

Matt would like to think he can keep Frank under control. If he can get him projects and push him in the right direction and babysit him for all he's worth, they might make it out of this with no body count and no need to hand Frank over to the authorities. Not that he anticipates that, but it sure as hell would be nice if it would work out that way.

But that's all for slightly later. It'd be inconsiderate to start dropping plans on Luke right away.

"I'm not the person to ask if you want to know where in relation to where we should be. The one person I could direct you to is, uh, somewhat difficult to deal with...and four. It's definitely Florida, and Cape Canaveral. All the important geographical evidence of that appears to check out. It's just not our Florida."

Which does none of them any good, if Valeria Richards is to be believed, and Matt has no doubt that she is.

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ FEELINGS have a Loki

[selfimage]

Always prepared, wasn't he?

Then again it's difficult to discern where exactly the small flask he was offering came from. Was it really wise to accept any sort of anything from Loki (even with his expression was one of mild interest)? It's just a quick movement into his jacket and he's holding a curiously green flask by the tapered lid with dark nails. There's a bit of a brow raised in interest, as if he knows taking it might be a bad idea, but he felt the oh! so goodness in his heart to offer, anyway.

"Traveling the multiverse has its sucky points," he adds with a quirk of his lips. His face always did manage to look like he was up to something. (And not as a betrayal, he usually was.) "Hello, before you start! Yes, I'm exactly who you think I am. See? Simple."

Despite being a six-foot god in a tacky jacket full of useless buttons, bright green armor, and a golden tiara supporting two horns, the citizens milled around him, ignoring him in search of better costumed targets. There were times that Loki chose to head out with a disguise, and times that he felt that the flattery of the crowd was best taken (ah, sweet attention).

For now, he vouched to keep the profile low. He always had the illusion to drop if he wanted to continue the conversation.

[notiaraincluded]

Growing up in Harlem, one of the first lessons taught to Luke by his parents was to never take gifts offered by strangers. Well, an Asgardian god of trickery could get pretty strange and the fact that the flask could've been pulled from just about anywhere in the multiverse didn't leave him brimming with confidence.

"Please tell me you're somehow responsible for this so I don't have to look around anymore for a way to get outta here."

His world was known for some pretty nasty family disputes. Hell, Luke and his brother had become almost mortal enemies until he came back to his right mind. But, unlike the Asgardians, Luke didn't pull the rest of the world into his family problems.

[selfimage]

That was a little rude.

Loki dangles the flask enticingly for a moment, shrugging when it's obvious that Luke isn't going to accept his offer, and goes on to take a sip and wipe the corner of his mouth with the back of his wrist.

"If it were so easy. I already offered you the drink—the real story, of course, is much less believable. But I promise you, the kind with whipped cream and cherries, that this is absolutely not my fault."

He slips the flask into the sleeve of his coat, and it most likely gets dumped into some hammer space that he keeps handy for just the occasion (it's filled with old fashion magazines that he's managed to steal from a variety of magazine stands since he's arrived; the more you know).

"It's just so easy to blame it on Loki ..." he says, mostly to himself.

[notiaraincluded]

Sorry Loki, but your track record kind of speaks for itself. Even for someone like Luke, who had a felony on his record before it was overturned. Still, if Loki were responsible, Luke doubts he'd not take full credit for it. What point was there in doing something like this and not gloating over it?

"Alright, so what's the real story then? Whatever it is has to be pretty serious if it snagged you too."

[selfimage]

Double sigh.

"Ah, I think I was ... a happy accident, if there is such a thing." Fun use of words, always. "Let's just say that our very gracious captors haven't an inkling of what they're doing. It's like Marty McFly utilizing the Delorean to find Doctor Emmet Brown if Marty McFly were a cat and the Delorean was an interdimensional gateway."

He looks a little put-out. Maybe because he hadn't thought of it, or maybe because he was a god who was being very obviously compared to mortals in a way that he didn't find as charming as their Broadway theatre.

:D

[shutterbugged]

Peter's sitting at one of the outside tables near the entrance to the malt shop, papers spread over the textured steel table top and egg cream in hand. (They used the wrong syrup, but that's Florida for you. Or maybe U-Bet doesn't exist in this universe.) Preoccupied, he hasn't been paying much attention to the customers going in and out, but some impulse makes him look up just as a larger-than-usual shadow passes over the small print.

He sets his drink down with haste, ignoring the spatter, and rounds the table just in time to catch his fellow Avenger at the door. "Luke, wait up!"

Re: :D

[notiaraincluded]

Stopping, he turned and glanced over his shoulder. His expression was surprisingly mixed. Surprise, confusion, and a bit of apprehension showed as he turned to face someone who, until recent developments back home, he'd always seen as a dependable friend and ally...if not goofy, but in a good way.

"Peter? You're here too?"

[shutterbugged]

"Do I really need to answer that question?" Peter didn't make anything special of Luke's, well, lukewarm reaction, seeing it as the same ambivalence that warped his own welcoming smile. "I guess I shouldn't say I'm glad you're here, under the circumstances. But it is good to see you. It's-- I don't know when you got here from, but it's been a long time for me."

[notiaraincluded]

"Never know who's a Skrull, robot, or plant creature in disguise."

A long time for him. Well, that was a good indication that this wasn't the same Spidey he'd been dealing with recently back home. There was a distinct lack of pompous asshole in this one.

"Well, I'd say I got here from the present, but I think I'm about to find out that that's pretty relative around here."

Sure, why not? Alternate universes weren't enough, lets just throw time into the blender and really mess with some heads.

[shutterbugged]

"If I am a pod person, no one's told me yet." The joke falls flat given everything they both know about the Skrulls and their tactics. Peter shrugs in wordless acknowledgment, but adds, "Home was two universes and three years ago, for me. I got taken from right after the Siege of Asgard."

[notiaraincluded]

"Oh man, then it has been a while. I'm from well after that. Won't give you any details, but just to let you know....you go into major jerk mode for some reason."

MY BOI!!

[theblackleopard]

T'Challa was already there taking up some of the free drinks. It was a hot day, and he wasn't going to say no to anything free. He was no longer a king, and as such he realized he would have to learn to be more conservative with his spending habits. It was a more conscious effort than most people probably had to go through he realized, but any small thing was a good start.

Luke might not have recognized him right away depending on his canon point, but T'Challa is quick to see him. He gives Luke a small smile. "You seem in surprisingly good spirits considering the circumstances. I have not heard you use one unpleasantry or curse." The joke was he had only just seen him maybe a minute ago.

[notiaraincluded]

Oh, he'd recognize T'Challa. He was at the wedding, after all. Not to mention they had the one not so great run-in in Hell's Kitchen when he took over for Matt, but it was a rough time for all involved.

He smiled a bit, tipping he head at T'Challa as he took a seat nearby.

"Nah, I got all that out of my system when I first got here. Now, I'm kinda running on 'E'. How long you been here?"

[theblackleopard]

Oh, good good then. At first T'Challa was a little worried that maybe he was from a time before he took over Hell's Kitchen for Matt. Or maybe he was some alternate universe Luke Cage who didn't know or remembered him. It's good to know that it's the same ol' Luke he's known for a long time now.

"Not that long actually. A few days ago at most." And he takes a sip of his drink. "As alternate universes go, this one is rather well-organized. Shockingly enough."

[notiaraincluded]

"It's definitely not as bad as others I've heard of. Still, I'd take being back home with my wife and kid any day."

Smelly diapers and all. If you wanted to know how to get on Luke's bad side, getting between him and his family was definitely at the top of the list.

"Maybe you could go and fix that Porter thing they have? Make it so it works both ways."

[theblackleopard]

And he would rather be back in Hell's Kitchen than in this place honestly. While he never minded dimensional travel all THAT much, he would very much prefer if it was more controlled and that he had a way to get back whenever he needed to. He gives a small sigh at the mention of fixing the Porter.

"I could probably have it fixed within a few weeks, if that." Being the eighth smartest man and all that. Not that he's bragging you know. "But would they let me have access? I have come to find that things rarely go that smoothly. Regardless of universe."

[notiaraincluded]

"I dunno if they'd let you try or not. Of course, if they want to use that as an excuse not to send us home, I can see them saying no." Governments and their agendas. Some days he really thinks ignorance is bliss and wishes he could be one of them.