etcelsior | DANCING WITH MY HAPPY FEET

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test drive

DANCING WITH MY HAPPY FEET

T E S T D R I V E M E M E

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 someone else's thread, either!

And remember there's only one rule in Test Drive Meme Club: HAVE FUN ON THE TEST DRIVE MEME!

01.The city of Heropa, Florida is what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place, where locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to welcome you to their fair city. Some of the locals might thank you for always lending your service to the nation, while others might not say anything -- but if you have something nasty to say, better not say anything at all, right?

They are, however, in the middle of some awfully hot weather, so some good samaritans have gained the approval of the government to close off a few of the streets for some good old-fashioned fun. They've equipped everyone who steps in with water guns of varying quality, and there's also access to water balloons, a slip n' slide, and more! Why don't you grab an ice cream cone, watch the festivities, and cool off? But you'd better be careful - there's always a munchkin or two here to spray any unsuspecting onlookers they may find.

02. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, with large numbers of citizens waiting to be awed by your very presence. Look at you! Organic wonder! Science and technology are the lifeblood of this city, so you're likely to come across a good many locals taking your picture with the newest of devices. The imPort craze remains high here, and you may find yourself cornered by overzealous imPort fans, media wannabes and opportunists alike, shoving cameras in your face. Their questions are likely to be fairly mundane, however; get ready for an interview about your taste in romantic partners, personal underwear choices, favorite foods, and more!

On this lazy summer day, the biggest buzz comes from a group of teens and tweens who are all taking part in a massive scavenger hunt spread via social media! What are they gathering? You! ImPorts are likely to be targeted and asked to pose for pictures in which they demonstrate their powers, video clips in which they share fun facts and secrets about their home worlds, and much more! If you're not interested, you better hurry home -- they're persistent!

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania has had its ups and downs since imPorts started disappearing. The city's political core now gutted with its mayor and supreme ambassador exported out, the streets have returned to the hands of the local people -- and incidental, the local criminal element. More so here than the streets of any other imPort city, the battle between good and evil looks more like a war of escalation than a heroic tale.

As your character walks down the street, they may find themselves thrust within what appears to be an organized protest and a smaller counter-protest. There's shouting, there are chants. You pick up rhythmic beats of THE END IS NEAR, GET THEM OUT OF HERE clashing against the clumsier counter-chants of IMPORTS ARE PART OF US. You probably don't know why, but there are sects of people who believe your kind is bringing about the end of the universe. You'll probably learn why, in due time. But given the scorching tension of the situation you have found yourself in, it's probably a good idea NOT to use your powers.

But even keeping your powers on the down low, you're of keen eye, or at least today you are, as fate would have it. You see a boring looking man, perhaps in his mid-20s, with a cluster of boring looking companions (three or four at most) wearing backpacks as they all uniformly step back and don black masks. The protests are crossing the street ahead of First National Bank. These men beeline towards the bank.

They are going to rob it, and people are going to get hurt, you're sure of that. They're probably armed, given their backpacks. What do you do?

04. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities; loud, busy and there's always some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement. You may find yourself in the midst of a few closed-off streets for some occasion or another - whether it be a food cart festival, no-car day, or something else! - and surrounded by the hum of people, the waft of food being served on the street, and plenty of attention

Today there's a big lemonade stand on one busy sidewalk, staffed by a group of industrious kids. Aww, isn't it sweet? Wait...is that a cookie stand a little ways down, also run by elementary-to-middle schoolers? Heck, the entire block is full of kid-run mini-businesses — a gathering of pint-sized entrepreneurs! And they have their eyes on you, hero, because as a celebrity imPort, your pockets are full of $$$, right?

05. Jeopardy, Nevada by all rights shouldn't exist. A glowing neon city smack in the middle of the desert, the only reason it's still here is that the central nuclear power plant has tapped half a mile down into a subterranean lake for its water supply. So though the desert around it may be barren, the occupants of this small city are happily self sufficient. Those weird figures you see out of the corner of your eyes? Don't worry too much. Probably just weird radiation after effects. Jeopardy has a lot of those.

What's that sound? Why, the Church of the Ancient Web Mistress's choir is putting on a performance! A sizable contingent of the congregation's musically-minded members has gathered downtown, attempting to forge a spiritual connection through the power of song. Sure, these hymns sound a little spooky to your ears, but the sincerity is what matters, right? And the churchgoers, who are also handing out lyric sheets to interested participants, are sincerely interested in getting some imPorts to join in as temporary members of the choir. Never hurts to get a little more press and tithes, right?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Well, yes?"

Loki asked, yet didn't wait for her to respond further. Much rather he teleported away, back to mess that was the men involved in the robbery now going after protesters and police alike. Maybe he hoped she would follow - The alley wasn't needlessly far away after all. Or maybe he was just giving her the option to do so or leave.

Whatever Jane would do, Loki would ensure to deliver a suitably flashy show for everyone left at the crime scene. Because what fun was heroism and beating up some bad guys without the right flair and dramatics?

Right. And that poor guy he just kicked into a nearby car just might have broken some bones. How unfortunate.

Jane didn’t respond further either.

Instead, she took in a deep breath, and lifted herself up. She did not use her powers on herself that often, still working on the exact formulas and attempting to become a little more intuitive with it. But her anger and determination more than made up for any inexperience. Of course, she was not expecting to see him fighting the bad guys.

Just what was going on?

Landing (somewhat shakily) at the edge of the scene, she took it in for a moment, wincing at the man who was kicked into a car. Not that she felt too bad, given that he had a machine gun. But she focused on a woman about her age who seemed to have tripped and was trying to get away still. She could have a face-off with Loki later, when everything was over. Focusing on getting the protesters out of there was more important.

Loki didn't use the scepter to fight, of course. It wasn't real. The real one had been left on Midgard. Well, the other Midgard. But he could work well with this little illusion to create further intimidation. Twirl it when shot at to make it seem that he blocked his opponents' bullets when in truth those didn't harm him. He also pretended to fire the scepter when he was really just using his magic to throw his knives at them. A spear capable of firing nasty little blades was pretty sure to leave an impression. And toying with these mortals minds amused him greatly.

The true damaged he did of course rather happened when a man got too close to Loki. And Loki didn't mind some cruelty on his part either. Most of them would live.

He had just grabbed a man by his neck and took half a moment to contemplate where to throw him when he spied Jane's presence, much to his pleasure. The Asgardian took the human man out with little effort and decided to take care of the remaining men quickly and leaving them to the police before seeing to her again. Not that he had any intentions of assisting with the protestors.

"You just can't stay away, can you?" Loki asked almost mildly, letting his false weapon disappear.

When Jane found out that the scepter was an illusion—and she likely would—she would be impressed how much control over illusions he had. It was no easy feat to get those details, even if they were mainly meant to mess with other people. Of course, even as she helped the protesters get out of the way, she had to wonder what his angle was. He might have helped with the Dark Elves and the mess in Greenwich, but that did not mean anything here.

He could be from a different point in the timeline. He could be from an alternate reality. It wasn’t like they talked enough to determine any of this.

She just finished helping some college students find one another again, wishing she could have used her powers and fought the bank robbers off, or just done something more than help corral people while the police handled the more dangerous aspects of the clean up.

“I’m not one to follow a laissez-faire policy,” she snapped. “What are you doing here?”

"Saving the day?" Loki offered with a half-shrug that remotely bordered on innocence but didn't quite get there.

The shrug was followed by a brief, presenting gesture "That's why they brought me here, is it not? Us, more likely." He said with obvious disagreement in his voice. Not that being stranded on some foreign planet was really new to Loki, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Casting a casual glance over his shoulder, Loki then followed with a suggestion "We may want to leave this place now, by the way."

Innocence. Sure.

"I don't think it's for something as simple as that."

There were too many of them, there weren't enough doomsday situations or even enough criminal masterminds, and none of them could go home at their will. Someone else was pulling the strings here, from what she had gathered so far, and this world was just caught in the middle like them.

He did have a point, though: now that the bank robbers had been apprehended and there was more of a police presence, people were starting to look at them ... unkindly. Jane didn't show a huge amount of her powers, but the simple landing she did was enough. Jane bit back a curse and started walking towards him.

"When we get out of here, I have some questions for you."

Loki could comment on Jane's suspicion, but refrained from doing so. He had no reason or intention to share his thoughts with a Midgardian. For him so far this was somewhat preferable to being dragged back to Asgard by his brutish brother.

At her promise of questions, however, the Asgardian merely perked a single brow, not looking impressed at all.

"And don't we all love questions." he replied in a dry, yet still mocking tone.

He would reach out to grab her arm without warning, intending to simply teleport them away again - Unless Jane prevented him from getting a hold of her once more.

As far as Jane knew, he had died. Still, it would make sense that he would want to stay away from Asgard, given what had happened with New York and all.

“Well, just because you prefer to be cryptic—”

Her words were cut off as they teleported. As much as she hated being dragged around herself, in this instance, it was probably for the best.

The rooftop of one of the higher buildings in this part of the city was were Loki took Jane, let go of her without having to be forced to and allowed himself a moment to look over the city.

He didn't like it.

Bringing his hands together in front of him, Loki then turned back to Jane, silent for but a moment before prompting.

"What's wrong with being cryptic?"

"A clash of personalities," she quipped back easily, crossing her arms.

At this point, getting teleported places by someone else was a little boring. She really hoped that if she got another power (she had heard of this happening), it would be the ability to teleport or use portals or something. Then she could just whisk herself off wherever she wanted, no third parties needed.

"Just what was all that? Did you hire those goons? Did you have prior intel? Or did you just happen to be in the right place at the right time?"

Was he serious about playing the role of the 'good guy'? Or was it another long-winded, complicated plot that would have him amused for far much longer than anyone could stand?

"Oh, I was merely there for the protests." Loki replied instantly. And he might be telling the truth, indeed. Unless he wasn't, of course.

But there was that mild smirk again as the Asgardian turned his attention back to the city, stepping slowly over the rooftop as he went on "This planet is hilariously torn about their own act of bringing outsiders in. There is a lot of insight to gain simply by listening."

And he knew that she couldn't exactly argue against that. Chances were that she had been there for the very same reasons after all.

Jane gives him an even, disbelieving look.

At his comment though, she sighs and heads towards the edge of the rooftop herself. This world is backwards in so many ways, familiar and achingly not. For someone like Loki, or even dozens of others, it must be completely alien.

"There is. But I don't think they were given much choice about bringing us here."

The Asgardian briefly glances towards Jane when he noticed her movements, but his main attention remains somewhere above the city. Or with the words she speaks. He cracks a small grin in response.

"Desperate measures? Just for what, exactly?"

They could make this a guessing game at best. Neither of them knew the answer. Not yet. Though in a way Loki could appreciate the challenge of this mystery.

They could make it a guessing game—there’s all sorts of possibilities when higher beings and other worlds are involved. Just look at the chaos in their own world and Jane didn’t even know the half of it yet.

“Good question,” she replied. “There’s too much and not enough data at the same time to be sure of anything.” She turns her head to him, fixing him with a glare. “But causing the people here harm sure isn’t going to help anyone.”

"Presently, no one is being harmed." Loki pointed out, decidedly ignoring any further meaning behind her words. At the same time he wasn't outright agreeing with her. They just didn't share the same opinion if it came to necessary harm. Or simply having some fun.

He decided to simply change the topic, meeting her glare with a single raised brow.

"So... What is it you can do?" Because that certainly had been new.

Of course he would decide not to look deeper. At the moment at least.

Jane frowned, but in the spirit of not wanting to fight while she was on a rooftop against someone who would have bested her easily if not for her new found powers, she let it slide. Why did she get the feeling she was going to be doing that a lot when it concerned him? It kind of racked her, but it was probably the better strategy.

“Manipulate gravity,” she replied. “Apparently, if you do not have any powers before coming to this world, you are given some.”

It was trilling to be able to explore something she knew so much about, but also knew so little of. Gone was the need for a state of the art lab or speculation alongside complicated math problems. She could directly test and experiment.

It probably was for the better if they didn't try to kill one another. At least for now. Though Loki was still pretty sure that he would win.

"Gravity." He repeated, considering the information for a moment. And he didn't fail to see the possibilities "So... You can use it to fly? Or turn it sideways, perhaps?"

Oh, he wasn't going to give her ideas for how to use gravity to cause some serious harm. Not while he could still end up at the receiving end of them.

Jane was pretty sure he would win too. Besides, Thor was here as well and she knew that he would hate it if they were fighting at that level.

She rolled her eyes. "That is not how gravity works and you know it. But yes. I can use it to fly." More like propel herself forward with weightlessness, but that was semantics.

Loki gave her a long, silent look. So Jane wanted to play by gravity’s rules rather than seek to bend them. Which was fine by him. Made her less of a threat when matters escalated - Which he was pretty certain would happen sooner or later. In his best interest he rather refrained from giving her ideas.

He settled with a little shrug of feigned defeat.

“Does it scare you to suddenly have these powers?” He asked further, carefully lining his tone with mild curiosity “You used to be a mere mortal, unfamiliar with talents such as this.”

Oh, she had plenty of ideas of her own. Gravity had a lot of rules; it was just a matter of getting to the point where she could comfortably bend them. The number of people asking her not to make a miniature black hole had her wondering if it was possible already.

“I was more concerned with how they had a file on me. I’ve been working with gravity theoretically for years now. Being able to work with it directly is a dream come true. What about you? Any new powers? Or do you not have your full repertoire, like some?”

The possibility remained high, however, that Jane's ideas were less destructive than Loki's. Which made it preferable for everyone if she followed her own.

At the mentioning of their files, he fell silent, a slight frown on his face. He wasn't too bothered by the file itself, more by what it had said. Jane's question had the Asgardian blink. Now that wasn't a question he necessarily liked to answer. And yet he could offer a partial truth, at least.

"The teleportation is a new addition." Loki admitted. Which, indeed was true. He hadn't been able to teleport before. Though it would have come in handy at times.

The day that Jane did something more akin to Loki's perchance for chaos was the day she obviously got body snatched.

She hummed at his answer. She hardly liked her file as well. The first thing she asked about was how they got them in the first place. There seemed to be a lot of mystery behind that, besides the Porter handling those details.

"Handy," she commented. "It's not a common power here, I've noticed."

"I have little use for common powers." Loki commented without hesitation, for once not bothering to hide what he thinks "The only thing I would prefer is the option to leave at our own volition."

Then he could just take himself out of his brother's reach much more efficiently. Teleportation might help, but it's not much of a permanent solution.

"Wouldn't we all?" she asked. "But there isn't a way out of here, not yet."

That she was absolutely sure of. As Clint Barton once noticed, a portal was a door: if something could get in, it could get out. It didn't matter how many road blocks were in the way, she was going to find a way to get everyone home safely. One way or another.

"I would be careful, if you do go around the Porter. Last time someone did, it wasn't pretty."

She only had the accounts of those who been there, but she would rather not have them go through that horror again.

Loki's eyes narrowed and Jane suddenly had his entire attention.

"What happened?"

Whatever event she were referring to, he must have missed it. Or plain never had been told about it. And of course Loki already had harbored... Ideas.

DANCING WITH MY HAPPY FEET

<3 - He's totally trying to bait her

and she is totally falling for it

she just keeps chasing after Asgardians

yeah it's a bad habit of hers

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