etcelsior | 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

"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.

Likely, he hadn't been told. She asked and was given a wealth of information on her first day here.

But being pinned under a gaze like that was a bit frightening.

"The other imPorts convinced the government to let them see the Porter, to converse with the sentient being that resided in it. But it made people sick, reopened old wounds that had gone away when people arrived here, and when some died, they didn't come back. Everyone was affected."

He hadn't asked. Maybe he should have. Now he was left with a deep frown, and wondering.

A part of him would have liked to have been there when it happened. It might have been... Entertaining. Too bad he had missed this. Though he wasn't going to mention that.

"Sounds painful." He commented, pretending to be more bothered by these news than he was. Mentally, however, he was working through those information. "That entity appears to be of a rather cruel nature."

He would find mass suffering entertaining, but when she said everyone, she meant everyone. He would have been mixed up in it as well, just as she would have, and every other imPort.

But it was a good thing he held that back.

"It's more complicated than that, but good luck trying to figure anything out. Unless you happen to have experience with higher beings?"

"I am a god myself, am I not?" Loki pointed out with certainty creeping into his grin.

Turning his attention away from Jane and looking upwards, almost as if recalling a memory, he shrugged "I have been to worlds and have seen places and beings you may not be able to dream about, doctor. This? Is not the strangest place I have visited. Merely its similarities to Midgard make it stick out."

Jane openly scoffed. There was a whole debate about gods, and she was pretty sure that they did not exist. There were just beings with powers. Sure, they were crazy and ridiculous, but there was always something or someone bigger.

"I'm hoping this won't be the strangest place I will visit either. I have no intention being stuck."

DANCING WITH MY HAPPY FEET

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