she blinded me with science!

[reptiledysfunction]

WHO: OPEN
WHERE: The Heropa Convention Center (that I just made up now)
WHEN: 4/23 and 4/24
WHAT: The Heropa Science and Technology Expo! A two day expo full of networking, demonstrations, presentations and talks celebrating all thing science and technology!

that is, until the second day, when everything goes to hell.
WARNINGS: Violence, possible attempted murder--will edit if needed!

April 23
The expo is off to a good start. The convention center's main hall is littered with tables and people. The tables represent everything from individual work, to start-up firms, to massive chemical conglomerates. Next door, a few ballrooms have been quickly converted to hold talks and demonstrations. The main stage areas are lined with plastic (to help prevent any sort of spills on the hardwood floors) and folding chairs are set in rows.

The main hall itself is jam-packed, with people wandering between tables and talks freely. Those presenting or manning a table have nametags--those visiting are laden down with maps and brochures. There's also some damn good punch and sandwiches if the free food at these sort of things is more your take.

All in all, everything seems to be going well!

April 24
Did we say everything was going well? Because now it's not.

During one particular talk, something horrible happens. What was supposed to be a routine demonstration of a chemical effect goes terribly wrong, with the chemicals exploding. The people in the first few rows are splattered with the chemicals, crying out in pain as it burns their skin. However, with any imPorts in the first few rows, something goes horribly wrong. Whether it happens instantly or some time later, their powers start to go out of control, unknowingly wrecking havoc on the convention center itself.

It's time to be a hero, you guys. Help take care of the people and bring your fellow out of control imports down!

Comments

April 23 & 24!

[reptiledysfunction]

April 23
Connors was having a field day. A two-day science expo? This was perfect! He was having the time of his life already, and was spending most of the day with a massive grin on his face (which would come as a bit of a shock for anyone who actually knew Connors.)

For the first half of the day, he can be found at a table, talking to any potential listener about the organization he works for. For the second half, he flits between talks and wandering around the main hall, obviously having the time of his life. He was surrounded by like-minded people who all celebrated and prioritized the same thing that he did, why shouldn't he be having a good time?

April 24
One of those out of control imPorts? Poor Curt Connors. He was looking forward to the demonstration today. However, as he desperately tried to grasp at his sanity and try to prevent himself from turning into that thing, he couldn't help but reflect that he should have stayed at home today.

With a sickening noise, Connors transformed into the Lizard, tattered remains of his lab coat dangling off of the reptile's body. The Lizard regarded his surroundings. He was at a science exposition of some kind. And, while Connors had plenty of scientific knowledge, the Lizard's...well, he had good days and he had bad days. Today wasn't one of those good days. All he needed to do was force one of those humans into a temporary alliance to get rid of Connors once and for all and have reptile dominance ensue!

Hissing to himself, the Lizard bounded out of the ballroom, into the main convention hall. Violently slashing at anyone who tried to get in his way, he attempted to make his way through the rapidly parting crowd, in an attempt to find a chemist.

24th | also feel free to knock her around/don't hold back

[boobwindow]

While the chemicals had briefly splashed her, Karen appeared unaffected by whatever was harming locals and setting off imPorts and assumed it was due to her alien physiology. Unaware the chemical reaction had simply been delayed, the moment chaos erupted in every corner of the room she zipped off to change in secret, her costume underneath her civvies. With her boots zipped up, she sped back into the room, gesturing toward the panic stricken people to exit the building immediately.

The screaming and pointing at the large reptilian monster that had begun to tear through the crowd got her attention quickly enough. She pushed past the crowd, whistling loudly at the Lizard, completely unaware who it was supposed to be.

"Hey, ugly!"

can do!

[reptiledysfunction]

With a loud hiss, the Lizard spun around, glaring at the woman who had pushed her way towards him. What was she doing? Trying to get in the way was what it looked like.

It only took the Lizard a brief moment to make up his mind: he'd kill the human then return on the hunt to find a chemist.

He swiped at Karen, attempting to gut her with his sharp claws, completely unaware of that super-strength and invulnerability.

ZOMBIE THING VS. LIZARD THING: COMING APRIL 24TH

[axemeaquestion]

A grotesque, long-necked thing that looked only vaguely like the woman that met Connors before stumbled out of the ballroom. Her new misshapen feet took some getting used to. So did the fact that Rochelle could feel herself slipping. She felt sick. Delirious. The kind you get when a bad flu gets worse. She wanted to pass out, but her legs carried her anyway like they weren't hers anymore. Moving with a odd, erratic gaunt, her brand-spanking-new zombified form burst into the convention hall.

Green, literally glowing acid oozed from her throat and slid out of her broken jaw. People were already pointing, screaming, and running from her, but the acid trailing behind her didn't help either. Somehow, despite everything, she was fast. And that was when she saw the Lizard bounding down the hall like she was.

Normally, Rochelle would either shoot or run. But her fever-like delirium suddenly turned into aggression. She didn't have to stare at him long. With a long, gargled screech, she ran after him.

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEE

[reptiledysfunction]

If the Lizard recognized Rochelle, he didn't say anything. He was too busy accosting a harried scientist who was stammering to the reptile that he worked in mechanics, he knew nothing about creating a serum or anything like that. As he heard the screech, the Lizard threw the scientist to the floor with a thud. Turning towards Rochelle, he looked her over.

Human? Maybe. Oozing something (humans didn't ooze) and running (humans weren't that fast). Maybe not a human...but definitely a threat.

Letting out a loud hiss, the Lizard swiped his claws at Rochelle, attempting to sink them into her shoulder.

24th. T'Challa probably won't win this BUT HE WILL TRY.

[theblackleopard]

So after this little expo quickly went to crap T'Challa realized that Hank Pym may have been right. He probably did jinx this place by saying it was way more peaceful than home. Especially since now things were becoming almost nostalgic, and not in a good way. He was one of the lucky ones who had preferred to sit in the back so he lucked out on not being hit with any of the chemicals, but it still wasn't quite as advantageous as one might think.

He still had a major power decrease since leaving his throne as the Wakandan king and this meant it would put him at a disadvantage during this whole crisis. He didn't have an Avengers card or anything like that obviously. And he was too stubborn to try to call for help on the devices. Nor did he feel he really had time to.

Which lead him to his next move. Which was a really dumb one, but a move nonetheless. He breaks one of the fire extinguisher cases and runs straight after the Lizard, quickly trying to spray foam in his eyes to distract him. He at least knew OF the Lizard. He was in Spider-Man's rogue gallery after all. "Those chemicals did not completely take away your humanity! You must fight this!"

hey, you never know, punching him while yelling "YOU'RE HUMAN!" has worked before

[reptiledysfunction]

One of the downsides of being the Lizard for the Lizard was that he didn't exactly have the greatest smarts. Which, was a plus for T'Challa. As the fire extinguisher foam gets sprayed in his eyes, the Lizard reacts. With one hand he attempts to swipe at T'Challa, while he attempted to wipe the foam from his eyes with the other hand.

Unfortunately, while his sight isn't working right now, his other senses were working just fine. So as he swiped at T'Challa, his swipes and attempts at attacking were fairly close.

April 24 - feel free to hit hard, george is extremely durable

[notsowonderfullife]

George saw a flash of green out of the corner of his eye followed by screams. He knew immediately that helping evacuate the terrified civilians was going to have to wait. They'd handle themselves...he needed to make sure no one was being gutted.

He steps away and immediately sees the shifting crowd that scrambles out of the way of the rampaging creature. There isn't really time to be subtle and George feels that sweet spot between his shoulders twist as he rises into the air. The Convention Center has high ceilings and he can easily get above the crowd and from there it's no problem to see a large green creature making a bee-line through it.

St. George drops down in front of him to cut off his path, throwing an arm out to block his path. "Sorry. The costume contest is in the other direction."

He didn't know the full details of what had happened. So his first approach was going to be trying to talk down the lizard. Given his track record he had a good feeling this wasn't going to work, but don't let it ever be said that George isn't an optimist.

[reptiledysfunction]

As George hopped in front of him, the Lizard recoiled, hissing at the man. Who was he? And what was he doing? He was...a threat. That's what he was. A threat.

Letting out a loud hiss, the Lizard attempted to slash at George, trying to gut the man with his claws.

24TH IT'S THE EYE OF THE TIGER IT'S THE THRILL OF THE FIGHT

[caladrius]

Hope had been far from the chemical disaster as possible, resulting in him taking people aside to heal them with a quick Cure to tide them over until the actual medical professionals arrived.

... But of course there was always something else, wasn't there? He'd only managed a small glimpse of Dr. Connors before something happened to him. Hope would have thought it was a side-effect of the chemicals somehow, but none of the other people hit by the explosion were exhibiting the same symptoms, which meant this was all Dr. Connors.

Possibly?

What Dr. Connors had become looked like a scalebeast that had traded its carapace for a tail and the ability to walk on two legs, but he didn't know what was going on in his brain. All he knows was that he was not acting like the person Hope knew, and was a danger he couldn't let continue. He let loose a small Thunder spell, hoping to get the thing's attention.

OH HOPE NO THIS'LL END SO BADLY

[reptiledysfunction]

The Thunder does manage to get his attention. Whipping around, the Lizard narrowed his eyes, glaring at Hope. Yet another human. Yet another human trying to cause trouble.

By this point, he's been beaten up by at least four different superheroes now and it shows. There are scratches and bruises dotting his scales and that lab coat that was originally worn by Connors is now in near tatters. But the Lizard is still in control. So the Lizard will still fight.

Turning towards Hope, the Lizard lets out a loud hiss and attempts to charge the man, moving his claws to try and stab into Hope's chest.

April 24 SO MUCH GOLDFISHING

[shutterbugged]

Peter was at the front taking photos when the explosion happened, but his spider-sense reacts quickly enough that he ducks under a table before hot chemicals splash right where he was standing moments before. He takes advantage of the chaos and a conveniently placed tablecloth to switch clothing and pokes his head out just in time to see the Lizard charging out of the place.

"Is it terrible that I sort of expected this to happen?" he mutters to no one in particular.

For a moment he hesitates, taking stock of the injured. But if Spidey doesn't shut down the Lizard fast the EMTs are going to have a lot more work on their hands than a few burns, so there's nothing to do but charge after him, taking the distance to the hall in three great leaps.

idek where the fuck this is in the post chronology but AW YEAH FIGHTS

[reptiledysfunction]

Because Connots has one plot, Peter. That's why you expected this to happen.

The Lizard stops from terrorizing some poor scientist as a familiar red and blue silhouette lands near him. "Sssspider-Man!" he hisses. Spider-Man. The enemy. That one human who's messed up so many of his plans, so many of his attempts. Trouble.

Bringing back his claws, the Lizard attempts a swing at Spider-Man, trying to stab the man.

April 23 + 24

[axemeaquestion]

APRIL 23:
Technically, Rochelle was an assistant editor now. But today she insisted on coming along with one of the reporters. It had been a long time since she did anything in print journalism, but it didn't hurt to get a refresher. Because hey, if she was going to do this job? Might as well do it right. Right?

For most of the day, Ro can be found tagging along with one of her older, more grizzled reporters, listening in on whatever interviews he can get with the different firms and conglomerates. Sometimes she chimed in with her own questions as they went. And so far? This wasn't so bad. Different, yeah. But journalism was still journalism, and Rochelle was finding herself getting back in the hang of it.

APRIL 24:
Technically, Rochelle was an assistant editor now. Technically, she didn't need to be here. But that didn't register until the explosion threw her literally out of her seat. Vaguely, she heard her grizzled reporter Mike screaming as chemicals ate his skin.

Desperately, she tried to get up. Desperately, she tried to fight the burning sensation in her head that was suddenly traveling through the rest of her body. At first, she thought she had been hit too, just like Mike. But as she struggled to get on her feet, her body was grotesquely shifting and rearranging itself. Her arms and legs suddenly felt way too long, and her neck stretched far enough that she thought it was going to break. When she tried to scream, all that came out were screeches and--

And--

Something green spat out of her throat. Almost immediately, it started to sizzle and eat through the floor.

Oh no.

Oh no no no no no. God, no. Please don't tell her she was one of them. Please don't tell her she was a zombie. Please don't tell her that that was acid that just came out of her mouth. Please please please please don't tell her that that's why people are screaming at her as she stands up.

Please.

April 23!

[reptiledysfunction]

Having finished his requisite time at the table, Connors was wandering around the convention center, taking it all in, deciding what talk to attend next. Unfortunately, looking down at his map, he wandered straight in front of Rochelle and the reporter, stopping before he ran straight into her.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." He gave Rochelle a brief smile, as if to apologize for almost running into her. "I guess I'm just too into all of this."

[axemeaquestion]

Having been in a conversation with her reporter Mike, Rochelle would have almost nearly ran over Connors herself if he wasn't already doing it.

"Whoah--"

Even though Connors already stopped, Mike reflexively grabbed her shoulder and yanked her out of the impact zone. Y'know, about as helpfully as someone pulling on you would be.

"Ow, jesus! Boy, I need my arm to STAY in its socket."

Despite the fact that that really DID hurt, though, she reprimanded him with a pretty decently good-natured tone.

"Sorry--"

"It's fine, it's fine." Rochelle nodded Mike off and looked over at Connors. "That's okay. My bad. We're caught up in all this too - we're from the paper."

24TH.

[osreborn]

The panic and chaos erupted quickly; Norman had not been present for this particular demonstration, but it wasn't long before he made his way there once the commotion began and he could hear the classic sounds of an incident, which he of course was loathe to remain in the dark about. This was a Science Expo; even failing other opportunities, it would be relevant for him to know what was happening.

He almost ran into the woman -- or what he was perhaps mistaking for a woman, because getting a real look at her (her?) drew him back, expression caught somewhere between revulsion and confusion. Was this what people were screaming about? Not solely -- there were other cries coming from another part of the Convention Center as far as he could hear, but that clearly didn't matter. Whatever he was looking at was obviously far from ordinary or -- likely -- meant to be roaming around among crowds of people. He stepped back again, making sure a chair was in reach in the event he needed something to swing.

"Just what are you supposed to be?"

sweeeeeeeeeeeeet

[axemeaquestion]

If Rochelle didn't feel like disoriented death, on top of mutating into a horrible zombie thing and all that, she wouldn't blame people for running away. She stumbled to gain balance on her gangly legs. Hard enough that one of her feet had swollen to the point that it didn't look, or functioned well as, a foot anymore. But that's when she caught Norman's voice. Her long neck snapped suddenly in his direction.

A short silence passed.

That's when she gargled at him and took a few wobbling steps back. It was weirdly gentler than her previous shrieks. More hesitant. Y'know, as much as a zombie could be. So yeah, she couldn't talk. Thankfully, though, she was at the point where she still had a little control over herself so she wasn't attacking him.

Yet.

April 24

[notsowonderfullife]

George was looking over some of the technology at a booth about flight when he hears the screams. Living in a post-zombie world tends to make you hyper alert to screaming individuals and George was turning to check it out before it had fully registered. It's not hard to figure out that it's coming from one of the center's conference rooms. He catches a few words like "monster!" and "burning.

"This way people! Come on!" He shouts over the crowd to start directing them away from the scene. The crowd shifts and starts coming in his direction so George moves out of way to file them past and starts making his own way into the room they are exiting.

He maneuvers past the retreating crowd and makes his way into the room where he briefly catches the sight of a giant green thing escaping out of another door. However, what his eyes focus on is the stretched and grotesque woman in the corner staring at something green and burning on the floor. There were people writing on the floor, their skin practically melting from their bones. Thankfully George was used to some pretty grotesque things in his life and he could just add this as nightmare fuel later.

It's as he moves closer that he notices the paler skin along with the twisted form. Something warns him in his brain to stay back, but he ignores that. This could just be another affected individual and so far the list of things that can actual hurt St. George are pretty slim.

"Ma'am?"

[axemeaquestion]

Rochelle's head whipped around and immediately screeched at him. She stumbled on her feet and took a few backsteps away from him. Still barely in control, she didn't want to hurt people.

Not as long as she could help it.

24th!

[selfequipped]

There is no part of Kate Bishop that is a scientist, so her reason for being here is purely educational. That is, she wants to know what is happening in Heropa, and this is one of the many events that has to do with it. When the explosion happens, she finds herself glad (very glad) that she isn't near everyone else, but she does have to deliberate for a moment before she springs into action.

The deliberation doesn't last long. Kate is a superhero. She's always been a superhero. If this is where she goes down because of her desire to help people, so be it.

The fact of the matter is that she wants to help. She inches closer, and when she sees someone spit green, she realizes what happened. At least, to some degree. Horror stories happening as a result of science experiments is the sort of thing that kids hear about in New York City all the time, but for the most part, Kate hasn't come face to face with it.

(For the most part. There is what Noh-Varr did to her friends, and then what happened to Tommy ...)

Her lips twist downward, though, because this is someone she certainly recognizes. This is her roommate.

Or it was.

Kate takes an unsteady step backward. If only she had all her equipment here.

"Rochelle?" It's worth starting with that.

April 23

[shutterbugged]

On her way to one of those interviews, a photographer engrossed in fiddling with his camera almost walks right into her, jerking back at the very last moment.

"Sorry, my bad!" Peter exclaims, looking up. "Didn't step on any toes, did I?"

( 24th & open )

[boobwindow]

[ She had been so certain she wasn't affected by the chemicals. They had barely doused her and nothing had occurred for the first fifteen minutes. As she pulled people away from a terrified crowd that was willing to trample each other, her grip on one of them, particularly their collar, was suddenly too tight and they began to struggle as their airway was cut off. Her heart skipped a beat and she loosened her hold on them, but the fabric tore and they tumbled back down into the crowd, getting bowled over by another wave of frightened people.

She let the others go in a less crowded part of the room, but just barely in time as her vision went red and a beam of it burst from her eyes without warning. It tore through the wall opposite of her in an instant, and the worst part was she couldn't get it to stop. She forced her eyes shut, slapping her hands over her face as old fears resurfaced. ]

No, no!

[theblackleopard]

[Things today just kept getting better and better. The noise of the wall being hit from her eye beam instantly caused T'Challa's gaze to snap over to Power Girl and very quickly he noticed she was starting to lose it. Was she hit by the chemicals too? Or was she just a new superhero who didn't have full control of her powers yet?

Either way it didn't matter. Obviously she was powerful by how just her EYES was able to tear through that wall. He goes into full superhero mode kind of forgetting that he is in normal civilian clothes right now.]

That could have hit a civilian just now! Get a hold of yourself, these people need you to be composed!

[ecphrasis]

[Luckily, Molly had been near the back of the audience when the chemicals had been release. At first, she hadn't realized what was happening--but then the screaming had started and her heart had just about stopped. Instinct had told her to run away, that she was close to the door and she could get out easily, but training made her push through the crowd towards where the screams were coming from. She might not have any medical supplies on her, but she could at least try to help the injured.

Fifteen minutes pass, and she's already made two splints for people who had nearly been trampled. Fifteen minutes pass and she's looking for anyone else to help when she's almost razed in half by something hot and red. Molly gasps, searching for the source of... whatever it was. When she sees a woman holding her hand over her face, she starts towards her, beam of heat forgotten, hoping that nothing dangerous had gotten into her eyes.]

Miss, are you alright?! What's happened?