The Universe's Mixer

One giant ape settled in the zoo. The fact that there were facilities to handle Kong kind of made even Zatanna go “buh?”. Whatever. At least it was contained with minimal damage to anything or anyone. The new JLC seemed to be pulling together, personality conflicts not withstanding. They might just need to let Dinah take a free shot at their new comm guy though just to get it out of their system.

Zee had her own things going on outside of the League. She was trying to stay busy, get into the swing of things in the City since it looked like she was going to be here a while. She had her own research into what magical properties were present along with what she said she’d do for Lindsey. All of it was slow going since a lot of the things she was researching was temperamental at best. Shadowcrest would help or not as the house felt was necessary, and recently one thing kept coming up over and over in her research on the City: some sort of bar by the name Caritas. Apparently it was being suggested that she check it out. All righty, then. It wasn’t as if Zee’s social life was burning up her calendar so she took the subtle hint and went to look into this bar.

It was easy enough to find. Then again all she needed to do was call a City cab and she was taken right there. Yet one more piece of evidence that the taxi drivers were in league with some nefarious deal that they could navigate the changing streets with ease! Zee paid the driver with a respectable tip then headed into the bar.
( Read more... )

Jack was busy at work in his office. But then again, he was always busy in his office. Today was no exception. There was a lot of paperwork to file regarding approving permits for the zoo to continue to care for King Kong, and making sure that they had arrangements in place so the giant gorilla stayed put.

He hadn't yet heard from Fred, though he supposed he didn't really expect her to call him. As much as he wouldn't have minded hearing her voice again, he didn't want to hear from her in regards to this. He also hadn't heard from Zatanna, which made him a little sad but again he wasn't looking forward to her reaction to this.

He supposed that it wasn't something he could sit and worry about, however. He'd done what he felt was right and he would face the fallout when and if it happened.

It had been a slow news week for Lois. No, who was she kidding? She had been scooped on all of the big stories ever since she'd arrived here. She'd had a handful of interviews with some fascinating people, but where were the stories? Where was the human interest?

She was either losing her nose for news or the City was conspiring against her, as some might speculate. Either way, Lois was just waiting for the day when she got the axe.

That was, of course, assuming her editor even knew her from all of the other people in the bullpen.

She wasn't going to give up though. That was why she was currently hanging out at one of the trendier restaurants in the City, rumored to be a favorite eatery of the mayor. Despite it being late December, the restaurant, located on the patio in front of one of the City's skyscrapers, was perfectly comfortable. The warm weather normally would have unsettled Lois for the time of the year, but she was too focused on finding that next cover page story.

She supposed that some people might say that you should be careful what you wished for.

There was a rumbling and Lois heard the slight chink of dishes rattling together. She felt the ground shaking, though it didn't exactly feel like an Earthquake. It was too much of a rhythmic pattern for that.

Lois turned as the shaking began to get more intense and she heard the sounds of something very heavy smacking against the pavement.

"You have got to be kidding me," was about all she had time for as a gigantic face turned its attention towards her and then a furry hand swept downward and scooped her up as if she was nothing more than a rag doll.

As the gigantic gorilla-yes, gorilla-started off toward the Wayne Enterprises tower, Lois looked up at it, still in shock.

"No, no no. This is not happening!" she shouted. The shout gave way to a scream as the gorilla reached the tower and grabbed hold of it, beginning to climb upwards.


OOC: open to reactions from all. The JLC will be doing the actual defeating the giant ape but others are welcome to join in with the rescue if you'd like :)

The preparations for the official formation of the City chapter of the Justice League were set. At least, as set as they could be. Dinah still had her reservations about the person manning the Tower, but the Justice League was needed in the City. She was sure of that. And she thought the City might accept that too. After all, it could very easily have taken away the Clocktower or sent some of them home or done any number of things to get in their way.

She didn't like the idea of the City handpicking their staff either, but Jensen deserved a chance. Dinah would be watching him like a hawk until he proved himself, but for now it was time to at least see how it worked out.

The Clocktower seemed to have grown to accommodate the new team. There was now a second apartment for Jensen and there was an entire subbasement that Dinah either hadn't been aware of or hadn't existed until they'd started planning to get the band back together. The basement had more than enough room for a lab for Hank and a training facility for the rest of them.

Dinah waited in the computer room for everyone to arrive. It shouldn't take Jensen too long since he just lived downstairs at least. And she could only hope that the City allowed everyone else to make it there without much trouble.

She'd been a little busy since she'd been hit by Lindsey's truck, but she hadn't forgotten that she owed him a thank you and an apology. Now that she wasn't limping quite so much she figured it was time to get on that. Being the season it was and as in the festive spirit as she was Zee decided this would be perfect.

Shopping was easy. The hard part was tracking down where Lindsey lived. All there had been on the business card he gave her was a phone number. She had tried a few scry spells but they didn't give reliable results with a map of the City since the dang streets changed all the time. Finally she tried the internet with a reverse phone look up and thwapped herself in the head as an address came right up. "Brilliant, Zee."

She called a cab, not wanting to rely on her own navigational skills. Teleporting was right out. The cab drivers must have some sort of weird pact with the City since he didn't have any trouble getting her to the Lindsey's. She overpaid him, hey it was the holidays!, then went up to the door, gift wrapped package tucked under her arm. This was going to suck if he wasn't home!

She rang the bell then pulled her new scarf closer around her neck.

Jack had spent the morning fighting the crowds to shop for something for Zatanna. Her mention of buying herself presents to put under the tree had sparked an idea in him. So, after going through the awkward moments with trying to explain to a salesgirl that he was shopping for a woman that was not a girlfriend but a friend and getting some advice, he'd come away with a nice burgundy scarf and a pair of gloves. He'd had to resist getting anything for Fred, who still wasn't returning his phone calls or acknowledging the flowers he'd been sending her ever since she'd agreed to 'sleep on it' in regards to their break-up.

He found Shadowcrest easily enough and knocked on the door, present in hand. He had definitely not wrapped it-it was much too neat for that. Thank goodness for the offered gift wrapping services in the store this time of year.

Jack knocked on the door, still not quite sure what to expect from his introduction to Christmas specials.

Her ankle was getting better. She was down to a small, stubborn limp but without the ace bandage. She refused to give in to more than that. She was still glad that the healing circle had taken care of the knee or she'd have been in much worse condition. She still needed to call Lindsey and thank him again for being so nice after appearing in front of his truck. Dean she was trying not to think about at all, pain in the ass that he was. And she needed to have lunch with Dinah again soon. Her social schedule rolled around in her head trying to organize itself as she made her way into the coffee shop that was swiftly becoming her favorite if only for those peppermint mochas!

Coffee and scone acquired she went into the dining area to find a table and blinked at what she saw. Oh it wasn't the crowd of shoppers that surprised her, it was the man in the hat and sunglasses that brought out a small chuckle from her. She wormed her way through the crowd in that direction then smiled when she reached his table.

"Hello, Jack." The smile became a bit of a smirk. "I take you are off the clock at the moment so I'm assuming I don't have to call you Mr. Mayor?"

Dean wasn't sure how to take this woman. Actually he could think of many ways to take the woman, but he had a feeling Dinah would probably be very upset. It wasn't that he did everything Dinah liked; he did occasionally still see Agent Goodbody and the Holy Knight. Not as much as he used to, well, lately not at all, but he didn't think taking the hot(head) mystic back to the apartment was a good idea. Plus, he still had a reporter out for him, maybe. Unless she had a back up to her notes...

The hunter wasn't much for dancing, even if it was slow, which wasn't dancing so much as swaying to something like a rhythm. Instead he suggested walking the injured mystic home, or giving her a ride. He was being rather well behaved for the moment. He stood on the sidewalk and looked across the street to where his baby was actually waiting for him. He glanced at the woman who really knew how to wear a dress, and a bandage.

"So, ride or walk?" He motioned to his car. It really was a pretty bit of metal and rubber, with some leather and whatnot thrown in.

The votes were in and the announcement had been made. Jack's campaign manager had already made arrangements for a victory party, just in case. This was a new concept to him. Back home, when his mother had been dethroned, the citizens had celebrated in the streets. But there hadn't been a party to celebrate his victory. Of course, that was because it really wasn't his victory at all. He'd worked behind the scenes to set things up, but in the end it had been Alice that had made it possible for them take back Wonderland and free the Oysters (and the general populace from the addiction to the false emotions bottled in tea form that had been generated from the Oysters).

All the same, Jack was just a little bit uncomfortable with being treated as though he'd had a great accomplishment by winning the election. Becoming the leader of a place wasn't a prize to be won. It was a duty, and for sure an honor that he'd won. But an achievement? No. Making things better for those who lived here would be an achievement, if he could accomplish it.

So while he didn't feel that he 'deserved' a party, he was here nonetheless. His campaign manager had insisted that it was a good way to get to know those who had voted for him, and to start earning their trust as leader.

Jack straightened his tie and surveyed the reception hall. Waiters in tuxedos milled around with trays of champagne and h'ors d'oeurves while a few security guards watched the perimeter. A band struck up the first few chords of a song and a few people in formalwear had started to arrive,

Unfortunately, Jack thought that if the boy with the vividly colored spiky hair decided to crash, the security force wouldn't be able to keep him out. But since the last rally, no one had complained about him wearing his sword wherever he went.

OOC: any characters are welcome, and feel free to socialize amongst yourselves as well as giving your character the chance to meet and greet the new mayor.

Ollie was, and at the same time wasn't surprised that Zatanna had contacted him. Oh, they'd face off a time or two in his world, but once she got over her necromancy kick, she wasn't so bad to be around. Of course, this Ollie obviously hadn't been hit by her magic champagne--things like that were always funnier when they happened to someone else.

He felt a little sorry for Dinah, but something told him that she'd had some quality time with her new beau that had been long overdue, and--not to sound like a cold bastard--but it was better her than him. Oliver Queen's Drunken Orgy would have been a much better--read: much worse--headline than Oliver Queen Parties With Would-Be Mayor. Granted, they'd all gotten a mention, but at least Dinah hadn't been entirely the main focus. That was...something.

Of course, now he was going to have to keep an eye out for the paparazzi, who were going to be convinced that he and Zatanna were an item. At least he had experience ducking the press.

She and Dinah were going to look into getting members for a new League together. That made Zatanna feel good, especially considering her history with the League and Batman, but bygones were apparently bygones and she'll take whatever chance she can get! It did mean that she needed to get to know the City a bit better. She thought the best way to do that was to put Fred's theory of random teleportation to the test. Her working theory was that so long as she wasn't trying to get out of the City, was working with it the teleports shouldn't be that terrible.

The best laid plans of mice and mystics should be her new motto. Her teleport planted her right in the middle of a road, facing down an oncoming pickup truck. She only had enough time to gasp out a profanity before it connected with her, sending her sprawling and her hat flying off her head to land perfectly on the hood of the truck.

Shadowcrest could supply her with anything she needed and some things she wanted, but one of the things it flat out refused to provide for her were shoes. Zatanna was all right with that since it meant participating in one of her favorite pasttimes. SHOPPING! As weird as the City was rumored to be, its shoe stores were amazing! It was a great way to kill an afternoon.

Coming out of the last store (she promised!) with her bags of leather treasures she spied a familiar face. Part of her thought she should creep off before he noticed, but most of her thought she should try to be friendly. Because that's gone so well with her here with anyone that wasn't Dinah. Oh well. If at first you don't succeed, try to humiliate yourself again and again.

She approached him with a small wave of shoe bags and a smile. "Hi, Charlie."

Talking with Fred had given Zee a lot to think about. Spending some time with Dinah who wasn't mad at her like the Dinah from her time helped a lot too. It was still a little weird to see Ollie (beardless!) and Dinah but them not be together. Dinah was now dating a wizard named Harry (avoid the Potter jokes). Zee wished she could have gotten to know her new beau a little better the night of the drinking debacle, but trying to run herd on a fae wine influenced Dinah then all that drama had kept Zee hopping.

She wanted to check in with Dinah, see how she made out after the fae wine experience. A quick teleport took her to Dinah's flower shop right around lunch time. She didn't come empty handed either, bringing with her Chinese goodness in the form of crab rangoon, shrimp with lobster sauce, dumplings, rice and fortune cookies. She went into the shop with a sheepish smile, holding the bag up like a shield.

"Don't kill me. I come with apology food."

Storm, drinks, rallies. It was all a bit much. Not that Fred couldn't handle the chaos, but she still hadn't found the books. She was beginning to get a little worried about them as she did feel a little responsible for them because they'd been in the apartment when she was living there and all. Of course, they weren't her books, and it really wasn't her apartment, other than she was living in it. She couldn't decide if she missed the quiet days of nothing happening or not. She was in the City, so it never really got overly quiet. There was always something going on, but sometimes the something didn't seem as crazy.

Having a possible boyfriend was odd. She wouldn't complain, but it was strange. The brainy female wasn't sure what to do about it. There were times she thought she should probably tell him to find someone who wasn't half as insane as she felt sometimes. She hadn't even had any good talks with anyone, not that she had many people to have good talks with. She hadn't seen Eric in a while, and was actually beginning to wonder if he was okay. She guessed she'd know if he wasn't - she knew he'd been upset when the werecreatures were running around. She actually felt a little bad that she hadn't gone to check on him. She'd have to do that soon, maybe.

With nothing important to do, no calls to manage, nothing to research for now, Fred decided it was time for a little coffee. Sure, she'd been drinking it this whole time, but she hadn't had a good sit down in a cafe with a clipboard - she'd gotten a new one - and have a bit of coffee and cake, cookie, muffin, something sweet and delicious.

So, there she was enjoying her coffee and sweet when she caught a bit of something on a forgotten copy of the City's paper. There was a very nice picture of Jack and Zatanna, the shower lady, and one of Dinah and Harry; there was even a little inset of Oliver and Zatanna. Her eyes dropped to text, and quickly got wide as she read the words.

Scandal in the races already? Late one night, our intrepid reporters caught a dashing blond mayoral candidate snuggling up to not one but two women. Could there be something racy going on? One was a bit mousy, soft, and quiet. According to some sources, she's the one the candidate is officially dating. But, she's nothing like the hot number he was chasing after later. The hot number looked a little angry. Was she mad that the candidate was out on the town with the mouse rather than her? And what was this? Hot number left with the rich boy? Well, well, well. A love parallelogram? Listen, blond pretty boy candidate, that may work back home, but in the City, well, honestly, it may work, too. Just ask a local hunter or a local country boy.

Well, that was certainly one take on the night. Fred set the paper down and took a very large bite of blueberry muffin she'd gotten.

Welcome to the rally for Jack Heart!

There is a stage decorated nicely in the candidate's colors, right at the edge of the park. There is a table with refreshments for free, and another where you can get signs supporting your candidate to hold, or put on your lawn or in your windows, they even have bumper stickers for your car. There are balloons tied everywhere to draw your attention. There is a podium on the stage where the candidate will stand.

In his speech, the candidate will speak about:

Family values.
Education.
Economics.
His platform.

And he will answer a few questions for you!

Dinah was thrilled to have Zatanna in the City. She might have had her reservations about her old teammate's methods, but she was glad to have a friendly face. After everything that had happened over the past few months, she was really glad to have someone to just go out dancing with. Unfortunately, Harry couldn't exactly take her to a club-not unless they wanted to risk him shorting out the sound system or something along those lines. For that matter, she hadn't seen all that much of him since they'd patched things up. It wasn't that she didn't want to see him, but they were both busy and a part of her was still proceeding with caution until Murphy was moved out.

But tonight she wasn't going to worry about that or anything else, if she could help. She'd left messages for Fred, Jennifer and Barbara inviting them out. She'd even left a message for Murphy. It might have been an awkward thing to do, but she was still trying to make amends and smooth over the rocky start they'd gotten off to. For that matter, she owed Harry's best friend a thank you for pushing her to talk to him. Not that she was sure that the thank you would be well-received, but she was grateful.

Dinah entered the bar with Zatanna at her side. The two had gotten ready together, and of course Zee looked fantastic in her little black dress, but that was par for the course when going out on the town with the mystic.

OOC note: Dinah left messages inviting Fred, Jennifer, Barbara, and Murphy BUT that doesn't mean those characters have to join, nor does it mean that it only has to be those characters. As they're out at a bar, anyone, male or female is welcome to join. Also, let's just keep this thread as a free for all instead of worrying about posting orders :)

Sir Guy of Gisborne had been out riding when the storm hit. It was a very powerful storm, soaking him and Rupert in seconds. He had just sighed and patted the horse’s neck. Guy had ridden through worse weather than this. All that rain did was convince him that this strange city was located in England. He never found another place that had as much rain as his country. He had heard some scholar at a party of Prince John’s try to explain why the island had more rain. It was a very boring lecture at an otherwise nice royal dinner.

( He had been happy )

Zee had learned that there really was just no way to leave the City. She swore Shadowcrest was laughing at her but at least it let her back inside. She had also learned that a handful of people she knew were here too. Batman. Superman, though he might be gone now. Ollie and...Dinah.

She and Dinah had been pretty good friends during their JLA days, but after the memory wipe with Batman and subsequent tribunal that led to Zatanna being kicked off the League there had been a bit of a falling out between the two fishnet wearing women. Not that Zee could blame Dinah. The mystic had come to regret her actions, but she hadn't had the guts to try to contact her old friend.

But now that they all were stuck in this place Zee thought to try to contact her. Somehow a City phone book had managed to find its way into Shadowcrest and sure enough. There was a listing for Dinah's flower shop in the yellow pages. Zee couldn't help but smile. Some things never change. She decided to nut up and try to go see Dinah at the shop.

She changed her clothes then left with the address for Dinah's shop written down and a map of the city she'd torn out of the phone book so she had some clue of where she was going. Not that it helped entirely with the City as torn up as it was from the storm, but eventually she found her way to the right place.

The florist shop took some damaged and for a moment Zee thought maybe Dinah wouldn't be here. Her second thought was that Dinah wouldn't leave it on a bet wanting to put it back the way it was with her bare hands so Zee poked her head in through one of the broken windows. "Hello?"

So Shadowcrest had uprooted itself (and her!) to a city without a name that you can't leave. That, or this City nabbed Shadowcrest (and her!) and trapped them here. Of course Zatanna wasn't convinced of anything of the hows she and her home got here. John could have screwed around with something, had it backfire and it whammied her here. One of her enemies could have done something to get rid of her. Some kid with an ounce of talent in China could have sneezed. The variables were endless.

None of that mattered, really. What was important was that Zatanna didn't like being trapped. It could be her version of paradise and she wouldn't want to stay if it was forced upon her. Batman and Superman were apparently in town as well. Batman she didn't want to see AT ALL! He would probably sooner crush her beneath his bat-boot than talk to her anyway. Superman...well, she wasn't as comfortable talking to him, either. Not after the Dr. Light mess. She always got the feeling he was disappointed in her, and it was worse coming from him than it would have been from her dad.

So it was up to her. Fair enough. Shadowcrest wasn't letting her in the library which meant the damn house knew something she didn't. Fine. She didn't need it anyway. A quick incantation changed her into her costume: top hat, coat with tails, white pressed button down with matching bow tie, fishnets and high heeled boots, and she was ready. Lacing her fingers together she got a determined look on her face as she cracked her knuckles then spread her arms out to the sides. "Trapped my ass! tropeleT em emoh!"

[ooc: Looking for volunteers to have Zatanna suddenly appear wherever you want! The City obviously won't let her leave so she will be randomly popping up places as the City rebounds her spell. If you want a fishnet clad mystic encounter start a thread and have her appear wherever you and/or your character want her to!]

The storm had turned everything topsy-turvy. With some of his fellow police officers, Charlie was out canvasing streets in hopes of preventing looting, what there could be of it. He didn't even understand how the City wasn't cleaning things up; hadn't there been a Godzilla attack once? He was pretty certain someone had said that that had happened. He like those other police officers, who knew he was a detective but let him help out anyway, weren't worried about what the City wasn't doing; they had to worry about the citizen's of the City.

The detective had left a message with Ted, telling him that the damage to their mansion was minimal, not that they really had to worry about up keep. Ted had a large some of money after all, and Charlie wasn't that concerned with what happened to what he possessed. Possessions were nothing in the end. He had called someone to come look after the trees though; the orchard needed to be tended.

Charlie then called his partner. He hadn't talked to her in a while, at least socially. They'd had a few brushes at work, but nothing that had them working together which was a little odd seeing as they were partners. He missed her. He thought he might have scared her after their last big discussion. In fact, he missed her enough to call her back after he got a report that some woman was locked in her house. While it wasn't murder, Charlie felt they could try to figure this out together anyway. He got her on the phone the second time he called, and while he headed over, he gave her the address and the situation.

It seemed that neighbors had noticed that some woman was screaming bloody murder, or just yelling really loudly depending on who was asked. She wasn't coming out, and she might be locked in. Being locked in a house was odd, seeing as most of the buildings on the street had lost windows and some doors to the storm. Yet, the house seemed to have weathered things rather well. That was a small mystery in itself.

The detective headed up slowly to the front door. If he were one to put much faith in movies, he'd say this was one of those places horror movies happened. It was rife with the mystique and creep necessary to pull of a good horror movie. Thankfully, Charlie chalked it all up to this being a house recovering from a storm, a very lucky house.

"Unless it's not." He stood a few steps from the door. "Could have monsters inside, but what self-respecting monster would be inside when there is murder and mayhem to be had? Unless it's not one of those monsters." He had to give this one a small think through. Eventually he would get to the door.