Starring:
Adam is interrupted on the way home by an angry blonde. A fight breaks out. Peter joins in. Hulking and naked people ensue.
April 17th, 2007
The Incredible Bulks
Downtown, NYC - Lower East Side
Evening in New York City. A visitor might automatically say quiet, but NYC is anything but quiet. Even in older areas such as this. Children play on the streets, before their parents call them in. Occasionally a dog barks at passerbys on the sidewalk. One of those passerbys just happens to be Adam. Who seems to be heading somewhere (maybe home) at a steady clip.
Exiting a late night animal clinic, Peter's checking some paper work as he steps outside, looking over the notes a few times, before pulling out his cellphone, as if checking for missed calls, text messages, or voice mail. No pets are currently in his presense, on a leash, in his arms, or in a carrier, and a bit after he exits the OPEN sign turns off.
Pamela has been training for the martial arts tournament coming to New York whenever she can, but with the business of her deceased sister's legacy, her nephew and neice she is now living with, and shady people she now realizes are mobsters sniffing around, she has been too busy and frustrated to indulge in anywhere near the level of training she feels she needs. Further, she hasn't received many jobs as a bodyguard, or bouncer, as most people prefer big burly men and not towering blonde women to protect them. This has put pressure on her financially as well.
She's done other jobs unrelated to her specialties, but what she feels she really needs is to make a name for herself. Get in the newspaper, and not just in the advertisements. She has to make front page news for herself…
And what better way than tracking down and catching a wanted criminal who escaped her once before? Thus she has asked around, made some calls, and contacted friends of hers to find out if anyone has seen a man named either Takezo Kensei or Adam. Both names were yelled by people chasing that man. Kensei turned out to be some kind of legend in Japanese mythology, based off or connected to Miyamoto Musashi, a legendary duellist. That was a dead-end, but 'Adam' turned up a few leads…
Thus as one man heads down the sidewalk, and another man leaves an animal clinic, one woman in daisy-duke shorts and a tied off t-shirt weeds a lawn nearby. Her back is to Adam, and her long blonde hair hangs down around her shoulders. While perhaps a pleasant sight, the woman is of no immediate concern. Once Adam passes by, though — IF he passes by — she rises slowly, and steps out onto the sidewalk, before calling out, "Adam, right?"
If he turns around, or responds in the affirmative, Pamela will grin, wipe some sweat off her brow and then remove gardening gloves from her hands, before saying, "Hi. You want to make this easy, or are you going to try to run again?" If Adam doesn't stop to respond, and/or takes off immediately… Well, Pamela chases!
Ok, very few people know his name, much less what Adam looks like. And even fewer know both. So as Adam passes by, and then hears his name, the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Green eyes shift back and forth, analyzing the street before he starts to turn around. "Which would make it more fun?" he asks, a sly grin sliding over his lips. Either someone at the Company didn't get /The Memo/ or NYPD's resorted to vigilantes.
With his phone in hand, Peter's looking through a few things when he hears a name said not too far away. It shouldn't draw his attention too much, because there's tons of Adams in the world, even in New York, but he does glance up this time. Eyebrows raise at the sight of the tall blonde woman, but it's the form of the man she's speaking to that draws his eyes. Only seen once, it's almost vague, and at this distance he can't quite hear his voice… Closing the phone, he starts moving closer, unaware of the exact nature on the confrontation, but interested enough to figure it out.
Pamela smiles back, and responds, "Well, I've been training for the tournament coming here, but nothing tests your skills and improves them like a real fight. Only so much practice can do for you, after all." She tosses the gloves aside and looks Adam up and down. "I've heard you're dangerous. Fair warning: So am I." She steps closer to Adam, almost casually, but brings her hands up in an 'I surrender' gesture, as she calls out as loudly as she can, "I DON'T WANT ANY TROUBLE!" Now anyone in the vicinity who pays attention will remember distinctly hearing that the woman didn't want trouble, regardless of what else happens. That will help when she has to deal with the police, because Adam can't claim she just assaulted him out of nowhere.
With that out of the way, she falls back into a simple Kempo-Karate stance. "I won't force a fight if you want to give up. I may be angry, but I'm not some thug." She seems to be unaware of Peter for now.
Oh geez. Here's another one who thinks they can take Adam in. Surely the Company would have made sure NYPD got /The Memo/ too. "I'm sure they didn't tell you exactly /how/ dangerous I can be." he replies, watching as Pamela holds her hands up and shouts. Wonderful. So much for laying low, as per Bob's orders. Of course, several people up and down the street are now watching him. After giving them all the 'Mind your own business' look, Adam reaches back over his shoulder. There's just a brief flashing glint of metal as the replica-Kensei sword is withdrawn a little and instantly re-sheathed. "Perhaps you'd like to reconsider that."
As the 'mind your own business' look gets cast his way, Peter knows for sure that he's recognizing the man there, and while he can't tell for sure that it's a confrontation— it becomes obvious when the sword comes out. Glancing around, he silently wishes that everyone else would obey that glare, before he keeps moving closer, actually a little faster. Not sure what's going on, or who's causing the problem, all he knows would be he needs to get closer and see what's happening. Doesn't look like much of a threat, this man. He's actually shorter than Adam, and not overly built at all.
Pamela glares when the sword is shown. She thought it might have been some kind of cheapo-blade or prop, not that Adam was walking around carrying a real katana on him. She takes a deep breath and lets it out. She sees Peter coming up from behind Adam, or from the side, or wherever he's coming from, and decides it's time to put an end to this. Posturing only gets you so far. "Hokay, then." She rises out of her Karate stance. Is she giving up? Not quite.
Pamela tries to focus on her annoyance with Adam's arrogance in assuming she's some schmoe he can push around because he has a sword. The frustration she's had to deal with since coming back to the States from Japan. The anger at her sister for leaving her with all this crap to deal with. She just lets the anger build and build, as she clenches her fists, hunches her back, and trembles all over, while gritting her teeth.
Pamela is trying to build up anger to motivate her to take on someone with a sharp weapon, and to make it easier to get through the pain she expects is coming her way when Adam swings at her. She doesn't know that this is also the trigger for something else. The powers she doesn't know she has. If they trigger, then there are straining noises, as Pam's shoes begin to stretch, her shorts cut into her skin a bit as her upper legs and hips swell with muscle, and her shirt begins to strain even more than it already was, fighting to contain both the muscle popping up on her biceps, and torso, and her… Well… Chest. Ahem.
Whether it works or not, Pamela lowers her shoulder and charges at Adam with a cry of rage, trying to ram him with all the force of a professional football player. Claire got her neck broken from getting hit by the highschool-version. What will this huge woman do to Adam if she hits him?
Well, that seemed easy enough. Or so Adam thought. But then, he can see the changes in Pamela and his eyes widen. It's like a scene from The Incredible Hulk. "What the…." he starts, not sure of what really to say. Meanwhile, a few of those who didn't obey the 'Mind your own business' look now do and disappear into their buildings. And then….the charge. Christ. Adam moves to twist, catching a brief glance of Peter as he does. But he's not quick enough, and Pamela grazes him, knocking him back against on of the brick house walls and causing small cuts into Adam's trenchcoat.
At first, Peter'd been wondering if Adam was the aggressor, but the closer he gets— he's starting to think differently. In fact, when she flexes starts to grow not subtly and the smaller man, he gets the idea that she's definitely moving towards being the aggressor. He starts forward, intent on stopping this somehow, before it gets out of hand, when suddenly… he hears a snapping of fabric. Right now, he's really, really, really regretting wearing tight jeans. Or he will once he realizes what's going on. Just as her physical change couldn't be called subtle, neither is his. What lithe muscles he has, enhance in size, and he gains a couple inches in height with each step. It's the bulk that might well be frightening. Not only is it ruining his clothes, but it just makes him /look/ bigger. Stumbling, he almost trips as the transformation itself stabalizes, leaving him rather confused. "What— is going on?" And another change? His voice is a lot deeper than he's used to. A lot deeper. To the point he doesn't even recognize his own voice.
Pamela herself isn't quite sure what's going on. She knows she feels stronger than normal, and the ground seems more distant, but this is only acknowledged dimly. While Peter may have activated his powers unwillingly, just as she did, he isn't running on rage-a-hol right now, and as Pamela fails to fully strike Adam, she yells out angrily. It's becoming EASY now to get angry. EASY to lose herself in her fury, and give in to the desire to break bones, spill blood, and batter her opponent into pulp. Somewhere in her mind she is frightened of herself and what she's feeling, but that is shoved aside. She NEEDS this rage. She needs to turn back into the violent youth she once was, and just beat the bloody hell out of this bastard.
If the rage builds sufficiently then she may grow even larger, not just gaining muscle, but also increasing in height, until the zipper on her shorts snaps, and the garment rips in half. Her shoes would already be rags of leather on her feet, the pain of being confined in these garments even as she grows only driving her higher on the scale of Pissed Off. Her shirt begins to tear and shred as her muscles, and bones and skin and boobs and hair and her entire body, all grow exponentially, until she is about nine feet tall. And naked, obviously. Or close enough that describing what her underwear are doing would be indecent.
IF this happens, then she spots Peter, cries out a slightly deeper roar of challenge, and then turns from him, to try to punch a fist right into the brick wall next to Adam's head. Was that a miss? No, she's just dragging her hand through the wall, tearing through the masonry, and trying to scoop up Adam by the sheath on his back, as she turns around and tries to THROW him at Peter. She's not as bulky as Peter is, probably due to a lack of testosterone, but she's about the same height. IF that power activates at least…
Ok, this brawl is officially the /weirdest/ one Adam has ever been involved in. Especially when the fist come towards him. Or the wall. Either way, Adam takes shrapnel, in brick form, to the face. It's enough to require stitches for the average human being. But then, Adam's not average and the wounds heal fairly quickly. When he realizes he didn't get scooped up, he's on his feet and reaching for the sword. To hell with this. That's when he spots Peter, it gets even weirder. "Peter, what the hell is that….all about?" he asks, trying to position himself for his next move.
Oh, believe Peter, he wishes he knew what this was all about. Looking down at his clothes… what's left of them might well be useless. Only saving factor is that his coat happened to be loose, and it's granting him /some/ obscurity. Not much, but he hasn't lost all of his muscle enhanced modesty for his former wall-mate to see. And the strange girl who's ability he's obviously leeching off of. Moving around with this enhanced form is just not right. He actually stumbles again, practically tripping over the shreaded confinds of his clothes, before he moves up and faces the woman. "Why're you doing this?" She looks so /angry/ and he can almost feel it too. Close enough. Whatever it is he's tapping into has increased certain biological responses that make him feel… like he'd really just like to run at her and try to punch her. In fact, you know what? He might have actually planned to try, if he didn't end up tearing what remains of his pants off by trying to take a few quick steps towards her. Yeah, now he's mad. But at his clothes.
Pamela may be strong like whoah, but she's not invulnerable (that power was taken). Punching a brick wall and breaking it is actually something Pam has experience with, but not from straight-on, not when the bricks are cemented together, and she wasn't using the proper technique for it. She was just using basic brawling, rather than any of the four martial arts styles she is familiar with. Thus her hand is torn, blood running freely from her agony-filled hand. Luckily her bones grew denser when she became larger, or they'd be broken too. Now the pain just fuels her.
Turning to Peter, as the smaller man… Who was he again? She was attacking him, but now she can't remember why he matters. Well, he's not important now, so she focuses on the other warrior like herself. And pauses. When Pam saw Peter, she instinctively reacted, thinking he was a rival. A challenger. His failure to challenge her, and his question… Somehow penetrate the thick fog of rage. She looks around wildly, scanning the ground in front of her through a red haze, seeing the shredded remains of her clothes. Peter's not the only one who's indecent. But that's so… Irrelevant. What is she doing? Why is she doing this? What's happening to her?
A serious of logical connections are made concerning why she's been ruining so much clothing lately. How it's become so stretched and torn. Why she's been breaking things around the house. Why she's been having dreams of slaughter and bloodshed, all at her hands. It's because of THIS. Whatever 'this' is.
Calming down somewhat from her angry state, but not fully out of her primal mindset, she inhaling deeply and quickly, making her tremendous chest rise and fall. She doesn't look quite as deformed as Peter does. She doesn't seem to be a muscular monster. Just a tall and buff woman. And… She IS a woman. So as she inhales deeply the air, she smells something. And… Recognizes that right in front of her is a man. A man who seems to be the same as her. Her agitation seems to become greater for a moment, as she passes from being angry to being… Err… *Cough* Well, when a girl finds a boy attractive, and he's standing naked in front of her…
Hopefully no further explanation is needed. This is enough of a change of emotional state to shock her out of her primitive thoughts and with a groan she begins to shrink, slimming down, and falling to her hands and knees, sweat-soaked and exhausted.
Adam has the sword out, holding the hilt with both hands. Both his eyes are searching the woman's enormous body. What would be the best point? Killing? Disabling? A myriad of decisions run through his head. Enough that, by the time he's decided…Pamela's already shrunk back down. "Ok." he says, raising his eyebrows. A metallic clink sounds as the tip of the sword rests on the sidewalk, his gaze turning toward Peter. "Peter?" he asks, not sure yet if his friend is in control or whatever power this chick has.
Luckily, somehow, as she shrinks down in size with a grown, Peter backs up a few steps and starts to push what's left of his clothes together, desperately trying to cover up. And this task is made easier by the fact that he's shrinking back down to normal as well. "What…" is about all he can manage, as his voice returns to normal. Even his expensive tennis shoes are busted open. The only thing /mostly/ intact would be the waist of his coat. The sleeves are broken off, the shoulders are ripped, and he's standing out there a little more exposed than he'd like. Okay, a lot more. And not only this, but there's a naked woman in front of him. Suddenly he's very glad that he's covering himself up a lot more when his eyes settle on her. Oh god. …You know what he should really just— leave. Only… he can't constentrate enough to turn invisible. Instead he's just doing his best to hold his shreads of clothes over certain areas and move out of the street.
Pamela is starving. And exhausted. She's breathing hard, sweating heavily, and the cool evening air is helping a bit, but she's really just really hot and bothered. Perhaps in more ways than one after what she just experienced. Coughcough. Oh and her hand is still hurting really bad, and now she has a pounding headache too, and her entire body is shaking, not with rage, but with adrenaline withdrawal. Man, this is a terrible situation.
She finally looks up, notices she's naked, and while modesty is one thing, guy with a sword is another. And hey, where's this naked guy come from? What just happened? Dim memories flicker through her mind, and soon she has come to the conclusion that she shouldn't stick around. Maybe if Adam didn't have a sword she'd stay to fight, despite her incredible weakness. But he DOES have a sword and he doesn't look like he'd mind stabbing her after she almost killed him.
Thus she says to Adam in a surprisingly firm voice, despite her trembling, "You, I will find again, Mister Adam." She then looks to Peter, noticing he's trying to get out of there with scraps of clothing, and while she's embarassed enough to cover herself up with her hands, she still sticks around long enough to say, "You…" Pause. "Whatever you said to make me turn back… Thank you. I don't want a murder on my conscience, even if they're a wanted criminal like this guy." She jerks her head towards Adam. Then she crouches down to gather up the scraps of her clothing, probably in preparation to leave. Too bad she didn't wear a dress. Dresses can be more easily customized to cover one up, even when wrecked.
With both of the two now back to normal size, Adam re-sheaths the sword. The tip is brought up and the sword spun around a few times before he goes to shove it in the sheath. And while practiced, he's not at the top of his game as the sword misses the sheath and cuts a line in the back of his coat. "Blimey." he states, re-sheathing it properly. Then there's the matter of Pamela's comment. "I look forward to it." he replies, grinning broadly. "What size do you wear? I'll bring you a change of clothing." Oh sure, heckle a girl while she's down.
His gaze turns towards Peter, watching as he tries to disappear off the street. "Peter, wait. My place is just a few houses down. Might have something you can wear." he offers, unsure of his friend will just vanish, or take up the offer.
"I don't know if I— you're welcome," is the most that Peter can manage, even as his cheeks redden and he tries his best to look at her /eyes/. Not an easy feat, really, considering how much taller she is than him, and certain things rather… obvious. Helps to look away towards Adam. Yes, it really does. There's a benifit to be had from the offer, one he's willing to take. Including the possibility to avoid questions from Elle, should she be back at his apartment. "Yeah, let's… thanks." He says, walking along rather awkwardly as he tries his best to cover his front and his back. Pieces of his expensive tennis shoes flake off as he walks, sleeves hang from his elbows. It looks pretty bad. At this moment, he thinks if he doesn't look towards the mostly naked woman, he would be okay. If he wasn't too suffering from strange side effects, including awkward breathing, and sweat, and— he could really use a sandwich right now.
Pamela glares at Adam as she finishes tying off the shreds of her clothing into a makeshift bikini, nods towards Peter, and jogs away from the scene with as much dignity as she can manage. And it is GOOD that Peter doesn't look back. VERY GOOD. Because Pamela jogs and… Bounces. A lot. 'What a crappy end to a crappy day,' the blonde thinks to herself as she tries to put some distance between herself and everyone else ever. Oh hell, she lost her wallet. How is she supposed to buy food on the way home now?