Christmas Special: Feast of Famine (NOW CLOSED!)

Shauna had returned home for the Holidays after a peaceful study abroad. Chicago and the rest of America it seemed, was in a tense atmosphere regarding the ever present metahuman situation... but that didn't mean people kept the Holiday Spirit alive. Unwilling to give in to fear, a celebration was underway.  




A Christmas fair beside the Great Lakes meant skating, sledding and lots of stands selling handmade crafts and holiday food. Now, ironically, being an energy being, Shauna felt tired, probably from Jetlag. Or that the sun wasn't out for a week now. She was content to sip some Eggnog and eat apple pie, wearing an appropriate dark grey winter jacket with muted green accents, and boots. She watched as people of all types and ages came and went, content at the peace. She looked back and forth, subtly pulled out a small container of whiskey, and spiked her drink. Mmm Eggnog.

Since she was at the food section of the fair, the air was filled the aromas of a global cuisine... but Chicago being what it was, most of that food had been Americanized- deep fried, slathered in chocolate or cheese, coated with powdered sugar, or came in supersized servings. Everyone was eating and drinking, nothing unusual there, save for the large bellies.

Shauna munched on her pie when she saw a happy looking bald fellow at the next table coming from a fairly popular Asian Fusion stall. The sadly large man had a tray with a giant slice of pizza, a double burger stuffed with bacon and onion rings, a load of fries slathered with cheese, a tall strawberry milk shake, donuts... wow, Shauna almost felt nauseous at seeing it all. She turned away to avoid watching the man wolf it all down. He had the most plentiful tray so far, but nothing that was too unusual... so far.

Shauna finished her Eggnog and went to get some more, passing by the really crowded Asian Fusion stall. "Wonder what they're selling..." She peeked, but it was way too crowded... but that didn't matter. Taking a 'peek' with her vision superpowers, the people were slowly peeled away, only to reveal  the stalled only seemed to be selling some kind of hot tea in styrofoam cups. The workers poured more cups of the tea to satisfy great demand.

No big deal, but Shauna wanted more Eggnog to spike.

OoC: Before I hop in, what were your plans for this thread?

OOC: nawwwww no spoilers. I show, Mr. E. I do not tell. What you see is what you get.

Marcus was having a very quiet week. It was reaching Christmas and his birthday and he had yet to bother finding out the year. He always avoided the year as he wanted it to be a surprise, was he twenty or twenty one. The answer was close and closing in as they days went by and he decided to have a quiet month, try avoiding fights and the such and for a week he had done so.

He had heRd of a Christmas fair and decided that it couldn't hurt to meet some people as long as he wasn't hit on too much seeing as he knew beer and the such would be passed around and he had some talking problems. He made it to the fair just fine and was avoided mainly because of his eyes. They were a nice Forrest green last time Marcus checked a windo but could easily have changed to a deep blue sea color by now. They had a habit of doing that. But it wasn't the color that would have kept people away, It was the look that the eyes gave. A angry yet sad look that could tell someone this person has Been though a lot. Marcus didn't mind this as it kept him from having to talk. He never was good at small chat unless he was forced or had too to seem polite and not rude like at that table with the cult guy and the lady who called herself darkness as a jab at Marcus calling himself shadow.

He got himself customed to the foods and had small talk with a few people that seemed to have thought him sad but something did catch his attention. A Asian stall that was crowded with quite a few people. Marcus liked Asian stores if they cooked fried rice. He was who could not stand down a offer of fried rice. He Wales over to the crowd and soon realised that with his tallness he still could not see what the commontion was about so he decided to take a small peep though another method. He stood back from the crowd and sinked into the ground not worrying about lookers as most would just say they had a little too much. He moved under the many feet as a shadow and moved up the side of the stall before latching to the roof only to his disappointment it was only tea.

Marcus sighed but no noise could be heard and he moved quockly back to the ground and returned to his position before rising again. Unless one had prying eyes they would not have noticed the shadow that moved along the stall and that was what Marcus hoped for as he rose from the ground and moved his hoodie a little. "Well that was a waste of mine time." Marcus said to himself as he sighed again just to hear the noise this time.

Krampus. A gremlin from the ass end of Christmas lore. Gremlin isn't the right word, he's actually quite powerful from all accounts. He just acts like a dick. Since he's never used everything at his arsenal, no one knows what he can do, which is never a good thing when approaching the spooky side of things.

But what ever the case, every year around this time I get dozens of reports of him running around causing havoc and what have you, and every year it turns out to be some red cap or goblin causing a ruckus in festive garb. I don't think there's been an actually sighting of Krampus in decades.

-From the Desk of Phillip Edwards Chief Officer of Planes Watch


"Ho ho ho merry freaking Christmas, and happy ever loving Hanukkah." Mr. E murmured to himself, his breath pluming in the air in front of him. Another bogus Krampus sighting had brought him all the way down to dreary Chicago. No other time of the year was he run more ragged, and no other time of the year was it for no reason as much as this. And that non reason was always Krampus.

"One day I'm going to grab that creep and mount his goat legged behind on my wall." He grumbled sourly to himself. Chicago! Of all places! And during a Christmas celebration no less. Mr. E had thought to take it in, but so far all he'd gotten was damp and cold. He could have gotten himself into that condition in Toronto if he wanted. But no. He was here for the weekend and he was going to damn well enjoy himself.

He passed some Asian stand doing booming business, but decided there was a classic that needed his attention. Eggnog. With a little Newfoundland "Screech" of course. Now mummering? There was a good tradition. With a wistful sigh he spoke under his breath "Halloween with no kids, and alcohol instead of candy, what's not to love?" Unbeknownst to him the Black Tigress was mere feet away, ahead of him in the egg nog line.

Shauna was fairly oblivious to her surroundings and the people around, and approached a bakery stand that also served eggnog, since the other place that did was further away. She was met with a fast selling stall with lots and lots of tray-shelves of fruitcakes, muffins, special breads, brownies, pastries and a large dispenser of Eggnog. A very tall and lean asian girl manned the place and moved with staggering efficiency as she served people's orders. "Thank you. Please come again."

"Oh. Xiao! It's good to see you again. wow, you made all these?" Shauna was pleasantly surprised at the sight of the young superhero from Knightwatch. She inspected the available goods once the last person left with a bag filled with goodies.

"Well, It is a class project. I am taking up a culinary course at the community college. The apple pie is my specialty." Xiao said with a big smile and pride in her heart, advertising her pie on the stall table.

"Then I'll have an eggnog. And I'll try a slice of your apple pie." Shauna said, deciding to be a little decadent and have two slices in one day. She watched Xiao as she gently took a slice of pie and placed it on a plate, then poured her a cup of eggnog. Such a big girl with a big heart, yet she had such simple goals in life. They made further small talk about Shauna's overseas trip and other such business, except for the superheroing.

"Hey lady yer holding up the line!" A voice behind Shauna said, and the doctor turned around apologized to Mr. E, quickly returning to her spot with her food. Xiao greeted the next customer with a big smile and an engrish accent. "Herro there. What can I get yuu today?"

She took a bite of it with a fork and could feel the warm cream and the cinnamon. She was thankful for it, as she'd recently had trouble with food. As Shauna ate though, there was something... unusual about the atmosphere. Minutes ago it was friendly, warm and relaxed. It was a very subtle change, not easy to spot, save for the fact that some of the people had become quiet and focused on their food... and people were eating more and faster.

The big bald guy Shauna observed just a few moments ago was already done with his food. Hurriedly he  got up from his seat, and slowly pushed his way to the front of a line at the stall, likely interrupting Mr. E's turn as he ordered.  

"I want food." He said in a strange stammer; despite the biting cold, one of the coldest in the decade, the man started to sweat.

"Um, excuse me sir, there is a rine. Please do not be lude." Xiao said assertively, not wanting to entertain the line cutter as she prepared Mr. E's order.  

"...More... please... I'm still hungry..." He said, a strange desperation in his voice. Xiao noticed the man's unusual demeanor, and kept an eye on him.

"Well, please wait your turn." Xiao said again, with emphasis. The man stopped listening, and suddenly reached for Xiao's precious apple pie with his bare hands, stuffing it into his face, very rapidly. The people started staring at the guy, slowly stepping away, shielding their children from the sight. Some of them started voicing concern.

"Poor girl. This is humiliating for her business."

"Someone should stop that guy..."

"Should we call the police?"

"Is he some kind of metahuman? I think we have to leave!"

Xiao was simply dumbfounded; she tried to stop the man by catching his wrist with openly great speed and care not to crush him, but was surprised again by the man's strength as he flicked it away. "SO HUNGRY!" He cried as he continued his gluttonous actions.  

Shauna stopped what she was doing and slowly got up. How was this trouble going to go down? This wasn't metahuman business, but Shauna had a bad feeling something worse was going down.

OoC: Sorry for posting out of turn, but I've got some family Christmas stuff to do today, and I'd sooner not leave you hanging. Also, I hope I'm interpreting your storyline right in this post.

Bic: Mr. E was getting agitated. He wasn't sure why, there was something in the air. He even snapped at the girl in front of him, a behaviour very unlike himself indeed. But he felt he wanted to do more than that. So his best bet was to get his food to go.

"Sorry" He grunted under his breath to the woman he snapped at. As she retreated he turned his attention on the staff girl. "Gimme some Eggnog and, you really sold that apple pie, I'll try a slice. With some warm cream if you've got it." People gave him weird looks in different parts of the world when he said that, but it's how his mother used to make it. Though, he didn't even get the chance as some great lummox pushed forward and started manhandling the girl's pie.

"Well. Look at that. An excuse." Something in the back of Mr. E's mind screamed that something wasn't right, his detective's instincts pushing against what ever fog clouded the forefront of his mind. But it was too late for the big man.

"Fella, it's one thing if you're going to hassle me." He growled through clenched teeth as he grabbed the man's grease and sweat stained collar. "But once you start hasslin' the staff? Well. Suddenly it's a much merrier Christmas for me." He hauled back with his gloved fist and clocked the man right across his chin. He wouldn't be eating through a straw or anything, but he was probably going to avoid taffy for the next while.

OoC: Assuming he(the big man) doesn't have super powers now...

BiC: Mr. E recovered himself a little as he looked at the man on the ground in the snow. He shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out two twenties and a (Canadian) five, and slapped them on the counter in front of the girl. "Sorry about outburst ma'am. I don't know what's come over me today. I'll cover my new friend's tab." He began to hurry away. His veil would keep the attention of the mundanes off of him, but anyone trained to be alert in this kind of situation? They'd be able to keep an eye on him for now.

Sadie was generally a grumpy misanthrope, but around the holidays she got so much worse. Being constantly surrounded by messages about family and love and forgiveness.... it honestly made her a little sick. Years of living on her own, on the streets, had taught her that family didn't mean anything. That forgiveness generally only brought pain.

It was with this mindset that she begrudgingly walked through the Christmas fairground, the cash from her latest score burning a hole in her pocket. Sighing, she stopped by the nearest stand, desperately in need of a drink. "I'll have an eggnog, with rum please," Sadie had to shout a bit to be heard over the raucous crowd. As she handed money over for her drink, she noticed the strange commotion. "What's going on?" she asked the person next to her, going directly against her instincts to just leave before getting drawn in.

Marcus was a little confused by the sudden outburst of the Man and he would have easily gone and dealt with him but someone else had defused the situation. The man being quite the fellow was acting like he was famined.

Marcus chuckled at the thought of famine, one of the four horseman of the apocalypse but also meaning deprived of hunger. Good old famine, me and him once drove a town insane. I was the killer that everyone hid from and didn't work their crops while he... Dark trailed off from the last part and soon Marcus began to see. He shook his head before hearing a voice, he turned towards the woman that asked him what was happening and Marcus felt like being nice.

"Yea this man came in and bumped himself to the front of the line, begged for food before practically ripping a pie from the owners hands, but don't worry, some fellow dealt with him." He said to the lady to describe what he saw in a polite tone.

Once punching him out, Mr. E would feel the man's skin hard like rock, his fists likely to feel sore the next few days. The balding man fell face first into the snow.

"Thank you." Xiao said to him, grateful she didn't have to man handle people while on shift. She was going to go fetch another pie from the cooler, but it seemed the man was far from over. He slowly got up, and started attacking a mexican stall, breaking open a nacho heater and chomping away again. Xiao quickly handed Mr. E a wrapped pie to go and closed her stall, rolling down the steel door to prevent further collateral damage.

Shauna got up, but several people around her were starting to display the same symptoms. "Hey, fuck that's mine!" She cussed out a man that was taking her pie and eggnog! She didn't bother to punch anymore though. She simply distanced herself from the mad feeding frenzy around her, as well as those normal bystanders quickly making themselves scarce.

All kinds of people, young, old, paper thin or obese, started eating everything in sight. The fair grounds were being emptied, and later the foodstuffs of the now abandoned stalls. What made this sight even more fascinating was that the more they ate, the more emaciated they became, becoming nearly skeletal ghouls that wailed hunger.

Mr. E, Shadow Wolf and Blackbird would soon discover once the food was gone, their hungry eyes and gaping mouths eyed them. Looks like they were now going to eat everything- and everyone- in sight.  Shauna herself wasn't sure what to do yet, but sensed something terribly wrong with the electromagnetic waves in the air. She knew this distortion- magic- like a frequency she couldn't perceive. Still, she could sense that these people were alive and breathing. They had been cursed.

One ghoul launched herself at Shauna, and she defended herself by simply flying straight up. The others... get their own problems. Especially Mr. E who was handed pie, and Sadie who still got her order anyway. Now having a little elevatino, she spots Sadie in the sparse crowd of metas and ghouls. "...Blackbird is that you? Everyone clear out! Something's very wrong with these people." she called out.

Indeed there was something terribly wrong, as these living souls had been afflicted with the curse of famine, an ancient curse of wasting woven from the Egyptian Famine in the time of Joshua; and many other famines in the histories... And this meant there was a terrible carrier, an artifact of it nearby. As it was a documented curse, these people afflicted would consume everything in sight, until the artifact gained enough power to administer its punishment upon the wickedness of civilization.

Famine Ghouls: Occult 1 Str 6 Spd 6 Dur 5 Fs 5

Ooc: Oh I see. Mr. E wouldn't have been affected, because it was that tea eh? Ok I'll play a bit better.

Quick question, with Occult 7 would Mr. E recognize these symptoms? Or is it a newly devised curse. (I'd wager he'd at least recognize what is happening, if not how.)

OOC: Updated my post. See the last paragraph for the benefit of the high Occult

Mr. E snarled to himself as he shook his hand. That was not a natural jaw. Felt like a troll or a ghoul... Then it hit him. Too late unfortunately. The excessive eating, pushiness, the unnatural bone and skin? He looked around aghast. He'd seen curses similar to this. But the only one fitting the chaos that was erupting around him at the moment...

The Iracundia of Iaiunium. Mr. E drew his gun as he saw the ghouls gathering around he fired it once into the air. "Anyone here who is not showing extreme cravings please find yourselves safely to another location." He turned and fired on a ghoul who was approaching him from the side, taking out it's leg. He wasn't sure if the curse could be reversed, but if it could be it wouldn't do to kill the poor sods.

"This area is now an official crime scene, under the investigation of Planes Watch."

Mr. E then pointed at the woman who was flying in the air "You, Meta. You're now a deputized member of Planes Watch for the Duration of this investigation. Any persons of competence you know in this area are also to aid in the investigation. We are dealing with a catastrophe of global scale."

He said between bouts of leaping over tables and stands, and pistol whipping ghouls. More than once he'd had to put a bullet through an arm or a leg... But Ghouls were like cockroaches. If you didn't destroy the head, you could hardly slow them down.

"The best information I can give you, is I believe this is what the Greeks called "The "Iracundia of Iaiunium" The Wrath of Famine. An Egyptian curse, that does well... What you're seeing-" Before Mr. E could say any more, one ghoul took him in a foot ball tackle and through a table. As it stood he was doing all he could to keep the much stronger creature's jaws away from his throat, and with his gun knocked clean of his hand he was hurting for options.

Marcus was about to move away and maybe find some food but upon turning he was met with the faces of those who looked like they were seriously famined and their eyes had a lust of hunger in them. And all their eyes were aimed at Marcus. He stepped back a few steps and turned his head to see someone fly and another shouting orders or something. He turned to the lady that he had spoken to before and saw that she was normal. He turned back towards the ghouls who had moved a little to close for Marcus's liking and he jumpped back, his mask forming over his face and his eyes going a midnight black. Their was always something different every now and then.

Two snake like tendrils formed out of Marcus's back he sent them at two of the ghouls, the tendrils wrapping around the waist and then sending small spears that hooked themselves to the ground. But during this Marcus didn't think the bastards would be fast and his mistake costed him a large chomp to the shoulder and soon more were converging on him and they were doing so quickly. Marcus allowed darkness to wrap itself around the fist oppersite of the shoulder that was a ghouls new dinner and he hooked it right in the temple causing the ghoul to snap back but it easily recovered. Before they were too converged he decided to do what the flying lady was doing and flew, his wings boosting him so he could move away but he knew he wouldn't last long. Ohh. This is a curse of famine. The real deal isn't here sadly." Darks voice rang though Marcus's head he simply shook his head while looking at the ghouls as they targeted the other two.