[Active/Open]

[greenbratwurst]

Characters: Captain Qwark, anyone around who decides to help him out.
Content: Qwark decides to get out and see what there is to see in Manhattan.
Location: A random ruined street somewhere
Time: Morning
Warnings: Crabs. Qwark's a coward.

Comments

[sheriffcarter]

Mao wasn't alone in encountering the strange, spandex clad coward. Carter had at last found his way out once more. The days since Christmas had not been pleasant. With what little supplies he could gather, he spent the time juggling shivering and trying to get his radio or cell phone to call out. But no such luck. And he didn't know enough about computers to see if he could open up one of the terminals and re-configure it some how. And that frustrated him even more. He knew what needed to be done, but he didn't have the knowledge to do it. And those that would usually help him fill the gaps were three thousand miles and possibly another dimension away.

That morning, it all changed. There was someone planning something in the city later that day, that could potentially spell trouble, and as far as he could tell, no one was doing much of anything.

He'd been up since sunrise, making his way around the city. He clutched several tear-away maps from various hotels. He had been making notes of what was different, what was inaccessible and what might be useful in red, black and blue sharpie. But he wasn't entirely unprepared. Unable to find a firearm as yet to replace the one that had vanished upon his arrival, he'd at least managed to get a rather sizable crowbar from a half-destroyed Home Depot. It hung at his hip, from his holster.

He came around the corner, just in time to see Quark assuming his supposedly heroic pose. Disbelief flashed over his face, before settling to exasperation. "...it's worse than I thought..." he muttered.

It was then that he noticed the kid with the sword, and the rather hideous monster. He froze in place, as he slowly tucked the map and pens away, while reaching for the crowbar. "...and that's a LOT worse than I wanted..."

[megane_mode]

Mao rolled his eyes, oh yeah. That was the sound of a hero alright.

"Really now?" Mao dared not turn, keeping his attention towards the crab, "Like I haven't heard that one before."

The young boy landed a blow on the crab with all his force, striking it immobile. Once he was satisfied with what he did, Mao smiled and faced the much larger man.

What is he doing? Mao cocked his eyebrow and laughed, "Are you for real? I mean, you really can't be..." He did not notice the human that was watching nearby, focusing mostly on the strange comic book figure infront.

[[ CARTER SNIPED MY REPLY. Haha. ♥ reposted with more detail ]]

[greenbratwurst]

Was he for real? What kind of question was that?

"Of course I'm real!" Qwark replied to the shorter boy, dropping the pose. He regarded him curiously, taking in the white hair and red eyes. "Are you a native of this planet? Given the size of the buildings, I thought you'd be taller..."

He was completely oblivious to the man watching him. It was not like he was noted for his powers of observation, just his heroic courage and well-muscled, heroic body.

[sheriffcarter]

"You've got to be kidding..." He said under his breath, his arm dropping and crow bar clanging slightly against a railing beside him. He'd been a little confused and surprised by the strength the kid had. Super genius twelve year olds was one thing, but one who could knock out something the size of a large dog in one blow? That was more than he was ready for. But his surprise was wiped out by what he perceived as the utter incompetence of the man in green. And that was really saying something, as some of the things Carter said didn't always seem all that on-the-ball.

He moved cautiously forward, keeping an eye on the creature that had been stunned--it was the first time he'd seen one of them. "Were you expecting giants?" He said, sarcastically, to the question the man had asked for the kid.

[megane_mode]

Mao turned sharply, ignoring the gaudy-emerald hero for this new human. Great. More of them.

He took a step back to catch a good look at both of them.
"Of course I'm not a native here, do I look human to you?" He snapped as he moved his glasses up with his hands and continued, "Hey, what kind of hero are you? What's your super power? You should be using it in a place like this! Is that really spandex you're wearing?"

Sure, Mao was a demon, but he still had a penchant for heroes... even if they were big, clunky, and stupid. (He did live with one, after all. ) His curiosity did get the best of him at times. He glanced at the newcomer for a moment, he sure didn't look dangerous, but for all he knew he might have a chainsaw on him! Yeah! Humans were sneaky like that.

His train of thought dwindled from fatigue, though. Mao really should be more careful using magic here as he propped himself on his sword for support and breathed, trying to regain his breath after that miserable dispaly of power.

[greenbratwurst]

Humans? Qwark was confused and it showed. There hadn't been any races called 'humans' in either the Solana or Bogon galaxies. They must not travel too much, he decided.

"Hey! Relax!" Qwark replied, grinning. "No need to get upset. I'm not what you'd call from around here. How am I supposed to know what you are?"

He looked over the newcomer and wondered if he was human. The crowbar at his side deterred Qwark from asking though, in case he took offense to the question too. He should consider himself lucky the kid didn't take him out with that sword too - although maybe he was too impressed by Qwark's impressive muscles to even consider taking him on. Yeah, that was it. The kid was nervous to be around such a great heroic figure!

But what was this about super powers? Qwark's method of pest control - and by 'pest' he of course meant villains like Nefarious - were Gadgetron weapons.

"I'm a superhero! Like my iron hard abs don't give it away! You're a strange one," the green-clad hero laughed. "And what's all that about 'superpowers'? I don't need any super powers when I've got my Blaster...or did have my Blaster..." He trailed off, remembering that it was nowhere to be seen when he had woken up.

"Don't suppose you'd know where I could get a new one, do you? I don't know if Gadgetron markets all the way out here." The question was

[sheriffcarter]

Carter dropped his guard completely. The creature wasn't stirring, and besides the sword, the kid seemed rather harmless. And Carter would never go for a chainsaw. They were loud, unwieldy and slow to start. That, and he figured he would never find the fuel for one.

The crowbar arm fell to his side, the tool tapping at the heel of his boot. His other hand went to his face, covering half of it as his eyes squeezed shut. "I've fallen into the damn Twilight Zone..." he grumbled to himself, before lowering the hand.

He then spoke directly to the large man. "You'd be lucky to find a standard pistol around here...we don't have much in the way of weapons." He gestured with the crowbar, to illustrate his point.

[megane_mode]

Mao chewed his lip. The edge of his mouth twitched slightly.

"So you are a super hero..." His voice trailed, "You must be suicidal then, you're just going to be eaten alive here! A super hero that relies on a blaster," Mao fidgeted with his glasses, "surely you have a backup plan! Those monsters are usually seen in numbers!... I normally wouldn't care but heroes should be studied for the greater evil of society! A chewed up hero is worthless!"

He was tapping his foot by now, he was rather nervous as Quark guessed but... not for that reason. Muscles meant nothing to a demon, it was all in how you used your power! No, what worried Mao was the distinct quiet in the area. Just one crab? That's not right...

Mao turned to the sheriff, "What about you? Who are you? You don't look much of a hero," He looked at Quark, "Is this your sidekick?"

[greenbratwurst]

No blasters? Qwark was liking this planet less and less. It seemed neither Gadgetron nor even Megacorp had extended their services to this galaxy. He was not relishing the thought of being reduced to carrying something as low-tech as a crowbar.

For one, he would have to get far closer to those...things...than he'd like. As far as Qwark was concerned, the actual fighting part was Ratchet's job. Along with other things.

"Of course I have backup plans!" Qwark said. And he did. Find Ratchet. Simple, but apparently easier said than done.

The rest of Mao's speech went ignored, mostly because he didn't quite understand what the kid was talking about. Greater evil? Studies?

"He's not my sidekick," Qwark replied. "Never met him before in my life. I seem to be missing my real sidekick. Poor lil' guy..." Qwark's mind wandered back to the monkey. "I hope he's being taken care of...He gets so cranky without his bananas..." he muttered to himself.

[sheriffcarter]

"No!" Carter responded to the sidekick question at the same time as Qwark. Though the sheriff sounded utterly offended at the idea. He was hardly side-kick material, but he assumed that the kid was from somewhere else and didn't know what a sheriff was.

He shook his head slightly, dismissing everything else the man in green instead. He didn't seem to put off by the fact that the kid was the one who knew the most about the situation. After all, he'd seen a twelve year old create a second sun.

"That thing," he said to Mao, pointing at the crab with the crowbar. "What is it, and is it dead?"

[megane_mode]

He was dealing with school rejects here, Mao thought.

"That thing?" He huffed, turning to make sure it wasn't moving, "That's a mid-boss there, although they're more common than most..." He watched their expressions carefully and sighed, "A crab. It's a crab. The final boss is too big. Almost as big as my dad, big. These things are only the start..."

He took his glasses off for a moment, wiping them with the end of his shirt. "What, you're both new here? You're in for a surprise then."

Mao turned to leave, it's not like he cared what happened to them!

Augh. Sorry for the wait. Muse failed for a little while.

[greenbratwurst]

Mid-boss? Final boss? Terms that sailed clean over Qwark's head. Crab was more familiar, though it didn't look like any crab he had ever seen.

"Doesn't look like any crab I've ever seen," the green-clad here said. But he hoped it was dead. Very, very dead.

He watched the kid walk off, wondering if he should stop him. In the end, he didn't say anything. Quite frankly, the kid was weird and a little creepy.

It's okay. It happens to the best of us.

[sheriffcarter]

Carter watched the kid leave. He wasn't worried. Where he was from, there were a fair number of kids that were much, much smarter than he was. And this one had proven he could protect himself with out trouble. Carter's interest lay elsewhere. In the dead creature.

He'd never seen anything like it.

"I've heard other people use terms like 'Parasite Crabs' around here," he said to Qwark, sounding a little distracted. He squatted down beside the creature, using his crowbar to lift it slightly and inspect it. "I think it might be the legs that make people think that. But--" he lowered the thing back down and moved his hands back together, clutching the crowbar vertically between his knees. "--to me, it looks more like some freaky experiment crossing the genes of a lobster and a flea."

[greenbratwurst]

Crabs, parasites, whatever they were called, Qwark was sure that he would be happy if he never saw another. The way these people talked though made it seem like it was going to be hard to avoid them.

"Who'd want to make something like that?" Qwark asked, revulsion evident in his expression.