Log:Impossible Challenge - Scene 4

Impossible Challenge 2009/01/21 	 Silver Spider Mr Impossible and Team 1

Majestic Hotel
The hotel is another of the luxury businesses trading on the quality of its service. It surely isn't popular because of its prices. If you're not a millionaire you aren't wanted here. The thick foyer carpet eats the sound of footsteps. The clerk at the reception desk undoubtably practices looking down his nose in mirrors.

Silver Spider wanders over to the reception desk, cheerfully walking up to it. "Hi...' She says winningly, a clever wink on her eyeslit. "I'd like to send a very expensive fruit basket up to the top floor of the hotel. And then I'd like to go up and pay them a visit, if that's all right with you." She pulls two hundred dollars out of her pocket and slides it across the counter. "You can keep the change."

The clerk looks at the money with cold destain and then glances around the foyer to see if he's being observed by anyone. It's late, the foyer is empty. He sags letting his supercilious manner drain away and looking like a tired employee in a frustrating job. "Who you after? There's nobody in the Presidential Suite. It's booked but the party concerned never showed up. Jeez, fifty thousand bucks a day and they don't bother to cancel when they don't show."

Silver Spider turns to the clerk. "Well, tell you what." She says. "I'll take the fruit basket up myself." She winks. "By the way, are there a large number of scantily clad women coming in and out of the elevator, probably with lots of shopping bags?"

The clerk nods, "Every day, all day, all year long. Not that any of them would look at me unless I had a few hundred million stashed away in a off shore bank account."

He thinks, "Maybe there's been a few more the last few days. But really you've described the general state of business here."

Silver Spider sighs a little bit. "Okay. The fruit basket, and the key, just in case the supervillain I suspect is hanging out up there isn't polite?" She says. "I mean, if he's not there, I'd hate to wreck your door, and this may prevent him from wrecking it if he decides to blow it up in my face."

The clerk pushes a form from under the desk over to you. He grins, "Just sign at the bottom here, please." he says while grabbing a key for the Presidential Suite and placing it on the desk.

Silver Spider flicks her gaze to the form and reads it over for a moment. She checks all the fine print and double checks it.

The form is a application for employment on the hotel's room service staff. It's partly a joke and possibly a CYA move on the clerk's part, if he can convince the management that you were entitled to have the key. The hotel manager's signature is already on the form. Pre-signed or forgery? It's not obvious.

Silver Spider blinks for a moment and fills in the application as carefully as possible without revealing any useful information about her secret identity. "Let me guess. There's a separate waiver?" She asks as she scribbles the last of it down. "So what's the story with the application form?"

The clerk grins as he pockets the money and pushes the key over to you. "Room service are allowed keys. This makes it legal. Sure they can fire me but I'm fed up working here anyway. But they can't sue me." He waves a hand encompassing the entire hotel, "This place is full of crooks. Most of them untouchable. They don't break laws. They pay politos to rewrite the law so they can do what they want legally. And the little man is treated like dirt. They'll blow ten thousand bucks on another diamond ring for an under dressed over jeweled bimbo but quibble about a five dollar service charge."

The ire in the clerk's voice as he talks about the service charge suggests that's a personal and recent gripe for him.

Silver Spider nods a little bit. "Well..." She says, and gets out five dollars. "I don't have to pay for the maglev. Here you go." She winks an eyeslit. "You might want to keep your job."

Silver Spider takes the key, and slips it into a Utility Belt pocket. Then she gathers up the fruit basket, and gives the clerk a cheery wave. "Do I need to use the key in the elevator?" She asks hopefully.

The clerk tells you, "Not to go up. But the elevator doors won't open at the top without the key."

Silver Spider nods a little bit. "Oh, that sounds swell..." She says as she makes her way over to the elevator, and hits the button. "If this doesn't work, I'm gonna have no idea where this bad guy is. More trouble for me, I guess."

The elevator glides smoothly up to the top of the hotel. Stopping at the 67th floor. This is a bit odd, as the hotel is only supposed to have sixty-six floors.

Silver Spider shudders. "Great. This guy alters reality. It's not an illusion." She waits patiently and holds the fruit basket quietly in front of her. "Yeah...this has gotta be it. I've never fought cosmic people before." She sighs and spreads her arms wide with the fruit basket. "Open.....Sesame!"

Silver Spider thinks. o O (If I'm gonna beat this guy, I have to pretend to be as wonky as he is.)

The elevator beeps at you, waiting for the key to be used to open the doors or a button to be pressed to go to another floor.

Silver Spider uses the key to open the doors, and sighs. "Well, that's fairly creepy." She mutters. "Looks like his knowledge of literature isn't all that absolute. On the other hand, he's crazy." She dutifully retains the key.

The doors open to reveal a large main room for the suite. There's a dozen or so scantily dressed young woman in there, chatting inanely, doing nails, putting on cosmetics, combing hair, leafing through clothing catalogues. Gathered in front of a huge wide screen display are the Impossible Team; Gianto, Gemstone, Ki-Dan, and Gadgetoid. They are watching the _Rift_ movie that stars Lorelei. Mr Impossible himself is in the back of the room. He's busy sawing one of the bimbos in half with an electric chainsaw as she lays in a box giggling.

Silver Spider laughs a little bit and says for a moment, folding her arms, and tosses the fruit basket towards Mr. Impossible. "Hey! Mr. Impossible!" She shouts. "I brought you a fruit basket!" She turns to look at the Impossible Team. "So you guys are the Impossible Team, huh?" She shrugs a little bit. "Really, I'm thrilled to be invited, and I'm just aching for a little song and dance. Oh...wait...that's right. Gianto can't sing, Gemstone can't dance, Ki-Dan is bitter, and Gadgetoid's a mind controlled victim. Anything else I should know?"

Silver Spider thinks. o O (The Clerk. He's betting on the fights because he can't make money for pretty girls.)

Mr Impossible nods, "Yes. Put the fruit basket on the table please. Ki-Dan, tip the service will you please." He turns back to his task, wood chips flying as the chainsaw cuts into the box.

Silver Spider shakes her head for a moment. "Ohh, god." She leaps forward and catches the fruit basket, gracefully snagging it out of the air with a webline and yanking it back. She puts it over on the table with a quick whisk of motion. "So...who's challenging whom?"

Ki-Dan stands up looking surly, "Always in the middle of an action scene. Hey, pause the movie will ya." he moves over to you with a feral grace. "Five dollars do?" he asks fishing in his back pocket to draw out a crumpled note and proffering it to you."

Silver Spider shakes her head. "I don't take money." She says cooly. "Mr. Impossible sent a message. You do...recognize me, right?" She says, tilting her head. o O (This guy's never heard of me. This could be bad.)

Ki-Dan nods. "Yeah. I recognize you." He looks you over carefully. Smiles. "This bit's weak for a start." he says pointing to an area of you torso. "No fighting until the final team matchup. Otherwise I'd take you right now."

Silver Spider flicks an eyeslit to him. "Right..." She smirks. "Trying to lure me into a challenge when you've already tipped me off to your tactics. That's a good move. I applaud." She gives a little clap. "So which one of you guys other than this guy, who just blew his chance to take me right now, is volunteering? I mean, if I get a choice, we can make this interesting."

Silver Spider looks over to Mr. Impossible. "You do want to keep things interesting, right?" She says.

Gadgetois flies over to the fruit basket and extends a sensor to touch the spot where your webline janked it back. "Anaylsis started. Probability of determining suitable solvent 68.241%." the floating sphere says in a monotone.

Silver Spider thinks. o O (Oh, god. It's got molecular manipulation. That wasn't in the file.)

Silver Spider thinks. o O (He's got a short attention span. This is good. Real good.)

Mr Impossible looks up. "You're still here? A volunteer from the audience?" He smiles with a frightening lack of anything remotely resembling applied intelligence in his eyes. The electric chainsaw transforms into a wand that lifts in your direction.

Silver Spider turns to Mr. Impossible. "Ohh, yeah." She says sweetly. "And I've got a little wager for you. Me vs. The Gadgetoid. One on one. First bout! One challenge per day, those are the rules, since you mentioned that those are the rules. Oh. And a little wager..." She purrs. "If I win, I get to keep your hat..." She gives Ki-Dan a coy wink. "But if the Gadgetoid wins, you not only get to pick my next opponent, you get to keep my underpants."

"YIKES!" Silver Spider shouts as she tries to get out of the way. o O (He's fast! this could be ba...)

The wand lifts tracking Silver Spider as she dodges trying to get out of its line of action. Mr Impossible mutters a 'magic' word: "Abracadabra," and a stream of brightly glowing bubbles fly out of the wand and enclose the heroine. There's a twisting jerking sensation as colors swirl around Silver Spider blocking her vision... then the bubbles pop with an aroma of sweet violets, and she finds herself hanging upside down from her heels from the bottom arch of the Eiffel tower in Paris festooned in chains and wearing a straight-jacket.

Silver Spider thinks. o O (The Sheik is going to be so pissed.)

Silver Spider shouts. "HEY! Get me DOWN from here!' She swings back and forth from the Eiffel Tower. "Oh, god...no...I have to take a transmat back..." o O (Please, god, let this be an illusion. Oh, please god, let this be an illusion.) She struggles to break out of the straitjacket. o O (At least it's only 150 feet to the ground. And he sent me to FRANCE!)

Silver Spider thinks. o O (I can't believe I have to have the Sheik call Impossible.)

The crowds around the tower are beginning to notice. Faces are looking up. Cameras are being lifted to snap photos of this amazing sight. Someone shouts, "It's all faked." Another people shouts back, "Le performance es magnificent."

Silver Spider's arms burst the straitjacket and she begins falling towards the Earth. She extends a webline upwards towards the Tower and hooks it on, arcing towards one side. "All right!" She howls. "You can bring me back now!"

There is no answer.

Silver Spider sighs and gets out her PDA and dials the sheik. "Oh, god, I can't believe I'm going to do this." She waits patiently for the sheik to pick up the phone. "Come on, pick up the phone."

As Silver Spider swings down from her dangling position the crowds clap and cheer the performance.

Silver Spider calls Wasp on the phone. "Uhh...hi...yeah...I'm on the Eiffel Tower? Don't ask..." She sighs. "I screwed one up. Big time. Now I need to figure out how to trash these yokels and save the planet."

It's a young voice that answers the call, "Hello. You're Silver Spider aren't you?" The face in the small PDA screen is of a young girl about sixteen, although looking closely you can see Jackie's features, only younger.

Silver Spider's eyes flick open. "What the?" She says with a sputter. "You're...a teenager." She shakes her head. o O (This is so unfair. I gain ten years and fifteen pounds, and she gets to be sixteen? Why me, O gods?)

Jackie looks thrilled to be talking to you. "I've read so much about you. Did we know each other? I have your number in my PDA."

Silver Spider says, "Oh...crap..." She looks to you. "Uhh...yeah...we know each other." o O (How did this happen? I cured her. This shouldn't be able to happen! This is wrong!) "Listen, can you still fly at Transcontinental speeds? If you can, could you lay in a flight path for the Eiffel tower? I'm hanging off the side of it. Paris doesn't have a whole lot of skyscrapers, and any second now, some French people are going to figure out that I'm Silver Spider and that Knox Pooley is France's greatest hero."

Silver Spider thinks. o O (I've never been so badly whipped in my life. Impossible just pointed, and I'm halfway across the world. And I don't know what the rules of his stupid contest are.)

Jackie nods, "I'll be right there." And true to her word she is. Eight seconds later Wasp is hovering beside you, "Hi. It's terrific meeting you."

Silver Spider blinks for a moment. "Eight...seconds..." She sighs. "I'll never be able to move that fast." She extends a hand. "I'm...Silver Spider. What...what happened to you?" o O (This is wrong. Totally wrong. And now she's jailbait. I could go to prison just for thinking about it.)

Wasp smiles happily as she shakes your hand. "This is a real honor, Silver Spider." she says. "What happened to me? I caught an alien virus on a world I was visiting. It made me younger and also erased all my memories for those years. I cannot remember a thing that happened to me after I was sixteen."

Silver Spider facepalms. "And it made you sixteen." She sighed sadly. "I wish I could forget everything that happened since I was sixteen. Except that I would be poor. And not a superheroine."

Silver Spider thinks. o O (This is the worst day of my life.)

Wasp shakes her head, "I wish I could remember. I've forgotten all the people who were my friends. It's horrid. I meet someone and they should be a friend but they're a stranger to me."

Silver Spider shrugs. "So..." She says. "Would you like to help me visit someone? I need to get back to Colonial Bay. "You're not so different from the people who have been superheroing for ten years." She says quietly. "None of them are around anymore. Trust me, it's better to be sixteen and have your whole life ahead of you than to be twenty seven and already feel like you're old."

Wasp nods, "I'd love to help. Back to Colonial Bay City? Let's buy a small car and then we can go."

Silver Spider blinks. "Buy...a small car?" She says. "Uhh, do you know what my rent is like these days?"

Wasp says, "Oh, I have enough money to do that. I fly pretty fast and the wind blast would be bad for you if you weren't protected. I'll go just slow enough that the leading metal isn't at red heat and the trip will be over before the heat can get to the passenger."

Silver Spider pauses for a moment. "Ohh, geez." She says. "What am I going to do with a subcompact?"

Silver Spider thinks. o O (And here I was planning on buying a Lexon once the Multiman check comes through.)

Wasp smiles, "It doesn't have to work so I'm planning to buy an old car cheap. It can be scrapped when we get back to Colonial Bay."

Silver Spider nods a little bit. "The competition for natural resources is getting fierce. It won't be long now before we're draining the earth's core to get new rock materials."

Wasp grins, "There's millions and millions of tonnes of raw material out in space. I can bring a twenty ton metal asteroid back to Earth several times a minute. There must be other metas who could do much better."

Silver Spider pauses. "Hey, wait a minute. We're in France!" She chuckled. "I can't believe I'm going to bring the supervillain some pastries, but you know, better late than never, and some chocolate. But no live snails. I can't stand that." She says. "Let's go."

Wasp and Silver Spider have no problem buying a cheap wreck of a car that will do to protect Silver Spider when Wasp flies the two back to the city at trans-sonic speed. She keeps her speed down so the car doesn't melt, so the journey takes almost a full minute.

Silver Spider finally gets out of the car. "OW! OW! OOOH! OW!" She winces as she steps outside. "Hot...hot...hot..." She unwraps the little web package. "Whew...pastries and chocolate intact." She does a little tippy toe dance. "Geez. Now I have to go back to the hotel." She shakes her head. "I can't believe he teleported me to France. Anywhere but France..."

Silver Spider thinks. o O (If it comes to it, I have a last ditch plan.)

Silver Spider thinks. o O (Extremely last ditch.)

Silver Spider turns to Wasp. "You should probably wait somewhere safe, in case he teleports me into Orbit and I die." She says.

Silver Spider shakes her head. "No, wait. We don't need to do this." She snaps her fingers. "Turning him upside down is stupid. All I need to do is make him see one stupid play."

But first Silver Spider will have to find Mr Impossible again. The Presidential Suite at the hotel is empty when she returns. They have moved out. Probably at the insistance of Gemstone as Mr Impossible wouldn't think to worry about a host of heroes paying a call.