Chapter 108 - Clementine

Taking a moment to bounce a bit, jostling Jonathan around to make sure he's secure, Lucas starts walking to the edge of the sidewalk, stopping when he's just a step away from the street.

'Hey, waitaminute, he was zoomin' around all over the place at MF's, why didn't he get tired then?'

[Those were smaller bursts, and at nowhere near the same top speed as he was just sustaining in order to accomplish all of the tasks he just completed. Though yes, he certainly was tiring himself out then, that's part of why he settled down to try on shoes when he did. Also, it was part of why he was compelled to take a second nap, leading to why it took so long for him to get ready after your… Break time.]

'...Oh. Oh right, uh, do we need to move these cars off the sidewalk too, before we leave?'

[While it's not an assigned task, I would advise doing so.]

'...Yeah, fair enough.'

Humming for a moment, Lucas looks over at the two 'parked' cars, then at Miss Masher.

"Hey, can I borrow your hands a sec? You mind movin' one over so I can kick it over to join the rest?" Speaking up once he sees he has her attention, Lucas motions his chin to indicate the two abandoned oversized toys, flashing her a grin once he's done asking,

Rather than giving a normal, civilized, answer, Miss Masher barks out a laugh and then promptly hefts up the silver sedan, dumping it wheels-down in front of him. Shortly after, she lifts up the black utility vehicle, but seems intent on carrying it rather than kicking it along.

There's a quiet, almost completely repressed, giggle to Lucas's right, but he doesn't think anything of it.

Miss Calculated simply sighs and shakes her head, turning her attention down to Willy.

"I imagine we might as well join them on this trip back over to the other side. Shall we?" As soon as Miss Calculated finishes asking, Willy gives an agreeable bark around his mouthful of worldly possessions, trotting over to stand only a few feet away from Lucas.

"Hang on, kiddo. Now, let's see how this works…" Leaning back a bit, Lucas firmly steps down on the smashed-in trunk of his car of choice, stomping a foothold down to a comfortable height. Once he's satisfied, he leans most of his weight forward onto it, pushing off of the sidewalk with his left foot.

As he begins working his way out into the street on his improvised oversized scooter, those vehicles that are far enough ahead have raced to get out of the way. Those which aren't quite far enough out have actually started coming to a full stop in advance, progressively bringing the entire six lanes of two-way traffic to a complete standstill.

It seems some of the drivers have noticed the wreckage and the antics of the supes playing in the street, deciding it just wasn't worth the risk, it's better to simply let them pass.

Once he's scooted his way over to the abandoned pileup of wrecked vehicles scattered across the two centermost lanes, he comes to a stop to look behind him at his fellow party members.

"Well, that makes things easier at least, guess we put up enough of a show, yeah?" As he grins back at the approaching rest of his group, there is a familiar squeal of a certain excited fangirl coming out of an open car window nearby.

Flinching strongly enough that Jonathan is shaken out of his nap, causing him to blink dazedly, Lucas turns to look in the direction of the source of the noise.

As is no surprise, he quickly notices Clarissa holding her phone up from the front passenger seat of a small white coupe.

'...Why is she like this?'

[To be fair, there's a good chance she was simply going about her day. But yes, the reaction is… A bit unnecessary.]

Miss Masher has started cracking up laughing when she noticed the familiar fangirl, then continues toward the opposite sidewalk, tossing the vehicle she is carrying onto it once she's at a comfortable distance. She then turns around to head back to claim another in order to repeat the process.

Miss Calculated and Willy had followed her over during the first pass, going over to wait against the wall of the office they had busted into not so long ago.

The middle-aged woman is still doing her recording, needing to circle around the vehicle Miss Masher tossed more or less in her direction in order to still have a clear shot of Lucas. As she's enjoying the second-hand fame for hosting the candid stream, it would take quite a bit to dissuade her from keeping it going as long as there's still quality Lucas time to capture.

Back over in the middle of the street, Lucas has given a nod of acknowledgment in Clarissa's direction, getting an enthusiastic wave accompanied by giggling in return. As he turns his attention back to the wreckage before him, contemplating if he wants to try shoving it with his scooter or not, the driver's side door of the car Clarissa is in swings open.

A woman with shoulder-length hair of a very similar shade of deep red as Clarissa comes out, carefully adjusting her ankle-length moss green dress so she doesn't trip from the movements. Standing back upright, she takes off her large pair of circular sunglasses, showing eyes of nearly the same shade of green as her dress, tossing the glasses onto the driver's seat behind her. She is very clearly related to Clarissa, although she has a far more modest amount of freckles, and appears to be about a decade older than her, putting her just slightly older than Lucas.

"I take it you must be this Xenoclast she won't shut up about? Hum, could be worse. Here, lemme lend a hand, I think my eardrums are gonna burst if she squeals any more while we sit here watching you goof around." Despite her choice of words, her bright smile and affectionate tone of voice make it clear that she's just playfully teasing Clarissa.

"Hey! Don't be like that Auntie C!" Clarissa shouts out from the car, followed by a giggle, though she does stay seated inside.

"Oho? And how will you be helping, Miss C?" Raising an eyebrow as he asks in an equally playful tone, Lucas returns the smile and chuckles a bit once he's done speaking.

"Ha, please. The name's Clementine. One moment, and I'll show you." As she shares her name, Clementine walks over to the direct opposite side of the wrecked vehicles from Lucas, bringing her hands up in front of her and focusing on the one closest to her.

Even though the blue sedan is crumpled over onto its side, it slowly starts sliding towards her. She keeps leisurely walking backward to effectively drag it in the direction of the sidewalk, though it is by no means a fast process.

'Oh? Is that telekinesis or..?'

[Magnetism, actually. The sheer weight and friction against the road are slowing it down significantly, but the fact that she's able to move the car at all should give you an idea of the force behind her power.]

'Huh, oh, should I like, push the same car then?'

[She'll certainly have much better control over what direction it goes in than you do by kicking it. Might as well.]

Snorting to himself, Lucas resumes scooting his silver sedan, shoving it into the other side of the blue one that Clementine is tugging along. Their joint efforts pick up the pace significantly, and she manages to steer the two moving cars far more smoothly than Lucas's irregular kicks and shoves were accomplishing.

Jonathan was watching over Lucas's left shoulder with some interest at first, but before long has fallen back asleep again. The degree of trust he has with Lucas is borderline alarming.

Also to Lucas's left side, Miss Masher has gone back and forth, carting another red coupe overhead, tossing it onto the growing mound of metal trash on the sidewalk.

Realizing what they're up to, traffic has slowly resumed mostly as normal, swerving well around their path. It is mostly peacefully quiet, apart from when they need to honk at one another when someone gets too greedy in with their positioning within the temporarily altered lanes.

After a few more minutes of pushing, pulling, kicking, dragging, lifting, and tossing later, they collectively manage to clear out the majority of wreckage from the street, not bothering with the smaller pieces that are less disruptive than the everpresent potholes.

[Well. Congratulations on completing Jonathan's minor GDV task for a reward of .11 GDV. Heavy modifiers were applied for aiding without being part of the task, as well as receiving the consensual aid of two non-heroes. As Boss System has approved our pleas regarding tasks taking into account fatigue as well as suitability for the presented task, Jonathan received a full .1 for being initially assigned the task and seeking suitable aid in his given circumstances.]

'Oooh, sweet.'

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Lucas total kills: 7

Lucas total deaths: 11

Lucas total assists: 1

Lucas current GDV: 12.18 (+.01 +.01 +.01 +.11 = +.14 net change)

Lucas's fame level: 4.25* (Beyond just local, viral meme tier. Local levels are fairly high.)

Lucas's hero suspicion level: 2.75* (More than just passing suspicion for some paranoid individuals)

Jonathan total kills: 6

Jonathan total deaths: 2

Jonathan current GDV: 3.78 (+.1 net change)

Jonathan's fame level: 2.75* (Mostly just local)

Jonathan's hero suspicion level: 2.75* (A few paranoid individuals are suspicious)

Willy's fame level: 1.25* (Anonymous meme fame, local fame as 'Xenoclast's dog')

Supervillain social circle size: 11

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Little character theater:

Jonathan's ability to nap through all of this while still mostly maintaining his hold around Lucas's upper chest is rather impressive.

Willy is happily watching the cleanup crew go about their work, feeling rather proud about his association with such individuals.

Lucas eventually found a pretty good rhythm when coordinating with Clementine, the fact that the two of them working together outsped Miss Masher drove her to hustle a bit. Now that they're finished, he's suddenly become awkward when he has no idea what to say to her.

427, greatly amused by Lucas locking up: [Ah yes, smooth as ever, I see.]

Author, similarly amused: What, are you being awkward on Jon's behalf, since he's busy sleeping?

Mr. Quacks, surveying his domain from the top of the jumbled mound of late vehicles: Quack!