hollow plots and zombens

[made_up_names]

WHO: Peter Parker, Zomben, and all sorts of unlucky people
WHAT: Hollow!Uncle Ben (aka Zomben) has started to show up on campus. There will be an open comment (for generally being chased) as well as specific prompts for pre-plotted encounters.
WHEN: Very late on January 27th, forward dated to later in the week as well.
WHERE: Campus in general, also the gazebo in Soleil.

( Prompts are below so I can set up a general timeline-ish-thing! katoptron or Rho#9327 if you want me to set up something specific. Or just zoom yourself to the open comment and we'll just have some fun there.

I will match format, so if you prefer prose, prose away! )

Comments

[thebreakfastbug]

Peter, if you can move on your own, get back to dorms. I'll take care of this.

[Bee doesn't even look at Peter, too busy watching the Hollow. Armblades snap into place, almost as if daring the monster to make one wrong move.]

As for you, go back to whatever pit spawned you. He's under my protection.

[made_up_names]

[ Somehow, Peter manages to scramble to his feet. Good thing he's crazy durable or he would not be moving at all right now. But - he's slow, and limping, and he doesn't think his webshooters are working anymore.

Also, he has to stop and stare for a moment, mouth open. He's under Bee's protection? What? Doesn't that guy hate him?

Meanwhile, the Hollow rounds on Bumblebee, a noxious growl coming from its toothy maw. There's a human form up near the top, sort of perched? Dangling up there like the light on an angler fish. The rest of the body is pure nightmare. Long stilted spider legs, lupine teeth and claws, white chitinous bone plates. Its right side oozes ichor from the impact Bumblebee made with the Volkswagen. It snarls-- ]

Wait! Bee, stop! Don't hurt him, please!

[ Peter's voice is hoarse. And it's clear the Hollow isn't paying any attention. It dives at Bee with a thundering amount of force. ]

[thebreakfastbug]

He is literally trying to kill both of us, Peter!

[He catches a pair of legs as the monster charges, with his hands instead of his blades. They retract as the armor is pushed back, feet leaving furrows in the dirt. The targeting system in the mask tags the humanoid figure on top. It's not something Bee's seen before.]

Explain, now. I can't hold on forever.

[made_up_names]

I - I know! I know it, I don't want you hurt either--

[ The monster grapples with Bee for a moment, snarling and writhing but unable to get past the standstill Bee has wrestled him too. So it grows a set of mandibles that reach out for the front of Bee's armor. Not quite reaching him yet, but close...

Peter, meanwhile, struggles with his webshooters. The one is completely crushed, along with probably a bruised or broken wrist; the other he might be able to get something out of. He manages to get a strand out around the back of the hollow, pulling with all his might to try and give Bee some space. ]

It's my uncle! I don't know what's going on, but that's him!

[thebreakfastbug]

Oh, obviously. [It was not obvious, even in the slightest.

With Peter giving Bee a little bit of breathing room, Bee lets go of a leg. Mostly so he can haul back and punch Zomben right in the mandibles.]

If you've got any plans for how to snap him out of this share 'em. We can't let him run loose like this. We won't be the only ones in danger.

[made_up_names]

[ The Hollow lets out a screech as Bee gets it right in the damn mandibles. That's rude, man. It's forced to skitter back for a moment, reassessing its options. Still gotta eat Peter here, but it's not enjoying the fact that here's a freaking car robot beating it up. Decisions, decisions.

Peter, meanwhile, is understandably distraught. This isn't his first encounter with with the Hollow. Hell, it isn't even his first encounter tonight. He knows he has to find a way to capture, subdue, or fix his uncle before the worst happens. ]

I know, dammit. But I don't know what to do. If we could at least subdue him, then - then maybe the faculty could help.

[thebreakfastbug]

[Bee...sort of had an idea. A runic shield. He couldn't do it himself if he was fighting Ben. Peter's lack of experience with runes meant it might not work. It was worth a shot, though.]

Three circles. Three parallel lines coming from the edge of each of them. Dots dead center. You need to draw them in the dirt at each point of an equilateral triangle around your uncle, and the lines need to point towards the center of it.

[Hopefully Peter could remember all that, because Bumblebee chose that point to tackle Ben again and attempt to wrestle him to the ground.]

[made_up_names]

[ Peter is smart at least, and while his magical abilities are kind of poor, runes are the only thing he can kind of do. If Bee asked him to cast an illusion spell or something, well. They'd be really screwed then.

He opens his mouth to protest, not sure what Bee wants - and then the lightbulb comes on. ]

Runes? Runes, right?

[ That's what he has to do. Get around him, draw those symbols ... Peter scrambles to his feet, already moving to sketch the first one in the ground.

Meanwhile, Ben is giving Bee a hell of a fight. He goes down on the ground with a growl, but uses the opportunity to get multiple legs around Bee, probing at the armor, trying to find a weak spot that it can use to peel Bee open like a can of tuna. ]

[thebreakfastbug]

[The fenders on Bumblebee's chest are the easiest thing to pull off, although doing that only gives access to the shoulder joints and not the squishy human inside. Bee himself still behind several more plates of steel.

Ben manages to get one of the fenders tugged off, but not without doing his best to break some limbs in exchange. Peter might not want Bee to hurt his uncle, but legs are fixable.]

[made_up_names]

[ It hisses to itself, kind of pleased to have gotten a finder off? Right up until Bee returns the favor by breaking a couple limbs. Ow. It writhes and howls, slashing randomly at both Bee and the ground. Not fun. It did not enjoy that at all Bee.

Peter, meanwhile, winces to see his uncle hurt, but he understands it. He's gotta get him contained or he can't do anything to help. He hurriedly scrawls the first rune, then scrambles for the next spot. Equilateral triangle, okay, that means he needs to end up over here ... ]

--Bee? Are you okay?

[ If he has to turn and fight he will, but. ]

[thebreakfastbug]

I'm fine!

[There's a screech as the claws scrape across metal and paint, but it's just cosmetic damage. Certainly nothing that stops Bumblebee from charging back in, yelling again as he punctuates each word with a heavy punch.]

Finish. The. Slagging. Shield!

[made_up_names]

[ Right. Right. Ben needs this and so does Ben. He lays down the second one, then dashes to the next. His fingers are shaking by now; there's blood in the runes too. He can only hope that that makes them a little stronger? God knows his magical power is incredibly shitty so he needs all the help he can get.

But - finally, he lays down the last line. ]

I got it, I got it!

[ He turns back to Bee and Ben to see what - if anything - that actually did. ]

[thebreakfastbug]

[Lines of light race between each of the three points and up towards the center. Bee dives through them, grabbing his missing fender on the way out. Just in the nick of time, too, as shield walls build between the lines, trapping Ben inside a pyramid of light.

""TSCHE-CHU-CHU-CHU-TSCHE"

The armor transforms back into vehicle mode, still missing that fender. Bee climbs out of the car, and taps on the shield. Seems solid enough.]

Nice work Peter. You okay?

[made_up_names]

[ The Hollow roars again, bashing itself against the barrier. But - for the moment at least, it holds. Maybe it won't last, but for now it's good, solid. ]

I - yeah. I'm fine.

[ He stumbles back over to Bee, exhausted and bloodied but relatively unhurt. ]

That was a hell of a rescue.

[thebreakfastbug]

Bee shrugs. "My CO would've given me 7 out of 10."

Texting the relevant faculty to come and check on the trapped Hollow only yakes a few moments. Bee looks up at Ben, still curious about what caused all this.

"Mr. Parker? If you're awake in there, you want to tell me why you were trying to kill your own nephew?"

[made_up_names]

That's a damn good question, honestly. The Hollow is a bit too monstrous to answer clearly - it appears to get kind of incoherent now that it's a spider creature and not humanoid. Instead, it rumbles something about he doesn't belong here and he needs to come home.

A soft sigh from Peter. He rubs at this face, just. Exhausted. "That's all I can get out of him," he says, quiet. He's achingly fond of his uncle still, despite everything. "He doesn't want me here. So I guess he wants me dead. With him in whatever afterlife that is."

Despite the obvious horror, there's the slightest hint of longing in Peter's voice. He wants to have his uncle back, just not like this.