Godzillaaaaa [open to multiple]

[has_a_horn]

There's something new about the city this afternoon. It's not particularly hard to miss. At about noon, a giant scaled figure emerges from the Hudson River, emits a loud screeching roar, and heads for central park.

It's Godzilla, straight out of the 1954 Toho film.

Or, rather, that's what it looks like. Gabriel has a scheme, and this scheme involves in-fluxing a little bit of fun into this city with a grand-scale illusion. His idea of fun might need some work, by human standards, but this is exactly the thing for him at the moment. There are news reports on the radio and television, both in English and in Japanese, but they aren't given by any newscasters anyone in New York might be familiar with, because Gabriel is projecting them.

As Godzilla shakes the water off it's back and walks onto the island, Gabriel pulls out his phone and texts Peter. He really needs him involved with this.

[ooc: Godzilla will make his way across the city, having a good smash. Feel free to run into it anywhere. As this is Gabe's illusion, any interactions with Godzilla will be controlled by Gabriel, even if he's not nearby. People Gabriel doesn't like might want to avoid getting underfoot, or else they'll feel the bone crunching effects of being stepped on, even if nothing has actually happened.]

Comments

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel pulls the door closed behind them and leans back against it, finally letting himself grin. He slides to the floor and laughs. To this guy it might seem like a hysterical reaction to finally getting out of the line of fire, but it's really just pure amusement.

"I'm Gabriel, by the way."

[johnny_truant]

Johnny looks up slowly, uncertain about the laugh. Is this funny? Nothing about it seems particularly funny. It's probably a manic relief kind of laugh, but that doesn't necessary make him feel any better. He's only now realizing that he's just potentially locked himself in a room with a total stranger. He has to stop doing that.

"Johnny," he says, and sits back. "How'd you know about this place?"

[has_a_horn]

"I have a habit of sticking my nose in places where it doesn't belong." Gabriel stretches out one leg and props his elbow up on his other knee, getting comfortable in this new spot. He'll have to go sit in one of those chairs eventually, but this works for now. It's not like it makes any difference to him.

"You know about the Rebels? Well, when they gave me the recruitment tour I took a look at their floor plan. They've got these rooms all over the place." Partially true. He does know the rebel's layout, but they don't have any rooms like the one he's created here.

[johnny_truant]

"The... the what now?" Johnny frowns. This conversation is not going in the direction he expected. Though he's not sure where he did expect it to go. "What rebels?" A potentially related question - "Is this normal? Godzilla just showing up? Is that just like..."

Oh, wait.

He shuts up abruptly. Godzilla, the actual original Godzilla from the first movie... yeah right. What if it came through the Rift? Doesn't seem outside the realm of possibility, whatever that is. He did just have a dream set in Jurassic Park, after all.

But, does Gabriel know about the Rift? Johnny's not sure he should say anything about it, so he just continues to not say anything, quite awkwardly as a matter of fact.

[has_a_horn]

"The Rebels. I figured you would have been recruited after you came through the rift. Unless ROMAC got to you first." He waves a hand in Johnny's general direction. "I can tell you were through the rift. It's a thing. Don't worry about it." Vague superpowers are always comforting, right?

He looks up as the walls rattle a little, but he doesn't have then rattle enough to be too worrying. "I bet Godzilla there came through the same way."

[johnny_truant]

OH. Well. Okay.

So that answers that question. But it also creates a host of others.

"S-so... wait." Johnny rubs at his forehead. He can feel a migraine developing behind his left eye. Awesome. "I'm pretty new, uh. I don't know about any Rebels. Or... what is it? ROMAC?" He blinks a few times, trying to will the pain away, and studies Gabe intently. "How can you tell? Am I that obvious?"

[has_a_horn]

"About being a riftie, yes. You could stand to be more obvious about wanting my fine ass. If that's your thing." Johnny should definitely learn not to Give Gabriel an opening like that one.

He smirks, and before Johnny can object, he continues, "I can tell if anyone's been through the rift." He tilts his head to the side, projecting false modesty. "It's sort of a ...power of mine."

[johnny_truant]

Johnny opens his mouth and shuts it again. "Whhhhhhhah," he say, giving up on the word halfway through. This is so out of left field that for several moments he just doesn't know what to do.

"I, um," he says finally. "I didn't... um." Get it together Johnny. "A power?"

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel can't help but grin at Johnny's fumbling response. He wouldn't be disappointed if Johnny turns out to not be at all interested in him, but hijacking a cab and driving it up on the sidewalk would probably make Gabriel fond of anyone. And hey, not bad looking either.

"Wow, you are new. Powers. Yes. Like, supernatural powers. I had mine before the rift, but sometimes people pick up new ones when they tumble through. One of my friends can turn back time a few seconds now." He looks over Johnny, which probably comes off more as checking him out, but he's really looking to see if the guy has powers. Gabriel would guess from the feeling he gets that he does, but maybe Johnny doesn't know that yet.

Or he's keeping his cards close. Either way, Gabriel isn't going to mention it. He doesn't want to scare the guy. Except for the Godzilla thing.

[johnny_truant]

Somewhat recovered, Johnny goes back to massaging his skull. "Okay. Sure. Powers. Why not." This shouldn't really surprise him. Not after Zagreus. His own capacity to notice creepy shit seems to have increased noticeably since he's arrived. God, that's not gonna be HIS power, is it? Getting stalked by unholy spectres? He sighs heavily and climbs to his feet, looking around the room. "So is there a contingency for this? Do we just sit here and... wait?"

[has_a_horn]

"We could do all sorts of things here," if you catch his drift. "but that's the general idea, yeah. Steel reinforced walls. They should hold up, even if the walls around them don't."

This time, Gabriel does check him out, but only because he's turned away. And his ass is more or less eye level.

"I bet it's gone or dead by morning. Stuff like that doesn't tend to last long. Too high profile. Too smashy smashy."

[johnny_truant]

"Yeah, no shit." Smashy smashy. Huh.

"Well..." He lets out a sigh, then shifts his weight back to glance at his strange companion. Catches him looking, in fact.

He's pretty sure he should feel creeped out by this and yet he doesn't? He's settled into a state of almost total apathy with people hitting on him - not that it's happened in a fuckin while - and not that those people are usually men. But. That's okay. Right? Don't be weird about it, Johnny. God.

"Yyyyeah so." Not gonna follow up on all sorts. "How, um. How long have you been here?"

[has_a_horn]

"Aboooout..." He lifts his arm, checking a nonexistent watch. "five minutes?" He snorts at his own bad joke before lowering his arm. "The end of December, last year. So about five months." He huffs out a breath at the thought. "It doesn't seem like that long. But yeah."

"What about you? Weeks?" He considers him again. The power vibe interferes with the rift vibe a little, so it's hard to tell how long he's been here with any great degree of accuracy. "Days?"

[johnny_truant]

Hah. Johnny manages a smile at the joke, dumb as it is. Gabriel has to be the chillest person he's met so far, and that at least is kind of nice. Even considering the circumstances.

"About two weeks now." Seems like it's been less. The days blur together. "I've really just been wandering around. I didn't have anything going on in my actual life, so this isn't that big a downgrade, I guess. Just... drifting." He slouches into one of the chairs and drops his head into his hands. "Christ," he mutters, circling the heel of his palm against his temple. "I don't suppose you have any aspirin."

[has_a_horn]

Just wandering around doesn't seem like the best thing to be doing for a span of two weeks, but Johnny doesn't look homeless, so he's obviously found someplace to stay. "Rub the back of your neck instead of your temple. It'll work better." He makes a show of looking through his pockets, and pulls out his wallet. From that he pulls out a paper packet containing two pills.

"Ibuprofen." He tosses it towards Johnny and it lands at his feet. The bad news is that, like Gabriel, they're complete illusions. The good news it they'll go down super easy. And hey, placebo effect? Gabriel's hoping for that. "You alright? You were pretty badass back there, y'know. I'd hate for you to suddenly topple over on me."

[johnny_truant]

Johnny's been about as close to homeless as one can get without actually being homeless - hiding out in a hotel with Jodie's stolen money, mostly just feeling sorry for himself. After Zagreus, he spent several days just sitting around, too afraid to sleep or go out at all. Now that he's finally done it, this is the reward he gets.

"Was I?" Johnny isn't sure if he's flattered or just confused. He seems to remember flailing a lot, panicking the entire time, and driving like an idiot. Does that qualify as badass?

He leans over and gropes for the pills. He hates dry swallowing but it's not like Gabriel has a whole glass of water in his pocket, is it? He forces them down, though it's not as hard as it feels like it should be. He exhales heavily. "Thanks."

He starts rubbing at his neck absently. Now that the adrenaline has slowed down he's realizing he really does feel terrible. Shit, what if he does pass out? Completely, thoroughly missing the latent innuendo of Gabriel's actual wording, Johnny leans back in the chair and says dryly, "I might. We'll see where the evening takes us."

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel raises his eyebrows in Johnny's direction as he shoves his wallet back into his coat pocket. He's completely taking that as the innuendo it seems to be. "I could do that for you, if you want." He nods towards where Johnny's hand is still rubbing at his neck, then leans his own head back against the door and closes his eyes for a moment. "Open offer."

[johnny_truant]

"Uh..." Johnny blinks at him. This guy is really, really forward. Johnny's never encountered a guy this upfront about wanting him. It's not that threatening, mostly just... confusing. In the "really? me?" kind of way. Gabriel is not like any of the gay people he's ever met - and he's really only met them in clubs, the walking stereotypes who are barely even real people. In a way, this is kind of a novel experience.

Ordinarily he'd dismiss the offer out of hand, but something - a desire to appear open-minded, an unusual bent toward politeness, or even staunch curiosity - makes him hesitate. Instead he says, "Sure, I guess."

Hell, he knew where the pressure point was. Maybe he's a physical therapist or some shit.

[has_a_horn]

"Really." Something in him hadn't really been expecting Johnny to accept his offer. When he does, Gabriel shifts his perception of who Johnny is by just a fraction. "Okay."

He makes a show of getting up, and shucks off his coat as he walks over towards Johnny. "So what exactly does 'just wandering around' mean? You look like you found a place to stay." His coat he tosses over the back of another folding chair before he stops at the back of Johnny's.

He vaguely wishes that he could have his vessel here and up on the roof with Peter. This neck massage will feel as good as the real thing, but beyond the ever helpful placebo effect, it's not going to do Johnny any lasting good. He starts anyway, tugging johnny's shoulder back to get him to sit up, then starting in on his neck.

[johnny_truant]

"Hh-" Johnny is startled by how good this feels, illusion or no, but he manages to restrain himself from making any more weird noises, and focuses instead on answering the question.

"I... uh. Well." He shifts in his seat. It can't hurt to tell the truth, can it? Not EVERYTHING - definitely no need to mention Jodie - just the minimum. Enough to have an actual conversation. "I'm living out of a hotel. For as long as I can afford it. Which is not much longer." He sighs, leaning somewhat subconsciously into Gabriel's touch. The ache is actually starting to abate - another triumph for the placebo effect. "And I... I met a guy in a dream who fucked me up pretty bad, and after that I was afraid to go out for a while." He hesitates, not sure how much he wants to go into that. "That's happened a couple times now. The dreams, I mean. Is that typical?"

His hands fidget. He's not used to feeling this... comfortable.

[has_a_horn]

He frowns when Johnny mentions a man invading his dreams. "Group dreams, yeah. All the time. The other guy..." He presses his thumbs up along Johnny's neck, digging just enough into the muscle. "If he called himself Zagreus, I know him. What an asshole."

The roof above them shakes particularly hard, as if Godzilla is much closer- or perhaps passing them by. Just what has Zagreus been up to? He can understand why he might prod at him and the TARDIS, but who is Johnny to him?

[johnny_truant]

Johnny jerks slightly at the mention of the name, stilled from greater action by the hands on his neck, the pressure that (psychosomatically) feels awkwardly good. He's moderately relieved that Gabriel recognizes Zagreus for what he is - though "asshole" is a significant understatement in Johnny's estimation - but it's not enough for him just let it go by the wayside.

After a beat he shifts out from under Gabriel's touch and turns to look up at him. "You know him?" he murmurs. There's a lot he wants to ask, but he has to be careful, his guard is raised now. Start broad. "Who..." No. "What is he?" he finishes bluntly.

[has_a_horn]

He lets his hands still when Johnny turns towards him. He's going to take that as a sign to stop unless Johnny tells him otherwise. His hands settle onto his shoulders, then off completely while he considers the question. "Dangerous, for one. And pretty pompous about it."

He sighs and moves to sit down in the chair next to Johnny. "He told me he was a...concept made flesh or something, but I wouldn't take anything he says for the truth. Where I'm from, he might've been called a demi-God, but he's from a different universe." Gabriel shrugs. "What did he do to you?"

[johnny_truant]

This is a bit much to swallow, not because Johnny finds it unbelievable, but because it feels too on point, and too terrifying for him to really think about very hard. He accepts the information without looking at it too closely. Knowing he's made himself both enemy and target to a creature this powerful, this ethereal, this renowned for it - well, it's something he'd rather not know.

The other question is hard to answer as well. He's done his best not to think about it at all since he woke up in Jodie's arms, god, so broken and pathetic... he wraps his arms around his middle, hugging himself subconsciously, leaning over.

"He took me out of the ... the shared dream, I guess, and into his own. Broke my hand, tortured me, fucked around in my head." He flexes his hand distractedly, gazing at it, the pain still memorable, even though it hadn't been "real."

"I thought he was going to kill me," he says softly.

It's almost funny, and he huffs out a humorless laugh. Dreams have always been bad to him, but this was a step further than he even knew was possible. He wishes he could never dream again.

[has_a_horn]

"Why you?" He wouldn't put it past Zagreus to just pull someone out and torture them for fun, or to test out some theory on, but even if he does have powers, Johnny doesn't seem like the type. Maybe he's just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

It's interesting, definitely, but he hasn't missed that it also seems to be a fairly painful topic. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I'm sorry that happened." And the next time he meets Zagreus, he has one more reason to torture him within an inch of his life. "I want to know what he's been up to so I can stop it."