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Post by Dead Sidekick on Nov 1, 2010 2:07:04 GMT -5
The panic this Thursday morning was intense.
An entire section of the Lower East Side was shut down after practically every living thing in a mile diameter circle fell asleep simultaneously. Drivers wrecked their vehicles. Cooks fell asleep at their restaurant stoves even as diners slumbered at their tables. Fires broke out. Chaos was everywhere.
Most sickening to Ferine were the birds that fell asleep mid-flight and plummeted to their deaths. Their bodies were like a trail, leading to the epicenter of the carnage, a homeless shelter.
Superheroes from most of New York City's major teams busied themselves helping to clear traffic for emergency response. People were saying it was some sort of mutant terrorist attack. Just more mayhem to add to the recent gang wars, the prison breakout, and the alleged monster attacks.
Clearly this city was tearing itself apart. People were incensed. Some of them even attacked the heroes trying to help them.
Ferine made her way towards the middle of the affected area when she saw a cargo helicopter take off from a lot near the homeless shelter.
It took forever to slog her way though the wreckage and streams of stranded people and onlookers. Finally traffic began to clear.
As she approached the homeless shelter, she saw a station wagon pulled up and three in red get out and go inside the homeless shelter. From her knowledge of the occult, she knew their manner of dress well. Roma travellers, in funeral dress. But something more. Their clothing identified them as culturally part of the reclusive Homo magi, the offshoot of humanity gifted with natural magic abilities. Ferine knew of them, but had never seen one. Rare was the occasion to meet one.
And here were three of them.
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Ferine
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Post by Ferine on Nov 1, 2010 13:24:18 GMT -5
Ferine wrinkles her nose as the smell of smoke still hangs in the air and sight of the carnage around her is a bit sickening, and silently morns the senseless deaths of the animals saying a small prayer to speed their souls to the afterlife.
Using her enchanced senses to stay alert of possible dangers she moves closer to the homeless shelter which seems to be the center of "the disturbance".
As she notices the Roma she stops and crouches behind the wreckage of a car. <Could these Roma have something to do with the massive narcolepsy attack that seems to have hit the cits?>
Ferine tries to sneek up for a closer look.
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Nov 1, 2010 19:38:50 GMT -5
Ferine doesn't sense any danger from the trio of Roma mourners.
The homelss shelter is trashed. The outside walls are pockmarked with bullet holes, the windows are broken out and boarded up, and the front door is missing.
After they enter the homeless shelter, Ferine hears the Roma woman wail loudly in grief and anguish. Apparently someone is dead, and the Roma woman is her mother.
That would make four Homo magi if the dead daughter carried the magic-tuned genetic trait. Four natural mages is three to four more than most experts on the occult could say they had met in a lifetime.
And here they were, preparing the recovery of the body of one of their own.
Meeting these three Roma would make for interesting discussion and research for anthropology as well as the occult, but this was obviously an inappropriate time for introductions.
The crying woman is speaking with a man in a green costume with mask... a superhero? ... while two men in lab coats with monitoring equipment poked and prodded at a man in a white costume and red cowboy boots sleeping and snoring on the floor.
The two men in red top hats carry out a female body wrapped in a bloody sheet and put it in the back of their station wagon.
One of the Roma men looks directly at Ferine as she peers over a wrecked car at them from a block away.
He prods the other man and points at Ferine, and the other man sniffs the air and cocks his head at her.
The two men speak rapidly to each other in some unknown tongue, all the while never taking their eyes off Ferine.
Then one of them calls to Ferine "Come out."
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Ferine
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Post by Ferine on Nov 2, 2010 14:18:56 GMT -5
Ferine stands up from her hiding spot from behind the car and slowly begins walking towards the men, still on guard just in case.
She thinks to herself <What in the world is going on here?>
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Nov 3, 2010 11:32:13 GMT -5
As Ferine approaches the two Romani men in red top hats, they put their hands out, open palms facing forward as a demonstration that they are unarmed and non-aggressive. The man in the green costume [Elixir] rushes out to see what the Roma men are calling out about. The Roma woman in a red shawl accompanies him. The Roma men talk about Ferine as if she isn't even standing there. "She is chosen?" "I sense the Red about her." "This is a good sign." And then to the woman in the shawl, "Sonya. Look at her." The Romani woman looks at Ferine with intense blue eyes, and notices whatever the other two are seeing. "Is she the one from your visions, Sonya?" one of the Romani men says. "Yes. The Red has sent her to us. Just as I saw the man in white who lies on the floor in there before. The visions are becoming more clear as the barrier between worlds is shattering. There is still time to stop the coming horrors." Sonya [Spellbound's mother] turns to Elixir. "Wherever you go with your friends to stop the rise of Bartholomew Jacobs, she must be with you. She is sent by the Red." [ooc: So, what's "the Red?" Well, it's a cool Chevelle song, unless you can make an Occult Lore FEAT ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) Go ahead and roll, Ferine....] Suddenly, the winds pick up and become crisp, unnaturally cold for late October....
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Ferine
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Post by Ferine on Nov 3, 2010 16:35:08 GMT -5
Occult Lore Feat:
[attack=485966764877761]
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Nov 3, 2010 22:17:26 GMT -5
ooc: from the DC Comics wiki -- The Red is the name of an existential realm of existence that relates to the anthropomorphic field. It is a realm that is intrinsically tied to all animal life on Earth. Some individuals, such as Buddy Baker (Animal Man) and his daughter Maxine have an acute perception when it comes to sensing the Red. The Red is analogous to the The Green (elements of the Earth) and The Clear (elements of water).
In our MSHG Universe, the Red is that.... and more....
-----
Ferine had heard the term "the Red" used in comparative mythology and shamanic cosmologies to describe a field of (sometimes sentient) life force energies that relates all animal life together, the way its companion term "the Green" relates all plant life together. Little is known of the Red, because it is more a collection of concepts than a describeable place or thing. Each mythos and school of magic has their own term for it, but the underlying theory is that the Red is an animating universal / extradimensional magic source, from which spells involving the summoning of, communication with, control of, mimicry of, and / or metamorphosis into various forms of animal life are ultimately derived. It is these last two instances, mimicry and shapechanging / metamorphosis which are the common theme among various mythologies to be the root of lores concerning animal spirits, werewolves and other lycanthropes, and perhaps even avatars of the Red itself.
The shaman in Africa had said she been chosen by animal spirits. And now these Romani magi categorizing that as "sent by the Red" seemed a bit more of cosmic level importance than mere animal spirits, yet the connection making them one and the same proposed by the concept of the Red clicked in her mind and the realization heightened Ferine's understanding of her powers, and gave her a deeper, fascinating sense of purpose.
Some great, perhaps cosmic danger to life was coming, and this Romani magi was implying that Ferine was to be a part of fighting it.
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Elixir
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Post by Elixir on Nov 4, 2010 9:09:51 GMT -5
"Okay...the more the merrier..."
Turning to the newcomer and extending a hand, "My name's Elixir and I have some control over chemicals and chemical reactions. Nice to meet you. There are others that are also connected in this and we'll need to brief you along the way, but you should know that we've already lost one, and our enemies are not the kind to play nice..."
Then, feeling the stiffening and chilling breeze, Elixir looks up, expecting to see dark clouds or a front moving in...
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Ferine
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Post by Ferine on Nov 4, 2010 15:23:13 GMT -5
Ferine looks at Elixir and shakes his hand still a little confused and not really sure what is going on and what she has gotten herself into.
Remembering her manners she introduces herself "I'm Ferine. Do you know what is going on here?" she asks still a little confused as to what the Roma were talking about, she knew about the Red and suspected that her powers were some how tied in with it. "I take it the person that died was Roma?"
As Elixir looks up Ferine follows his gaze.
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Nov 4, 2010 17:22:13 GMT -5
The woman introduces herself as Sonya Boyanov-Singer, of the Romani. She says that her daughter Cassandra (Spellbound) was a Romani and half-mutant / half-Magi.
She tells of how the Metropolitan Museum of Art had displayed the grimoire of an ancient warlock who was burned at the stake (Bartholomew Jacobs) and that now that the book has been stolen much chaos and evil is being committed in order to bring him back to life to strike vengence upon the Earth with forbidden powers he stole from demons in another dimension.
She tells of how her divinations into looking for the book's whereabouts revealed that her daughter must work with others to find the book, and that her visions foresaw some of the others (Flashdance, Oldschool, Shockwave, and a man with guns... she describes them without knowing their names) are part of finding the book.
She says something else. Keys to finding and opening the book, seven amulets in number, will seek out and bind themselves to malicious killers, and the street gang violence could be a side effect of the keys seeking hosts.
She also says it is very foolish and dangerous to bring such Keys together in one place....
She does not know what caused people to fall asleep, but says that Flashdance appears to be "locked in a True Nightmare" and it may be too dangerous to wake him from it.
The winds begin to howl, blowing impossibly east, and speckles of frost fly by, much colder than it ought to be in late October. The forecast called for rain today, but the clouds overhead seem disturbed, as if their power and winds were being diverted.
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Nov 5, 2010 10:01:33 GMT -5
The Paladin agents (Robbins and Xander) leave Flashdance's side and come outside to speak to Elixir. A light snow is beginning to fall.
"This wasn't in today's weather predictions. How long has your cold generating mutie friend been a Kick user? He's on his way here. Crazed, looking for Kick. Is there any here?"
ooc: the anti-mutant slur used by the Paladin agent known as "Robbins" is distinct. A bigot.
Then to the gathered Romani he says "It's not safe here. You should depart while you can."
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Ferine knows "Kick" to be a new designer drug on the street said to temporarily give unpredictable superhuman powers to a user.
Elixir's radio communicator crackles to life with Solo's voice: "Elixir! Windchill is coming your way and he is mad on kick. His powerlevel is off the charts. Hold out till we arrive there!"
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Elixir
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Post by Elixir on Nov 5, 2010 16:20:13 GMT -5
Oh no...
"Robbins shut your stupid pie hole, I've had it with the mutant slander. Get out of here, you're way out of your league. Tell Jenkins what's going on and keep Flashdance safe."
Turning to Ferine, "A friend of mine was injected with Kick, involuntarily, and it's got a ridiculous addiction factor. He's a good guy, but in the last few days, he's been through a ton. More than anyone could expect to bear and not snap."
Elixir looks out into the wrecked landscape.
They'll already pin this on a mutant attack, and Windchill's going to only make it worse if this turns into a scrap...
Elixir turns into titanium form and starts looking for a fire hydrant that hasn't burst, double checking to make sure that he still has the Kick syringe.
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Nov 5, 2010 21:37:10 GMT -5
Robbins grumbles and says "What? Hey... show me mutants that don't deserve the grief they catch. Magneto stole nuclear weapons from the Air Force and threatened..."
"That's enough, Robbins. We have work to do. Arc's on her way here with the chopper to pick up Flashdance. We're probably going to be exfiltrating under fire. Concentrate on the task at hand, and leave the political rants to the politicians." Xander pulled Robbins away to begin packing up their equipment.
Spellbound's mother and the two Roma men with her depart in the station wagon, but not before she gives Elixir and Ferine a business card claiming she's a palm reader and fortune teller.
As the moments pass, the winds picked up more considerably, and grew colder, blowing with ice and snow. Elixir found a nearby fire hydrant as he shifted into his titanium form.
Suddenly, there is a loud, metallic crash, as a television news helicopter encrusted in a thick layer of ice falls out of the sky and crushes the top of the empty and disabled transit bus on the street near the homeless shelter. Its occupants are cut and bruised and startled, but otherwise alive.
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Ferine
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Post by Ferine on Nov 6, 2010 9:24:33 GMT -5
Ferine nods in agreement in what Elixir says giving Robbins a flat stare.
Ferine runs towards the helicopter and checks to see if the crew can get out. Summoning the spirit of the bear she attempts to rip the door open.
ooc: animal mimicry feat:
[attack=931914236123595]
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Post by Dead Sidekick on Nov 10, 2010 9:02:12 GMT -5
ooc: We've reached a seam... Elixir and Ferine, report to Chapter 9.3...
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