7287/Age of Despair Part 3.5: Nursing Nightmare

Age of Despair Part 3.5: Nursing Nightmare
Date of Scene:	21 April 2019
Location:	Watchtower
Synopsis:	Age of Despair Interlude: Where John and Willow encounter Nightmare Nurse, who tries to help. The trio discover something sinister is going on and new clues as to who, what, or whom is behind the assault on Superman!
Cast of Characters:	Superman, Constantine, Willow Rosenberg
Tinyplot:	Age of Despair

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Superman has posed:
    It has been days since the strange encounter with the Nightmare Nurse. Asa had hung around, here and there, trying to look concerned at the casualty that was in the yellow solar radiation room, which was strange in and of itself. There was something in her eyes, something she wasn't telling anyone...

    STAR Labs, Kryptonian, Martian, Wayne, Oan, Thanagarian, and even Rannian technology were at a loss to explain why Superman was, for all intents and purposes, dying. Many heroes and friends, allies, scientists and doctors were all at a loss for words.

    Hal Jordan had just left a short time ago, looking exhausted, his ring power depleted. With a shrug of will, the emerald streak was gone into the stars, heading to try and find something to work off his frustration and anger.

    So far, the only sign of Superman still being alive was his scant seconds conscious, when he crushed Asa's hand. Still on the Watchtower, Superman was still unconscious, his vitals slowly getting lower, and lower. What was wrong with Superman, and why was he not coming out of his coma?

Constantine has posed:
John was still not used to being beamed up to the Watchtower, and as he left the zeta port, he mutters to Willow, "That McCoy bloke on Star Trek, was on to something," he says reaching for his pack of smokes in his pocket juggling his little leather doctor's bag to do it.

By the time the two are at Supe's side, John's got a Silk Cut in his mouth, but hasn't lit it yet.

Giving Superman a look, he murmurs, "Well, he's definitely not looking too lively, but lets see what we can do about that, eh?" he asks with a glance towards Willow.

He touches a finger to his cigarette and lights it.

"First thing we need to do is figure what's bloody wrong with him."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow was almost afraid to have opinions on the matter, though it does make her wonder, "But you have your house? And you just open portals to places, how is this any different?"

Willow, it should be noted, couldn't teleport. It was all about the same brand of magic to her, and given she used her laptop to scry, she couldn't really pull the 'but it's technology!' card either.

"Nobody knows what's wrong. Do you think the things we researched might help?" John was, in her opinion, the resident expert on all things possessed or the like, and the possibility of exorcism had come up. It was just as likely that it was something else though. "It was so weird that he reacted to that one thing."

FINE. That one thing was the possibility of Willow selling her soul to save him, but honestly, who's counting?

Superman has posed:
    The melodious voice of Asa, the Nightmare Nurse, floated from behind John and Willow, as she moves into the room to join them. "Why, hello John." Her voice was pure honey. Then, her eyes found Willow. The tone grew a touch colder. "Witch. Hmmm. I see you are more White Witch today. Not as much Black Witch. Perhaps a touch of grey?" Asa smiles, and moves to the other side of Superman's bed and out of the light given off by the solar radiation he was being bathed in.

    "It seems that I am not allowed to leave, at least that is what I was told by the dark costumed scary one. Hmmm." A pause. . I am supposed to help." Asa leans closer, and winks at John, "However, I have no idea what is wrong with him. I am curious as to what the Witch was talking about. Did you two do all kinds of fun research in the House of Mysteries? Ooooo...we could go there, John, it would be so much fun! We could do...research!"

Constantine has posed:
There's a heh, from John at the sound of Asa's voice.

"Evenin' Asa, been awhile," John remarks without turning, his eyes still on Superman.

There's a bark of a laugh when Asa insinuates what's going on between him and Willow, "There's a laugh, no, strictly business between Willow and I, I've got rules after all," he says which was a bit of a joke in and of itself.

"An' what /can/ you tell us then Asa, I mean you might not know what it is but betting you know a few things it's not, so how's about you let old Johnny in on that much. As for research, well, you know the way to the House, dontcha, luv."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"EWWWW." This entire conversation has taken a turn for the worse. "He's old and smells like cigarettes and booze. Yuck." She and Asa had had this conversation already "Just.. no. And Ewww. That's not research." Willow not sure she's more appalled Asa is insinuating she and John have a thing (however jokingly), or suggesting she and John go 'research' in front of Willow like she has no clue what they're talking about.

"How is any of this helping Superman? You two are just gross." She shudders.

Superman has posed:
    Asa's eyes find John's, and he can feel her looking at him. From eyes, to toes. Then back up. "It has been John. I see you are still smoking those gawds awful things. You know what the Surgeon General says about them." Asa almost purrs as she speaks to him, her eyes flashing with something akin to anger and passion all mixed into one emotion.

    "Shame. She is a pretty thing. Strictly business means something different for you John, but I'll let it go. She is something this one. Stopped me from being a "bad girl" last time we met. She has potential." A pause. "From a strictly business point of view of course." Asa grins. "Directions to the House were never the problem..."

    Asa inhales, and says, "Down to business it is then, John." Asa actually does straighten and get serious as he asks her her professional opinion. "You are right of course, Witch." Asa says to Willow. "This isn't helping him."

    Asa stares at Superman as her eyes glow, waves her hands in the air, and speaks a language of ancient times, a language of magic, perhaps Atlantean in origin. Superman glows faintly for a brief moment in a crimson-black light, and then the light fades. Around his heart and his neck, the darkness hung for a bit longer. "If I was to guess...I'd say it isn't one thing that has him in its grip."

Constantine has posed:
John takes the gaze in stride but it does get him to turn in look in Asa's direction, there's a bit of that head to toe gazing from his end to.

"Steady mate," John tells himself covering the words the best he can with an exhale of smoke.

He chooses not to respond to the rest, business and all that, besides Willow seem squicked out enough. "Right, so it's a bunch of things on Big Blue. Got any idea of what? Even one of those things, figure we break one hold maybe the rest go with it, or things change in a way we can figure out."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow looks anywhere but the pair of them. "Do you two need a room? Should I go wait in the hallway?" Because holy smoldering gazes Batman. "Tell me when you're done?" Tones more than borderline disgusted.

"And of course I stopped you," she says like she wasn't thinking of giving into Temptation herself. "You were going to do bad things. Well, he was. I guess it wasn't you. And what do you mean.. OH. I wonder. I wonder if it isn't just he's being tugged at different ways or fought over, but if all his energy is being taken on stopping any of them from getting more than another one. Hey, can either of you do that Astral Plane thing?"

Superman has posed:
    "Of course." Asa smiles at Willow's obvious "discomfort" and she takes a quick moment to wink at her. "Now now, don't be jealous. John's all yours. Pain and angst and all." Asa then closes her eyes, and reaches out with her fingers. Slowly, each finger takes a turn wiggling, starting from left to right.

    "I try not to do the "astral thing". Too many things can go wrong there." Asa's voice was a whisper. Her face grimaces in pain. "Ugh. Whatever has him is powerful. Diametrically opposed. Is that...technology? An ancient darkness...and magic...something dark and primordial...agh!"

    Asa screams out, and is flung against the far wall...hard! As she slips down to the floor, unconscious, Superman suddenly groans, loudly, his body growing rigid, fully tense, every muscle rigid and straining against whatever it was he was fighting!

Constantine has posed:
"What?" John asks in askance to his apprentice. "Think we're just going to throw down on top of Big Blue? I've got some standards, luv."

He shakes his head but chuckles as he does so.

Willow's suggestion about Supes being the rope in a supernatural tug of war rings true to John. "Yeah, you might be on to something, Will," he admits.

He leans in close to Superman, resting a hand on the big man's chest, trying to get a sense of what might be warring within him. Then Asa's flung across the room and John rushes to her side. "Asa!" he calls out giving her shoulder a shake. "Willow give me a hand over here."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow gives John *a look* because since when? However, that's really not totally in her nature to dwell on such things. There's something to her thoughts, though that niggles. "It's not just his body. I mean, they had it, so it can't just be his body. I don't know. Something is not totally adding up."

"I mean, we got his body back. Like.. I'm not sure. Was it a test? Or does us having it now make something easier for them. What if he's not the actual target? I mean, we're so busy focusing on him.."

She only gets that far when Asa ries out and goes flying, the little witch throwing up her hands and creating an instant barrier of a ward - totally without thought - looking around wild-eyed. "What? Who?"

Superman has posed:
    At the exact moment of John's touch, Asa was flung across the room! John's senses, in that split second, were telling him that it wasn't just a battle, whether mystic, technological or both. It was something deeper. A sense of battle, yes. But also a sense of...impatience? As though something was...taking too long? A sense of impending doom? Something was coming...and soon.

    As John rushes to her aid, he could tell that Asa was bleeding from the back of her skull, and her nose. It was quite the impact. It wasn't life threatening, but it was serious. She would be out of commission for some time. The faint smell of brimstone and ash hovers around the air where Asa had been standing.

    Strangely enough, ever so faintly, barely noticeable, something had brushed Willow's ward. It was that split second reaction that may have saved her from whatever flung the Nightmare Nurse across the room. As the moment passes, Superman settles back down, actual sweat covering his face. His vital signs had dropped once more, lower than when they had arrived.

Constantine has posed:
John breathes easier after seeing the state of Asa's wounds. She'd live, and knowing her recover quick enough, but for now to keep her from moving and making things worse, he puts a hand on her head uttering: "Molles somnos, somno iam" a sleep spell to gently lull her into rest.

Even as he casts though he's listening to Willow and working through what he saw in his head. "I don't think it matters where we move his body, luv, I think they're draining his life force to bring something dangerous into the world, something ancient, something desperate to be let in."

Watching as Superman weakens, he adds, "If I'm right, and they succeed we'll not only have to fight whatever it is but we'll have to do it without Superman."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Oh, that's worse than what I was thinking. But that's not so bad?" Because by her reasoning, that can be countered. "I mean, if it's a ritual, it can be stopped. And if they haven't accomplished it yet, it also means they're very vulnerable. But if we have no idea what it is they're trying to get, that's dangerous."

Ask the girl who hangs out with The Slayer and a Hunter for fun. Not that John is a slouch in this department.

"I mean, those things are bad if someone breaks the warding, or the circle.. Still, that's more than we knew before. Just.. Doesn't anyone else find it weird that out of all the people he could have called upon it was me? I mean.. magic and technology don't usually work together.." Leaving the little witch frowning, because in that arena, she had very few peers. And if that was the angle, it explained, perhaps why there had been such interest in courting her..