10527/In Dreams, You're Mine

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In Dreams, You're Mine
Date of Scene: 23 December 2019
Location: A boutique recording studio in NYC
Synopsis: Nick helps Iron Fist break out of Ringmaster's mind control as he attempts to extort a one-hit wonder.
Cast of Characters: Iron Fist, Phantasm (Drago)




Iron Fist has posed:
It's a long day at Shaw Studios, with (likely) flash-in-the-pan singer Yeet! demanding take after take after take of the songs for their next album.

Perhaps, then, it's not surprising that tensions have risen steadily throughout the day, with smoke breaks becoming more and more common. Voices have similarly raised--outside the studio itself--to air grievances about the star performer's demands.

What's likely not so expected is barked demands, followed by one of the studio producers getting thrown through the door to the engineering booth. Stepping into the booth over the producer's unconscious form are two individuals.

One is in a top hat and continues barking demands.
The other is in a green-and-yellow outfit, a yellow mask over the top half of his face. His right hand glows a bright yellow, like it's emitting heat or energy of some kind.

The man in the top hat calls out into the studio. "This property is now officially under the control of the Ringmaster! I assure you--there is no escape." He grins. "What do I want? Why, the wealth of young ..." he pauses, sneering, " ... Yeet."

"That's 'Yeet!' It has an exclamation point!" Yeet responds.

"Whatever," Ringmaster replies. "Pay up, or you'll all die. Thanks to my enforcer here."

The figure in green and yellow beside him--Iron Fist, some may recognize him--stands, swaying almost imperceptibly. His eyes flutter beneath his mask, like he's not all there.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick is by no means a smoker. But Yeet!'s behavior in the studios is the closest that the deceptively young looking musician has considered joining the ranks of lung cancer. So while the others went to their smoke breaks, Nick was using the time to relay to Wade Shaw, the drama going downstairs.

As the musician is airing his greivances to his sole living friend, Larry, the security guard on the floor below is running towards the studio being attacked, pepper spray in hand. "STOP!" The can is lifted, aimed towards the unauthorized visitors but nothing comes out of the can as the guard takes notice of the one he's pointing the can at. The other hand reaches to his radio, hitting a button as he starts immediately backing away, "Iron Fist's a bad guy?!" That was probably meant to be a declaration to the person on the other side of the radio but the tone of the statement curves into a question near the end. This is not natural.

Iron Fist has posed:
In the booth, Ringmaster folds his arms across his chest smugly. "So, Yeet--ehh, /excuse/ me, 'Yeet!'--are you going to pay up?" He glances over his shoulder at Iron Fist. "I've got a living weapon at my disposal, and, frankly, I'm interested to see what he can do."

Yeet! gives Ringmaster the finger. "You wish! My gang of session musicians will defend me! After all, I pay competitive rates!"

Some of the musicians look to one another from the corners of their eyes.

One pipes up. "Say, uh, if your beef is with Yeet!, can the rest of us just, like, go?"

Ringmaster puts a finger to his temple and mutters something.

Iron Fist smashes through the engineering booth window into the recording space. With relative speed and with eyes mostly closed, he roundhouse-kicks the musician, sending the man tumbling into a stack of amplifiers. Afterwards, Iron Fist stands, head slumped forward slightly, awaiting the next command.

"Does /that/ answer your question?" Ringmaster asks.

Eyes turn to Yeet!.

"Goddamnit," Yeet! whispers.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The warning from the security guard is not for naught as it ends up coming over two radios. The one belonging to Gary, the second story security guard that is currently running towards the incident, and the one that is set down on Wade's desk, a new investment after some *ahem* other issues.

Wade and Nick look down to the radio as it blurts out the message, drawing confused looks.

"Nick," Wade starts, "you sta-"

The door smacks open as Nick disappears out of the office. The sound of the side stairwell door slamming shut follows soon after.

Wade closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, grabbing the phone. "I swear, if that kid doesn't get himself killed, I'll do it." Wade mutters as he starts dialing for the police.

Iron Fist has posed:
Gary the security guard makes it to the recording booth just as one of the musicians was kicked into the stack of amps.

Ringmaster snaps his finger, and Iron Fist's loose, lazy stance snaps taught, and he suddenly lunges toward the guard. One strike smacks away the radio from Gary's hand. The second pushes him back against the edge of the doorway.

Then, a split second later, Iron Fist slides a cupped hand up to his throat, keeping his weight against the guard, who begins to cough and gasp for air.

"Tick tock," Ringmaster says to Yeet!.

Scowling, Yeet! looks around at the musicians, who stare back angrily.

"Alright! Alright!" Yeet! says. "Fine!" Picking up a phone, Yeet! begins texting someone. "I'm getting my attorney to wire some funds. Where are they going?"

"I want cash," Ringmaster replies.

"Dude, are you serious? Just give me a Swiss account or whatever." Yeet! rolls their eyes.

"Do I /look/ like I'm made of money?" Ringmaster asks, slamming a fist on the sound board. "I've got Iron Fist under my control, not Captain America!"

Meanwhile, Gary struggles in vain to get his breath, while an unresponsive Iron Fist maintains a chokehold on him.

Iron Fist has posed:
Hearing the commotion, Larry manages to pick up speed before launching himself at Iron Fist.

The costumed martial artist ducks, loosening his grip on Gary's throat.

Gary gulps air, bending over to heave.

Larry, meanwhile, goes flying into the pile of knocked-over amps nearby.

Iron Fist stands back up, his hand returning to Gary's throat.

Larry, still conscious, works to untangle himself from the mass of equipment he's landed in.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Disappearing down the emergency stairwell, Nick's appearance shifts, just the slightest, with his attire being the usual solid color scheme, it's not even noticable to the security cameras that he's essentially turned into a mirror image. The tilt of his head downwards hides the most obvious evidence of the change. Stopping at the door, he opens it slightly and then suddenly stops. Retreating into a blind spot his form starts to shift to something a bit more avian before flying into the dream that's RIGHT THERE.

Iron Fist has posed:
The dream...

...centers on Iron Fist himself, dressed in his costume but in a setting very foreign to that of the recording studio. In a somewhat rural village--one that appears to be ringed by mountains, with a monastery in the distance--he stands, balanced on one foot, on a wooden pole or pylon in the middle of a lake.

Iron Fist's eyes are closed, and his hands are palm-to-palm against his chest.


Reality...

Larry gets to his feet and tackles Iron Fist from behind. The vigilante once more releases his hold on Gary as he's wrestled to the ground. Once he's there, Iron Fist maneuvers himself to place Larry in a sleeper hold.


The dream...

There's something like an earthquake, only the world's rippling.

Iron Fist loses his balance, tipping head-first into the water. As he falls, the world moves upside-down around him. As he falls upward into the water, it shatters into a thousand pieces of glass.

The glass reforms into a cage, and Iron Fist struggles to free himself.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As Iron Fist struggles with the cage. A flash of purple emerges from where there's blackness, the three foot wingspan flexes forward before the bird barrel rolls towards the forming cage, doing its best to avoid any stray pieces there may be.

Talons strike against one of the bars, as the bird latches on, looking around for a door or something. "He did a number on you, didn't he?"

Iron Fist has posed:
In the dream, Iron Fist groggily looks to the bird.

"Shou-Lao?" he asks, frowning, before shaking his head. "Colleen?"

The black emptiness around the glass-shard cage grows visible. The cage sits on a rickety bridge in a snowy mountain range.

Wolves howl in the distance.


In the real world, Gary manages to catch enough breath that he can punch Iron Fist in the side of the head. At first, there's no result, other than Iron Fist rolling his shoulder up to try, too late, to deflect the shot. But two or three more punches and Iron Fist is forced to relax his grip and slap at Gary's arm, another form of deflection.


The glass cage cracks and teeters, the bridge swaying, its wooden planks seemingly moments away from rotting into nothing.

The wolves' howls grow louder, and a woman appears in the snow, running toward the bridge.

"Mom?" Iron Fist asks, shaking his head. "Mom, no. No!" He looks to the bird. "Help...!?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The bird looks to Iron Fist. "He did a number, but you're not out. All of THIS" He gestures to the scenery, "is in your head. And what's in your head, is yours to control."

The bird's talons shift, moving over to the side, balling up one wing into a fist. "SO TAKE CONTROL!" The fist comes down hard upon the cracking bars. "WAKE UP!"

Iron Fist has posed:
Reality...

Gary grabs ahold of Iron Fist's right arm and tries, clumsily, to pull his enemy into an arm bar. The vigilante seems not to notice much, shuffling to chokehold Larry with a leg-lock. His left hand attempts to reach up and clutch one of Gary's wrists, seeking out pressure points.

Gary shouts in pain.


Dream world...

The woman stumbles in the snow, the wolves catching up to her.

Iron Fist shouts a name, but the wind picks up, shrieking, and drowns out his voice.

He drops to his knees, the cage collapsing all around him.

"Not again! Not again!" he cries, dragging himself forward.

The woman reaches out toward him from her place in the snow. "Go!" she calls. "Go--" and then the wolves have her.

Across the bridge, away from the woman, is a light.

"Don't leave me," Iron Fist whispers, his voice audible as the wind dies down for a moment. "I don't want to be alone." Tears stream down the man's face--only, he's not a man. He's a young boy, still dressed in the costume.


Yeet! continues texting. "I'm getting an account set up for you so we can do this all electronically, ok? Otherwise it's a hassle. You won't be able to get cash that quickly."

Ringmaster throws a chair across the production booth. "Just /do/ it!"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The Raven grimaces, opting not to look to the woman as the wolves catch up to the woman. He shakes his head, looking down to the boy. He reaches a wing, reaching it over to pat the shoulder of the kid form. "Ok. I get it. Losing your mom. Going over it again and again in your mind." He pauses. Kind of not believing he's about to do this but...

"I should stop complaining about my lot, and be thankful for the things I've got." He recites, "Though each year makes me wary, and the guest list may vary. There's plenty of good people around..."

He pauses, looking to the kid, "Oh come on. Don't make me go through the whole song. The basic gist is you're not alone unless you choose to be. So, what do you say...Wake up and kick that bad guy's ass? Please?"

Iron Fist has posed:
The costumed child stares at the raven for a long moment, and then nods. The adult man in the costume stands up and begins crossing the bridge, engulfed by the light at the end.


Back in reality, Gary is screaming in pain at the activation of a pressure point on his wrist. Larry is gurgling from his throat being crushed by Iron Fist's legs.

Iron Fist suddenly relaxes entirely, somersaulting backwards away from both men. "I'm sorry," he spits out, before looking up, spotting Ringmaster, and launching himself to his feet. He cartwheels forward, diving feet-first into the production booth, where he kicks Ringmaster directly in the face.

The criminal mastermind collapses on the floor, knocked out cold.

Looking around, Iron Fist takes a deep breath. "Okay," he says. "I know this question will sound weird, but: what happened, and where am I?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As Iron Fist crosses the bridge, and the dream world collapses, the raven ends up vanishing.

As the people in the room are looking to Iron Fist's sudden turn back to good, and the sound of sir-.

Well actually no, there are no sirens in the distance.

... Well that's going to be a disappointing response time.

The door to the side stairwell swings open, allowing for Nick to step out and to walk over to the studio to look over to the mess. He looks to Yeet! and the others bandmembers. "Um. I think the police have been called so maybe you guys should go hang out in the lounge area. It's more comfortable there..."

He looks over to Iron Fist, and then to Gary, Larry, the musician, and the producer, frowning slightly, "How bad are they hurt?"

Iron Fist has posed:
The musicians share another look and then high-tail it out of the space. Whether they're going to the lounge or booking it entirely off the premises is unclear.

Yeet! throws their head back and groans. "I /just/ got this account set up...!" Then, with a shrug, Yeet! adds, "Well, I guess I'll just keep it in my back pocket, then. Whatever." Yeet! wanders out, texting.

Iron Fist moves to Gary and Larry, gently examining one and then the other. "Not fantastic, I won't lie," he says. "But I can work with that. If you'll let me," he adds, recognizing that both security guards wear incredibly skeptical expressions.

Closing his eyes, Iron Fist places his palms on Gary's forearm. "Shhhhhhhh..." he intones, exhaling slowly and smoothly for a long moment.

Gary begins to move his fingers, bending and straightening them. "It ... it's better," he says quietly. "Sore as hell, though."

"I'm sorry," Iron Fist says, pivoting to Larry to perform a similar ritual.

When he's done, Iron Fist clears his throat. "So--no chance that anyone here knows anything about a nightmare bird, do you?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The general response from the concious people is pretty unanimous. A raised brow and silence. Well, mostly. Nick's also giving a bit of a bemused smile at the description.

The musician shakes his head, "I don't think that's a normal choice of topic in a music studio discussion."
He walks over to the musician that went through the window to check on him, "But, judging from that statement, were you asleep the whole time this was going on?"

Larry, who has a bit of a sore throat does make use of his other faculties to crawl over to check upon the producer.

Iron Fist has posed:
As if continuing to collect his faculties, Iron Fist looks around, suddenly cognizant of the injured musician and producer. "Well. Shit," he sighs.

"Asleep? Something like that. The bozo in the booth calls himself the Ringmaster. He's got a whole hypnosis thing going on," Iron Fist continues. "Must have gotten the drop on me." He shakes his head. "You think you're one with everything, and then you go and get caught flat-footed."

He checks the musician's pulse and then examines his head, looking at the man's pupils. "If you've got ice, that would help a ton. As would EMS assistance. I can help, but I can't do everything I'd like."

Iron Fist steps over to help examine the producer. "I'm so very, very sorry. I know I did this ... but it wasn't me. Both statements are true."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"So a forced dream." Nick surmises, shifting aside for the one with apparently actual medical knowledge, "...So the bozo used a nightmare bird to make you do this?"

"Where the hell is- Nick?!" A voice snaps in the hallway accompanied by the steady, firm, yet quick steps echoing on the floor. The door being 'open' helps with the sound carrying its way.

Nick's smile falters slightly before he turns to greet the angry looking short haired blonde in the doorway, "Oh Hi Wade. Any chance you asked for an ambulance?"

The owner of the studio redirects his angry face towards Iron Fist. "Oh why yes." He seethes, "Seems to be standard procedure when a call is made to the police and the name 'Iron Fist' is mentioned."