10708/Engaged to the Vanishing Man

Engaged to the Vanishing Man
Date of Scene:	11 January 2020
Location:	Sanctum Santorum - Base Floor
Synopsis:	Stephen returns to the mortal plane and Felicia and Nick are stuck with the clean up duty.
Cast of Characters:	Doctor Strange, Phantasm (Drago), Black Cat

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Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen has been missing for quite some time, with little to no hints as to where he's gone or how long he's going to be gone.

    Just, Poof

    The Sanctum has been oddly still since he's left, like even the air in and around the building is holding its breath waiting for the return of the master of mysticism.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
It has been reasonably quiet around Nick as well. With the exception of the dragon in Central Park, the hypnotized Iron Fist in the recording studio and the gun happy perv in the Goodwill, yes. It HAS been quiet.

With the tour finished up and cutting back on performances, Nick is working to enjoy his vacation. But it can be a bit boring. Perhaps that is the reason why instead of getting coffee like he was supposed to, Nick finds himself wandering into the Sanctum.

The knitcapped rocker blinks, looking around the empty room. "Oh Come on!"

Black Cat has posed:
"Yeah, yeah, yeah...come on then, Shammy, let's go raid the fridge. I think there's still some leftover Chinese food."

The feminine voice, sweet if vaguely irritated in tone, floats even before the young woman herself comes into view. Dressed in black leggings beneath a sweater-dress in lusciously-deep violet, the ambient light of the Sanctum gleams off the linked golden belt about her defined waistline. At her neck, a choker with a stone that appears to gleam like the aurora borealis, inset into a filigree of rose-gold. Felicia wears her platinum-blonde hair in a messy bun today and sports pink fuzzy slippers on her feet.

"I know, buddy... It's been too quiet around here," she murmurs down to the emerald-green cat splayed contentedly across her forearm. Her manicured nails comb through his gold-tipped fur. Plush, content, Shammy the magical construct-cat (a gift from Loki nonetheless) blinks his spring-green eyes lazily. The white stripe from his chin to his forehead remains pristine as always.

Felicia glances up and pauses at the top of the grand staircase's landing, beneath the stained-glass Eye of Agamotto. Nick receives a patient if flat look. "Yeeeeeeeeah, hi. Welcome to the Sanctum. The Sorcerer isn't in right now, and no, I don't know when he's going to be back. You want me to take a message for you or something?" Shammy stares down at Nick, his tail lashing once.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Elsewhere in the infinite realities and dimensions, Stephen's bounds are finally loosened and the wizard breaks his hands free though still concealed by what appear to be rocks. He lifts them to smash against the walls of his confinement and meerly hurts his arms and elbows for his efforts.

    The house however seems to constrict around Felicia and Nick, not like it's trying or actually closing in on them, but like it's taking in a deep breath for some approaching storm that comes. The atmosphere seems harder to breath and is pregnant with concern around them.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Hearing the voice that is most definitely not Strange or Hogarth, Nick looks over to Felicia, taking note of the contrast. His attire is definitly of a much lower quality than hers. His just screams secondhand with a whisper of neutrality toned comfort.

"Honestly, I'm not even sure why I ended up here this time." Nick replies, giving a sigh, "I was going out for coffee."

He frowns, looking around, looking to the walls. And most importantly facing away from Felicia. His form shifts slightly, the solid colors of the clothes making them seem not all that different but his facial features are a bit off. Mirror imaged, "I don't know why, but I don't like this."

Black Cat has posed:
Felicia purses her red-red lips. Then, step by step, head held high as if she were royalty, she descends the remaining section of staircase.

"There's coffee in the kitchen, but it's not made and we don't keep anything like whipped cream or any fancy syrups around. There's the sweet cream creamer, I guess," she informs with an idle shrug. Shammy merely streeetches out one front leg to reveal cream-colored claws and then returns from splaying like a small verdant panther on a limb --

At least until the atmosphere of the mansion abruptly shifts. His ears perk and he lifts his head on full alert, white whiskers fletched forwards. Felicia too pauses and looks around, her kohl-lined eyes gone wider. "...I can't tell if this is just the place being spooky or we should go find someplace to hide," she says to Nick with a glance to him.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    A voice echoes off the walls as if coming through all the hallways, but whisper faint.

    "Release me..." The scratchy voice calls out getting louder and louder around the humans and the cat in the large landing.

    A ripple in reality forms before the circular window on the inside of the Sanctum. The window seems to get pulled into it as if the glass is stretching inwards to form a spike as gravity or reality warps.

    An older woman, with olive skin and black hair steps out from a hallway and motions to both Nick and Felicia. "Quickly children. Come this way. Hurry it's not safe in there." Her voice is soft, motherly, grandmotherly even, and she's motioning with her thin leathery hand for the two humans to quickly move out of the landing.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Remembering the tour and remembers the warnings that came with it, Nick gives a shake of the head. "I don't know enough about this place for that." He glances around, "Trying to hide in this place would probably just compound the situation.."

As the woman beckons them to the hallway and a freaking portal is opening up in the room they're currently in, Nick nods, to the woman, "Or- we can go in the hallway. Hallway it is then" Turning, he starts heading over there.

Black Cat has posed:
The air is still close and thick. Felicia pulls Shammy closer to her chest; he simply lets out a soft mrowl of echoed concern. Her sliding steps bring her a few feet closer to Nick.

"I've been living here for months and I can guarantee you, there are enough mouseholes around this place where you could win any game of hide-and-seek with any being on this planet," she informs the young man with a tight grimace of a smile. When the Cat wheels on the spot to face the newly-arrived unknown woman, she only pauses for a second; gut instinct tells her this entity means them no harm.

"No kidding, buddy, something's up and I don't want to stay in this room any longer!" Quick as...well, a cat, Felicia darts into the hallway after the mysterious matronly woman.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    She motions and reaches out to Felicia and Nick with her ancient hands, "Come, come." Her accent is... Egyptian, or something from around that area, but hard to pin down. "Things are in motion that can not be undone." She starts to explain when the air of the Sanctum turns fowl, but not putrid, but is unpleasant, and a shiver would run down all creature's spines. Something not right is here.

    The portal fully forms and yellow honey like substance starts to trickle from the hole between dimensions and it oozes out before it splats onto the tile floor and following the gunk is a brown jagged rock punching through the barriers of reality. Then another and finally A black haired head breaches and slowly Stephen slips through and falls onto the tile floor with a thwack from his body on the goop covered floor and he cries out in pain.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Once they are safely tucked away in the hallway, Nick looks over to Felicia. "I don't doubt the amount of hiding places. I just don't know which ones are the ones that won't let you back out."

Having tapped into his abilities and essentially phantasmed, trading away three of his senses, the mirror imaged Nick is not at all affected by the smell. He does however scrunch his nose a bit at the sight of the portal essentially birthing a mess into the landing area. "The h-" He squints, looking to the goopery Sorceror Supreme. "Strange?"

Black Cat has posed:
"God, I //hate it// when people say portentous stuff like that around here," the Cat hisses as she readily tucks herself against the hallway's wall, half-behind a short bookshelf. Peering out into the landing, she watches the portal come into being with her heart up in her throat. All the fine hairs on her body stand on end. Poor Shammy: he appears nearly electrified with the amount of hackling he's doing, bottlebrush tail and all.

However, Felicia knows that voice, and she hates to hear it in that pitch of agony. "What...! Copperfield?! Stephen!" Stepping out into plain view, she sets Shammy aside on one of the small sidetables. "Stephen!" Unless stopped, it appears Felicia's going to dart back out INTO the landing.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick reaches out his hand quickly, grabbing at Felicia's wrist in an attempt to pull her back, "WAIT!-" He pauses, looking over to the older woman for a moment for any indication that his next words are in poor judgement, "-let me check."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    The woman doesn't stop Felicia at all, she doesn't even call out to Felicia as when Nick looks over his shoulder towards the woman, she's not there.

    Stephen is on the ground, the entirety of him covered in the honey thick goo and his hands covered with rock formations up to his elbows. "I- COUGH!- I'm... where?" Stephen asks trying to blink his eyes but unable due to the ectoplasm or some stuff covering him.

Black Cat has posed:
Nick does land his pausing grip on the Cat's wrist, but she turns around and grimaces at him, her eyes snapping. A hard shake of her forearm tries to dislodge the hold; it's either that, or Nick's going to find out just how strong the Black Cat truly is --

-- because she forges on towards the landing and out into it, ignoring the crawl of her stomach up the back of her throat as best she can. Shammy is wise. He remains a puffed ball atop the sidetable, his eyes wide and pupils narrow, ears pulled flat back.

"The Sanctum, Copperfield! You're home! Crap, somebody -- somebody get a towel or something, I don't want this on my hands." She points imperiously towards one of the doors right off the landing. "That's a bathroom, can you get one, please?" Just barely holding on to manners, Felicia then takes to one knee before the edge of the ectoplasmic puddling, hands hovering before her chest.

"Goddamnit, Copperfield -- what the hell is this?! Where were you?!"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Well the random lady who came from nowhere left in the same manner. Who'd have thunk? "Never getting used to that." Nick mutters as he turns, realizing that Felicia's tug caused for her to essentially pass through his hand. Right. No sense of touch.

Giving up on that task he runs into the indicated bathroom, not bothering with the door as he grabs the towel and comes back over, skidding to a stop behind Felicia. Dangling the towel next to her head.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "The... Sanctum..." Stephen says reaching one rock encased hand up to his face and halting before they touch and he frowns. "What... F-Felicia?" As if he's forgotten her name in the time he's been away. "What-what's that smell? Who else is here?" Stephen asks, lifting his head weakly as he tries to get the goop off and is incredibly feeble like and unable to do so without the use of his eyes or hands.

Black Cat has posed:
"Thanks." Felcia snatches at the towel offered out to her and then reaches out to begin wiping at the goop-soaked wizard's face. "Yep, it's me, Felicia. I dunno who this other kid is, but he wandered into the Sanctum before things got crazy. He's been helpful so far." Nick gets a quick, tight smile from the Cat before she continues. The towel works Stephen's face clear of the yellowish gunk and slicks his hair back nearly flat.

"This isn't going to work." Scowling down at the rock, the cat-burglar then puts the towel down overtop one of the rock bunchings trapping the Sorcerer's hand. "I'm going to squeeze and see if I can break this, okay?"

Only warning. Felicia then grips down with all of her strength to see if she can crack the rock.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick crouches down. "It's Nick." He replies, he looks over to Felicia and what she's planning to do. Oh.

He reaches a hand over to touch Strange's shoulder. "Oh uh. I don't normally do this. But, it might help?"

Quite reassuring. Indeed.

Growing quiet, Nick starts to lend some of his energy over to Strange. Soon the sense of touch, taste, and most importantly smell goes away.

"I'd recommend keeping your eyes closed as well while she works. Just... relax."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Felicia's grip on the rock is solid but the rocks don't budge, at first. Then his face grimaces as though he was in great pain but with his teeth grit he fights to keep from letting Felicia the pain he's in from the pressure, and then the rocks crumble around his hands and then fall to the tile. The yellowing plasm still clinging to everything as Stephen shakes his head. "N-Nick?" He asks unsure of ... anything it seems, and then he turns his head halfway in Nick's direction and frowns. "I can't open th-them."

Black Cat has posed:
"I know I know I know I know," the thief chants under her breath quickly, clenching her teeth as she puts extreme pressure on the stony gauntlets. Feeling them give, she's quick to carefully pick them away from his hands and flick them off to one side with great disdain on display. Ew.

"Still can't see? Crap." Grabbing up the towel again, Felicia works at cleaning away the goop still on his skin. "Do I need to get something like water, Copperfield? Would that help get it off?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Once the rock is removed, Nick's grip lingers for a moment. "Sorry." He apologizes as he lets go of Strange, making the doctor tangible enough to clean off. He scoots off quickly, grabbing another towel before coming back to help with getting the rest of the goo off, starting with the face.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "I-I'm not sure..." Stephen says, as he still sits on the floor, his legs curled beside and beneath him as he tries to use a hand to hold himself up and his other rests on Felicia's arm, ruining that sweater, but he'll be sure to get her another and he still has trouble opening his eyes and his hands tremble from being crushed so firmly by the rocks and Felicia's strength. "I just... Get me to the bath and we'll go from there..." Stephen grumbles and shakes as he seems to be malnourished along with a few other mallodies.

Black Cat has posed:
Felicia looks over again at the young rocker-like gentleman and murmurs, "Thank you. This is still a mess. He's going to need something to eat, but tea's probably a good place to start." She explains to Nick where to find not only the kettle, but the tea satchets very specifically labeled for recovery and recuperation for a body struggling. "I've got him from here."

Guess the violet sweater-dress isn't going to survive this encounter. The thief grimaces as she slides an arm underneath and around Stephen's shoulders and hefts him to his feet, his weak knees be damned. "I'm burning these clothes, Copperfield, whether you like it or not. The Cloak can get a rinse-off in the washing machine or...or something." There's probably a slime trail left behind them, but hey: at least the bathwater's going to be warm and there are proper cleansers for this type of mess.