11989/When the Music Stops

When the Music Stops
Date of Scene:	13 August 2020
Location:	Club Evolution, Mutant Town
Synopsis:	After a Nick Drago concert, a couple people sneak backstage
Cast of Characters:	Phantasm (Drago), Harley Quinn, Twitch

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Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The energy is high over at Club Evolution tonight. After some scheduling conflicts, a live act was booked at the venue tonight and it was a performer who, has not been performing under his more common stage name for a bit. Fans know this to be because of the acting gig involving some time up in Canada. Close friends would know it because of all the other names he uses in the music industry hide whenever he's performing 'off brand'.

But no matter the reasons people may know of, one thing's for certain tonight. He's here. He's in full gear. And true to form, he's put on a HELL of a show. A rhythmic paradise through and through. But it's at the saddest part of the concert as The last verses of the final FINAL encore song plays. Barking out a final message to the gathered folks.

'...The Lemming curse it is strong,
The numbers help us do some wrong.
Rather than dial 3 numbers
We sit back and let things get worse.
We can break this curse.


Don't stand there looking dumb.
You can do something, the power of one.'

An angry thrum of the guitar jabs its rhythm twice more before the stage is engulfed in darkness, hiding the wild haired, musician from the fans. For those with their eyes adjusted to the lighting already, it's a key time for band members to vacate the stage as the house lights keep to the legally acceptable lowest setting possible for a few more moments before raising up again to a mangable level.

Security, is not the best. It's quite relaxed actually for the venue. There's not too much separation between the backstage and up front, and just the bare minimum of privacy to allow for people to, get out of character.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Hearing the start of the show from outside of the club, Harley looked at the long line of people waiting to get in. This would not do. Kill people? Blow them up? Belch in people's faces or kidnap a nearby Starbucks barista and make her coax people away with lattes? Decisions decisions, and as Harley was contemplating just which diabolical plan she'd take she lucked out.

Just after the concernt started, Harley was walking inside with a badge around her neck. "Media. Media here, move it, media. Let me pass, media, media. Yep, that's me, media." And she was waving the badge in front of people's faces, using it to guard herself against anyone coming too close as she pushed her way to the front of the show.

Up there, she stayed, dancing, moshing if people were still doing that kind of thing, and otherwise enjoying herself until the show ended. Holding up her badge again she heads to the side of the stage as she finds herself confronted by security, "Look, ya see my media badge? I'm here with..." She pauses and looks down at her badge, before looking back up, "Daily Intelligencer! Now outta my way as I got me some questions to ask."

With that, and her angry facial expression but otherwise lacking in intimidation form, Harley Quinn is allowed passed the security to start heading after the band and their backstage 'area'. Snapping back, a moment, she looks to the security guard and shouts, "Hey, be a pal, an' get me a drink will ya?!" Before turning back and heading in the same direction she was before.

Twitch has posed:
The concert was great. Tons of humanly created noise to keep him entertained. Lots of people to hang out with. Tyler has a great time, cheering until going hoarse. As the show ends he's gotten high on life and wanders over towards the exits with the majority of the club goers. That is until he notices people heading backstage.

Backstage? There's not much preventing Tyler from getting back there. Despite being rather tall its easy for him to disappear into the crowd and make it past security, smirking slightly as he avoids their attention. Being trained as a ninja pays off in all sorts of ways.

Looking around at his surroundings, the young man tries to figure out exactly what he's doing now that he's backstage. Maybe it's time to hang out with the band? Perhaps say 'hey' to the main man himself? Try to pick up girls by acting important?

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As Tyler and Harley make their way backstage through the talents they have each been graced with, it becomes quite evident of one thing. TV has LIED to them. While there's a small hallway, there's no door with a star plastered on it with the name of 'Nick Drago' on it. The only signage in the hallway are for the respective bathrooms, the fire exit, and one marked 'staff only' which has the door open. The fifth door, which is narrower than the others has no signage and has several bolts on it. Yes. No one is probably behind that one.

From the staff room, there's the sound of laughter as several band members are lounged on a sofa, stretching out and shaking off the performance they just did. As for Nick, he's leaning against a wall, looking over to the others, stage makeup still on and hair still wild. And while the black tee does not cover the scar on his right forearm, the way his arms are crossed are doing a sufficient enough job of obscuring it. He's not laughing out loud but he does give the slightest of smiles. A stark contrast to the more prominent motions done on stage earlier.

Harley Quinn has posed:
With the badge firmly in place, and Harley Quinn moving with the confidence only brought to her by her lack of sanity, she moves toward the room with the laughter. She heads in that direction and then just sort of walks in, talking loudly, "Alright, which one of ya was the one who had that illegitimate baby with Emily Knickerpox?" A question asked with extreme seriousness. And she holds up her badge and just kind of taps it a few times, her serious look getting the more ridiculous as she squints one eye, leaving the other one open and raising it's eyebrow. Pulling a Spock. "Media."

With a few more steps into the room, she's looking around more and starts walking in the direction of 'Nick', "You, the one who doesn't get the joke. You look kind of guilty. Daily Intelligencer, Miss H is the name, an' ya can call me Harl." Great cover. "I got a P H D in investigative journalism, an' I'm investigatin' you." A pause, "Right now." And then she looks back over her shoulder, "Plus that man at the front, yer guy, he is real slow on the uptake. I still ain't got my drink."

Twitch has posed:
At the sound of laughter Tyler makes his way towards the room with the band in it, sticking his head in to see what's going on before the rest of him follows. Once inside he makes note of the reporter, perhaps stares at her for a bit longer than might be considered polite, twitches his head to side slightly and then finds a spot against the wall to lean himself up against. Mostly, at least for now, he's staying out of the way. He doesn't want to be a dickhead or anything, just wants to hang out with the band a little bit before someone tries to kick him out.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As Harley raises her voice, the laughter dies. The group looking over to her as she asks her question. Dead silence until the lead guitarist raises her voice. "I think it's safe to assume it wasn't me."

Nick's smile returns at the joke as he gives a slight chuckle. When Harley points in his direction, the musician's dark lined, pale eyes shift over to look at Harley. "If you have a PhD, wouldn't you be, Doctor H then?" His head tilts curiously, trying to place her.

Harley Quinn has posed:
The guy who comes into the room just gets the last lingering of Harley's eyes as she was looking back to see if the security guard was coming in. Though he doesn't say anything, maybe he's here to bounce her? Back to the band, she starts sauntering up a bit, pointing her finger forward in repetition like she's poking someone in the chest but she's still a good ten or more feet away as she does it. "Listen mister, I can see yer tryin' to be funny, but the joke's on you. Yer not." And then she looks around the band again, taking a posture of pacing, now trying to circle. Her hands come up and one of them turns into a partial fist, and starts moving in the air as the other is out below it like she's holding something. Is she 'writing' stuff down on invisible paper with an invisible pen?

"Now where were ya the night of the fifteenth? Say, twelve oh two am, it was dark, and the clouds were out ... -but no rain-!" She says with a bit of a sudden tone, like she were yelling surprise, calming back down, "Just clouds. Hmm? It would've been..." She's now making movements with her fingers, off to the side, "Over the two, carry the one, add three." Like she's typing on a ten key calculator, "Twenty Twenty. Would you say you were naked, about to copulate? Hmmmm?"

For emphasis, her left eye goes from squinting to big, while her other eye alternates. It makes her nose wiggle a bit, but she's got a super super serious face on. And she goes back to 'jotting things down' in the emptiness of the air. "I may remind you, this is on the record." And her hand moves to the side where she presses her thumb on something else imagined or invisible, like a floating tape recorder, before setting it between her and the band. "On ... the ... record."

Twitch has posed:
Okay. The reporter seems a bit imbalanced. Tyler looks lost for a few seconds as he tries to figure out if he should do something, but then he twitches again and looks to the band to make sure they're handling it alright. They are, at least well enough for Twitch to not worry over them much.

After a couple more seconds of looking slightly helpless, the kid seems to remember how to speak, "Not to distract you folks too much, but that was a great show you put on tonight. I had a really good time." Another twitch before he looks towards Harl, "Sorry to interrupt. Don't want to mess up your interview."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The woman looks back at Harley giving a bit of a shrug.

"I thought it was funny." The bassist states, glancing over to the lead guitarist with a smile.

...

ANYWAYS.

Nick's eyes follows Harley's over to the guy near the entrance way, sharing the curious glance to him. Friend of hers? Who the heck is she? She's definitely not a reporter.

When the other attendee speaks up, the musician looks back over to Tyler. "Well, that's good to know. We make an effort to keep things entertaining on stage."

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Well, that's a vote." And Harley scribbles something down on her imaginary pad of paper. Looking up to the lead guitarist and the bassist she hrms, and nods her head, "You two would be a cute couple, jus' sayin'. Take the word of a psyc... investigative journalist such as myself, I'm good with people."

Then she takes a few more steps closer to Nick, "Don't pay attention to Random guy at the door, pay attention to me mister. Yer on thin ice here. You don't want me reportin' on yer crazy affair. Lemme guess. Ya met Emily at a local cafe, she was all dolled up for the big game, but you noticed her she noticed you. And even though she was wearin' her football gear you knew... helmet or no helmet, it was love at first touchdown."

Taking a step back Harley brings her hand up to her chin and rubs it, like she has a beard and is thinking. "Then, late one night, you decided, you had to see her again. That last 45 yard run to a touchdown really turned your knobs. So, you threw a rock through her car door and made the alarm go off. After that, it was just like the movies."

Harley stretches one hand into the air, almost like she's doing a panning of a scene, and she says, "The camera sees you, then her, then you, then it zoooooooms way out, and there are bed sheets and a gust of wind from an open window." She leans a little to the side and whispers, "Emily enjoys high electricity bills." And then back upright, continuing, "Then, 9 months and 3 days later, she was late, Emily had yer baby girl. Tell me that's not how it went and I'll drop the story."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The guitar players blink at Harley and then look towards each other quietly.

As Harley steps closer to him, Nick feels an urge to step back but with his back already against the wall, that's not really an option. His arms unfold, exposing the scar as he lowers them. Not locked up but ready to grab should this already odd monologue turns into something real crazy. "...Do I know you?"

Harley Quinn has posed:
Holding up her badge, Harley Quinn says, "Media!" She almost yells it, and now that she's close enough the picture on the badge doesn't look at all like her. Sure, it's a woman, and blonde, but clearly not the person in front of you. "Now, stop changing the subject. Are you or are you not, Lil' Debbie Knickerpox's daddy? Hmm?" And she's shaking her finger in the direction of Nick like she's scolding him, but not really.

Then she's super calm and looks back to the door, "I mean, seriously, the service here is atrocious. I asked that guy like 20 minutes ago ta get me a drink. He ain't even here yet. If ya want, I'll report him." Then a grin starts cracking on her lips and she starts laughing a bit, and then she's doubled over some, laughing louder, arms wrapped about her stomach as she starts to get teary eyed.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick looks to the badge being displayed to him, confirming what he's pretty much figured out based on the... subtle clues. He shakes his head before crouching down, looking to Harley's face. "You okay? How many drinks have you had?"

Harley Quinn has posed:
With the laughter continuing for a moment longer, Harley is sort of shaking as she's doubled over, before she tries to stand up, then another fit doubles her over. Then she finally starts to stand fully up again, grinning big, "Awww, get it? Report him, ya know, cause I'm a reporter?" She looks over to the bassist, and gives a quick smile, "That guy gets it." And then she looks back to Nick, "Well, mister. Thank you for the interview, I'll be putting you down as Debbie's daddy who ran off without paying child support, tomorrow in the morning edition of the..." And she looks at her badge again, "Right, Daily Intelligencer. That's me, reporter from the Daily Intelligencer." She smiles a moment longer, "Oh, and I agree with mister random. Yer show was pretty good. A little light on the moshpits, but this generation, what can ya do?"

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley Quinn adds, "Oh, and I've had zero drinks, that's why I'm so upset with that security guy of yers."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The bassist gives a nod as Harley points out that he did indeed get the reporter comment. He seems to be sitting a bit closer to the other guitarist than the last time Harley looked at him.

Nick gives a slight, but slow nod to the mention of zero drinks. "Well, that's unfortunate, no drinks and all." That would have, explained- SO much.

"If you're looking for moshpits, circle pits, and walls of death, you should go to the actual music festivals. More room to do that stuff in. Should be one coming in September." Is Nick marketing a music festival to someone who may be questionably not all there?

...Why yes he is.

"Ok, so what is it that you really do?"

Harley Quinn has posed:
With a bit of a wink, and a little nod in return to the bassist, Harley turns more of her attention to Nick. "I -know-, not that it would help me much. I mean, I can't get drunk no more." And she starts walking around the room, now sort of looking for a comfy place to sit. She flops onto the floor and crosses her legs, sitting.

Listening, she looks around distractedly, for anything to grab ahold of and mess with. The nearest thing is some kind of foot pedal for an amp or guitar or something, and she picks it up and starts looking at it, turning it around and around, pressing down on the pedal, and tugging some on the cable. Like a 2 year old might. At least she hasn't put it in her mouth ... yet.

"Really? Music festivals, huh? I ain't usually out to be able to get me into those, got one comin' up soon. Pretty sure I can remain free if it's soon. No guarantees fer after that though."

A pause, and she shrugs her shoulders, "What do I do? Huh. Ya know, it's really a mixed bag. One day I'm an investigative journalist, the next I'm a race car driver, sometimes stunt double, an' every day, just an all around swell human being."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As Harley sits down, Nick shifts his weight to sit down as well, looking over to her. "So, a bit of a dreamer, huh?" He asseses, opting NOT to focus on the being out comment. There's a lot of possible interpretations for that, right?

His eyes look to the pedal in hand, watching it being moved around, "It's funny but something about you seems familiar."

Harley Quinn has posed:
As Harley is about to respond to Nick, the security guard from earlier comes rushing in and points, "Hey, you. Harley Quinn!"

And the woman sitting on the floor points to herself in confusion, and is starting to hold up her media badge but she instead turns to Nick, "Been fun mister, but the jig is up." Popping up to her feet, she laughs as she responds to the security officer, "As fast as fast can be, ya can't catch me ... copper!" And she runs straight at the bigger man, and ... surprisingly, given their relative sizes, the much smaller woman bowls right over the large security officer.

Turning the corner and hopping up on one foot, like she's 'drifting around the corner' or like a very cartoonish turn. She stops, one leg raised like she's about to run, waves to Nick, "Nice show, again, really. See you at the festival." Then she says, "Beepbeep!" Like the Roadrunner and runs off down the hallway.

Later this evening, the Daily Intelligencer reporter named Debbie Knickerpox will actually be found tied up in her own vehicle just a block away from the show. Her media badge mysteriously gone, and some crazy story about how some blonde psycho tackled her as she was getting out of her car, then locked her inside.