13534/Going Once. Going Twice. STOLEN!

Going Once. Going Twice. STOLEN!
Date of Scene:	21 June 2021
Location:	An ambulance, between Avengers Mansion and Shield Triskelion
Synopsis:	Loki spirits Yaozu away, intent on having some fun with the new 'toy' his brother had hidden away. Or so he thought!
Cast of Characters:	Loki, Yaozu Lin

---

Loki has posed:
The hour is early. Not long before dawn. At a time when the roads have less traffic on them than they will once the sun rises. The hour had been chosen for a reason. Less traffic means a smoother ride. A smoother ride is going to be much better for the passenger that's to be transported. One Lin Yaozu, lightly sedated, had been loaded onto the ambulance. Goodbyes to those at the Avengers mansion had been said. And they'd gone on their way.

By this point in the game, the pain from the internal changes coupled with the jouncing about as he was loaded, added to the fact that the ambulance Shield had sent isn't the smoothest ride in the world... the sedation, light as it was, has likely worn entirely off by the time something strange occurs.

The first indication is a strange sound, almost like air being displaced.

The next indication is the sound of a cultured voice, lilting lightly with amusement. "Sleep, whilst I have a look at my prize," says the voice. A male voice.

The medic who had been attending to Yaozu slumps over sideways. Caught and eased gently to lean back in the seat he'd been occupying for the last ten minutes.

A figure dressed in shades of gold and green and black, leather and gilded metal if not outright gold, steps from the shadows. He has intensely green eyes, deep black hair that hangs in loose waves to his shoulders, and a ready smile that... well. That smile doesn't exactly impart confience in whoever looks upon it. That smile spells trouble.

"Now. What have we here?" The voice is quiet, a hand is waved, and a sound deadening spell erected against the driver and and passenger in the front of the vehicle.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
The stay with the Avengers hadn't been a planned one, and it had been a bit of a short one. Yet Yaozu had been grateful that Wanda had taken him there. The medical care had been good, and the tests had been thorough in nature. Hopefully Liansong would be able to make something of the results of those tests. He hadn't argued with the light sedation that was administered to him before he had been loaded up on the ambulance. He trusted that he would be in safe hands. Goodbyes had been said, and he had told Wanda earlier that he would message her when he was back to Shield.

There's a certain amount of mental haziness as the sedation wears off, a muzziness that lingers. Yaozu stirs a bit where he lays on the gurney within the ambulance, blinking a few times in an effort to attempt to clear the visual fuzziness that lurks from the sedation. He's not unfamiliar with the feel of it, given that he's been kept at varying degrees of sedation since his latest bout with his mutation.

The strange sound, so like that of air being displaced, is a sound that his sensitive hearing catches. His brow furrows slightly as he tries to make sense of the sound. The voice that comes after is one that's unfamiliar to him, and an interesting one at that. The words have a way of rankling, slightly -- he's no one's 'prize'.

He glances towards the medic who had been tending to him as the fellow's body slumps sideways and is leaned back. His hazel gaze flicks over towards the figure that has come into the back of the ambulance with him. He makes note of the colours that the fellow wears, but that tells him little to nothing. "Who are you?" he asks quietly, his voice a bit fuzzy yet from the sedation. Even here, he hasn't regained much in the way of colour, and so his dark hair is quite a contrast to the paleness that's been his complexion these past couple of days.

Loki has posed:
Loki studies this prize, as one would study a prize stallion before they purchase him, or purchase his seed for breeding to a mare. "I am Loki," he says, feeling no need at all to hide who he is. "I've come to.." He smiles widely, full of teeth, the expression more wicked than not. "... see if I can help you." Yeah, Loki. Sure. But for that smile, the words are somewhat gentle. But any reassurance there might have been is quite melted away by that smile. There's nothing nice about it. Nothing nice /at all/ about that smile.

He glances at the medical equipment that has been attached to the man, then to the chart that had been helpfully left next to the medic. "Lin Yaozu," he says. The way he says it, there is more emphasis on the 'z' than there should be. It's very much a non Asian way of saying the letter, rather than the Chinese almost 's' sound it normally would have. "Well Lin, today's your lucky day. I'm going to help you. But first, you're coming with me."

Loki has steps closer to Yaozu and has a more scrutinizing look at the thumb ring the man wears. "What have we here?" He sounds curious, and amused. And shakes his head. "Can't have that, can we? Wouldn't do if they found you before the game is through." He grins that wicked, almost playful grin, like a cat toying with a mouse, and waves his hands. It's at that exact moment that the tracker in the ring stops working entirely. The interior of the Shield ambulance fades, darkening. "Sleep now," says Loki, his voice fading even as he's saying the words. Then, all is darkness.

The next time the man wakes, he's no longer in the ambulance. It appears to be a lush apartment decorated in shades of cream, the style Asian in nature. Japanese, specifially. The medical equipment is gone. The only thing that Yaozu had had in the ambulance that remains is the tracker ring on his thumb. Nothing else remains. Whatever clothing he'd been wearing is also gone, replaced with a thin robe in a beautiful emerald green patterned with dusky gold whorls.

It's upon a bed the man will find himself. A very comfortable bed. The sheets and comforter are crimson edged in silver and patterned with black squares. A faint shimmer in the air can be seen, just shy of the walls. No sounds from around the apartment can be heard. No rumbling of vehicles. No muted sound of many human voices. Nothing. A door is set into the wall at the foot of the bed, it stands ajar, showing a stretch of hallway carpeted in cream.

In the wall to the left, a window. The setting sun can just be seen dipping behind a snow capped mountain. That mountain looks familiar. Yaozu is no longer in New York City. Nor anywhere in China he's been to. But that mountain... Coupled with the Japense furnishings, that can only be Mt Fuji.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
Whether or not it is a manner that Yaozu has been looked at before, like some sort of prized possession, he doesn't say. There is a possibility that it's happened, though, from hopeful parents who no doubt hoped that there would be an arranged marriage. He certainly doesn't think of himself as a prize to anyone, especially with the mutation that is changing him. He hasn't really settled on just how it is that he should be feeling about whatever it is that he's becoming, but he's been trying. He can't change it, and so he's been trying to accept it.

Yaozu doesn't have much in the way of trust towards this strange fellow who is now keeping him company. He glances towards the chart that Loki has claimed, and he is quiet whilst the fellow speaks. Listening, and considerinng the words. One of his eyebrows quirks up slightly. "What is the help that you intend to provide?" Yaozu asks in a soft tone, a flicker of curiosity to his voice. "Where do you intend to take me?" It's the best way of finding things out -- asking questions. Whether they'll be answered or not, well... that is up to Loki, though Yaozu isn't entirely expecting answers.

There's a glance that he gives towards the thumb ring which is more than just a tracker. He has no way of truly knowing what Loki does to the tracker, but based on the words, he can presume that it's been made to not work. And the other functions may or may not continue to work as well. To his credit, he does try to fight off the sleep that Loki imposes on him, but there really isn't an option. It's magic, and he doesn't particularly have a resistance to it. Against his will, the darkness swallows him up and he knows nothing about how he gets from here to where he ends up.

And where he ends up is... unusual. Different than anywhere else that he's been. And yet, slightly familiar as well. He's been to Japan, once before. After awakening in the apartment, he blinks a couple of times and takes a moment to look around. "Nani?" he whispers, lifting one of his hands to rub the sleep from his eyes. He pushes himself up to be sitting on the bed, and he notices the tracking ring, which causes his brow to furrow slightly. It's puzzling, why it's been left on him. He glances down to himself, noticing the robe that he's now wearing. The colours aren't unpleasant, though it's different than his usual choice. He moves the blanket aside, then scoots towards the edge of the bed, the lack of sounds noticed. The shimmer in the air is also noticed, but he doesn't have much in the way of an understanding as to what it does.

Yaozu's attention is caught next by the window, and he looks out of it towards the surroundings. He blinks, surprised, and then he gives a small shake of his head. It can't be, can it? "Fujiyama," he says quietly, speaking one of the Japanese names for the great mountain. He lifts his right hand, lightly pulling his fingers through his long hair. How? Teleportation is something he's familiar with thanks to Wanda, and that... well, that makes a certain amount of sense. A bit hesitantly on account of the pain that he's been having in his feet and legs, he starts to ease himself to his feet.

Translations: Nani? = What? // Fugiyama = Japanese name for Mount Fuji

Loki has posed:
Nor should he have trust toward Loki. Loki is trustworthy. To a point. He /probably/ won't outright kill someone for no reason. Outside of that? All bets might be considered to be distinctly off. Those two questions of Yaozu's remain unanswered for the time being. The spell of sleeping had come upon him too quickly. There has to be a reason the tracking ring had been left on Yaozu. But it's hard to tell just what that reason might be.

The pain in feet and legs, of note, hasn't eased appreciably. The man appears to be still in the midst of the mutation's transformation.

Just then, a shadow falls across the door, and it's pushed open. Loki stands there, holding a tray in hand. It has traditional Japanese foods. "Oh good, you're awake. We can't start the fun if you're still asleep." Given the fact that the sun is setting, either a day and a half has passed, or an hour or two at most. With the relative change in locations, it's really hard to say.

"I hope you don't mind, but I had a peek." He pauses, for damatic effect. "At your inner workings. Not at your danglies. Your body is mutating. It's quite interesting."

Yaozu Lin has posed:
Alas, Yaozu has no real way of knowing Loki's motives or just how trustworthy the fellow happens to be. And given that the fellow has magic, there's even less that he can do. There's a tentative presumption that if Loki had intended him to be dead that he would be dead already. It may or may not be true, but it makes a small amount of sense in the moment.

Why leave the ring? It's a question that hounds his mind, though sometimes the simple answer is the best one -- so that SHIELD would know that he's alive. It reports vital signs. If Loki had known it was a tracker, then he'd surely have known the rest of what it does. His efforts to stand, given the pain that's still present, causes him to wince a bit and then sit back on the edge of the bed. He still looks out the window, though, admiring the mountain and the rest of the scenery.

Lifting his left hand, Yaozu gathers up his long and thick hair, and then he twists it into a knot at the nape of his neck. As the shadow comes to the door, he turns his head to look in that direction, and one of his eyebrows quirks up slightly. "Yes. I am awake," Yaozu says, giving a small nod. He tilts his head a little bit to one side, his gaze finding and looking over the food on the tray before turning back to Loki. "What fun are you referring to?" he asks quietly.

Then he blinks when Loki mentions having had a 'peek'. And then he gives a small nod. "Yes. I am mutating," he affirms. There's no point in denying it, it's a known thing and Loki is already aware of it. "Medical personnel would seem to agree with you. What is most interesting to you about it?"

Loki has posed:
Loki's motives tend to center on Loki and his goals. Which tends to be making himself happy, at the very least. More power is usually the end goal. One thing is certain, despite not knowing for sure. Loki, in this moment, doesn't want the man to be dead. In the next moment? Who knows. That may well change.

Loki had almost certainly been observing the man since he'd been put to sleep. Probably via some sort of magic. "You're wondering about the ring. It looks good on you," he says. "The tracking device within it has been disabled, of course." So much for that theory.

"Seeing what makes you tick, of course," replies Loki, that grin returning to his face. It's a casual, almost content thing. But at the same time, anticipatory. "Hmmm. There are several aspects I find interesting. The most interesting being it seems to be directly linked to altitude. The higher you are, the faster it's progressing. I think you have discovered this recently, though, haven't you?"

Loki lifts the tray and shakes it a little. "Hungry?" He pauses and looks thoughtful for a moment. "But at the same time... it's interesting that your body is adapting to it so quickly. Else you'd be dead already from the sheer amount of pain you would experience for every phase."

Loki studies the man for a few moments. "I could turn it off, you know," he says, casually. He waves a hand, and the pain vanishes as though it never was. If Yaozu is paying attention to his own body in that moment, he'll find that the feathers are gone, and his legs feel like they're back to normal. He feels... normal.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
For the moment, at least, Yaozu is still alive. And there's something to be said for living. How long he remains alive is likely to be determined by what he says, what he does, and Loki's whims. Mostly the latter, not that he likely realizes that to the full extent in the moment. His hands rest lightly within his lap, one of his hands atop of the other.

"Mm," Yaozu affirms, giving a small nod about the ring. It's a logical thing to wonder about, really. "I suspected that the tracker within it was no longer working," he says, a thoughtful tone to his voice. He shifts his hands, lifting his right hand to look to the ring, adjusting it slightly. "And here I thought it was that you wished for them to know that I was still alive," Yaozu comments, the barest flicker of amusement touching the words.

Yaozu tilts his head slightly to one side, studying the fellow for a long and unblinking moment. Then he gives a small and single nod. "It was unknown, before. And progressing slowly, then. Recently it was discovered, about the altitude's impact, yes," he affirms. Would he have changed his mind about coming to America had he know that this was going to happen? It's unlikely that his plans would have been different. He would have ended up flying at some point in his life.

His gaze turns to the food on the tray, and then he gives a nod. "Yes. I am hungry," he affirms. And with the admission made, realizes that statement is quite true, in fact, and that he's more than just a little bit hungry. "The pain was not too bad, before what is currently changing," he says, lifting one of his shoulders in a faint shrug. It hadn't been. Not being allowed to be physically active had been worse. Perhaps his discipline has played a part in mitigating some of the pain, though it's done little to help him with what he's been going through since the evening of the zero G training. He's been through physical pain before, and many times.

His gaze turns towards the window, and the mountain beyond it. His hair has begun to unravel from the knot that he'd put it into, which isn't unexpected. He blinks, then turns to look to Loki, one of his eyebrows quirking up at the words that were said. Turn it off? Yaozu is not stupid, though -- such things would have a cost to them, he realizes, and it wouldn't change the fact that the serum is still within him and would be activated at altitude again. And for a moment, he does enjoy the feeling of being normal. The fact that it's unlikely to remain doesn't stop him from taking a small advantage of it by rising to his feet, and he slips his right hand to the small of his back to let it rest there. "I know," he says softly. At least, he knows now. "It would return. The agent that is within my body and causing it would still be there," he says, a small smile touching at the corners of his lips. His steps aren't hurried in nature, but he does start to approach where Loki stands with the food.

Loki has posed:
For the moment. Given the temperment that's been seen thus far, Yaozu is likely to stay alive. Living is good. Of course, Loki's whims could change, literally at any given moment. It might be noted that Loki had specified tracker, and had said nothing about the monitoring of vitals portion of that ring's programming. Which might give the hint that Yaozu's vitals are being sent without fail to where they're supposed to go. Loki grins. "I don't care whether they know you're still alive or not," he says. "I'm the God of Mischief. It'll create more chaos if they know, and can see exactly how your body reacts to what I'm doing to it." Which is strictly the truth. "Plus, it's more /fun/ to know they're squirming."

When the man admits he's hungry, Loki wiggles the tray at him again. Almost as though to say, 'come and take it.. if you can.' As for shutting it off... There's every possibility that Loki could shut it off entirely. Serum and all. But, that's unlikely to happen. "Oh, if I shut it off entirely, I would null that which is causing the changes." As the man rises and walks over, Loki takes a step closer to the barrier. It shimmers, just faintly.

That step brings the tray into contact with the barrier. It irridesces, like an oil slick or a soap bubble as the tray touches, then moves through it with no apparent effort on Loki's part at all. That gives the impression that it's either keyed to let things from the outside in, or specifically to prevent Yaozu from going out.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
Given some of the looks that Loki has eyed him with, Yaozu has a suspicion that he's to be kept alive. For what purpose, he knows not. He could just as easily be squashed like a bug. Idly, the half-breed Chinaman adjusts the ring about his thumb whilst keeping his hand behind his back. If it's magic that's disabled the tracker, then there's likely naught he could do to get it working again. There's a part of what Loki says that makes him... wary. Clearly, the God of Mischief has a plan for him, especially if he's intending on using his body's reactions to stir things up. He tilts his head a touch to one side, and then he gives a small nod. "Do you think that there are enough people that pay attention to the vitals it reads that there would be chaos?" he asks, a flicker of curiosity to his voice. He knows that Liansong monitors it, but he doesn't know who else does. He's no one of great importance, after all.

Yaozu continues to walk over towards the barrier, and once he's reached it, he stops relatively in front of Loki. And with the tray pushed through the barrier, he slips his right hand in front of him as he lifts both hands in order to claim the tray from the mischievous god. "Such a thing, I would suspect, would not be without a cost," Yaozu says, a thoughtul note to his voice. Removing his mutation and the cause of it is a thing that only benefits Yaozu, and he's not certain that a God would make such a trade as that.

Yaozu doesn't touch the barrier, as of yet, though. There will be time enough to explore that after he's eaten. The fact that there is a barrier leads him to the belief that he's either a hostage or a prisoner. He half bows, once he has the tray in hand. "Arigatou gozaimashu," Yaozu says, his tone grateful and the words Japanese. It might not be his native language, but he speaks it fluently.

Translation: Arigatou gozaimashu = Thank you.

Loki has posed:
Loki could. Squash him like a bug. But where would be the fun in that? He grins. "Do you think there are not? If it creates confusion and chaos for one person, it's enough for me to enjoy it." As the tray is claimed, absolutely nothing untoward happens. "There's a cost to everything," agrees Loki. "But I haven't decided what such a cost would be. And, to be honest, where's the fun in setting you back to ground zero and leaving you there?" Loki grins toothily. "It'll be far more interesting to see what you change /into/. I can already see what you /were/."

Some gods might make a trade like that. Loki is probably /not/ a god like that, however. Loki bows his head and replies in kind, in Japanese, with nary an accent at all. "You're quite welcome." He grins, bounces once on the balls of his feet, and then turns to walk to the door. He pauses there and glances back over his shoulder. "You have about half a day to enjoy yourself before what I did wears off." The tray holds food and drink as well, traditional Japenese fare. And then he's gone, back from wherever he'd disappeared from, leaving the man to his own devices.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
For Yaozu, there would be no fun in ending up dead. His goal is to remain alive and somehow end up back in New York City. How, exactly... he isn't sure. One of his eyebrows quirks up slightly at the question Loki serves back to him, and the his brow furrows slightly. The God has a point. And Yaozu knows that there is at least one person who monitors his vitals -- Liansong. There might be others who check it from time to time, but Liansong has been the one who has been most closely monitoring his progress through the mutation. "Yes. Everything has a cost," Yaozu agrees, inclining his head towards the fellow. He hadn't really thought being put back to fully human an option that was really on the table, so he's not surprised when it actually isn't. "It is what it is," he says, in regards to what the mutation will change him into. He's tossed the notion around in his head some, but there's no way to predict where it will stop. Even Liansong hasn't been able to predict that outcome.

It doesn't seem to surprise Yaozu that Loki speaks Japanese. Keeping the tray in hand, he turns to start to walk over towards the side table with it. He's not going to eat in bed, for he has manners and a sense of what's proper. On the way there, he pauses and half turns his head towards Loki at the time frame. Half a day. Half a day to enjoy being without pain and without the mutation's effects on his body. Then he gives a small nod. "Thank you. I will bear that in mind," Yaozu says. What will he do with half a day? His stomach gurgles, a reminder of his hunger, and he at least settles on what the first thing to do will be -- to eat. And he'll eat all of the food that had been brought to him, as well.