1417/Odd Men Out

Odd Men Out
Date of Scene:	12 July 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Traci 13, Terra, 267

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Traci 13 has posed:
    Traci had earned a little bit of extra money, forced to take it against her wishes, from an old woman she'd helped out with one thing or another. And, she'd decided to take the windfall, along with Paisley, to go down to the seafood market for some fresh sushi. And, stomachs full, Traci was walking though the park at dusk.
    It's the sort of odd time, really, where transition happens in the park. It's not quite empty, but neither are more people flocking. Slowly, but certainly, the park is ending. The police, yet, are not quite patrolling the park for people straggling, or homeless who might try to pick a spot for the night.
    It's quiet. The old addage of 'too quiet', perhaps.
    At first, Traci doesn't notice. She's too busy feeding a strawberry to Leroy, the iguana riding on her shoulder.

    Four men are also walking through the park. Four men. Dressed, each, in black suits. Dressed each, in black fedoras. Dressed each in a crisp, perfectly clean white shirts. Polished black shoes. A sharp, narrow tie. And, a cane. Four men, walking in perfect synchronization, feet moving in rhythm, cane's touching the ground with exacting, rehearsed precision, their faces downturned so that the brim of the hat obscure them slightly.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    Terra, on the other hand, is NOT here for sushi. Because it is terrible omigod you don't even know. Well, maybe the cucumber ones aren't bad. But the fish ones...bleah!

    Nope, she's just taking a shortcut through the park as she comes back from her waitressing job uptown. She likes it here..it's the only real unspoiled territory in the city, at least, the large one. And because it's hot and because she doesn't realize that you're ONLY patriotic on the 4th, she's still wearing the Stars'n'Stripes bikini she picked up for the holiday. Because it's comfy!

    She tilts her head a bit as she sees Traci up ahead, breaking into a smile. She remembers her! She told her about the ducks when she was following them that day. "HI!" she calls, breaking into a jog that puts a little bounce into certain areas. "Remember me?"

Paisley (267) has posed:
    It's the synchronicity that catches Paisley's attention. Four men walking in perfect lock-stepped unison. Law enfrocement and goverment agencies don't teach that level of coordination. The only ones who do are militaries and... "Some kind of performing group or something...? Look at the outfits. Yowza. I mean, a love a guy who can pull off a fedora but that's... Ridiculous."
    The now white haired girl reaches over to scratch Leroy's head. THer longbleached tresses are almost silvery in he light, fiantly translucent and almost seeming to make the pale girl glow as they frame her shoulders. It brings out the brightness of her eyes as she surveys the park. And the men, of course. THem in particular.
    Traci is leading the way. Even with Paisley's attention on the men she manages to walk in careful step with the girl beside her, a half step behind and to the left. Her gaze snaps from the men to Terra with a jolt when she hears the girl calling out to them.

Paisley stares. Just a little. She can't really help it. Rather than speak the petite punker gives a slight wave.

Traci 13 has posed:
    "Hey, Atlee. Looking good," Traci says with a wide smile. She releases her hand from Paisley's, and waves to the star-spangled girl, "No ducks today?" She's pleased, clearly, to have run into the odd but cute girl again. "This is my girlfriend, Paisley. Paisley this is Atlee. She's - fun. Very nice." Traci seems completely sincere, too. And if the girl's strange outer wear baffles Traci, the girl doesn't seem to notice.
    Instead, she does notice the four Odd Men. "Maybe," she hedges onto Paisley's words about them being some kind of performance group. Her brows furrow, "I've never seen them around before, though. Could be new. But ...," but Paisley knows Traci well enough to know that something is bothering her. So does the iguana, Leroy, who inches forwards on Traci's shoulder eyes focusing onto the group that Traci is staring at.

    The Odd Men continue to move forwards, towards a woman jogger who seems to slow as they approach. As one, the seem to splinter off, and, almost as some kind of performance troupe they move to circle the jogger who slows, uncertainly.
    As one, they bow, dip their hats, still obscuring their faces. Their canes twirl. Raise up into the air, and, suddenly, sharply, come down on the woman who shrieks, screams.
    It happens too fast for anything to really be stopped. The woman crumples, as the canes slam into her legs, her back, her head. The tips of the canes come down, jam into her back. And then the woman twitches. Convulses. And, the screams and cries stop as her body begins to transform. Tennis shoes become black, polished dress shoes. The light blue sweatpants turn into neatly pressed black slacks. The light lycra sports top turns into a pressed black coat, white pressed shirt, narrow black tie. A black fedora appears on top of her head as her hair is tucked beneath it. And, lastly, but certainly, there is a cane in her hand. The once-woman begins to stand, and as she does so, one can observe her facial features - disappearing. Leaving only a blank slate of the color of her flesh. No eyes. No nose. No mouth. Or even ears.
    The Odd Men pause. And then they begin, all five as one, to walk towards Traci, Paisley, and Terra.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    The dark haired girl shakes her head cheerfully. "No, no time for ducks, I had work to do today." She looks at Paisley curiously, smiling. "Is this your girlfriend? You're very pret-" she stars to say to the young punker, shifting the yellow duffel over her back, before the scream causes her to whirl around, then stares at the attack. "....oh no.." she says, sounding angry. "That will not be allowed here..."

    She turns to find a phone booth or bathroom or bush and....stares at the wide open spaces around the jogging trail they're on. DARN IT!

    "Excuse me." she says politely to the girls and...well, strips. Her shorts, at least, as she unzips the bag she's carrying, kicking off her sandals. Then pulls out what looks like...a leotard?...that she steps into, starting to pull it up to her waist, then remembers the bikini, trying to snag the tie at the back. "Um...moment..." It looks like there's a matching set of gloves and boots in the bag too.

Paisley (267) has posed:
        "You're gorgeous," Paisley blurts out as Terra is giving her compliment before blinking once and flashing the dark haired girl a quick smile. She swallows hard and then starts to turn as the screams begin. "What the fuck is going on...?"
    Paisley always has a muted emotional response. Right now she looks mroe confused than nonplussed or upset. When When Terra begins to strip that draws her attention for a split second- and then Paisley shakes herh ead quickly, grimacing. "There's no time for that!" The girl calls, regardless of how distracting it might be.
    Then Paisley is lookign around and taking a deep breath. She reaches underneath her top to work out a folding knife that she pops out now- a heavy, long bladed affair that looks larger in small hands. "I think we havea problem. Trace! Do you see anything about what is going on here?" Just the barest edge of panic follows that question. "We should probably, um. Consider running. Except I bet your friend won't."

Traci 13 has posed:
    "...I ... don't know," Traci says, staring at the Odd Men with a measure of revulsion, and confusion herself. And, anger. She isn't running, though, as much as Paisley might like it. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Terra strip. That, too, isn't something you see everyday. Too bad there's not more time to appreciate it. "This," Traci says, quietly, "Is my city." Her fingers strech out, curl, and she holds the position briefly before she moves her palm out to let loose a single blast of magical energy straight into the Odd Men.
    The one who it's about to hit moves his cane with wicked-fast speed, deflecting the bolt at an angle where it tears into a tree and there's a shivering and shuddering, a squealching and creaking as the two-foot thick tree trunk begins to slowly tumble and crash to the earth.
    The Odd Men continue to file towards the three girls. Their intent clear. More of them.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    Terra finally gives up and just YANKS on the top, the string breaking with a sharp 'twang' and a brief sadness at the loss, before she pulls up her costume the rest of the way, zipping it in place, then grabbing the boots and hopping quickly into one. "Almost...there..." she says, wobbling as she reaches down to snag the gloves too, then the other boot.

    The light show distracts her a bit, blinking. "Oh! You can do that?" she says, sounding a bit impressed, then ers as the man deflects it. "Okay! Just a moment longer!" she says quickly, sliding her bare foot into the other boot as she hops a little awkwardly, putting herself more in front of the two girls...well, more Paisley. The knife is very brave, but she does not have energy bolts that she has seen yet!"

Paisley (267) has posed:
    "...Right. Well..." Paisley is watching the men with a clear frown on her lips. "Definitely don't want to get close. Wht on earth are you planning to do?" There's the obligatory incredulous stare for Terra's benefit and then a slow nod for Traci before Paisley tkaes a deep breath.
    "I mean. Was the costume really that important?" She asks, taking time out of her regularly scheduled terror to be baffled.
    "This isn't the kind of behaviour we toelrate around here," Paisley finally informs the men. She lifts her hands and gestures briefly, pointing her knife at one. A frown follow.s "No, wait. It's..."
    The raw, weaponized hex would be felt by anyone with a lick of sensitivity to magic. A spell to cause things to go catastrophically wrong. Whether bad luck or organ failure. She targets one of the Odd Men at random, really. Who knows what happens if you can deflect THAT sort of spell? Pity whatever it hits.

Traci 13 has posed:
    The featureless faces of skin, black, olive, light tan, do not seem to register any of the pronouncements made by the three girls. The five continue to march forwards as one single Hive Minded Organism, ready to increase their number as they get closer.
    Paisley's hex hits one of them, who twitches, spasmodically out of synch, while the other four continue as if unaware of their brethern's plight. For a single moment, the featureless face peels back to reveal the inert, sleeping face of the person underneath the - well, whatever it is. Momentarily, his eyes open, and the cane seems to suddenly - shift like static, as if it were random bytes and bits and reality a poor video processor that couldn't handle the graphic upload of it. The man's suit does the same. His eyes open, and he gasps at the girls, "....save me."
    One of the Odd Men turn, suddenly as soon as that sound is made. The tip of the cane is pressed, like one pressing a door bell buzzer, against the side of the hexed man's head, and once again, swift and fluid, he is an Odd Man again.
    They are now slightly seperated. A group of three. A group of two.

    "Atlee, love the costume, and the love of your body you have, but, less undressing, and more helping."
    This time, Traci shifts her stance, "Sorry, Leroy. Those are people. Innocent people. You're going to have to sit this one out." A wind funnel bellows out from in front of her, pushing the group back, to buy the girls a few more seconds. But it does not either seperate cane, hat, tie, or single article of clothing off the Odd Men. It doesn't even seem to disturb them, int he least.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    "A friend of mine told me it was very important for superheroines to not have wardrobe malfuctions..." Atlee says, in the tones of someone who is 1) not clear on what that is exactly and 2) TOTALLY oblivious that changing like that in public probably qualifies. But she finally gets her gloves in place, pulling the last one one as the men close again. "Sorry, I am ready now." she says, determinedly, raising her hands and curling her fingers...

    And the ground quakes, a rumble running through the earth as spires burst upward, twisting over and separating into crude fingers as they fold towards the group of three, attempting to pin them to the ground, pieces of dirt crumbling off them but starting to orbit towards Atlee rather than falling.

Paisley (267) has posed:
    At first Paisley is going to explain. "Changing in front of strangers is usually-" Then her brain skips to darker thoughts. For a second she's distracted by something with nothing at all to do with the oncoming group of strange, mystical doppelganger men or, in fact, anything to do with the situation at hand. "...You look gr-" She starts when the voice calls out to her.
    Save me. Something about hearing those words sends the young into a tizzy. She darts forward at an insane speed, nearly a blur as she is beside Atlee and Traci one moment- then following the spires of earth that are exploding from the ground. Paisley ends up atop one, and hse uses it as a way to spring toward the Odd Man she'd cursed.
    "Concentrate. Promise me you'll... that you'll- give me your most prized possession... and I'll help you get free." Paisley's words might sound like nonsense but she believes it enough to walk up to the hexed man. "Hurry up!"
    Anyone familiar with magic can see how it glows as it surrounds Paisley in force. It's an awkward position to be in, of course, but she's obviously not concerned with safety.

Traci 13 has posed:
    Except the man is in no positioin to agree, or promise, even if he wanted to. Because he's no longer awake.

    "Paisley! Get away! They're --"
    But it's too late, Traci's warning isn't enough. The Odd Men suddenly react with the same speed that Paisley just showed as the two men, one of whom Paisley just tried to make a deal with, both slam their canes into her side. And they hit her, hard. In strength equal to proportion which Paisley herself might hit them, each.
    The other three move towards Atlee, who seems to be the bigger danger.

    ""I said," Traci growls, "This is -my- city." She stomps her foot into the ground, her jaw tensing hand twisting in the air. And she concentrates. Then, she begins to chant, "By the swords of Kali, by the darkness that devours, let the shadows come forth and be my blades -- and my cloak."
    This? This is probably the first real physical magic that Paisley has ever seen Traci cast. Six pillars of dark-fire erupt out of the ground, then, and as if massive arms were wielding them like blades, they seek the Odd Men out, slicing throug the air.
    One of them gets caught in the firey-darkness-blade, and is slammed ont his back, hard, down and out.
    The others? The others -- static shift. Again, like the graphics processor of reality is unable to keep up with the new demands of the video system. Fragments left behind, like stuck visual blocks.
    The Odd Men are suddenly behind the girls, teleported. But, one of them, at least, now, is down.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    The hands crash down...but not fast enough, as the strange men stutter step, vanishing and reappearing behind the girls. "No!" she says as Paisley is hit, setting her jaw a bit as she brings both arms back. The spires break apart into smaller rocks that flow towards her like a river, winding past her as they spin towards the reappeared baddies, one of the clods of dirt solidly thumping into one as it breaks apart, the impact knocking the strange man down.

    Atlee is moving towards Paisley automatically at that point, her face concerned as she spins to try and keep the strange creatures in her line of sight, backing towards her as the rocks continue to orbit her widely. "They are people? How do we stop them without hurting them? Can we change them back?" she asks Traci. She seems to know something about weird things like this!

Paisley (267) has posed:
    Paisley is struck by the canes once, twice in rapid succession. Her eyes go wide and she stagges. For a second i doesn't look like a lot. There wasnt' a lot of concussive force to how she'd been beaten, really. Then Paisley coughs up blood. A splatter of crimson, running down her lip, and a stagger as seh reaches out a hand toward the Odd Man she'd tried to save.
    It's a lot to unpack at once. Paisley reacts quite a bit like she'd just been stabbed. Repeatedly. SLightly pale, the girl sways for a second. "Fuck this. You're... coming with ME!" Groaning, Paisley throws both hands into the air, pressing her ferocity and energy into another, ruinously violent hex with her previous victim as the target.

The air almost seems to shimmer between them, the smell of ozone accompanying the division in reality that is implied by the sudden, forcible twisting of fate.Paisley coughs again, looking briefly gaunt as she calls out, "If you heard me the first time... "
    Paisley could topple over at any moment. Nevermind the amount of damage she's about to do to some guy's relationship with destiny and space-time. It might even be enOught to bust him free of the Odd Man. Or cause him to suddenly have a heart attack. She isn't the most powerful mage but her type of magic is more than a little pernicious, as well as volatile, and right now her control as to be a bit suspect...

Traci 13 has posed:
    The six pillars of darkness, like wicked, chaotic arms have not yet disappated. And, most certainly they're going to draw attention, they're taller than the treeline. Traci's will is strong, but it's very likely she can't keep this up very long, "Right now, we just need to get out of this alive," she tells Terra, "Without hurting them too badly. I can teleport us out of here, but we all need to stick together. Right now, they cant see me." If they can even see at all, through those featureless, blank faces.

    Paisley's hex -- seems to work. It's like a Mario Brick was busted, and huge chunks of bits and bytes, very nearly literally, break off from the man and fizzle out into reality leaving a frail looking dark-skinned man slumping forwards, unconscious, into the park grounds.

    Between Terra's, Traci's, and Paisley's efforts, the Odd Men are out three, leaving only two left.

    The odds are against them, the realize now. And there's another graphical shift, another alteration of reality and suddenly four of the Odd Men, the four remaining, unconscious and standing both, stand now thirty feet away from the group of girls. They stand there. Inert. As if they were mannequins. Statues.
    Over the face of one, suddenly, a splotch of hair. One oversizes graphical brown eye. One feminine, small, blue eye. A sidewayse graphical nose. And huge teeth, like virtual chompers. "Well, girls," says a computerized voice, "You must be proud of yourselves. Taking one of mine away from me. One of my children. Unfortuante it had to be like this. You could have been one of the Children. Now? I'm just going to have to take something from the three of you in return. Tit, for tat."

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    Terra nods to Traci at the answer, her violet eyes meeting hers for a moment, before she continues, running to Paisley's side, just in time to slide an arm under the girl as the weird ozone feeling strikes one of the remaining men. SHe supports the girl against her with one hand. "I've got her!" she calls to Traci, then focuses on one of the remaining men. Her eyes narrow, before some of the orbiting pavement abruptly slams together, forming into a rough stone scissors, then snaps out, aimed at one of them. Not the man itself...but the cane, as Terra tries to shatter it. Maybe that will break the spell? AT the least, diasarmed! And the weird person in the images is coming for their chests! She knew having wardrobe malfunctions were dangerous!

Paisley (267) has posed:
    The hex having completed Paisley drops like a marionette with her strings cut. Atlee catches her before she hits the geround. Slender, pretty, and incredibly light. She's smaller this way, without her intensity to bolster her size. Paisley's not in good shape. To say the least. "He's- safe...? S'oka. put me down..." Paisley starts to mumble in a not entirely coherent way.

Traci 13 has posed:
    "Toodle-loo, girls." The face one the Odd Man turns into a devil-face, and makes a soundless, silent video-graphical laugh, and then, one last static-reality video shift, and the four remaining Odd Men - including the woman they took, and excluding the dark-skinned man Paisley saved, are gone. Completely.

    Traci's spell fades, just at the same time and she exhales, "Wow. That was. Intense."
    Then, she moves over to Atlee, and Paisley, telling Atlee, "I think I love you, thank you." And, she kneels next to Paisley, after a brief glance to the man she saved, to see he's breathing, but utterly unconscious, still. "You alright, girl?"

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    The scissors snaps shut...but too late as the group vanishes. She lets the rocks come apart, then focuses, the material starting to drift back where it belongs.

    Terra flushes a bit confusedly, however. "O-okay?" she says, smiling at Traci as she rocks bob a bit. "I love you too!" The rocks then reorient and continue the cleanup. She carefully kneels down, sitting back on her haunches as she lowers Paisley so her head is on her lap. "You are both very strong..." she says appreciatively. She hesistates. "I love you as well!" Just to be sure. She wouldn't want her to feel left out! She stroke sher hair gently. "Is this normal?" she says to Traci, a bit worriedly. "Does she need medical assistance?"

Paisley (267) has posed:
    "I love you three," Paisley responds to Atlee in a slightly faraway voice. "Does that mean the pretty girl is coming home with us, Mistress Traci?" Paisley blinks a few itmes then makes a weird expression, frowning as she tries to muddle through what she just said. Finally she giggles a little and shrugs. "You've been holding out on me, first beautiful girl."
    Paisley rests with her head in Atlee's lap, blue eyes shifting to Traci while she cosniders this a moment. "Take me home," the girl starts. "Stay close in case they try to find us again. And... Mmm. I'll be fine in a little while. I heal pretty fast. N-no... Hospitals. Kay?"

Traci 13 has posed:
    "I don't think Atlee is coming home with us, no," says Traci, her cheeks going slightly pink. She glances sidelong at Atlee, "But, she's welcome if she needs to rest. Or wants to make sure you're okay. You just rest a minute."
    Traci reaches a hand out to squeeze Atlee's hand after taking it. "Thank you, for catching Paisley. I haven't quite gotten it down to have several spells going at once, yet." That's Stephen Strange level magic. "And, wow. That was some pretty wicked stuff you were doing, Atlee. You're amazing, yeah? If you want to drop by, I can make you and Paisley something to eat. It's really best if we don't take her to a hospital," she agrees. "She's - well. They wouldn't know what to do with her. She's - in a way, like you. Not from around here."

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    Much of what is said about the magic part of that goes right over Atlee's head, though she smiles, and nods, getting a more serious expression as Paisley's unusual background is mentioned. "You are most welcome, and yes, it would be better that we did not take her to a hospital. And I would be happy to visit your home. I can takes us there quickly and comfortably?" The ground shakes slightly under them, before the patch of ground they're on floats up into the air easily. "Which way is best?" the earthbender says, as if she isn't effortlessly holding all three of them and a large chunk of earth in the air.

Paisley (267) has posed:
    "I guess she IS coming home with us," Paisley announces triumphantly. She closes her eyes then, curling herself against Atlee as that is the nearest of the two girls. She's happy to get quite comfortable this way, pressing close. After that Paisley is more or less boneless. Carrying her wouldn't be hard even for someone of average strength. The girl reaches out toward Traci then, blindly grasping at the air. "Safer if we're together. Til we find out what voice meant when it said it was going to take something from us..."

Traci 13 has posed:
    "Okay," mutters Traci, looking appreciatively at the rock platform beneath her, then to Atlee. "That's pretty cool. And, that way." She points southwards, "Just fly us above the streets, if you can. Above the streetlights. I'll tell you when to turn."
    She adds, thoughtfully, "In the meantime, ... try not to change in public, anymore? It draws unnecessary attention." She grins some, slightly. "Though I won't tell anyone," she promises.

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    The rock smoothly accelerates, gaining some height to avoid running into anything. She glances back at the hole left behind, looking a little guilty. She'll have to come back and fix that!

    The suggestion causes the dark haired girl to meet Traci's eyes, her violet ones blinking uncertainly. "...why would it do that?" she says curiously, then her eyes widen. "Oh, my top!" She sighs sadly. "I forgot. I just bought it too."

    She continues to gently stroke Paisley's hair soothingly, to go with the nice soft but firm lap to rest on. "Well...I was told I should use phone booths, but they don't seem to exist anymore. And bathrooms are hard to find. Also alleys often have people in them who are very distracted when I change there. And bushes scratch me in odd places." she adds.

Paisley (267) has posed:
    "Technically changing in front of everyone like that is illegal in most places," Paisley half-mumbles. "At least, in public. I don't mind but someone is going to." Paisley gives a faint shrug of her shoulders then.
    The girl twists in Atlee's arms until she is properly facing Traci but it seems she's appreciating the way her hair is being stroked because she makes no effort to pull away.
    Strangely, as the trio passes ordinary people on their rip no one seems to be aware the rock is moving past. Paisley holds the simple illusion easily, without having to do much more than concentrate while they fly.
    "Anyhow," Paisley offers, more soberly this time. "Let me know if there's, um, anything I can do, Atlee. In the mean time there's ice cream at our place."

Traci 13 has posed:
    "Well, you can either wear your costume under your clothes," suggests Traci, "Wear your costume around most of the time, or, make like a rock formation around yourself like a rock-tent to change in and protect yourself while you do that." She figures at least -one- of those ideas will settle well with Atlee.
    Still, Traci can't help but be somewhat enamoured of the somewhat naive, very cute, and very dangerous girl.
    "Rocky road," confirms Traci. "You ever had ice cream, yet?"

Atlee (1034) has posed:
    Atlee frowns a bit, her nose wrinkling cutely. "Well..I don't want to do things that are illegal." she allows. "Oh! THAT is why they have those little rooms in the store!" That makes sense now why her friend was upset with her changing outside of it. "Oh, no, you were very brave already in fighting those strange men off." she assures Paisley. "You do not owe me anything, but I would be happy to be your friend?" she says thoughfully. She nodnods firmly at Traci. "I will do that! But summer clothing is very revealing, and it makes it hard. Though I do like it! It's very comfortable to wear less in this weather." She tilts her head. "...rocky road?" she says uncertainly. "It is like...gravel?"

Paisley (267) has posed:
    "No. It's nothing like gravel. Just try some when we get back, you'll love it." Paisley seems to be becoming more coherent as moments are passing. She looks between Traci and Atlee, her expression one of faint amusement. The white haired Fae takes a deep breath and holds it ofr perhaps a second whle considering what she wishes to say next.
    "Kay. Friends," Paisley agrees. "And I like summer clothes too. It's cool." Those blue eyes dance across both women agian before settling onto Traci once more. For some reason the amusement in her expression only grows.