14377/Hangover, Without Alcohol

Hangover, Without Alcohol
Date of Scene:	11 May 2022
Location:	The Dartmouth, Southside (Suicide Slum)
Synopsis:	Wanda pounces on Lois to treat whatever the gnawing hunger devouring her is. What will the unintended consequences be? Cheesesteak!
Cast of Characters:	Lois Lane, Scarlet Witch

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Lois Lane has posed:
While Lois is still feeling like shit, she has been for weeks now and things aren't subsiding, the little argument of last night was enough to push her butt to get into work, follow up the investigation into the other cults she's traced, and actually get through most of the day before exhaustion and starvation got the better of her. She was hungry enough to claw her own face off, so she stopped for some street meat on the way home and is still popping the last bite of hot dog past her lips as she approaches her apartment building in the suicide slums.

Lois is generally a lovely woman, but whatever this sickness is has pushed her to the edge of wasting. She looks like a woman with an eating disorder now, all prominent joints and skinny limbs. She's drowning in her own clothing. Her dark hair is pulled messily back off her features and her glasses are pushed back off of her forehead to rest on her crown. The moment she finishes her hot dog, she pulls out her pack of cigarettes, tapping one free with shaking, tired hands.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff has been, if not exactly nearby physically, nearby mentally most of the day. Once Lois left for the day for work, Wanda had turned her powers toward scrying, to keep an eye on the woman. Now that work seems done for the day, Wanda has left off the scrying and come in person. After teleporting in nearby, she walks out of an alley to fall into step beside Lois.

"You look like hell," she says, opening with what, on the surface, might seem like an insult, but is in reality nothing more than concern for a fellow person. "Did you find anything relevant today?" By contrast, Wanda looks radiant, glowing with health. Her long red hair hangs loose and shines in the sunlight. Her clothes fit perfectly, and while she's certainly not overweight, her joints don't all stick out either. She has the musculature of a woman who does work out on a fairly regular basis, but nothing too prominent. It's subtle. Unlike Wanda. Who really isn't subtle at all.

Lois Lane has posed:
Normally, Lois would be a bit more attentative, but her mind simply isn't here right now. She's thinking about nothing but a big plate of delivery food and bed, honestly. She turns a drowsy blink across the lazily trailing smoke of her cigarette, looking Wanda up and down with a deep sigh. "Have a few leads. Just need to book some plane tickets. I'll be in and out in a few days. But it's my case. My story. I'm not going to be baby sat on it."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"Mm. And how do you propose to stop me, hm?" Wanda glances sidelong at the reporter. "I'm sorry, Lois, but you're stuck with me on this one. Of course, it might wind up being you being the baby sitter. I cannot guarantee that their drugs won't work on me. I can take measures, but that's all. Stephen will also be keeping an eye on us. Just in case." Wanda falls silent for a few steps before speaking again. "But I meant it. You shouldn't go back in there until I can clear Apophis' poison from you."

Lois Lane has posed:
"What the fuck is Apophis' poison? I think I'd know if I'd been poisoned." Lois mutters around her cigarette, more impatience behind her voice. It's the kind of impatience that comes when someone knows something is wrong and they are really just in firm denial about the whole damn matter. She's been in denial for weeks, clinging to her own stubborn strength that of course nothing is wrong. It'll take a bit more than a few words to cleave her away.

She does manage to get the door open, finally, and walks into the slum apartment building with cigarette still lit. She saunters her way down the first floor to her fairly spacious two bedroom. She can afford that much space in a shit hole. Her apartment smells like cigarettes, take out, and some insense that is there to likely cover weed. She hasn't told the woman to go away entirely, yet, but she's not verbally welcoming her in.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"You wouldn't. Not if it's magical poison. I'm still not entirely sure what it is. But it feels right. It's voracious, and so is Apophis. And it's eating you." Wanda follows her through the door, making sure it's closed behind her. Not that it would stop her if she wanted to go in and it was closed with her outside, but hey! It'll stop other people. Despite not being verbally welcomed inside, Wanda walks inside anyway. Again, she makes sure the door is closed. And wrinkles her nose at the smell. "It smells like a casino in here." That's one way of putting it. "Lois. Look at yourself in a mirror. Really look at yourself. Is that how you normallly look? I hardly think so."

Lois Lane has posed:
There is silence from the reporter for several heartbeats. Lois is cranky, exhausted, she wants to fight and cling to her normal life, her regular strength, but she knows that the other woman has a good point. She swears beneath her breath, walking over to the coffee table where she drags out an ash tray and just plopping down on her old leather couch. She nods for the woman to sit as well.

"You want a drink? I pretty much got a full bar, though I mighta killed most of the good rum the other night." She admits softly, looking over to her messy home bar that flanks one of the walls perpendicular to the windows. "I'm gonna order some dinner. If you're gonna be annoying and helpful, least I can do is buy you food. You want a cheesesteak?"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
A glance is cast toward the bar. "Would you happen to have tea? I.. try not to drink very often. Things can get... interesting when I do." The way she says that, interesting probably means 'messy'. Honestly, the state of the apartment doesn't really seem to register on Wanda. Nope, she's mostly just watching Lois. At least the intensity of the 'science experiment' look isn't there. Not like it was the previous evening. She still looks like the reporter might be an interesting puzzle to solve, though. "I would love a cheesesteak."

Lois Lane has posed:
When Wanda says things get interesting, Lois' exhausted eyes light up for a moment. She smiles a bit wider, head tilting to the side. "Oh, now I *really* want to go drinking with you, but I suspect this isn't the night to try to talk you into things, sadly." Lois grumbles a bit to herself. Going on a bender with an interesting new friend sounds far better than fighting out why she's felt so awful lately.

Leaning forward, she balances her cigarette at the corner of her mouth and grabs her cellphone to put in a quick order for two cheesesteaks, a whole lot of fries, and a whole lot of dipping cheese. "Oh, and milkshakes. Then maybe I'll try to find tea. Maybe Clark left some here...this isn't really a tea house hold." But she'll try. Once the order is set off, she unfolds from the couch, pausing only a moment as the room does that vague spinning thing it's been doing more and more lately. She shakes it off an tries to head for the kitchen, on a quest for tea.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff chuckles, her jade eyes lighting up with amusement. "Not tonight, no. Perhaps, after the cult is dealt with. But I warn you... it's possible you could wind up inside out if we do." Though her lips are quirked up, and her eyes still sparkling, something about how she says that makes it seem like she's not joking at all.

Wanda goes quiet as the reporter calls in the order. When done, she chuckles and shakes her head. "If I really want tea, I can get tea. Don't worry about it. What I should do is take you somewhere for dinner. But first, let's deal with your little problem, shall we?" Wanda leans forward and lifts her hand to tap her chin. She looks thoughtfully over Lois. "Hm. This might hurt," she says.

That's all the warning that's offered before Wanda's power flares to life around her hands, it looks like living scarlet flames. It's not a second after that power has gathered that swirls up and dances through the air of the apartment and around Lois. Like bits of fire having fun dancing along. Around Lois, and around, and then into her. Wanda might have been exaggerating. It doesn't really hurt. But it will certainly feel odd.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois tsks at the comment about tea, "Surely I've got some salada or Lipton somewhere around here. I think Clark only drinks coffee because I do. But then, I could be wrong, he is a good old midwestern boy..." No one in Lois' circle is the tea type at all, it seems, as she digs through cabinets and cupboards to no luck. She sighs, "Sorry. I'm not much of a hostess."

Then she's coming back over to Wanda, about to protest the woman's insistence on helping her with this all, but it's a little too late. She lets out a squack of shock as Wanda says it might hurt and, over all, Lois has been through worse. But it certainly isn't pleasant. She grumbles, rubbing at her face and experimenting with the touch of her own skin as everything now feels like it's vibrating. "What in...hell did you do? And did it WORK??"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The magic swirls around Lois for a good thirty seconds, at least, before it fades away to sparkles, and then nothing. Wanda looks the woman over for a moment and then nods. "I think so. Mostly. You might have some odd... um.. side effects, but your body is no longer eating itself. How do you feel?" All in all, the reporter ought to feel one hundred and ten percent better than she had five minutes earlier. Except, the hunger is probably worse. Maybe the cheesesteaks will be on order, and more after!

Lois Lane has posed:
A little groan escapes her lips, Lois ready to toss some of the molding leftovers from the fridge down her gullet, "Like I could eat an entire horse, or anything in this apartment that doesn't look like a science experiment." She admits, but she takes in a deep breath, calmer, fuller, the deepest breath she's been able to take in ages. A drunk on relief little laugh escapes her lips as she collapses back onto the couch, "But... better. That is better. What the fuck WAS that?"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"That was chaos interacting with chaos. I'm not sure what the side effects will be, but it shouldn't be anything too bad. I made sure to play with probability to make it that way," says Wanda with a shrug. "Can you wait for the cheesesteak, or do I need to take drastic measures?" The Scarlet Witch seems entirely ready to take drastic measures!

Lois Lane has posed:
"Okay, turn me inside out, lady, should I even ask you what your drastic measures ARE?" Lois inquires with slightly too wide eyes. Once more, she seems as curious and thrilled as she is scared. The scare might be a part of the appeal, it seems. Feeling better now herself, she beelines straight for the bar. Alcohol counts as calories too, right? She pours herself several fingers of Irish cream, since it's both fatty and booze, before bringing the glass back to the couch area.

"I think this will tide me over, but... explain a bit slower for the non-wizards in the crowd here..."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff chuckles. "Drastic measures are taking you somewhere to get food quickly," she replies. "Teleportation. I know a great place to get food quick. Well. Many great places. Tell me what kind of food you prefer, snap of my fingers, more or less, and off we go."

Simple, right? It can't possibly be that easy. Can it?

Lois Lane has posed:
There is a slightly skeptical look from Lois, but she gives a small shake of a head in response, "No, no...I don't think we need to go *drastic*. This'll hold me over, and Frank's place is pretty damn fast. They ain't shaving it off the cow, if you know what I mean." She gives Wanda a little wink. She knocks back a shot of the irish cream and pours herself another before stretching out back into the couch.

"So... talk to me. What... chaos was in me? I don't think I've met any other chaos entities. Not lately. And even Superman couldn't find anything wrong, though he's been worried. It's just...fixed? That easy? What caused it??"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff has not, thus far, gone for a drink. Not even to look for tea. Then again, she's been distracted by Lois. "I would hope not. Not here, anyway. Other places..." She lets that thought trail off and turns instead to the chaos. "I am not entirely certain as of yet. Something hungry. Without seeing where it came from, or having a lot more time to study it, I honestly can't tell you." Wanda shakes her head. "Fixed? No. It's still there. I have just.. put it to sleep for a little while. Have you run into anything unusual in the last few weeks? My guess is that you had contact with whatever it was contained in."

Lois Lane has posed:
With a bit more booze in her, her stomach rumbling but the rest of her body feeling more clear and alert than she has in weeks, Lois' eyes narrow thoughtfully. She's actually able to think with clarity and focus on things now, but as she combs back through her mind, there's still nothing that comes to her memories.

"I...honestly don't know. The strangest and worst thing I've done lately is when that original cult caught me. They had me drugged up, strapped to a table, but I don't think I was feeling rough until a good bit after that, and the hospital entirely cleared me before I left. The drugs were out of my system, or we might have a much easier sample." She takes another thoughtful sip of her irish cream.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff looks thoughtful and she leans her chin on her hand, with her elbow supporting such on her leg. "Hm. I wonder if whatever it was is something you ran into at the cult." She frowns then and shakes her head. "No, probably not. Maybe before the cult? A strange artifact or sculpture or. something?" She focuses back on Lois as she asks that. Not that her eyes ever really left the woman, but she did go off into space there for a moment as she was thinking about potentials.

Lois Lane has posed:
"I... dont think so? Not that I remember, at least. Not that I touched or... Licked, or did anything weird with. I am a reporter, I see artifacts, people, things, expositions, exhibits... Every week. I've been to half the museums of this city in the last two months. Who knows if it was something in there but...how could we ever tell? No deal, though. I'm better now, that's what matters."

And then the doorbell rings. Lois practically shoots up out of the couch with more energy than she's had in a while. "No. I lied. Cheesesteaks are what matter." Above all else, cheesesteak.

She gets the entirely too much food delivery inside, laying it all out for them to consume over more light, casual conversation. No more planning or worrying tonight, it's a celebration with cheesesteak and booze.