15423/Weird Scythe-ince

Weird Scythe-ince
Date of Scene:	04 August 2023
Location:	W.A.N.D. Offices, The Triskelion
Synopsis:	Nick is led out to a large Warehouse by Natasha and a WAND agent to get a better look at the M-Scythe. Questions are asked
Cast of Characters:	Phantasm (Drago), Black Widow (Romanoff)
Tinyplot:	Open Door

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Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
True to his word, Nick did take the first step of reaching out regarding the scythe. There could be a detailed retelling of the process but it was a long process, and honestly a little boring despite the goal at hand. But some success was made.

This success comes in the form of the performer turned SHIELD consultant to be escorted to a location that seems MUCH bigger on the inside. It's not a Tardis but it could very well be blamed on the meat of the structure not being above ground.

The warehouse is a massive one, crowded with many aisles of wooden crates, each with painted letters indicating the contents to not be of common knowledge and witha simple serial number on each to determine what's what.

The performer looks to the lengthy row he's currently on, seemingly studying the point in his view where the lines of perspective have merged together to a tiny dot in the distance. "...Shit."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"It's not that bad," comes the voice from beside him. When he had arranged to come visit SHIELD and explained it was in regards to a confiscated weapon in a stone, a bit of research had tracked it down to WAND custody. Meaning, it was magical in some way and they didn't fully understand it. Certainly it had been poked, prodded, and tested for quite some time after arriving but that had been a couple of years now.

Since Natasha had worked with Nick on an assignment in the past, she was elected as the senior agent to assist. And thus she had arrived, in full SHIELD uniform then taken him into R&D. Through a portal there and into The Warehouse. Which is how she thought of it, including capitalization.

They were not alone however. A member of WAND, level six, was with them. Since they would be needed to remove any sort of warding that might be on the box itself.

Natsha motioned and led the way unerringly to the specific row and aisle where the box was stored. She had a crowbar actually slung over her shoulder since that was going to be necessary.

The box itself was large, as it had to contain the weapon and the stone it was imbedded in. A stone it would not come out of. Though they had been given some information by Agent Barnes, it was still sparse on data.

"So, what's the story on this thing again?" she asked as they arrived at that point. As the WAND agent began working on removing the wards around it with quiet efficiency. Just the ones that allowed the box to be opened. Not all the protections. The entire building probably had a constant low level hum to someone like Nick.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Hearing Natasha lessen the level of surprise he had displayed earlier, he glances over, "Well, yeah, I'd hope you had a sorting system in place but-" His hands lift up giving a half lift, gesturing to the vanishing point of vision.

There isn't much time to linger as SHIELD does not dally when the objective is clear. He follows after, glancing to a couple of the oddly shaped boxes nearby during the process. Upon the group stopping, Nick does as well, looking to the box the others were staring at. Natasha's question gets an answer. "The event that led to Bu-....Barnes acquiring it or the backstory to what it is?"

How suitable that the quest for mystical items has a choose your own adventure element to the story telling. Isn't it?

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Backstory. Barnes' report I can read for myself," Natasha said in a good-natured tone. As the agent stepped back, he gave a nod to the redhead. Thus Natasha stepped forward with the crowbar, applying it properly to start prying open the side of the crate before them. It wouldn't take her long to actually get it open. Inside was what Nick sought.

The larger piece of stone is what it rested atop. Then there was the volcanic stone possibly? It was black and shiny. One might think obsidian or onyx perhaps. And imbedded in that black stone was the silver blade of a very unusual weapon. It looked more like a Lochaber axe but it had silver, red and brown, as there was a wooden stake on the end of the handle. Very strange indeed.

As it was revealed, the agent next to her stiffened slightly, sensing something about it. Nick might pick up on it as well. Natasha turned to look at Nick as she eyed it. "They couldn't get it out of the stone at all. Guessing you might know the reason for that. And that it's not Excalibur, though perhaps same sort of concept? Only the right person can obtain it?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick nods, taking the moment of the weapon's reveal to study it. The last time around he had to make himself scarce real quick. "You're pretty close." He confirms, "It's definitely not a magical sword but it's meant for only one type of person to wield it."

Nick breaks his glance from the scythe to look over to Natasha, "Are you familiar with a 'Slayer'? Not as a general term but more of a formal title."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
The weapon sits there, just seeming like nothing special to Natasha. No feel of power, as she wasn't even a little bit Homo Magi in her history. No glow or chorus of soft voices raised in an 'ahhhh' sound. Just a pretty fancy, but unusual, weapon stuck in a stone.

At mention of the term Slayer, Natasha actually nodded. "I know of the alleged One that has that title." Yet she doesn't explain beyond that, doesn't elaborate. A flick of her gaze to the weapon then that questioning look back to Nick to fill in the blanks.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick nods, "Well technically there are two of them right now." He gestures to the scythe. "Either one of them could release the scythe from the rock. Once out, to us it'd just be like a regular scythe but to them, it gives them added power against strong opponents. This was recovered from a ship overrun with vampires. It's very much likely they were trying to keep it away from the Slayer. Buffy seemed fine with not having it back then. But things have changed to where it appears they might need access to it to deal with a big problem"

He glances back to Natasha and the W.A.N.D. agent. "Are either of you familiar with the prophetic dreams they sometimes get?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Again Natasha is playing her cards close to her chest. Certainly, Nick is a consultant and trusted to a certain level. But one doesn't just give out information freely unless necessary. In this situation, for her? Not necessary to reveal if she knew there were two Slayers currently or not.

There was a little furrowing of her brow as the situation was explained. "I am not familiar with the dreams." Whatever else was on her mind would wait for a moment until she got more data.

The WAND agent had taken out a notepad and a pen and was jotting down bits of info, including that there were currently two Slayers. He looked at Nick expectantly, apparently not aware of the dreams either.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"First off, it's not a regular thing. They don't control when it happens. But when they happen, there's usually something big about to occur. One of the slayers had one of these dreams regarding a threat that they won't be able to combat without the M-scythe."

Nick pauses to take a breath before continuing, "And to add to this, they apparently have a Cockatrice running around town that they're having difficulty dealing with. This might help them cut down on the number of casualties from that. Either way, the weapon will be of much better use in a Slayer's hands than sitting in a box."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Makes sense that one wouldn't have such things every night. That would be exhausting. Even for a metahuman." Which is what a Slayer falls into from Natasha's understanding about the beings holding that title. Well, being until this conversation.

"I'll have to look into seeing if it can be released." She glanced to the agent nearby and got no help there though he seemed to be making more notes as he scribbled furiously. She caught sight of the word cockatrice.

Natasha looked back to Nick. "I could get some of the high level mystics over in the mean time perhaps. I'll try to reach Zatanna, Doctor Strange, Doctor Fate. See if they can help with the cockatrice problem and perhaps help see what this looming threat is."

She pursed her lips a little as she considered something. "You said Buffy wasn't interested in pursuing the weapon. You apparently were able to deal with whatever threat it was, or the threat stopped after the loss of the weapon, at the time. But the date it was lost..." She did some math in her head. "Didn't she lose her memory after that? Meaning she doesn't even remember what happened with this to try to follow up on it? Though I'm sure you all told her about it after that fact, right?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Oh I can probably bring it up with Strange." Nick replies, "I was planning to swing by later anyways. I've only run into Fate a couple times so..." He pauses, listening to Natasha's inquiry. "...I honestly don't believe she knew about the M-Scythe being on the ship until after she got injured so it was probably not needed at that time. I would assume the vampire's loss of the scythe made them extra cautious which just kicked the whole prophecy can down the road."

The musician frowns. "She did lose her memory." He confirms. "And I did not tell her about the scythe for several reasons. The chief one being she no longer remembers me. The second being, why would I know about the scythe's importance before them? The other slayer however, still remembers me and we still talk from time to time. Unlike me. Buffy remembers her."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Perhaps you should try to reconnect with her. I know that is what happened with Alexander. He's a friend of the group, has helped them a few times. And my..." Natasha pauses a moment then gives a little shrug as she gives an apologetic smile. "I guess the proper term is significant other? Partner? I think of him as my husband though we haven't been officially married."

Then she continues as she starts to close the box back up. "He ran into Buffy, who didn't remember him. They talked, caught up some. Might be worth a shot?" And once she had used that crowbar to tap in a few of the nails that didn't want to slide right into place, she took a step back.

"Anyway, I'll get with the Director and see what he says in regards to releasing the weapon to the Slayer. Or a Slayer. Since Buffy doesn't remember you, guessing you are here on behalf of the other one. What was her name again?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"That's oddly optimistic coming from you." Nick comments, shaking his head, "She doesn't remember. We've crossed paths since then. Still nothing." There's a slight twitch to his features, "...Although."

There's a pause as Nick glances to the side, seeming to consider something. "...Maybe it's ok to try again..."

Right. Back to business.

"Faith." He answers.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Faith." Natasha gave a nod of her head as she repeated the name. Something she would be talking with Alexander about later. Especially since he knew a lot more about Slayers than she did. She was just filling in the blanks as Nick shared information, same as she did when Alexander had in the past.

"If you get more news on this world ending threat, be sure to let us know. After all, we do have the Avengers and others like the Justice League that might be able to help. In fact, with a cockatrice was it? With something like that, maybe speaking to Princess Diana of Themyscira, if she's familiar with them? It sounds like a very Greek thing to me. I may be just showing my ignorance though."

She propped the crowbar on her shoulder and started to lead them back the way they had come. The WAND agent rushed ahead of them, eager to share the new information he had to add to the Weapon's file.

"Optimistic? Me?" Natasha shook her head a moment then there was that boneless sort of shrug. "Never. And if you go spreading lies about me to the contrary, I will find you," she added in a tone laced with amusement, showing it was obviously a joke.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick chuckles slightly to the half hearted admonishment as he follows Natasha away from the crate containing the scythe of unknown fate. "Well. Consider me duly warned then." He responds, somewhat managing to avoid promising to fill in Natasha on every thing that goes bump in the night.

After all, there is such a thing as having too many cooks in the kitchen.

As the last of the visitors make their leave from the building, the ceiling lights cast illumination on nothing but boxes, left alone to hum their electric cries of solitude.