2176/Wandering Souls

Wandering Souls
Date of Scene:	26 August 2017
Location:	Greenwich Village
Synopsis:	A chance encounter of the weird kind has Violet and Dean fighting an artist... who collects golems.
Cast of Characters:	Insect Queen (OMara), Dean Winchester

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Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
The Greenwich Village, the place in New York where all the art happens, where new trends are born and where our scene most definitely does not take place. Nope. Violet /could/ have gone to some ultra-trendy art installation there, but instead, for some twist of fate, a friend of hers recommended she visits this 'absolutely lovely alternative working-class-street-art-fusion-joint', decision which she is, if not regretting already, at the very least reconsidering the wisdom of. "Greasy Zeke's Gas Station, Car Wash, Grease Joint and Art Gallery", located at a mostly industrial junction outside town where people not only pretty much do not go, but also actively try not to think about, due to the sheer sense of boredom and bleakness it evokes, is... not your average place, indeed.

After the chimes atop the door announce the entrance of another customer slash art aficionado, she looks around the diner-like building in mild confusion, trying to tell which items of interior decoration are supposed to be the stools and which are supposed to be the sculptures (invariably made from recycled materials. Including old stools).

Dean Winchester has posed:
Sitting atop one of the many stools intended as art rather than an actual seat, Dean Winchester nurses some strange looking drink that he is supposed to be a double whiskey, neat. His eyes hone in on one of the objects on the wall and he can't help but frown. A glance is given to the newcomer and he straightens a bit, almost as if giving more room at the would-be bar.

His head turns and he emits a high pitched whistle, "What do you think that is?" he motions towards one of the pictures and shakes his head slowly. "Not sure if anything in here is meant to be sat on." He looks down at the art he's perched on and manages a one-shouldered shrug.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara is startled a bit at being addressed directly, but after a moment of hesitation, she squints with all her might, concentrates for a few, endless seconds, and finally attempts an uncertain, "Uh... I'm not sure if it's supposed to be Laocoon and his children being devoured by giant serpents, or some fisherman friend of the artist who got caught in a freak live bait accident" She takes a tentative look at all the stool and stool-like installations, and finally smirks. "...I think I'll just stand. I've been on a bus until now, I can use a little change." She approaches the counter and says, "My name's Violet by the way."

Dean Winchester has posed:
"Couldn't we all?" Dean asks with a lift of his eyebrows. "Use a little change, I mean." He shoots her a crooked grin and then refers to her decision to stand. "Will," he introduces himself easily. His lips twitch and he shoots her an easier smile. "I think the former is a better picture and more worth sending." He winks. He motions towards his drink, "Also note, this is supposed to be a whiskey, neat." It's red hued and bubbling. "I'm certain this isn't a whiskey."

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara eyes the suspicious liquid. "...maybe it could use a little change? It left its safe but unrewarding career as aged liquor to become a snazzy bubble artist who performs in obscure diners for an unappreciative audience, but it's what it loves doing, so..." She faces down, and shakes her head with her eyes closed. "Ah, er... sorry. I tend to make up stories about things." She looks up at Dean again and grins. "Pleased to meet you, Will." She remains in reflexive thought for abit, then casts a glance at the two stools next to Dean's non-stool, and clambers onto the one that looks the least like it is supposed to be a sculpture. "...I think I will stick to the tried and true, after all. You know, maybe this thing about change is all nonsense. You start off standing instead of sitting, and before you know, you're all red and bubbling. Suspiciously so."

Dean Winchester has posed:
Dean smirks. "Even the whiskey," he mutters softly. He emits a long suffering sigh. "Some things shouldn't change," he says with a wink. He watches as she clambers onto one of the stools. "So. What's a normal," he inspects her and shrugs, "...ish gal like you in a weird place like this?" His eyebrows lift as he considers his own motivations. It's not a line despite how it sounds.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara smirks mischievously at Dean. "Ish? You think I'm not normal?" It's obvious she took no offense, but her interest is piqued. Then, all of a sudden, she stiffens, her burrow frowning a little. Her eyes dart sideways in both directions, and she goes silent. "Just looking around for artsy places, that's all." she says, trying to resume the same cheerful tone as earlier, but anyone experienced in picking up nuances will notice the barest hint of distraction in her voice, as if she was thinking of something else entierely, but trying not to let it show. "I'm an artist by trade, and by passion. Friend told me they had this recycled-metal installation and... given your comment about the whisky, I deduce you do not come here often, either?" She says casually, the barest hint of distraction in her voice. Someone who's experienced in picking nuances could she's thinking of something else completely at the moment, but trying not to show it.

Dean Winchester has posed:
"You're here aren't you?" Dean offers with a wry grin. His eyes follow her movements and his eyebrow arches curiously. He laughs hollowly when she notes he doesn't come here often either. "Well Violet," he actually uses her name, "I'm definitely not an artist and this is not my scene." He swallows hard and then sniffs quietly. "Just... found myself here. Needed a drink. Some food," the lie is easy. "Trying something new," that's almost truthful. His green eyes turn towards the door and he studies it for a few beats before his gaze returns to Violet. "So what kind of art do you do?"

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara replies with a smirk, "I am a an artist of wide interests but with a clear focus. In other words, I'll do anything as long as that puts bread on the table" She looks all around the bar, and keeps on sketching various items around the place, sometimes returning to a previous item. "I've done illustration, a portrait or two... but most of the time I do web stuff, actually. That's where one can hope to earn something at the moment." She looks up at Will. "And you? What do you do for a liv-" This is when some gray-haired, yet still quite fit, man walks in from the back, and heads to where Violet is sitting, just across the counter. "Sorry for the delay... you wanted anything?" Violet's question is interrupted, and she promptly says, "I'll take an orange soda. Plain." And after looking around, she asks. "I see you've a retro-cycling installation going on." "Oh, a connoisseur!" Grins the man, straightening his back. Violet glances away instinctively, and adds, "Oh, I don't know much about it... for instance, are you doing straight retro-cycling with, you know, its total eschew of anything that is not pure junk, to make completely static sculptures for that, you know, 'death' part of the death-and-rebirth symbolism, or are you... " She hesitates for a moment, as if for thinking of the right words. "...doing some variation on the theme?"

The man grins even wider, and shakes his head. "Nope. Pure, plain, absolutely by-the-book. Scraps of old metal, leather and plastic, nailed, screwed, bolted or welded together. None of that fancy adding plants, or bugs, or mechanical contraptions or stuff to it like those /posers/ there do!" He say, squinting in disapproval at some direction in the distance. Possibly towards the Greenwich Village. "And, sir..." he says, turning to glance at Dean, "...please don't sit on the art."

Dean Winchester has posed:
Dean watches Violet carefully as she poses the questions about the death part of the death-and-rebirth symbolism. His face takes on a pinched quality, this really isn' his scene, but he does pay attention to Violet's expression. In fact, he doesn't belong here and is so wholly aware of it.He does, however, manage to get a sheepish smile when he's instructed to not sit on the art. "Sorry," he apologizes lightly as he brings himself to a stand. "Do you have any chairs in here?" he asks with a knit of his eyebrows.

A glance is given to the fellow. "You mentioned somewhere that doesn't do it by the book?" His lips purse slightly. "Where would they be?" His hands lift defensively, "I'm new to all this. Would like to do some comparison to see what purists do and who isn't a purist..."

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara points three maybe-stools down the line from where Dean is sitting. "THAT is a chair. And I am NOT endorsing that kind of abomination! I'll have you know, sir, that despite this being an open space where anyone can just drop their art at will, I make /personally/ sure that none of that non-static nonsense gets in! I've checked every statue in this room ten times. Retro-cycling requires /minimal/ simplicity in build. It's about /statues/, not /robots/ or /ant-farms/.", he finally exclaims in a huff, before leaving.

Violet looks at the departing man, and scribbles something down on her notebook, very quickly, and slides it over the counter to Dean. Open at the page where she was doodling.

The page displays a bunch of various statues, sketched quickly, yet, despite the simple and nervous lines, the resemblance is uncanny. One particular set of sketches is circled and pointed to by an arrow: sketches of statue, which Dean might recognise as being right across the room from them, is repeated three times. In three different poses. As if it was starting to walk. Foot on the ground, foot slightly lifted, slightly leaning forward, foot lifted further, leaning further forward. Below it, Violet has scribbled "IT MOVES!" Below it, a bullet list: "- No mechanics - No plants - No bugs - No technology - Personally checked - HOW?!" The 'HOW?!' is circled twice. Violet just looks at Dean, worried. She glances sideways, at the statue, whose too-slow-to-be-noticed walking movement has advanced further from the last picture, and then back at Dean.

Dean Winchester has posed:
The reprimand prompts a too-cute smile. Dean lifts his eyebrows at the assertion. "Right. I wasn't looking for an endorsement," he replies evenly. "Just some clarification." His smile eases, "Well thanks for your puritanical ways."

Both of his eyebrows lift to punctuate the point. The fellow's retreat have him muttering, "That's a whole different kind of nut job." His head turns and he catches sight of the notebook. Slowly, he allows his eyes to scan the room and fall on the object in question. His green eyes narrow and he can feel the frown pulling at his features. Dean ticks his head towards the object in question and treads over to it. It's theoretically ill-advised, but he does it just the same.

Heavy boots have him sliding up to the object. His lips twitch uncertainly and he reaches into his jacket. The flask of holy water is given a quick twist in his grasp and he lifts it to gently spray the object. Nothing like haphazard reaching into the dark.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara follows uncertainly, snaking much more quietly, standing a short distance behind Dean.

When the object is sprayed, the metal shakes slightly, and some quivering later...

...with an audible *POOF*, a cloud of bluish-white smoke raises from the object! Hanging in mid-air just above it, the aethereal form of a semi-transparent young woman, floats, more confused than anything else, the wisps that compose her form barely visible to the naked eye. Yes, ladies and gentlement. We have your textbook ghost. A dead person who, for some reason, cannot yet cross over. In other words...

...a wandering soul.

Violet squeals and jumps to hide behind Dean, while the ethereal form's face twists in a parallel voiceless scream of fear. Seems like she's the most scared of the three.

Dean Winchester has posed:
Dean reaches for the salt in his jacket, but hesitates. This ghost isn't attacking anyone. No one seems to be dying. The box of salt is poured in a line between them and the ethereal creature. His hands lift in an armed way. He doesn't have a salt bullet handy, so sending her back to where she came from isn't an option... unless he can find her bones to salt and burn.

"Hey," he says lowly as his green eyes flit towards Violet. "I'm... Will. This is Violet. What are you doing here?" he frowns. She needs to go somewhere to find peace.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara does a little wave while looking absolutely terrified, breath choked in her throat.

The swirling, gaseous woman breathes in and... well, she seems unable to produce any sound. She doesn't move, she just floats there, but extending one hand forward , she mouths a 'HELP' worth of a pantomime artist. If... pantomime artists mouthed words, that is.

Violet just peeks from behind Dean and, unsure of what to do, she tries to help in any way she can.

She picks a pepper shaker from the counter, and starts sprinkling it between herself and Dean, looking at the latter quizzically, looking for approval.

Dean Winchester has posed:
Dean's smile twists into a grim frown. He looks towards Violet and shakes his head. "Restless spirits are after something or need something from us to help them find rest." His lips hitch up on one side and he steps over the salt line--an ill-advised action in general, but she asked for his help.

He rubs his chin and begins to stare at the statue. "Violet, do you see anything weird about this?" He's not an artist. He's not even sure what the statue is supposed to look like or even what it's made of. There's an unsettledness about him as his fingers run across the surface of the statue.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara looks at the statue. "Well, not really. As said, it's supposed to be a Retro-Cycling piece. Realtively new movement. Don't know /much/ about it myself. Just the basics and major exponents." She looks at the sculpture again. "Competent manufacture. Good command of proportions anatomy and proportions. See the structure?" She points. "It's not just a child's stick figure. It's actually a version of human anatomy stripped down to the basic. It's a... stick figure drawn by someone who had a dang good training in art. And there's... tiny little touches everywhere. Look here, for instance, at these nails made with bits of bent steel. Whoever did this, wasn't just trying to churn out /just/ a barely functional coat hanger for ghosts. Hm. Actually..." She scratches her head. "There /is/ something different about this statue, with respect to the other. Something nagging at the edge of my consciousness, but I can't quite put my finger on it..."

While Violet goes on giving an in-depth review of the sculpture, the ghost zips away on the opposite side (i.e., away from Dean, and the salt line), as soon as Dean crosses it. At first it might seem she's scared of Dean, but shortly after, she stops just above a different sculpture. Another humanoid, this one 'sitting' on an actual stool (or is it an art-stool?), and leanding on the counter. She points at Dean, then to the other statue. She makes sprinkling gestures.

Dean Winchester has posed:
Dean can feel his lips twitch into a frown as Violet relays information about the statue. This is definitely not his thing. Not remotely. "Basically it's detailed," he says quietly. "Is there..." his gaze darkens, "some material that shouldn't be there. Something that looks... human? Hair. Skin. Nails. Teeth. Anything? She haunted /that/. Why?"

Yet there's something in it that niggles at him more. The reaction to the up cycling. His eyes follow the ghost around the room. His jaw tightens. His hands move to the flask again and his head shakes slightly as he traipses over to the other statue. He shakes the flask of holy water onto the figure and takes a step back, nearly expectantly.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Indeed, expectations are met. This time it is a big nosed middle-aged fellow with an impressive mustache that springs up, ethereal and wispy as the other. This one looks even more confused and dazed. Stunned one might even say, completely unresponsive.

"...well, let me see... uh... hm. Well, if there is anything like that, I'm ready to bet it's inside this locked box here.", she says, reaching across bent bars into the rib-cage, and knocking against a leather-rimmed locked box placed where the heart should be, resembling the kind that are used to store jewels, bolted and reinforced, with a keyhole in the front. One of those large, old keyholes, for wrought iron keys. "Hidden behind the... uh... 'ribs'. Not immediately visible at first. Let me see if I can pull it out..." She starts fiddling with it, at first pulling like crazy, and failing, but then she exclaims, "Wait, I think this thing actually comes off if you just..." She starts turning and pushing and attemping to slide the box in various directions. There is some wobbling, so the endeavour is promising.

"Hold it right there," comes a voce from behind. It's the elderly server from before, holding a gun leveled at the duo. "Step away from the sculptures. Now." He sweeps the barrel of the gun to point at the corner of the room at the opposite end with respect to the entrance. The only corner of the bar without statues, just a few (really ugly) paintings.

Dean Winchester has posed:
The familiar push of a ghost appearing from the object has every muscle in Dean's body tensing. He returns the flask to his jacket and his eyes trail the room, trying to identify any others. His hands tuck deeply into his pockets as he inspects the second statue, not touching any of it, just trying to find something that dictates why a ghost haunted this piece.

But the voice of the elderly server causes him to pause. He slowly turns around, hands still tucked into his pockets. "Well, this is a weird way to return business." He smiles as cutely as he can manage. His lips tick up on one side into a crooked smile, "Or, maybe it's a way to create unfinished business." Slowly, his hands lift from his pockets, demonstrating he's unarmed for the time being.

His throat clears. "You know. There's a funny thing about ghosts... they seek revenge on the living. But typically it's living that had a hand in their death." His expression evens out. "And we've woke two. Question is, they got unfinished business with you?"

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
The elderly man smirks. "Oh, no. It's actually a pretty clever way to run business. See, the problem with this economy is not that there are not enough work to do. The problem is that there is not enough money to pay for the work. So, some very clever people figured out a way to stick dead humans into worker golems. You don't have to pay them, you don't have to feed them, you have no troubles with unions or the law because... well, the dead don't fall under their jurisdiction." He smirks. "The key is organizing your business rationally. So, someone makes the ghosts. Someone else binds them to neat little human shaped shells." He glances towards the statues. "Neat trick. We've found out that if the shell is humanlike enough, the ghosts don't even realize they're ghosts at all. They get so obsessed with trying to control their 'body' they forget everything else."

Violet mutters under her breath, "...you guys are talking about /ghosts/ as if it was nothing? Ok, now we're officially out of /my/ area."

The elderly man continues, calm, "They wait here a few days, until someone else comes to pick them up, and ships them to someone who needs to make worker golems. By that time the poor souls are so exhausted by trying to move multiple times their former body's weight in steel, the next processing step goes without a hitch." He smirks and glances at the barely conscious mustached man, who looks completely drained of energy. "He probably tried to straighten his back, or stand up, or talk for all this time. They just /don't/ give up." He glances at the woman. "Of course, we have very specific instructions for our artists: No. Joints. Or, if they try hard enough, they might actually get to move. But, noooooooooo. They have to be artsy and add them, and then complain about how we're hindering their 'vision', and yadda yadda yadda." He grunts. "You know, sometimes you have deadlines and have to take... ah... flawed deliveries. Hm. I suppose he'll have to join you two now." He raises his gun and levels it at Dean and, indirectly, Violet, who's peeking out from behind him. "Oh, didn't I mention that?" He grins. "Congratulations! You two are going to have a new job soon!"

Dean Winchester has posed:
Dean's eyes shift towards Violet, but his head doesn't turn. Instead, he remains straight-faced and nonchalant enough. "So. Basically," he keeps his words slow and tempered, "you're a serial killer. For the sake of your art." His tongue clucks. "I've heard a lot of things over the years. Believe me. It's kind of my job." He smirks at his name choice, suddenly the identity /Will Graham/ seems too on-point.

He should probably stand still. He shouldn't make any sudden movements. But decked out in his SHIELD tactical fabric that looks like normal clothing gives him a sense of safety--and between that and his death deal with Crowley, he's on borrowed time anyways.

And so with a sudden motion, he leaps towards the gun wielding senior to try to steal the weapon, yelling to Violet as he moves, "Get down!!!"

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara drops to the floor face-down, and covers her head with her arms.

With a BANG, a shot is fired from the gun, luckily away from any living person (and it doesn't really matter whether or not it goes through ghosts anyway). The man proves a bit tougher than expected. It looks like it might be possible to steal his weapon, in the end, but he's certainly not giving it up easily. "NO, you fool! I kill them for /money/! Someone else kills them, someone else packages them in sculptures, and I sell them to golem-makers! Sheesh. I'm a practical, productive man, not a time-wasting no good tree-hugging..." His face curls in a sneer of disdain, "/artist/."

"HEY! I resent that!", Violet can't help but interject, despite her being terrified and her attempts to roll to safety, where 'safety' is loosely defined as 'away from the fight and towards the front door'. Yes, she got some salt on her in the process.

The gun is finally taken, but as this happen, the elderly man is quick to launch his knee towards Dean's stomach, hoping he's too distracted with the gun to notice.

Dean Winchester has posed:
Literal decades of training as a hunter fighting large demon-possessed creatures has made Dean an apt fighter. He twists away from the knee, catching only a piece of it as aims the hilt of the gun to crack down hard against the other man's head. He doesn't kill people. It's one of his rules of order.

He calls back to Violet, "Get the box! These people can't rest without--" they need to burn their bones or whatever remnants keep them tied to the statues. But if there aren't any... the pair are going to have to take the golems.

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Noticing the elderly man has been subdued, Violet starts going around the statues. It takes some fiddling, shifting, twisting and turning, but eventually it turns out there's some sort of rail-based sliding mechanism that requires very specific moves to unlock the boxes. After touring all the five humanoid statues in the room, she returns to Dean, holding a stack of cases she has to keep in place with her chin. "All cases gotten! But they seem to be /locked/..."

Dean Winchester has posed:
Dean nods and reaches into one of his pockets to extract his trust lock pick. He shoots Violet a coy lopsided smile. "Fortunately, getting into things is something of a specialty," he actually winks at that. He begins to work at the lock with the pick. "We gotta find a way to get this guy arrested," he says lowly. "Because no cop in New York is going to charge him with accessory to murder based on this evidence." He actually rolls his eyes at that. "SHIELD maybe," he shoots her an easier grin. There's a long pause and he finally offers, "Uh... I'm Dean." Real name acquired. "I know I said I was Will... it's just a thing I do."

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara says, "Oh," sounding embarrassed. Not the 'this guy lied to me' kind of embarrassed, more like the 'oh, no! A social situation I am not prepared to handle! What is a socially acceptable, non-offensive thing to say when someone changes the name they've introduced themselves with?' kind of embarrassed. "...I'm Violet." She says. And winces. You already said that, save, save! "...I know I said the same thing earlier, it's just a thing I am." She then blurts out. Great going, Master Public Speaker.

The first box opens and... would one look at that. Perfectly preserved hearts, still beating, floating in some sort of bubbling liquid and kept 'alive' inside sleek, futuristic miniature life-support devices, barely large enough to contain them and the required hydraulics and electronics. Apparently, given the expenses that went into this, the golem-making process requires some high-quality products to work with.

Violet looks in amazement at the contents of the first open box. "...how about organ trafficking?" She asks, pointing.

Dean Winchester has posed:
Dean's lips pull up on one side. "Organ trafficking," he actually manages a grin--only to ironically recognize this isn't the kind of thing people usually smile about, prompting a more somber expression. "Man, my life is weird." He manages another smile in her direction followed by a small shrug of his shoulders. "Take it you don't really spend a lot of time with ghouls?" Because she didn't seem terribly experienced.

"We can call this in shortly. Seems like we have a smoking gun and a way to get the cops involved." He inhales a long breath and reaches for the SHIELD consultant badge safely tucked into his pocket. "At least we have enough to get an arrest and keep it from happening again." Pause. "But there's probably more of these things out there. You any good at research, Violet?"

Insect Queen (OMara) has posed:
Violet O'Mara thinks for a moment. "Well... uh... yeah, life is weird, but tondight I've learnt that death is weirder." She casts a glance at the female ghost. Tired, but she seems to be smiling, and, if not completely, more at peace already.

"...well, art requires a /lot/ of it. I'm not sure what kind of research you have in mind, but..." She goes silent as she finally notices the SHIELD consultant badge. She points at it, and casts an interrogative glance at Dean.

Dean Winchester has posed:
Dean shrugs. "I'm just a consultant. Not a real agent," he offers in return as the badge gets tucked away. "But help would be good. They can give us resources we wouldn't have otherwise. I'm not a believer in a lot of oversight, but..." he shrugs. "In this case, it'd be good to, you know, get the help."

"We need to track if any other similar statues have been sold or funnelled through this place. I imagine a tortured golem could actually be pretty deadly once they wake up to the reality that they can go full on Swayze with things in the environment." He lifts his fingers to explain, "They can interact with inanimate things."