5376/Astral Flux: Spider-Minds

Astral Flux: Spider-Minds
Date of Scene:	15 September 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Doctor Strange, Spider-Woman (Drew)
Tinyplot:	Astral Flux

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Doctor Strange has posed:
    It's late at night on a Friday night, things are constantly afoot in the mystical realm, but it's at a lull in activity, so Strange is taking the odd night to do research on top of the Sanctum in the soft breeze and in the brilliant star light. Star light that is perfectly clear and reaches the brownstone with out a single bit of light polution blocking the impossibly distant light like everywhere else in the city.

    Thank you magic.

    Stephen is sitting at a table next to a rock garden on top of the sanctum with the cloak floating just off the ground as if it were on some invisible maniquinn, and Stephen is looming over a pile of tomes and texts, trying to figure something out about this figure in the Astral Plane and about these incubus and succubus he's been warned about by Molly.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
    Jessica looks at the address scrawled on a slip of paper in her hand. Dressed in a long and fluttery brown ankle-length floral skirt and ruffled ivory boho blouse, with an earthy scarf tied around her waist. She approaches the door, half-expecting her presence was already known. She knocks on the door, looking up and down the street with a slight apprehension, shifting from one foot to the other, as her dark hair is tossed carelessly in the night air.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    The door opens as soon as her hand rasps against it, and there's a breeze that rushes into the Sanctum as the door opens, almost pulling Jessica into the house. There's no one to immediately greet her as she is shown in by the house itself.

    Up top Stephen looks up from his papers and then with a quick spell gesture, Stephen holds up an 'o' made with his fingers and puts it against his eye. "Hmmm." He says to himself before he dispells the spell and moves his hand to adjust his tie and a three piece suit materializes across and out of his sorcerers garb. Strange then falls through the floors and lands on the top of the staircase just within the foyer and he smiles down towards Jessica. "Good evening ma'am, how may I help you?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Faltering for a moment, Jessica looks up the stairs. "I'm looking for...I mean. Are you...Dr. Stephen Strange?" He looks like Dr. Strange, of course. But she wasn't prepared for the suit. "I was told maybe he - you - could help me. I've had..." She trails off, looking around the place and realizing finally that she is, perhaps, in the right place after all.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    The Sanctum is set up like a museum of mystical and powerful artifacts, each placed based on a kind of feng shui but also with the idea that these are certainly not the full collection of mystical artifacts in Strange's possession. "I am Doctor Strange, yes. I can most likely help you." The sorcerer says with a motion to one of the side rooms off the foyer. He leads the way with a brisk walk and comes into the large sitting room that has all the walls covered in shelves of books and candles of various lengths and a bundle of snake people acting as legs for the coffee tables and legs of all the furniture. "Don't look in their eyes directly." Stephen warns casually as he takes a seat on a large wing backed chair, a motion of his hand towards the chair just opposite his not too far for Jessica to sit in.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
    Jessica follows swiftly, keeping up with her host and nodding quickly at his instruction. She sets down a brown leather shoulder bag at her feet as she sits, and she looks up at him with that same apprehension as before. "I was told that you can help with, or at least help explain, things of a more...magical nature. Judging by this place, I can only imagine that if anyone can, it's you..."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "I can, but what I can't - Or better yet, won't - do is read your mind." Stephen says with that forced smile he used to use at patient's bedsides. He's been long humbled since his egotistical days but he hasn't quite learned how to not be so creepy in some facets. "What is it you need mystical help with? I will do whatever it is I can to help." The wizard explains.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
    Taking a deep breath, Jessica closes her eyes. "Well, the problem is somewhat two-fold. Speaking, of course, of mind-reading." She opens her eyes and exhales a sigh, then meeting his eyes again with her own green-eyed gaze. "This problem with the giant fungus...it was being controlled by telepaths. I suffered a..serious attack...offered by one of those telepaths. It might be more a psychological problem than anything now. But I feel like I am suddenly more vulnerable to their attacks and suggestions than before. Like...once my defenses were breached, they were broken. I know that isn't entirely magical. The other facet...it is. But one step at a time..."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen's eyebrows furrow at her words, and he frowns slightly. "I was away during most of the fungal issues, and I apologize." Stephen's frown grows a bit before he resets his piercing grey eyes on Jessica and he laces his fingers weakly before resting his hands upon his lap, waiting for the second step. Unless. "Do you wish me to help you with your psychological problems before we move along?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
    "I don't know," Jessica breathes a laugh as she replies. "Perhaps it would help if I tell you who I am, before I proceed. I apologize, I've been somewhat shaken by this ordeal. Terribly rude of me. I am Jessica Drew. I report to Tony Stark at the Avengers mansion. Sometimes better known as Spider-Woman." She shakes her head and proceeds. "More recently, I found myself battling someone who is in...I don't know...the Astral Plane, they say. One of the telepaths. He called me by name. I remain a target. But this was different.
    "You see, there was a woman, or a hollow shell of one. She was being controlled by someone /there/ I think. But there were other entities. Spirits. Demons. Imps, maybe. And the next thing I knew we were all transported by someone, supposedly an ally, to someplace else. Standing on a floating rock." She is keenly aware of how insane she sounds, and it shows. "We were /really/ there, I promise. And the ally said, 'Welcome to me.' As if we were somehow...inside her? It just doesn't make any sense. I feel like I am losing my mind. It is affecting my focus. People depend on my focus."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Ah, you had an encounter on the astral plane while not being able to access that realm on your own." Stephen says matter-of-factly with a curt nod of his head, "Anyone techincally can go to the plane, but most would require a meduim or a conduit. So you were within your acquaintence's mindscape. It's ... not the easiest thing to explain. Now as far as your feelings of weakness, maybe you have some latent telepathy or some residuals from your trip. Either way it shouldn't be too hard to help you Jessica." The Sorcerer doesn't seem to concerned with her being an avenger, in fact he does seem grateful for it.

    "Other's certainly do depend on you, it's a pleasure to meet an Avenger and not have them come here making demands of me and my talents." Stephen says with a hint of sarcasm.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
    Jessica's eyes go wide. That seems to be...exactly what she is doing. "I didn't mean to make demands on your time, /or/ your talents, Dr. Strange. I certainly hope you don't feel..." She trails off again, trying to compose herself, and her words. "It's just that what I am trying to do will help everyone. Hopefully, in some small way, yourself included. And my failure could cause other failures. A ripple effect, affecting at very least those directly around me." Which she has now expanded to include him. Smooth move, Jess.

    "I'll do anything you say; I don't doubt your skill. You're spoken of in the highest regard."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen laughs as he realizes she thinks he was being sarcastic, with a glance up towards the ceiling and with a puff of breath moving a few whisps of his hair around on his forehead. "No, I completely agree with you. I don't want any of the Avengers to have any failures. I tend to agree with you and your group. Tend to." Stephe says as he has disagreed with a few individual members from time to time, yet he's also added a member here or there.

    With his form starting to lean forward, Strange braces himself with the arms of the chair as he looks deeply into Jessica's eyes. "If you aren't telepathic, I can help by setting up some mental barriers, but they would be unnatural, meaning they'll be somewhat stronger than your own personal barriers, yet once they go down, they'll go down harder than ones you had set up yourself. That leads me to the other option available to you. Wait. You will rebuild your own mental barriers more and more as time goes on and your mind re-heals itself. They will be easier for an exterior entity to break once they get into your mind, but it wont break you as much. Every part of ourselves is like a muscle. You can train it, and make it stronger by using it." Stephen looks firmly at Jessica. "What would you prefer to go with?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
    "Which...which would you think to be healthier? From your own descriptions, it sounds as though my own barriers would be better, in the end. If I can strengthen them. But I don't know how long that will take. They need me now. And they don't need me broken." She is watching his eyes intently, now. For his reactions. For his thoughts, those flitting shadows that cross the light within. "I want to be what I need to be. Even if it means finding ways to strengthen my own barriers more quickly. If that's even possible."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Ideally you'd simply wait and redevelop your own mental barriers like every other human has, and then go do more SHIELD training or whatever you Avenger's have access to." Stephen says, "But if the need is so urgent, I can add mystical barriers of my own creation into your psyche, but there are inherent risks in this method. Like you could develop a segmented personality. Ideally I would take you on trips to the astral realm now, but that is not an option we have afforded to us at this time." Strange says, standing up and giving a deep heavy sigh.

    He remembers how hard the Phoenix situation was on Charles and really everyone. He wants to avoid that kind of situation, and this is nothing like that. Stephen tells himself. "I think you should be safe as long as you come back and over time we replace my barriers as your own grow back on their own, but I worry it might stunt you psychologically in some ways that even I can't predict."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica rakes her fingers through her hair and nods slowly, taking a moment to consider the size of the request. Its weight on the gifter. And the implications and possible inherent dangers. "You say that I can mend from this in time. But these guys are already in my head. I got too close. Trusted my natural barriers too much. My mind readily accepted a command to die, and tried to make it so. It nearly succeeded. If...IF we were to put in place the bare minimum of barriers, to protect me from /that/ alone, and replace them with my own as quickly as possible....Perhaps we could avoid the lion's share of the negative consequences. What do /you/ think?"

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "I think you're an Avenger, so it is for the best to not do anything half ... assed." The Sorcerer says, still examining Jessica with his words and his eyes, hands however are kept to himself. Professional. "We need to go all the way, either I give you the best magics I can, or you're sidelined. Possibly for a few months." Stephen says with a hard lingering look to Jessica. "And I've given you all the information I can, so you're able to make an educated request."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica nods solemnly. "Then there's no choice to be made. I could consider it for a week and come to the same conclusion. I understand what you're saying. And sidelining is not an option. I will be out there doing what I have to do. And if we have to go all the way to make that the safest we can for everyone involved, then I'll do whatever I have to do." She returns Dr. Strange's gaze, matched for intensity, and nods once with an expression of resolve. "If you're willing, then I'll do anything you ask. I'm not exactly one to half-ass, either."

Doctor Strange has posed:
Hetephen stands up and takes in a deep breath as he does so. "Alright, I'll see what I have that can be converted into mental barriers to protect someone's psychology and sense of self." The wizard says as he walks up to one of the bookshelves and lifts a finger to start browsing. "This wont feel comfortable, and your mind will actually fight against the incantation as I'm casting it." Strange says as he pulls out a thick leather bound book and sets it on the naga supported table top.

    "I need you to close your eyes, hold onto the chair tightly and ... try not to punch me." He says with a soft smile towards Jessica.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Nodding, and even fighting a smile at the suggestion that she should try not to punch him, Jessica has seemed to relax. This is in hands she trusts far more than those who have reached out to her thus far. She does as she is told, closing her eyes. Briefly, at first. Then, stealing one last glance at Strange and his leatherbound book, she closes her eyes again, this time more tightly. Her hands grip the arms of the chair firmly. Because tightly? Well, that chair /probably/ wouldn't stand a chance. "Anything you say, Doc. Promise I won't punch ya."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Maybe I should call in Anna to restrain you. Just to be safe." He assumes the Avengers have met, but regardless his tone is obviously sarcastic and with that the book is opened and Strange starts to pool over the spells, and it seems like he's going to have to make something up on the spot. So first things first. He finds the effects he'd like to take place and act on Jessica's now fragile mind. He needs the spell to be a deadman's spell, something he doesn't have to focus on. Something he can attach to her mind without her being able to disable it on her own. Or really anyone else without true talent or brute force. Both areas Strange thinks he's pretty advanced in.

    The room around Jessica begins to glow as Strange begins to create mandalas and the mystical matrix he has to use to access the levels of magic in order to build the walls in the Avenger's mind. A strange purpleish glow fills the room and yet it begins to chill, as if the heat is being sucked out. Degrees fall off by the moment. This is just the beginning, the mandala is complex and growing more so by the moment.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
    With a smile, she replies, "That won't be necessary. She'd probably draw on me with a sharpie while my eyes were closed."

    Jessica is missing the show. But even through her eyes are closed, she can see the cool violet glow through her eyelids. The drop in temperature prickles her skin, raising goosebumps on her flesh. She wants to peek. Desperately. But she behaves herself. No telling what that kind of behaviour might do to screw things up.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    The purple lights that dance and blend into the blackness of Jessica's eyelids and the swarm of stars and galaxies born in the dark swirls of your inner eyes. "That is always a risk, yes." Strange says deadpanned while he turns the page and glances back down to make a quick memorizaiton of the page and he looks back up to Jessica and with a twist of his wrist the cold becomes much sharper. Like the cold of a stethoscope but across the whole of Jessica's body and it doesn't get warmer, it gets colder still. The bite of a winter gust off the harbor that pierces through your jacket without release. The cold that doesn't let you get your breath back.

    Stephen however is standing as he was in the three piece suit and there's an intense pressure on Jessica's temples, but instead of a throbbing pain, there's the absense of pain, instead it's all around her head except at her temples the greatest migraine of her life washes over the Avenger.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica grits her teeth. Her usual pleasant, even whimsical, expression is gone. Her brow is furrowed, and try as she might, she cannot stifle a groan that starts deep within her and manifests more as a scream through clenched teeth. Her body is tense, and every muscle protests against the actions of the one she's enlisted to assist her. She's angry, somehow. She's aching. She's cold. And she wishes with every fiber of her being that she hadn't promised not to punch him.

Moreover, Jessica's powers are beginning to overpower /her/. She can control her actions, but her defenses don't always play by the same rules. Electricity begins to arc in tiny blue tangents along the surface of her skin, drawing charge not only from herself, but from the chair. The floor. The place as a whole. All of her powers seem to be in overdrive, as webbing emerges, tying her hands to the arm of the chair, perhaps to keep her from damaging herself, or the Doctor. That's the /last/ thing she needs to do at this point.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Strange has literally entered the woman's mind and is errecting these barriers around her psyche and is placing yantra's withing the barriers, by far the most complex of the mystical circles and alchemic symbols he can conjur up to brace the barriers and walls he's building.

    Now here's the part he might have withheld from Jessica on purpose. He has to mount the spells and anchors to something. Something strong and permenant and since he could tell she doesn't wear a piece of jewelry twenty four seven, he's using a memory. Something he thought innocuous and innocent, something that can't be taken easily, something she bears subconsciously always. After what feels like hours is merely minutes due to the intense cold and Strange is quickly back into his own body with ice forming around and on his mustache and from his nose. Oh dear.

    The spells are cast and the lights fade away as Strange shakes about trying to recover warmth and he turns to his chair and frowns before shrugging out of his mystically made coat and places it on Jessica before he starts to rub her arms. "Come on... breath. Breath!" He demands, knowing how hard it can be, he's not afraid of her powers in the slightest, not when he's trying to keep her alive.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
It's like dragging herself up from the depths of the sea - the pale blue light calling to her from far above. Jessica's lungs are heavy and want to rest. But her stamina sustains her, and as if reaching to break the surface, she inhales sharply and deeply. The first breath is more of a shriek, but the next, and the next...slower, and deeper.

Without thinking, she opens her eyes to see Strange before her, and she instantly quells the electricity that is dancing across her skin. She looks at him for a moment, bewildered, and trying to remember how she got to this exact moment. She releases the webs that bind her hands to the chair, and the filament falls to the ground at her feet. There's one power she cannot reel in, no matter how hard she tries. But at the moment, /that/ is the least of her worries. At the moment, Dr. Strange is freezing. She slips his jacket off herself and wraps it again around him. "Put this on...You need it more than I do."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Strange refuses the jacket with a shake of his head and the face of someone... Someone about to loose their lunch. "N-no... It's the price of magic." He whispers to himself and to Jessica. He knows what he's required to do now and it's something he's agreed to do no matter. "You're the Avenger, you're the one the world needs now. I'll be okay in time."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica has no nosecicles, and the natural resistance of the electricity moving through her skin is warming her quickly. If anything, she has warmed the jacket significantly within moments with her own body heat. She looks up into Dr. Strange's face with some combination of awe and adoration. "It's...it's gone. You took him out. The anger, and the loathing. He wanted to destroy me, and it's all gone." She slowly unwraps the jacket and reaches out to take Strange's hands, if he will let her, to show him how warm they are. To show him she's all right. And to convince him to let her warm him.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Strange drops to his knees and gasps as his body shakes of it's own accord, trying to warm itself and he can't fight her at all. Not in this moment. "Who- Who was h-he?" Stephen asks as he looks up to Jessica, still curious, still moving onto the next task even though he can barely move in this moment.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"I don't know. I thought it was all memories of him. Paul...Paul was the one who tried to kill me, but I believe he is either dead or comatose. He's out of commission. There's someone else. Whoever is messing with the Astral Flux. He knows me. He has tried to coerce me to do everything from dying myself, to killing Superman." She breathes a huff. "As if I have a chance in hell of doing that..." She is kneeling as well, and she wraps the now toasty jacket around Dr. Strange, holding him close to her own warmth, giving freely of that which comes to her just as freely. "Just breathe right now. Everything else can sort itself out. Let's get you warm. You just saved my life..."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Strange takes just a moment to catch himself and recover. Just a moment. "That's what you came to ask me to do. That's what a good doctor does... I'm simply the best." Yeah, he wont let that go.

    After a brief embrace the Doctor tries to stand up and fails, his legs and stomach refusing to obey his commands.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica catches Strange and scoops him up, cradling him close to her until she can get him to the chair. She rests her cheek against his forehead for a moment as he shivers and shudders, then seats him carefully in the chair, so as to respect his personal space as much as possible. "I believe it, Doc. You're simply the best."