9215/The Mysterious Machinations of the Magical

The Mysterious Machinations of the Magical
Date of Scene:	16 September 2019
Location:	Felicia's Home - Tribeca, Manhattan
Synopsis:	Stephen's got a plan and Felicia gets a vacation in...deep space? Or maybe the moon. But there's no texting there!
Cast of Characters:	Doctor Strange, Black Cat
Tinyplot:	Asgard's Requiem

---

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen has found his way back into Felicia's house, the 'vet' has been in and out of the place at all hours of the day and night for the past few days. He's been sleeping erratically and infrequently, the bags beneath his eyes are growing with each passing hour, but the wizard has a task and a focus Felicia hasn't seen him with since before he got fired by the Vishanti.

    He steps into the house and turns his hand to lock the deadbolt behind him and he takes a moment for his eyes to adjust and to catch his breath, but he doesn't say anything as he moves towards his work station at the kitchen table.

Black Cat has posed:
Appearing with as much ghostly sound as her namesake, the Black Cat in a silk bathrobe of pearly-pink appears from the hallway. By the state of her hair, she's only just finished blow-drying it. It has a healthy sheen in its platinum-blond cascade over her shoulders. On her feet, fluffy slippers one shade darker.

"There you are, my busy bee." Her voice floats over towards Stephen, warm and soft and utterly fond. She clicks her tongue to see the dark semi-circles beneath his lids and walks over towards him, arms offered outwards to entice a hug. "Slow down for just a second there, Copperfield." She brings in her wake a wafting of comfortable warmth, vanilla and caramel, and the lightly-floral scent of her washed hair. Her make-up is light and natural, though her jade-green eyes are no less bright.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen was about to drop into the seat and then there's a young blonde with her arms wrapped around him, more than preventing him from sitting, she's holding him more than accountable, she's making sure he's taking care of himself as well as the world. "It's not really the time to slow down Felicia." Stephen says with a frown of his lips as he lifts his chin to rest on the top of Felicia's head as he hugs her back. "But, you have a point."

Black Cat has posed:
"A very wise agreement to make, me being right, my good Doctor," Felicia notes as she buries her nose into his sternum. It's not the old, worn storm-blue gi-like leathers of his old mantle, but it's still him in her arms, warmth and stubborn heartbeat and all. She vibrates with a quiet chuckle.

"You can work and talk at the same time. You're good at multitasking." Pecking Stephen on the lips lightly, the cat-burglar then disengages to sashay over to the coffee machine. A small cuppa never treated her wrong, especially with late night engagements possibly planned. Beep-beep-beep, and the machine gets to work at a latte. Turning in place, Felicia takes up a perfectly comfortable lean on the counter with her elbows locked and palms wrapped about its edges. Her smile is slow and utterly enticing as she singsongs, "Tell me about your day."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Today, today I went to find many more of the mystical apprentices and mages of all skill levels I could find. I might have even talked to Diana again. The day before, I found a creature that seems to be a sentient form of fauna. Then the girl Rachel and another similiar mutant child by the name Illyana. I'm getting a team together ready to go help me in the next few days. It's a very dangerous time from what I'm understanding." Stephen says with a frown as he finds his chair and sits down on it, leaning back heavily as he takes a brief moment to destress the weight of today's emotions off his shoulders, at least a little bit.

    Stephen looks up to Felicia as she leans in that robe with a smile growing at the edges of his goatee. "Not sure how you say you're bad luck." He chides idly.

Black Cat has posed:
Felicia's head tilts to one side, cat-like, as she listens. Her eyes narrow and drag down and up the Sorcerer's body as if matching silent tells with his words. To see him settle harder into the chair has her nodding to herself; good, he'll relax for even just a short period of time. She wins.

His tease has her smile deepening and taking on a toothy note, still fond. "Little old me, bad luck? Copperfield..." Shaking her head brings a lock of lustrous pale hair to fall forwards over the silk of her bathrobe. "Only when someone annoys me. Otherwise, you know me. I'm practically a four-leafed clover," and her shoulders dance in a little shimmy, each lift timed for a beat of the plant's description. Still, she can't be flippant forever. Worry takes the wattage of her smile down a notch. "But it sounds like you have a plan. That's good. I trust you. You're a certified bad-ass."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "It's not much of a plan. Mostly I'm expecting Wonder Woman to do most of the heavy lifting. Maybe Rachel and Illy after that. This is kind of a one shot chance." Stephen frowns as he looks down at his hands. "I'm scared Felicia. More scared than I've been before." The wizard notes as he looks back to Felicia, an alien look of pure dread washes across Stephen's eyes for a moment. A look that the slightest faliure and there wont be a another day for the wizard to wake up to. Worse there wont be another day for most of New York at least, maybe the world.

Black Cat has posed:
Trained long ago to spot the fractures in a mark's defenses, the thief catches the shadow crossing Stephen's face. It brings a melancholy note to her grin now, where her red-red lips fall shut and curve like a mild autumn moon in pale good humor. Silently, ignoring her finished latte sitting steaming in its mug beneath the machine's spigot, she crosses the kitchen and hugs the Sorcerer firstly from the side. A light kiss is pressed to his silver temple before she steps around front. Felicia ends up seated on his lap side-saddle with her toes brushing the floor and wraps her hands about his neck. With fingers interlaced loosely, she looks between his changeable eyes.

"Now you see here, Stephen Strange." She mocks her own strict tone with a subtly-pouted lip. "It's okay to be scared," the Cat says far more gently, her stern expression fracturing into the revelation of her own concern. "It means you're aware of what you're getting into. You're not like that Captain America guy who just runs in yelling like a lunatic and somehow manages not to get blown up. Granted, I know that works for him, but god -- from what I've heard, he's a mad-man. You?" A fingertip boops off Stephen's nose. "You are not."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "If you'd known what I've done and who I've done it to, Felicia, I can assure you, Steve would be the most sane person in the room." Stephen says as he feels her weight settle down on his lap and her closeness is the most soothing thing the wizard has known for a very long time. He moves his hands off the chair to rest on her leg and waist as he seems as though he's studying the softness of her beneath his fingers.

    "I'm not troubled by my fear, in fact I'm welcoming it, it means I retain my sanity still. The part that bothers me, is how wildly outgunned I am in this instance." Stephen whispers as he speaks into the vibrant green eyes, looking only at one with a burning intensity that a man who's faced the death of trillions can muster.

Black Cat has posed:
"Oh-ho, //Steve//, is it?" Felicia desperately wants to ask for an autograph, but how she keeps it behind her lips is a thing of great self-control. Besides, Stephen is still looking as about as distraught as she's seen him while in his usual state of mental faculty.

"You're talking about going up against Loki, aren't you?" The thief should be saying the Trickster God's name less fearlessly, but her pluck dies a hard death. "You know...I could be your monkey wrench. I am bad luck after all. I could be the //worrrrrrst// bad luck for that twiddly-fingered asshat," she notes with a disturbing amount of bright glee.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "I'm not sure Felicia, but I am thinking I might send you some place safe." Stephen says with a frown as he continues to look only at Felicia. "I know you're bad luck. That's why I want to make sure you're as far away from this as possible. Luck has no place around a magic confrontation like this. There's too much at stake Felicia." Stephen says, lacing his fingers together lightly to rest on her hip in a kind of possessive manner.

Black Cat has posed:
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh....!!!"

Long and drawn out, starting out musically high and ending in a frustrated growl, the sound peters out into a pouted ruby-red lip.

"Stephen. Copperfield. My gloriously-talented surgical wonder-boy. I too have a stake in this valiant battle you're fighting. Let me be a knife from the dark! Your secret weapon!"

Felicia pauses in her noble monologue and rolls her eyes. "Oh, COME ON, don't give me that look, I want a piece of his ass too -- and I don't mean in a sexual manner, don't give me THAT look either," she adds with a pursing of her lips and frown. "Where am I supposed to go anyways? What's safe anymore?" She makes no motion to leave her seating on his lap however, or release her own lazy resting of arms about his neck.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "There's the blue area on the moon, there's maybe some parts of deep space. I think the Shi'ar might be willing to help me." Stephen says with a frown. He's thinking of getting her off the planet. Maybe even out of the solar system. He's that worried. There's likely a million other possibilities Stephen has considered for Felicia's refuge.

    Stephen takes in a deep breath through his nose as he looks to Felicia, "You're a grown woman Felicia, I can't stop you from doing what you want, but I do want you to know, I gave you the option to be safe."

Black Cat has posed:
Felicia blinks at him owlishly. His reassurance of her own autonomy seems to fly right over her head like a misaimed lawn dart -- phew, there it goes.

"I'm sorry, wait." A hand appears and she starts with a stop signal, which then morphs into a single upheld pointer finger. Her mouth opens and closes and then opens again as she squints at the Sorcerer.

"Did you just say deep space?"

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "It's an option I've considered Felicia, yes... I may have had contact with a few Shi'ar delegates as such while trying to figure out what is possible for a single refugee." Stephen says with a frown as he unhooks his fingers and moves his hand up to wrap his fingers around the ball of her hand and the single finger held up in refusal.

Black Cat has posed:
With her hand wrapped up in a soothing gesture, Felicia then sighs. It's a winding, whimpering kind of sound that gravels out into another annoyed burring note.

"Reeeeallyyyyyyyy...? Deep space? That's...that's very different from taking a vacation to Tahiti," she notes before her free hand moves to tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear. Holding Stephen's eyes for a long few moments, she then wrinkles her nose.

"Alright, Stephen. If it has to be deep space, it has to be deep space. All I ask is that I get to bring some hard liquor. Xanax isn't going to cut it -- and my clothing, I get to bring what I want. And Shammy, I want to bring Shammy.

A beat.

"And you'd better text me and keep me updated, mister, or I'll get grumpy with you."

Another beat and she then places a hard kiss on his lips before hmphing. "You're nothing but trouble, but you're my trouble and I guess that's fine by me."