9363/The Trickster's Mess, part 2

The Trickster's Mess, part 2
Date of Scene:	29 September 2019
Location:	Sanctum Santorum - Base Floor
Synopsis:	9363 Sam and Shannon seek out the help of Doctor Strange in regards to the mysterious pendant from Loki. Doctor Strange crushes the pendant; however, all is not lost....
Cast of Characters:	Cannonball, Nightingale, Black Cat, Doctor Strange, Hogarth Hart
Tinyplot:	Asgard's Requiem

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Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie lands a bit away from the address with Shannon. He pulls his gauntlets up to rest on the top of his head, after sitting Shannon on her feet. "You ready for this?" he will start leading her her towards the fancy brownstone. Looking over it and it's distinctive window. He knocks on the door of the building and adds "If anyone will know what this is, he would be the one."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon cracks a small smile as she is set down, extending her wings some. It felt good to stretch them out a little bit after the brief but intense trip there. "Doubtful, but is there really any choice?" The teen follows close behind Sam, keeping one hand on the worn, brown leather bag tied to her belt. She's in a simple white t-shirt, light blue straight-legged jeans, and sensible if slightly worn white sneakers. "It'll be... interesting to finally put a face to the name."

Black Cat has posed:
With the Sanctum reclaimed, someone has definitely reclaimed her old room. It's been spruced up as per her personal hedonistic expectations to its former state and, of course, Shammy has come along in tow. The magical cat is currently ensconced on the end of Felicia's king-sized bed, a ball of gold-tipped green fur with a white tuxedo and stripe up his face. The proposed 'mistress' of the Sanctum exits her room in a flounce of pure delight in clothing suited for leisure.

Black leggings cling to her from hip to bared toes and the red tanktop leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination. Toned arms and shoulders and...decolletage are on display in the comfortable indoor temperatures. With her platinum-blonde hair in a messy bun, Felicia traipses down the steps in time to hear an arrival at the front door.

So does a much beloved relic, which whisks down to settle upon her shoulders. The thief lets out a small 'eeep!' of surprise before dimples and rubs her cheek against its collars.

"Let's answer the door, shall we?" the Cat asks the relic even as she walks over. Upon opening it, the Black Cat, with her jade-green eyes lined in kohl to accentuate them, and her lips painted ever so red, slowly smiles.

"The Sorcerer Supreme is in today," she announces, loftily, wearing the crimson Cloak of Levitation with adroit ease.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen, upstairs in a hidden study lifts his head as he's mystically alerted to the door opening below him. This is something the former surgeon isn't ready for, as he slams his tome back down onto the desk upside down in a huff. The sling holding up his cast other arm is tightened as he stands.

     The wizard begins the meandering process to make his way down to the main floor landing and then the hall like foyer lined with ornate boxes, tables from ancient ikea and decorations older than some versions of history. Stephen passes all these as he approaches the light breaching the sanctum through the cracked doorway.

    Wearing a simple blue gi with one side wrapped over his injured hand, Stephen steps up behind Felicia and a hidden hand informs the thief of his presence and he looks to the guests. "Hello." He states blunty, and without charm.

Hogarth Hart has posed:
     Hogarth had been taking a moment to work out, dressed in loose fitting blue pants, he spun the staff around striking different poses before he heard a knock at the front door.

  The cloak of levitation was a strange relic, Hogarth's own relics did not move on their own more so found themselves in close proximity to Hogarth if they needed to be of use. "Hello." He offers, just like the Doctor did, though his bluntness came from being slightly out of breath and slightly sweaty.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie is in jeans and a Lila T-shirt, he was just having a normal day when he heard about the issue. He gives Felicia a once over and makes sure to keep his eyes on her eyes. "Dr. Strange?" He will ask, he thought he had heard folks refer to the Doc as him, but he aint sure. "Um, we are friends of Kitty Pryde, and we were in need of the Doctor's assistance." Eyes are up there eyes are up there.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon bows briefly to all three, her wings kept tucked in behind her--thus neatly avoiding Sam's current difficulty in keeping his eyes where they ought to be. "Please forgive the intrusion, but there's a very /tricksy/ matter we were hoping to consult with the Doctor on." The slight emphasis on 'tricksy' might give a hint as to who or what it could be about. "My name is Shannon Lance, and this is Samuel Guthrie." She offers a small smile to all three, though her brows furrow with concern at the way the gi wraps around Strange's arm. She would have to ask him about that a bit later.

Black Cat has posed:
Hogarth gets a sliding glance upon his appearance and lightly arched eyebrow. She's not immediately aware of whom he is, but if he's present here and now, in the reclaimed Sanctum, he must be at least a neutral party. Stephen gets a subtle hipcheck of fond greeting, hidden away by the flattering fall of the Cloak's bright fabric.

"A 'tricksy' reason for assistance?" The buxom thief glances between Samuel and Shannon before lifting her chin and then smiling again. It's a full-wattage curl of red-red lips. "Do come in. We can discuss inside, where the world isn't staring at you on the doorstep." Turning as if she were royalty, Felicia then gestures for both young people to follow her with a hand gleaming with pristinely French-manicured nails.

Both Stephen and Hogarth get a wink only they can see as she glides away, the Cloak furling behind her.

"Shannon and..." Her eyes travel over them both consideringly as she pauses in the middle of the foyer before the grand staircase. "Samuel, was it? Let's be blunt. It's about Loki, isn't it."

Her tone suggests no fondness for the Trickster God.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen steps back after the hip check and the frown from Shannon as he spies her eyeing his hand.

    No reaction is drawn as Stephen steps back and reaches for the handle and pulls the door open fully and allows enough room for the mutants to enter as Felicia hadn't. "Come, it's been a trying time lately and any thing dealing with Loki has us all on edge." He explains as if he was the sidekick.

Hogarth Hart has posed:
     No love was lost with Hogarth when it came to Loki. Not after all he put them through.

  Hogarth takes a quick sojourn to put the kettle on while the others make their way in. Perfect time to actually put on a shirt and shoes. Following him would be a pair of boots, walking as though they had invisible feet and legs in them. Not weird at all.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods and says "We were hoping you might be able to help us. It seems Loki has sent a gift to Shannon here. He tricked her into healing him, and has hence sent her an item. We know he can be a very bad guy, but also have heard stories of him, having some honor when folks help him, so thought it would be best to seek out expert advice."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon can't help a soft laugh, tilting her head slightly as she watches the boots tromping along behind Hogarth for a few seconds. The laughter, unfortunately, does not last all that long, as one name she had very mixed feelings about is spoken. She steps inside with the others, making room for Sam to come in as well. "I'm not too happy about being tricked into it... but Sam's right. I did heal Loki." She purses her lips, the name spoken with the tone of one who had taken a bite of some fruit they were not certain they loved or loathed. "He was in a different form from normal, I think. Can't be sure, but for the Trickster, it'd make sense. When it was all over with, the healing, mention was made of repayment, but neither one of us was in any condition to deal with it at that time. I didn't hear from him again, but earlier today, Rahne relayed this to me."

She reaches for the brown leather bag tied to her belt and unties the top, reaching in to withdraw a small object. When she opens her right hand, on her palm rests a small pendant without a cord. It's dark blue, and has a very odd inner glow. It's in the shape of an angel praying. "This is what she brought me. I wouldn't hold that very tightly, and definitely would /not/ focus intent thought on Loki when you do. All we know so far is it is some way to communicate to him."

Black Cat has posed:
Samuel's story has the thief's mouth slowly falling open in blatant surprise. Her eyebrows lift and she does give Stephen a lingering glance, as if to silently impart, 'can you believe this?!'

But, unfortunately, both Cat and Sorcerer can.

She watches, her red-red lips still pursed, as Shannon tells her story and then reveals the delicate object. Ooh, it's...it's sparkly. White teeth visibly fret at her plump bottom lip and then, with impish curiosity on full display, she steps forwards with her palm outstretched towards Shannon.

"Allow me to see this, please. I will be responsible with it," she says, her tone expertly modulated to entice the young woman into handing over the deeply-blue and glowing angel pendant.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen reaches out to Felicia as she reaches for the stone and his coarse hands grasping at the pale wrist and the only response Stephen gives to Felicia is a firm shaking of his head in her direction.

    "You say this is from Loki, correct Shannon?" The wizard asks as he looks back to the mutant and then over towards Hogarth as he returns and then to Sam and finally Felicia again. "Did Loki tell you to focus on him while holding onto the artifact?"

Hogarth Hart has posed:
     Hogarth returns, a pot of fresh oolong tea with a small bowl of sugar and honey for those who choose to use it.

  The twenty-something man had those boots that were following him on his feet now, along with a loose gi of a blue color, not unlike Strange's. He also had an undershirt of orange underneath. No longer sweaty, he looked much more presentable. His chestnut hair was combed at least now and his cobalt eyes look to each. "Help yourselves." He paid attention to the matter at hand. "And why exactly would you actually want to contact that man?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over and shrugs a bit to the Doctor's question. "Ah am more just watching over her, Ah was not there when any of this happened. My experience with him is from a few years ago nothing recently that Ah know if.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods slowly. "It is. Though the alias he was using was 'Jeremy'." She shrugs, and glances down at the pendant glowing softly there on her palm. She's very careful not to curl her fingers around it. "As far as I know, that's how it's activated. That information was given to and tested by Rahne. I haven't tried it myself, and can't think why I'd want to. Still..." Here, she actually hesitates a moment, before holding the pendant out towards Doctor Strange. "...regardless of the source, it was a gift I hope was given with at least semi-decent spirit behind it. And I hate just throwing that away. Plus, I'm not exactly keen on insulting the giver by doing so."

Black Cat has posed:
With a looooong-suffering sigh, Felicia retracts her hand and simply folds her arms beneath her chest. Man, that tanktop's collar is a low-cut sling of fabric. Her lips pull to one side, as if she //might// smile, but is holding onto her poise of professionalism by a nail.

Still, the idea of so easily being able to summon Loki is both fascinating and just frightening enough to make her heart-rate jump a beat or two. She glances from the pendant to Stephen and then off to one side. Good ol' Jeremy...the sole reason the Black Cat was fooled last time she crossed paths with the Trickster God. Her glower is for the wooden mosaic on the floor.

With a sigh, she then looks to Hogarth. "Thank you, but I'm no good for tea. I'm a coffee kind of gal." He gets a small grin.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen lets go of Felicia's wrist and then looks to her as Shannon speaks. "I - I think I have an idea..." Stephen takes the pendant as it was held out and not clutched onto. Stephen turns his back to everyone and steps back outside the front door and half way into the sidewalk. There Stephen drops the pendant on the ground and using hte heel of his boot, steps on the stone and metal piece. He's trying to break it into nothingness. "You need to ask questions of your superiors more. Your teacher Jean Grey was the one that informed us of Jeremy's true identity."

Hogarth Hart has posed:
     Hogarth gives a light sigh as he pours a cup for himself. He knew he could switch that cup out for coffee, but that sort of parlor trick was frowned upon by the Order.

  Hogarth watches Strange grasp the pendant in his hand and take it out of the massive interior of the brownstone to the street and come back. He sips at the tea, not stunned at all by the reaction the Doctor had to the trinket. "You probably are not aware of what happened. Suffice it to say, Loki has done something recently that placed our reality in danger, grave danger."

  Hogarth kept drinking the tea, a very nice bouquet, light, but still rich.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over watching this and asks "Speaking to the higher up, in what manner. Ah don't believe anyone there knew who he was till after things went pear shaped." He will put a hand on Shannon's shoulder to try to help keep her calm and reasurred. "It is sorta what he does, trying to get what he wants and not caring about what happens to the others around him most times. We came to you tonight expecting you would be the person who would know what the goal with the item may have been.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon starts forward as she sees Doctor Strange take the pendant outside and... crush it. Wings snapped off, the body snapped apart, and the head broke free, each piece still shimmering. While she knew it had to be done, it did /not/ mean she had to like it. For several long moments, as she witnesses the destruction, her eyes mist over but her face remains untouched by crystalline rivulets.

As she looks back at Doctor Strange, his words prick at her, and her cheeks flame with humiliation. Somehow, she manages to keep her voice even. "She's one of the ones I see the /least/ of, sir. Which is really a bit sad, she's one of the nicest ones there. As long as you're not in her office the hard way."

Her eyebrows raise slightly as she hears Hogarth, and she glances over his way. "Would that something have had to do with a weird blue ichor that just... reeked?"

Black Cat has posed:
Felicia simply blinks at the reaction to the glittering pendant. By the subtle shrug of her shoulders beneath the fall of the Cloak, it seems logical enough, at least to her.

"Someone just needs to kick his ass into another dimension and leave him there somehow," she mutters mostly to herself before giving her nails a check-in look.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "I'll get to it when I get to it Felicia!" Stephen says as he lifts his foot again to bring the heel back down onto the pendant once more with a snarl crossing his lips and flapping his arms like wings to give himself more force in the stomp.

    Stephen then turns back to the two mutants and looks at them. "Leave Jeremy alone, get him out of your school like I told the others to do and you." Stephen says pointing to Shannon and then to Sam. "As soon as you can." The comment about Jean being hard to reach rises a simple roll of Stephen's eyes.

Hogarth Hart has posed:
     Sip. Delicious. "I agree." Hogarth comments before turning to Shannon. "Reeked? Stank? Not specifically, if I remember. Can you explain more?" The sorcerer's interest was piqued. He looked to Strange with a slight interest, the gears were turning. "What could have injured him enough that he needed someone to heal him instead of him doing it himself? He's a god."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks to the man and says "He is out of the school, have not heard from him, since he appeared there hurt, and needing healing. Shannon here is a healer, and seeing a hurt person who needed help she helped him. Once it was figured out who he was, we were on guard, and he was gone shortly afterwards. He brought that to one of our friends, one who had been to Asgard in the past, and said it was a gift to Shannon. Shannon brought the info about it to myself and others, and Ah, asked Kitty to set up this meeting. "This was not haphazard situation. Things were handled as best they could be as we figured it out. " He frowns at the Dr. and says "I take it you have never been tricked by someone, and did the best you could to make good afterwards?" Yes the young man seems to be getting a bit upset at his friends and student being talked down to.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shrugs slightly, her voice gone much softer and with a slight quaver to it as she answers Hogarth; the loss of the pendant was a blow she had not expected to hit her like it did. "I don't know what injured him, he claimed something with demonic influence but I'm not sure how true that is. The ichor was blue, glowed, and had a weird smell that you'd associate with a morgue. Minus the formaldehyde. The stuff was all through his veins. Had all sorts of cuts all over. Minor ones on the face, somewhat deeper ones on the arms and legs, some pretty good-size ones on his chest, and it looked as if his hands had been put through an old-fashioned wringer. Makes it all the more shocking that I survived healing it. None of the stuff touched me, thank whatever god you pray to, even after he managed to get it out of his system."

She tolerates the part about being talked down to, simply resting her hand on Sam's arm and shaking her head slightly. Doctor Strange's hand gets another concerned look from her, despite his somewhat condescending tone. "If that's hurting you... would you allow me to help?"

At that particular moment, Shannon's phone buzzes in her pocket. With an apologetic look, she pulls it from her pocket and glances down at the message. Here, she actually rolls her eyes. "A bit late there, Scott." Is that a bitter note to her voice, as she slips her phone back into her pocket?

Black Cat has posed:
"I know you will," the thief replies to Stephen in the same undertone as to giving Loki the boot, though she gives the Sorcerer a pert little curl of a smile and look from beneath her dark lashes. The talk of the blue goop, however, has Felicia curling her nose.

"Oh blech." One corner of the Cloak's lifted collar is idly brushed by a fingertip, as if she might entice it to flirt with her. The relic obliges her and sticks the corner in her ear. A small squeak leaves her before she can help it. "Doctor Strange will be fine," Felicia's sure to add even as she saunters over to stand next to the man, silently claiming him by her presence.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen catches his breath and demeanor as he is joined by Felicia and then he looks to the two mutants. "I've given you all that I can for now." He's not a man to repeat himself and thus he heads forwards to the door, pulling Felicia with him before looking over his shoulder to Shannon.

    "I appreciate the offer, but I'll pass. I earned this injury, I will deal with it my way." Stephen explains before shutting the door and getting back to his work.

Hogarth Hart has posed:
     "The smell of death. Maybe a curse or some sort of plague? Probably some kind of punishment he was forced to endure. Not from us, but from his kind." That at least was the only thing apart from the kind of magic Stephen and (hopefully one day) he could wield. "Don't beat yourself up over it. Loki is...one of the most deceitful beings I've ever seen."

  Shannon's comments about the ichor not touching her garners a shrug. "I don't." Pray that is.

  He starts to think of an idea, at least to try and make up for the loss of the beautiful pendant. He'd have to study a few books first though. He offers a cup of oolong to Shannon, attempting to comfort in a small way.

  The sudden departure of Strange and Felicia leave Hogarth with the two mutants left. He at least doesn't shove them out of the door, remaining to answer any questions they may have.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie frowns at the doctor, and exhales softly as the other man leaves, making a mental note to go to the demon sorceress and the valkyrie first before going to see the good doctor again. He looks to Hogarth, and will ask "Is he always like that?" Looking towards where the Doctor went.

Nightingale has posed:
With the Doctor gone, a few tears do start to trickle down Shannon's face. Her phone buzzes again, and she rolls her eyes. "Please excuse me a moment." She steps outside the door briefly, bending down to pick something up and drop it in her brown leather pouch. When she takes her phone out and glances at the message, she rolls her eyes slightly, and taps out a quick reply. "Day late and a dollar short there, Scott. Jeeze." A heavy sigh, and she turns on her heel to go back inside. If Hogarth was being hospitable, she wasn't about to turn her back on that. Besides... who could say no to oolong tea?

Black Cat has posed:
Felicia returns soon enough, and sans the crimson Cloak -- because frankly, she's a very nosy sort...and it's half of her problem even if no one could pay her to admit it. She cuts a curvy figure on approach again, her bare feet silent where they land on the Sanctum's floor, and she pauses by Hogarth to take up a natural contrapposto stance. Palms rest lightly on her hips.

"He's not always like that," she makes a point to assure Samuel, having overheard the comment. "You caught us at an unexpected time. But then again, when is anything involving Loki ever expected? Guy's an asshat." Her svelte shoulders shrug. "You got bamboozled by him, so what? We all have at some point. You're alive though, and that's the important part. It's harder to get tricked again. As one of his targets, believe me, there are ways to outwit him." Her red-red smile is sharp, her jade-green eyes glinting.