Participants:
| Scene Title | A Good Time Was Had by All |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Simone tries to dance around the subject of scions with Vette and Marius. Scrivner arrives as Marius leaves and the harpies arrive just a bit after. |
//The original Dutch name for this area "Konjn Kok" first evolved to Conyne Island by the English, and later to the easier sounding Coney Island. The completion in 1919 of the subway to New York City, which enabled millions of city's poorer citizens to reach the seaside resort for only five cents (the BRT had charged ten cents prior to 1920), ushered in an era that became known in Coney Island as the "Nickel Empire."
Today's visitor to this time-honored Amusement Park will discover rides including the Cyclone roller coaster, an 85 feet tall wooden twister style coaster; Mystic Express, a fast circular flat ride; Break Dance; the Astrotower which gives a high view of park; Tilt-a-whirl, the Water Flume, Dante's Inferno and Pirate Ship, those swinging boats, among others.//
Simone has had a lot to think about in the past 24 hours. Meeting new people is always good, but discovering that she's not the only one with divine parents… that's another matter. Calling Marius and Vette, she asks them to meet her at Coney Island. She's standing near the amusement park gate, hands thrust into her coat pocket and looking out over the park while she waits.
Marius comes when she calls, he is in his normal three piece suit, but wearing tennis shoes, he whistles to himself as he walks down the board walk, hands in his pockets looking completely relaxed.
Vette comes jogging up, as if worried she's late. She doesn't look like a dancer today because she's coming straight from the job that actually (kind of) pays the bills. She's in a pair of white shorts and a fitted blue t-shirt that says, "The Happy Pet Spa!" on it. There's a poodle with a bow on her head for the logo. Her long legs flash as she races—she'd heard some concern in her new friend's voice and that, in turn, concerned her. Her odd necklace clinks and clanks as she comes to a full, breathless stop. "Am I late?"
Simone recognizes Marius immediately, spotting him easily across the boardwalk. She waves to him, and then spots the red-head approaching at a full run. Simone tilts her head and smiles broadly to them both, answering the question first. "No, you're not. But thanks for coming on such short notice. I think it's time for frank talk between us."
Marius raises an eyebrow, "Coney Island huh? I havn't been out here for a while, so what is up?" He smiles at Vette as well, "Hey red, looking good."
"Thanks," Vette says Marius. She pushes a lock of hair behind her ear and says, "Frank talk?" She's got her breath back without pausing to really catch it. One moment she's breathless from running, the next she's just kind of not. She looks at Simone with that concern growing on her face.
Simone looks from one to the other, her smile fading a bit. "I met some people last night who saw one of those 'unexplained' happenings we were talking about. A woman punched three people, killing each of them dead with a single hit. These things are -real-, and they're loose in the city." She looks from one to the other, considering her words carefully before continuing. "And I think I know what they are…"
Marius blinks and straightens up at that comment, he looks between Vette and Simone, "Perhaps we should step aside to somewhere quieter?" He smiles softly and puts a tender hand on Simone's shoulder supportivly when he voice slows. His eyes now on Vette watching for her reaction.
Vette blinkus a couple of time. "We were talki…oh I was on the phone. I'm sure they are real, my father said they wou…Actually we probably should, yes. Quieter." She actually was there for portions of the conversation, but there was some sort of word puzzle in the wallpaper. The end of the conversation for her was suddenly, happily, blurting out the answer, pointing to the wallpaper, and then smiling warmly at everyone like she'd been right there with them all along, because in her head…she had.
Simone doesn't resist Marius' hand or his suggestion, and lets him lead the way. Her gaze shifts to the redhead, mouth curling into a wry smile as Vette reaches the same conclusion for the setting. "There were some things that Dee mentioned, especially." she offers while they walk. Looking up at Marius, then, she adds. "She doesn't look much like your cousin, by the way."
Marius leads both women off behind one of the stalls to a quiet area. "Not all cousins look alike" He smiles "so what is your worry?'
Vette looks intently at them both, as intently as she'd looked at that wall puzzle. There are plenty of distractions around, but the thing about her type of focus is it's scary good once she sets it. It's just everything else she fails to pay attention to. She walks on the other side of Simone, in real danger of walking face first into a light post in about five more paces if someone doesn't nudge or pull her out of the way.
Simone gives Vette a light tug to prevent her from crashing into the pole, and then the group reaches a quiet area. She looks from one to the other, slipping both hands from her coat pockets now. "Okay." she begins. "I know Dee hand-waved a lot of this yesterday, but you said that even legends are based on a kernel of truth, Marius. And that it just takes faith. Well here's what -I- believe… there -are- children of the elder gods right here in New York. Some have already chosen sides, and some have yet to choose whether they're here to help or to harm."
Marius nods slowly, leaning against the back of the stall, "Ok So your saying even the gods, or maybe half gods, get a choice on what side they are on, that the powers of them, if they exist, are not god and evil in and of themselves, but can be used like anything for either side. I am with you so far…."
Vette blinks as she's tugged aside, then gives Simone a grateful grin. As the conversation continues she starts fiddling with her puzzle boxes, but only absently. She's not looking at them. Her eyes are right on Simone. She's starting to color faintly as she says, bluntly, "Well. I mean I already know what side I'm on. I just haven't found my way to get started yet. Well. Except for tossing meat into the Hudson so I can see the thing…You guys hear about that shark thing? That's probably not a shark." She's taking the conversation from point A to point F, because her mind skips steps very fast.
Simone raises both brows and doesn't quite -stare- at Vette's logic bounce. She gives a soft chuckle at the near-admission before turning to Marius. "Okay, so there's one who knows which team she's on. And I do as well. Marius, you're hedging, so I'll come out and say what nobody really -has-, yet." She pause for a moment, then offers. "I said I believe in the children of the elder gods for a very good reason. And that reason is that I'm one of them."
Marius nods, "Figures, all the beautiful interesting sexy women in this town seem to be related to me, I am starting to consider adopting my fathers morality tree actually and just throwing all those "incest is bad" ideas out the window. Number one" His eyes narrow at Simone, "Telling people you are a god, or god in training…is a bad idea generally, it gets you killed, there are people out there who have picked the wrong side, and those people will use the trusting spirit to take you and break you. And I don't want to see anyone else I care about on a cross at the statue of liberty. So you better really decide if you can trust someone before telling them something like that, because once you do they hold your fate in thier hands. So tell me do you trust me that much?" He looks at Vette, "What about you?"
Vette laughs suddenly. "All the people who wouldn't murder you warn you they could murder you if you told them things. Unless, " she muses, "It's some sort of trick murderers play, which would certainly be a good one. You say, 'oh, don't tell me that, I might kill you', and that actually gets /more/ information out of you…like the really cute guy I gave my phone number to after he told me I shouldn't even give out my namegood thing it's a cell phone anyway? Anywayand then bam, you betray them, just like in the stories, so it's either a thing trustworthy people do or a very good social engineering trick…"
Simone keeps her focus on Marius, nodding slowly as he warns her about talking too much. But she remains unfazed, all the same. Then before she can answer, Vette begins rambling and all Simone can do is to watch. And the more the redhead talks, the more amused Simone becomes. "I think, Marius, that it's sweet of you to worry about me and you're right to be mad. Yes, I'm being a bit free with things, but I know I can't do this alone. And Vette has a good point, too. The fact that you -haven't- sidled up and asked me to trust you is reason enough. As well as your concern, of course."
Marius closes his eyes and sighs, leaning back on the stall again. "I never said I hadn't picked a side, I only haven't advertised it. There is a big difference there. You ever see what happened when Spider Man's secret identity got out? It ruined the story, they had to rewrite time in order to keep the book running, which by the way is almost as much of a cop out as Superman 1 where he reverses the orbit of the planet Earth." He says it all with a straight face letting the inner geek that the cool macho weatherman usually hides come out for a rare moment.
Speak of the devil? Rufus Scrivner has been here to see a friend who works at the Coney Island. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have bothered coming here even if he was paid to do so. One will likely hear his voice before he comes into sight, talking very quietly on a cell phone. And when the conversation is over, he flips it shut and shoves it into the pocket of his coat. He turns a corner, right around the stalls, hoping to take a shortcut back to the parking lot. And that's… right around the moment he spies the trio over there. Talking about… something. Spider Man? He peers, but one of the trio is recognised near-instantly, and he hesitates instead of just walking onwards.
Now it's Vette who looks at Marius like he's just totally jumped subjects. There's a pause and a long beat, beat, beat. And then she says, "I only wear spandex to dance," really dryly. "And only if I have to." It is not her favorite thing in the world to wear. "I think not advertising it only makes sense because people would think you are /crazy/ even if they didn't, you know. Want to blow your head off or want to ask you to get up into the air and reverse the planet's orbit—which, for a myriad of reasons, wouldn't even work anyway."
Simone hears Rufus approaching only when it's too late, her attention being focused on the conversation at hand. She clears her throat, holding up a hand to Marius before he can continue too much further. "Well I stopped wearing Spiderman pajamas years ago, I'm afraid, but I still get your point, Marius." Turning deliberately to the new arrival, she greets Rufus with a small smile. "Hello there. Is there something we can help you with?"
Marius turns and follows Simone's gaze, his eyes catching Rufus he frowns just a ltitle and hmms softly, biting back his next words.
Vette doesn't frown. Vette smiles, and color enters her cheeks. "Hi Rufus," she says, smiling at him. She slowly pushes back a lock of hair. It's then she realizes she's in her work uniform and she almost groans. Not what she wanted to be seen in when she met up with the Englishman again. "He's the cu—I met him the other day," Vette explains. "This is Rufus, and Rufus this is Simone and Marius."
"Ahhh… No, I…" he starts to say. Scrivner clears his throat, slipping his gloved hands into his pockets to keep them warm, and he flashes a rather thin smiles at Vette. "I didn't mean to intrude, but it's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Adams. Simone, Marius…" He inclines his head to the pair, looking them over with mild curiosity.
Simone glances at Marius and Vette before looking to Rufus and giving him a small smile. "Nice to meet you, Rufus." she replies. There's a moment of awkward silence, but she decides not to try and explain why the trio was having such a heated discussion about Spiderman in such a secluded area of the park.
Marius smiles, "It's ok…we can talk about it later…I think we all got our enough to understand we need to talk again, both you ladies have my phone number, you know where to find me if you need me."
"We were just talking about what you said, Rufus, about not giving your name out to people," Vette says, cheerfully happy to explain something anyway. "Only I guess I kind of just gave yours out to two people. I'm very sorry. I didn't really give it much thought you know, I was trying to be polite. Only I really don't know how anyone can get to know anyone without it. Marius here is the weatherman for Channel…Channel something. I forget which channel. Did you know people are wearing costumes to do the weather now? Simone's a doctor." Like this whole confab behind the stalls at the Coney Island is nothing but natural. "Yep, I have your number Marius, I'll check to see if there's a costume for you to like, wear on the air, if you really really want to do it but I think predicting the weather better will boost those ratings more than wearing a costume will."
Scrivner finds himself staring at Vette with a peculiar expression, like he's not sure he wants to facepalm, smile or grimace in pain. "It's quite …. all right, Miss Adams," he says. "How… wonderful for you. Yes, I thought I recognised Mr. Forest, but I wasn't entirely certain. Mr. Forest, you have my commisserations on your unfortunate wardrobe."
Simone just lets her eyes roll as she shakes her head, watching Vette as the redhead rambles. "Yes. Let's talk again soon, Marius." she offers, giving the man a long look-over. "And thank you." Her smile broadens as Rufus continues on about the TV weatherman's wardrobe 'issues'.
Marius smiles and leans over to give first Simone, then Vette a hug good by. He then nods to Rufus, "Yes well I am thinking Captain America or Superman is more my speed then Spidey, I am no where near enough of a smart ass to pull him off." He chuckles softly and shakes his head, "Well if you will all excuse me I do have some errands to run before I go on the air tonight."
Vette blinks as Marius just up and hugs her, like she really was not expecting that. She has so little time to respond to that one and then she just sort of waves goodbye to him, scratching her head. To Simone she says, "How do we get from 'you maybe shouldn't just trust random people like me' to here, let me give you a hug?" And then to Rufus she says, "What's wonderful for me? And ugh. What's that smell?" For there is a smell that's radiating from nearby, and it is not at all a pleasant smell. It smells like rotten meat mixed with cloying, burning sugar.
Turning his head to watch the other gent depart, Scrivner doesn't say much of anything, and he doesn't crack a smile. Eventually he clears his throat and turns his attention back to the ladies, looking over them both before idly saying, "Nevermind, Miss Adams. It's not important. I…." He trails off, frowning, before he lifts his head to sniff the air. "Rubbish, perhaps? Aren't there some bins nearby?"
Simone hugs Marius back with enthusiasm, watching warmly as Vette gets hugged as well. "I think he's warming up a little." she replies. Brows knit and she sniffs as well, shaking her head. "No, Rufus, it's not the rubbish bins." she replies. "It's something I've never…." Following the smell, the brunette turns and looks up to see two naked women, flying. "There. Up there." she adds, reaching for her silver pendant as if for security.
Vette looks back at Scrivner, and at first she's looking for rubbish bins. Then she looks up at where Simone is pointing and squints. "I don't see anything. Rufus, do you see anything?" The smell is getting stronger, and she actually gags on that, putting a hand to her mouth and nose.
Tilting back his head, Rufus looks up, following the line of Simone's finger. "Yes…" He takes a step forward, eyes narrowing, while he struggles not to start gagging. "Something… Two specks of brown. I can't quite make out what they are, but they look a little like birds." He looks down and around, frowning. "My God, that /stench./ Perhaps we should move?"
Simone nods a little, not taking her eyes off of the flying things. "Yes. We should follow them." she declares. Pulling her hand away from her throat, she is suddenly holding a large-caliber automatic pistol, plated nice and pretty in silver. "Or see if we can lure them closer. I'm open to suggestions."
Seconds after Simone speaks she will realize that there's no luring necessary. The things see something they like. One of them breaks and comes swooping down at break-neck speed, and it's making a beeline towards Scrivner. These prove to be naked, winged women with talons about as long as daggers, glowing yellow serpentine eyes and big fangs. They aren't trying to kill Scrivner, oh no. He's a tasty looking bit of stud stock there and they'd like to take him away. As such, the harpy attempts to grab Scrivner by the shoulders and take him into the air.
Simone watches the Harpy descend, not flinching as it spirals into the dive towards Scrivner. With her divine-gifted Desert Eagle already in hand, she follows it down and sights it in. No time for anything fancy, and she pulls the trigger as it pivots to scoop up its prey.
"Fucking Hell!" Claws coming after him and horribly ugly women wanting to carry him away fall firmly into the category of DO NOT WANT. Scrivner quickly falls back a few steps and nimbly leaps to one side, just a few feet. The man reaches around to a slim, black case of nylon resting across his back, struggling to yank it open and draw forth a longsword of steel. It's going to take him a few seconds just to do that alone.
The bullet rings through the air, clipping the Harpy in the shoulder and drawing blood. It lands just as Scrivner moves out of the way, roaring in fury as he gets his longsword out. But now she's very interested in the woman who just /shot/ her. She's going to attempt to swipe at Simone with one long fingered claw, barely missing her.
Of course, about this time Harpy #2 shows up and she'd /also/ like to have a Scribner to love and squeeze and hug and mate to death, so /she/ tries to grab him too. It's not easy being handsome, handsome, but the thing is coming down at a wrong angle, just barely, for Scrivner to be in actual danger, and she actually leaves herself wide open.
Vette is quite without a weapon, but this doesn't deter her. She puts her hand against the metal roofing of one of the boardwalk stalls. It seems to go liquid, pulling out this long, amorphous shape which resolves itself into a sharp, javelin-like thing in her hand—an activity that happens with painstaking slowness while one of the charms around her neck lights up and pulses brightly.
Simone watches her shot draw blood, and as the harpy swipes at her the brunette -twists- to the side… twirling like a pole-dancer without the pole. Head snapping around first to keep the target in sight, she brings the silver automatic to bear once more and fire erupts from the barrel when she pulls the trigger.
Suddenly aware of what the redhead is doing, Scrivner has a split second of wide-eyed WTF. He doesn't get time to contemplate this revelation because the second harpy is coming in for the worse-than-kill. He pivots hard on the ball of his foot, silently spinning up the longsword's blade in an arc. His strike is hard and vicious, aimed to slash off a wing or its head, whatever he can possibly reach.
This time, Simone's bullet seems to whiff through the harpy's feathers. The harpy gives a horrific grin and launches into the air again, this time to attempt to rip out her very entrails with a powerful hind leg claw. It snatches through the air like an eagle's claw.
Scrivner's harpy screaaaams in pain as he does indeed damn near take off one of her wings, resulting in a fountain of blood and heat. Brass talons flash as she attempts to wrap one hard claw around Scrivner's wrist in retaliation, with the full intent of just piercing up his sword arm and rendering it useless. It's moving too slow to hit him though, but the intent is there in murderous yellow eyes.
Vette is standing next to Simone and so the target for her is obvious. Besides, um…Rufus kind of looks like he has his bad date under control. Taking a deep breath she attempts to throw her makeshift javelin into the harpy, aiming for…well. Anything soft. The harpy bats it aside rather contemptuously. A for effort?
Simone keeps her two-handed grip levelled at the attacking harpy, as if waiting for it to attack. When the claws snatch at her, the brunette flips into a back walk-over that not only avoids the attack but puts her a few feet away for another clear shot. She shoots again.
Well, this is one suit ruined. Hot blood gushes all over him like a fountain, splashing over his clothing, across his face and into his hair. Thick and stinking, the man spits it out and snarls, lip curling back to bare teeth as he lunges hard. Thrusting up with the blade, he comes in close enough to nearly choke on the stench of its feather. And as he lunges with his longsword, he angles the blade up and towards her ribcage, aiming to pierce the heart. "No means no, bitch!"
The stench of blood fills the air as Simone's bullet pierces through the shoulder of the Harpy attacking her and Vette. Scribner's sword goes piercing straight into the ribcage, and it certainly hits where the heart should be. On anything normal. Sadly he feels muscle instead. The Harpy literally tries to punch him right in the face since he's so nice and close—and manages to telegraph that punch so well that Scrivner will have no trouble defending against it. The Harpy facing the two women decides that Simone is kind of a pain in the ass and she's going to go for soft squishy little Vette instead. Soft and squishy little Vette is diving after her not so soft and Squishy little spear with a graceful tuck and roll though, and the harpy misses. She attempts to skewer the harpy the moment she grabs the thing, perhaps deciding that keeping ahold of her weapon is a better idea. She holds it like a 2 handed spear as she jabs upwards. This time she hits! And…kind of…scratching the harpy a little.
Simone leaves the down harpy to the swordsman and keeps her gun levelled on the one that's now chasing the redhead. "Would you just -die- already!?" she calls in a too-calm voice. She squeezes the trigger again and the gun roars.
Again Scrivner ducks out of the way of the harpy's strike, moving so quickly he's very nearly a blur of blood and pale head. Drawing back his blade, he surges forward and reaches up to seize the harpy, yank her down just enough and bring his sword slashing down in a vicious, one-handed arc that cuts through flesh, muscle and vertebrae. About one second later, there's a harpy head rolling at his feet and a whole lot of pumping, churning blood spilling all over him and the ground.
The harpy that Simone shot goes reeling to the ground as the bullet strikes it's brain. Vette, so full of hyper adrenaline, stabs savagely down at the harpy's eye and actually draws blood for the first time.
On its corpse. Some hero she is.
Then she stares for a moment, looking back at the other two. "Nice work." Sweating just a bit, she pulls the thing free with a look of disgust on her face and goes and holds it back against the roof she took it from. Her puzzlebox glows as she very carefully smooths the metal back where it belongs. It's not hers by the way.
And a good time was had by all.
Simone breathes heavily, lowering the large automatic for the first time since the attack. She looks at her blood-spattered clothes and wrinkles her nose. "I'm going to have to throw these away, you know." she offers casually. Taking a clip from her coat, she reloads the pistol and then it disappears, becoming a pendant once more. "Rufus, I think I need to get your phone number…."
After all of that, Rufus stands over the dead body of the harpy, his grip white-knuckled on the hilt of his sword. It takes a few seconds for him to calm down, enough to think to wipe off the bird's ichor on his ruined trouser leg. He glances over his shoulder at Simone, smirking thinly. "Indeed." He reaches into his pocket for his own cellphone. "In exchange for yours, of course, Doctor." He looks over at Vette then, stepping a pace towards her. "Are you all right, Miss Adams?"
The harpy bodies suddenly dissolve into black, viscous yuck, leaving 10 bronze talons behind. Vette gathers them up takes two for herself, putting it into the pocket of her bloodstained white shorts. They're as sharp as daggers and if someone can be found to put a handle on them they'll make fantastic magical weapons. She offers the others to her new friends, four for Simone and four for Scrivner. She smiles up at Scrivner and says, "I was like the Invisible woman. I neither did any good nor got hurt. You were fantastic! Both of you were fantastic. That sword work! That shooting! Oh—damn it, my work uniform…" The happy poodle on her virulent blue pet spa tee shirt is now black with harpy blood. Yuck.
