tabula_rasa (tabula_rasa) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2013-08-24 17:47:00

Entry tags:

jenny woolverton, meme, perenawska, vincent vernard

The night the lights went out in New Orleans (Open to Champions)
Continued from here.

"Oh, I'm sure he's met you and you haven't realized it yet. Yankee Clipper makes himself at home in everyone's room. I think even Nick's if only to rub on his boots a little. He wants to make sure he'll still have somebody to feed him if I don't make it home on time."

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	tabula_rasa 2013-08-25 02:22 am UTC (link)
	As if he knew he was the subject of conversation, or simply assuming it in his cat-like way, Yankee Clipper sat in the front hall, his tail curled around his paws. "Good. New city getting to you." She scooped YC up and rubbed his ears. "See you in the morning, Vincent. Thanks for walking me home." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

quitethecharmer
2013-08-25 02:28 am UTC (link)

Well, if he's going to show up on cue.

Approaching cautiously, Vincent reaches out and gives YC a brief pet as well. "Good night, lady and gentleman." With that, he heads for the shower, intent on wiping away the day's nerves.

He lets the water cascade over him, soaping himself up and letting the lather sit in his hair. He's just breathing a sigh of relief when he feels something touch the back of his head. He whirls around, wondering if he just left a window cracked and felt a breeze, but finds nothing.

He feels it touch his cheek this time.

Discretion being the better part of valor, Vincent chose to vacate the shower with all due composure, and a carefully controlled cry of alarm to alert any others who might be at risk. It was nothing like scrambling out and shouting, not at all.

Which is why a half-soapy, fully soaked, and not at all clothed Vincent Vernard is bursting out into the hallway of the building.

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tabula_rasa
2013-08-25 02:39 am UTC (link)

As Vincent disappeared, a breeze passed over Jenny and YC hissed and jumped out of her arms. He disappeared down the hall to the kitchen. She followed. Tea and something for the cat to calm him down.

Which is where she was when a scared and soapy Vincent appeared screaming in alarm.

Oh great. The new guy was twitchy about the dark and didn't know the meaning of the word bathrobe.

"WHAT?" she said loudly to get his attention and make him stop that noise.

The cat dashed under a low chair.

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	quitethecharmer 2013-08-25 02:46 am UTC (link)
	"Something's there!" Vincent exclaims, pointing back at the bathroom. Realizing his state, he grabs a cushion off a nearby chair and covers himself. "I was in the shower and I felt something touch me! Has this place ever been haunted, or has Nick performed an exorcism?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-08-25 03:03 am UTC (link)
	"I don't think it's haunted. Nobody said anything." Jenny went to get YC out from under the chair and soothe her pet as best she could. "The only unexplained noises I hear in the building are from Argo's room." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	quitethecharmer 2013-08-25 01:01 pm UTC (link)
	"Yes, we share a wall." Vincent mutters, and is about to make another comment, when the emergency power fails as well, and the hall turns pitch black. "...Jenny, are you still there?" He doesn't exactly want to go feeling around for her, but he still wants to check. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-08-25 03:39 pm UTC (link)
	The cat hissed and launched himself off her shoulder to disappear just as the lights went out again. "Yes, I'm still here," she said to Vincent as she felt the scratch marks left on her neck and cheek. Another hand touched her cheek just after hers and she batted it away. "Stop it. You'll get hurt." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	perenawska 2013-08-25 05:18 pm UTC (link)
	Irina was just returning home for the night and heard a commotion coming from upstairs. She ran up the stairs in the dark. "Hello? What's going on?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-08-25 05:37 pm UTC (link)
	"The power's out and Vincent was so upset he jumped out of the shower and ran out here. He says something touched him." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	perenawska 2013-08-25 05:39 pm UTC (link)
	A brow rose. "Are we sure he just wasn't touching himself?" Irina asked. There may have been a trace of a smirk on her face. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	quitethecharmer 2013-08-26 01:00 am UTC (link)
	A long silence. "Jenny... that wasn't me." A light spell glimmers to life in Vincent's palm, revealing a wraith behind Jenny. A raggedy spectral figure, with face and body obscured, but bony hands reaching out. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-08-26 02:38 am UTC (link)
	Jenny turned to look behind her and reacted by taking a swing at the apparition. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_misc 2013-08-26 07:40 pm UTC (link)
	The figure goes right through Jenny's arm, leaving a... not quite numbness in its place. More like a lack of willingness to act. It turns on Irina next, shying away from the light. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	perenawska 2013-08-26 10:27 pm UTC (link)
	Irina just sighed when she saw the apparition. After all that she's seen since being a Champion, this wasn't too unusual. "Any one know any banishing spells? You're supposed to be a hot shot magician. Can't you do something instead of shiver in fear like a little girl?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

quitethecharmer
2013-08-28 06:50 am UTC (link)

"I am not shivering!" Vincent snaps. "Pardon me for being just the tiniest bit alarmed by being attacked by a malevolent force while in the shower!"

He turns his attention to the wraith. A counter-attack won't mean anything unless he can figure out more about it first. He's forced to drop the cushion, holding the light spell between both hands as he alters it. He then lobs it at the ghost.

It passes through with barely a ripple of it's form, but the wraith still howls in rage, rag-like tendrils rushing out from all sides.

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tabula_rasa
2013-08-28 01:26 pm UTC (link)

"What is that thing?" Jenny whirled away from the tendrils. She wasn't used to fighting something without mass. It wasn't the strangest thing she'd seen since coming to New Orleans, but she certainly didn't like it in the place she slept. "Where did it come from? It couldn't have been here all the time, we would have noticed it."

"Okay, weird question. Is this one of Nick's...uh, friends?" Hey, what did she know about the supernatural?

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	perenawska 2013-08-28 09:20 pm UTC (link)
	"You don't look like you were attacked," Irina said calmly." She looked at Jenny. "I have no idea. Probably not." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

quitethecharmer
2013-08-29 05:25 pm UTC (link)

Vincent just mumbles a response, testingly reaching out one hand towards a tendril as it whips past him. They don't seem to be inflicting physical harm, but--

What was the point of staying up so late anyway? That submission is never going to get accepted. The draft is miserable, and--

...where on Earth did that depressing thought come fr--

"Oh for pity's sake... it's a despondos wraith!" He curses under his breath. "Normally only expect to see ones this fully materialized out in Hollywood..." He turns to the girls. "Don't let it touch you if you can avoid it. These things, for lack of a better term, feed off of hopes and dreams. Even senses of things you want to get done. Some idiots with more sense than skill willingly expose themselves so they can feel better about procrastination... but let them touch you too much and you eventually lose the will to live."

He examines it cautiously as they try to give it some space. "I think I can contain it, but it's a delicate spell. Can you two keep it distracted while I run to my room? Think really hard about things you want to achieve, but don't let it make contact."

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	tabula_rasa 2013-08-31 11:35 pm UTC (link)
	"I want to achieve it out of here. A lot." Jenny edged around the thing. "Do we have a big floor fan or something? That might get it all airy and hard to stay together." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

quitethecharmer
2013-09-01 03:36 pm UTC (link)

"I... will explain later why it doesn't work like that." For goodness' sake, couldn't Nick give his teammates even a basic primer on the supernatural? Vincent was going to have to put together some reading material. "Just think determined thoughts, and don't let it touch your pet."

He runs to his room, turning the knob clockwise to reveal where he keeps his magical supplies (counter-clockwise would have simply lead to where his bed and desk were). A check of a grimoire, a rushed incantation, and an apothecary bottle with bars of iron, silver, and gold entwined around it glows brightly. He looks around the room, thinks for a moment, then snaps his fingers in realization. Another step into the hallway, jumping into his real room, and retrieving a small item, which he throws into the bottle. He hurries back down the hallway.

"So glad I got to do all this with conditioner still in my hair...."

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	perenawska 2013-09-02 12:17 pm UTC (link)
	Irina rolled her eyes. Great. They had a pretty boy on the team. Argo, Nick and Corey each had their quirks and Irina loved them all, but none were pretty boys. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-09-02 02:01 pm UTC (link)
	"Your hair will grow back," Jenny snapped, on edge from the thing in the room. "Get rid of it!" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

quitethecharmer
2013-09-02 06:30 pm UTC (link)

"Oh like you'd be so chipper if your shower got interrupted by a wraith!" Vincent snaps back. He really is trying to be friendly, but this is just a bit much for his patience right now.

He pulls a stopper from the bottle and rushes at the wraith. It howls in rage for a moment, before something seems to catch its attention and it dives into the bottle of its own accord. Vincent seals the bottle as soon as the last raggedy wisps of energy are inside.

"There... that should do it." He looks at the girls. "These things are formed when... well, when hope dies. you tend to find them around places like Hollywood or war-zones, but I guess the end of summer must have been a little more sour for some of the college crowd than usual."

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	tabula_rasa 2013-09-02 10:12 pm UTC (link)
	"That doesn't make a lot of sense, but okay." Jenny took a deep breath. She much preferred things she could hit. "Weird how it showed up on a night with power outages." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	perenawska 2013-09-04 12:18 am UTC (link)
	"New Orleans? No hope? I think someone got their places mixed up. This place is party central and everyone is happy." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

quitethecharmer
2013-09-05 06:24 pm UTC (link)

Vincent looks saddened for a moment, and shakes his head. "It doesn't work like that... it's not about averaging out. It's just a numbers game. Enough people, all hoping for so much, whether success or a good time, it's just a matter of statistics that it doesn't work out for everyone. Those negative emotions build up and can eventually coalesce. It might take a week, it might take a century."

He looks at the bottle, lights dancing angrily within. His eyes settle on the material focus he'd used as bait. "This is probably at least a decade of... I don't know, collapsed summer romances, failed attempts at a music career... even something as banal as not hearing what you want from a fortune teller. All the little crushing blows that are horrible, but still part of what make life worth living."

Reality catches up with him, and he abruptly repositions the bottle to cover himself. "Ah... uhm, anyway. I'd prefer if we can avoid discussing tonight in too much detail." He starts edging back towards his room.

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	perenawska 2013-09-05 09:32 pm UTC (link)
	"I need quite a few drinks to get this whole thing out of my mind," Irina said and started to head back downstairs. There were a few bottles of vodka down there. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tabula_rasa 2013-09-06 04:13 pm UTC (link)
	"I'm going to find YC and make sure he's okay. We can forget this ever happened." Yeah, seeing a teammate naked, not fun. Not Argo, either. Jenny went upstairs to find her cat and reassure him that the creepy thing was gone. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	quitethecharmer 2013-09-06 08:57 pm UTC (link)
	Vincent excused himself to his room, putting the bottle into secure storage before finishing cleaning himself and redressing. That draft was going to be finished, after a drink. Probably several. Possibly enough to kill a cow. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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