Summary:Koa and Keiko visit Robbie Reyes to make sure his Rider isn't a danger to Robbie's brother. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Koa turner had gotten an address and a concerned report from Illyana. Something about a young child and his caretaker being possessed by an evil spirit. It had sounded all rather concerning, but not so concerning that Illyana had wanted to teleport in and just spirit someone way to safety.
So it is all in all a rather confused Agent Turner that is knocking on Robbie Reyes' door. He's brought his trainee, a tattoo'd Peruvian-Japanese woman.
"I know you can't see it but this place is spiritual Detroit." Koa's muttering as he knocks. "Like, all the bad characters are just hanging around. The surrounding area is pretty nice. I'm not real sure what would make the ambiance of the place go to shit in such a dramatic fashion without spilling outward but…" But it's probably not great?
"Anyway keep your eyes peeled." Tap-ta-ta-tap-tap.
Robbie was in his dining room, or what passes for one, and he was sitting in a chair while Gabe was in his wheelchair, apparently struggling over some math. "Now, Gabe, with all that in mind, whats the square root of twenty-five?" Robbie is patient as he lets Gabe figure it out before he eventually speaks. "uhm…uh….5?"
Robbie claps. "Thats right! Now, keep at it alright. What do you want for lunch?" "Do we have spaghettios?" "I mean, I can probably make that work, hermano."
Tap ta ta tap tap.
Robbie looks at the door before he looks at Gabe. "I'll be back in a few, alright?" He ruffles his brother's hair as he stands up. His fist clenching on the way to the door just in case he needs to rip an unhappy gangster in half or something, but he opens the door.
Robbie's wearing his leather jacket, a red shirt, black jeans and combat boots. His hands have no gloves.
"What do you want?"
Koa had finally made Keiko a sidekick - truth be told, she'd done it herself basically insisting on it. "I can't see it. Why do you say Detroit?" The nuance is of course lost on her. Though she might have some pop culture references she could pull from if she thought on it.
"Uh … hello." The small woman greets the man who answers the door, looking up at him. "We're ummm…" Yeah, Koa might need to brief her better on approaching people. If it doesn't involve beating them with her staff, Keiko's at a loss.
"Because Detroit is kind of a terrible place to be in a lot of parts. Also, show your badge, Keiko." Koa says as he fishes his out. It's okay. She's new to this and he doesn't expect her to be great. Part of the point of taking her out on this was to expose her to things she will have to do as a WAND agent outside the things that Koa used to call her for. To wit, beating things up. Things generally. Not people.
Well, okay, sometimes people.
Koa's eyes widen slightly when the door opens. Oh. That explains so very much.
"Robbie Reyes, yes? Koa Turner. WAND. This is Keiko Kurita. We were asked to look you up by someone I think you know. Illyana Rasputina? She'd mentioned that you have a passenger and a young brother. She was somewhat concerned about the latter. Mind if we come in? Don't worry we're not CPS or anything like that. We just want to make sure everything's okay."
It's very likely that Keiko can sense something about Robbie's passenger. It'll feel not unlike being near Nightfall tattoo bearers. Only a LOT more concentrated.
"Do you feel that?" The senior agent murmurs to the junior one. Because HE feels it. And it's good sometimes to be able to make sure that his senses aren't off.
Robbie looks at Keiko first but it looks like she has no idea what to do, at least until Koa starts to speak. He sees the badge that they flash at him and they introduce themselves. They were doing so well until they mentioned his brother. "What the hell about my brother?" Robbie asks with a narrowed-eyed gaze. He knows who Illyana is, and he does NOT look happy that once again she's forcing herself into his own business.
"Whatever. Come in." Even if his eyes say 'try anything and your skin will hang on my wall'. Robbie just has that -death glare- nailed down to a science. Even Eli is starting to get a little uppity. Maybe because he knows these WAND guys mean business? Who knows.
His house is pretty homely. Minorly decorated with some paintings, a few drawings that look like a pre-schooler did them. Plain looking furniture. Plain is cheaper. The most expensive thing in this house is probably the combination of a flatscreen television with a gaming console. Gabe is at the dinner table doing homework.
Robbie is watching these two like hawks. He has no idea who they are. But if they're a danger to Gabe…well, it shouldn't have to be explained.
Oh right. Her badge. This is official and Keiko kind of sucks at being around people. Too many years in the cult and then too many avoiding them once she got free. Not to mention seven years in limbo, with only Piotr, Elena and lots of demons for company.
Holding up the badge that hangs around her neck, she nods to Koa question. "My tattooes are prickling." Which is about as exact as Keiko's magic sense gets.
Robbie can see the tattooes that line her arms and shoulders - animals, all with varying degrees of demonic aspects but *most* seem to be earth based animals - or they were once.
"Illyana asked us to look in on you." Her accent is a heinz variety of south american ones as her slitted eyes watch Robbie carefully. There's no fear shown either when he looks fierce, just a resolute calm as she enters the house.
"Is your brother home?"
Koa might be used to death glares? Well okay, not really but he gets a lot of looks. Frosty ones. Angry ones. WAND is not always popular where it goes. Keiko's learning that first hand. Magical enforces of mortal order rarely are.
The broad and well built agent steps in and looks around. His sight pans slowly over places like blank walls, making it seem like he's seeing things that perhaps aren't there. Or maybe just aren't visible to the naked eye.
"Can you get Cullen to sniff for spirits?" He sottos to Keiko before turning to look at the ever vigilant Robbie.
"Relax, Mister Reyes. I'm not here to start anything. Place looks nice. Lived in. Looks like your brother is fairly well taken care of."
It had sounded like Robbie's brother was home when they arrived, at least to Koa. Keiko's question is still a good one, if only because Koa doesn't want to discuss anything too heavy in front of the kid.
"I can see your passenger, by the way. Or well, not him quite. The aura that he puts off around you. It's a nasty piece of work. Normally I'd expect this place to look the worse for wear having him around. But it isn't. What's the secret, if I may ask?"
Hopefully Keiko is taking notes. This is professional Koa, trying to keep things calm. He knows they sort of just showed up on the man's doorstep and 'we're here to talk about your bother' isn't really a calming line. Which is why he didn't DIRECTLY ask how Robbie keeps his passenger from hurting his brother. Though that is the area he's angling at.
Keiko's far more used to a Koa whose self control is being severely tested. Which luckily it isn't at the moment. But she might wonder at the difference. Or… be amused by it.
Robbie looks at Keiko straight in the eyes, apparently he is not comforted by her straightforward question.
When Koa asks his question, Robbie narrows his eyes and apparently does not feel comforted at all when he asks his secret.
"Can it!" Robbie yell-whispers at him. "Gave doesn't know and I'd like to keep it that way." To Keiko. "Yes, he's home. Dining room, doing homework." If they looked, Robbie's paraplegic brother is right there, apparently having a better time with his math homework.
Though Robbie is surprised that Koa can see Eli. "Try he's bound to my soul not my house." But its clear Robbie is disconcerted. He knows the system. This is usually the preciurser to government snoops trying to take his brother away if the smallest thing is out of order. But the hunters may realize that the only spirit in the house is the one attached to Robbie. In fact they may even sense the house is warded to keep out lesser evils like the common demon.
Koas question gets a flat look from the small spirit caller. "He can, but don't you think I should have called him *before* we entered here?" Cause honestly calling a demonic looking hell hound into a mans living room - and not just any man, one with rider himself, is sort of asking for trouble. "Do you really want me to call him?"
She will if Koa says but for once she's thinking.
Keiko hadn't seen Gabe when she'd asked that question but she nods to the boy in the chair. She doesn't smile - it's like she's forgotten how to, so serious all the time. "Hi, You're Gabe, right? I'm Keiko and this is Koa. What homework are you doing? My daughter likes her homework, I don't."
That might shock Koa, that she engages with the child. Almost … nicely.
Koa nods at Keiko's question. Good call, no don't summon the Barghest in here. He also gives Robbie a 'alright, fair enough' sort of soothing gesture with his hands and steps away from where Gabe is doing his homework. "Make it quick, Keiko." He says. He doesn't want her to get sidelined for too long. But it's good to say hi to the kid, he supposes. It'll let him confirm what he already suspects. That Gabe is well cared for and Robbie is highly invested in keeping him safe and happy.
Which just sort of raises other questions but there you go.
"Okay, so that's fair enough." Koa says to Robbie in a lower voice. "And from the looks of it your passenger hasn't hurt him. But I can tell that it's probably not in your passenger's nature to leave things alone. So… why? Are you sure that whatever's riding you won't put your brother at risk?"
It's not REALLY a leading question. It could be that Robbie is very sure. But he wants to cover that base before he gets to the more pressing concern, which is really not about Robbie OR the passenger. It's about what he saw on the way in.
Gabe looks up when Keiko comes over to speak with him. "Yeah, I'm Gabe…who are you?" Gabe asks her, but then she introduces herself. If she's trying to read the kid, he's completely unharmed. The injury he suffered to put him in a wheelchair is very old. Before Robbie got the Rider. No way Robbie himself could've done that. Plus, he couldn't live with himself if he did cause it. But Gabe shakes his head. "I'm doing math. I really don't like it, but Big Bro helps me out."
Add teacher to Robbie's job list. But as he's pulled away with Koa, Robbie crosses his arms as he looks at him. "My passenger is only interested in wiping out the scumbags. Murderers, rapists, pedophiles…the people the world will happily do without. Thats the deal. He's not interested in innocents." Which is actually….extremely helpful in knowledge. But Robbie leaves out a key detail about his relation to the spirit that is attached to him.
"My brother is safe from him."
"Yes Koa." Keiko winks at the boy. She's not trying to read him, her powers are very … niche and normally involve beating things up. "I'm not sure anyone really likes math, but you need it. I better go, my partner will lecture me otherwise. We're just going to talk to your brother for a bit, ok."
There's no smiles but she at least tries to put the kid at ease.
Crossing the room again, the small peruvian moves to stand beside Koa. She doesn't look like a threat to anything really - though Robbie, or his passenger, might feel differently. "What about collateral damage?" she asks quietly. "Those you list are common enough that he might come … out when Gabes around?"
Koa looks at Robbie rather carefully for a moment and seems to peer at the air around him. Finally he nods.
"Interesting, considering if I had to guess about your passenger I'd say it looked a lot like some of those things. Still, I believe you, Mister Reyes. Which is why I should probably bring up the other thing that concerned me when I came over."
He gestures to the room. "I noticed you've got the place with some basic wards. That's good. But the area around here has gone to pot in a metaphysical sense and it's gotten to the point where it's starting to feed on itself. I passed about eight fairly slimly looking spirits on the way in and there's a cloud of violence motes swirling around outside. Without doing an in depth investigation it'd be hard to know why but I'd put good money on your passenger bringing the mood down in the area. He's powerful and power like that tends to spill out."
Which it sort of looks like it has. "Right now it hasn't directly impacted the physical world but if that persists it's only a matter of time before something starts scratching on those wards. Or laying in wait to see what it can catch. They'll be small at first. Easy to deal with. But give it enough time…" Not so small. A LOT harder to deal with. And clever enough to go for softer targets, hence the concern about Gabe.
"And as Keiko says, there's always the worry of collateral damage. Now, I can see that you care a lot about your brother so I have to ask you: Do you know that's happening? And are you prepared to deal with it when it does?"
Gabe looks at Keiko with some look of worry, or perhaps mistrust. The protectiveness for the brothers go both ways, buto nly Robbie is actually effective with it. Though it seems as though when Keiko come sback and immediately asks him a question, Robbie narrows his eyes at her. "Thats why I do my 'business' far enough away from Gabe that it doesn't effect him. Only way I'd turn is if, I dunno, some random people from a shady organization starts asking really interesting questions with really interesting implications."
Yes, Robbie once again not-so-subtly speaks on his discomfort, but he eventually take a deep breath. "Oh, I'm sure he is." Robbie has full knowledge of who Eli is. But he speaks no more about that for the moment anyway, but when Koa starts talking about wards and the degeneration of the neighborhood with spirits and ghosts, Robbie exhlaes slowly.
"I'll cross that bridge when I get there. If I have to, I'll get some more cash and I'll take Gabe and move. But since you have so much knowledge on the subject, why arn't you and your fellow mystics doing anything about it if its getting that bad?"
"Your business?" Keiko doesn't blink at the narrowed eye gaze. It doesn't seem to bother her that he's … a might annoyed. "Your riders business, yes? Or does it become yours as well? It sounds though you have more control than not?" That's a question and given Gabe seems enamoured with the older man, Keiko's certainly not worried.
"We're here aren't we?" She asks in answer to his last question "And trust me, you can run but those spirits will follow … "
"Mostly because I just found out about it today. Thanks to a certain blonde sorceress. Which brings me to the next thing."
Koa takes a breath and looks at Keiko. "Whomever did your wards here is good, but they're pretty basic. I can enhance them and drop some things around the neighborhood to deter too much bad buildup. Keiko here can patrol the area every now and again to make sure it isn't coming back. It's not a perfect solution. Your passenger is going to keep attracting attention I'm afraid. But if we jump on it now we can probably manage it. The downside, well, there are two potential downsides. One, we're going to be around more and you seem like you're kind of a private guy. Not uncommon believe me, but this kind of problem does not have a one and done fix. Two… I'm going to need a live chicken and it's not going to be live for long when I get my hands on it."
Blood is a wonderful power source for wards. It's just, you know, it's also a messy one.
"Do you think Cullen and Bella can keep the stuff outside scared?" The senior agent asks Keiko.
"Oh, out of interest, how do you know Illyana? The two of us met her at around the same time some months back." And hasn't THAT been an interesting ride.
Robbie looks at Keiko. "Yeah, my business." He confirms to her. "Being present and actively eliminating the threat are two different things, don't you think?" Apparently Robbie isn't a fan of the idea of things that keep coming on back to take their shot at the Ghost Rider. But now it appears that Koa ias offering to enhance the wards that he currently has. "Illyana gave me a trinket that should help keep the demons away from Gabe personally, but he has it on him. As for patrolling…I don't mind as long as you don't bring a bunch of more suits with you."
Robbie's tried hard to get a decent living. Suits are bad.
But he rubs the bridge of his nose. "Probably somewhere you can find a chicken outside of the city. Or at a weird person's house." He is a pretty private guy.
As for how he met Illyana….
"I was doing my Ghost Rider business when I grabbed a demon. I was getting ready to kill it when it wrapped us both in a portal. Teleported me straight to Limbo. I finished the job, but then I met Illyana. We talked, and she eventually sent me back after I asked. She's been part of my life ever since."
"I will?" Keiko looks at Koa and mentally adds that to her list of things. Just as long as she gets enough time at home with Elena, the list can keep growing as far as she's concerned. "They can and if they don't, I'll bring out Glydril." There's the new spirit she's bound as well that could do if things get bad. "Before we leave, I'll send Cullen on a round. He hasn't stretched his legs in a while."
Robbie gets her attention. His Business hmmm. She doesn't press the issue, not right now. "We're offering, I believe, to help. I've just been tasked haven't I?" beat "I'm not wearing a suit either." She's not. She's in jeans and crop top, with a WAND jacket over the top. The crop top exposes the brand on her torso. It seems there's not one part of this womans upper body at least that isn't marked.
"That sounds like Illyana…" Keiko murmurs, absently touching the collar at her throat - the black leather with silvery pink lines that's melded with her skin.
Koa also has silvery markings lining his throat in a band, though they look different enough that they might just be a tattoo. A rather odd tattoo but still.
"Ghost Rider?" Koa glances at Keiko and well… he'll have to take her to the archives later, probably. But the spirit of vengeance who calls itself that is an old one and known to WAND. The agent peers at Robbie and cants his head. Ghost Rider business? That doesn't make any sense at all. He doesn't challenge it right now but he's clearly wondering about that. This may involve some follow up later.
"It does sound like Illyana doesn't it?" Koa nods to Keiko. He'll probably ask her about it now, especially given that she asked him to come around and take a look. At the very least he should tell her what he's found.
"Mmm. Well there's an ethnic market not too far from here that has them. Just don't be alarmed when I start painting things in chicken blood, mmm? Might wanna have your brother on the X-Box or reading a good book or something at that point."
There's a dozen other questions Koa wants to ask but they've kind of barged into Robbie's home and taken up some of his time. They're offering to help, so there's that, but still an inconvenience is an inconvenience. And Robbie doesn't seem to like 'official' types.
"No, no other suits, I shouldn't think. We don't have enough agents to spare for that." Hence Keiko being hired, not that he says that.
"Well, I think we've seen enough here. Thank you for talking to us, Mister Reyes. I'll let Illyana know that she doesn't need to worry about the kid." Much.
"Go ahead and do that sweep Keiko. I'll go get the chicken. And we'll let you get back to your day, Mister Reyes."
Well. This is going to be interesting later, he's sure.
"Oh, sorry. Our card. If you ever need feel free to call us." Such as if trouble comes knocking which Koa suspects is more a matter of when than if. Not that he says that. It's rude, and the kid's right over there.
Robbie accepts the card from Koa, giving him s little nod. "Yeah…thanks." Though the Thanks also comes with not threatening to take his brother or try and arrest him or something. Robbie's a big ole softie on the inside. He does notice the item on Keiko's neck and it seems Illyana's influence runs deep.
He shakes his head for a moment. But he stops picking on Keiko and instead just turns on his heel to go and continue helping Gabe with his homework.
Though Robbie is now once again slightly nervous: They know where he lives now.
Ugh.
Robbie was picking on Keiko? She hadn't noticed. He might need lessons from some of Illyana's demons to make that sort of impression.
"I'll be by once a week, Mister Reyes. If you see a large glowing wolf or a hellhound, it's just me. I'd appreciate it if you didn't attack them, they get a bit uppity."
As she heads out the door, Robbie might well her aside to Koa "By the Darkchilde, Koa, you're going to keep me busy." It won't be long before that large glowing Barghest appears out the front and starts to hunt.
By the Darkchilde? Koa doesn't even bat an eye at that. "That's the idea."
The broad shouldered agent nods and tips an imaginary hat to Robbie and then heads out with Keiko. Leaving the Ghost Rider to make spaghetti-o's and help Gabe with his math homework.
Oh yeah. Illyana's going to be hearing about this. Probably from more than one angle.
"I wonder if it would be easier to get a goat…" Is that last thing that Robbie hears before the door shuts, and they're gone.