Summary:A nightclub is transferred into a Greecian Temple. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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It's the early hours of the morning in the Bronx. Melinda May had been called in a couple of hours ago along with a TAC team to contain a Night Club which seems to have been converted to a Greecian Temple.
Word had got out when one of the patrons managed to leave and put a call into the NYPD. The NYPD had immediately called SHIELD and cordoned off the area.
About an hour ago, the TAC team had managed to get most of the patrons out. Remaining is a man with dark curly hair, three other men dressed as Hoplites and two women dressed as Greecian Priestesses.
Fenris would have noticed the disruption of Fate, not to mention the burst of magic that occured about the time.
The whistleblower, a woman, is sitting on the back on an ambulance, a blanket draped about them. They're dressed in a white greecian style robe, complete with a laurel headdress. "He calls himself Apollo." Is all she can say. "And he's going to bring back an appreciation of good music."
The NYPD Officer in Charge looks at May and shakes his head. "It's the strangest thing, every witness we've spoken to says things just … changed … when he started playing his guitar." beat "It's not like he's holding hostages … but I'm not sure we can just let this go."
"We can't," May replies to the NYPD officer. Turning to the TAC team she brought along, she directs them to various roles around the area, including supporting the police already there, covering any other points of egress from the building, things like that. Then, after confirming her comm unit, she walks toward the nightclub herself.
She will freely admit that she's not really an admirer of recent modern music, but she can appreciate most styles of music to at least some small degree. She just doesn't let that show.
'He has a sense of character or he would not know his job. He will take no man's money dishonestly and no man's insolence without due and dispassionate revenge. He can be a lonely man, and his pride is that you will treat him as a proud man or be very sorry that you ever saw him.'
Such words might describe the man coming down the street now toward the police and SHIELD tactical units. He isn't really paying them any attention. His eyes are on the building and when he steps over the police tape an officer goes to stop him, only to fall back as if struck when glared at though the man never laid a finger on him.
It looks like he's heading into that club though he's going to have to walk RIGHT past Zee and May to do it.
Zee appears behind May and the OIC, just as Fenris arrives. "He's not doing anything wrong. He's cursed." She says without any introduction. She hadn't been there a moment ago and the … poof… there she was.
Watching as the old wolf strolls nonchantlanty towards the night club, Zee chuckles. "Agent May, you should come with me. It seems, we're going to negotiate. Sergeant, make sure no one else follows us in. We'll handle this."
Gesturing to May, Zee falls in beside Fenris. Her combat style boots thudding softly on the ground. "Agent May, do you … Ulric Kerensky?" She uses the Wolf Gods human guise. It's all so urbane how she's handling this.
As they cross the threshold of the nightclub, the air about them is charged and they feel their clothing ripple.
Zee's raven locks now fall in curls about her shoulders. The leather pants, camisole and jacket she was wearing are transformed into a short white dress, belted at the waist. Her boots are strapped sandles. And she's carrying a basket of fruit.
May and Fenris will have similar transformations.
"Ah. You are here to pay tribute to the God Appolo?" The curly haired man sitting on the … throne where the stage was gestures to the group. "Come forth and make your abeyances …. and leave your gifts. Or is she your gift?"
Which she? He doesn't really say.
Across 'Apollos' lap is a lute - which was presumably his guitar at some point.
May doesn't visibly react to Zee's rather abrupt appearance, but she does make a mental note to tell the woman not to do that within about ten feet of her from now on. She'd been THIS close to drawing a blade on the spellcaster.
With a raised eyebrow, May falls into steps along side her and the man who just strolled on into their secure area. "Do you ignore restricted areas typically, Mr. Kerensky?" She doesn't expect an answer, though, and proceeds on into the nightclub.
Okay, the get-ups from Staten Island varied from mildly irritating to shockingly inefficient, but this? Completely and utterly unacceptable. Wearing a similar short white dress as Zee but with her hair braided up into some complicated affair including a dark blue ribbon, her expression goes from simply neutral to flatly unimpressed.
"I suddenly don't feel like negotiating," she asides quietly to Zee.
"Depends on who is doing the restricting and why." Kerensky responds.
When he is transformed he winds up holding a jar of wine which he really DOES just drop and let either roll on the ground or shatter as it will. Clay amphorae are not his favored wine storage devices.
He looks at the… acolyte and then reaches up to pluck a chain necklace off his neck. It turns into a sword. A rather large sword. "I am, but I will not pay my respects to anyone less than Apollo himself. Perhaps you should get off his throne."
Fenris doesn't REALLY think Apollo is involved nor does he think that this man will get off the throne but hey. He's offering. This is him. Being nice.
"Mmmm. Nice outfit." Zee murmurs as Fenris transforms, blue eyes sparkling a little in mirth. "And you too. Which one of us do you think he means? Either way, he's in for a disappointment." Zee murmurs back to May.
Watching May and Fenris circle each other is amusing but they'll have to deal with that later.
The amphora shatters when Fenris drops it, splashing burgundy coloured liquid all over their sandles. The floor is tiled and the liquid pools there.
"I *am* Apollo, you insolent creature." The dark haired man says. "And this is very much throne. I am here to right the wrongs with todays music. What they call music today is an affront to my ears…." As he speaks, the lute seems to glow and a nimbus forms about Apollo and blossoms outward.
Zee sighs and jerks her head towards the lute. "We need to get that from him. If I'm right, it's the cause of all this."
It's decided. May does NOT get paid enough for this. And compared to Apollo the Music Critic over there, Kerensky is not worth wasting time over. Though the splash of wine over her feet earns him a brief glare. Gross.
The lute. Okay, then. Kerensky pulls a sword out of, well, his necklace, and May has NONE of her equipment on her anymore. Unless… She starts trying to extricate the ribbon from her hair, hoping it's long enough to work as a makeshift soft weapon once she ties a weight one end.
May does absolutely not get paid enough for this. Fenris can see May trying to cobble together a weapon and makes a calculation. They all want to get out of here with the minimum amount of fuss possible. So he is going to do something flashy and impressive. He's not clear if 'Apollo' can tell he's supernatural just by looking at him so he's going to make himself the most obvious and dangerous thing in the room.
And then hopefully May with her improvised weapon and Zatanna with her magic will sucker punch him.
The Old Wolf begins to grow. His form contorts. He becomes lupine. And massive. He shifts over slightly so Apollo is forced to look away from May and Zee to talk to him.
"Your face is an affront to my eyes. How do you propose we solve that problem." He rumbles.
Yes. The big bad wolf just made a 'your face' joke.
"Oh really…" Apollo comments, gesturing to those who have remained with him. "… are you going to huff and puff and blow my house down…" It's possible he really thinks he is Apollo which is going to be sad, when Fenris and May have finished with him.
"You need weapons? Tell me what you want and I can get them." Zatanna murmurs, seperating further from Fenris as he moves. "I'm going to teleport us close. Be ready to get the lute." She tells May, quietly.
"On three… one … two … three…" There's a murmur of unintelligble words and before she knows it, May and Zee are on the dais right next to Apollo.
The two women throw themselves at the wolf, one of the managing to swing herself onto his back. The other one not far behind her. The three men draw swords and fan out in front of him - hoplites they are not, but they are trying to split his attention.
,
May nods to Zee, and the instant they're on the dais she whips her improvised weapon around the man's neck while reaching to grab the lute with her other hand.
And just for good measure, she kicks Apollo as well. Not with enough force to cause serious injury, but definitely enough to knock him off balance and hopefully make him lose his grip on the instrument.
This had better work.
Fenris stamps and stomps. There are very effective ways to deal with these people but in this context that means killing them. Instead he is just causing a fuss and a ruckus, trying to keep them from hurting him (which won't be hard) while at the same time trying to keep ALL of their attention on him. This HAS to be audible from the outside of the building. There's lots of booms and thuds.
"Oh!" Fenris taunts as he thrashes around. "Sounds like a really good drum line."
It so doesn't.
As May attacks, Zee utters another spell, bands of air wrapping tightly about Apollo. He doesn't have magic, perse, but there *is* a bright starburst come from him … or maybe it's the lute … blinding the woman, just as May gets hands on the lute.
As May grabs the lute, the strings sound and she feels something come over her. Her dress changes subtly and bow appears on her shoulder. May … now believes she is Athena.
The starburst fills the room, bright enough to at least dazzle Fenris if not blind him as well. From his back he hears "Yeee haa… ride 'em doggie…" Those women are having way too much fun.
The men press their attack for the moment, dancing … carefully … between his feet.
May can't keep from closing her eyes against the flash of light when she snatches up the lute and then…
Athena looks toward the chaos of Fenris and the people 'attacking' him, letting go of the ribbon wrapped around Apollo's neck. "You will cease and desist. Now." Zee standing nearby gets a brief once-over as if being assessed for threat level and summarily dismissed. She's unarmed, she's not visibly doing anything aggressive. Non-combatant.
Fenris rolls over to get people off him and stops. Okay. This is a different problem. What to do? Well what he does do is stop mid-roll and pull both of his feet up to his chest. And thump his tail. Maybe she'll get close with that lute and he can grab it. Or something. He is improvising at the moment.
Who is the goodest boy? Hopefully MayThena likes Dogs.
"Well hell." Zatanna says as she looks at Maythena and then Fenris. She's still seeing little black dots dancing before eyes. It's all she can do not to laugh at the God Wolf.
The men at least back off and go to … kneel beside Maythena, looking up at her adoringly. They are hers to command. Oh yay?
The women are not squished as Fenris rolls, they manage to move out of the way soon enough and then awwww before moving to their knees before Maythena as well.
For the moment, Zee says nothing to see if May will give up the lute. Hopefully it won't affect Fenris.
MayThena looks at all of the people now looking at her adoringly, and steps around them to approach the biggest and goodest boy. "Rise, Hound. Such posture is unbecoming."
So, big and derpy doesn't seem to appeal to her.
She's still holding the lute in her hand, but isn't really paying it a whole lot of attention, as if carrying it out of absentminded habit.
Fenris rolls over and then swats out with his tail to bat it away. And then pounds his sixty or seventy pound staff of fluff down on it repeatedly like the MOST EXCITED DOG.
It's a good thing Astryd isn't here to see this. "Zatanna! Now!"
Now what? Now whatever she can do please do it because he doesn't want this to drag out any longer.
That's what Zatanna was waiting for. As Fenris knocks the lute free, she casts another spell - arcane blue symbols appear in the air around the lute … and it just disappears.
That easy. It's gone.
With the lute removed from the situation the night club shimmers and becomes a night club again. It's a grotty, rundown, one as well - and Apollo and his loyal acolytes become themselves … "What uh … happened?"
Agent May will find herself a little bamboozled as she works out she's not standing where she remembered and Fenris is wagging his tail furiously.
"Would you believe if I said someone let off a hallucinogenic gas and you were having a trip and yes, you enjoyed it?" She ways to the people. "If you head outside, there's medics waiting."
To May and Fenris, she shakes her head. "Breakfast? My shout. I believe Agent May will have some questions … " beat "… and I know a place that does the best tea." It's in China, but she's not saying that.
May blinks, then shakes her head as if to clear her mind just in time for the nightclub to become its original, slightly rundown self. She looks at Fenris, then at Zatanna, clearly trying to figure out what she missed.
It's only a moment, though, before she shakes her head no to Zee's offer of breakfast. "I should go check in with the teams outside." The situation is under control in here finally, but that still leaves dealing with everything going on outside. And then the reports. She'll have tea later.