Following the Scent

Summary:
June 3rd, 2014: Gambit leads Rune and Mimic to the last place he lost contact with the Darkhold page he'd stolen.

NYC, M-Town

A dive just outside of District X.


Characters

NPCs

  • Rex the Dog

Mood Music:
[*<http://insert.video.or.music.link.here>]


A few hours sleep, a shower and fresh clothes makes a man feel miles better, you almost wouldn't think Remy LeBeau was just recently being possessed by a page of the Darkhold with the spry walk he has and the continuous running of his mouth directed in Rune's direction a they walk through NYC streets, a cloudy, muggy, ugly day that can't decide if it wants to sit with stale air or drop the occasional rain shower. Rain that sticks to the skin with the humidity instead of just washing away.

Not Remy's usual attire it was what was on hand, a sports jacket with patches over the elbows, jeans and converse shoes. Not attractive at all really but the man is taking ownership of it. "Be up 'ere, right around the corner by dis here bar. Where I last seen the girl." He informs his new companion. He's already contacted Calvin, he had the man's number after all and requested his help along with knowledge. It'll be an interesting encounter considering how things went last time. A message was all he sent, text-ed of course.
General location included.

~

Jeans, a light t-shirt in dark red, and a pair of sturdy boots are Rune's ensemble. That, and the ubiquitous messenger bag at her hip. Behind them, as they walk, pads a large white dog — the white dog from before the fire in the pub. His tongue lolls out and, despite the oppressive, early-summer heat, he moves with that happy grace big dogs will when out and about. His mistress, if anyone can be called such, has spent much of the walk peppering Remy with questions about his encounter with the Darkhold, what little he clearly remembers, and about the girl they're going to find, what little he knows. It all adds up to not a lot more than what was in her vision. As they near the bar, Rune squints at the street, sorting out shadowy overlays from reality, character-defining auras around the people that passby, and looking for the recent traces of magic… just in case. "So, who's this guy we're going to meet?"

~

"You… /idiot/!" Cal says as soon as he catches sight of Remy. He's waiting by the bar, arms crossed as he leans against a streetlight and glancing around impatiently. It's not that he doesn't notice Rune and dog so much as telling Remy just how stupid he is takes precedence. "When something is too dangerous for Illyana to take…" Here he does glance at Rune and changes what he was going to say. "To take back with her, you don't steal it and run." He gives Remy a disgusted look then Rune gets a very quick smile and he says "Evening." before looking back to Remy. "Where is it?"

~

"A real stand up guy, de sort that you know… " Remy's smile manages to grow larger as Calvin comes in to view, "Doesn't call their new friends names n' such." A wave of his hands and the rogue actually steps back one foot so Rune is between himself and Calvin. "Why we're here, to get it and to be fair… you took it from me, I just took it back… "

~

"Evening," Rune replies to Cal, a wry, but faintly amused smile, touching her lips. His opinion of Remy more or less matches her own, after all. She stops though, and turns to arch a brow at the Cajun. "Wait. Illyana. As in Magik?" Yes, the half-elf is acquainted with the demon sorceress. She pivots on her heel, neatly removing herself from between the two men with a deft step backward, and fixes the Cajun with a look. "Is he talking about the same thing you and I have been talking about? Because, if he is…" She just might have to Gibbs-slap the thief. "You really are an idiot."

~

"Friends tell each other when they're being stupid." Cal counters. "And the Remy I knew was smarter than he was greedy." Well, usually. And it took time to get there. But that's besides the point. Wait. "You know Illyana?" he asks, really looking at Rune now. More, she knows Illyana as Magik which is something else. "How? And how are you involved in this? Did he tell you it's - whatever 'it' is that brings him and us here - is likely to be very dangerous? Of the actual evil variety?"

~

"Ey now, this ain't all my fault you know. It's not like I knew what all dis ting was. Sorta." Remy's hands are still out and they wave once more before he releases a shrug, that sidelong smile directed at both of them, it's an attempt at an apology. Of some sort. "Idiot is so harsh sounding but yes, talkin' bout the same things here." His fingers fish around in his pocket and he pulls up a pack of smokes only to thumb one out and light it up. "I asked for her help, I kinda found her… she seems to know about dis sorta thing. More the merrier, non?"

~

"Evil of a level I've only seen surpassed by one of my other Visions, yeah," Rune replies to Calvin. A beat. She gestures at herself with flippant hand. "I'm a seer," she says. "Among other things. Magik's got me beat in the Encyclopedia Demonica pop-quizzes, but I did my research. I have a really good idea what we're up against, now." While Remy was sleeping, she was sitting with Wassea, getting instruction in Darkhold 101. Another beat. "Rune," she says by way of introduction, since Remy's not forthcoming with such manners. "Nice to meet you."

~

"You knew once Illyana told you." Cal points out. And then he stole it and ran. Wait. "What do you mean we're here to get it? How'd you lose it? Did the ones trying to kill you over it manage to steal it from you? How about giving me the full sitrep instead of playing twenty questions." It's not really a request. "Nice to meet you, Rune. Call me Cal. And yeah, Illyana is the expert here. But I couldn't get hold of her." Probably in Limbo again.

~

"I knew only what she said. Who says she was sayin' the truth or not? Right? First meetings and all." Remy is already glancing around the corner, towards the alley way. That odd fearful look in his strange eyes again. "I dun think she be here now. No smell, no feel… means we got to hunt it down again." Sitrep not being approached just yet. Gambit's taking his time, it's just how he operates. "May need her for this. I kinda don't know where it is now, someone new got it. Someone stronger den me."

~

"Uchh!" Rune snorts in disgust, now, as Gambit starts doing the skittery rabbit thing. She gives Cal a direct look. "Cliff's Notes," she says to him. "He was possessed, and the thing possessing him jumped to someone else — a woman who's a lot stronger physically than him, but, unless I seriously miss my guess, not strong enough to resist the possession any more than he was." With hardly a thought, she conjures up an image of the woman to whom she refers. The illusion is remarkably lifelike, and a spitting image, almost like a 3D freeze-frame, from the vision Rune's brief touch with Gambit provided. The image shows a young woman with striking green eyes and brown hair marred by a shock of white at the front. She's beautiful, and obviously exceptionally strong, given she was able to take on the possessed Cajun at the time. The image isn't more than 12" high, but it's sufficient to give Cal a very clear ID on the woman. "But, he's right. We have no idea where she is. If we can go to where he last saw her, though, I might be able to scry her. Something like that leaves a really strong psychic and magical impression." And she is a seer.

~

Cal shakes his head and snorts softly at Remy's answer. "You might want to consider being a little more forthcoming with people who are here to save your ass." As Rune takes on the duty of filling him in, he gives Remy A Look before giving her his full attention and studying the image. "Possessed him? What a surprise." He'll be sure to rub that in whenever he can. "How long ago did he last see her?" If it was recent, he might be able to track her assuming it didn't rain since. "What abilities does she possess?"

~

"At dis point we're helping her more than me. I could walk anytime but… " A man like Remy LeBeau doesn't feel actual terror often in his life and it isn't a fear of more than getting possessed again, losing himself that has him acting in this manner. No one likes to be an out control vessel for something as malevolent and alien as what was /in/ him recently. "That be her, de girl." Remy informs, "Strong enough to hit like a Mack truck, when she touched me and drained me it felt like I was being sucked away. Not in de fun ways either." A glint in the eyes and a grin appears despite the topic and situation. Who could resist. Surely not Remy. "Can't recall times and places, been in a sort of state, you know? I been at her place for de night though." He tips his chin towards Rune causing that cigarette in his lips to bounce. "Guess maybe it's been a week now? Give or take a couple days."

~

Rune knows nothing about the young woman, other than what she saw in her vision. Which was basically her hitting like a Mack truck and draining something out of Remy… not that she's really sure how that was all working. She crosses her arms over her chest and lets the two men work it out. The dog comes up and sits beside her, head canting as he, too, watches. Automatically, her arms unfold and she rests a hand on the dog's head, scritching behind one of his ears. "I can show you the place where she was possessed," she tells Cal. "At least, I can show you the fragments my vision showed me. But that's as close as I can get."

~

What? "Touched and drained you?" Cal takes a closer look at the magical hologram and, after a moment, exhales loudly. "Hell. The hair's different but I should have recognized her. You're lucky she didn't hold on to you. She'd have absorbed your powers permanently and you'd be dead. Doesn't matter where it was now. She probably flew away. Your trying to scry her is the best bet we have." he tells Rune.

~

A tendril of smoke curls upwards and Remy follows it with his gaze, "I ain't dat easy to hold on to. But dead is not good, no." A sigh escapes him and he drops his shoulders against the wall, looking towards the two with him now, "I did my good deed yeah?" Maybe if one of them says yes he can just be on his way and they'll fix this mess. That guilty conscience wells up and the man quickly speaks again, "So, lets find her then, then we call a priest or somethin? I seen the Exorcist, this shouldn't be all too hard."

~

"I need some place or something connected to her," Rune tells Cal, now. "The place where she was possessed would be ideal." The illusion of the woman shifts to the scene of her battle with Remy, depicting his crazed, possessed person as well as her efforts to stop him. It moves in slow motion, but it's an excruciatingly detailed replay of Rune's vision. The woman doesn't forget any image she sees in a VOID. Even the most horrible ones. (Which this, sadly, isn't.) But, there may be details in that image that will help them figure out where it happened.

~

Cal doesn't bother to reply to Remy's good deed question. "Even if we find her, and defeat her, we'll need a way to get whatever is possessing her out of her and then trapping it so it doesn't go into one of us. Can you do that?" he asks Rune.

~

"Neat trick, chere." A comment given towards the illusion. "A place? Dis way." Remy motions with a wave down the alley, there is old blood stains, the psychic impression and stench of what transpired here. Death for one. The police had come and gone as a chalk outline exists and falling crime scene tape… clearly no follow ups. This is close to M-Town after all. He opts for silence now, taking another drag off of his cigarette as he observes, indication he is following along with the occasional jump of a muscle under his smooth (freshly shaven) cheek.

~

"I think so," Rune says, hand coming to rest on her bag. "But, if I can't, as long as we can capture her, I know people who can." And, yeah, there's no way in hell she's letting Remy off the hook any time soon. He's coming, even if she has to 'borrow' a compulsion charm to get it done.

However, as the man actually leads them to the alley nearby. Her steps slow as she starts to feel the psychic pressure of the place, the confluence of dark energies and dark deeds. And then, of course, there's the stench of death. To the daughter of a death god, it's a heady mix. Not necessarily pleasant, but still intoxicating.

She stops, and the dog comes to place its head under her hand, leaning against her. He even offers a soft whine.

"I'm okay, Rex," she says softly. But her left hand clenches and the bracelet on her wrist glows for a moment before her appearance shifts to something resembling a cross between motorcycle leathers and leather armor, all etched with magical symbols. Thus fortified, she pushes forward again.

Slowly, she walks the perimeter of the site, and a tracery of energy follows her, transcribing a circle behind her. When she reaches where she began, the circle shimmers over the ground and she steps into the middle of it. Crouching down, whispering softly, she lays her hand flat on the pavement in the middle of the circle. Her body stiffens. Her eyes glow. And she remains motionless for several moments.

~

As the dog moves forward, Cal looks it over but then watches Rune. Who says familiars have to be black cats? He stays quiet as the magic user does her thing. Once she's done, he making a questioning noise. Got it?

~

The visions of the Remy 'Death' creature are foremost, hiding here lurking while the Cajun battled wills with the Darkhold Dwarf and the possessing entity introduced to him by one of the pages of the vile grimoire. Several nights which felt like an eternity of struggle where the man would lose control and slip long enough to lash out and kill, hurt, torment those that resided here or frequented. Almost having briefly become something of a bogeyman.

Then it displays imagery of the female mutant almost valiantly stepping out back behind the bar to confront the monster, to actually batter Remy and beat him around as though he were a ragdoll before their connection consists of the gloves coming off and that demonic essence transferring bodies, leaping from Gumbo to Mississippi river rat. It plays out almost as expected, almost easily, the whole while the little person in the sharp suit stands by watching, smiling, dancing. Once Gambit falls Rogue stands clutching her head, thrashing around and then taking flight, resistant at first, seeking help, actually headed in the direction of Westchester though she'll never arrive there. At least now there is a residual trail of an essence, that Darkhold, almost daring Rune and her companions to follow.

~

As the vision washes over her, Rune inhales a deep breath to steady herself. The dog whines again, pressing against her shoulder to keep her upright. Finally, the magic user relaxes and rises unsteadily to her feet. Not as bad as some visions she's had. Her eyes still have a faintly milky glow to them as she sees that trail of energy. "Got it," she confirms for Cal, fingers curling into the dog's fur beside her. She glances between them. "I don't suppose you gents can fly?"

~

At the answer, Cal gives a single nod of acknowledgement though the phrase 'be careful what you wish for' does spring to mind. "Yes. But there's a quicker way. Can you pinpoint it on Google maps?" He pulls out his phone and calls up the program before tilting it toward Rune in offer.

~

"Alors pas, unless of course you mean on de dance floor." Gambit tosses at Rune before looking over towards Calvin. "Uh, we just gonna hop in like dis? All unknowing and gung-ho?" As if answering his own question the red-eyed mutant chuckles, "Well, lets hop right on de bull den." In other words he is ready and prepared to have some fun. Why not right? It's all about the gamble.

~

Rune squints a little, peering at the energy before she glances to Calvin. "I don't know," she admits. "I see a trail of energy. I see where the magic is going. I can follow it, but I can't see where it ends."

~

Cal considers that then puts his phone away. "Leap frog then. Point out the direction we're going and we'll get started. Unless you can do something to let me see it myself. Save a little time." To Remy, he adds "I have a call in to Illyana."


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