Dark Dimension: Happy Reunion
Oct. 8th, 2017 10:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsWhile another team finds two very frazzled British girls. Of course, nothing stays happy for long.
Miles rubbed his forehead as he and the rest of the team walked down the hall of this creepy-ass demon mansion. Though he hadn't noticed it until the fight with the Mindless Ones, his spider-sense had been going off ever since he set foot in this dimension. It was a gentle enough buzzing for now that he understood himself to be in just a general state of danger, nothing specific, but it was going to give him a migraine before long if it didn't stop.
"In case anyone's curious, something here is probably trying to kill us, I just dunno what or where," he offered.
"Oh! Is it time for vague proclamations?" Arthur's usual cheerful countenance was only a few shades lighter than normal, but this was saying something given how the starburst around his eye was sparkling as good as a flashlight. "'Cause I'm not feeling so lucky. Like, literally." He stopped, because this is the sort of statement that requires dramatic stopping. "Nothing bad happens to me. That's my shtick. And... yet..."
As if the demon mansion had a premier on horror films from the 1970s, a ominous creaking noise punctuated his statement, reverberating so deeply that the very floor trembled. "Anyone else want to share?"
"Not particularly," murmured Amanda as she tried to get some kind of feel for either of the missing girls - she'd worked with them enough that she knew their magical signatures, but there was too much interference here. "Jean, can you sense either of them?"
Jean met Amanda's gaze, her features cold and stone faced.
"I will try," she said, breaking eye contact as her eyes settled into staring at nothing, unfocused, yet searching. She reached her mind out and was surprised to find her focus seemed more magnified than it ever had before. Being in an unfamiliar realm, her mental walls had been keeping everything out on principle so she hadn't tried. She turned. "I feel them," she said, a mixture of curious, cautious, and pleased as she reached a little further, like dipping her toe into water. "Both of them." She nodded toward a hallway to the left. "This way."
Miles glanced between the two women and then at Doug who had come up next to him. "Brr, am I right?" he asked, shivering.
Doug glanced back and forth between the witch and the doctor, his eyes narrowed. Something...didn't seem quite right about the body language there, but he wasn't sure he could put his finger on what. "Pretty sure this whole dimension is trying to kill us, dude," he told Miles wryly. He was working up to a migraine of his own trying to figure out their surroundings and impose some kind of logic and pattern on their situation. "Anybody got a ball of twine?" he asked, cocking his head to one side and glancing down the hallway.
Sharon removed her backpack with various supplies and started digging through it. "I've got some parachute cord..." She replied as she pulled out the roll of cord. "I just don't know how far it'll get us. This might work better though..." She also removed a piece of what seemed like chalk from her backpack.
"I was half-kidding about the twine," Doug revealed. "Mythology and all that. The chalk is a fantastic idea, though." With that, he could make small notes for himself on the various branches of the halls as they explored them, keep track of what went where. Small tick marks in unobtrusive spots, where they were less likely to be noticed by someone who wasn't looking for them.
"All right, left hand hallway it is," Amanda said briskly. "Spider-Lad and I can take the lead - you've got that early alarm system of yours, right?"
"Man. Spider-Man," Miles corrected, stepping up to the front to join Amanda as she led the group down the indicated corridor. "God, they're not going to both be there like those girls in that creepy old movie about the hotel with the blood elevator, I hope."
Megan didn't know what movie he was referring to, but was pretty sure she had enough nightmare fuel between trips to other dimensions to last a lifetime. "Why would anyone watch those kinds of films? Is it the promise of a resolution in the end...?" As they turned a corner, she gasped.
The gasp could have been just from running into two people, but more than likely it was because they had rounded the corner right into a tiny Indian woman with her hand extended and energy crackling dangerously. Apparently no one had ever told Topaz don't attack the people who are here to rescue you. Or the place was just making her paranoid.
"Bloody hell." She dropped her hand at once, blowing out a long breath. Paranoia had momentarily taken over better sense, but she recognized the emotional signatures now. Thankfully not too late.
Clea was shoved behind the other girl as a group round the corner, "AMANDA!" She rushed towards the blonde and hugged her tightly, like she would fade away if she didn't. Finally looking around and saw a few others, "Miles! Megan! Dr. Grey!" And then two who she had seen but never really spoken to before, "You all came for us?"
Amanda hugged the girl back just as tightly. "No-one messes with my kids," she said almost fiercely, before letting Clea go, only to reach for Topaz and pull her in for an embrace just as tight as the one she'd given Clea. "You did good, kiddo," she murmured in Topaz' ear.
Topaz had been fully prepared to say "don't expect a hug," but Amanda grabbed her before she could protest. She blew out a long breath, returning the hug with a surprisingly tight grip. "Didn't die. Makes for a damn good day I'd say."
~Oh, but the day is still young~, a voice echoed. ~We can still change that. In fact, I insist~.
There was nobody nearby, and it hadn't been said aloud. The voice had bypassed their ears and entered directly into their minds, echoing with a finality that was indisputable. The doors the rescue team had come from slammed shut, and somewhere deeper in the manor, an ancient and powerful force began to move.
Miles could barely hear the thunderous mental voice over the blaring of his own spider-sense. As if the words and tone weren't enough to signal the danger they were all in now. He gripped his head in pain but forced himself to stay on his feet, defying whatever monster was trying to intimidate them.
The last time Doug had felt a mental pressure that intense had been Dark Phoenix. He felt a pang of loss remembering the older Stephen Strange that had mentored Amanda and been...whatever complicated thing he'd been with the past Wanda. He remembered trying to command that universe to hold together as one of the last people standing. Blood trickled from his nose, but he growled deep in his chest and straightened his shoulders. "As a Dark God, you don't really measure up," he spoke to the walls around them, knowing the presence would be listening. Once you'd faced one, the second was rather old hat.
"You wanted our attention? You got it." Amanda stepped in front of Topaz and Clea without noticing, as if she could shield them from the voice. "What do you want?"
So many little flies stuck in a web. Step into my parlor, should you wish to parlay. the last word echoed clearly in everyone's minds. So small, so alone, hiding in the dark. Run. Fight. It all ends the same.
There was a long beat, as the very walls of the manor seemed to shake. Leave the girl. Walk away, and no harm will come to yourselves or her. A gift, one last chance to leave unaccosted. The walls echoed with the sound of deep, rumbling laughter from somewhere deeper in the manor. Or don't. Your time is fleeting.
Topaz, in turn, had half-shifted as if to protect Clea, her eyes flying around, as if expecting that bastard to come around the corner. "Fuck that," she said in a surprisingly calm voice. "What's Option B?"
Narrowing her eyes, Jean clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white as the voice boomed in her head. Even against her mental shields. But to be fair, they weren't at their best at the moment. Between this and the Mindless Ones, this was way too close to recent events with the Shadow King. Which was probably why she felt like punching a wall if this thing hurt the children, or anyone else.
"Make him regret that he underestimated us by escaping," she said, fire flickering across her eyes. A link opened.
~We still need to find the others. I can do that, but we'll have Dormammu on our tail. I say we split up. One half goes with me for the rescue, the other distracts Dormmamu.~
Megan abruptly stopped humming - she hadn't realized she'd been doing it to (unsuccessfully) drown out the voice of Dormmamu in her head. "No-one is being left in this place. I'll join the rescue."
Doug's face was grim. Mr. C'thun Wannabe whispering in their heads and trying to get them to leave people behind? Nuts to that. He pulled a knife and laid it back along his forearm, the motion businesslike and practiced.
"Let's go steal our team."
Miles rubbed his forehead as he and the rest of the team walked down the hall of this creepy-ass demon mansion. Though he hadn't noticed it until the fight with the Mindless Ones, his spider-sense had been going off ever since he set foot in this dimension. It was a gentle enough buzzing for now that he understood himself to be in just a general state of danger, nothing specific, but it was going to give him a migraine before long if it didn't stop.
"In case anyone's curious, something here is probably trying to kill us, I just dunno what or where," he offered.
"Oh! Is it time for vague proclamations?" Arthur's usual cheerful countenance was only a few shades lighter than normal, but this was saying something given how the starburst around his eye was sparkling as good as a flashlight. "'Cause I'm not feeling so lucky. Like, literally." He stopped, because this is the sort of statement that requires dramatic stopping. "Nothing bad happens to me. That's my shtick. And... yet..."
As if the demon mansion had a premier on horror films from the 1970s, a ominous creaking noise punctuated his statement, reverberating so deeply that the very floor trembled. "Anyone else want to share?"
"Not particularly," murmured Amanda as she tried to get some kind of feel for either of the missing girls - she'd worked with them enough that she knew their magical signatures, but there was too much interference here. "Jean, can you sense either of them?"
Jean met Amanda's gaze, her features cold and stone faced.
"I will try," she said, breaking eye contact as her eyes settled into staring at nothing, unfocused, yet searching. She reached her mind out and was surprised to find her focus seemed more magnified than it ever had before. Being in an unfamiliar realm, her mental walls had been keeping everything out on principle so she hadn't tried. She turned. "I feel them," she said, a mixture of curious, cautious, and pleased as she reached a little further, like dipping her toe into water. "Both of them." She nodded toward a hallway to the left. "This way."
Miles glanced between the two women and then at Doug who had come up next to him. "Brr, am I right?" he asked, shivering.
Doug glanced back and forth between the witch and the doctor, his eyes narrowed. Something...didn't seem quite right about the body language there, but he wasn't sure he could put his finger on what. "Pretty sure this whole dimension is trying to kill us, dude," he told Miles wryly. He was working up to a migraine of his own trying to figure out their surroundings and impose some kind of logic and pattern on their situation. "Anybody got a ball of twine?" he asked, cocking his head to one side and glancing down the hallway.
Sharon removed her backpack with various supplies and started digging through it. "I've got some parachute cord..." She replied as she pulled out the roll of cord. "I just don't know how far it'll get us. This might work better though..." She also removed a piece of what seemed like chalk from her backpack.
"I was half-kidding about the twine," Doug revealed. "Mythology and all that. The chalk is a fantastic idea, though." With that, he could make small notes for himself on the various branches of the halls as they explored them, keep track of what went where. Small tick marks in unobtrusive spots, where they were less likely to be noticed by someone who wasn't looking for them.
"All right, left hand hallway it is," Amanda said briskly. "Spider-Lad and I can take the lead - you've got that early alarm system of yours, right?"
"Man. Spider-Man," Miles corrected, stepping up to the front to join Amanda as she led the group down the indicated corridor. "God, they're not going to both be there like those girls in that creepy old movie about the hotel with the blood elevator, I hope."
Megan didn't know what movie he was referring to, but was pretty sure she had enough nightmare fuel between trips to other dimensions to last a lifetime. "Why would anyone watch those kinds of films? Is it the promise of a resolution in the end...?" As they turned a corner, she gasped.
The gasp could have been just from running into two people, but more than likely it was because they had rounded the corner right into a tiny Indian woman with her hand extended and energy crackling dangerously. Apparently no one had ever told Topaz don't attack the people who are here to rescue you. Or the place was just making her paranoid.
"Bloody hell." She dropped her hand at once, blowing out a long breath. Paranoia had momentarily taken over better sense, but she recognized the emotional signatures now. Thankfully not too late.
Clea was shoved behind the other girl as a group round the corner, "AMANDA!" She rushed towards the blonde and hugged her tightly, like she would fade away if she didn't. Finally looking around and saw a few others, "Miles! Megan! Dr. Grey!" And then two who she had seen but never really spoken to before, "You all came for us?"
Amanda hugged the girl back just as tightly. "No-one messes with my kids," she said almost fiercely, before letting Clea go, only to reach for Topaz and pull her in for an embrace just as tight as the one she'd given Clea. "You did good, kiddo," she murmured in Topaz' ear.
Topaz had been fully prepared to say "don't expect a hug," but Amanda grabbed her before she could protest. She blew out a long breath, returning the hug with a surprisingly tight grip. "Didn't die. Makes for a damn good day I'd say."
~Oh, but the day is still young~, a voice echoed. ~We can still change that. In fact, I insist~.
There was nobody nearby, and it hadn't been said aloud. The voice had bypassed their ears and entered directly into their minds, echoing with a finality that was indisputable. The doors the rescue team had come from slammed shut, and somewhere deeper in the manor, an ancient and powerful force began to move.
Miles could barely hear the thunderous mental voice over the blaring of his own spider-sense. As if the words and tone weren't enough to signal the danger they were all in now. He gripped his head in pain but forced himself to stay on his feet, defying whatever monster was trying to intimidate them.
The last time Doug had felt a mental pressure that intense had been Dark Phoenix. He felt a pang of loss remembering the older Stephen Strange that had mentored Amanda and been...whatever complicated thing he'd been with the past Wanda. He remembered trying to command that universe to hold together as one of the last people standing. Blood trickled from his nose, but he growled deep in his chest and straightened his shoulders. "As a Dark God, you don't really measure up," he spoke to the walls around them, knowing the presence would be listening. Once you'd faced one, the second was rather old hat.
"You wanted our attention? You got it." Amanda stepped in front of Topaz and Clea without noticing, as if she could shield them from the voice. "What do you want?"
So many little flies stuck in a web. Step into my parlor, should you wish to parlay. the last word echoed clearly in everyone's minds. So small, so alone, hiding in the dark. Run. Fight. It all ends the same.
There was a long beat, as the very walls of the manor seemed to shake. Leave the girl. Walk away, and no harm will come to yourselves or her. A gift, one last chance to leave unaccosted. The walls echoed with the sound of deep, rumbling laughter from somewhere deeper in the manor. Or don't. Your time is fleeting.
Topaz, in turn, had half-shifted as if to protect Clea, her eyes flying around, as if expecting that bastard to come around the corner. "Fuck that," she said in a surprisingly calm voice. "What's Option B?"
Narrowing her eyes, Jean clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white as the voice boomed in her head. Even against her mental shields. But to be fair, they weren't at their best at the moment. Between this and the Mindless Ones, this was way too close to recent events with the Shadow King. Which was probably why she felt like punching a wall if this thing hurt the children, or anyone else.
"Make him regret that he underestimated us by escaping," she said, fire flickering across her eyes. A link opened.
~We still need to find the others. I can do that, but we'll have Dormammu on our tail. I say we split up. One half goes with me for the rescue, the other distracts Dormmamu.~
Megan abruptly stopped humming - she hadn't realized she'd been doing it to (unsuccessfully) drown out the voice of Dormmamu in her head. "No-one is being left in this place. I'll join the rescue."
Doug's face was grim. Mr. C'thun Wannabe whispering in their heads and trying to get them to leave people behind? Nuts to that. He pulled a knife and laid it back along his forearm, the motion businesslike and practiced.
"Let's go steal our team."
