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xp_logsGarrison, Jean, Natasha, and Stephen arrive in a "haunted" house. They soon find the house is as advertised when an old foe comes calling.
"Tell me again why we're doing this?" Kane said, falling into step beside Jean as they passed over admission money. He'd been convinced to be Green Lantern for Halloween, a comic character he didn't know that well but remembered the old cartoons at least. He hadn't be expecting such a tight outfit though. Adrienne had threatened to send him nudes all night to try and... stretch it's capabilities of keeping his modesty intact.
"I mean, I get the whole party time idea, but we could be doing this at Harry's. Where there is alcohol. I mean, you know, alcohol?" He looked back at Natasha and jerked a thumb at her. "She knows what I'm talking about."
The theme of the night seemed to be dressing like comic book characters. Natasha had put on one of her older tac suits, dashed on some makeup to appear like the overdone versions of people in comics, and styled her hair to cascade over her shoulders in curls. Comfort and style achieved and with minimal effort on her part even. Getting out for something frivolous was something she needed to do more often. It was entirely too easy to disappear down into a million research rabbit holes.
"I'm hoping they stock some strong stuff here. Otherwise, I'm just along for the experience." She'd already handed Jean her money back when they left the mansion. "I'm curious what 'horrors' they might have planned." Very little scared her and it didn't hurt to test those assumptions every now and then.
"They have alcohol here. Besides, it's fun," Jean said. She had decided to dress up as Amy Pond from Doctor Who, complete with marks drawn on her face and arms. Her second choice was Pennywise, but she didn't particularly want to walk by a mirror and freak herself out every few minutes. They were already going to a "haunted" house. No need for extra spooks.The place was rather imposing, like something out of Tales from the Crypt meets Crimson Peak.
The moment they entered the mansion, the world seemed to grow quiet. A sense of dread filled the air. Jean normally did fine in haunted houses. She'd seen enough in real life to be able to compartmentalize and just enjoy the fake scares. But she had to admit, there was something about this one.
At the end of the hallway was a ticking clock. It drowned out everything else. The other people ahead of them in line, once only a few feet away, were no longer there. Jean walked to the ticking clock, studying the numbers.
If there was going to be a comic character that Stephen was going to dress up as there was really only ever once choice in his head. He was a magician, and so a magician he would be!
Only, Harry potter was a little cliche, so he'd gone the other way, blue bodysuit and golden accoutrements. He'd even managed to enchant them a little so they seemed to shimmer and glow, Dr Fate lived in the flesh, for one night only.
Like any teenager though, there was one word, one topic of conversation that managed to get his attention, "So this strong stuff...they're not carding or anything are they cause I mean if I can survive a haunted house then..." He let the words trail off hopefully, eager eyes dancing between the various adults accompanying him. It didn't seem like Miss Grey was paying him any attention though, something else had caught her eyes, a clock, the tick-tock echoing around the hall as it seemed to take on a greater importance, the other guests seemingly vanishing away as the magician reached out a single finger, not quite willing to touch the clock. "It seems a little...loud."
"No booze." Kane said, although the second he noticed Jean looking elsewhere, he nodded to Stephen. Garrison supported underage drinking in a general Canadian sense. "Hell of an illusion with the disappearances. Somebody really put some money into this." "Some college student. Eddie...something...owns the house. I was talking to him in line. He boasted about wanting to make some money off of how creepy the place is before he fixes it up," Jean said, seeming to come out of her reverie as she glanced away from the clock toward a mirror on top of a mantle.
"I think he'll get his money's--" Right as she looked in the mirror the saw the face of Parker Matthews standing behind her, his eyes pitch black as he wore a hospital gown. He reached for her neck.
She screamed, spinning around to see. The mirror splintered into spiderwebs.
"Geez!" The Canadian's arm flashed out, knocking aside the shards of glass that escaped the clock face. "You alright, Doc? I didn't think the jump scares had started yet?"
"What...." Jean said, her breath quick as she frantically looking around. Her skin goosebumped and crawled.
"You didn't see him? He was in the mirror!"
"Um, Doc, you killed the mirror. If he's in the mirror, he's gone." Kane said, jarred by Jean's sudden panic. This wasn't a woman that panicked. Ever. "Nat, Stephan, you see anything?"
The smile faded from the teenager's face as he stared down at the shards of glass scattered over the floor as he shook his head. "Nada...nothing are...are you ok Dr Grey?"
Stephen's worried voice made Jean snap out of her momentary panic and she shook her head. "It was...it was Parker Matthews," she said, knowing Garrison would recognize the name.
"It looked like he was behind me. I felt something in my hea--" She put her hand to her temple. There was an unnatural buzz.
"Something's wrong here. Very wrong."
"Nothing on my end either," Natasha said slowly. Her hand was on the knife tucked into her side pocket. She didn't think she'd needed a gun tonight, but it was looking like she might regret that decision. Even if the company she was keeping was more lethal than conventional weapons anyway. She kicked at some of the scattered glass fragments. "Any way we can backtrack our way out of here?"
The sound of a slamming door and locks being turned answered her question.
"This isn't Parker. He didn't have control over the environment normally, and I haven't felt sleepy. This is something-" Kane paused as a howl skirled up the hallway with the wind. "Unnatural."
A groan slipped from Stephen's lips as he held his hands up, glancing between the others, "I swear it wasn't me this time. But...Mr. Kane might be right, I'm not sensing any magic, but there could be something going on here that's too deeply ingrained, too subtle for me to detect easily."
"Whatever it is obviously has the ability to at least know information about people," Jean said, her back to the mirror. "I didn't sense anyone trying to breach my mental walls. We should look for clues. No splitting up, though." She eyed the room.
"This house looks hungry."
"It feels hungry too," Natasha said. She scanned their surroundings despite knowing that nothing would look out of place. That was the downside to this. Something strange was at play and it all too easily was fooling her senses. She walked quickly down the hallway, trying doors and trying to map out the layout of this place in her head. She wasn't having much luck. There was no way the rooms they were encountering matched how the house looked from the outside.
They didn't have the time for her to try lock picks but the idea of finding an open doorway and following it didn't appeal either. They were being herded toward a specific destination. "Are we playing right into this thing's hands?"
Jean continued down the hall, trying to ignore a sense of foreboding. A rather ornate door caught her eye and she reached out, turning the knob. It opened readily, and Jean paused to eye the others.
"I have a feeling we're going to find out," she said.
"This is a big room. We got herded into a big room?" Kane looked down at the ornate flooring, the wide buttresses and the circular arrangement. "I think we're in something official.".
"Tell me again why we're doing this?" Kane said, falling into step beside Jean as they passed over admission money. He'd been convinced to be Green Lantern for Halloween, a comic character he didn't know that well but remembered the old cartoons at least. He hadn't be expecting such a tight outfit though. Adrienne had threatened to send him nudes all night to try and... stretch it's capabilities of keeping his modesty intact.
"I mean, I get the whole party time idea, but we could be doing this at Harry's. Where there is alcohol. I mean, you know, alcohol?" He looked back at Natasha and jerked a thumb at her. "She knows what I'm talking about."
The theme of the night seemed to be dressing like comic book characters. Natasha had put on one of her older tac suits, dashed on some makeup to appear like the overdone versions of people in comics, and styled her hair to cascade over her shoulders in curls. Comfort and style achieved and with minimal effort on her part even. Getting out for something frivolous was something she needed to do more often. It was entirely too easy to disappear down into a million research rabbit holes.
"I'm hoping they stock some strong stuff here. Otherwise, I'm just along for the experience." She'd already handed Jean her money back when they left the mansion. "I'm curious what 'horrors' they might have planned." Very little scared her and it didn't hurt to test those assumptions every now and then.
"They have alcohol here. Besides, it's fun," Jean said. She had decided to dress up as Amy Pond from Doctor Who, complete with marks drawn on her face and arms. Her second choice was Pennywise, but she didn't particularly want to walk by a mirror and freak herself out every few minutes. They were already going to a "haunted" house. No need for extra spooks.The place was rather imposing, like something out of Tales from the Crypt meets Crimson Peak.
The moment they entered the mansion, the world seemed to grow quiet. A sense of dread filled the air. Jean normally did fine in haunted houses. She'd seen enough in real life to be able to compartmentalize and just enjoy the fake scares. But she had to admit, there was something about this one.
At the end of the hallway was a ticking clock. It drowned out everything else. The other people ahead of them in line, once only a few feet away, were no longer there. Jean walked to the ticking clock, studying the numbers.
If there was going to be a comic character that Stephen was going to dress up as there was really only ever once choice in his head. He was a magician, and so a magician he would be!
Only, Harry potter was a little cliche, so he'd gone the other way, blue bodysuit and golden accoutrements. He'd even managed to enchant them a little so they seemed to shimmer and glow, Dr Fate lived in the flesh, for one night only.
Like any teenager though, there was one word, one topic of conversation that managed to get his attention, "So this strong stuff...they're not carding or anything are they cause I mean if I can survive a haunted house then..." He let the words trail off hopefully, eager eyes dancing between the various adults accompanying him. It didn't seem like Miss Grey was paying him any attention though, something else had caught her eyes, a clock, the tick-tock echoing around the hall as it seemed to take on a greater importance, the other guests seemingly vanishing away as the magician reached out a single finger, not quite willing to touch the clock. "It seems a little...loud."
"No booze." Kane said, although the second he noticed Jean looking elsewhere, he nodded to Stephen. Garrison supported underage drinking in a general Canadian sense. "Hell of an illusion with the disappearances. Somebody really put some money into this." "Some college student. Eddie...something...owns the house. I was talking to him in line. He boasted about wanting to make some money off of how creepy the place is before he fixes it up," Jean said, seeming to come out of her reverie as she glanced away from the clock toward a mirror on top of a mantle.
"I think he'll get his money's--" Right as she looked in the mirror the saw the face of Parker Matthews standing behind her, his eyes pitch black as he wore a hospital gown. He reached for her neck.
She screamed, spinning around to see. The mirror splintered into spiderwebs.
"Geez!" The Canadian's arm flashed out, knocking aside the shards of glass that escaped the clock face. "You alright, Doc? I didn't think the jump scares had started yet?"
"What...." Jean said, her breath quick as she frantically looking around. Her skin goosebumped and crawled.
"You didn't see him? He was in the mirror!"
"Um, Doc, you killed the mirror. If he's in the mirror, he's gone." Kane said, jarred by Jean's sudden panic. This wasn't a woman that panicked. Ever. "Nat, Stephan, you see anything?"
The smile faded from the teenager's face as he stared down at the shards of glass scattered over the floor as he shook his head. "Nada...nothing are...are you ok Dr Grey?"
Stephen's worried voice made Jean snap out of her momentary panic and she shook her head. "It was...it was Parker Matthews," she said, knowing Garrison would recognize the name.
"It looked like he was behind me. I felt something in my hea--" She put her hand to her temple. There was an unnatural buzz.
"Something's wrong here. Very wrong."
"Nothing on my end either," Natasha said slowly. Her hand was on the knife tucked into her side pocket. She didn't think she'd needed a gun tonight, but it was looking like she might regret that decision. Even if the company she was keeping was more lethal than conventional weapons anyway. She kicked at some of the scattered glass fragments. "Any way we can backtrack our way out of here?"
The sound of a slamming door and locks being turned answered her question.
"This isn't Parker. He didn't have control over the environment normally, and I haven't felt sleepy. This is something-" Kane paused as a howl skirled up the hallway with the wind. "Unnatural."
A groan slipped from Stephen's lips as he held his hands up, glancing between the others, "I swear it wasn't me this time. But...Mr. Kane might be right, I'm not sensing any magic, but there could be something going on here that's too deeply ingrained, too subtle for me to detect easily."
"Whatever it is obviously has the ability to at least know information about people," Jean said, her back to the mirror. "I didn't sense anyone trying to breach my mental walls. We should look for clues. No splitting up, though." She eyed the room.
"This house looks hungry."
"It feels hungry too," Natasha said. She scanned their surroundings despite knowing that nothing would look out of place. That was the downside to this. Something strange was at play and it all too easily was fooling her senses. She walked quickly down the hallway, trying doors and trying to map out the layout of this place in her head. She wasn't having much luck. There was no way the rooms they were encountering matched how the house looked from the outside.
They didn't have the time for her to try lock picks but the idea of finding an open doorway and following it didn't appeal either. They were being herded toward a specific destination. "Are we playing right into this thing's hands?"
Jean continued down the hall, trying to ignore a sense of foreboding. A rather ornate door caught her eye and she reached out, turning the knob. It opened readily, and Jean paused to eye the others.
"I have a feeling we're going to find out," she said.
"This is a big room. We got herded into a big room?" Kane looked down at the ornate flooring, the wide buttresses and the circular arrangement. "I think we're in something official.".
