ic Double the Treble

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

Bernadette listened to the Duke as he discussed his interest in the arts and distaste for business and paperwork with a slight bit of amusement. But then her expression became a bit more serious as he asked about if she had felt something unusual, something that might have drawn her to this competition.

 

"Well, I didn' think there was anythin' that drew me here. But…once we were here, there has been somethin' pullin' at the back of me mind. Almost callin' out ta me duplicates." The redhead admitted.

As she said that, she heard a sound out towards the stage area that drew her attention as a scowl came to her face and one of her duplicates leapt back into existence.

"Sorry, I think I hear somethin' out by the stage. Just be a moment." The duplicate stated as she started out the door to investigate.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Why of couse" said the Duke, with a tiny bow. Bernadette caught the mask of jocularity slip for a moment; the duke was dissapointed. 

 

Summer flapped her hands, not sure if she should stay with the Duke or Bernadette. In conclusion, she opted for a poor comprimise, seemingly maintaining a position exactly equidistant from the two. 

 

Outside, the drunken, rumbunctious crowd had thinned - and the crowd that had remained was either spectating on, or engaged in, a brawl. 

 

The two punk girls - Pinkageddon - with pink in their hair, where screaming, shouting, smashing up instruments, stage equipment and sometimes people, armed with baseball bats. They had been props on the show, but the bats were clearly quite functional and smashing baseballs, or in this case, skulls. 

 

"The Duke told us we would win!" screamed Mindy. 

 

"We been sticjed up!" shouted Mandy. 

 

Mindy and Mandy, the punk girls of Pinkageddon. 

 

Bernadette could see that the two of them - despite great efforts to accentuate difference via style, hair, make up, and clothes, were identical twins. 

 

And very capable with the baseball bats. Around them was a trail of smashed amps and bleeding spectators. 

 

And the two of them were making a beeline for the duke!

 

Out of the corner of her eye, Bernadette could make out the Leprachaun, stroking his orange beard, raiding his orange eyebrows, with a sardonic sneer on his lips as he observered the chaos. 

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

Oh bloody 'ell. Bernadette thought to herself as she saw the two punk girls making their way towards the Duke's office. Another of her duplicates appeared and turned to jog back towards the Duke’s office, warning Summer about what was going on along the way.

 

The redheaded teen then moved into the path of the pair, her other duplicate remaining in the shadows of the backstage area for the moment.

 

"I think that's far enough ye lot." Bernadette called out as she came to a halt in the path of the two punk rock girls. "How about ye just calm down an’ be on yer way, before things really get out o' hand."

[Supercape]

GM

 

The two punks spun round. 

 

"You!" they said in unison, before engaging in a soundbite-driven argument that ping-ponged between the two of them. 

 

"Smash the patriachy!"... Bash! A male security guard got a baseball bat between his legs. 

 

"No! Smash the oligarchy!"... Bash! the cash registerer exploded with coins as a baseball bat crunched it like a tin can. The girls were strong! and angry!

 

"No! Smash the theocracy!"... Bash! A wooden crucifix on a wall splintered under the tip of a well aimed swing. 

 

"No! Smash the technocracy!"... Bash! An amp exploded in sparks as a baseball bat impaled it. the power surge shorted the lights, leaving the whole venue in semi-darkness!"

 

"No! No! No!" screamed the two sisters in unison. "Smash the meritocracy! Cheating by using talent and hard work!"

 

With the socio-political scapegoat finally agreed upon, the two punks screamed and charged at Bernadette, the hated winner of the compitition!

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

Bernadette tensed up with anger as the two punk girls continued their wild assault on everyone and anyone. When the pair focused on her, the Irish redhead went into action.

"While I'd agree some o' those things are a problem, this isn' the way ta go about it." She stated as she moved up to one of the two punk girls and tried to grab the baseball bat from her hands. However, the dim lighting and chaos around her where something of a distraction as the punk girl managed to pull the bat away just before Bernadette could grab it.

 

But even as the main Bernadette failed to disarm one of the punk girls, one of her duplicates moved out of the shadows and came up behind the other punk girl, who was pulling back to try to hit the original now that she was in range.

"No, none o' that." The duplicate stated as she grabbed the other punk girl's bat and pulled it from her grasp.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"What!" the two punks said in unison, looking from one Bernadette to the other. 

 

"Are you, like, twins, or something?" said Mandy. 

 

"Or maybe you are twins?" said Mindy. 

 

"Like us?" said Mandy. 

 

"One each then!" they said, in unison. 

 

Bernadette was a second too slow snatching the bat from Mandy. Her duplicate, however, managed to wrestle the bat from Mindy, who screamed "Hey, no fair, bitch!" in response. She swung a clumsy hook at the doube which only compounded her rage. 

 

"Say goodby to ya kneecaps!" roared Mindy, doing a semi-elegant twirl and spinning the bat straight across Bernadette's legs. 

 

One thing Multi-Girl(s) did notice; both Mindy and Mandy knew how to 

 

"Howzat!" roared Mindy in a faux English accent. 

 

Mandy shrugged at Bernadette. "Its English, innit. Where punk was born! Howzat, tea and muffins, God bless the queen, the fascist regime!"

 

Mindy and Mandy nodded to each other in their appreciation of musical history. 

 

One thing Multi-Girl(s) did notice in the brawl; both girls were much stronger than they looked. Despite their relatively petite frame, they could have competed in a Strong Man competition. And they knew how to handle a bat. 

Edited July 30, 2023 by Supercape

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

"Or somethin'." Bernadette grunted in return to the twins' question about the redhead and her duplicate as she braced for the impact of the bat when she was unable to get out of the way like Crimson Tiger had taught her. While she felt a slight sting of pain from the impact, it otherwise caused no damage, and certainly did nothing to hamper her ability to stay in the fight.

 

"I'm Irish ye posers." The Irish teen then responded with scowl as the two began trying to mock her accent.

 

"I was tryin' ta have this go easy, but if yer not gon'na settle down, I will just try ta end this as quick as I can."

With that, there were suddenly a dozen different Bernadettes that popped into existence near the original. Then, in unison, both the original and all the new duplicates moved into action, rushing towards the two punk girls, throwing jabs or kicks or elbows at them, before moving away to make room for the next. Most of the attacks were not intended to connect, but throw the two punks off balance, before a follow up attack sought to capitalize on the distraction.

 

In a few moments solid hits had been landed on both of the punk girls, with Mindy taking a bit worse than her twin.

 

As Mindy staggered slightly dazed, the first duplicate tossed the bat aside and delivered a solid round house kick to the girl, who somehow managed to stay on her feet.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Mindy took a few drunken steps back, her head in a spin. But her angry punk throat could seemingly operate on autopilot. 

"Down the the flbnjrbdocarcy!" she mumbled. "You tell her, Mandy!"

 

"You bet, Mindy!" screamed Mandy, moving back a few steps to get the right angle...

 

...drawing in a huge breath...and...

 

"DOWN WITH THE IRISHOCRACY!" She screamed. This was not your regular protest or punk scream. The volume was off the scale, the sound so piercing it could drill a hole in a skull - and it certainly felt like it. It reverberated and echoed, unrelating in its pitch or tone. 

 

Several dozen chaotic revellers fell unconscious. Others clutched their heads, or staggered around with eyes that lost focus. The security gaurds who had been trying to weigh up who was the threat, and who would be safe to grapple, fell to their knees, hands on ears, trying to block out the sound. With limited effect, it seemed - it was more like they had trapped the ringing bells within their own skulls..

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

Bernadette braced as the sonic shock wave washed over her and those around the two punk girls. A couple of the additional duplicates that had appeared blinked out of existence, but the redhead and the rest of her duplicates all weathered the attack fine, with only a slight ringing in their ears.

 

As the sound stopped echoing through the backstage, more redheaded duplicates popped into existence to replace those that had fallen and once again the copies of the Irish teen went into motion as they rushed the two punk girls. There were a flurry of punches and kicks, with several connecting solidly, sending one of the twins into unconsciousness and dazing the other.

 

But just as the multitude of Bernadettes stopped moving, one of the duplicates acted on her own accord, moving up to the dazed punk girl. "Ye should a' backed off when ye had the chance." The duplicate stated before delivering a solid right hook that sent the punk girl down onto her hands and knees, barely conscious and clearly out of the fight.

 

As the fight came to an end, Bernadette dismissed all of her duplicates, now standing near the two defeated punk girls on her own, taking a moment to look around at the chaos.

[Supercape]

GM

 

And what a sight it was. 

 

The venue was a mess. The rumbuctious crowd had created quite the soup of spillt drinks and detritus even before the (soon to be infamous) brawl of the bitches. But with the massive sonic waves, everything was now ten times worse. Glass, drinks, unconscious bodies, sparking electricals, flickering lights. It was hard to see properly, but even a quick scan in the erratic light was enough to see that this was a glorious, mess. 

 

"Glorious!" grumbled Mindy, before spying her unconsious sister. 

 

"Mandy!" she yelled, trying to stand up from her knees. But the knees protested, and gave way, sending Mindy flat on her face again with an alarming thud. A black bruise appeared over one eye, and she started a nose bleed. 

 

"What you gonna do that for?" she said, scowling at Bernadette. "Aren't you superheroes meant to be arresting robots or ninjas or something? We were just trying to win the competition! You spoiled it ALL, cheating with your talent and skill! Couldn't you just have stayed away?"

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

"I tried ta talk ye inta just walkin' away an' avoidin' all o' this." Bernadette responded rather bluntly. "But ye were injurin' people an' threatein' ta injure others, so not exactly somethin' I could ignore. Not that I am some great superhero or anythin'."

 

Initial she had not planned to respond to the punk girl’s rantings about her "cheating" due to her talent and skill, but the redhead felt a slight hint of anger at the suggestion. "An' as ta the competition, I'm sorry, but Summer an' I wanted ta win it as well, an' we both worked really hard on bein' good enough ta do so."

"Instead of spendin' most o' yer time practicin' yer insults ta the crowd an' general angst, ye could a spent more on deliverin' somethin' a crowd would not forget."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Injuring?, we weren't injuiring..."

 

"Yes you were...." squeaked a down security guard, his face contorted in pain, curled up in a fetal ball, clutching the area between his legs which had recieved a sharp and effective blow from a baseball bat. 

 

"Well, that hardly counts..."

 

"Yes it does..." squeaked the security guard, wincing, praying for unconsciousness. 

 

"Well, maybe it counts a little," conceded Mindy with a shrug, her face slowly swelling into a giant bruise. "But its rock and roll, right?" she asked Bernadette. "Punk! Sock it to the man! All that..."

 

She paused, trying to think through the spinning concussed head. 

 

"And... and something felt like it was pulling us here, goading us.... I felt it. Maybe Mandy did, too. Maybe she could tell us... if you HADNT KNOCKED HER OUT!"

 

Her angry propelled her too her feet again, but she wobbled and sanked back to her knees. 

 

"Ah shoot. You had to cheat by making it a fair fight, didn't you!"

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

While Bernadette was generally done with the punk girl’s attempt to justify her actions, but when the other girl mentioned something puling the twins here and goading them, the Irish redhead felt the feeling that had been at the edge of her consciousness since she set foot in the pub. Shaking her red hair, the teen looked back to Mindy once again. "Well, that is one situation where me abilities do provide an unfair advantage, but again, I tried ta have this go different. Now ye two will have ta face whatever the results o' yer decisions are."

 

Turning away from the punk twins, Bernadette headed back over to where Summer and the Duke were waiting.

 

"Ye two okay?" She asked as she came up to the pair.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Summer nodded, pale faced, he hand o her mouth. "Oh gosh, I mean, yes. I'm ok. That scream! Couldn't hear for a moment, thought I would go permenantly deaf..."

 

Clearly, a terrible fate for a musician, and Summer's face showed it. 

 

"I'm sorry... sorry I wasn't much help. I'm not a fighter, not like you. Just got a lot of fingers, not much good, except for plucking strings."

 

"Nonsense my dear! I bet you would be a splendid pickpocket!" piped up the Duke, face flushed with excitement. He seemed to rather enjoy the wild action. 

 

"Oh gosh, I couldn't do that" replied Summer. "I mean, its wrong, stealing!"

 

The Duke shrugged. "Oh all the best things are wrong. What would life be like if we did the right thing all the time? It would be quite wrong!" he said, rather pleased with his zen wisdom. 

 

"What did they mean? The... pulling?" said Summer. "Something's up, isn't it..."

 

"Yes, I fear it is" nodded the Duke. "Something tugging, pushing. Like the wail of a siren. Look, I am no expert in the supernatural, but I am a historian of sort, and I know my music. Would you care to help in a spot of research? I have some notebooks, and one of those electrical computators - what do you call them again, aha! A computer!"

 

From across the venue, the grim face of the Leprachaun studied the three of them carefully, bottle of whiskey in his hand. He chugged away at it, trying to use the booze to dilute his glum face, with limited success. 

 

"You will pay for this, Duke, so you will!" he muttered, eyes sweeping across the carnage of the venue. 

 

"Why of course, Sir! Life afford me many obstacles, but money is not one of them. Gold and Silver shall be yours. Maybe a balloon and a whistle if it would cheer up that billious frown!"

 

"Idiot!" retorted the Leprachaun, voice considerably louder, the glumness in his face now peppered with rage. 

[Thevshi]

Mutli-Girl

 

"Eh, don' worry about it." Bernadette responded with a small smile as Summer apologized for not being able to help in the fight. "Was able ta deal with them right enough. Just wish I coulda been a wee quicker at it."

 

The redhead frowned slightly as the Duke commented on Summer’s potential as a pickpocket, but did not interject, and in any event, the pub owner arrived to demand payment from the Duke for the damage done by the two punk girls. While the Irish teen could understand the Leprechaun’s concern about having the damage repaid and paid for, but the Duke hardly seemed like the one to blame for what had occurred.

 

"Sure, I suppose we can help with some research." She offered after the exchange between the Duke and the Leprechaun.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Formidable!" said the Duke with a clap of his hands, proceeding to lead them out of the venue and up some rather creaky old wooden stairs, to the hired rooms of the pub directly above the stage. Drinks and food could be ordered, but this did not seem to be the Duke's desire. 

 

Although, as they entered his hired room, Bernadette and Summer did see some champagne on ice by one of the battered leather chairs. 

 

Battered leather was an appropriate flavour for the whole room, elegant, regal, cheap and antiquated all at the same time. Like some mid-ranking lord had owned the place three hundred years ago and it had been essentially left to rot since then. 

 

Nevertheless, the Duke had an array of equally old and battered books strewn haphazardly about the place - on the floor, on the chairs, balanced precariously one a top the other. Maybe two dozen in all. Glancing through the titles, they seemed to be old tomes on irish history, mythology, on arcane magics and alchemy (even with a touch of science and chemistry thrown in). Some were on music theory, or at least how music theory applied to magic and sorcery - precisely which chord structures would summon the devil, precisely which time signatures would ward of ghosts, and so on. 

 

"So, does either of you know anything about the occult?" asked the Duke. 

 

Summer shook her head emphatically. 

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

Bernadette followed along with Summer as the Duke led them back to the rooms he had off the stage. Focusing more closely on the old books in the room than she had before, the redhead watched the Duke as he moved over toward them. The strange musical aficionado had certainly gathered an odd collection of books.

 

At his question, the Irish teen gave a small shrug. "Not much more than some o' the Irish folktales me mam used ta tell us. There is an' elective at Claremont on it, but not one I have taken so far."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Oh... Irish, eh? Like our friend the Leprachaun downstairs?" he asked. "Vexatious little runt, he is. But... I confess he has his uses. And he does like gold. I daresay you find the notion of gold as payment rather quaint, but in days gone it was quite the standard, hehe, hehe..."

 

The joke was not his best but he gave a chuckle anyway. 

 

"And he does like to put Gold in his pot at the end of the rainbow, haha, haha!"

 

He actually looked rather nervous. 

 

He picked up a book on Irish mythology and passed it to Bernadette. "Irish yourself, I see. No wonder you felt the pull of the Leprachaun. Yes, yes. It is him, I am quite sure of it. You see...."

 

He leant in. 

 

"I think he is an actual Leprachaun! No, not think. I am certain of it, quite certain! And for some reason he is pulling twins, duplicates, and whatnot into his tavern."

 

Summer gave a snort- somethink like a cross between a laugh and a gasp. "A Leprachaun, come on..."

 

"What better disguise for a Leprachaun that to call himself a Leprachaun? How about that? Rather cunning, if you ask me. As cunning as he is obnoxious. As obnoxious as he is sour. All the personality of a bottle of pickled vinegar, in my opinion. But still, something of a magician. Using music as magic! Dangerous, dangerous!"

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

Bernadette listened as the Duke began explaining his theory on what was going on at the venue and with the cantankerous owner. When Summer seemed skeptical about the owner being a true Leprechaun, the Irish teen gave the older girl a look. "Ye shouldn' be surprised Summer. Several classes at Claremont mention that there are all sorts o' mythical an' magical creatures that exist."

 

The red-head then focused back on the Duke. "Assumin' that he is actually a Leprechaun, what are his goals? Why is he tryin' ta draw people here, particularly those that are twins or, in me an' Summer's case, those that have some form o’ duplication abilities?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

"His Goals?" said the Duke, stroking his elegantly cropped beard. "That is the question, is it not? Everyone has goals, the Leprachaun included. Well, let us speculate. He has a face like a slapped dog and the charisma of a silage farm. My first inclination is that he delights in sharing his sour demeanour. But! That would be at first glance. Perhaps something else is woven into the tapestry of his goals?"

 

"Greed! Leprachauns, rainbows, pots of gold? Something like that, anyway. Maybe it is gold he is after? He has drawn a healthy crowd tonight, has he not? even with the mayhem and destruction, I daresay he stands to make a profit?"

 

"Do you hear that?" asked Summer, cocking her head. 

 

"A lullaby!"

 

Indeed it was!

 

A lullaby, oozing into the Dukes department from every crack in the wall, reverberating off every bit of metal in the quaint room. So powerful it started to crawl into Bernadette's teeth, and into her skull!

 

"Sleepy time, sleepy time,

Go to sleep, 'twill be just fine,

Nothing to be scared of,

No need to cry, or wail, or weep,

Honest, guvner, quite safe to sleep..."

 

With every note, with every word, Bernadette felt a massive urge to put her head down and snooze...

 

Summer and the Duke were already doing so!

 

...

 

...

 

And Bernadette awoke. Summer and the Duke were still asleep, resting peacefully-as far as she could tell. 

 

The room was unchanged, but there was a certain delicious sunlight streaming through the windows, illuminating the dust of the room. Strands of music floated this way and that, originating from outside. Jocular, peaceful, enchanting. 

 

Bernadette could say she felt extremely well rested. The sleep had been refreshing, in a sense, although she did feel an edge-the song had sapped her strength. Not so much that it would impair her, but a subtle draining nonetheless. 

 

The Duke gave an almighty snore, but stayed asleep.

Edited August 19, 2023 by Supercape

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

When Bernadette opened her eyes, she slowly pushed herself upright to look around the room as she regained her bearings. Summer and the Duke were still sound asleep and she could hear music emanating from somewhere else.

 

Climbing back to her feet, the redhead created one of her duplicates to be ready for whatever might come. The duplicate Irish teen remained silent, with no communication necessary between the two as they left the room and carefully made their way back towards the main section of the pub.

[Supercape]

GN

 

As soon as the room door was open, Bernadette realised she was not in Kansas anymore. 

 

The room had been moved to a different dimension. A realm of hypervivid colours, rainbows, trees, fields, and sunshine. 

 

And everything sang. Everything was a musical note. the wind through the corn, the falling of leaves, the sunshine glittering through the rainbow. Everything created a note, and the combination was bordering on a cacophony; and yet in tune, melodic. 

 

Sitting on a tree stump, puffing on a pipe, scratching his orange beard, was the short and doughy form of the Leprachaun. 

 

"Welcome to musicland" he said, face as grumpy as ever. "Its a horrible place. A day here and you will lose your mind. I grew up here. If you are able to burn this entire nightmare to the ground, I would be eternally grateful."

 

"Sunny sunny sunny times,

Sunny glow, Sunny chimes,

Sunny Sunny Sunny smiles,

Pull down your pants let me tan your hides"

 

Yes, even the Sun itself was singing, and if Bernadette looked closely, she could see the Sun had two merry eyes and a merry mouth. 

 

The Leprachaun groaned. "Please, take me to Hell instead. Satan himself couldn't torture me more..."

[Thevshi]

Muli-Girl

 

Bernadette and her duplicate walking into the bizarre landscape with a sense of awe and confusion. It was an almost cartoonish landscape, all the more so as everything was singing. Everything, that is, save for the Leprachaun.

 

Focusing on the short figure, the two redheads moved closer.

"Musicland?" Asked the original Bernadette.

"Ye seem fairly sane, a bit grump, but sane." Added the duplicate.

 

"I wouldn' be so confident about that." The original continued in response to the Leprachun’s request to go to Hell instead. "But, regardless, ye seemed ta have gotten free. Why come back?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

The Leprachaun stroked his orange beard. 

 

"Because of bad luck. Cursed rotten filthy wicked bad luck. Not that I am bitter or anything."

 

He sighed and scowled simultaneously, then sneezed, and wiped his nose on on his sleeve. It was green, predictably. 

 

"Your friend the Duke is dying. He needs this place. This place is life, best way of putting it. Sounds and colours and even smells... you can smell it, can't you, life?"

 

It was true - Musicland smelled of floral scents, cut grass, so rich that you could taste them. Some rich that it didn't feel normal - it was like some invisible hand was jamming a bottle of perfume up each nostril at the same time. 

 

"Disgusting, innit? Everything just so lively. it drives me mad. The Duke wanted this place to invigorate this place, and he paid me handsomely to get us all here. Because this place wanted you..."

 

 

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

The two Bernadettes listened to the Leprechaun as he claimed that bad luck kept him confined to this unusual dimension. The redheads became much more interested when he mentioned the Duke needing this place.

"The Duke is dyin'?" The original Bernadette stated, uncertain whether she should believe the Leprechaun. As the orange bearded creature mentioned the aroma of the place, the Irish teenager realized she was indeed smelling the powerful scents that seemed to be everywhere.

 

"It is a wee bit overpowerin'." Stated the duplicate.

 

However, the original Bernadette was more focused on what the Leprechaun reveled next.

"This place wanted me? Why? How did it know I would be there?" She asked.