Occupational Hazards (IC)

[Quinn]

Saturday, March 5, 2011.

Location: Claremont Academy

Weather: Overcast, with threat of rain.

Crow tapped in the last of the tacks, looking up at a decent-sized Dropkick Murphy's poster he'd thrown up over his bed. It was one of his favorites, along with the Boondock Saints poster he'd tacked up over the headboard and the autographed Boston Bruins poster hanging a fair clip from his portable worktable. The old thing was scarred and dented from numerous runic experiments he'd been trying over the years, but the odd bit of progress had been made in identifying various runes on his coat. He stepped back and admired his half of the room, dusting off his hands. Finally, his dad had managed to send out those posters he'd ordered; staring at Brian's numerous trophies and posters for other (inferior!) sports teams was getting a bit tiresome.

His thoughts turned to Brian Harris as his eyes lowered from the posters. Decent guy. Bit reticent about where he'd come from before arriving at Claremont, tho'. Not like Crow could blame him, though, given who one of his own parents were. Everyone had something way back when that was just uncomfortable to talk about. But since they were sharing a room together, they might as well be civil, get along. Maybe he'd invite him to sparring practice tomorrow, be chummy. Crow grinned and turned around, his train of thought wrecking quite abruptly. Standing in front of him was this very well-apportioned young...lady? dressed in a gauzy green summer-dress, with pointed ears, vivid green hair, and big, round...eyes. With a cat-like slant. She leapt at Crow, grabbing him around the middle, and looked up into his face, speaking in a torrent of Irish Gaelic.

"Tá tú Crow! Bhí a fhios agam gur mhaith leat a bheith anseo, dúirt an spiorad an domhain orm gur mhaith liom a fhaigheann tú anseo! Na bhFomhórach thóg mo chairde, ní mór duit a cabhrú liom!"

"...Bwuh?"

[Raveled]

Brian Harris wasn't thinking about his roommate or the dismal weather or even the fact that it was a Saturday and he was cooped up inside. He was laying on his bed, staring a handful of 3 x 5 cards in his hands. Each one was marked with a two letter abbreviation on one side and a name and number on the other. "H-G," he muttered under his breath, staring at the card. "That's mercury, element number... 75?" He separated that card from the rest, flipped it over, and grimaced. Returning it to the stack, he shuffled them and pulled out a card at random. "A-U. Uh, silver? 47?" The back of the card told him that he was wrong... again. He sighed and dropped the cards on his chest, rubbing at his eyes. He was getting a sinking feeling that he was gonna fail the chem test on Monday -- at least, the part about the ten elements he was supposed to know by the end of the week.

He heard his roomie's bed creaking suddenly and looked over, surprised to see a woman kneeling over the other young man, babbling in some foreign language. "Yo, Morgan, dude." His own eye's tracked down the woman's body, making hurried notes about her very pleasing shape. "Uh, you gonna introduce me to your friend? Or maybe you want me to leave the room for a bit?"

[Quinn]

Morgan gave Brian a very flustered look that spoke volumes as he looked at him, then back down at the spirit hugging his midsection, his eyes as wide as saucers.

"Wait, she's not...I mean, I'm not...I'm just, uhh...one sec. Chailleann, d'fhéadfaí tú mall síos agus a mhíniú beag...níos soiléire go maith? Agus lig dom dul?"

She nodded, let go and sat down at the edge of Brian's bed, looking scared out of her wits. After a few seconds she got up again, walking around in little circles and stopping in odd places, before continuing to move. Funnily enough, the ends of her dress seemed to flow in different directions as she walked, and whenever she passed by Brian or Morgan, a small nice-smelling breeze seemed to follow.

"BhFomhórach, mórán acu! Mo deirfiúracha, cónaí orthu sa pháirc; faoin gcarraig agus i sruth, chuala mé screaming iad chun cabhair a fháil mar a shiúil mé sa ghaoth ... nuair a fuair mé ansin, chonaic mé an ceann deireanach de mo chuid deirfiúracha á dragged faoi thalamh ag an ... créatúr hideous! Screamed sí go raibh siad bhFomhórach, agus chuala mé gur mhaith leat iad a throid roimh, mar sin tháinig mé a fhaigheann tú, agus anseo tá tú, agus ní mór dúinn cuidiú!"

Morgan, for his part, still looked like he'd been clubbed over the head. However, he nodded, and bent over to pull a duffel bag from under his bed. He threw a look at Brian, talking fast while he unzipped it, and took out a very identifiable coat.

"Ok, ok. I think I've got the gist of what's going on. She's a wind sidhe, one of a group of sisters who live in the park. Says that she was...uh...walking in the wind when she heard them screaming for help. Something nabbed them, she thinks Fomorians, and so she came here because I...ah, long story, conas a raibh go leor bhFomhórach dúirt tú?"

"Rug mé ach le léargas, ach bheadh sé go raibh a lán le kidnap mo dheirfiúracha! Is iomaí! Na céadta!"

He winced as she finished the sentence, taking out a hoodie and a pair of black jeans. He leaned back on his haunches as he looked up at her, then at Brian.

"Uh...I just asked her how many there were...and she thinks a couple dozen. Probably more. Aaaah...cac. This isn't good."

And judging by the expression on Crow's face, it really, really, really wasn't.

[Raveled]

Brian watched the girl walk around the room, listening to his roomie with half an ear. When Morgan ran down he glanced over and flashed a smile. "Damsels in distress? E-e-e-e-evil creatures lurking in the city? Sounds like a Saturday night party to me!" He gave the wind girl a smile and walked over to his closet, taking out a black leather jacket and a Freedom City cap. He shrugged the jacket on and snugged the cap down on his head, eying the weather outside and then sizing up the girl on his bed. He made a mental shrug and moved to the door, throwing a few punches in the air. "C'mon, man! There's heroics to do! Chicks to rescue! Monsters to beat up! Studying to skip out on! Shake a leg!"

[Azuth65]

Victoria walked to Crow's door, a copy of Boondock Saints wedged into her messenger bag with her sketchbook and pencils. The strap hung comfortably across her Chicago Cubs t-shirt. Humming a bit the Apocalyptica she'd been listening to before heading over she raised her hand to knock on the door only to have it open and hearing Brian's comments. "Chicks to rescue? Monsters to beat up? And here I was planning on skipping out on studying with a horribly violent movie. You boys need some extra muscle?"

Vicky eyed the young woman in their room, "СвÑтое дерьмо, 'Полевой'," she muttered, her Russian coming out as she looked at the obvious inhuman girl. "All that stuff mom spouted was real..."

[Quinn]

The wind spirit stood stock-still briefly, staring at the girl, before stomping (as best as anyone could stomp in green high-heels) up and letting out an absolute torrent of Russian at the young hero, with accompanying gestures.

"'Полевой?! 'Полевой!? Ð’Ñ‹ не знали бы, 'Полевой, еÑли он подошел и лечиÑÑŒ в тылу, вы ... вы ...*a lengthy stream of Gaelic curses was interspersed with the Russian at this point*. Я Ши! Из Ñрмарка народных!"

Morgan rubbed a finger in his ear briefly at the blistering tirade he only half-understood (mostly the very rude parts), and he looked somewhat apologetic as he spoke.

"Ehh...I think there's a bit of a language barrier here, but I'm guessing you shouldn't call her that again. Whatever that was."

Quickly, he turned and made some placating motions, the two speaking in rapid Gaelic. With a few words, she seemed to settle her figurative ruffled feathers, and he nodded. A few obviously questioning statements were made, followed by fast responses, and he nodded. Eventually, he passed her a card, and she took it with what looked like a grateful expression before doing what could only be described as a ballet twirl, and disappearing as a gust of wind blew through the whole room. It blew some papers around, and unfortunately sent Brian's flashcards all over the place. Morgan facepalmed.

"I hate when they do that."

[Azuth65]

Vicky weathered the tirade like a rock on a beach, after all when your mother is an ex-soviet spy few things phase you anymore. "I don't think that last part is anatomically possible. And the one before that is illegal in at least five states."

Tongue-lashing or not, Vicky was still fascinated by the lovely girl. She shut her eyes against the small gale, her snow-white ponytail blowing back. "And this suggests she isn't a field spirit how again?" Vicky sighed. Heaving a sigh she reached into the bag for the costume Grimalkin helped her flesh out a few days before, making sure it was right where she had left it.

[Griffalo]

Mercury had been halfway down the corridor when the commotion had started. He'd heard the yelling, and recognised dimly that people were employing other languages; ever since his powers had emerged, all languages sounded the same to him anyhow.

He finally approached, giving Crow and Wisp a smile and nod of recognition. The other kid he didn't know, though he'd seen him around on the way to class.

"Hey guys, what's up? Anything I might be able to help with?" He turned up the smile on Crow and Wisp, hoping they'd invite him along.

[Raveled]

Brian stood firm in the face of the literale and figurative storm, batting away a flashcard that zipped at his eyes. He'd seen both Vicky and Mercury around campus, but he didn't really know either of them. Still, the more the merrier; with luck they'd beat the bad guys quickly enough that Brian would be able to take the woman out to a movie or something. Shame she didn't speak English, but maybe one of her sisters would.

[Quinn]

Crow just looked at all the new arrivals, opened his mouth briefly, then snapped it shut. With the bundle in his arms, he abruptly stepped into the washroom and closed the door behind him; and in a remarkably short period of time stepped out again, clad in his "Crow" costume. The huge black runic coat, black jeans, black hoodie with the bird-in-flight emblem across the chest and the hood up and over his head, and the black bandanna.

"Right, I'll explain. Actually, bit too much, I sum up. Wind spirit there has a couple of sisters, they got kidnapped by a pretty sizeable pack of Fomorians somewhere in the city. She managed to track them to some kind of maintenance tunnel underground, but didn't want to get captured, so she came to m...err, here. Basically we gotta go in, kick ass, get the girls back, then get back here before curfew."

[Griffalo]

Evander grinned at the short precis.

"Sounds like fun. What could possibly go wrong?" He looked over Crow's outfit. "I guess this is a full costume deal, huh? I should go get changed."

He turned to Brian with a friendly smile, extending his hand in greeting.

"Hi, I'm Evander. Don't think we've officially met, yet."

[Raveled]

Brian laughed at Crow's summary. "Well, that sounds like a pretty normal night for a bunch of teenagers -- little bit of excitement, looking to find some ladies, and sneaking back after curfew. Let's do it!" He gave Evander a wide smile and grabbed the offered hand, squeezing it hard -- maybe a little too hard. It was obvious that a night of heroics appealed to him a lot more than a night of studying and he was fairly bouncing off the walls in anticipation. "Hey, man. I'm Brian, but for what we're about to do I guess you should call me Glowstar."

[Quinn]

Crow fwapped Brian on the back of his head in a chummy manner, speaking in a mock-reproachful tone. His eyes put the lie to it, and it wasn't hard to miss that he was stifling some laughter.

"Briiiiiaaaaann...y'still got studying t'do when we get back, remember?"

Morgan winked, turning and extending a hand to each of the newcomers.

"Heh, Morgan Crowe, name when I'm out saving the world is Crow. Simple, yet effective, savvy?"

Once he finished that sentence, he clapped his hands together and rubbed them. The anticipation Brian had was infectious, and Morgan was itching for a good fight. The last time he'd fought a Fomorian, it had been on his own, and he had had to ambush the jerk and sucker-punch him with an iron bat to get the job done. Now, he had a whole posse with him, and the numbers were definitley not in their favor. Ooooooh, when the Tuatha hear about this, Mom'll be spitting nails!

A wide, goofy grin plastered itself on his face below the bandanna, as thoughts of imminent heroism and valor filled his mind. Just like Dad used to do, hat up and wade into the fray!

[Azuth65]

Vicky pulled her costume from her bag, DVDs for The Blues Brothers and Boondock Saints coming with it. "Mind if I use your washroom to change into something a little more comfortable for cracking skulls? I prefer to do my skullthumping as Wisp rather than Vicky, ya dig?"

Using the washroom quickly, after making sure the door was locked, she changed into the white and red costume. Once she was sure it fit right she opened the door. "Okay boys, I seem to recall there being something about damsels in distress. Perhaps we should head out?"

[Griffalo]

Evander returned to the room just about the same time as Wisp, wearing his tunic, bronze breastplate and red cloak. The shoes, his talaria, he'd naturally kept on, and Mercury's keyring hung from his belt.

"So, where are we headed? If it's not too far I should be able to get us there pretty quick..."

[Quinn]

Crow turned to Mercury, raising an eyebrow at the rather odd outfit. Then the teen's words hit his ears and a broad grin spread his features.

"She followed them to a doorway in an alley somewhere here in Bayview, but the door itself was made of cold iron; no way she could pass it. Amazingly, she actually managed to come up with the address as well...uh...11th Street, I think. Don't know what's behind it, but we're looking at likely a couple dozen Fomorians...err...think big, ugly, hate humans, and have many nasty implements that they know how to use very well. Yeah."

He looked at the others, then shrugged.

"Well, Merc, you've got the mojo. Let's roll."

[Griffalo]

Ushering the teens inside, Mercury shut the dorm room door behind them.

He briefly inspected the lock - good, same as mine - then took the keyring from his belt. The fob that hung from it appeared to be for a Mercury car, and keys of various shapes and sizes hung from it. He flicked through the bunch, selecting a key that seemed like it could conceivably fit the lock.

Grasping the doorknob, he closed his eyes in concentration.

11th Street... the alley in 11th Street...

He turned the key in the lock; pins and barrel seemed to find a happy configuration and there was a clicking noise of a bolt being disengaged, despite the door not being locked in the first place. He swung the door open after taking out the key, to reveal the alley on 11th Street beyond.

With a slightly self-satisfied smile, he swept his arm in a grand gesture, presenting their means of transportation.

[Raveled]

Glowstar glanced at the other teens, shrugged, and stepped through. He tried to be quick and confident, but with one foot in the dorm and one in the alley he began to feel oddly... stretched, like he was trying to cover the actual physical distance in one bound. He almost turned back, but after a moment's hesitation he barreled through, slamming into the wall of the alley opposite the sudden door. His stomach churned with the suddenness of everything, but he put on a brave face as he turned around to look through the portal. "Come on through," he called, beckoning. "It sure as hell beats the FCTA monorail."

[Azuth65]

Wisp let out a low whistle at Mercury's portal. "Impressive work. Beats my range handily," she said before stepping up to and then through the door. The usual trash and refuse of an ally blowing in the light wind. Looking up at the sky Wisp grumbled slightly to herself something about hating the rain.

Looking at Glowstar and then the door she nodded. "A little more gut-wrenching than my 'ports. Felt like the first hill on a roller coaster for a second."

[Quinn]

Crow fairly jumped through, though the jolt of the passing caused him to nearly take a tumble as his boots hit the ground. Catching a glimpse of Wisp from the corner of his eye, he caught himself quickly and acted nonchalant, turning to look at Mercury through the "doorway". A few thoughts ran through his head, and when he spoke a bit of the old brogue slipped into his voice, followed by an amused smile.

"Same here, normally mine're a bit more 'ride the wind' than 'stretched like taffy'. Damn handy, tho'. Any more tricks up that sleeve?"

[Griffalo]

Stepping through the doorway and closing it behind him - the teens would notice that this side of the door was the kind of rusted and scabbed metal edifice you'd expect to see in an alleyway - he shrugs, the keyring going back on a catch on his belt.

"Well, one or two. Let me know if you ever need a trip to the Underworld, for example."

He looks up and down the alley, pulling his cloak around him a little tighter, feeling the temperature difference now that they'd gone from warm school to draughty alleyway.

"So where to now?"

[Quinn]

Crow lead the way to another door set in the wall; a large pockmarked metal affair, with a padlock on the exterior and a lock on the knob. Morgan placed an ear to it, as if listening, then turned and shrugged.

"Ok, this is the door she talked about. Apparently it's solid iron, so no way the wind spirits can escape if whoever locked 'em down here knows their stuff. Anyone got lockpicks?"

[Azuth65]

Wisp leaned against the door, listening as best she could. "What are the odds that the kidnappers would have guards posted right on the other side of this door?" She asked, rolling her neck as she finished. "If they don't, I could just poof in and open the door. No bobby pins and screwdriver required."

Kicking a crumpled flier that rolled by her foot in the breeze she looked around. "Unless someone has a better plan?"

[Griffalo]

He pats his keyring.

"Well, this should be able to open most locks, but..." He nods to the girl. "I like Wisp's idea better. Gives us the element of surprise."

He gives it some thought.

"Then again, if there are guards on the other side, there goes our advantage..."

[Raveled]

Glowstar stood aside from the group, folding his arms and watching. "I don't see why we're being so careful," he said to Wisp. "We're here to kick ass and take names, right? Let's just bust in there and start knocking heads. We don't really need to know what's behind the door, do w--" The teen hero cut himself off abruptly, blinking and staring at nothing. "Knowing what's behind the door. Um, yeah." He coughed weakly and stepped up, facing the door square on and motioning the others out of his way. "I can do that." The young man stared at the door for a moment, his red-on-black eyes glowing bright and baleful for a moment. It took a bit for him to 'focus' properly, but soon enough the walls in front of him melted away, revealing the interior of the building.