Manic Pixie Dream Girls [IC]

[KnightDisciple]

Gabriel's frown steadily deepened into a scowl as the discussion proceeded to the topic of just what this fae might be doing to this man, or these men.

"Seducing men just to get a power kick, huh? We'll see how long that lasts..."

There's an odd tone in his voice that only Nick may have heard before; specifically, when they were hunting a demon summoner in a small town outside of Freedom City. Clearly he was upset at what was going on.

"I think we need to make it clear the people of this city aren't "prey" for the likes of them."

He stalked after the others, his coat flapping in the breeze. Or against the breeze, on a few occasions; he was clearly agitated enough that subtle sonic waves were moving the coat around on its own.

When they reached the locked door, he'd been ready to turn the lock and chain into so much metal mush before Jack just sliced it apart. Just after Grim turned invisible and slunk off to one side, Gabriel strode directly into the warehouse, clearly having no intention of using anything that remotely resembled stealth. When he spoke, his voice rang out clear and true, like a shining bell.

"Come out and face us! I know you're here, you cowardly parasite! Come face justice here and now!"

[trollthumper]

The warehouse was dark inside, save for a set of sunlamps glowing dimly in the back corner. Grimalkin didn't need the light, however; she could see clearly in the dim warehouse, and there certainly was a lot to see. The walls were painted all over with a tableau of medieval regalia -- castles with gryphons flying overhead; roaming bands of knights in armors of red, gold, and black; banners of no royal lineage she could decipher; thorny forests and standing stones. The warehouse was mostly bare, which made the few items on its open floor stand out. A four-poster bed sat in the rear corner, something one would expect to find in Versailles rather than in an abandoned building in New Jersey. Next to it sat a book that seemed bursting to fill with pages. And of course, there was that lab in the back, with long rows of green plants and small growths of mushrooms.

"Come out and face us! I know you're here, you cowardly parasite! Come face justice here and now!"

Nothing emerged from the darkness. It didn't seem there was anything to emerge from the darkness. Nick stepped in afterwards, a pocket flashlight lit and held out. "Be it ever so humble..." His eyes swept over the mural. "There really is no place like home, is there? Even if you've gotta paint it on all the walls as a reminder."

[KnightDisciple]

Gabriel waited for a few long moments, before the tension in his figure relaxed. Marginally. He was clearly still agitated, but he had asserted more control over his agitation. He spent several moments studying his surroundings, before wandering over to the mural, studying it with a detached interest.

"Why the painting? Doesn't seem like the she-fairy stayed here; I'd guess she can travel back and forth pretty easily. Surely she wouldn't get homesick, would she? Or was it more for the...what? "Creative energy" that guy gave off while he helped paint this?"

He turned and faced the others, confusion evident on his face.

"Which begs another question: Why target those guys in particular? It doesn't sound like they make a living in art; wouldn't she get more "juice" from a guy who sells paintings to museums, than from a guy who does the books for a business? Not that I'm knocking accounting, but you don't really associate it with "art" that often. If ever."

[Gizmo]

"Eh, it's the classic sexy librarian set-up," Jack opined, sauntering into the warehouse with his impossible blade rested against his shoulder, somehow not burning the fabric or his greatcoat. "Tightly wound, repressed day job just means all that, heh... 'juice' is bottled up with nowhere to go." Casting about with his metahuman senses for a moment, he wrinkled his nose. "Gah, it's like eating cotton candy doused in Chanel No. 5. Maybe she was just looking to get- wait." The fencer brought his rapier down into a ready position, his body language sloughing off the feigned nonchalance. "...never mind, something's definitely hinky in Neverland."

[Heritage]

Grim's voice seemed to come from more than one place a once, a slightly unnerving side effect of her disappearance.

"I think Jack nailed it; bottled-up passions are probably sweeter than dewdrop wine to these hags."

Unseen by normal human eyes, she crept closer to the secret garden in the back.

"We've got a fairy ring, too, which might be a portal through the Veil, and I think it's still open. We could very quickly get a lot of company out of nowhere." There was a pause. "Possibly on horseback. If you've got an iron on ya, I'd get it out now; just, y'know, keep it away from me."

[trollthumper]

As Grimalkin spoke of faeries on horseback, the sound of hoofbeats began to fill the warehouse. A faint whisper at first, but soon rising to the tempo of thunder. The air around the fairy ring began to shudder like a curtain of water, and the mushrooms around it began to glow with an unnatural light.

"Looks like they're coming to us," Nick shouted. "Hit the lights! Somebody hit the -- "

There was the sound of chimes, and something white and fierce came charging out of the veil. It came to rest in the middle of the warehouse, then reared on its hooves, letting out a whinny that sounded like a fierce blizzard. Even from the dim lights of the hydroponics lab, Nick could make out that it was a unicorn. Only... this one didn't look like the ones that were best friends with virgins. Its white fur was the color not of purity, but of driven snow, and it seemed just about as warm. Its horn wasn't elegant, but something crude and clear, like a gigantic icicle. And as it turned on him, its blue eyes expressed no warmth -- just the ceaseless fury of the storm.

"Good hell-pony," said Nick. "Nice hell-pony..."

[Heritage]

Oh man, it's a frickin' unicorn! How smart are they supposed to be, anyway? He looks kinda pissed.

This was something new for Grim; the creature appeared to be threatening, but beating up an animal really didn't appeal to her. Maybe if she could trap it?

Still invisible to the naked eye (at least to most folks), Grim swiftly approached the unicorn, extended her hand and conjured up a large cage some twenty feet on a side. The bars appeared to be some sort of silvery metal but were as hard as iron. Once the cage was formed, the shapeshifter once again appeared.

"We'll see if this can hold him...or her."

[KnightDisciple]

"It'll hold it long enough, at least."

Gabriel took a few steps forward, the hum around his body shifting its pitch, hitting a lower, yet faster note that seemed altogether just as, if not more, dangerous than when he stepped into the building. He planted his feet wide and took a moment to line up his aim, supporting one arm with the other. When he released that pent-up energy, it lashed against the snowy hide of the unearthly creature, attempting to shake apart the very things that kept it strong.

"Blasted Faerie! You should have stayed where you were! You and your masters! You shall not prey upon the innocent without consequence!"

He turned to look at the others.

"That should soften it up, now go in for the knockout!"

[trollthumper]

The unicorn bucked in its silver prison, narrowly dodging the cascade of dissonance. As its hooves touched down, the sound of cracking ice filled the warehouse. "Y'know, I never understood how we thought unicorns were girly things," Nick said as eerie blue flame filled his palm. "Sure, girls love ponies, and they have a taste for virgins -- though I think that might be literal in this one's case. But, when you get right down to it --" He let loose the flame in a burst, burning its way through the darkened warehouse. " -- it's still a damn palomino with a stabbing weapon."

The unicorn dodged the eerie flame, lowering its head to the floor of the warehouse. It stared at Grimalkin, the ice on its horn slowly shifting and expanding. With a terrible cry, a burst of focused frost erupted from the unicorn's horn, catching Grimalkin right in the chest.

[Gizmo]

"It's a freakin' horse with a sword on it's head is what it is," Jack exclaimed, a strange look passing through his eyes. As the blast from it's horm struck his friend, however, his face set all at once in an expression of hardened determination. "I know what I have to do." Sprinting forward, he vaulted over the bars of the cage and through it's open roof, flipping through the air and landing astride the great beast. Cinching his legs around it's flanks and grabbing onto its mane with his free hand, the swashbuckler waved his fiery blade over his head, whooping and laughing loudly. "Yeehahaha!"

[Heritage]

The unicorn dodged the eerie flame, lowering its head to the floor of the warehouse. It stared at Grimalkin, the ice on its horn slowly shifting and expanding. With a terrible cry, a burst of focused frost erupted from the unicorn's horn, catching Grimalkin right in the chest.

"Ahhhh! S@#t, that stings!" Knocking fine ice crystals off her chest, Grimalkin glared at the foul beast with withering contempt. "Okay, you wanna play rough, we'll play rough."

In a flash, the changeling shrank down to pixie size, darted between the bars of the cage and flew along the flank of the creature, narrowly missing her teammate's leg as she viciously tore into its side with her tiny, razor-sharp claws.

"How do you like them apples!"

[KnightDisciple]

Gabriel reigned in any frustration he had over the resilience of this foe. His memories of fear, pain, and death wrought by the Fae Folk were still fresh, even if the events were farther back than most might believe. Here and now, they had a dangerous beast to deal with.

"Blasted unicorn! Go back to your forests where you belong!"

He punctuated the cry with a rippling blast of sonic energy from his fists. This time, he sought merely to pummel his foe into submission, while not striking any of his comrades.

[trollthumper]

"Just how tough do the Unseelie make their unicorns, anyway?" said Nick as another bolt of whispering flame tore through the dim warehouse. It struck the unicorn on the crown and wreathed its head like St. Elmo's Fire for a brief second before fading away into nothingness. "What the hell do they put in their salt licks to get 'em like this?"

The horse locked eyes with Nick. "My oats are mixed with the blood of dishonorable ogres," it said, "and I was trained to trot across the Precipice of Shade above a valley of cold regret. The Lady of Beautiful Torment will not accept just any steed at the head of her carriage."

"...of course you can talk. So, who the hell is your lady?"

"One more deserving than you could ever be," said the unicorn as it reared on its hooves, bucking its back wildly, trying to shake loose Jack. "And only she can ride me."

[Gizmo]

"Aw, don't be like that!" Jack shouted over the sounds of battle as he remained seated amongst the wild bucking. "We could have like a wacky buddy cop thing going on! 'He's a masked man who stabs people! He's a talking horse who stabs people! Together, they stab people!'" Flipping his energy construct around in his palm, the swashbuckler brought the fiery blade down into the steed, unleashing a wave of metamagi force that brought the unicorn to its knees without doing any permanent harm. Hopping off the creature's back before it could roll unconscious to its side, Jack sighed. "Then again, maybe it wouldn't have worked out."

[trollthumper]

The unicorn let out a pained whinny as Jack flipped off its back. It went to its knees first, and then fell to its side. As its eyes shut, a chill wind whipped through the warehouse, blowing towards the portal. Its body seemed to melt, breaking down from cold flesh into a flurry of snowflakes and hailstones. The wind picked up the detritus, whisking it through the portal and leaving not a trace of the fallen unicorn before shutting off entirely.

"Well, so much for My Little Hellsteed," Nick said. He walked over to Grimalkin. "If that still stings, I could probably lend a hand. And we probably all want to be in top condition; we're dealing with nobility here. Crazy, frenzied fae nobility."

[KnightDisciple]

Gabriel took a few deep breaths, regaining his composure. He then shook his head with a small smile at Jack's words.

"Considering he works for The Lady of Beautiful Torment, no, I don't think it would have worked out."

He frowned in thought, tapping his chin.

"Yeah, if this gal's the same one as La Belle Dame Sans Merci, we're looking at serious trouble. The Belle Dame was famous for luring in knights with her beauty-"

He gestured at the warehouse around them, clearly reminding them of the men lured in recently.

"-Then cursing them. Typically by gluing them to one mound or another. While parts of the MO are different, other parts have some similarity.

The real question is, was she biding time for a "real knight", or were these targets for some other purpose?"

[Heritage]

Dissipating the cage and resuming her full size, Grim nodded in agreement as Gabe ran down his knowledge of the lady in question. "Yeah, she's a serious temptress and Unseelie bigwig; Jack, you should probably plug your ears and lash yourself to the nearest mast. Y'know, as a precaution." She gave him a wink, but her tone was almost serious.

"The real question is, was she biding time for a "real knight", or were these targets for some other purpose?"

A frown crossed the benevolent faeling's face as she stroked her chin thoughfully.

"Also, is she actually making a 'special guest villain' appearance here in our world? Normaly the Unseelie queen - well, at least one of them, since there's conflicting reports on how many there actually are - keeps her under lock and key, or at least within arm's reach. That way if she backstabs her, ol' Queenie has a chance to stab her right back."

[Gizmo]

"Man, you guys are looking at this all glass half empty," Jack opined, sauntering about the warehouse to examine the murals, rather relaxed for someone who had moments earlier been participating in an otherworldly rodeo. "You're focusing on the merciless torment and sticky curses, when you could be focusing on the part about her being supernaturally sexy." Turning about he gave the others a pair of exaggeratedly enthusiastic thumbs up before waving off any objections. "Yeah yeah, mast, lashing, blah blah."

[trollthumper]

"Also, is she actually making a 'special guest villain' appearance here in our world? Normaly the Unseelie queen - well, at least one of them, since there's conflicting reports on how many there actually are - keeps her under lock and key, or at least within arm's reach. That way if she backstabs her, ol' Queenie has a chance to stab her right back."

"Could be she's trying to get some distance between herself and the Queen," said Nick. "Could be she sent her handmaidens out to get some of that sweet, sweet life force you can't get when you're chained to Faerie." He looked to the portal. "The unicorn was waiting on the other side, as a sentry. Now I don't know if that means it was keeping watch for intruders or if it was guarding the way behind the girls." He cast his eyes around the warehouse. "And I'd rather be sure before we go walking into Faerie. Last thing I want is to end up like Rip Van Winkle. That beard would be hell to tame."

[KnightDisciple]

"The last time I saw a "supernaturally sexy" fae woman who was intruding on our world, she slit a man's throat and tried to wipe an innocent town off the map. You'll forgive me if I'm more ready to assume the worst."

He frowned at the comments from Grim and Nick.

"Curiouser and curiouser...So, either we're dealing with a "rebel" Fae...or we've got a Faerie Queen starting to make small intrusions on our world. Not exactly happily ever after..."

At the beard comment, Gabriel threw a smirk towards Nick.

"I don't know, I think I could pull off a great big bushy beard without too much trouble. Anyways, I'm going to see if I can find any more hints around here."

Gabriel took a couple of minutes to search, before sighing and returning to the center of the room, where he waited for the others.

"I've got nothing. At least, nothing more than what we know already..."

[Heritage]

Grim nodded at Gabe's suggestion. "Yeah, let's have a look-see around." She started to drop into a crouch, which elicited a sharp intake of breath. "Aaah! Nick, is that offer of a Cure Light Wounds still on the table?" Rising back to her feet, she ruefully looked down at her chest where the ice blast had struck. "Just be, y'know, gentlemanly if you have to 'lay on hand's, alright?"

Once her injury was tended to, she rejoined the search, focusing on the area around the four-poster bed; she knew from personal experience how often youthful women keep treasured objects within arm's reach of the 'happy sleeping/sex place'.

"I've got nothing. At least, nothing more than what we know already..."

A few moment's later, Grim stepped out of the shadows with a big grin on her face, waving a small book in her hand. "Never send a man to do a girl's job; gentlemen, we have a diary." She flipped through the pages. "Looks like we've got as many as five pixie girls on the prowl, if we count the 'May' Mister Idiot mentioned, and they're keeping score. Ooh, and another address!"

[Gizmo]

Jack didn't seem particularly concerned with any conjecture about courtly intrigue among the fae; he paid little enough attention to human politics. He also gave up on trying to lighten the mood. Gabriel seemed determined to brood through the entire affair, and Nick did habitually paint his face to look like a skull, after all. Instead he sauntered over as Grim flipped through the book, peering over the diminutive heroine's shoulder. "So we figure there's actually a group, not just pseudonyms, huh? Whelp, let's get going, then!" The swashbuckler seemed pleased to be on the move again, although he did sigh. "Would been cool to ride the unicorn there..."

[trollthumper]

"Well, if you really want to look cool," Nick said, "I suppose we can try summoning it back with magical carrots bathed in the blood of the innocent and try to get it on a bridle. And no, that was not a serious suggestion." He walked over to Grimalkin, analyzing the damage done by the unicorn, trails of frost and cell damage. With a quick touch, the flow of death was cut off as the wound begin to knit. "Now, let's go have a nice long talk with some bad faeries."

The brownstone was well cared for and well-maintained, an artifact that blended in well with the rest of the neighborhood. The lights were dimmed in the windows, and an intercom was rigged up. Nick whispered into the lock, "We're residents." The door clicked open and swung out onto the main foyer. Voices drifted down from upstairs, in a rising and falling chant.

[KnightDisciple]

"Five? That sounds like they've got something bigger planned. I won't comment on the "keeping score", though. Hm. Curious."

He wasn't happy with the situation at all; little information, and these faeries had had time to prepare themselves. Probably best to move fast.

***************************************************************************

[Later]

Gabriel spoke softly before Nick opened the door.

"Looks like this one, at least, is living a bit more upscale. Wonder if they all have different tastes?"

When the door was open and he heard the chanting, he frowned deeply.

"That sounds like some sort of ritual. We need to go break it up; odds are good they're doing something bad."

With that, Gabriel strode directly into the house, not caring about possible traps, his eyes searching about for possible foes.

[Heritage]

"So we figure there's actually a group, not just pseudonyms, huh? Whelp, let's get going, then!"

Grim pondered what Jack said as Nick tended to her wound. "Thanks, doc! So you're thinking they might all be the same girl, pullin' the old face swap? Hmm, could be; Lord knows that's how I used to operate in my shady past. Still, better to expect a crowd and find a solo act than the reverse, right?"

"That sounds like some sort of ritual. We need to go break it up; odds are good they're doing something bad."

Grim covered her eyes and sighed. "Just don't kill the bride's father, Sir Lancelot, or you'll never touch her huge 'tracts of land'." Once again Grim faded out of sight and followed the human battering ram into peril.