Playing to a Packed House (IC)

[Raveled]

September 3rd, 2011

Marcus Irons walked up the creaking stairs to 144 Greely Street, square in the city's creative heart. The apartment building was home to a lot of artists -- or at least, a lot of budding artists who couldn't afford to commute in from a better neighborhood. Of course that described a lot of the hero's fellow artists, and so he was used to visiting places that were more than a little bohemian.

He stepped around a man in a long coat with a couple day's worth of beard sleeping across the stairs and approached apartment 226. He knocked several times but there was no answer; the big man put his hand on the door handle, frowning when it rattled loosely. Moving more carefully now he opened the door on Leroy Tucker's apartment. The small space inside was thoroughly trashed, with loose drawers and ripped canvases littering the floor. The mess was completely at odds with the demeanor of the meticulous painted Marcus knew, but what was really disturbing was the trail of blood leading into the bathroom.

[GranspearZX]

Marcus had collaborated with artists before, though certainly not as much as he was trying to now. His teachers thought it might be a good way to get the young mystic to open up, and so far, he was actually surprised at how much he was enjoying it. Traveling here wasn't entirely bad; it wasn't as if he was afraid of getting mugged, and considering his second home was a haunted hotel, what did he really have to be afraid of?

He'd left his Wacom tablet at Leroy's though, but that was nearly a month ago; he trusted him enough to let him borrow it, but now he needed it back. Careful not to wake up the sleeping homeless guy--who he'd casually nicknamed Hobo Larry, as he had no clue what the guy's real name was--he knocked. For a moment, he thought Leroy actually wasn't home, but when the doorknob rattled at his touch, he paused, palms tingling a bit as he tensed up a little bit.

"Leroy?"

The door was unlocked; Leroy knew better than that. When he could finally see inside, it looked like a tornado had hit the place. For a moment, he held out hope that it was only a break-in, but even that was dismissed when he moved further inside and saw the blood leading into the bathroom. "Geez... Leroy?! You in here?!" He strode confidently into the room and headed straight for the bathroom, hoping he wasn't too late...

[Raveled]

GM

The blood trail lead to the bathtub-shower. There wasn't a body there, but the tub was half full of disturbingly pink water, and some kind of white scrum floating on the top of the water.

A few harried minutes of searching proved fruitless and before long Marcus was out in the hallway again, with no good leads. As he was standing there, Hobo Larry pulled himself upright and shambled down the hall. His wandering gaze fell on Marcus, and he took to prodding him insistently. "Hey. Hey. Hey, man. You're a buddy of the guy that lives in there?" The transient diverted his poking finger at Leroy's apartment for a few jabs before returning it to Marcus. "Man, that guy has some wild parties. Do, do, do you know where his friend went?"

[GranspearZX]

The thought had crossed his mind to change forms and track him that way. He hadn't yet learned enough control over the Beast Rune to sense things outside his bear form, but changing had inherent problems of its own. People tended to lose their minds when seeing a giant eight-foot bear, and it wasn't worth causing a panic. He stepped outside and reached into his pocket for his phone, considering doing the very logical, civilian thing of calling the police when the resident homeless guy started poking him.

Marcus visibly twitched with annoyance, gripping his phone a little tighter than necessary before looking at him. "Huh? Oh... yeah, I am... do you know where he went? And what friend?" He wasn't sure if Leroy had a significant other. It wasn't a subject they often talked about, but it wasn't as if he was living with anyone. He wondered if this 'friend' was who had caused all of this. For now, his only real, reliable lead was Hobo Larry. God help us all.

[Raveled]

'Larry' stared into the distance for a long minute, long enough for Marcus to wonder if the transient had fallen asleep on his feet. Suddenly he shook himself all over and nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Guy lives over in the old theater. You know, the one that keeps being abandoned? He keeps the whole place to himself, but sometimes he throws really wild parties, you know?"

It didn't take long for Marcus to find the theater in question. The place had undergone a number of name changes as various owners picked it up and then dropped the property without even putting on a show. It was well-located, right on the riverfront and with plenty of nearby parking. Nonetheless the old building seemed cursed; the latest owners had gone bankrupt before they'd even managed to take down the last marquee or remove the boards over the windows. Among the acting crowd the place was simply called MacBeth's Theater.

As the hero put his hand on the front door, a bright light shone shone behind him. He turned to see a woman descending, quite literally, out of a sphere of light that burned as bright as the sun. She was taller even than Marcus, clad in golden armor from her head to her toe -- even her eyes were pits of pure, molten gold. Where her skin was visible, it was white -- not Caucasian, but white like chalk or marble. She didn't seem to have nose, ears, or a mouth, until one simply appeared in the proper place. "This building is not to be traveled lightly," she informed Marcus. "Death lies on it; return home, young man, and let the Light banish this darkness."

[GranspearZX]

Marcus was no actor. Far from it, really. As far as he knew, though, neither was Leroy. Why was someone who lived in an old theater seeing Leroy? The scene at Leroy's apartment played over and over in his mind, and he had a fairly good idea what had happened. The blood trail wasn't going in--it was going out. Something attacked him in the bathtub, maybe? It was pretty wild speculation; it wasn't as if the door had been kicked in, but the doorknob WAS rather loose...

ARGH. Too much thinking. Bleh.

It was pointless to assume, he decided. No, he needed to act; it was really the only way Marcus stayed sane in the face of the constant weirdness the magical world often threw at him. There was a certain level of temperance he brought to bear ever since he'd found his focus and purpose, and in keeping with following that path, he moved forward, right to the theater that 'Larry' had pointed out.

There was no sense in walking in civvies, he thought, and before he got to his destination, Marcus changed. His new uniform was noticeably different from his old one; not only was he not wearing Claremont colors, but he was wearing a mask. Only a handful of people he knew also knew what Malek Ironbear looked like, and since Malek had given him his mask, it seemed like something he could easily emulate. It paid to have someone who knew of his powers AND could make something that could fit him and his bear form.

At first, he doubted the story, but after seeing the place, Marcus decided it was definitely worth checking out. Marcus mentally braced himself and focused, reassuring himself as he channeled the Beast Rune's energy into his body... just in case. As he reached for the door, the light startled him; he spun around... and there was a lady in golden armor.

Thanks to Marcus's new-found restraint, things didn't get ugly; the first thing he thought was 'Gauntlet', and he nearly shifted out of a pure, adrenaline-fueled reaction. She seemed less 'soulless armor', though, and much more 'non-human entity'... which was weird, but in a way for which Claremont could actually be credited with preparing him. There was also the fact that Gauntlet would have tried to put him through a wall from the very beginning--costume or no, it still could seek him out even as a civilian... a problem he hadn't quite solved yet. Still, his stance was a guarded one, fists clenched to defend himself if he found it necessary. He did relax visibly, though, as she spoke.

"...did you just tell me 'go home'?" The mask did more for his secret identity than it looked capable of doing; his voice was an octave or two deeper, and the Beast Rune's magic had made his incisors and canines a touch larger than they should have normally been. "Look lady... I can take care of myself. Been doin' it for a while now."

[Raveled]

The figure's eyes grew wider as she took in Marcus' outfit and mask. After a moment she narrowed them again and looked him over more carefully. "My apologies," she said, bowing slightly as she touched down on the pavement. "I missed your aura; it was overmasked by the strength of the energy that resides in this place." She flicked a hand and her gaze over the building, then bowed to him. "I am Starlight, warrior of the Light and hero. I have followed portents to this building. I fear a dread necromancer has made his nest here." Her gaze returned to Marcus and settled on him. "I would welcome your aid in destroying this deal of evil."

[GranspearZX]

"...hm. Call me Arcturus. Necromancer, huh?" He knew exactly one necromancer, and he was pretty sure Nick had nothing to do with this. A few months ago, he might've blown Starlight off entirely, but now? "Well, I won't say 'no'."

Arcturus was more than a little curious about the heroine, but he really didn't want to ask any questions--not yet, anyway. It reminded him of the time he tried to use the Light Rune in his book of runic magic--it was far more power than he could handle, and it burned out after he'd used it once, even destroying the stone on which he'd inscribed the rune. He hadn't tried it since, but Starlight made him consider experimenting with it all over again.

He turned back around to open the door, as quietly as the old building would allow. It was one of the advantages of not being in bear form--being able to move around quickly and quietly. "There might be an innocent bystander in there," he mentioned; Arc certainly hadn't forgotten about Leroy.

[Raveled]

Starlight followed Arcturus into the theater. "I hope you are right," she said, her voice low. "I've tracked this monster for awhile, and he doesn't like leaving potential witnesses alive."

The front of the building looked just as the heroes could have guessed from outside; plush carpets long since rotted in places, counters devoid of their glass frontings, stairs that looked distinctly unsafe, and boarded up windows letting in cracks of sunlight. There was some frankly terrible music coming from the performance area, and the heroes crept up to the doors, taking a window apiece. It was hard to see exactly what was happening; what lights there were, were focused on the stage. A man dressed in leathers and ripped jeans was sitting on a stool there, plucking away at a guitar. Either it was very poorly tuned or the player was just terrible, because the sounds that were floating out set Arcturus' teeth on edge (thankfully, Starlight didn't seem to have that particular problem).

[GranspearZX]

Arcturus frowned deeply at the terrible music. Had he been in bear form, he was sure it would have been worse. After seeing the drag marks, he knew that Leroy was here, but the question was where... So far, he didn't see anyone. That alone was far from encouraging. His main decision was whether to come up with a plan or simply march in there and demand answers. Normally, he'd have done the latter without a second thought, but now he actually considered the alternative.

For all of about 20 seconds anyway.

Arcturus held up one hand, silently suggesting that she wait for a moment... and then he tried to quietly push the door open, keeping low and trying not to attract too much attention to himself. The closer he could get, he figured, the better.

[Raveled]

Arcturus managed to open the door without any of the squealing that old hinges normally produced; either his luck was holding or the mysterious guitarist took care to perform some basic maintenance. Starlight stood ready to follow him, but a moment before he could move she grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. "Look," she hissed, reaching past him to point at the rows of chairs. It took a moment for Arcturus' eyes to adjust to the darkness and the glare of the spotlight, but before long he could make out human figures sitting in most of the seats. They were all dirty and disheveled and all held themselves unnaturally still -- it didn't take the Master Mage to deduce that it was a theater full of zombies.

[GranspearZX]

"!!"

Arcturus clamped a hand over his mouth, preventing him from making too loud a noise. He swallowed hard as he relaxed under Starlight's grip, staring blankly at the countless humans--were they even human anymore?--sitting in the seats listening to the terrible performance. Slipping back behind the door, he grimaced, trying to control his breathing and the rush of adrenaline borne from nearly running headlong into a zombie horde.

"...necromancers," he whispered, shaking his head. "...got any ideas?"

[Raveled]

The heroes retreated to the lobby, where they could speak in without the alerting the mass of undead. "I can see a few options," Starlight said. "Mindless undead are usually tied to the will of the necromancer, so we could try to rush him. I think I could match him power-for-power, if you can handle the zombies." She paused. "That's probably not the best option, though," she pointed, rather unnecessarily. "Of course, this is a theater. We might be able to find some way backstage, and then we could get to him without going through all those zombies."

[GranspearZX]

"That's... a lot of zombies."

Arcturus certainly wasn't one to admit fear. Ever. This situation, however, had incredible potential to go badly. His powers had recently grown, and he was having difficulty maintaining control of the Beast Rune. The last thing he wanted was to put anyone else at risk--he still didn't know where Leroy was--and he didn't like the idea of needing a rescuer. He didn't know the layout of the theater, either, but he'd been in one before. Short of leaving the building and looking for a backdoor, he looked around for some other option.

"Marching straight in there might not be a good idea. There IS one thing, but... last time I tried it didn't end all that well."

Arc's frown deepened as he remembered the first--and last--time he'd tried to use his runic magic to write a spell. It worked, of course, turning the young mage completely invisible and undetectable by sight or sound. He hadn't, however, made him undetectable mentally, and walked right into a trap. Remembering it only seemed to irritate him, and he shook his head, clearing it from his mind. "I'm all for looking for a quieter way, but if push comes to shove... I'm just fine with shoving."

[Raveled]

Starlight nodded. "I am not very adept at moving quietly," she admitted. "I will stay back here, where I can be -- what do you call it? The cavalry, if you need it." With that she moved back to the door separating the lobby from the theater area, standing almost motionless there.

Arcturus poked around behind the counter until he found an employee-only door that lead deeper into the building. After a few false starts, he managed to find his way backstage. He crouched on stage left, considering how far he had to dash to take the necromancer down, when he noticed several more zombies on the opposite side of the stage! It seemed that this sorcerer wasn't in the mood to leave much to chance...

[GranspearZX]

This is gonna be ugly no matter what I do, but... he doesn't know I have backup. Yet.

Arcturus considered simply rushing out into the open and taking a shot at the necromancer. It wasn't exactly the silent approach he was looking for. If he could close the distance quickly enough, then maybe...

He reached into a small pocket in his costume, producing a small piece of chalk. It was something he carried everywhere--something he only used when he was out of 'normal' options. Crouched in the shadows, he began sketching what looked like a small, four-pointed shuriken with a single circle in its center--the Shadow rune. It was the same rune he'd used in Pennsylvania, and he was going to use it in a similar manner.

[GranspearZX]

Arcturus finished the rune and made a brief hand gesture before placing his hand on the ground where he'd drawn it. Runic magic coalesced around his hand and expanded into a violet circle that gave off no light whatsoever. If anything, the rune seemed to be absorbing light, making the young shapeshifting spellcaster within its boundaries flicker a bit, as if caught between dimensions.

Transduco umbra.

As the words left Arc's mouth, they made no sound, and the magic of the Shadow rune shifted upward, settling into a pair of ankle wraps with the rune faintly glowing at the top of each foot. He crouched and then moved forward, eerily silent as a feline-shaped shadow seemed to overtake his entire form, and he faded from sight, only to appear in the next second right behind the necromancer, attempting to wrest the guitar from his grasp.

[Raveled]

GM

Arcuturs appeared next to the guitarist, strong hands easily ripping the instrument away from the 'budding' musician. Up-close he could see that the young man's affected grunge aesthetic was enhanced by make-up, specifically dark eyeshadow and in the hollow of his cheeks. The effect was probably designed to make his face look hollow and shrunken; in practice, especially up close, it looked more like a Halloween costume.

The zombie master tumbled off his stool, landing on his ass and scrambling away from the large black man. "You... You can't be here!" he shrieked. He cast a hand out at the zombie horde, sickly-looking blue fog curling around his fingers. "Kill him," he commanded. "Rip the flesh from his bones. Eat him alive!" As one, the horde rose and began shuffling towards the stage and Arcuturus. Beyond that they didn't make a noise, moving in an eerie, unnatural silence.

[Raveled]

Before the zombies could touch Arcturus with their rotting hands, the door burst open and Starlight floated in, power flaring around her. "To all these tragedies, I call a halt," she cried out. "And to all these victims, I give release!" With that word she held out her hands towards the undead horde, mystic energy flaring in her palms and shooting out to the dead-yet-moving minions. It punched through guts and chests, inflicting what would have been grievous wounds on a living creature, but these were no living beings. Thankfully, several of her blasts went low and toppled zombies on their faces and sides, clogging up the aisles and slowing the horde to a crawl.

On the stage, the necromancer managed to regain his feet, his gaze hopping between the floating woman in golden armor and the angry black man in a wrestling outfit. He apparently decided to deal with the closer threat first and flung out a hand at Arcturus. "Halt, demon," he cried out in a suddenly shrill voice. "I bind thee and abjur thee! I call upon the black names from beyond the veil! Ashep yas manom, tarok tebid yos!" The air physically warped as the mystic forced the words out, and Arcturus could feel that they had a weight beyond mere sound; they were warping reality and twisting his body out of true!

[GranspearZX]

Arcturus wasn't well versed in most other forms of magic outside his own, but one thing he'd picked up from other mystics at Parkhurst was to sense a certain level of conviction in a person's voice via incantations. The necromancer's tone didn't sound pleasant at all, but before he could move, he felt something hit him from all sides--a magical force he couldn't readily identify and he really didn't think he had the time to analyze it. He grimaced as he fought back against the unseen force, and he took a half-step backward, planting his right foot against the stage floor. He leaned forward a little bit, then his entire body seemed to phase out of reality, much the same way it had phased in when he'd appeared on stage in the first place.

He phased back in behind the necromancer, and the moment he did so, the Beast Rune flared to life against his back, glowing red through his costume. His form instantaneously shifted into that of the eight-foot tall bear, and he reached to snag the necromancer in a bearhug.

"You're gonna tell me where Leroy is. NOW."

[Raveled]

Starlight shone again, her brilliance filling the dirty theater with the noon-day sun. Against the glare it was almost impossible to see many small beams of light striking out at the zombie horde; the last few who were on their feet were carved into pieces and dropped down, unmoving meat once more.

On the stage, Arcturus' claws closed around the necromancer's skinny arms, making his bones rub together and turning his face genuinely pale with pain. The bear raised him into the air and shook him roughly. Between the bellowing and the pain, the man's concentration was broken and he could only babble meaninglessly.

[GranspearZX]

"Shut up, you."

The Beast rune quickly heightened Arcturus's aggression, and the necromancer's yelling fell on mostly deaf ears. In reality, though, it was wearing on his sensitive hearing, and Arc relaxed his grip just enough not to cave in the poor guy's rib cage, keeping him firmly held in place and giving him another shake to emphasize exactly who was in control.

"I'm only gonna ask this once, so listen REAL carefully. You're gonna tell me where that kid from the apartment is, and you're gonna get rid of your little army here. And you're gonna thank me for not tearin' your arms off and beatin' you with 'em. Of course, you could not do that..." Arc lowered his head slightly, closer to the necromancer's ear. "...but things just get ugly from there."

[Raveled]

"Thu, thu, the kid from the apartment? I, I, I, uh, we met at a bar last night! And he said he really liked my music!" Well. From what Arcturus remembered, Leroy would overlook a lot for a pretty face. "So we went back to his place and... I played for him again this morning. And he laughed at me and said my music was terrible! I... I got real mad. So I... I killed him. And then I raised him."

Starlight walked along the rows of seat, picking carefully over the dismembered corpses and kicking any bits that still wriggled. She stopped over one that seemed like decayed and shrunken than the rest; in fact it was still leaking blood from the throat wound that had killed it. Starlight leaned down and picked up the... well, it was just a section of chest, one shoulder, and head after what she had done to it. She considered the face for a moment and then glanced up to the stage. Was the bear getting anything from the necromancer?

[GranspearZX]

"You... you WHAT?!"

Arcturus was normally a calm person; he'd learned soon after discovering his magical ability that emotion was the enemy of reason. Giving into emotions in a heated and delicate situation never ended well. His eyes widened as the necromancer confessed to what he had done... and then, they grew dangerously narrow. Arc's grip around him tightened, threatening to crush the necromancer right then and there.

He didn't say a word, teeth bared in a feral snarl as his rage swirled across the surface of his mind like a raging river current. There was nothing he could do to save his friend, which only added fuel to the fire. He'd all but forgotten that Starlight was even there; his eyes were fixed on the necromancer.

[Raveled]

The necromancer's throat closed with a squeak and before Arcturus could do anything rash, Starlight plucked the death mage away with fingers of light. "Be at peace, Arcturus!" The heroine physically placed herself between the floating necromancer and the werebear. "Do not let you rage o'ertake you. This one is not worth staining your soul with his death." Squriming in Starlight's luminescent grip, the necromancer nodded madly.