10099/Testing a Symbiote

Testing a Symbiote
Date of Scene:	12 February 2022
Location:	Ruins -- Roosevelt Island
Synopsis:	Satana finds that Mania has a lot of potential for future missions, no one mortal perished.
Cast of Characters:	Satana Hellstrom, Andi Benton

---

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     The small piece of metal in Satana's possession has become a reminder of what she missed out on. Charred, the jewels having dropped off, it is a pathetic thing. An eighth of an item if one ignores the lack of sparkly shinies. But it can be a convincing prop. After all, she needs a replacement, and she needs eyes on area to make sure that she doesn't get ambushed. And there are ten crisp hundred dollar bills awaiting her assistant(s), should they be willing to keep a lookout while she does her nefarious trading for a new... whatever this bit was. Possibly an egg.

Andi Benton has posed:
Some time has passed between the last meeting between Andi/Mania and Satana. While a few things were learned about each other, the quest for knowledge often led to more. In this case, a call, an invitation. Come over to the island. Make some extra spending money. Doing what? That wasn't clear yet. At night, under cover of darkness, Mania swung in on a webline, landing not far off to look around. "This had better be real. We are low on chocolate," is muttered.

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     So shiny! Satana smiles as she sees the creature arriving. "Oh, you'll get paid. A simple task, really," says the succubus. "We are going to go deeper into these ruins, so I can find a companion for this... or at least another piece. Some moron sorcerer mentioned that he'd buried one out here... but he might not be on the best of terms. With me. What with how I got that information," she lies with ease. "Typically he has lesser level demons guard his nonsense, but... they may have a means to bother me. Not quite incapacitate," she says, pride too high to admit even fictional defeat, "But a bother. And I thought... why not hire out the task? I have a little extra cash, and it's not like I need it," she says, holding the money out. An offering.

Andi Benton has posed:
Claw-tipped fingers extend toward the money, though the fingers themselves remain of a normal length. Mania has the look she's been seen with before, the all black 'suit' with the spider motif, and those creepy-looking eyes along with a seemingly blank face - when there's no mouth or nose really visible, such as now. This, after the arms had crossed at the sight of the woman, both of the eyes narrowing slightly at her. "Did you just say there might be demons here?" she asks, that voice carrying the dual, slightly stereo sense of female and something rougher, more alien. "Not that we are afraid of that. But what are you trying to find?"

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     "Mmhmmmm, there might be, but nothing that honestly even a gun couldn't handle. Probably. But I'm looking for the rest of this," she says, pulling out her prop from her very pretty purse. "Or close enough. The original was very badly damaged," says the redhead with a pout. "This was about all that I could scrounge up. The fellow that was present with me when it happened was not helpful. Or receptive. Kind of attractive- anyway." She shakes her head. "There are more pieces. And theoretically some have been hidden here. Your job would be to make sure I'm not distracted or jumped while I look," she says. The piece of metal floats in her hand, spinning slowly.

Andi Benton has posed:
Now, it's the turn of the metallic thing for Mania to stare at, and there comes a huff. "It looks like junk to us," she states, matter-of-factly. "We think you could do this on your own from what we've seen." Yet she came, is here now, and glances in the direction of the buildings as a few steps around follow. She gives up a few inches to Satana, depending on footwear for either of them, but under normal circumstances the other one would stand taller one way or another. Mania may be short, but is no less of an apparent threat given appearances. "Just..watch your back? That's all?"

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     "Could, probably," she says. A combat between pride and progress here. "But yes. Watch my back, prevent any demons from bothering me while I look," she says, pulling out a device with a small screen and an antenna. "I will be looking with this. If any of those morons happens to break it- or get my coat dirty- I will be very, very upset," she says. She flicks on the device. "If you see any demons, remove them from being a problem. However you like, just don't let them bother me."

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania studies the woman, her expression, her words and how she seems to be saying them. The little device draws some of her focus, and whether Satana lets her see the screen or not, she tries to position herself so she can. "How upset?" she can't help but wonder, the eyes betraying a hint of her sarcastic, 'can't help but say it' side. Then a hand waves back and forth a few times. "Yeah, yeah. Deal with them. We understand." She turns away, moving to climb the side of what's left of a building, gaining herself a higher position to watch from.

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     "Excellent," Satana says, following the blips, ignoring the snark. The screen isn't anything that impressive, a digital display akin to a simplified GPS. She strides into the ruins with her usual swagger, as red lights appear atop the building, something dropping out of each and skittering across the roof. Maybe more like scrambling, they are man-sized, though one has three sets of arms and the other seems to have a complete lack of head.

Andi Benton has posed:
//Andi, over..//
<<I saw it. I mean, on my own. Didn't need that extra sense of ours.>>
//We are going to play with them, then?//
<<In a way.>>

The internal chat is a brief one, but it covers for Mania moving in the direction of those blips of red that lead to the creatures exiting for the rooftop, with holes in it here and there that they could make use of. Thing is, so could Mania, who crawls her way underneath one to use the inner ceiling to her advantage, moving to position herself for a surprise.

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     The two creatures seem to regard each other with mild hostility, posture aggressive, but for some reason, they don't attack one another. Perhaps they're also on a mission. The headless one seems to have a fiery light from its concave neck-hole, and the armsy one, head made up of skin stretched haphazardly over its skull, starts to move over the roof, claws securing it as it moves with haunting, jittery speed, finding a hole in the roof, ready to slink on in.

Andi Benton has posed:
When it does, Mania is there to pop up with a hand against a corner of the rubble, the other one brandished behind her. "Boo. We saw you there and wanted to say hello."

Mania itself adds a more growl-like, "Hello," then the hand morphs into a club of some kind as it swings at the demon with the idea of knocking it for a loop and quite a distance away from where they are. The other one with the even stranger lack of a head? It'd be next on the list.

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     All those arms and it can't hold on. It is knocked into the air, but it drops down and digs its fingers into the side of the building. Its maw opens, too wide, and too triangular, extending down into its abdomen with a skin flap. It does not have a tongue, however, that seems to have been ripped out at the root, leaving a waggling stump in its chest. It scrabbles to get back up, but the roof is falling apart and it slips lower for the moment. The headless one would roll its eyes if it had any, making a fist and thrusting it downward, a searing white spear appearing in its hand. It wears tattered leather armor, though its humanity also ends at each calf, splayed and gripping hooves holding on to the roof as it waits. It seems more patient than its companion.

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania hops back up to the rooftop, displaying a slight crouch in an aggressive stance, hands and fingers out to the sides with the look of being ready to spring at a moment's notice. "That was weird," she says.

Mania responds aloud, "We have seen things stranger than this."

Andi's voice comes through as she questions, "When?"

Mania's answer: "Before us."

That's as far as it goes, for the /other/ one that takes up a position with some kind of spear in hand? It draws Mania's more complete attention. The hand that turned into a club and became a hand again flexes, then both lift to aim globs of webbing at the demonic entity. "Stop us if you've heard this one before: stick around."

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     The spear glows hot, and the entity spins it, hopping lightly to different parts of the roof. The webbing makes contact... can it stick to such smoldering heat? Meanwhile, the other creature seems to have made its way back up, trying to get at Mania from behind. Which one is meant to be a distraction? And such a shame they can't respond to the banter... but perhaps that's the point.

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania calls down, "Have you found it yet? Everything is under control here!"

Except internally, the symbiote can already feel some of the heat that comes off from the spear, and the webbing that hits it seems to dissolve at that same moment. A possible cause for concern.

So, too, is the first demon that's hauled itself back into the fray, and while Mania remains facing the one in the leathers that have seen better days, the symbiote's ability to see all around itself means Andi is also aware of the sneaking approach. Covering for it by moving closer to another hole in the roof while repositioning, as soon as the first one makes a move she drops into the opening and scrambles along quiet as can be.

The idea? Draw a hand up through a hole no body should be able to fit through, and yank at a leg of the spear demon.

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     "Still looking!" comes a singsong voice from below. Satana doesn't seem too worried.
     But the roofing plan does work to some degree. As Mania drops down out of view, the spear-wielding demon thrusts with its spear- which would not be a problem if not for its counterpart being a little too hungry. It lunges in Mania's absence, that mouth- toothless as it may be- enveloping the the hooved, leather-wearing monster. There's a sound of searing and hissing, the smell of infernal flesh being seared, and then wet tearing. Half of the many-armed monster slides down through one of the roof holes. There's barely a sound of hooves, and then the spear is jammed through the ceiling. Wet. Steaming. Seeking Mania.

Andi Benton has posed:
Hearing is also good, and it gives Mania the opportunity to catch what appears to be going on with the two that are still above her. Burning, hissing, tearing..then part of the first creature slumps down and below. Probably cauterized in the process.

//CAUTION, ANDI!//

No answer, but there doesn't need to be one. That spear looks lethal to whatever it touches. Suddenly, it's jabbing down toward her before she moves rapidly elsewhere. Even, for a moment, the slick, black substance that makes up Mania's skin or suit, whatever it is, begins to crawl away from the hand nearest the spear.

<<Keep it together! We have to get that thing away from it!>>

Easier said than done, unless they can distract it. No more calling out yet. Rather, a quiet creeping toward a covered corner of the room she's in. If the spear pokes through too close by, it'll be time to move. For now, an attempt at patience.

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     Tiny little goat hoofsteps run across the roof. They're creepily fast. And then they're quiet. But the roof is still creaking, rocking, and then partially collapsing. The second half of the many-armed demon is slammed through by those hooves, the heavy body opening up more sky above, and a view of the spear-wielding demon leering down, seeing if it can spot its quarry.
     "I thought I said I didn't want to be disturbed!" Satana yells from below, still milling around with the device. The demon changes course, ignoring Mania and pulling back its arm to throw the spear in her direction. If it's not stopped, it will head right towards the succubus and her silly treasure hunting tool!

Andi Benton has posed:
A glimpse here, a sound there, and the rest of that other demon is used as a way to open up some more space. "You wouldn't be if you stayed quiet," Mania says to herself as the demon she's still figuring out pinpoints the direction of Satana's voice, changing tactics.

With the spear suddenly sent down that way instead, the next moments unfold as if in slow motion. The way the demon draws its hand back to set up, it gives away to Mania what's about to happen. The problem is, Mania can't touch it. A normal spear, maybe. One glowing white-hot and giving off the heat to go with it? The first instinct is to Get Away. Now the second one is to block or deflect it.

Claws take form in the feet, helping to better anchor her to the side of the wall as she uses both hands to again send out a burst of webbing, this one sticking to a dangling piece of debris that had better days as a wall. With a yank, it's torn loose and swung into the path of the spear. Not a perfect line, but it catches a glancing blow to knock it a couple feet or so off course. Enough to cause a miss to the side, at least.

And then the symbiote and host are flipping back up to the top of the roof, a line forming where that mouth now is, sharp teeth taking shape along with that slippery tongue. "That was rude. We tried to play nice, but you almost cost us a lot of money." Hands reshape into curved axe blades. Very sharp.

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     The spear is knocked out of the way! It lands point down in the ground, a little too close to Satana for comfort, but her boots are not so much as scuffed. It sizzles and steams, and then loses its heat and smokes from its position.
     The headless demon tries to call up another weapon, the air around it warm. But it doesn't have time, Mania is just too fast. It tries to lash out with hands, but they are just hands, after all, and right in the path of those axe blades, what a shame. For its time on earth seems like it shall be cut short.
     Below, Satana just grins. This will be well worth the money... not that that has as much meaning to her as it will for Andi.

Andi Benton has posed:
There is an urge in the symbiote to end this before that next spear can materialize, before it can take shape and solidify. A nudge, a push. This thing is not human. It is a demon. Killing it would be all right. It's not like it's a normal being. And, it would have probably killed her if it could have.

The tongue slips out again and curls toward the end, with the words that follow a herald of what's next. "That was your last mistake."

There's no head to lop off, so the curved blades show just how sharp they are by coming up from a lower angle, cutting through and severing the arms at the shoulders. "Make a new spear now!" Mania taunts.

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     The demon's balance is greatly affected by not having arms. It stumbles on its legs, light and flame pouring from its new openings. It does seem to be hollow inside, the fire burning in it oozing, globbing. It's not setting fire to the roof, but it still looks like it'd be hot to the touch. It seems to have trouble regulating its power.
     "Here," Satana says, the cooled spear in her hand. She throws it with surprising force for someone her size, letting it land near Mania. "Rip his heart out. End him." There's a brightness to her eyes, a mania all her own as she watches. But she is smiling.
     A pulsating comes from the headless abomination, a thrum now audible. The fire pulses with each new note of the sound. It is fast.

Andi Benton has posed:
Even cutting through the demon's arms like that, the remnants of that internal heat and fire are felt enough that as those hands reform, they're shaken a few times. Some of those spiky protrusions along the forearms and shins flex in response.

Called out to, she watches Satana send the spear back up, hitting the mark she was aiming for. That mouth, a little too wide and large for a human, sculpts into a brief frown at the energy the woman below appears to show for her ending the demon's life. If it even has one to end and isn't already just some undead construct. Could it explode? Shower and rain hot fire down around them?

Coming to grip that spear, Mania snarls and thrusts it through where the heart /should/ be.

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     It cracks. It's surprisingly fragile now, burning from the inside out. The spear pierces through and it dissolves. The heat plumes upwards, the rest crumbles away like scorched paper. It gives off one last sigh, a sad sound. Perhaps it just gave up. Perhaps it just had nothing else to give.
     Satana teleports up to the roof, "Not bad, you two. Not bad at all." Her seeker device is in her hand, and she's swinging a little cloth pouch around her finger. That gets tucked into a pocket, and she pulls out the money, as promised, with a little money clip holding it together. Unsurprisingly, the clip has a pentagram on it. Branding! "And an extra hundred for a job well done," she purrs.

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania's eyes draw more narrow and show a flash of doubt at the reaction from the demonic creature, specifically the sound it makes at the end. In some way, while it looks anything but human, there's something about that reaction that feels like it could be.

The mouth fades away to mask much of her visage again, turning to face Satana before pointing accusingly at what's left of that demon and the first one. "What were those?" she asks/demands, giving a closer look at the pouch before it's gone, then the money. Pentagram or not, the focus drifts toward that now.

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     "Demons. Once human souls, the weight of their sins transformed them into the personifications of their misdeeds on earth," Satana says. Though whether or not that's true, it's hard to tell. "They can be given a task- likely by one of my nemeses- and they'll do it single-mindedly. Anyway, don't feel too bad, you likely just sent them back to where they came from," the redhead says. The pouch remains away, but the money is offered, the succubus keeping her gaze steady on the symbiotic union rather than the cold hard cash.

Andi Benton has posed:
"So they're..not gone?" Mania asks, the doubt still lingering. A hand closes around the clip of money. That's a number of days on the job, even if Andi worked a 40-hour week (she doesn't).

When she opens her hand again, the money and clip seems to have disappeared. In truth it's tucked away somewhere, just out of sight. "We don't know much about demons. Does it take a lot of..bad stuff for somebody to become one? They aren't just..made from whatever?"

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     "Back to their fates, yes. Demons... vary," Satana says. "Even the concept of the underworld can change up quite a bit depending on who you ask. Sometimes they are created. Humans are sometimes descendants of demons, or a family line can be overtaken by one, but sometimes they do change after death. It really depends on who has an interest," she says, thinking it over. "Or who your dad is. Anyway. Are we content?" she asks.

Andi Benton has posed:
A round of silence follows from both symbiote and host, arms folding beneath Mania's bosom, blocking part of the large spider insignia. "That does not clear up much for us, but we will take your word for it. Not all things are understood right away." Such as demons. Such as symbiotes. Such as Satana herself.

The head with the spiky bits of 'hair' atop it tilts. "Content? We are getting hungry. We will be more content afterward. Are you content?"

Satana Hellstrom has posed:
     "I don't think anyone's ever asked me that before," Satana says. "More yelling about if I'm satisfied. Contentment hasn't often been broached. Maybe some day," she says. "I am pleased with how this turned out. And now you can go buy something delicious if you so choose. I don't think your diet is quite the same as mine," the succubus says with a smirk.

Andi Benton has posed:
There are things neither Andi nor Mania understand about some of the specific details with Satana, though they comment as a reminder, "We have seen an example of that." It has not been a big secret that they have a preference for chocolate in any and all forms, though.

A few steps backward are taken, and without even looking there is a bigger step made to ensure the hole in that part of the roof is avoided. "Maybe we will treat our father to pizza. Or cheesesteaks." A line of webbing follows, and that is apparently the end of the conversation, as Mania swings off into the night.