10890/The Portal In The Barroom

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The Portal In The Barroom
Date of Scene: 24 April 2022
Location: Ace of Clubs Pub
Synopsis: When the Ace of Clubs is host to a customer from actual Hell, Superman needs to call in a favor from a professional magician to handle the drunk demon. Lacking that, he turns to Sister Grimm! Can the Runaway negotiate the madcap life of Metropolis, and will her fiery past come back to haunt her? Find out, in the Adventures of Superman!
Cast of Characters: Clark Kent, Nico Minoru




Clark Kent has posed:
"I have to say, Bibbo." Superman says, arms crossed, "I thought you were being metaphorical."

"Aw Superman you knowse I don't speek much Greek." The old sailors says, mimicking Superman's arm cross in a way that exposes a little of his beer belly. "But this problems' real enough for me tastes."

Between the two men is a thin aperature in the skein of reality, looking not unlike swirling light shaped vaguely like a hole in the world. It's colored red, and glowing slightly, and there are occasional moans coming from the door. How it ended up in the middle of Bibbo's taproom, Clark Kent has no idea.

An arm reaches out, covered in scales and with vivid red fingernails that could tear flesh off like plastic wrap. "Forsaken, FORSAKEN!"

"Cut it out." Superman slaps the hand away.

"HE'S STILL THERE!"

"Look, just take your friend back and close the door." Superman tries, again, looking at the little three foot tall devil in a Black Lightning t-shirt, short pants, and a Metropolis Meteors baseball cap. He's still drinking local beer. "And we don't have to mention this to anyone."

The portal says nothing, but fevered whispers are heard on the other side. Superman's eyes widen in hope, and the claw hand makes a careful grab outside again, as if hoping Superman got bored and walked away.

"Okay, Bibbo." Superman admits, "I may need to find an expert on this."

"I just remodeled too." The sailor bemoans, watching his profits get shoved down a tiny devil's throat. "Youse got no idea what this inflation does to local businesses Superman."

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico's been on the move for months... or, well, years really if she'd allow herself to think about it. Sure, she was starting to settle into a comfortable niche in New York City, and then the angels invaded, and since then she's been back to full-on Runaway mode... for one thing, she was feeling guilty about crashing on Karolina's couch.

And so her show's on the road as it were, setting up near the docks at Metropolis, figuring... docks have tourists, right? And tourists love paying for fortune telling and Tarot reading, and any other swindle the Runaway can cook up.

Of course, she's still got her patented Justice League Dark communicator, which she definitely doesn't sometimes throw into her act because it's a crystal on a thin loop of leather that looks about as subtle as a car crash at the fireworks factory. It just /screams/ hocus pocus.

Nico's brow furrows, partly in show for the tourist couple ('Oh wow, you're here all the way from _Hoboken_ you say?! I've got a good feeling about your fortunes!'), but partly because the hairs on the back of her neck are beginning to stand up. And that's never a good sign. Whether it be a security guard at the big box store watching her a little too closely, or magic in the vicinity, it never really bodes well.

"Well, I think the spirits are very certain! You should definitely go to the Museum of Technology across town! It's really interesting and if you go _right now_ you can avoid the traffic! Definitely!"

And then Nico's bundling up her Tarot cards and other bricabrac into her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder, spinning about and beginning to stalk towards... /whatever/ she's feeling.

It's probably not another demon offering her a contract for her soul. That's only happened once. But whatever it is, maybe she can make a buck on it... or uhh... do some good? Yeah, do some good.

Clark Kent has posed:
"But Superman, won't the devils come out if yer not here t'show em who's boss?" Bibbo asks, frowning.

"It'll just be for a minute." Superman says, and frowns. "And no one's going to cause my friend any trouble are they?!"

The portal seems to pause. A voice like a violin bow scratching a cat's guts says, "More than we already are?"

Superman sighs, only half paying attention at this point. They can't really want to invade or they would've by now, and they can't just leave their colleague here or they would've by now. This needs actual negotiation, and that means a wizard. Clark trusts the local wizards about as much as he trusts Lex Luthor, so.

So someone new. Clark blurs.

And Nico sees the Superman floating in front of her, eyes serious, hand held out. "I sensed your JLA communicator band. One of Constantine's recruits, right?" Superman asks, not seeing the minor magical flim flammery going on here. "A friend of mine needs your help." Hopefully John recruited this young woman for magical talent, but it beats begging la Encandora for help.

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico's prowling, brow furrowed, teeth worrying her lower lip... god, does everyone else have some sort of... magic sense? Like a big glowing arrow that points to the trouble? She's getting good and ready to seethe and grumble and give up, when... huh.

'kay. Superman. Like... actual Superman.

Eyes flick down, pause for a moment. Yep. He's floating. Okay... well, that's... oh god. She'd probably go pale if she wasn't already, but hey, turns out there's a bonus to her chosen fashion aesthetic! Superman can't tell when you're a little star struck.

But the coughing sputter might give it away, "I... ah... something like that? I don't know if I was ever... like, I didn't sign an application or pass a background check or something! I actually haven't seen Constantine since like... Thanksgiving?"

Dark painted lips press into a thoughtful line and she sighs out, "He didn't trade something for /magic beans/ did he? They're almost certainly just normal beans and I'm not one of those people who's all like... super heroic /and/ enrolled with the bar to practice law. He's going to need a real lawyer."

Shoulders lift and fall, "But I'm assuming it's more... actual magic than that, so uhh..." She chews her lower lip, doing some math.. train schedule... trip time... maybe a bit of 'Am I willing to cast a teleportation spell if I /do/ miss the train?'.

All that mental algebra seems to check out as she shrugs and gestures, "Well, I mean, sure, whatever it is, lead on. If I can't magic it, I can punch it... but I mean, so can you, right? So... sure, magic solution it is." And then she's lifting off her feet to float too... maybe lifting a bit higher so she can be eye to eye. You know, to present a unified front when they get where they're going.

Clark Kent has posed:
Superman's gaze is impassive.

For about a minute. The big man smiles. "Sounds like John. Do you even have a proper com? I'll get you one, in case you find yourself in a bad way. Love the guy but he's about as responsible as a drunk cat with his students." Superman turns and flies, since Nico seems able to.

"I don't know much. There's a hole, I think to Hell, but one of the lame ones. They don't want to risk coming out, but one of their own won't leave the bar, or explain why, or do anything but drink my friend's beer. I thought your wizard eyes might tell you more." Superman says, and pauses. "Gosh I'm being rude, I didn't even ask your name. I'm sorry, it's just Bibbo's...had it rough. I guess I get protective around the big guy."

They arrive. Superman waits for Nico to introduce herself and what her whole deal is, before he steps out to see what looks like some kind of huge serpent woman in a suit coat and office lady glasses wrapped around Bibbo.

She looks like a teenager caught drinking when she sees Superman walk back in. "Ssssuperman! How dare you interfere in the affairs of the Five and a half circle of hell!"

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico seems to relax a little and manages a sardonic but bright smile, "Hey, he was a pretty good teacher! Like, he was all serious and stern about not signing demonic contracts!" She frowns for a moment, "Okay, probably because he'd done that before... Zatanna also said it wasn't a good idea though, so hey, two for two!"

She grins even wider, "Oh, Nico! Nico Minoru. I used to go by Sister Grimm, but in my defense, I /was/ a teenager." She shudders and grimaces a little.

And she does go pale, even through that foundation she's wearing, "Wait, a portal to He... oh! A portal to _a_ hell. Okay." She swallows audibly and mumbles, "I mean, maybe that's where that guy wound up... just some really terribly unimpressive hell... yeah... sure..."

Nico steels herself, strides through the door, and... huh. That sure is a snake lady. From the depths of bureaucracy or something.

Nico sighs and pinches her nose with her thumb and forefinger of her right hand, and flexes the metallic fingers of her left slowly, "Okay, listen, you gotta let the old timer go and get back through the portal. Like, kidnapping people into a hell is going to draw someone's attention and then you're going to deal with Doctor Strange, or that blonde lady with the big sword and the Russian accent."

That metallic hand gestures, "Tell you what, you go back through, and I will totally send like..." Nico rummages in her pocket with her right hand, coming out with a wad of bills and a palm full of change, "I will send seventeen dollars of the finest dollar store junk foods to the fifth and a half circle of hell." She pauses for a moment, "Also... uhh... did you guys have a dude in some black robes holding a shotgun kind of... show up like... New Years-ish?"

Her brows furrow together slightly, like that's the more serious question... but she's also squeezing her lower lip between her teeth pensively.

C'mon, big serpent demon office ladies are /renowned/ for their willingness to bargain. She read that in a manga a the library once.

Clark Kent has posed:
"Sister Grimm's kind of clever." Superman says, landing with a thud. "Makes you sound like some kind of magical explorer picking up rare secrets around America."

Superman's mirth dries up when he sees his friend in trouble; the entire room gets warm, as his eyes gleam a horrible shade of red. The demon slinks back, holding her arms in the air.

"Look, look,we just want our colleague back! He's not supposed to be on Earth today! He's got a terrible drinking problem!" The snake woman says, and looks at Nico with relief. Someone she can negotiate with. "Listen, you tell him! This isssn't how things are done! I just couldn't help make this sad old man miserable, but this big oaf, he never negotiates, never bargains, he just busssts into Dis and beats us up!"

"It's horrible!" The portal says, wailing.

Superman just walks over, tugging a shocked, pale looking Bibbo out of the Office Snake's coils. He shakes a fist at her, as if he only has so much patience and it's nearly dried up. "If I could lift that fat little devil up and toss him in I'd be done with all of you."

"But you can't! As long as he's drunk, Beepor's unmoveable!" Office Snake laughs, realizes this is her problem too, and is bribed with chocolate.

"Is it?.Cadbury's?" The Office Snake says, looking nervous.

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico has a sudden urge to teleport well away from Superman and his glowing eyes and... you know, the feeling that the entire bar's about to burst into flames. But no, that's not what heroic magic users do! Instead she nods her head, "Sure! Yeah, Cadbury! The cream eggs and everything! Deal!"

She pinches the bridge of her nose again, "Okay, so we can't move him while he's... drunk. Oh... okay..." She sighs and the money goes into her pocket, and then she's swinging her backpack around to rummage more intently.

And then she's pulling out a switchblade, and casual as can be, gashing the inside of her right arm with a little hiss of pain and annoyance.

And then there's a growing glow suffusing her form... it looks /very/ impressive with her having not bothered to land from floating, as the glow builds and builds to an almost blinding intensity, before the light takes shape of a surprisingly simple black lacquered staff with a ring atop.

She can't resist giving it a bit of a flourish, a little twirl and spin, and then a firm /thunk/ onto the floor, metallic left hand pointing at drunken Beepor.

Her voice cries out, the room reverberating with /something/ beyond Nico's own voice, a compelling power that seems to make the walls of reality ache, "Time for /sober/ reflection!" and the Staff, as always, provides this one use of magic, a wave of sobriety washing over the devil or demon, or whatever poor, sad Beepor is.

Nico sort of does her best to position herself between the denizens of one of the lesser hells, and Metropolis's paragon of justice, glancing back and forth, "Okayyyy... so can you guys like... close the portal from your side? I can /try/ it from this side but it's going to be a little... uhhhh... makeshift? C'mon, do me a solid, snakelady. You seem reasonable!"

Clark Kent has posed:
Superman takes a step back as this poor girl cuts her wrist open just to cast a spell. She doesn't seem bothered by it. Didn't he read about something really awful happening to someone named Minoru?

Oh right. LA. "Does Zatanna know you cast spells like that?" Clark approaches as gently as he can considering he asked Sister Grimm for her help, and it seems to be working.
"Aw no!" The little demon groans, as he's immediately grabbed by the snake-woman. "Luv that's who I'm trying to get away from. Blaggard is furious he wound up in a minor Hell made of monsters that live under the bed and bad dreams! He's tried to take over three blaggard times!"

"It'ssss been ridiculous. We're worried our supervisor is going to notice." Office Snake says, nervously. "We're worried he's going to busst out and become a supervillain or something!"

"So much paperwork!" Beepor moans.

Superman holds his arms akimbo, and the duo slink back into the portal. It starts to close, slowly. "Be it on your head if he comes with an army of us!"

"I tell you what, if he busts out, I'll put him in jail instead of sending him back to you." Superman finally gives a little and bargains.

The two demons look at each other, grin like sharks about to be fed, and high five. "Deal!" The portal zips closed.

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico quirks an eyebrow slightly, purses her lips, frowns... brow furrows slightly, "I... huh..." She tilts her head, and seems to completely ignore the demons departing through their portal, "I... huh... you know, I don't know if I actually cast any spells using the Staff in front of her? I might not have... mentioned the bleeding thing? Honestly, John called us in for like... one big group get-to-know-each-other thing and I spent most of it eating free nachos."

She sighs and then blinks, "Wait, did they say that guy I sent to hell became an actual demon?! Oh man! Well now I wish I /did/ let Ghost Rider cut hi-... uhhh... I mean... Ghost Rider definitely didn't cut a bunch of cultists in half or anything." She shudders in a very 'Ghost Rider definitely cut a bunch of cultists in half and then I took a good long break from heroics' way of shuddering.

She heaves out a sigh and rummages around a little more in her bag until she finds a scrap of fabric she can wind around her forearm as a makeshift bandage... not that it was a /serious/ cut, it'll probably stop bleeding in a few minutes. "I swear to god, this staff... every time I get a checkup I'm afraid I'll think about it while they're drawing blood and clock a nurse in the face with it."

She glances around the bar and frowns thoughtfully, "Well, I think we ought to be good... I mean, if they try to come back to Earth, the portal should form somewhere else, since there was no ritual site here or anything."

Nico does her best to sound like this is /entirely/ for sure 100% true, and that she hasn't been slacking off on formal magic training enough that it's all guess work and actual hocus pocus.

Clark Kent has posed:
There is a look on Superman's face that is best described as 'paternal'; vaguely stern, vaguely worried, vaguely angry (probably at Ghost Rider). It deflates into a proper frown as this poor kid describes her life.

"We really let you fall through the cracks, huh?" Superman says, and sighs. "I'm not going to go beat Ghost Rider up for being Ghost Rider. Magic's a bit bloodier than I'd like, but hurting that poor cursed man isn't going to make his burden any easier."

Clark moves to help a shell shocked Bibbo up, and turns back to frown a bit at Sister Grimm. "You really did do me a solid, Nico. Thank you. I know it was out of nowhere, and you never made any promises to work for the League."

Superman fishes around in his utility belt, and hands Nico something. Its a watch, made of some strange material, with a silver "S" on it. "Here. In case you ever really need a hand. Just press the signal S, and I'll be there. Is there anything else I can do?"

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico snorts, and laughs, "Oh, you didn't /let/ me fall through the cracks! I _very carefully_ and thoroughly navigated through them!" She rolls her eyes, "I mean, plus, how are you going to be sure you're hitting the right one? There's like... two or three of them and they're /all/ just some fiery skull in a leather jacket."

She rolls her eyes and grins crookedly, "Oh, please, I'm a misanthrope at times, but 'Refuses to help Superman' is a little far /even for me/."

She reaches out to take the watch, eyebrows lifting, and then with a flick of her wrist and fingers, the watch vanishes in a show of slight of hand. "Oh, nah, I'm good for now! Just keep on..."

She frowns thoughtfully and gestures around, "You know, doing the whole... /you/ thing. I know you get a lot of flak, but really, it's all... inspiring and shit, even when we claim it's not."

Nico sighs and swings the Staff of One up across her shoulders, crooking it under the elbow of her left arm to balance it, "Oh! And if you do see Zatanna, tell her I'll totally hit her up for that clothes shopping in Tokyo someday."

And then she's sauntering off into the night, to live the mysterious life of the Runaway.

Or, you know, to go buy those snacks and send them to the fifth and a half circle of Hell. 'cause she /did/ promise.