11680/Aren't Symbiotes Weak Against Hellfire

Aren't Symbiotes Weak Against Hellfire
Date of Scene:	20 June 2022
Location:	Purgatory Night Club - Hellfire Club
Synopsis:	Mania meets Tessa in the Hellfire Club's youth-oriented nightclub, and ends up being taken on a tour.
Cast of Characters:	Tessa, Andi Benton

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Tessa has posed:
Every now and then, Purgatory runs a theme night. Some of them are regular occasions, and some of them are one-offs. The costume parties usually fall into the latter. This one is a costume party: 'Super Pride,' reads the poster, with an image of a superhero who looks just enough like Captain America without being legally actionable, altered to make his shield and costume suitably rainbow-colored.

Inside the club, the DJ is liberally mixing queer anthems and dancefloor bangers. Dua Lipa gives way to Lil Nas X gives way to Grace Jones gives way to Boys Town Gang. It's a costume party, so people are there in costume. Some are just straight-up cosplaying. There's a Supergirl, and a Black Panther. Some have altered their costumes to be more Pride-ful, like the young man dressed as what can only be called 'Queer Thor' over there on the dance floor. And others are just in homemade 'superhero' costumes of their own devisement. Lots of Rainbow Lads and Lasses.

Out of step with all of this is Tessa. The woman is too old to be hanging around Purgatory, for one. She's also wearing a chic purple evening gown and not dressed up for the event at all. She's keeping an eye on everything from one of the raised booths. She doesn't have a drink in front of her, and the servers seem to know not to bother her.

Andi Benton has posed:
It's been a good month or two since Andi even thought about Purgatory. Just too much going on with work, life, being a vigilante, meeting others, busting perps. The list goes on, really. But, she had the place set to follow on her social media, and it came to mind when they shared plans for their superhero-themed pride night. It wasn't even something she thought that much about, but it could be fun and interesting to see what others came up with. She'd have to figure out something of her own, of course.

Mania? Probably too dangerous to just go as 'themselves.' It'd be as authentic as it got, though it would raise potential questions she might not want to answer. What she ended up with was just a variation on her own outfit, focused more on blacks and dark purples, a little leather, and a mask over the eyes and nose. She could be Goth Girl..or something. Anyway, it showed pale skin, though nothing risque. Stompy boots, a choker, wrist cuffs and bracelets, a few piercings, dark lipstick. It worked. She had a soda in hand, watching and listening.

So, too, was the symbiote within, quite curious about the others here and how they were dressed.

Tessa has posed:
Tessa keeps observing the crowd. Her expression remains neutral, almost blank. She's like a human CCTV camera. Not here to do anything but watch.

At some point, she stands up from her booth and begins walking around the perimeter of the dance floor. Her path is well-chosen, and she never once risks colliding with a moving body. In fact, most of the young folk barely even seem to register that she's there. Not because she has a cloaking field or anything crazy, but just because she's very good at making herself blend in, even when she so clearly stands out.

The path that Tessa is on brings her right up to Andi. She stands to the younger woman's left, and doesn't look at her while she speaks. "I've seen you here before," she says. Her voice is clear, her tone composed, completely lacking an accent that might offer a hint as to nation or culture. "With Miss Hellstrom."

Andi Benton has posed:
Andi Benton has, of course, picked out the woman up by the DJ, looking like she's just there to observe, less to participate. By the time Tessa's on the move, Andi's focus has gone elsewhere. To the 'Black Panther.' To the pride-inspired 'Captain America.' To a 'Spider-Man' of alternative costume coloring.

<<Andi>> If only he could see that.
<<Mania>> The next time we see him, we can tell him.
<<Andi>> Or I could take a picture.

The internal chit-chat cuts out as soon as Tessa is there, before her. It helped give the woman cover to simply show up. Eyes are visible behind the facemask, and they dart toward the woman. "You..have?" she asks, brows coming closer together. "Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?" A sip of the soda.

Tessa has posed:
Tessa turns her head to look at Andi. Her body language is extremely /precise/. It's never truly stiff, but there's such an economy of motion, with no twitch of muscle wasted, that it seems like a dancer would kill to be able to move like Tessa.

"I'm not certain, yet," Tessa says. She dips her head to look down at Andi's shoes, and then trails upward. "I'm confident within a negligible margin of error that it's not a bad thing. But just because something isn't a bad thing... that doesn't make it a good thing by default."

Tessa turns her head again, to look back out at the dancing crowd. "My name is Tessa Fox," she says. "I tend to affairs here at the Hellfire Club."

Andi Benton has posed:
In comparison, Andi doesn't exactly slouch, but neither does she appear to concern herself too much with her stance. There is a subtle confidence in her body language, at the very least. It's the sort of thing that suggests an awareness that she is more than most in this space, perhaps even better.

So, there is at the very least an observation that Tessa moves, acts, and speaks in a very deliberate way. Almost robotic, if not exactly. "We met somewhere else, and we talked here a couple times. You can call me..Goth Girl." Even she can't help but close her eyes at the way that sounds as she tries to keep with the theme of the night. "No, I didn't put a lot of thought into it."

Tessa has posed:
Tessa looks back at Andi, and arches one immaculately sculpted eyebrow. "Very well. 'Goth Girl' it is." There /is/ something vaguely robotic about her, but it's less of a brazen beep-boop robot and more like Westworld or the Stepford Wives. Like she's just a little too perfect. Like she's strolling through the Uncanny Valley by her lonesome.

"You aren't dancing," Tessa observes. "May I ask why?"

Andi Benton has posed:
Andi Benton turns for a better look at Tessa, up and down. The evening gown has a classy look to it, no question there. It doesn't fit the theme, but the woman doesn't seem to be here to participate in that way.

"Just been watching," she admits. "And nobody's asked." A simple enough response, no matter the fact that up to this point, she's given off 'leave me alone' body language to anyone who even glanced her way.

Tessa has posed:
Tessa affects a small smile. The vibe she gives off is pleasant, in the same way that customer service is meant to be pleasant. Nothing that could rationally offend, but nothing to really latch onto, either.

"I imagine that no one has asked because you carry yourself as though you do not wish to be asked," Tessa says. She gives Andi a sidelong glance. "Though you would perhaps be more popular at one of the gothic music themed club nights. Tonight, people seem to be more in the mood for... exuberance." She pauses for a beat, then asks: "Have you seen anything interesting while you've been watching?"

Andi Benton has posed:
Andi Benton holds up her hands, managing to avoid spilling her soda. Rings in the cuffs jingle slightly. Fitting for someone pushing a gothy demeanor. So far, she finds it difficult to 'read' Tessa, something about her different just enough so as to make her tough to pinpoint, hard to figure out motivations, even sincerity.

At her observation, Andi scoffs quietly, "Maybe." It could cover both the way she's been carrying herself, and the other themed night suggested. "They seem to be behaving. Mostly." Places like this, there's always someone trying to be a little more open about this and that.

"Hmm? Some of the costumes are very..colorful. I like some of the masks, too." There /is/ a mildly awkward side to her that comes out, but she has come to pay more attention to Tessa over the rest.

Tessa has posed:
Tessa is inscrutable. Tessa has worked her entire life to perfect being inscrutable. It's been time well spent.

Tessa rests her hands in front of herself, crossing them over her lap while she stands. "Mostly behaving," Tessa agrees. "Does that please you, or disappoint you?"

Tessa's questions come in a perfectly neutral tone of voice, like an online personality quiz Andi might take so that she can post the results on Twitter. It's like talking to the human equivalent of radio buttons that range from 'Strongly Agree' to 'Strongly Disagree.'

Andi Benton has posed:
If Tessa is getting Andi to answer impromptu questions based on level of interest, the visitor is not exactly catching on just yet. It's certainly a way of gauging things.

"Hmm? Ahh, you know. Life is more exciting when..things are happening," she says, stumbling a little over the response. "It just depends on what kind of mood you're in." She rubs at one of her ears, sliding some of that purple-dyed hair around, her head tilting at the woman with a few inches of height on her, regardless of their choices in footwear.

Tessa has posed:
Tessa is tallish but not exceptionally tall, slender without being reedy, unquestionably physically fit but not a bodybuilder. It adds to the... Stepford-ness of her. She's not the dream woman that those kids from Weird Science would wish out of the either, but she does seem to be a /perfect/ woman in a way that many people would have trouble putting their finger on -- the same way that a Fibonacci sequence is perfect.

"What sort of mood are you in?" Tessa asks. She turns her head again, to more fully regard Andi, to watch the way she responds. Not just verbally, but all of it, body language, everything.

Andi Benton has posed:
Andi Benton's lips draw thin for a moment. Her head tilts at Tessa, and the line of questioning continues going straight over her head. No suspicion whatsoever about where Tessa's going with this. Her mind must be elsewhere.

"Sometimes I'm curious about the rest of this place. You don't get to see a whole lot in here, and I've seen some pretty fancy-looking people coming and going." Just how she'd know that, if she was only around Purgatory, that is left to wonder about.

Tessa has posed:
Tessa nods her head, once. "I can show you more," Tessa says. She notes the curious detail of Andi seeing fancy-looking people coming and going, but doesn't press on it yet. Tessa's like a Telltale Game: she'll remember that Andi said that.

"As I said, I tend to affairs around the Hellfire Club. If Purgatory bores you, then perhaps we can find something more suitable to your interests." Tessa pauses before she adds: "However: there is a price. Specifically, your name. 'Goth Girl' is not going to work, I'm afraid."

Andi Benton has posed:
Andi Benton perks up. "Even..a side room. Something like that," she answers, then she pushes back down any brief eagerness or interest that slips free. Can't have someone gothy looking like she's /excited/ about anything at all, can we?

"Not that it's boring. I like the designs in here. But.." A shrug, a palm up. "We like to explore." 'We?' "But not to get kicked out because of it. I'm Andi. Benton." Lives in Happy Harbor. Finished high school there.

Tessa has posed:
The way Tessa functions is fairly simple and deceptively complex. Her mind has been shaped by mutantcy into something more akin to a supercomputer; by comparison, Joe or Jane Average's brain is an Apple IIe, or a flip-phone. Everything around her is data. Everything that all of her senses take in is stored, filed, categorized, cross-referenced. Patterns are picked out effortlessly. So are discrepancies.

But Tessa doesn't question Andi. Doesn't push her on the 'we.' Notices the attempt to muzzle her own eagerness, but doesn't lampshade it. Everything she does, from her body language down to her tone of voice, is designed to come across as non-threatening, the same way a hypnotist modulates their voice a certain way and speaks at a certain cadence to put their mark under.

"Follow me," Tessa says, and she lifts a hand to motion for Andi to walk after her. She moves toward the back wall with the same surgical precision as her previous trip through the club, toward a back door that's well-concealed and locked. Her thumbprint seems to be what makes the lock disengage.

Andi Benton has posed:
Somewhere along the way - maybe it's Mania inside helping - a flip is switched and Andi pings to some of how Tessa's operating. In fact, she catches on like night and day. The leading questions, meant to gauge interest? It was all right there in front of her, staring her in the face. Or maybe Tessa just wants her to think that way? Nah. She's on to the woman now.

And, she's going along with it. Andi's body language shifts to something more confident, more certain, and she nods. "You got it. Lead the way." At the least, it's turning into them going away from Purgatory, on to parts unknown to her, but certainly known to Tessa. "Nice security," she adds, flashing a thumbs-up. "Where are we going now?"

Tessa has posed:
Tessa looks back over her shoulder, once through the doorway. It's the only time she's done so in the entire walk, to see whether Andi follows her through the door. "Exactly where you requested, Miss Benton," Tessa says. "Welcome to the Hellfire Club."

So far, 'the Hellfire Club' consists of a hallway. It's a very /nice/ hallway, though. Even these back access ways maintain the stately Victorian decor. Tessa leads Andi along. "As you requested," she says, before coming to a stop. "A side room." She motions to the door. The label next to it reads: 'Janitorial Closet.'

Andi Benton has posed:
"I thought that was part of the Hellfire Club?" Andi asks. Maybe it's not the /true/ Hellfire Club, but it seems a part of it that can be a way for things like this, to gauge interest, to keep tabs on visitors, and so on.

She keeps the mask on, though for how long that's needed is up in the air. The hallway? Quite fancy, no doubt about it. As far as hallways go, it's right up there. A brow arches as Tessa brings them to a door with the placard next to it. "Very funny. I liked that," she says, a deadpan response from one pale-skinned woman to another.

Tessa has posed:
Tessa's smile remains small and pleasant. She allows a little bit of wry humor to sparkle in hazel eyes, but even that sparkle seems planned -- like Tessa had to /allow/ it.

"You're correct. Purgatory /is/ part of the Hellfire Club. But there is so much more. Most of it is only accessible to the Club's VIPs. And most of it is decidedly 21-and-up." The corner of her lips quirks just a bit, making her smile a bit more personable. She starts to walk again, leading Andi down a few more corridors. That is, if she follows.

Andi Benton has posed:
Andi Benton returns a hint of a smile, herself. It's enough to show she doesn't do that very often, whether by choice or circumstance. The disinterested goth-punk attitude may have to do with it, but Tessa's already caught a crack or two in that armor.

"Everyone's heard rumors, but most of them don't know the truth," she points out. She squints at the last bit of what Tessa shares, but the paths that are followed begin to blend together, such that she might not remember the specific turns taken. On they go, giving her a bit of a tour.