12521/Ant in the Fox Coop

Ant in the Fox Coop
Date of Scene:	21 August 2022
Location:	Saeko's Home
Synopsis:	Scott breaks into Saeko's home, threatens her, then gets a ride home and never says thanks. Our hero everyone.
Cast of Characters:	Scott Lang, Saeko

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Scott Lang has posed:
     "In and out, easy, don't sweat it," had been just a few of the reassuring words Scott had told the scientists at Pym Labs before he stepped into the pod. He'd been into the Microverse and its quantum entanglements before. Don't touch anything but what you were supposed to, simple. With a scanner attached to his hip that looked suspisciously similar to something off the set of Ghostbusters he'd started shrinking, the room and its occupants growing gigantic before quickly becoming completely incomprehensible as he slipped between molecules and soon atoms. Floating soon after in that strange alien landscape he'd started his work and in minutes had what he'd came for as the scanner lights up.

     "There, make the eggheads happy for a few more days. And out we go," chatters on Scott to himself, twisting a knob on his belt and pushing the trigger on his palm. Quickly he starts to grow once more...without looking up quite as carefully as he should have. The little crackle of energy was barely visible, a faint blue line occasionally snapping between two glowing points like an arc of electricity. Only it was a type of energy only a few could access in the normal world, raw magic. As Scott touched it he felt himself shudder and the world spun making him feel almost drunk. "Oh man, don't be sick in the helmet, don't be sick in the helmet," he keeps telling himself as he continues to grow, larger and larger until solid ground is once more under his feet as he gets big enough to no longer exist between molecules. He quits growing, still smaller than normal as he just takes a knee to try and stop the spinning in his vision, the room slowly coming into focus...a room very different than the lab he left. "This, OK, the eggheads may not be happy after all," he mutters.

Saeko has posed:
Reality could indeed be pretty much whatever one wanted for the Amatsu-kami in their realm and for Saeko, even if the kitsune was technically more of a divine spirit than a god, her Tenko status did afford her enough experience and talent to carve out a little space for herself outsound the boundry of the mortal realm. A little slice of peace and beauty from one of her earlier trips to Earth in the stylings of a world rapidly disappearing.

At the very least, it meant that she didn't have to hide herself, much as she enjoyied venturing among the humans.

Sweeping hills, a mountain overlooking the sea and a small hotspring, it was a picture of serene beauty as she settled under the comfort of an unnaturally blooming cherry tree...sipping from a small cup of tea with a delighted sigh.

Scott Lang has posed:
     Only a couple inches high in the grass Scott could sense something was, if not exactly wrong at least off. It took him a moment to realize it was the fact his helmet wasn't picking up the signals of any ants nearby. There were ALWAYS ants nearby if there was dirt to be found and yet here, nothing. He taps at a simple tablet built into the wrist of his suit trying to get a GPS location...nothing. Nor any phone, wifi, no signals of any sort.
     "Not good, not good," he mutters to himself starting to bounce a bit nervously. A noise then, a thunderous sigh. Well, thunderous to tiny ears. SOMETHING was alive. Cautiously Scott dials himself up a bit larger until he can peek over the grass and see Saeko lounging beneath a tree that seemed to hold more blossoms than any he'd ever seen in his life. That wasn't what grabbed his attention of course. It was the girl's fuzzy ears and a mass of tails that at this size he could probably still get lost in. He ponders his options for a long few moments and then shrinks down again, staying out of sight under the level of the grass.
     His voice however is amplified by his helmet as he calls out hopefully unseen, "You there, young lady, where is this place? Speak lest ye be, uh, cursed!" doing his best to sound like some sort of threatening unseen entity. 'Threatening' being a relative term when it comes to Scott's voice.

Saeko has posed:
Indeed there were no ants, no other creatures of the Earthly realm to be found, not even a radio or wifi signal. Truely it was a place of unknown horror untouched by even the light of the internet! And yet, the woman in her red (and slightly more revealing than normal) yukata gives a little twitch of those ears, a little quirk of her brow and a lowering of the cup that seems to vanish with a little flourish of her fingers.

"This is a place of peace and relaxation...and threatening to curse someone in their own home is...well, quite rude..." she turns, those unnatural eyes and whisker marks adding more of a non-human edge to that inhuman beauty. "How in the worlds did you get here?"

Scott Lang has posed:
     Were Scott not slightly terrified that he has somehow wound up in the wrong dimension he might have more admiration for the revealing outfit. Or maybe not, he hangs out with Power Girl an awful lot. For a second or so he considers remaining hidden in the tall grass but...she spoke English! That at least seemed like a step in the right direction. In only a moment he's full-sized standing several feet back, his form clearly still a tad tense as he flicks a glance around now that the world is no longer ginormous before focusing back on her.
     "Right, sorry, been a bit of a long day. Curses not really up my alley anyway. Actually from the New York area if you could just, maybe offer some directions?" he tries instead a bit apologetically, his helmet folding back into a collar around the neck of his suit, an embarassed grin on his face while a hand rubs at the back of his head sheepishly.

Saeko has posed:
Accented or not, it -was- English, the Tenko brings herself to a little standing space, a little tilt of her head curious as she folds her arms under her bust. "You are an 'Ant Man'," Saeko speaks, perhaps a little suprising, but she'd seen a similar suit before even if this one contained a new face. "But you are not the one whom I have met before."

A beat, she steps forwards, lips quirking to a light smile. "You are quite far from your city, in normal terms you are...Nowhere."

Scott Lang has posed:
     "Hey lets, lets keep a little distance here now. I don't know who...WHAT you are. Or where this is. But it's not NOWHERE it has to be SOMEWHERE," Scott reasons while taking an equal step back as Saeko so confidently steps forward. Well, she KNEW where she was and what he was, of course she'd be more confident. And being told he's 'Nowhere' wasn't helping as he gets a sinking feeling in his gut. Still a glimmer of hope.
     "You've met, you met Hank though? How's that possible? Does he know a way to get here? He'd know how to get back from here then too. Hey Hank come in? You there? Hank?" Scott pressing a finger to his suit's collar as he tries his comm system. Nothing but static of course results only making the man frown and a run a frustrated hand back through his hair. He casts a sidelong glance at Saeko again and then blows a long sigh through his lips. "Scott by the way."

Saeko has posed:
Personal space didn't seem to be much of a concern for the exotic fox-featured woman, a little blink and she moves quite close, walking in a circle around the man to look him up and down. "I met him when he summoned me, discovering a 'equation' that mimiced a summoning. He has never been here before." A beat that clear curiousity on her face was quite amusing to a being that was meant to be a possessor of divine knowledge. "Very few mortals have ever been here, and none of them without me bringing them...which makes you appearing here quite....strange."

Arms still folded, the woman's tails give a little flick of amusement. "I am Saeko, a Tenko of Inari...and I am stunned that you arrived here by accident Scott."

Scott Lang has posed:
     A pretty woman circling Scott up close while looking him up and down would probably have Scott stammering in normal circumstances. Lost in a dimensional rift and the woman has tails, and he would swear fangs, well he had whole other reasons to be concerned. "Oh good, wonderful, I'm a first. I was one of the first humans to visit an interstellar empire too. Wasn't a fan of that either. L-look Psycho Ten Oven Airy," Scott just, absolutely butchering her name as he tries to say it, "I'm not looking to cause this place any trouble. Is there like, a magic wardrobe I can step through? Or maybe Hank's equation! I mean I can try shrinking again but, I'm not really sure what I did the FIRST time around, I don't wanna zap myself into Hell next time or something you know?" he babbles on, his hands up in front of him, trying to keep backing away from her even as she continually circles him with her twitching tails.
     Maybe he should trust her more but there was something about her. A feeling of power. The kind one might sense when they're in the middle of a divine entity's personal realm where they can forge reality. He didn't KNOW that's what it was but the hairs on the back of his neck knew, the same kind of sensation one got hanging around Kryptonians. It didn't matter how nice they were, there was always a part of you that knew they could punch a moon out of orbit if they got upset. His fingers twitch at the size control on his suit but don't push the buttons just yet.

Saeko has posed:
"You are scared," Saeko offers lightly before a soft giggle emerges from the woman's throat and she steps back, gesturing around them lightly and then bringing a hand to her mouth. "Do not be, this is not a prison nor do I mean you harm unless you have come to harm me. And you have mre the look of a lost traveller than a marauding invader Scott of New York."

A lazy step back, the fox stretches put, seeming to recline on...well, air. "You are not trapped here, I can take you back to New York, it is a city I have walked often these past two years, offering aid to those who seek it."

Lips still a grin, she lowers her hand and folds them before her. "Of course, there is a price, an 'offering' needed for such magics."

Scott Lang has posed:
     "I'm not scared! This is tactically sound caution!" Scott argues, brow furrowing up and crossing his own arms as he tries to strike some semblance of a heroic pose. One that falters quite a bit right after as his shoulders slump and he mumbles, "But I sure as heck am lost, I...why is it everyone but me can seem to fly in the air?" griping at Saeko's momentary display of power as she floats in mid-air, shaking his head as he tries to refocus on the issue at hand.
     "Ah-hah, there it is. A catch! Alright well, I don't know what you think I'm gonna have on me. You can't have the suit. I've got a VISA and like, a 150 bucks in cash," Scott tells her. He actually had 200 but no sense telling her that if he could bargain for less!

Saeko has posed:
"I am not flying," the kitsune corrects, a little gesture with her hand. "I am -lounging-, it is an important distinction. I was enjoying tea and the prospect of bathing before you stumbled here and threatened to curse me. I am entitled to relax!"

A mock pout given, his listing of his resources doesn't quite bring the response he was looking for and she sits up, clapping her hands together excitedly and nodding her head. "Perfect! Then we will strike a bargin. I will return you to New York...and you will purchase me a pastry from the cafe I will place you outside. Something sweet, with strawberries."

Probably not the faustian deal he'd expected...

Scott Lang has posed:
     A pastry? That was it? Scott looks not surprisingly somewhat flummoxed that travel between dimensions could be bought with baked goods. "That, that's it? You just want a strawberry turnover? This isn't some like, evil djinni deal where you turn me into a pastry or turn my money into strawberries? Just, buy you dessert?" Scott makes sure to verify.
     And actually rubs his chin as if he has to think about this. But then she was a magical entity from another realm offering him a deal too good to be true, like some sort of fae trickster. Surely he needed time to consider and think it over, ensure his soul wasn't on the line, be absolutely sure that..."OK deal," he quips with a nod of his head. "I get home and you can enjoy your bath with a puff pastry. Though you're probably better off waiting till after. Crumbs," he advises.

Saeko has posed:
"Certainly," Saeko offers lightly, shrugging her shoulders. "You friend Hank? He was blessed with inspiration and aid once after the offering of a 'cheeseburger and milkshake'. The mortals in your city have such a wide variety of wonderful foods...it is very different from centuries ago."

Apparently the verbal agreement was all she needed because the fox simply took a step forward...and then she wasn't there anymore. Instead standing beside him was a still incredibly beautiful woman...but one noticably missing fox features, the raven haired girl dressed in jeans and a tank top rather than that exotic asian-deity attire.

Then there was a 'snap' like a finger clicking and Scott would find himself looking at startled faces, a server dropping the order he'd been making in fright as he had apparently appeared back in New York...right in the middle of the pastry shop Saeko had selected while the 'human' fox awaited outside.

Scott Lang has posed:
     "Hey whoa, how did you move so fast like..." was as far as Scott got before the next moment he too was teleported, not even time to blink before he was in the crowded shop, a deer in headlights look etched on his face while everyone stared at him. He takes a long slow look around and then suddenly snaps to attention and throws his arms up in the air as if victorious. "It's Ant-man everyone! Just popping out of the Microverse, it's alright, I've STOPPED the invaders, you are all safe, continue about your day!" he calls out loudly in his best 'nothing to see here, move along' impression as he awkwardly shuffles up towards the counter and pulls out his wallet, slapping down a ten dollar bill on the counter and coughing out, "One uh, whatever your best strawberry pastry is?" The cashier behind the counter however lets loose an 'ahem' and subtly tilts their head to the priceboard above them, Scott loosing a groan as he lays down 40 dollars instead. It couldn't be a CHEAP pastry could it?

     Soon enough though Scott is walking out the doors which loose a merry jingle holding a white box filled with a dozen strawberry puff pastries filled with cream and topped with powdered sugar, the Kryptonite to any diabetic heroes to be sure. "I suppose this still wasn't a BAD deal all told," Scott grumbles as he pushes the box towards her.

Saeko has posed:
It seems that diabeties wasn't quite a concern for the divine spirit, a bright smile as she took the offered box and shrugged. "There are worse places to be stranded than my hideaway," she points out lightly before gesturing to the box in her arms. "But this will suffice. If you ever wish to make an offering of your own under less 'dire' circumstances, there is a small shrine to Inari that was donated to Central Park. And if you were to invade my home again...perhaps 'knock' next time?"

With that the disguised Kitsune leans over, planting a kiss on the hero's cheek with a grin...and then turning as if she simply intended to -walk- away with her treat.