15056/Lightning Lightning Burning Bright!

Lightning Lightning Burning Bright!
Date of Scene:	01 June 2023
Location:	Rock of Eternity
Synopsis:	Lightning makes everything better.
Cast of Characters:	Billy Batson, Mary Bromfield, Audra Meridian, Marie-Ange Colbert, Franklin Richards

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Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson; Shazam, Defender of Mankind, Champion of Magic, sits on his stone chair and waits. Mary should be here soon. His arm is no better. In fact the dark material of his sleeve is creeping upward. Even the Courage of Achilles is a little lacking when it comes to body horror. It won't let him rest though. He is a hero. He will not die sitting in a chair. He lurches to his feet, clears his throat. Maybe if he changed back to Billy then back to Shazam he'd reset? No... that sounds like a really bad idea. "If I get my hands... yes hands on that gun toting troll, I will wreck him!" Yelling makes him feel better. Where the heck is Mary and Marie?

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Thunderbolt flies in at that point, carrying Tarot in her arms as she arrives. Landing near the dias where the stone chairs are present, she sets down her companion and looks over at Shazam, "No change?" She hrms a bit, seeming to know the answer before she asks, as she moves up towards Shazam, intent on getting a closer look at what's happening. "Though I suspect if we get that troll, getting a cure out of him should be the priority." She glances over towards Tarot, seeing if she might have some extra insight on what's happening.

Audra Meridian has posed:
At some point Audra also came through the portal to the Rock of Eternity, easily overlooked while everyone was fussing over Shazam and his arm. "Still in rough shape, huh? But I'm sure someone will figure something out before too long." This was a magic thing, so the most she could do at the moment is emotional support. "Well, at least that's not a Brood infection," she adds, making a face. Ugh. She's had her fill of space bug infestations for some time.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Tarot lets her feet touch the ground as Thunderbolt sets her down, getting her footing again before trailing in the taller woman's wake. "I suspect, the person who did this might not wish to undo it." A pause. "I would almost certainly recommend paying a visit to Madame Crowe's apothacary to see if she has anything that may help with this matter, oui?" Marie's best input, here, is her connections. She doesn't have the magical training to go with the innate magical power within her. Audra gets a wave -- though it's not the usual cheery, tempered by her concern for Shazam -- although the very /mention/ of the Brood draws a shudder. She's faced them personally, on multiple occasions.

Franklin Richards has posed:
There is a wrinkle in the air, that slowly opens in the air just a few feet off the ground, and from that portal what looks like a small beam of light shoouts through as it hits far away just scuffing the wall as the shout is dispersed. Jumping out of the hole in space, comes Frankling rolling out holding onto a large closed bag that is tied at the top. He turns and closes the portal behind him as a couple more shouts come through. Franklin just grins at them, and says something in a wierd language with a laugh. Though the finger he gives them as the portal closes finally is somewhat universal.

He falls to the floor to look up to see where he is at. "Wait.. This isn't the Baxter Building?"

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson looks up and straightens. Company. "It feels, feverish. Like an infection. We need to do... something soon... is this Crowe available?"

Audra Meridian has posed:
The abrupt arrival is enough to snap Audra's attention away from Billy for a moment. "What in the blue hills was tha -- Wait, isn't that the Richards' kid?" She's not occupied with Shazam directly at the moment so she walks over to offer Franklin a helping hand up. "You okay there boy?"

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary nods over at Audra, and blinks at Franklin's sudden arrival, "Well, yes, this is the Rock." She smiles faintly, recognizing him at least as she then looks to Marie, "Well, does she make house calls, or should we try and get Shazam over to her? It might be easier if she came here, as I'm not liking how that seems to be spreading." She frowns, very slightly, narrowing her eyes and studying the wound.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin tosses the bag to the side, and sits up again and smiles. "Oh hey.. I finally made it." he stands, and grabs the bag off the floor. "How ya guys been? Had to take a little vacation in space." and grins moving closer to the others. He tries to find a table to put the bag on to open it. He smiles, and nods to Audra, "oh your new.. Hi.. just Franklin works. I haven't been a kid for a bit now." he chuckles.

Opening the bag he shows it full of Units, the currency they used. He looks at Marie, "Those Sovereign can't take losing." he explains as they were shooting at him as he fled. Then he stops, "Wait... why you all look so serious?"

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson shrugs his arm away from Mary. "Not much, magically cursed and dying, how are you?"

"Listen, Mary, you... I want you to be in charge. You need a sixth, I leave that to you. There are great... coices. When you become the leader the Rock will respond to you. It's really very cool."

Audra Meridian has posed:
"Franklin. Right, that's it." There's a pause and Audra turns her head to shoot a look in Shazam's direction. "Hey now, no need for that kind of talk! I know you feel like a warmed over cowpie and things can look grim, but it's not over until it's.. ah.." After a moment she huffs into her bangs and folds her arms. "I lost the idiom I was trying to connect to. But the point is, don't just assume the worse. There's way too many people that specialize in weird crap for this to not be dealt with."

Another pause as she glances towards Mary. "That said, having a backup plan is probably not a bad idea."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary sighs, "You know, your tendency to give up when things get tough is very much not a Philly trait." She leans in and glares at Billy, "So you got two choices. You can either give up, or you can keep moving forward. Which is it gonna be, because we're getting magical help for you, if you can hang in there."

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin frowns and considers, "That is wierd..." he doesn't look too woried more confused as he sees an injured Billy. he slowly walks over, and pokes his side. "Oh yea... thats bad. You should prob fix that." then he pokes it again. He shakes his head at Billys words, "No talking like that or I am going to poke you again. Leave it to Mary She is the brains here." and smiles a bit.

He looks back "I leave for a little while, and this is what happends.. I tell you guys." he seems calm still as he looks over at Audra, "Your right.. Perhaps they should vote for leadership." and grins at Billy a bit trying to keep him calm in situations like this. "Besides, are you not sure she isn't the leader already?" as he glances at Mary then back at Billy.

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson glares at her. Something not Billy flashes across his face. Mary can feel it. "The Courage of Achilles doesn't say anything about hope. You... always wanted to be the fucking leader anyway." His eyes and body crackle with lightning as he locks gaze with Thunderbolt."

Unseen by Billy, the black part of his sleeve recedes a bit and the edge becomes ragged.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Somewhere, right now, Marie's making calls to her magical sources. Leaving voice mails, so far, but trying every number she has... including numbers that might have small Degrees Of Bacon to those sources.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary looks back at Billy, "Maybe I should, if you're just going to give up. Courage of Achilles? More like the Hopelessness of Sisyphus. Considering all the resources we have, and you're just going to stew on your throne of self-pity?" She points at Billy, "You keep saying you wanted to be a hero. Well, this is where you have to show it. People are counting on you!"

Audra Meridian has posed:
Audra Meridian takes a step back at the outburst. The flicker of 'something else' might of previously gotten past her, but with how much she's dealt with ming control and compulsions as of late she's started to notice those little sort of details. "Guys, I think he might be dealing with more than just a cursed infection or whatever you called it.." Then glances over her shoulder towards Marie. Who's still making calls. She turns back to the others. Starts to say something, but stops when Mary verbally fires back. Looks back to Marie again. "Not to be a bother, but this is kinda escalating here..."

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin looks at Billy with a frown, "I will give ya a hint Billy.. This is a guess, but you are not a kid now, you are a group of ideals.. Breaking down those ideals are the same as breaking down... Well you." he sighs a bit, "I mean sure you know how to use the powers, but do you know how to use the feelings? Perhaps it will slow down whatever this is."

He sighs a bit, and moves back to his bag on the table to look through it. "I am not interfering. Totally neutral, just thinking ot loud." and nods a bit talking to no-one. "Your right... though Audra." he looks again at Mary. Best to check, could it spread? He hoped not, but best to best to check as it was the only way to be sure.

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson says, "... you... what do you know? Fu- I don't curse. I don't curse my sister for sure. This is not a curse. Audra is right, it's demonic. Get back. Zeus deals with demons. Zeus Pater!" Lightning flashes and then forms a column around Shazam. His costume turns white in a blaze of energy as he lifts off the floor, face contorted wit effort. The blackness contaminating his arm boils and writhes but doesn't quite release, despite his clearly giving his all.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie's voice is getting more panicky in the voicemail messages she leaves. She can hear the argument going on in the background. She can hear the escalation of Billy and Mary's voices. Right now? She's doing everything she can to keep from crying, because the only thing she knows might be able to help... isn't working yet.

Until it does. Scrambling back to the Shazams-in-Turmoil, she reaches out to try and put a hand on each of their shoulders, only to be sent scrambling backwards as Billy tells them all to get back. "I reached Madame Crowe! She is in London. Working to get where I can bring her here as quickly as possible." She's hopeful this news will offer a bit of optimism to quell the argument.

Audra Meridian has posed:
"Oh geeze." Audra quickly pulls her goggles down over her eyes as Shazam starts to go super sayai-err-Zeus Mode. Does that count as a God Mode? Considering... wait, tangent thought, stop that. But at least Billy seems to be partially back to his senses, and struggling against the demonic influence. It's a step in the right direction, even if it's not entirely effective.

"Yeah, that's the fella we know. No giving up." Audra steps up to catch Marie as she stumbles backwards. "Good job, Marie."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary grins, as she puts a hand over Marie's, "It's okay, love, but I'm gonna need you to stand back." She winks, looking very not-mad now as she takes a step towards Billy, concentrating for a moment. Maybe thinking of that lightning bolt she conjured from Jupiter's own clouds a few years back.

So when she speaks, seven thunders answer in her voice, "SHAZAM!" Which is when a brilliant lightning bolt rockets from the sky and crashes into Billy.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin pulls some goggles out of the bag, and then a metal pole with a rubber handle with a couple of marshmellow at the end of it. He holds it out to catch a few sparks, and sighs a bit. He glances at Audra, "Do you want one?" then repeats.. "Do You Want One!" a bit louders as he couldn't hear himself. Glancing at what is left of the marshmellow he grins.. "Or well... maybe not."

He sighs a bit, as he must remember ear plugs, but he will just munch on Shazam cooked Marshmellow and watch to see what they try next.

Billy Batson has posed:
Blackness emerges from Shazam's arm. It tries to return to the man, but is repelled by the lightning. Mary's seven thunders disperse it and it floats quickly to the Eye of Evil and is drawn inside with a shriek. Billy falls to the floor, on his knees, truly Billy. His hood slips over his head. "Dang! That was a rush!" He scrambles to his feet and looks up at Thunderbolt, several inches taller. "I hate when this happens." Then he wobbles. "Do I smell marshmallows?"

Audra Meridian has posed:
Audra Meridian is use to standing in the middle of roaring storms and even she cringes slightly at the cacophonic blare of thunder as Mary tries to blast the corruption out of Shazam. And Franklin is.. roasting a marshmellow in the display. She might be shouting back something about barely being enough left for one but it's not easy to be heard at the moment. Though it seems to have worked? Depends if getting sucked into the artifact was intentional. "Okay, what the hell -was- that?"

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary hrms, "I think you do, Billy. Noticed that when you were channeling the lightning, it was receding. So I thought I should egg you on a little bit." She looks a bit embarrassed about it, honestly, as she shrugs, "Feeling better, bro?"

With that, she glances over at Audra, "Looks like the infection, or curse, or whatever it was, was sensitive to the lightning that we use. So, yeah, we used it. Excessively, perhaps, but it worked." She grins over at Marie with that. "Might not be a bad idea to double check with your expert though. Just to be safe."

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin sighs "Yea... That didn't work." and he tosses the metal poker as it turns into dust before it hits the floor. "I am sure your going to be finding marshmello bits for a while. Sorry bout that." he turns to look at Audra, "You get used to it, you would be surprised how much stuff can be just be salved by zapping it with the lightning." he grins, a bit. and looks at where the thing was. "It is too bad though I was hoping there might be some left to study."

He looks at Mary, "Well maybe next time you will get to be the leader." and chuckles, "So... who is going to explain how this happened?"

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie, for her part, gives a little nod. "...things are alright now, oui?" she asks, looking from Mary, to Billy, and back again. "If he feels better... then it may be best to have him come to her." she points out, crinkling her nose a bit, frowning a bit. "At least... that thing... does not seem to be there, now."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson says, "You goaded me? I wasn't in my right mind. That stuff was trying hard to corrupt me. I was going berserk from the pain." He shrugs and gives big sister, even bigger now, a hug. "Thanks sis."

Audra Meridian has posed:
Audra Meridian lets out a sigh. "I still don't get half this magic stuff around you guys. I'm just glad you're okay... Marie's probably right though, about getting someone knowledgable to give you a once over, just to make sure nothing managed to linger."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary grins and returns the hug, "Well, yeah. I thought it was a good way to try and snap you out of it." She chuckles, "But yeah, Marie's right, we should probably get you over to visit her friend, just to make sure there's nothing more lurking." She nods in agreement with Audra, then gives Billy a fist bump.