1602/The Bells: Mirror, Mirror

The Bells: Mirror, Mirror
Date of Scene:	10 May 2020
Location:	Auction House Warehouse, Metropolis
Synopsis:	Lois Lane and intern Kara look for more information about the source of the Shadow.
Cast of Characters:	Lois Lane, Loki, Kara Danvers

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Lois Lane has posed:
Usually Lois doesn't return to the scene of the crime. It still felt, to her, like they had left a little too quickly. They didn't explore all their avenues that they could have. There was the nagging feeling that they had missed something and she couldn't shake it. But with Clark rushing off to go handle other things, that meant Lois would have to go alone. Which, of course, she had told Clark she wouldn't do.

Except, of course, that just meant she had to find someone she could convince to break into (again) a creepy warehouse with a dead body in it. No big deal. She hadn't mentioned the dead body on the phone. Never lead with a dead body. Promising an exciting story was involved that could even make some headlines was the tempting offer she put forward.

As they step inside, the scent makes it obvious there's a body somewhere nearby. "Okay, so I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for, there's a guy killed by shards of a mirror over there. Sorry about that. I'll try and explain later. I think there might be some kind of gold candlestick or artifact or something? Just look--" She stops the ramble after a moment. The warehouse is lit in a blue light. "Huh. That wasn't there before."

Loki has posed:
The warehouse is just as Lois remembered it, except that it's well lit. But not through conventional means. Strange orbs of light are floating overhead: beautiful twirling will-o-the-wisps, blue and tickling silver, flitting around in spiraling display. It grants a faerie-like light, making it very easy to search for anything that might be out of place....

The corpse of Francis is still there, but has been moved. He is RIGHT in front of the door, seated on the floor loosely, as the women enter, like a ghastly sentry! He is slumped to one side a little bit, covered in the stab wounds: but it seems all the 'murder weapons' are missing: he doesn't have any shards of mirror stuck in him anymore. He's just very, very pale, and very dead. Poor Francis.

Some wisps swirl down and around, flitting in the air like tiny birds, perhaps reacting to the arrivals. They make soft, gentle sigh noises: they are soft and delicate, non-aggressive. Perhaps they are curious?

Kara Danvers has posed:
"A guy - what?"

Kara had been more than willing to come on the 'assignment' when she was called. As much as she'd been laying low and hiding from Lois for a while, a conversation with her cousin had made her a bit less wary about giving it all away. So, like a good intern, here she was.

Her eyes widen into saucers behind the magnifying lenses of her glasses as she stares at the corpse, taking a few steps quickly backwards and clutching the lapels of the jacket she wears.

"Oh my gosh, he's - "

She closes her mouth with a snap, turning her head this way and that. She pulls her glasses off her face, pretending to wipe them with the hem of her shirt while secretly trying to perceive anything that might be hiding nearby with super vision.

"We're ... treasure hunting?"

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois blinks, more than a little surprised as to the corpse being /right there/. "Okay, Kara, I don't want you to be too freaked out here but someone else has been here since we last were and it's a bit different." She's already wishing Zatanna were here to try and figure out the wisps. This seemed very magic. She's cautious, stepping out of the way of the corpse. It's likely to scare off anyone trying to investigate. Probably.

"Treasure hunting is kind of a romantic way of picturing it, but yes..." She's looking at the wisps though. "I can't tell if these things are going to hurt us."

Loki has posed:
The wisps just float around, helpfully offering light, but mostly staying overhead. They're within reach, though, should anyone choose to reach out to them. They feel like snowflakes, nothing more.

Super-senses will pick up the wisps just fine, but also that they aren't alone. Someone is just around the corner: there's heartbeat, breathing, and so forth; a man is there, who has now paused. Possibly listening to the voices of the women arriving to the warehouse, or busy with what he's doing. Either way, the man squats back down, amidst a bunch of something all over the floor. And so, further into the warehouse is a completely different sight. Not long before, there was a collapsed mirror, shards everywhere: the shards have all been gathered up, and a man is squatted near them, rearranging the pieces like a jigsaw puzzle from hell, while the wisps flutter around overhead.

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara's voice seems decidedly less timid. The accent does not change, but there's more ... resonance to it. She stands up a little straighter, her shoulders squaring, and she keeps her thick glasses pulled down her nose to peer over the top of them. She stares into those depths where the figure crouches over the broken mirror.

"Lois," she whispers, instinctively taking a step in front of her boss and holding out an arm as though trying to shield her, "There's ... I think there is someone in there."

She stays a step or so ahead of Lois, or tries to, and moves ahead. She slips her glasses back upwards a moment to glance over her shoulder and check on the other woman.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois' eyes widen in surprise and she lowers her voice. "What? It's got to be whomever moved this body..." If someone's in there, it's worth trying to see who or what they're doing. And /hopefully/ they won't act aggressively. As Kara moves in front and forward, she's surprised, but she doesn't stop her. She almost seems a little... proud?

She sticks close, following after Kara only a pace back. She keeps an eye out for where the figure is, taking her queues from Kara. After all, she had seen or heard something she didn't, so she's following that lead.

Loki has posed:
It'll be the wisps that give the women away, floating all around them like a gleeful welcoming committee! However, the man stays working on his mirror for the moment while the two tentatively sneak forwards to spy on him.

It really just looks like, from the back, that he's arranging shards of mirror, and the wisps are 'helping' a little. Or hindering. There's an open book nearby, a thick one: magic would make sense....

Kara Danvers has posed:
It's the sight of the book that gives Kara pause. If it'd been a giant robot or someone with a giant gun? Sure, no problem. Strange scrawls in a book, though? She knows what that means, and it makes her wrinkle her nose warily. It doesn't keep her from trying to shield Lois, however, and she even bats her hand a little at the floating wisp-lights as they give away any real attempts at stealth.

Sure, she doesn't normally do stealth but she can at least, academically, understand the merit of it in such a situation.

"Lois," Kara whispers, trying to keep her voice down and their presence unnoticed to the best of her ability, "I think we found who moved things around."

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois usually has no problems confronting someone in a situation like this. Unfortunately, she's noticed the book. This could either be someone trying to repair the mirror to perhaps trap the shadow things, or someone trying to repair the mirror to let more loose? That was a very uncomfortable thought. She doesn't have enough information to just jump in.

"Okay, I've got a plan. I'm going to try and see if I can figure out what he's up to, you try to circle around so that he doesn't know where you are and then we'll flank him. I don't want to confront him unless it seems reasonably safe." Aw, Clark's been a good influence.

Loki has posed:
It really appears that he's just puzzling through the mirror, though he takes a break, sitting back on the floor, reclining against one of the large crates. The wisps move towards the mirror pieces, as if intently trying to puzzle through it on their own, which puts most of the light down on the floor.

The mirror pieces don't entirely reflect the wisps, though: one would expect the light from the wisps to be everywhere, but it just isn't. Either the wisps are odd, or the mirror is. Or both...

Kara Danvers has posed:
For a moment, Kara warily watches Lois and wrinkles her nose at the suggestion. But in the end she simply nods her head, adjusting her glasses on her face and moving in the direction indicated. In the interest of stealth, she waits until she's a bit away from Lois and then hovers a few inches into the air. She shifts as though she's walking, but avoids the actual noisy footsteps part of it all.

Clinging to the shadows is a little easier in the dark, muted tones that are her everyday dress as Kara Danvers. Much easier to be stealthy in that a bright blue tunic and red cape. She tries a large loop around, staying behind or between crates where she can while continuously peering over the top of her glasses to watch the man - staring through the obstructions when she has to.

Lois Lane has posed:
There's no other move that Lois can see. She needs information and visually she just isn't getting what she needs. She prefers to ask questions anyways. However, she's hoping to not give her exact location away immediately. So, fishing into her purse, she pulls out a pen, then hurls it away from her so that it'd make a noise against the side of a crate. She does this, of course, /not/ in the direction Kara had set off in.

She's hoping he'll pipe in with the nervous 'who's there' and she can chime in. It doesn't always work like that though.

Loki has posed:
And the wisps .... seemed at first the be 'with' the stealth plan, but a few have drifted over to light up the women. And the pen, too: one of them glides over like a silvery-blue laser pointer to check it over.

Lois gets her wish, anyway, though. The man clears his throat a little, and addresses the warehouse boldy: "It's your time you're wasting by skulking in the shadows, not mine," he calls. He moves to sit forward once more, having found a big set of four pieces, and arranges them into the appropriate shape. A few more follow: very good progress, really.

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara shakes her head a little when their game is given up by the wisps, muttering 'stupid magic' under her breath. Despite it, she doesn't give up on the plan just yet. She does her best to remain near the crates, ready to spring out undetected should Lois need her or when she's called. Occasionally she flaps her hand at one of the wisps, trying to shoo it like a fly.

Lois Lane has posed:
Well, so much for that plan. But Lois does ease up a bit knowing she can at least converse. She steps out of her position, glaring a bit at the wisps before she looks over at the man. "Alright, you mind if I ask you a few questions then?"

Direct, just the way she likes it. She doesn't wait for him to answer her first question, because she's not planning on actually giving him a say in the matter. "You got a good reason why you're repairing that mirror after pulling pieces of it out of the fellow by the door? That's an awful lot of effort."

Loki has posed:
"Yes, well. Later, when everyone asks, you can tell them what an inordinate amount of effort I've expended here," responds the man, as if he'd like his damn credit. He's still seated on the floor, cross legged, though his back is fairly straight. He's dressed nicely, a clean dark suit; he doesn't look much like an old crusty wizard type. More like a bloodsucking warlock or vampire. The tone might not be helping.

"You look familiar," he adds, pausing. "have you yelled at me before?" It's a thoughtful question, before he finds another big piece and sets it in place. The mirror shards are sharp, but there's dexterity; he isn't cutting himself on them.

Lois Lane has posed:
"If you have to ask that question, I probably haven't. You'd remember me," Lois folds her arms over her chest, eyeing him carefully. "/You/ look familiar though." She studies him, first, then what he's doing and the book he's got open. "You kind of remind me of..." She trails off. Mostly because that's not a guess she really wants to make. Not yet, at least.

"Right, so would you like to tell me why you're repairing that mirror? Or should I assume the worst and go with that you're causing all of this weird shadow magic and simply call in the cavalry. I prefer civil discourse."

Loki has posed:
"Who exactly is the cavalry? Are they good at puzzles?" wonders the mage on the ground, stretching one leg slightly as he puts in two more pieces. He also scowls down at it. "Not that it matters. A piece is missing. Didn't run off with it, did you?" he wonders dryly, as if he wouldn't put it past her.

"If anyone is going to put that monster back before it consumes everyone in this city, you'll want the container fixed. It seems that won't be happening. ....What a colossal waste of time." Irritable, he starts to get to his feet, picking up the book loosely.

"Eat all the people, nothing left to rule. Wasn't /me/." That was a funny joke, maybe just for his benefit. Probably. He seems to think he's amusing.

Lois Lane has posed:
Well, the attitude and the language give it away. He's not dressed up all fancy, but the snark is certainly a factor. "I somehow didn't picture you being helpful, Loki," Lois peers in his direction, though she glances around for a moment as if to look for the mirror piece. "Don't look at me. I just investigated, I came back because I felt we didn't find everything."

He's already given her a bit of information: the mirror's the container. So they had been on the right track. "You seem to know an awful lot about this mirror. Do you have any idea on how to get the shadow back in there?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara keeps to her hiding place as the conversation goes on, listening intently with sharp Kryptonian ears. When it seems less apparent that she's going to need to dash out and act as a distraction (or a battering ram) she sort of awkwardly makes her way out from between two stacks of crates. Presumably surrounded by some politely interested wisps.

She gives them another flapping wave of her hand to drive them away, before she tucks both in the pockets of her jacket and takes a few steps towards the mirror-puzzle. She's still listening, though the idea of a magic mirror cage for monsters is something she needs to see with her own eyes.

Loki has posed:
"'Any idea'? Of course. I don't just fix magic mirrors for personal enjoyment to look at myself," scoffs Loki, not arguing with the positive identification. He stands up full, lean and tall, with his personal regal bearing that he often exudes when being 'himself'. The arrogance of the sly snake. "It's a good relic, probably would start to siphon if you had the pieces. As it is? Trash."

"Seems to me that while you didn't 'picture' my helpfulness, you very clearly /need/ it. Disaster over here," observes the mischief maker lightly, gesturing loosely to the whole of the city. He flutters his fingers along the spine of the book before snapping it shut.

"Fix this yourselves, then. I look forward to seeing what you come up with for bait." The idea of the humans doing this magic has made him sneer a little. Humans. Loki eyes Lois with some fierce side-eye. Kara has come out, and he glances at her without much interest, judging her as just some intern that was cowering behind the crates.

The wisps start to gather, moving towards and around Loki, giving him a godly silvery aura, as they get in close.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois isn't entirely certain how much to push. So she just goes for it. "You have a bit of a reputation, Loki. It's unsurprising that I wouldn't picture you as being particularly helpful. All I've seen of you isn't, well, very flattering. I imagine, though, your continued help would certainly impress people." She looks down at the mirror pieces, then back at him. "I'll be sure to put a good word in for how helpful you were."

Kara Danvers has posed:
"We could fix it," Kara interjects hotly, glancing apologetically towards Lois. Hearing the reporter's words, she hushes a little but crosses her arms over her chest. As though to try and prove her point, she moves a little towards the mirror and crouches by it to look at the pieces.

Loki has posed:
"Not without the missing piece you won't." It's not snide, mostly just factual, from his tone. He eyes them for a moment....

Then, Loki gestures with a curl of hand, and the mirror pieces started to levitate a little. The growing grin on his face is taunting. And the direction of this perhaps clear: either he's going to scramble them up, or even break them into even smaller pieces.

But Lois's last comment seems to mollify him, and like a king granting mercy, he turns his hand over, and allows the pieces to drop back nicely to the floor in the pattern he left them in: mostly solved, at least to where the mage could tell a piece was not there. It isn't visually apparent how he did that. Magic?

"Hmh," Loki snorts, with a half smile, a tease of tonguetip along the inside of his lower lip. The follows the snort by.... seeming to visually fade out amidst drawing his hand in and casting. With that, he seems to be gone. And the wisps start to wink out, little blips, as the place gets very, very dark.

Lois Lane has posed:
Thankfully, things weren't totally ruined. Lois freezes for a moment, waiting, unsure if he's still lurking. After a minute she decides it's safe and looks to Kara. "I would say not to trust him, but I feel like in this case he's being honest." She looks at the mirror pieces. "On the plus side, while I certainly didn't take the mirror piece, I know who did. And, conveniently, she's a magic user. Hopefully she'll be able to help figure out how to use this."

She grins at Kara. "Sure is an exciting story, huh?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
"Was that Loki? As in New York Loki?" Kara asks, "It had to be ... " She hadn't been on Earth for the events, but she'd heard about them because she didn't spend her free time on the surface of Mars in a cave with her fingers in her ears and her eyes shut.

Pausing to look at the mirror, breathing a sigh of relief that she didn't cause it to be smashed beyond repair, Kara once more tucks her hands into her jacket and nods her head.

"It certainly is. So ... next stop, magic user with mirror shard?"