17822/Ides of April

Ides of April
Date of Scene:	01 May 2024
Location:	Gramercy Park Hotel
Synopsis:	Catseye haunts the 13th floor of a NY hotel. Roxanne and J'onn come to investigate. No ghosts were found!
Cast of Characters:	Sharon Smith, J'onn J'onzz, Roxanne Spaulding

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Sharon Smith has posed:
The haunted hotel. Sharon sat happy in a luxurious room, enjoying the view. The purple haired woman had on one of those big, fluffy white robes with the hotel's emblem etched on its breast. Beside her was a bucket of ice and a bottle of milk. Wine or champaign would have been a slightly more stereotypical beverage of choice for celebrations, but there were other stereotypical reasons for Sharon to prefer a bottle of milk over the alcoholic alternatives. It wasn't that she couldn't or wouldn't drink alcohol, but milk was admittedly less harsh on the nose.

The mutant was reaping the benefits of her labor as she enjoyed the entire floor of the hotel to herself. She had spent all of April "haunting" that particular floor. It was her grand April Fool's project. Her usual routine of April Fools was to terrorize the X school by tackling students and staff, or simply slapping things off of high places and shouting "April Fools!" Many have tried to convince her that April Fools is a single day event, but Catseye refused to entertain such a reality. Her reality, of 30 days of bedlam, was far more fun.

It was the hotel's fault for having a 13th floor. Most hotels didn't list floor 13, skipping directly from 12 to 14, but the architects of this particular place didn't have the foresight of a cat mutant terrorizing a floor simply because of an unlucky number. It didn't take much. Use lipstick to write "red rum" on a few mirrors, upturn a few beds, and go "ooooo" a lot. It wasn't long before rumors of a haunted floor began to surface, and once they started, they spread like wildfire.

After 30 days, her project was complete. The hotel was left with a floor noone would dare to book, and Sharon was left to reap the fruits of her labor by enjoying free hotel amenities. Noone had the courage to go up to the 13th floor and give her room service, but she had the place to herself, and could at least enjoy the view for a while before going back to a less prank-focused world.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz lost a bet for Justice Leauge Dark. Normally, they had lower level agents and then new members ot investifate this kind of ting, the non world threatening variety things that could BECOME something more, but as it is, he found himself handed a file with a firm determination to practice his singing and improve his Kareoke. He enters the hotel and looks about.

A thin smile appears on his face as the hotel has a spooky vibe, but he has been with Justice League Dark long enough to know that what seems spooky only rarely matches human expectation for the real thing. Either way, he extends his senses, mental and physical, trying to get a read on the place.

Roxanne Spaulding has posed:
Purple hair. IT seems that the Gramercy Hotel attracts women with that shade in their locks. Unlike Sharon, there's only purple streaks through her short, bob. Dressed comfortably in a pair of snug fitting jeans and a simple COLLEGE t-shirt, she wanders in with her hands in her pocket, humming something that would be familiar to anyone born in the 90s or later....

"It's gonna be maaaae..."

Sharon Smith has posed:
The place wasn't actually haunted. There were no eerie signs of the after-life, no hints of spectral aberrations, there wasn't even any psychomagnotheric slime to be found! There was a bit of straberry jam still clinging to one of the room's doors, but nothing about the sweet jam cried out 'ghosts.' The reality was that humans were easy to spook. All that really haunted the place was a content mutant lounging with her feet up and a glass of milk. She sat in room 13, because it was all too sentimental to take claim over the unlucky number twice. She even left the door open, since abandoned floors didn't lend any need for privacy.

Her head turned as she heard the 'bing' of the elevator. She leaned back in her chair to try and get a slightly better peek at the hall, but was too comfortable to bother hopping up to investigate.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz looks at Roxanne a moment, curious since the hotel is very empty and doesnt know if she is an inhabitant or plans to check in, but he is avoiding entering minds rudely unless they are basically mentally shouting it. But he does go to the elevator and opens it as he watches Roxanne and senses a mind on the 13th floor. In his human police detective guise (non uniformed) he holds the door open and a moment before stepping out seeing if she is going down. He keeps looking past her to the hall.

Roxanne Spaulding has posed:
It was the rumours of haunting that attracted her, but once she snaps out of her reverie to look towards J'onn, she offer a bright smile. "Uh, hi!" Roxanne says, "I heard there were ghosts here, like /actual ghosts/, not the whole fake ones on those Travel Channel shows."

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith took in a deep breath to reply, but hesitated. There was that slight instinct to do something 'spooky.' It was a hard routine to break after 30 days, but she had the mind to finally stop her silly antics. It was May 1st after all. No reason to beat a dead horse, and besides, holidays wouldn't be as significant if you celebrated them year long. The only exception is Christmas in July. (obviously)

"No ghosts here" she chirped back at the echoing voices in the hall. "They all uhm... got bored and left." she decided was a good conclusion to the haunting story. It wasn't a very theatric or gripping plot, but Sharon wasn't terribly creative when it came to making up ghost stories.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz was about to reply to Roxanne directly when his mouth quirks in a smile. He is at a professional level a police detective and knows human nature well enough to immedaitely suspect what has been going on here. "Got bored and left?"

"I'm Jon....nice to meet you both, fellow investigator and......Ghost apologist?"

Roxanne Spaulding has posed:
"People call me Roxie." she offers as introduction, flashing a toothy grin towards J'onn and then towards the echoing voice down the hall. With a soft sigh, her shoulders slump at the mention of how things are going.

"Got bored and left. That's a shame. I was going to get a oujia board and everything just for shits and giggles."

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith nodded dumbly. "Yep, nothin to do so they just... you know... wandered off." she insisted.

Being called an investigator caused her to sit up. She flattened out the collar of her robe to make it look more professional. It was mostly a vain effort. Robes, while fluffy and comfy, never seemed quite as prim and professional as a sleek suit or nice dress. Still, Catseye had to work with what she had. In this case, fluffy robes. "Yep" she agreed to the titles.

"I think a charcuterie board would be better." she claimed a little too hopefully. Charcuterie boards and oujia boards served very different purposes. Why she thinked to equate them was an obvious ploy for free food.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz chuckles, and sees several angles here. He likes to challenge himself in moments like these not to simply go thumbing through their minds to learn their sexrets, but it is clear Sharon has....something? He smiles, "I do like a good cheese. I wouldnt have thought so much variety in the flavor, but...seriously it is amazing. And you are?" He asks Sharon since she didnt introduce herself.

To Roxie, he keeps smiling and shakes his head, "I'm a detective, but I've dealt with the supernatural. A oujia board is an open invitation to anything on the other side to talk through you and anything willing to do that is rarely benevolent. Most spirits that have a reason to linger, have ....darker motivations."

The lingering thought of free food is enough to finally flash on his telepathic dashboard though, so he mentions, "I know an app that can likely have such a board here relatively quickly. Maybe you can tell us what else you know about these spirits?"

Roxanne Spaulding has posed:
"I've seen the movie." Roxie offers to J'onn, of course it's the one aptly named Oujia where bad shit happens. "But it makes life interesting. I mean, I'd like a break from the monotony of bad guy causes havoc in the city and people run and cry and buildings get torn down." It sounds like she isn't one of those who runs at least.

"But you're right." And with that, she looks to Sharon. "I do much prefer charcuterie. They're adult Lunchables!" she chirps cheerily.

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith lifted an eyebrow. "No bad guys here" she insisted, folding her hands on her lap to look more proper and 'good guy' like. "No ghosts either" she decided to add in unecessary clarification.

"Who am I?" she asked. "Ca- Uhm... Sharon. Sharon the detective." she decided to adopt since she was given the title earlier and she didn't want to be left out as the only non-detective in the room.

"What I know?" she parroted Jonn's other question, tilting her head as she speculated what to tell of her month of haunting. "They wrote on some of the mirrors. The bed in room nine is upside-down and the window won't close anymore. Room three has a sprinkler problem, and they messed with the electricals in five and ten. Oh, and the phones don't work. There is no escape!" she started to add an evil 'muwhaha' but quickly cut herself off.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz smiles and orders a charcuteri board, and he nods, "I am pleased to meet you Sharon the detective. How many people ran screaming from the place?" He seems fascinated.

Roxanne Spaulding has posed:
"Hi Sharon! I'm Roxie." she offers as introduction to the other purple haired woman. Then with a slow nod, she looks back and forth between the two apparently wanting to know the answer to the question as well.

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith coughed out a laugh "Oh! Like tons. Gosh, I lost count!" she blurted out with amusement. "I mean that's what I heard... tons. I would say it was at least three a day... I mean I can not remember how many rooms were full when all this started, but it kind of dwindled down by the end of the month. I mean... I can, but I wasn't exactly counting them each day. And then you would have to say whether that includes staff or not, or just people getting off on the wrong floor." she rambled, finding the question a bit more complicated than it deserved to be.

Roxanne Spaulding has posed:
And that's when something suddenly calls. Literally,her phone rings, and Roxie looks at it. "Oh shit! I forgot I had an interview..." and with that she runs off.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz chuckls, and looks after her, waiting until she is out of ear shot and says,"While I dont think it likely, you may have earned your last victim in Roxanne...." he monitors his phone for the progress of the board weaving its way through traffic. "Does this hotel have a staff? It seems....spartan....."

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith laughed at Roxanne's departure. "Do you really think she can count as another one scared off?" she asked Jonn with amusement. "Oh I suppose I shouldn't count anything after April." she decided. She did, for a moment, seem to consider the numbers, a pale finger lifting and falling as she started to take count. "Yes, of coarse the hotel has staff. How else do they keep the towels so fluffy?" she asked rhetorically.

Catseye was only briefly distracted as she finally decided to be a good host. "Do you want a robe?" she asked suddenly. "They're super, super fluffy" she emphasized by kicking her feet and pulling at the puffy collar. Her kicking sent a slipper flying free to hit Jonn in the shin. Sharon quickly stood up to retrieve the escaped slipper, stepping back into it. "The rooms are nice, but the towels and robes are *the* best. She said in her verbal four star raiting of the hotel

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz smiles widely as that mystery is very easily solved by Sharon's admission and confession. Technically she didnt but he didnt read her mind, so...there is that. "I see your point. Well, as long as the staff are still working I imagine the ghosts arent doing too much damage" he smiles, and nods at the robes, "I have heard great things but never tried one."

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith shook her head. "Just the thirteenth floor" she stated matter-of-factly. It made sense. Any floor labeled 13 is prime realestate for haunting.

"Oh you have to try" she told him, throwing up her arms. "It's like being hugged by a fluffy cloud, koala, and comfy sofa all at once. "Do you want this one?" she kindly offered. "I'll have to find you bigger slippers." she reasoned, giving him an assessing look-over. "Oh. You should tell them you solved the case and they'll finally start bringing room-service again!"

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz looks down at her size and says, "Dont I need...a larger one?" He will take the robe if offered but is unsure about the whole thing frankly. "And dare I ask what agency Detective Sharon is charging room service...TO?" He smiles and puts on the robe, "I ssupect its more comfortable with less clothing but it is very kinesthetically appealing...."

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith looked down at the robe. "I thought it was sort of...one size fits all. Do they size robes?" she asked with surprise. "I should have made a point to detail all the individual robes on this floor." she joked, but in such a normal, serious tone that it was hard to tell if she was joking or not.

"Yes, it sort of defeats the purpose of being fluffy to wear it on top, but I suppose it could be a fashion statement?" It was surprising how willingly she gave over her fluffy white robe, especially after all of her boasting. A bright-eyed expression came over her face as she handed over her robe. "Oh, I should try them all on! I'll find the *best* one!" she boasted with a snarky grin and a snap of her fingers. "Hah!" she said in an abridged, evil laugh and dashed to the closet.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz follows, fascinated and enjoying the slow creep of how comfortable the robe is, and also fascinated by the exuberant energy and also systemic avoidance of the question about how she is paying for all this. Fortunately, this is not in his jurisdiction as an actual Police Detective, but he is now very slightly worried for Sharon. He taps a note on his phone for the board to be brought to the 13th floor. "It is very comfortable."

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith tried on the other robe in the closet. She held it tight to her chest, twisted, turned and gave a face of focused discernment. "Almost as fluffy, but there is a difference." she decided in her investigation. The fluffiness of robes and the tastiness of foods was definitely her detective specialty. "I'm going to go find a few more" she said, hanging up the tried-on robe. "I have to be scientific about this." she claimed in excuse as she left to grab more robes.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz very carefully realizes he is abetting more than one crime and says, "I think that you should hurry in your selection before the delivery driver gets her and gets jealous about trying one on." Its also a subtler test of the more overt question before. He sees the car pull up to the building on the app. He does, in a vaguely passive sort of way, admire the systemic approach to the whole thing.

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith was well on her mission as he gave her the warning, but she did pop her head back into the door to ask. "Do you think he'll want a robe? That could be his tip. Tip of a robe... robe tip." she chirped, vanishing again. "I don't know much about taxes but it will make his *very* confusing!" she said, her evil laugh fading as she went for more robes.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz is severely tempted to do a full Emperor's new clothes and have Sharon handle a telepathic invisible robe, but decides against it as the elevator doors open and the delivery guy comes in with a tray. Jonn takes out some cash and pays him, quietly trying to get the poor man away before aiding and abetting.

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith was able to add one delivery man to her list of spooked people on floor 13. There was just something unsettling about having someone jump up from behind offering robes that was mildly unsettling. None of the robes Catseye was holding was accepted as a tip, even after her very cheerful call of "Hey, want a robe, fella?" He seemed to high-tail it out of there rather than figure out what craziness was going on there. Catseye just shrugged her shoulders and dawned the previously offered robe. "I think this one is best." She states with a bounce.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz blinks in surprise as she comes in and offers it anyway. There may be no filter there but Sharon definitely has cat like stealth. He chuckles and smiles and nods, "I am sure you will enjoy it." He smiles and enjoys the board. He considers, super cautiously to pay for her tab here bu is not sure its wise. All in all he will definitely enjoy the cheese and meat. "So when not rainking...what is your passion?"

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith hopped on a chair and poised herself to assult the assortment of finger foods. She was well into her assault by the time he had an opportunity to ask her a question. "Passtthhn?" she parroted him in a muffled tone, her mouth packed full of cheese and cracker. She gave a hearty swallow before making any other attempts at communication. "Hmmn... this" she waved her hands around in show of the hotel. She then pulled at the collar of her robe to lift the fluffy fabric off and back onto her shoulders. Finally, she took hold of another bit of cheese, telling him "And this" again before plopping it into her mouth. Catseye wasn't a wildly ambitious creature, or a deep philisophical thinker, but perhaps that the charm.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz finally decides that this is a variation of the norm enough that he is going to telepathically read Sharon's mind. Nothing painful or intruisve but trying to get an explnation of who or...WHAT she is, and as he does, he immediately understands. He gets enough of a sense that she has a patron, without intruding all the way in who that may be, and nod.

What you see is what you get.

"Good cheese. You should be as methodical with flavor combinations of meat and cheese and the jams and such as you were with the robes...some are delicious."

Sharon Smith has posed:
Sharon Smith gave an "Mmmn" of agreement. "It only took a month of haunting, but it was worth it since it all came down to this" she states with a smile. "Well I mean and then me doing my investigation and chasing off the ghosts, of coarse." she said, needing to keep at least some semblence of an alibi. "Milk?" she offered.