2249/Citysoul: Soul Survival

Citysoul: Soul Survival
Date of Scene:	04 July 2020
Location:	91st Street Station, Manhattan
Synopsis:	A group of mystics gather to manifest the Genius Loci of Manhattan. Hands are held. Magic is done.
Cast of Characters:	Stephen Strange, Ariah Olivie, Julie Yan, Sera, Illyana Rasputina, Lara Croft, Elektra Natchios, Takako Kyozan, John Constantine, Colette O'Connail, Jason Blood

---

Stephen Strange has posed:
Those initiated in the mystic arts have their ways of disseminating information quickly. Equal parts social media and eldritch ritual, the word was passed around that the City of New York was in trouble. Not the trouble threatened by the alien in the skull-shaped starship, but something more insidious and undetectable boiling beneath the surface. As usual, the details had been vague and the call to adventure irresistible.

The meeting place? The 96th Street subway station on the Upper West Side. It is quiet this kind of night, and the Doctor himself stands at the far end where the tunnel narrows and veers off into the darkness. He wears a heavy coat despite the heat, with both hands jammed deep into his pockets.

The fluorescent lights flicker, and the rumble of subway trains can be heard echoing up through the tunnels.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    Ariah still lacks enough experience or really interest in social media usage, but eldritch rituals suit her just fine. It might not be safe for a young-looking woman like her to be alone on the subway at night, but the rune-etched metal quarterstaff she holds in one hand and the satchel of masonry tools complete with a hefty hammer she posesses might be enough to earn her some space especially on a near-empty train. The 96th Street stop comes soon enough, though her line doesn't halt on the same level as the Doctor.

    A short walk and the Sorcerer Supreme will see the diminutive witch making her way towards him at a casual pace, neutral expression on her features but eyes bright.

Julie Yan has posed:
    While she was still a novice in the mystic arts, Julie Yan was hardly new to the usage of information being passed across the realms of both mystical and real. She had been meditating when she felt a strange flicker in the chi of New York city, and decided to investigate. Donning her qipao and her scarf, she makes her way toward the meeting area, approaching the subway station. She recognizes Ariah, following the vampire witch curiously.

Sera has posed:
Sera has gotten better at blending in with the local fashions. Wearing jeans and a t-shirt that says 'Angel of Harlem,' but Harlem has been crossed out and Brooklyn written underneath it. Over that, she's wearing a long trench coat. She knows something is up, despite wanting to stay on the down low her anxiety over the feelings has her eyes glowing white with magic. She has fought too many battles not to want to be combat ready at the drop of a hat.

Her long black hair is braided in to thin strands, hatless. Her foot falls aren't hidden as she dances down the steps in to the subway station. The glow from her cell phone shuts off as she puts it in a hidden pocket inside the coat, she no longer needs the directions for there is the Strange man she recognises. A small wave is given as she approaches.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
96th Street is uniquely situation close to Broadway, and the 2 running north dumps off a blonde at some point earlier on. Now is now, with the 1 or the 3 or some horrible magic train ride forthcoming. She is just another commuter among the prosperous residents of the Upper West Side, certain to stand out only for wearing a t-shirt advertising the World's Fair over a tank-top marked with a strange trifork. Maroon pillars break up the long shadows thrown by the overhead lights, too few in places, evidence of an endless effort to keep up. Don't look too close at the undulating silhouettes, lest they give impressions that aren't quite there.

"You take me to the most interesting places, da?" Russian glazing every syllable gives Illyana away, though the relatively casual clothing might help her blend into a crowd. That's the point. Plenty enough show up as familiar, Ariah and Sera of her reading club given a tip of her head. Those arctic fair eyes are strange enough in their own right, speculative in consideration.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara was an Agent of SHIELD. A WAND Agent, but still. WAND Agents deal in the darker elements of the safety of the world, magic is a big part of that. "The Mystic Arts." Lara had said while behind the wheel of her Jeep on her way back into Manhattan from the north, where the Triskelion resides a little ways out of NYC.

Player over her Jeep's speakers, is a voice mail from one of her team leaders, expressing a desire for Lara to go to the location that the Doctor had asked for assistance from SHIELD in. She'd been assigned.

Her Jeep, brand new - replaced after the last brand new one had been filled full of bullet holes from a madman with an Uzi and a loose trigger finger - pulls up not far away. Lara steps out of the Jeep and locks it closed after throwing her SHIELD light duty jacket inside into the passenger's sheet. Wearing a dark navy tshirt with a SHIELD logo over the left breast, dark trousers and black leather boots, Lara walks down the side street toward her destination, her hands going up above her shoulders to tie her hair back into a loose pony tail behind her shoulders.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Being part of a Clan of mystical ninjas (Or magical karate stuff as SOME would say), means Elektra keeps a keen attention on what happens in the mystic world, as well as in the material. Because even if her reputation is that of an assassin there's always more to it than meets the eye.

Night meetings suit her for sure, turning that natural stealth of hers into the stuff of legends. She steps out from the shadows where that tunnel narrows and turns into darkness, not far from where the meeting is to take place (no magick, honest!), and makes her way closer.

She is clad in tight-fitting clothing, the better to spelunk around in, her pair of Sais hidden under the inner-pockets of a leather jacket about her form. And no ninja mask! She lifts an inquisitive brow at Dr. Strange then looks around at the rest of the people gathering.

Takako Kyozan has posed:
A black sedan with tinted windows and UN plates pulls up outside of the 96th St. subway station. One of the benefits of UN plates is it isn't hard to find a parking spot, the care can't get ticketed anyway. From the vehicle steps an asian young woman seemingly in her mid-twenties, dressed in a black skirtsuit with a white blouse beneath the suit jacket. Someone either came from work or is working.

"Okay, just be quiet and let me think." Takako tells seemingly no one as she tries to quiet the voice whispering in the back of her mind. Usually it leaves her alone for the most part aside from the odd whispers encouraging her to act against those who betrayed and left it for dead, but today it just won't shut up. "I'm here aren't I? Okay, okay, I'm going." she replies again to seemingly nobody as she enters the subway station and heads down towards whatever waits within.

John Constantine has posed:
     John Constantine always had a way with being right where he was needed when he was needed.

  Today had been no exception, when he came up through the tunnel, from a doorway that had appeared and then went away as soon as John was through the door. Having a House of Mystery drop you off wherever you needed was a great way to get around. The cherry of his cigarette glowed in the dark as he walked casually up to the Doctor. "Very well, then." The raggedy-man commented, exhaling warm smoke from his lungs. A couple day's worth of beard growth on his face, John Constantine's reputation in the magical world at large was...interesting.

  To those he knew, they garnered a nod. Others, a cursory glance.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Not all those gathering here, or hovering in the proximity of the gathering, are doing so by following Strange's lead. Neither social media nor eldritch ritual has brought Colette O'Connail, largely unknown and unknowing of the magic underworld, to this place.

    Firstly, it's a sense. There's something wrong. Something stressing the skein of the Weird that weaves through reality. It's had her on edge for a day or two. Second, there's a concentration on darkness in those gathered here that she finds attractive in a way she doesn't entirely understand, and despite a strong instinct to avoid it, she finds it too hard to resist. Thirdly there's that annoying English guy she ran into recently. He's clearly the kind of person who someone needs to be keeping an eye on.

    Colette isn't joining the group, but rather fading as much as she can into the background, just another late-night passenger lurking in the shadows. Observing for now. Lurking in the shadows is something she's good at.

Jason Blood has posed:
Jason lives in Gotham, so basically anywhere in the big and splendidly rotten apple next door is something of a bothersome commute. The things he puts up with. Also, it isn't really clear how he gets there. Like John, he has something of a habit for timing, although one might say it's more a knack for being in the /wrong/ place at the right time, if that makes any sort of sense. An ominous demeanor is something he may or may not intentionally cultivate, but when your name is Blood...

A train may not just have come, but he's on the platform with everyone else, what more do you want? "John, good to see you, it's been a while." How long? He tends to lose track of time, what with... well, you know. "Actually, I heard of all of this fuss, well, it was from a woman I'd - we'd? - only just met, but Zatanna was there. You two still getting on? Oh, I do believe that would be her coming, just now." His attention turns toward Sera as she makes her way down. "Nice to see you again, young lady. Have any luck with that book?"

Stephen Strange has posed:
"You ain't seen nothing yet," Strange quotes B.T.O. to Illyana, proving that becoming Sorcerer Supreme has not completely divorced him from worldly affairs, "Hope you're feeling up for a walk."

To be honest, Strange had put out the feelers for help. He'd approached a few people himself, but for the most part he'd let word of mouth bring anyone who was willing to him. So, the appearance of faces he does not necessarily recognize is not surprising nor unwelcome. His eyes cannot help but roll back in his head a little at the appearance of Constantine, a sigh escaping him and prompting his shoulders to sag slightly.

"Well, you're going to have to turn back around - that's the way we're going," he vaguely admonishes, gesturing with slender fingers down the tunnel that just coughed the magus up.

"All of you," Strange begins, turning to the gathered group and furrowing his brow slightly, "All of you are here because the City needs you. More importantly, it needs you to awaken defences that have long lied dormant. I ask that you follow my lead, do what I say when I say to do it, and try not to ... anger anything. Oh, and mind the third rail."

That said, the Sorcerer Supreme turns and steps off the platform. He drops down deftly to the tracks below and, without looking back, begins to walk pointedly off into the darkness.

Julie Yan has posed:
    Julie finds herself amid strangers, even Ariah is one she doesn't really know -that- well. Hard to tell who the hell she can trust. But Dr. Strange has a reputation of being an upstanding member of the mystical community, giving her plenty of reason to at least give the good doctor a little trust. Her eyes follow where Strange points, right where the scruffy Briton had just come from.

    Listening intently, she nods before hopping off down and following the doctor, remaining close to Ariah. She's really the one familiar face she sees here, besides Sera, kind of.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    "Hello again..." Ariah greets the faces she recognizes, the terribly short girl needing to look up to address just about everyone here. Sera, Illyana, and Julie all earn a ghost of a smile, the others are simply, silently nodded at. Then she speaks again, "...off into the breach, oui...?" her icy-cool voice carries just enough volume to rise over the rumble of trains elsewhere. Then as the Doctor dictates, she falls into step behind.

    The mention of the third rail earns a glance down, and her brow quirks at it. She angles her staff towards it as she walks, not making contact, but a few threads of blue-white energy coil around her staff's end like spun cotton. As she carefully steps along the railroad ties, she draws her free hand around the glowing threads, letting them dance around her fingers and light up her features. She's smiling. And then the light vanishes.

    "...delicious..."

Sera has posed:
Sera is rather delighted to see most of the Ladies Book Club here. She smiles and waves to Ariah and Illyana, "Intriguing, isn't it." She grins and extends her smile to Jason as well and then notices Julie Yan and gives her a wave, "New faces here too, perhaps the book club will grow."

Her eyes dash over the others that have joined them and offers a friendly smile to them all. To those she has yet to meet, as she takes some time to introduce herself as they walk down the subway tunnel after Strange. "I'm Sera, of Heven, nice to meet you. New arrival on Earth, been here a couple of months now. Lovely place, shame for it to be destroyed so soon now that I have a lease and rapidly growing debt."

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
"A walk on the wild side?" Ooh, humour goes both ways, though hers is dark and almost seared by sardonism. Illyana's fingers slide up her nape, buried in the cornsilk locks until they form an elegant fist. Bunching the strands, she pulls then around her shoulder and releases them, letting her hair fall back into place almost perfectly. Proof she is, in fact, magical. Hands eventually go to her pockets, probably as good as silencing her in this particular lot, though the assorted qualities all around don't make that a given. A nod for Constantine and, by proxy, Jason comes as a subtle thing.

For the others, that open regard is almost innocent if not for its solid bluntness; she can wield a look like a crowbar, though not without measured restraint. Stepping down into the filthy patter of stone and steel, she flexes her knees to absorb the drop and paces in Strange's wake, his feminine shadow. Or something more problematic, if anyone wants to discriminate by making the mistake of eyeing up her aura.

"The city slept too long. It will have nightmares before long." Laconic words ring with nothing other than unalloyed truth there, missing any air of knowing all. Omniscience is for the hoary and bearded. She finger-wiggles to Sera.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara descended into the subway station and glanced down at her phone to see a picture of Doctor Strange that SHIELD had on file. When she looks up, she spies him near the track's edge with others gathering around as well. Her phone is lowered down into pocket and her eyes scan over the otehrs who step up to the Doctor as well. Being one of them, she offers a slight nod of her head - the SHIELD logo on her chest likely letting most know what her affiliation is in all of this. After Sera offers an introduction though, Lara nods once to her. "I'm Lara, here on behalf of SHIELD. I hope---"

She watches Strange drop to the tracks, followed by others. She exhales at the show and unclips a LED flashlight from the black duty belt around her waist. "I hope this goes well..." She murmurs as she steps toward the track's edge and after gauging her drop, she joins the others... her light coming on when the darkness tries to take over.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Story of her life. Walking in and out of the darkness. But that was Elektra for you.

The Hand assassin folds her arms together, a glance given towards the dark tunnel and then back to the rest of them. "What has happened to make them dormant..?" She questions the sorcerer supreme in a refined, exotic accent.

Yet there is no hesitation when she drops down onto the platform to follow along into the darkness, agile and swift.

The mention of a book club does make her quirk a brow. Not that she was ever much of a reader. Though it's not as if she expects they are part of a traditional 'book club'.

Sera's intro gets a raised brow out of Elektra. A roll of her eyes as well. Such pessimism! And then someone else introduces themselves as SHIELD .., it makes Elektra watch Lara more carefully. But she might as well just offer her name to the group. "Elektra."

Takako Kyozan has posed:
Takako seems a bit lost still, the gathering of people surprises her, but this is apparently what the voice wants so maybe if she follows the overdressed man it will all work out, or maybe she'll wind up sacrificed in a dark tunnel, one of those things. But she follows all the same, something definitely does seem to be wrong with the city and this guy seems to know things.

A skirtsuit and heels, while appropriate for the UN, is not exactly proper attire for delving deep into subway tunnels. Takako takes a moment to focus her tama reaching out slightly to channel it through her clothing, there is a brief white wispy glow and in the blink of an eye her entire outfit shifts to something far more practical, a black jumpsuit and work boots.

John Constantine has posed:
     John gives Doctor Strange a wink before a slight smile. "You love me, admit it." Smirking begins that cigarette of his.

  "Yeah, yeah. The city needs you, all the sentimental rubbish. Let's get on with it." He pulls up the collar on his trench coat and begins his sojourn to where they are destined to be. "Jason Blood." Once the host of Etrigan goes on, especially about Zee, he gives a grimace. "Never know with that one, mate."

  The English sorcerer keeps moving down the line, tugging on the cigarette of his. He was comfortable in the dark, but the sources of light that were used were not dismissed.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    There seems to be little being said at this point, and for someone simply being nosy the way Colette is, this should be the point where you shrug your shoulders and turn away. It's not her intent to attract the attention of the magical community, nor is she particularly inclined to get involved in anything that involves the phrase 'the city needs you'.

    That sounds altogether too much like /hero/ business. She's had quite enough of heroes. It's not that she's got anything against them - some of her best friends are heroes. It's just that she's quite clear in her own mind that there's no way in hell she wants to have any more to do with heroes than she's already somehow managed to commit herself to.

    Are this lot heroes? Colette's not sure what to make of the gathering. They're not exactly the spandex brigade, that's for sure. Her senses for these things are untrained and unfocused, but she can /feel/ that one or two within the gathering have a close affinity with the dark. There's that faint smell of the deep, dangerous magics that arise from the shedding of blood, an odd distant ancestor of the magics that birthed her, which she's become familiar with but has yet to learn to identify as the signature of a vampire.

    And there's the wierd British guy who smokes too much. She's seen him grow horns.

    Curiosity is an itch, and itches are a temptation. But this should be the point where Colette shrugs her shoulders and turns away. But then the group heads into the tunnel, and that's an itch too far. Darkness and shadows. Home.

    Colette leans back into the shadows of the platform, smiling faintly to herself, and watches the group climb down onto the tracks and make their way into the tunnel. The tall man who appears to be some kind of leader. One with a staff. A member of SHIELD, of all things. A curious assembly.

    When the last of the group has moved on, Colette fades into the shadows and reappears in the tunnel, some way ahead of the group. A single short step brings her a dozen or so feet closer, well hidden in deeper shadows. Here in the darkness, distance is somewhat optional for her.

Jason Blood has posed:
Apart from the singular greeting offered Sera, Jason seems less interested in any comprehensive survey of their company, in any 'meet & greet' that may be carried out on the platform before they make their way into the tunnel. He does take brief notice of the odd variety, and offer Illyana a tip of his head in return for her greeting, but otherwise seems intent on whatever business they're here for, glancing after Strange. "A merry hike through the underground? Charming."

Despite the observation, Jason hops down from the platform to begin following along, noting first Ariah's display with a dry chuckle. "Now, don't give anyone ideas." It's that kind of crowd. "Magical defenses are one of the few areas where I might actually be of any meaningful talent, considering this gathering," he considers. "Give or take, depending on what precisely we're to be defending from. Then again, I suppose we're to expect trouble?" It's phrased as a question but... is it really? And if there's to be trouble, it's probably gonna be the 'other guy' that they want.

As they walk, his more casual banter is reserved for Constantine. "Well, she spoke of you, and with hardly any blood curses or profanity. I'd take that as an encouraging sign." A regular demon cupid, over here. "Actually, she wanted you to get a look at Miss Sera's book. Did you ever get a chance?"

Stephen Strange has posed:
"You're the SHIELD agent," Strange says to Lara, glancing sidelong at her as he strides up the dark tunnel, "I imagine your agency is busy with this 'Brainiac'. I'm glad they were able to recognize this threat, too. Just because they're unable to see it doesn't mean it isn't there. Here, look ... "

The Doctor reaches into the pocket of his coat, producing what looks to be a palm-sized skull fashioned from crystals with dark jewels set in the eyes. It glows a dim blue in his hand before he passes it off to the WAND agent, speaking as he does: "This will open your eyes. At least for the time being."

Hearing Elektra's question, he glances over his shoulder to her: "Uncertain. Perhaps they always were - I've never encountered them myself. Or perhaps they are simply very good at keeping hidden. Or perhaps something has kept them from manifesting physically. That's the nature of the mystic arts, I'm afraid - a thousand and one winding paths, sometimes all leading to the same conclusion."

The walk itself is not brief. The tunnel winds off into the darkness, snaking far beneath the streets of Manhattan. They seem to walk several blocks before a dull, aethereal light can be seen in the distance. As they get closer, it illuminates what looks to be an old and abandoned subway platform. The walls are lined in graffiti, and the platform itself is strewn with refuse and what looks like the remnants of campfires and ramshackle housing.

Approaching the platform, Strange throws the overcoat he wears off and to the ground where it simply ceases to be in a wisp of smoke. He is clad now in a high-collared cape; the vestments of his office. He lifts from the subway tracks easily, walking on air until he stands on the platform.

At the other end, the source of the strange light can be seen. Not a physical thing, but rather a shimmering 'cloud' of light that seems to dart back and forth impatiently. Strange turns to Lara, gesturing to the crystal skull she carries: "Ms. Croft, if you'd kindly hold that up. And if the rest of us could focus our efforts on the skull itself. Energy. Life. Substantiation. Join hands, if need be."

Julie Yan has posed:
    "Here I was hoping I was gonna be able to show off a bit." Julie says with a little giggle, snapping her fingers. "I was gonna go 'anybody need a light?' and then do this," Suddenly, her finger spouts a small flame, like a cigarette lighter, before it brightens the area around her. She keeps the flame going, eyeing the various faces. "Blondie even got a cigarette out for me, too." She says, pointing out Constantine. Ariah does get a weird look, as she seems to be absorbing magic energy.

    She does feel a bit less nervous now that people are chatting. "I'm Julie Yan, by the way. Nice to meet you all, it's not easy finding fellow magic users these days." She bows her head.

    Following Strange, she doesn't seem too afraid of the rats or any other vermin down here, having fire helps with that. The martial artist eyes the cloud, and then focuses with her hands glowing with mystical energies. Chi is very much the energy of life itself, and she has a -lot- of that, anybody can sense as much.

    Focusing, she channels up her chi, going into a trance.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    For her part, after 'tasting' the current of the tracks, Ariah remains completely silent. The elctricity is probably the cleanest thing in this subway after all. None of the chatter or other displays seem to earn a reaction from the girl, and her silence also means she's making absolutely zero introductions. What a sociable creature. And used to forced marches in the dark, apparently.

    Every so often, she'll glance here and there, staring off into the darkness for no discernable reason. Her senses pick up this and that, though Colette might find that the little witch picks her out of the darkness with surprising accuracy, all but meeting her eyes for fleeting moments before focusing on the road ahead. Even through the shadowy woman's relocations. She yet maintains her silence, however, knowing everyone has secrets and there isn't any... hostility yet.

    At last, the abandoned, art-covered platform, and Ariah purses her lips upon seeing the... mass. The light, feeling the energy from it. She hops up onto the platform gracefully, and listens to the sorcerer's words. With a nod, she plants the end of her staff against the dirty tile and shifts her toes slightly, equidistant points from staff to tips. Eyes closed, she focuses. Her channeling is a little more visual, energy flowing from the top end of her staff in wispy threads, wafting towards the crystal skull and coiling loosely around it, undulating like spiderwebs in a breeze.

Sera has posed:
Sera glances over to John and says, "Oh he's the one you were suggesting I show the book to? No luck selling it yet, but it can remain a prize in my new home until someone does venture an acceptable price for it. Or, I decide to sell it to you Jason." She smirks a touch and says, "The spells in the book do work, I've seen them in action first hand. They are a little mundane though, predictably so - teleportation, transmutation, animation, etc."

Sera plants a hand on the stations ledge and hops up with athletic prowess and looks to that shimmering cloud, "Hm, this seems like it might be time to get armored up hm." She shrugs off her trench coat and then folds it up neatly, placing it on the edge of the platform, then opens her mouth to sing a small song in the language of Heven. The light from her eyes jumps out and spreads over her body as her mundane clothing transforms in to shining gold and silver Elysium armor.

"Hold hands? I'm there -- " she holds out her hands to anyone who wants to join with her.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
"Yana," Illyana throws over her shoulder in a dull murmur as people start greeting one another, truncated by to the point. It's bound to be a theme. "Sentiment has its purposes." Oily gravel and random detritus combined with the foul stench of air pushed around an archaic subway system leave much to be desired, but she isn't much affected. Glinting light turns her head. Breezes endlessly swirl from faraway trains jettisoned from one island to another, and one takes that particular moment to ruffle her hair and fling a chip bag at her face. A flash of metal streaks over her peripheral vision and her arm swipes out to stop her inanimate assaulter, hurling the trash to the ground and stepping firmly on it. Die, bag! It will harm no one ever again, unless it gets out to sea.

"Oshtur knows, this is revenge for what I did next week, is it not?" she asides to Strange and then flexes her laced hands in front of her. The powder-blue trident shimmers on her blue tank top in eye-watering radiance cast by a bar of light, one unwise to look directly on much like the sun and doubly worse for anything dark- or infernally aspected. Nebulous flames wreath the narrow sword that she lifts one-handed, pointing the Soulsword in the skull's direction. No mistaking where the eldritch aura goes, adding its silver-white illumination to match the halcyon glow of her eyes. No sign she intends to hold hands, but someone could always reach for the Soulsword to say hello.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara keeps her LED light on a lower setting and the beam aimed down so as not to sweep it over anyone's face and blind them - as that would be downright rude! She listens to the others talk, even shows a little smile at some of what's being said but ultimately is quiet, at least until Julie shows off the flame. "Impressive. There's a lot of impressive people here, it seems." The Agent says prior to Stephen offering her a few words, and that item.

When the skull is indeed offered, Lara takes it in her left hand and turns it over to stare at it whilst walking. "Yes, SHIELD is quite busy with all of that--" Lara says with regard to Brainiac, mildly distracted now while she gives that artifact a good ocular-patdown. "I'm afraid all of that is a bit over my level, as it were..." The British woman adds.

He light shines upon the skull and as they reach their destination and Strange gives his rundown of what to do, Lara glances up. She has a lot of thoughts on the skull, but she keeps them to herself for now.

She turns the skull around and step to the side so everyone can get a good look at it in her hand.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Another roll of her eyes. This time at the way these people seem to shed and change clothing on the fly! She will never admit it, but she is somewhat jealous. Best superpower ever...

Eyes trail the strange light. A narrow of her eyes. She doesn't need to have actual magical powers to know something isn't exactly right. And she has the basics on chi manipulation ..., maybe she should learn more sometime .., yet if there is one thing she isn't too prone on doing is to be holding hands. So Elektra remains not too far from where Lara is. Sure, she can focus, but she can also keep an eye out for more material threats if they come.

Hands slide within the folds of her jacket and bring out her pair of Sais, holding them close to herself while she waits, eyes turning here and there to the darkness.

A subtle tension. An enemy?! Apparently it was but a bag. A brow is arched Illyana's way and then fiiinnnee, she focuses on the skull that Lara is turning about. She focuses her chi in the way Sensei Stick taught her, exhaling slowly. But her contribution to this does seem minimal. She is such a material girl afterall!

Takako Kyozan has posed:
There is lingering uncertainty for Takako, this is all a very odd situation, but the city is apparently in trouble and if there is something she can do to help she's going to do it!

Smiling brightly to cover her nervousness she steps forward drawing near to Lara, "I, I don't really have any range, I need to touch it to do this." she tells the other woman as she extends out her hand, not wanting to alarm her with sudden actions. If allowed, once she is able to touch the skull she begins focusing and channeling some of the divine Tama that exists within her, the essence of the Amatsu-Kami and life/soul energy that flows through nature, into the skull.

John Constantine has posed:
Jason's comments only get a shrug from Constantine. "Haven't talked with her in months..." Speaking of a book...has John a little intrigued though. "What book?"

  "Aww, finger-flame." He says, looking to Julie and her little trick. He snaps his finger, a blue flame popping on his forefinger as well, before he flicks it away.

  The decorative skull was watched, and he kept focus on it. "Incense, peppermints, meaningless nouns. Just like the Doc said."

  John takes a look to Sera as she starts singing, and rolls his eyes. "'Angels.' Almost worse than the real ones." An orange glow emits from his hands as he contributes his own brand of magic to the skull. The dosage was hefty, even with his snarky words, they still had a job to get done.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    During the walk through the tunnels, Colette tracks the group at a distance, keeping well out of the faint pools of light cast by magical flame or LED, her movements limited to the shortest of steps, each taken cautiously and quietly.

    She's quickly aware that Ariah's looking her way more often than coincidence would allow for. Can she see in the dark? Sense her presence? Colette can't be sure, but she sees no sign of Ariah reacting to her presence beyond those glances, so she settles for increasing the distance between herself and the group, keeping them in sight but not in earshot.

    That changes when the group comes to a stop on the abandoned platform. A step takes her into the mouth of the tunnel, hovering in the darkness there. She misses the first few words Steven speaks, but catches the end. 'Energy, life, substantiation.' That doesn't sound very much like /her/ kind of energy. Contributing to the effort would probably be a terrible idea.

    Besides, she thinks to herself, there's no way in hell she's going to /hold hands/ with any of these weirdos. Eff that.

Jason Blood has posed:
"The offer still stands," Jason reminds Sera, with a smile, before being turned back to their task.

"Ah. Well, if you need energy, I suppose I may as well get on with it." For all the casual chit-chat, in this group, Jason is but a man among giants. Immortal, yes, with a great deal of experience in these matters. But stil, a man, and but a dabbler in the sorcerer's pecking order. But if they need /energy/? "A fair warning for those who do not know me well, that despite appearances, you can - for the most part - trust my other half to aid you." It seems only polite to give everyone a little heads-up on the whole affair.

And then, just as qickly, the words come: "Gone, gone, form of man-"

"-rise the Demon, Etrigan!"

The latter appears amidst the stereotypical sulphur and brimstone cloud, yellow-skinned, caped, and toothily grinning. "Hmm? What place is this, what hole in the ground? Blood's led me amiss, and yet look who now I've found! Johnny boy, you're always a sight, a joy to see, a pure delight!" He looks around. "But you and not your lady fair? That's ill luck. But if an ending's come to your affair, I wouldn't mind a-"

Fortunately, the Demon's attention is soon diverted, not by any of his company, but the object in Lara's hand. He hops out of the tracks and up onto the patform beside her, leaning in (with a clear lack of concern for personal space), peering at the skull. "What's this pretty thing, this bauble? Would you let me see? If our energy it'll gobble, I've far the most, so give it here- to me!" Then he looks around. "No? You wound me, but I'm quick to forgive. Lo, my hands I freely give."

So... there's a demon there holding his hands out, at least! So very friendly!

Stephen Strange has posed:
"Ms. Natchios," Strange calls to Elektra without looking up, turning his grey eyes to the woman called Elektra and gesturing her closer with an open palm held out to her, "If you'd be so kind."

When Illyana speaks, Strange cannot help but smirk faintly at her: "There are worse places. Dread hovels the likes of which mortal eyes cannot look upon and maintain their sanity." He glances sidelong at John. Pointedly.

"By the Winds of Watoomb," he murmurs. There's a gesture of his free hand and a layer of the gathered garbage on the platform is blown away by a sudden, unfelt gale that sends the papers, wrappers, and scraps of cardboard tumbling into the darkness and clearing a space.

"Etrigan," the Doctor calls in warning as the demon zeroes in on the skull, "That is not for you. Even a demon can appreciate that he is better served by a city that is not a lifeless wasteland. Lend your power, fiend!"

As the energy of the gathering begins to course into the skull, the jewelled eyes alight. A great cone of white light fills the air in front of Lara, bathing the entire opposite end of the abandoned platform. Slowly, the cloud at the other end begins to ... change. As though something moves around inside of it. A shadow cast here, a murmuring voice there.

"- deal, sell, sell, sell! Girls, girls, girls - not even wearing a smile! Live from New York, it's Saturday night -"

"It's working," Strange announces as the odd, disembodied voice echoes around the platform. He lifts his own hand, middle and ring finger pressed against his palm and thumb extended. Mystic energies course through the air and into the skull Lara holds!

Julie Yan has posed:
    Julie is terribly tempted to wink at the pretty Briton, Lara, but that wouldn't do right now to flirt. Even if half the people here were definitely 'her type' or somewhere close to it. She starts to do a double take, and almost screams out 'Holy shit, where did White Streak go?' in shock as Jason suddenly transforms into a wordsmithing devil.

    Of course, discipline wins out for the second time tonight. Instead, she just glows brighter and focuses, trying to save her questions for later. God, she has so many questions for all these people.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    Ariah does her best to shut out everything extraneous. Even the rhyming demon's appearance earns little more than a nose-wrinkle. Enhanced senses makes the stench of sulphur a bit more acrid to her than most. But even with that, her breathing is ... well, nonexistent. She's stopped breathing. Her focus is so absolute that she's not even trying to pretend she's alive. Her task may be simple but she's also trying to ensure her own energies don't conflict with everything else pouring into the skull. The witch's brow furrows, well aware of the dangers of her particular form of... absorption. The power is for the artifact, not for her own well of power to supp on.

    At the announcement of the ritual working, she gives a small nod, her own manathreads glowing brighter as she adds more energy to her own stream. The girl's bare arms start to shine faintly, runes that look vaguely Nordic etched in her bones starting to shine that same blue-white to match her strands.

Sera has posed:
Sera grins and says, "A book of magic spells taken from a short person stealing from a public library in Metropolis. There's a whole tale, I'll tell you over an alcohol." She channels her angelic magic in to the skull as she sings out in her unearthly words. The light dancing from her eyes to her hands, from her hands to the skull.

The sight of Etrigan makes her double take for a moment - though she has met Jason and considers him a friend, so she takes his words to heart. "It is working, but he rhymes, that's real catchy, during magical times," she sings in to her song, returning to the magical notes quickly after.

As she pushes her magic more intensely, bright white wings erupt from her back and spread, the white light emitting from all over her body. A tilt of her head at the strange words they hear.. live from New York? Saturday? being unfamiliar with the tv shows, she has yet to get a tv in her home. None of this moment is recollected by her, it is a mystery to her and thus even more exciting.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Lady fair is it? Constantine earns a smirk for Etrigan's claims, though she gives the demon manifest a look through her empty, glowing eyes in a sheet of flaming brilliance. Enough to tick her brow higher, that much to be said, but she checks any further answer.

"Do not count my home among those hovels." The light touch on the Soulsword sends a vicious charge of her own energy through that soulbound conduit, the holy an admixture from the deeper corruption riddled through her soul. Shadows whisper upwards and she murmurs impressions in Russian, shifting into Ukrainian and dancing through Slavic tongues for the immigrants of the western shores and peppered throughout Manhattan, those from Brighton Beach to the oligarchs in their silver towers.

The barbed black crown manifests out of aether, piercing her blonde locks like a pair of tilted barrettes with an odd symmetry and similarity to the Bluetooth symbol. It's an unfortunate consequence for shifting that generous a portion of mana, but some things cannot be helped.

Lara Croft has posed:
To say that her team leader wanted 'good details' on this assignment was going to be fairly easy to provide was an understatement... considering Lara is holding the previously blue-glowing crystal skull and now raising it up whilst the good Doctor chants it into... what it's doing next.

Who needs an LED flashlight when you have this? Lara's light is slipped back into the holster on her duty belt and her now freed-up hand joins the other in holding the skull out in front of her. She looks to the others, as she aims the skull across the distance.

"I hope you're certain that this is entirely safe, Doctor." Lara says once the glowing object starts to shine so brightly that even just looking upon it becomes quite challenging. She's certainly not fidgeting a little, with uneasy side to side steps, no, not at all...

Elektra Natchios has posed:
With her surname being called out by Strange there is an instant narrow of Elektra's eyes, her focus turning immediately to the man, a study. Maybe her reputation precedes her. Still, there is somethin--- And is that a demon?! She takes a couple of steps away from the creature, a brief murmur to herself. Does she regret being here? Maybe!

But well, now that she was here, she might as well see it to the end! And more than helping she was here to witness, to watch, learn what she could.

Reaching up with her hand (After the Sai is back in an inner-pocket), she takes hold of the Sorcerer Supreme's hand, the calloused fingertips of many years training the arts of killing felt.

Still, no words out of her now even as her eyes close when the skull's light turns very bright. The better she can focus and meditate at least.

Takako Kyozan has posed:
Well today just keeps getting weirder, it wasn't enough that the voice that sometimes whispers in the back of her mind got particularly insistent and dragged her down into a dark subway when she has work that needs doing, then there was a magic skull that seems to be bending reality as they empower, and now a full on rhyming demon!

Takako flinches a bit as the demon approaches where she and Lara are standing as she contributes her energy to the skull. Her first instinct is to be wary but the creature doesn't seem to be hostile and the others seem to accept its presence, so she does too.. for now.

She looks up when the disembodied voice starts to speak, she is kind of used to disembodied voices, but this one seems non-sensical to her. Dr. Strange seems confident that it is working though, so she continues channeling the vital life/soul energy into the skull.

John Constantine has posed:
     John's smile goes wide as Etrigan makes his appearance in the group now. Though the quip from the Sorcerer Supreme has him laugh. "Oi, all my favorite places are those hovels!"

  John's own energies were focused on the skulls but the disembodied voice from the object garnered a laugh. "Bloody Hell, the eighties. New York? My kinda town. Quaaludes, cocaine and loose morals!"

  With one hand, he slips a flask from his coat, and takes a tug, gladly passing it to Etrigan. "Drink up, mate. We're in for one wild ride."

  John fixes his eyes on the skull, his mouth whispering words in other tongues as he focuses, Latin, demonic, even a splish-splash of Haitian in there somewhere.

  The demon and everything else though, was just another day for John. It didn't phase him for the most part.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Magic is everwhere, and in everything. The manipulation of magical energy is about channeling - moving force from one place and form to another. Its usage bends the fabric of the universe around it. Where the energy gathers in the skull, channeled from this group of sorcerers, it forms a node of power that casts ripples around it. Around it the multiverse reacts, forming faint anti-nodes in an intricate web of forces that resonate along the interstices of worlds. Subtle forms and forces that can be sensed from the astral plane.

    Moments after Blood's transformation into Etrigan, those with their senses finely attuned to the weft of energies might just note what seems at first an anti-node out of place. A point-source of darkness and negation that might, for a moment, be mistaken for a reflection of the light energy flooding into the skull. It's not quite right though - it feels oddly /alien/, a strange thing to say about magic.

    The source of the ripple is a sphere of raw elemental darkness summoned into Colette's palm. She holds it there, ready but leashed, and watches cautiously. The demon doesn't seem to be aggressive, but you can never be sure. Then Sera sprouts wings.

    A demon AND an angel? Curiouser and curiouser. The sphere in her palm, darkness within darkness, ripples with the unrefined potency of dawn-magic, sorcery without ritual, and fades to nothingness.

    She moves back, drawing away from the light cast on the far wall, and strains to listen to the murmering voice. It sounds like... some spirit of the city? Colette frowns in the darkness, trying to understand what's happening. Constantine's words resonate. An older spirit of the city.

    A darker time. Greed, exploitation. Maybe her own energies wouldn't be such a bad mix after all, if the idea is to revive this thing in some way. There's no way she's going to meddle though. She's got no magical training, but she knows enough not to stick her fingers in the magical sockets of the universe.

    Besides, didn't Tolkien have something to say about meddling in the affairs of wizards?

Jason Blood has posed:
With a snap-turn of his head and something that briefly approaches a glare before resolving again into a long-toothed grin, Etrgian faces Strange. "Fine, fine, o' strange one, I know this song. Energy exchange- done! I'll play along."

Whether or not anyone is brave enough to actually walk up and LINK HANDS with the literal demon from hell in a silly cape (maybe he and Strange share a tailor), he does what is asked of him, and those so attuned can feel it, touching him or no. There is a reason that Jason called him forth: by comparison to most mortal beings, he is a font near inexhaustible, albeit of a very particular sort of energy. Perhaps this group might wish to siphon only some portion of that wellspring, less their whole endeavor take on a Hellish tone. One can only assume Blood had confidence they could... finesse things, as needed.

As he stands there, he may start to look bored at all the arcane ritual: when Etrigan wants to do magic, he rarely futzes around to such a degree. Why bother, when all you need is a rhyme or three? But Illyana's look - and brandished sword - draws his attention the same way Strange's did.

"Oh now who's this little girl, to be wielding such a sword? Careful where you cut and twirl, before someone ends up gored." Whether he means her or him... is anyone's guess. rBut apart from this, the Demon's demeanor is remarkably friendly, and he seems amused with Sera in particular. "Our beautiful faux-angel, she speaks in kind. Wouldn't be the first to say farewell, to leave Heaven behind."

But then there's the ACTUAL business, and the strange voices that filter onto the plaform. Impressively, even Etrigan looks a little confused.

"Oh, are we to be on TV? That really is too far. Then again I am quite sexy. I'd make one /hell/ of a star."

Stephen Strange has posed:
"It's only moderately radioactive," Strange murmurs to Lara under his breath, eyes fixated on the coalescing figure at the end of the platform, "You can just wear a hat when your hair falls out." A joke from the Sorcerer Supreme?! The wonders of tonight may well never cease.

The Doctor focuses his own energies, along with a small amount 'borrowed' from Elektra, into the skull. They move invisibly through the air and pass through the focus, bathing the chattering something in odd light. Slowly it begins to take form. No longer a cloud of light, it is instead a person wearing a sharp, pin-stripe suit and dark glasses. They walk back and forth impatiently as the light begins to dim again, a cellphone held against one ear and their eyes fixated on the distance ahead of them.

"Sell, sell, sell. Buy, buy, buy," the suited figure says into the phone, turning sharply on one heel and almost barrelling into the diminutive Ariah, "Hey! I'm walkin' here!"

In the back of the figure's pocket as they turn back around, one can see what looks like a handbill or brochure of a buxom woman in a state of undress. Her hair is a 1980s bouffant, with lurid pink writing advertising 'Live Girls' and 'Times Square'! As they spin again, the inside of the suit they wear is momentarily visible - silken, but covered in what looks like an endless tableau of brightly colored graffiti.

"Get it's attention," Strange murmurs aloud, not to anyone in particular, "We need it to focus - "

Before he can continue, however, a low rumble can be heard from the tunnel. The garbage still scattered here and there begins to dance about on erratic winds once again. The darkness of the place seems to fold inwards once again.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    The near-impact of spirit-to-witch earns a single-eyed glare from Ariah. "And I am standing here," she responds sharply, accent thick, tone terse and distant. From French accent to French words, she keeps more of her attention on the task at hand. <Idiot>, she mutters in her home tongue. Perhaps the effort of keeping on task leaves her less receptive to disruptions, or she's just hungry. One can't tell.

    Or maybe it was just her attempt to get the spirit's attention by responding directly to it. Either way, she begins to frown at that rumble, eyes opening enough to see the dark at the end of the tunnel.

Julie Yan has posed:
    Julie looks annoyed. "Ugh, thought I left the skin business." She grumbles under her breath, as she hears all the voices. "Feel like we're about to walk right into a drug den, alright." She says, giving Constantine a look of confusion. He sounds like he's speaking from experience. Focusing energies, she begins to chant in a language not many might know. Those knowledgeable in Buddhism will recognize it as the Heart Sutra.

Takako Kyozan has posed:
Takako continues to keep her distance from the demon and to pour her power into skull as she watches events unfold. Hers is apparently the raw power of the Shinto gods and nature itself. She may not know how to do much with it, but the energy that comes from within her is extremely potent and hearkens back to a time before before recorded history when history and mythology were one and the same.

Sera has posed:
Sera watches with curiosity as the spell locks in on a person, apparently from Earth's past.. long far distant past she guesses by the font on the pamphlet. The energy she is feeding is enough, she stops singing and lets it flow from her in constancy. Her attention though is less focused on getting the mans attention and more on the tunnel that leads to here.

She turns her head to look at the darkness and says, "I think perhaps our time here is running short, or another does not wish us to complete our task, Strange-man." She pauses a moment and adds, "short.. task.. man.. gotta rhyme, may be we should devise a backup plan." She nods to Etrigan as she finishes off the rhyme and then gives him a teasing wink as he calls her 'faux-angel'. "Heven never suited me, too matriarchal, so I left and let it be."

Lara Croft has posed:
So there's a lot going on, that's the short of it. Lara's eyes are going from one of the companions on this mission to another, but ultimately back to the Doctor when he makes his joke. "Comforting." The Briton tells him in a dry tone before she looks back to the 'thing' that has seemingly brought them all here.

As the others speak on the plan to handle this, Lara's eyes take note of the garbage that starts to flow and respond to the grumbling rumble from the darkness. "Is this track still active?" She has to ask. "That isn't a train coming, is it?" She glances to the Doctor, but something tells her that he might just give her the answer she doesn't want to hear.

Ultimately though, the Agent just keeps her hands on the base of the crystal skull's smooth surface and keeps the light aimed at the source of that demon.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Trouble coming down a lit rail towards them earns a sharp look from the blonde Russian. The incantation of streets and secrets for the best black bread and borscht or what streets shouldn't be walked along slows, even as she gazes into the distance expecting to see a pair of headlights strobing the stultifying darkness that weighs down like a filthy fur coat.

She holds open her hands and the Soulsword vanishes, there one instant and gone the next. It might just seem an illusion but for being that, and Etrigan is a demonic mask for giggles. He isn't answered in rhyme, but an archaic infernal dialect that human physiology typically doesn't support: << What he can scarce afford: know ye not a Hell-Lord? >> Angelic features and viscosity of damnation do a strange, volatile combination make. Spirits melting back and forth give good cause for trouble.

"Platform," she suggests after Lara notes the track. "It isn't right to bar them for taking the wrong train, da?"

Elektra Natchios has posed:
With her power being 'borrowed' (noone tell her that!), Elektra blinks once the manifestation comes out. The apparition receives a blank look out of the assassin, perhaps not understanding at first what it's all about until it finally starts to dawn on her.

Though that rumble down the tunnel makes her attention go there, even if she is still with her hand on the Doctor's. "We got company?" her free hand wraps more tightly around her Sai. If it's material she is ready for some stabbity-stab!

Though for now she lets those more versed in the mystic arts take point! Observe and learn!

John Constantine has posed:
     "Oi! Buy five thousand." John yells towards the remnant. As the tunnel starts rumbling, bits of crash start to dance in a twist in the air, Constantine takes his cigarette and tosses it down the track.

  The blonde haired mage looks down, and sees what is coming. "Ladies and gents and demons...there's a train coming." The dead and grim feeling he's getting off the locomotive though, confirms that this is not the usual type of subway train coming. He crosses his arms and with the orange ember-like glow of his own magic, he places a barrier in front of the group, his magical arrays consisting of pentagrams and runes of different origins. Hoping to stop the locomotive or otherwise slow it down enough to allow people an escape.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    From her position in the tunnel, Colette can see that the rumbling and gusting winds are indeed being caused by the thing you'd expect to cause such effects in a subway. You can lie down and let a train go over you safely, right? She's seen that in movies.

    Colette doesn't trust movies, and she really isn't eager to find out whether the train would pass through her safely or not. Bodies are hard work and frankly she's quite content with the one she's got, thanks. She hadn't intended to leave the security of the tunnel, but it looks like staying is no longer an option.

    Colette takes a half-step into the shadows at the far end of the platform, where a collation of corrugated steel and cardboard makes some largely failed attempt at being a shelter of sorts. Her hopes of staying out of sight (the possibility of being spotted by Ariah earlier notwithstanding) looking pretty slim, she sees no particular reason not to comment on the situation.

    "Train at last," Colette says aloud, stretching as if she'd just stood up from a long wait and looking at her wrist as if checking a wristwatch which isn't there. "Hella long wait. Thirty-five years overdue, they really need to get that totally rad express back into service. Bodacious. Eat my shorts. Um. Gnarly."

Jason Blood has posed:
"Oooh, oooh, pick -me-" calls Etrigan when the advertisement appears, suddenly excited and raising a clawed hand like a schoolboy. "-if it's a matter of vice to win. In this subject I can guarantee: I'm the /king/ of sin."

Really, whether or not anyone -picks- the Demon or otherwise acknowledges his all-too giddy desire to go involve himself in some ghostly re-enactment of life on the 'Deuce... A demon's gonna demon. At the very least, Strange -did- say they need some kind of distraction, and a creature of his ilk hopping around while oggling intangible assets is a certainly a -unique- sight. To his credit, he's not totally distracted by ghost boobs, either, quickly refocusing on the man with the phone. He stands close, scrutinizing the figure. Briefly, he glances back at Illyana, then again to the man in the suit, twisting his head to a strange angle to observe him thusly.

"Not just for flesh lewdly displayed, his vice is of a different kind. He's after money crudely made, contracts on the dotted-line signed." And THAT is something that makes him grin. Demons do like their contracts.

"You there fella, let's make a trade. Hard cash... or whatever else you desire. bargains of that sort are easy made, and only a -little- of your soul I'll require."

It would also probably be ideal if -he- was focused on whatever was coming down the tunnel, being a hulking murder-machine, rather than talking to Mr. Wolf of Wall St.

Stephen Strange has posed:
The Spirit, manifested now as it is, continue to chatter into its phone at a rapid pace. When Ariah talks back, however, it pauses to tilt its head to one side and regard her curiously. It lowers the dark glasses it wears down its nose, revealing eyes without pupils - only the flickering pink glow of neon.

"I'll call you back," it mutters into the phone, still keeping it in hand as it leans in to stare critically at Ariah and then moving to stare critically at all those gathered, "Who the hell are all'a youse?"

As the Spirit asks the question, the rumbling grows louder until a train is revealed. Not the classic silver bullet subway trains of the modern day, but a graffiti-laden clanker from decades past. It has an ephemeral quality, seeming not entirely there as it pulls up to the platform and the passenger doors open.

Pouring out from those doors are people clad in the fashions of the Eighties. But their colors are drawn, and their features withered to make them look almost like emaciated corpses. There is no organization to them as they flood from the carriage, moving directly towards the Spirit as he stands amidst the group and lashing out with bone-sharp, claw-like fingers at anyone between them. As they come up against the shield, there are showers of sparks and gouts of eldritch flames.

"That's what I'm talkin' about," the besuited spirit says in response to Etrigan, seeming to pay no attention to the sudden ravening hordes. He reaches out with both hands.

"It's time, Illyana," Strange calls, turning about as a portal is opened just behind the group, "All of you - through the portal now! Hurry!"

Julie Yan has posed:
    Julie's about to square up when she sees the demons in tacky 80s clothes, the height of menswear no doubt, and the figure with a phone so big it looked like it could be used as a bludgeoning instrument. She does however see a better option when she's reminded of the train coming, and the portal that Strange opens up. Snuffing her magic flame aura, Julie grabs Lara, "So sorry about this." With that, she and the explorer jump right into the portal, Julie's powerful legs carrying her in a few leaping strides.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    Ariah's channeling is, finally, cut. The arrival of the train and the attention of the spirit snap her back to the present. Her threads of energy on the skull are disconnected from her staff but the glow remains on the artfact. She blinks, staring at the hordes of... semi-tangible apparitions? Her lips purse, and the order from the Doctor is heard loud and clear. "Be swift, be safe," she calls out. Though she'd rather be the last one through, she trusts the Sorcerer Supreme to make the right call, and turns to move through the swirling gateway.

Sera has posed:
The attention of the creature with no pupils fascinates her a moment. Whatever this is, it is a strange but interesting place to keep it. Her attention turns to the old style train and the creatures that emerge from it, "A defence system perhaps, it does not want us here.. it does not want us to have this money man." She lifts an eyebrow and nods her head to Strange, "Time has run out."

She wriggles her fingers as the light she emits to the skull is withdrawn back in to her and she steps through the offered portal. Outside the Sanctum Sanctorum she has seen before she looks about the street, then draws her magical energies back inside. The glowing wings gone, the glow about her body, her hands disappears. Only a glow remains in her eyes for now, a simmering spark ready to reignite if she needs it.

It takes Sera moment and then she snaps her fingers, "Well darn. I left my new trench coat down in that subway. Ah well, ..I shall barter for another one tomorrow."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
The Sai is brought up in a defensive manner. Sure, it may not work against Spirits, or ghosts still stuck in the 80s. But it's there. Though she doesn't have to be told twice to get outta Dodge..

She nimbly takes a couple of jumps back in the direction of the portal, one last look at the spirit and it's assailants and then she goes through..!

.. Just to come out in NYC. The sudden lights make Elektra narrow her gaze a moment but then she looks about the street. Safe? Apparently so. And hopefully without ghosts in pursuit.

Lara Croft has posed:
The arrival of the train takes much of Lara's attention to that. It's a marvel to behold, actual spirits from a bygone era... non-corporeal fingerprints of people who may have once walked this station on their daily lives and rituals, now lost in the spirit world and repeating their old ways? Lara's eyes are locked upon their ghostly gaunt faces, softly shaking her head as she lowers her stare down to the skull then up again just as the portal opens. She glances over to Julie when she feels the woman take hold of her arm. "But, there's so much to learn here!" Lara says, though she complies and with Julie she turns to the portal and goes through it, still clutching the crystal skull between both of her hands.

Through the portal...

Back above ground, Bleeker street. Not far from her apartment actually.

Lara looks to the others who come through the portal, waiting and hoping that they all make it. She looks to Julie and nods once to her. "Thank you." She says softly, then to Sera. "Sorry about your coat." She states with a small smirk.

John Constantine has posed:
John's shield does it's job. At least keeping the horde of 80s souls at bay. Constantine steps beside Etrigan, placing a hand on the demon's shoulder, or at least close to it.

  The man takes a moment to talk to the demon. "Time to make an exit, lad. Sign the contract, and let's hit the pub. I'm buyin'." He says, giving Etrigan a pat on the back before he starts to run off and through the portal.

  He drops in front of the Sanctum, not exactly where he had wanted to be. "Ugh, Bleeker Street." Is all he manages to say at this point.

Takako Kyozan has posed:
Spectral salarymen, ghost trains, and floods of spirits from another time. Takako pulls her hand away from the skull and doesn't need to be told twice to jump through the portal, even if it is going to be a long trek back to pick up her car. Now she finds herself in the Sanctum Santorum as this evening just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    As the emaciated and eighties-clad figures exit the train, an image bursts unbidden into Colette's mind. "Thriller," she says to nobody in particular. She sways to the left, raising both arms, then to the right, reversing her arms, doing a quick but iconic bit of the Thriller dance. "No? Bad idea? Bad idea."

    Odd girl.

    Exit. Exit is definitely the good plan, but how? Slipping into the shadows is the natural solution, but right now Colette's not too sure what's in the shadows and doesn't really feel like being run over by a ghost train. There's a convenient portal though. She watches the others exiting and makes her move when the coast is relatively clear, one of the last to leave. A step takes her into the shadows close by the portal, and another step takes her into Bleecker Street.

    "Yep, good work everyone," she announces insouciantly with a thumbs-up gesture. "Doing the... thing. Good job. Bustin' makes me feel good, right? Yep."

    She's already walking away, with an air of utter confidence like she had every right to walk through that portal. Don't look back, that's the trick.

Jason Blood has posed:
Is it a good idea to have the Demon dealing with whatever this thing is? Etrigan looks very tempted to stand around and continue their little negotiation, apparently unworried by the creature reaching out for him or the apparitions pouring off the train (he's summoned an undead horde or two of his own, in his day!). Should he be afraid? Demons have weird perspectives on things, and even the worst things imaginable... well, he's from /Hell/.

How bad could it really be?

Fortunately, Jason is not wholly an absentee figure in this whole affair: where the Demon normally resides within him, their transformation reverses that equation, leaving a little of Blood inside Etrigan as well. And that influence comes forward in the moment, urging the creature back with the rest of them. "Alas friend... perhaps another time, it seems I am called away. But if you have enjoyed my rhymes, perhaps... another day!"

With that rather jaunty conclusion (and a bow to go with it), Etrigan turns and leaps. Not flying, despite the company he keeps, he is a rather prolific leaper! Etrigan, away!

... and somehow, Jason comes out the other side. Probably for the best. He straightens his collar, looking just a smidge self-conscious about the whole thing.

Stephen Strange has posed:
The portal closes behind the last of the group, snapping shut as they all adjust to the sudden change in environment. The street outside the Sanctum Sanctorum is quiet at this time of night, but that doesn't stop a few passers by from pausing to gawk at the sudden mystic arrivals. Doctor Strange himself pauses for a moment, glancing through the crowd as though making sure everyone has come with them.

"Sights! Lights! Nights! New York, New York, it's a helluva town," the Spirit suddenly croons, mounting a lamppost to dangle off it with one arm, "the Bronx is up, but the Battery's down! The people ride in a hole in the ground! New York New York!"

The Sorcerer Supreme lets out an audible sigh, lifting up both fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose: "I need to get it inside. Whatever that was down there, it will be on its way. The Wound doesn't want us awakening the genii locorum."

He steps up onto the stoop outside the Sanctum. Already very tall, he mounts a few steps to loom over the gathered assembly.

"There are more like this spirit. Others for the places of power in the City. We need them. All of them. For now, take leave. Prepare yourselves."

Julie Yan has posed:
    At least the Brit's okay. Julie nods back and smiles. "You okay? Lara, was it?" Dusting herself off, Julie offers a hand to Lara as she gets up. "Phew, that was an adventure. Good reminder of the -height- of western fashions circa 1983. What a throwback..." She chuckles breathlessly, popping her neck. She grows more serious as Strange speaks, listening.

    "So we gotta close those, too? Or what?" She asks.

    "I uh, weird time to say but I guess I should offer up my number just in case." She says, handing out cards with her number on it, just to be safe.

Sera has posed:
Sera nods to Lara and says loudly, "I shall mourn its loss and remember its good times.. over alcohol - at: The Wick!" She thrusts a hand up in to the air and then looks around at the ensemble, "Ladies Book Club at the Wick?" She turns around, "The Wick?" She points down the street, "I'm going to The Wick. All feel free to join."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara watches the Doctor walk up the steps to the building that... she raises her eyes to look up at it... it's a rather 'odd' looking home, isn't it? But the words from the others draw her eyes down again. She accepts one of the cards from Julie and smiles softly. "Yes, Lara. And thank you." She slips the card away with one hand while the other still clutches the skull. She glances down at it, then to Sera. "That was an interesting evening, but I think I should retrieve my vehicle... it's a bit of a walk. But yes, should get going."

Lara starts back the way they'd started this adventure, her pace casual now as it's at least fairly early yet still in the night. "Hopefully there's no ghosts between here and there." She says back to those still within ear shot.

Julie Yan has posed:
    "Want me to walk you home?" Julie offers, pausing. "Err...to your car. Probably a bad idea going around town alone at night." She says with a shy giggle. Sera gets a laugh and a nod, "Have an IOU for that one. Shame about the coat, it looked nice on you." She winks.

Ariah Olivie has posed:
    "...that is an exuberant apparition..." Ariah says quietly, slowly glancing around at all of the taller people. Sera's sudden outburst has her blink at Sera, but she lingers nearer to the good Doctor, gazing up at him. "Do let me know how I may help further... Feel free to call upon me any time you wish." She pauses, considering her words, then speaks up once more, "Hours after dark preferred. I take night classes and study late."