Outside Needful Things, Friday, At Sunset
Somewhere behind the fog, the sun was setting. The Fandomites had long since lost track of time, but Leland knew, instinctively, that day had turned to night. The way he knew that all of the items he had sold those wretched humans had been destroyed. They would come for him, now, content in their victory.
This was a serious setback, to be sure, but they had won a battle, not the war. They could pretend to lock him in a cage. It wouldn't change the end.
Leland Gaunt poured himself a glass of Bordeaux and waited.
The windows and doors of the shop had been boarded over, in an attempt to convey just how very closed the store was. Leland didn't imagine it would give them any real pause, now.
Jessica Drew
Jessica made sure her badge was well displayed as she took a look around. Judging what she knew of this group and what she had seen this week, this was a good group of people to have on a mission like this. The weirdest thing about all of this was that her spider-sense wasn't actually going nuts. As she stood in front of a window, she wasn't sensing any present and direct threat.
All this hassle up to this point and there wasn't even a death trap? Gaunt had been wasting his time, clearly.
Atton Rand
"Is it just me, or does this feel really low-effort for a bad guy's lair?" Atton asked. "Did somebody write down the wrong address?"
He was strolling over towards the door. Not opening it yet, mind you. It'd suck if they came all this way, just to get blown up by walking straight into a booby trap of some kind.
Anakin Skywalker
"Me either," Anakin said. "Of course, it might be drowned out by the ever-present feeling of wrong right now, but I'm kinda disappointed. Most of these things end with cackling monologues."
Sailor Venus
"It's like he's not even trying," Venus complained, but she wasn't going over to poke anything with a stick. She was blonde, not stupid. "I'm kinda insulted, here. At least the crazy-stabby dudes a few weeks ago put in effort."
Raven Darkholme
"Are we sure he's actually here?" Raven asked. "Maybe he managed to sneak out in the confusion?"
Karina Lyle
Okay, really, this was a situation that called for Blue Rose, but whatever. She hadn't had the time to properly change, so she was here as just plain, old Karina.
Karina just wanted this done with so the island was as back to normal as it ever got.
"Does anyone here have the ability to track him if he has made a break for it?" She was calling not it on that particular ability.
Cassandra Pentaghast
"I do not," Cassandra said.
Mind you, she was over there, by one of the windows, squinting at the window. "Perhaps we should stop talking about it and do something."
A moment later, that window had shattered.
Cara of the Mord'Sith
"I take it we're not going for the stealthy approach," Cara remarked dryly. "Who wants to go in first to see if it'll spring the inevitable trap?"
Jessica Drew
"I guess that's literally my job," Jessica said. "If any civilians get hurt because I let them go in first, that'll end my career early."
She smashed the window she had been standing in front of and climbed in. "Nothing so far!" she called out.
Sailor Venus
"I'm super-durable, so I'm guessing that puts me toward the front," Venus sighed as she kicked in the boarded-over door with one blow. "Squishy people stay behind me and away from broken glass, please?"
Seriously, people? Going in through windows? There's a perfectly good door RIGHT HERE.
Anakin Skywalker
Yes, but doors lacked drama (unless you went through them and then dropped your robe to engage in a lightsaber duel)!
"If they don't know what to do about broken glass, they shouldn't be here," Anakin grumbled not quite under his breath.
Sailor Venus
"Knowing what to do about broken glass and needing to get a tetanus booster anyway because your teammates were impulsive and careless are two totally different things," Venus said sweetly. "Let's not add to the clinic's burden this week unless we have no other options."
Minako might be really bashful and uncertain in Ethics class, but Venus had no compunctions about back-talking. Especially when people were being grumpy.
Atton Rand
"Can we maybe stop complaining about everyone's tactics and just go in and get this guy, please?"
Yes, Atton had absolutely not a single leg to stand on in the department of 'not complaining while out on a mission', but so help him, he was going to complain about their complaining anyway-- and then walk up towards the kicked-in door to glance inside.
Zoe Winchester
"I know I'll feel better once I know where this man is," Zoe said, keeping an eye out behind them for a few moments before leaning in through one of the broken windows to look around. "You would think all of the commotion would draw him out if he was here."
Anakin Skywalker
Anakin nodded. "Watch out for traps. There's no way it's going to be this easy."
Karina Lyle
"This'd be way too simple, if it were easy," Karina grumbled, picking her way over to the door.
Raven Darkholme
"At least he knows we're coming," Raven muttered as she made her way into the shop. "We've made plenty of noise."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
"Yes," Jalian agreed, grinning at Raven as she joined the group. "But it made it easier to find you in the fog."
Bo Jones
"What she said," added Bo, who had definitely not hung back out of squishiness or fear of broken glass. Trying to find the place, though? "I haven't seen fog this thick since that weekend everybody turned into Raymond Chandler characters."
She took a moment to shove an umbrella-stand she hoped wasn't made out of a real elephant's foot into place, so the door didn't slam closed on them all and lock them in with whatever danger she was pretty sure still waited on the other side. A spider sense to not tingle: sadly not one of Bo's powers, so she was going to stay cynical, thanks.
Leland Gaunt
The store room looked utterly and perfectly normal, an antiques shop filled with clutter and detritus and things that you cannot fathom someone might actually pay money for.
And -- but wait. Just there, out of the corner of your eye, it's ... is that really what you think it is?
There. Over there, against the far wall. It's the one thing you want most in the world. It's your dead mother, smiling and waving at you. It's your first flute, the one that was destroyed in that earthquake. It's the ancient artifact you've been searching for your whole life. It's the one thing that might possibly distract you from your mission.
Do you turn your back on it? Can you?
Jessica Drew
Making her way through the store, Jessica couldn't help but notice a portal shimmering off in the corner of the room. And through it, she could just barely see Kitty peeking her head through. It was a way home.
"Oh, come on," Jessica said, in case Gaunt was listening. "You really want me to believe you know the way for me to get home better than me or Portalocity? Please."
Atton Rand
Packs of playing cards. Stray datacards. And was that a metal bikini...? Atton's eyes slid past them all, briefly, and never lingered. He held firmly onto his unlit lightsaber. He was taking no chances here: who knew what was going to leap out right as they let their guards down?
A glimpse of brown hair shifted suddenly in the corner of his view. His attention snapped over there, his finger sliding over the on switch of his lightsaber, not tapping it just yet.
Brown hair, yes. Light Jedi robes. Blue eyes, full of defiance and an exhaustion Atton knew from looking in the mirror when he let the mask slip.
His breath caught in his throat, because his body had to take a second to catch up to what his brain already knew-- there was nothing there in the Force. He inhaled sharply to inform it of that fact.
Switch the face of the +1/-1 card, the totals are nine-ten. Switch the face of the...
You know, he'd wanted to punch this Gaunt guy before. Seeing him use her face like this made him want to start punching and maybe never stop. But he couldn't linger on that right now. He let that toxic mix of emotions go into the Force and pressed onwards, forcing his eyes away.
Anakin Skywalker
Anakin had learned long, hard lessons about attachment and trying to change destiny. There wasn't a lot that could distract him from bringing this asshole to justice (and real, by the law justice. Not "cut him into pieces with a lightsaber" justice, though if Gaunt tried to run, sucked to be him)...but Anakin's Achilles heel had always been the people he loved and the regrets he had for the time he'd lost with them.
And so a holographic photo album flipping through shots of he and Rory as teenagers, shyly fumbling toward each other when they thought no one was watching, of Luke and Leia as the babies he'd never seen, of he and Obi-Wan grinning at each other before years of war and betrayal lay between them...that made him stop and catch his breath.
But then a shot flashed up of his wedding to Padme. The one held in secret. The one no one should have proof of happening, and the one Palpatine had someone managed to figure out. And the memory of that man sullying such a sacred memory was enough to jerk Anakin back to the present.
"Ugh," he said aloud, shoving away from the wall. "I hate this guy."
Raven Darkholme
Having not come into the store at all while it was open, Raven couldn't help but glance around as they made their way through. Seriously, there was a lot of junk in here. She supposed maybe Gaunt had had some sort of glamour over it when the store was actually open, and that was what had attracted people to the place, but all she was really seeing was gaudy, broken down furniture and shelves of dusty picture frames with pictures of people no one knew, any more.
Then her eyes landed on one little picture in particular, a tiny portrait of a family of three, dressed in late depression era clothing. The man and woman looked ordinary enough, beyond the hint of a pleased smile on the woman's face, refusing to be dampened by any traditions of solemnity -- but baby they held, maybe one year old, clinging to the woman's shoulder and beaming at the camera -- Well, it was hard to tell in black and white, but the little girl looked like she had scales.
Raven stared at it for a long moment, then snorted. Okay, she had literally just had to talk someone else out of a cursed family portrait. She wasn't falling for this. She reached out to tip the little picture down on its face so she wouldn't have to look at it anymore.
Which of course was a mistake. Not that Raven registered that. She was too busy running happily after her father in a sunny afternoon game of tag.
Or, you know, standing completely still in an aisle of the store.
One of those.
Cassandra Pentaghast
They had entered, and still there was silence, and an absence of Leland. Cassandra still had the faintest memory of an itch for something in the back of her head, and she was eager to be rid of it. So she did not linger over any item as she proceeded onwards, and--
Caught the glint of a sword.
A familiar sword.
She turned towards it, frowning. "How did this find its way here?" she asked, of no one in particular. The detailing on the hilt... the grip... This was Anthony's.
Had been. Anthony's.
Had Leland stolen it? Was that why she had never been able to find it?
Yes, she knew his magic was bound up in objects, but it was something she knew intellectually, not truly. And so she made a fatal mistake: she reached for it. Gripped it.
Didn't let go.
Cara of the Mord'Sith
Agiels held loosely in her hands, their sting grounding her, Cara moved through the store, casting disinterested glaces around. Things , she turned her head as movement caught her attention, people on the other hand...
She watched for one long moment, taking in the play of muscles under smooth skin, tangled limbs contrasting against each other, the easy, inviting grins and crooked fingers beckoning, and worst of all, the open, honest adoration in familiar eyes, before shaking her head in disgust.
Honestly. Even if Cara was fool enough to believe it could ever happen, as if any of them would chose here and now to offer that instead of back-up.
Zoe Winchester
Zoe recognized the frame before she recognized the picture - there were only a few copies of the photograph, and only one lived in the frame Mal had given them. The picture showed Zoe and Wash kissing at the end of their wedding ceremony, and there was no good reason for it to be here. She was tempted to take it, to claim what was rightfully hers, but she pulled back at the last moment and glared at the picture instead. There was no good reason for it to be here, so she was just going to pretend that it wasn't here, and move on. If that was a mistake, she'd deal with it later.
Karina Lyle
Fuck, no, Karina wasn't touching any shit in the store. She knew better, had seen what it had done to Sparkle and had no desire to take a trip to loony-land over anything.
Despite herself, though, she couldn't help but sneak glances at what was in the store. Like, yeah, incredibly stupid and she knew better, but at the same time she was curious.
Not just to see what would catch her eye, but also what he'd have hanging around. Karina was vaguely disappointed it wasn't creepier-she'd half-expected to find things like ectoplasm and trap doors and maybe an ominous grandfather clock tick-tocking about for atmosphere.
Instead, it all looked a lot like… well, broken trashy stuff.
Her gaze skittered over objects, dismissing most of them. A few trophies caught her attention momentarily, but were dismissed easily right up until her eyes landed on a flower crown made of blue roses. Unlike the dusty, broken bits and bobs, the crown was pristine, the flowers looked fresh and she knew, just knew, it was hers, a token symbolizing everything she'd worked for and that if she had it, there was no way things wouldn't work out right; why, it would be just like magic-
Karina's fingers stopped inches from the crown and she wrenched herself away from it, recoiling.
"I don't need magic to get what I want," she snarled at it. "Don't even fucking try to sell me on that bullshit. I'm the one who'll get everything I want, with my own hands."
She balled her hands into fists and stomped further into the shop.
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Jalian hadn't been in here before, and looked around with equal parts curiosity and wariness as they headed in. She had her knives out now that the only one to fight was the male responsible.
There were books in among the junk, and she craned her head to read the spines...then stopped when one of them proclaimed to be The Great Wheel and the Worlds on it: Their Connections and Dispositions.
With that book, she could find her way to her own timeline. Or maybe to another of ghess'Rith's. She could stop Armageddon, could get her friend back...
Her hands twitched, and she hesitated between the book and the back room. No. Protection was for now; the book wasn't going anywhere.
Sailor Venus
Venus had no interest in this crap. She knew what it was, could almost see the negative energy rolling off it since she was transformed. Her biggest temptation was to whip the chain off from it's spot around her waist and smash it all to bits.
Until she caught a glimpse of silver-gold hair from the corner of her eye, the hem of a dress vanishing behind a shelf. "Miss, you can't be in here right now!" she called, stepping away from the group. No, it's not her. It's some townie-kid screwing around where they shouldn't be. "Please go back outside and stay--"
There was no one there. Nothing but the scent of roses, and a single pearl bracelet laid atop a sword.
Venus froze in place, vibrating with fear and anger. Was that... was that blood, on the bracelet? On the sword? No no no no no...
She didn't need to touch the items to be lost in her own memories, staring down at the delicate little bracelet with horror etched on her face and tears streaming from under her mask. One minuet. Two. Three. Four...
Five. Her hand slammed into the wall, and Venus pivoted on her heel, fists balled at her sides as she took long strides to catch up with the group. By the time she reached them, all traces of tears were gone (although there was a fist-sized hole in the wall above where the sword was laying.)
"When we're done here, we burn it," she said flatly. "None of this can remain."
Bo Jones
Bo wasn't the kind of person to privately think *I* wouldn't have fallen for that... about Kenzi's adventure with shiny Leland Gaunt trinkets, but if she had been... Okay, Bo didn't want to be that kind of person, but who the hell, deep down, wasn't?
And who the hell, deep down, wouldn't prove themselves a total hypocrite when confronted by a leatherbound book, open to the yellowed cover page, titled "Succubae Familias: History, Genealogy and Clan Registry, 1000 BCE through 19__ AD."
The "99" filled in by hand so calligraphically on the line was dark brown, like faded... was that blood? Bo leaned close to peer at it, resting her fingers against the page for just a second... but a second was all it took.
Leland Gaunt
The back room was clearly an office; Leland Gaunt sat hunched over a desk, writing out bills with a fountain pen and a bottle of ink.
Anakin Skywalker
Anakin crossed his arms over his chest, looking unimpressed. "Seriously?"
Atton Rand
"I think you sucked all the melodrama out of the room already, Skywalker," Atton muttered under his breath.
And lit his lightsaber as he made sure the exit was covered. Probably a better idea than giving into his impulse to punch the hell out of this guy.
Karina Lyle
Unlike the teachers, Karina wasn't visibly armed. And she wasn't going to be, unless she had to be. It hadn't got to that point for her yet. She slid into the room quietly, leaving the banter for the others, as she was still pissed off about how close she'd come to getting brainwashed, and glowered at the cause of all this shit.
There as a part of her, a tiny part of her, that almost hoped she would have to do something... powerful.
Jessica Drew
"Leland Gaunt, on behalf of the people of Fandom, you're under arrest," Jessica said, pulling a pair of handcuffs from her belt as she approached his desk. "Stand up and put your hands behind your head."
Leland Gaunt
Leland seemed... bored, really, taking a moment to cross his t's and dot his i's before so much as setting his pen down and glancing up.
Ah yes, the heroes had arrived to save the day, had they? He reached for his glass, to have himself a drink of the Bordeaux that he had poured. Took a moment to savor that mouthful, and then, without fuss, set the glass down again and stood.
"Such clever little apes," he said, placing his hands behind his head. "Made it past the temptations, thwarted my honor guard. Why, this must be a red-letter day for you all."
Jessica Drew
"Actually, it's not that great, thanks to you," Jessica said, snapping a cuff around one wrist and pulling the other down for the classic prisoner in handcuffs pose. The second she touched his wrists, she had to steady herself for the wave of revulsion that hit her. If it weren't for her enhanced endurance and habit of displacing negative feelings with smartassery, it might have hit her much worse.
"You have the right to remain silent. I beg you to use it. You'd have the right to an attorney if we had any around here. And you'd have a right to a trial of your peers if we could find anyone as ludicrously skeevy as you." Jessica prodded him in away from the desk and back toward the shop. "Keep your eyes open for anything extra sketchy, people. This guy's making my skin crawl, and that's never a good thing."
Leland Gaunt
"My peers." Leland allowed himself a small laugh at that. "You'd have to travel a very long way for that, little girl."
He looked around at the assembled heroes and curled his lips. "This is Fandom's best and brightest? I just see a sloppy handful of murderers and thieves, freaks and failures who managed to finagle their way into positions of authority."
So much for that right to remain silent.
"Do tell me. How do you plan to save the island when you couldn't even save your...spouse. Your...friends. The people who were counting on you most of all?" Even though his eyes remained straight ahead, Leland gave the impression of locking eyes with each person in turn, on whichever phrase would hurt them the most.
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Jalian tightened her hands on her knives and narrowed her eyes at him, but did nothing more.
Not unless he tried anything. Then all bets were off.
Karina Lyle
Oh shit. Oh shit, shitshitshit. Karina didn't know how he knew but she'd've sworn he was looking right at her when it came to the 'freaks' bit of his comment.
She ruthlessly squashed her panic and snapped, "Those are big words for someone wearing handcuffs."
Like? Hello? They had you captured, dumbass. What were you going to do now?
Jessica Drew
"Handcuffs and webbing over his mouth," Jessica said. Wait, he didn't have webbing to keep him from yammering on? Yeah, well, now he did. "For the record, I got this job with a stellar resume. Let's get moving, Bunky. You have a long night in a cold cell ahead of you."
Leland Gaunt
Leland managed an amused snort at that, at least, though whatever charming commentary had leaped to his mind was going to have to wait until, perhaps, his mouth was a little less...
Webbed. He could say with some certainty that that was a new experience. Well done, little Spider, for managing that. It was no simple task.
He rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, instead, and then gave a little nod toward the doorway. Very well, then. He'd been captured, fair and square. Now it was time to parade him through town as a symbol of their victory and an example to their enemies, to be thrown in the stocks or solitary confinement or whatever it was that humans did with their prisoners these days.
It hardly mattered. He would outlive them all and have a good chuckle about this somewhere down the road. Maybe in a week or two.
Zoe Winchester
Zoe looked back and forth between Leland and Jessica, and couldn't help but smirk. "Congratulations Ms. Drew, I think you're officially my favorite person in this town right now."
Atton Rand
"Jess," Atton said, "I might just get on one knee and propose marriage to you here, right now."
Beat.
"Metaphorically speaking, that is."
It was almost a pity Kreia was dead. He'd love to introduce those two kooky grandstanding, homicidal old people to each other. Though honestly, where it came to old people calling him a murderer, Kreia outclassed this guy fair and square.
Jessica Drew
"First things first, this guy's getting locked up," Jessica said as she led Gaunt back through the shop. "I'll be back when I can to try to help whoever stays for the poor, frozen people."
Cassandra Pentaghast
The sword. Cassandra could not remember anything but the sword. And Anthony, his face before the mages dragged him out, that last moment where he looked on her with warmth, not panic--
And suddenly it was gone.
She practically recoiled, grabbing at the sword to bring it back... and found nothing more than a broomstick. "Maker!"
She tossed it aside and looked up, staring at the others, wild-eyed.
Cara of the Mord'Sith
As she passed Cassandra, Cara aimed a relatively gentle swat at the back of her head. "We had an entire class on manipulating people through desire," she pointed out. "This is why."
Sure it'd been specifically on physical desire but she'd thought Cassandra was smart enough to figure things out from there.
Cassandra Pentaghast
"We were not speaking about enchanted objects," Cassandra hissed, rubbing the back of her head.
She was incredibly embarrassed, yes. "...I will remember next time." Because she had kind of deserved that.
Cara of the Mord'Sith
Cara's next swat was more of an almost-pat between the shoulder-blades. "Do that," she said, not unkindly. "It could have made you do more than just stand still, then I'd have had to take care of it."
Raven Darkholme
Raven finally looked up from her daydream about her parents -- real actual parents! -- and realized she was clutching an empty tin picture frame to her chest. She threw it down with a disgusted noise and stormed after the group with Gaunt.
Dammit, she hadn't even meant to pick it up!
Anakin Skywalker
"If you trip him accidentally, I won't say a word," Anakin murmured.
Raven Darkholme
Raven flashed him a small, ironic smile. "I have a feeling I'd have to get in line."
Anakin Skywalker
"Probably, but we'll be very orderly about it," Anakin said.
Raven Darkholme
"Well then," Raven said. "So long as we're being orderly about it."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Jalian offered Raven a sympathetic smile and shrug. It had almost gotten her, too, after all.
Raven Darkholme
But it hadn't! Raven wanted to shout that, but it didn't seem the time. She'd been reaching out to knock it over! Not to take it!
"I hate this guy," she muttered.
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
"I'm not convinced we shouldn't just stab him," Jalian agreed.
Raven Darkholme
"I am," Raven said darkly. "It'd be too quick."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
"Maybe," Jalian agreed. She bit her lip. "But I might give you a knife if you wanted to try."
Not that Raven probably had any idea what giving someone a knife meant to ken Selvren.
Bo Jones
Bo came back to herself with a book in her hand, alright -- but it certainly wasn't going to tell her anything about who or what she was unless she woke up with a uniform and another name, craving nicotine and airline peanuts again some weekend. She glared at the bargain-bin paperback of Coffee, Tea, or Me for a moment before tossing it grumpily across the room and into a pile of knock-off Hummel figure salt and pepper shakers that her mother -- the non-Succubus one -- would totally have sold her soul for.
"Futhermucker," she muttered at Gaunt as he passed her, but she pronounced it a little differently.
Atton Rand
While everyone else was busy patting each other on the back or nursing each other through mind whammy-induced confusion, Atton did a quick sweep of the premises, lightsaber still in hand. Gaunt was a slippery one, and he wouldn't put it past the guy to put up some traps.
And anyway, they had some missing stuff, right?
He wound up behind the counter eventually, squatting down. Okay... that was an Earth hard drive, wasn't it? And a whole bunch of hair, what the hell. It didn't seem like the usual collection of weird crap that littered the store otherwise, but Atton was still going to be glad he was wearing his gloves while he was touching everything.
By the time he hit something that had Professor Starsmore's Force presence wrapped all around it, he was absolutely positive. "Okay, this crap is coming with us," he announced aloud, then turned around to snag a cardboard box off the floor.
Time to start piling it in.
Raven Darkholme
Raven paused to see what Atton was gathering -- since touching things in the shop generally seemed like a bad idea -- and happened to zoom right in on the hair. Her hand went up to her scalp as she gaped at it.
"This is why she pulled my hair out?!"
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
"Who did?" Jalian asked, frowning.
Raven Darkholme
"The crazy spy teacher woman," Raven said, then paused. "The fat crazy spy teacher woman." She scowled at it and the rest of the collection of things, then moved to help pack them up. "That's so gross."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
"You should have it back," Jalian said, carefully reaching for the hair that looked like Raven's.
Raven Darkholme
"It's not like I can put it back in," Raven said. "I don't even know why he wanted it."
She hadn't been used as a guinea pig for a massive war machine program yet, after all.
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
"Not for anything good," Jalian said. She was sure of that, anyway. She held out the hair to Raven. "Even if you throw it out or burn it, it's yours."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Jalian frowned at that rock. It felt like a person. She'd touched that mind before. She reached out to touch it, and stopped. "Is it safe to touch these things, do you think?"
Atton Rand
Atton shrugged, holding up a chunk of blonde hair. "Doesn't seem to be doing anything to me," he said.
But then again, he had gloves on. "And my senses aren't warning me about anything. These things seem solid."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Right, then. Jalian reached out carefully for that rock. "This feels like Jono Starsmore. He mindspoke with me." The first person here who'd done that.
Atton Rand
"Yeah, that's Starsmore," Atton agreed, tucking the hair into the box. "Or at least about a third of him. Two-thirds? Picked up on it when I was poking around here. Don't break it."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Jalian nodded and held it carefully. "We should bring all these things back to the people they belong to." Unfortunately, most of them didn't come conveniently stamped with psyches. "Do they say who they come from?" Why did evil not use labelers?
Atton Rand
"Nope."
Unfortunately.
Atton looked towards her and shrugged. "We could just leave it wherever the people are. The clinic, maybe. Then we'll use the honor system."
He groped around and found a sharpie.
"COME GET YOUR MISSING STUFF," he wrote, "TAKE SOMEBODY ELSE'S STUFF AND WE WILL FIND OUT AND--"
He squinted, leaned in, and had to scribble much closer to fit the rest on the box, "--wewilltearyourheadoff. There."
Anakin Skywalker
"Very professional," Anakin said dryly.
Atton Rand
"Everyone's a critic," Atton muttered. He pointed at Anakin. "You go do what you do best. You know, glowering in a corner and shucking your coat off dramatically."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Jalian shrugged. It seemed reasonable to her! Besides, things were just things. If someone took the wrong one, the right person could always get it back.
Except for this stone. If this was really part of someone she knew... "Do you know where Jono Starsmore is? I could bring this to him, to keep it safe."
Atton Rand
"Clinic, maybe?" Atton said, shrugging. "That's where this thing is going anyway, so you can tag along if you want."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Jalian nodded and put the rock very carefully into her pouch, tucking it away safely. "I'll see if I can find who's missing other things."
Bo Jones
"Which crap? It's all a bunch of---oh." The not-crap crap, apparently. Things that still looked shiny and valuable, or at least not like they came out of a Goodwill discard bin. Bo leaned over the counter and scanned the stuff on the shelves and the stuff Atton was throwing into a box, looking for... aha, there. "MINE." She reached down to snag the amulet up by its chain. "By which I mean I stole it first. By which I mean Kenzi stole it first. By which I mean MINE."
(OOC: This post is set Friday evening, after all the items have been smashed -- feel free to continue smashing your items, IC, we just wanted to post this early so all the time zones had a chance to play!
Preplayed with the incomparable craftyladyparts, suitablyheroic, sith_happened, beautifulsenshi, tigerundercover, notacokeperson, seeks_truth, wrongkindofsith, bigdamndean, kenselvren, nookiepowered, and I hope I didn't miss anyone there, and coded by the lovely fly_so_serious. NFI, broadcast is fine, OOC is love!)
This was a serious setback, to be sure, but they had won a battle, not the war. They could pretend to lock him in a cage. It wouldn't change the end.
Leland Gaunt poured himself a glass of Bordeaux and waited.
The windows and doors of the shop had been boarded over, in an attempt to convey just how very closed the store was. Leland didn't imagine it would give them any real pause, now.
Jessica Drew
Jessica made sure her badge was well displayed as she took a look around. Judging what she knew of this group and what she had seen this week, this was a good group of people to have on a mission like this. The weirdest thing about all of this was that her spider-sense wasn't actually going nuts. As she stood in front of a window, she wasn't sensing any present and direct threat.
All this hassle up to this point and there wasn't even a death trap? Gaunt had been wasting his time, clearly.
Atton Rand
"Is it just me, or does this feel really low-effort for a bad guy's lair?" Atton asked. "Did somebody write down the wrong address?"
He was strolling over towards the door. Not opening it yet, mind you. It'd suck if they came all this way, just to get blown up by walking straight into a booby trap of some kind.
Anakin Skywalker
"Me either," Anakin said. "Of course, it might be drowned out by the ever-present feeling of wrong right now, but I'm kinda disappointed. Most of these things end with cackling monologues."
Sailor Venus
"It's like he's not even trying," Venus complained, but she wasn't going over to poke anything with a stick. She was blonde, not stupid. "I'm kinda insulted, here. At least the crazy-stabby dudes a few weeks ago put in effort."
Raven Darkholme
"Are we sure he's actually here?" Raven asked. "Maybe he managed to sneak out in the confusion?"
Karina Lyle
Okay, really, this was a situation that called for Blue Rose, but whatever. She hadn't had the time to properly change, so she was here as just plain, old Karina.
Karina just wanted this done with so the island was as back to normal as it ever got.
"Does anyone here have the ability to track him if he has made a break for it?" She was calling not it on that particular ability.
Cassandra Pentaghast
"I do not," Cassandra said.
Mind you, she was over there, by one of the windows, squinting at the window. "Perhaps we should stop talking about it and do something."
A moment later, that window had shattered.
Cara of the Mord'Sith
"I take it we're not going for the stealthy approach," Cara remarked dryly. "Who wants to go in first to see if it'll spring the inevitable trap?"
Jessica Drew
"I guess that's literally my job," Jessica said. "If any civilians get hurt because I let them go in first, that'll end my career early."
She smashed the window she had been standing in front of and climbed in. "Nothing so far!" she called out.
Sailor Venus
"I'm super-durable, so I'm guessing that puts me toward the front," Venus sighed as she kicked in the boarded-over door with one blow. "Squishy people stay behind me and away from broken glass, please?"
Seriously, people? Going in through windows? There's a perfectly good door RIGHT HERE.
Anakin Skywalker
Yes, but doors lacked drama (unless you went through them and then dropped your robe to engage in a lightsaber duel)!
"If they don't know what to do about broken glass, they shouldn't be here," Anakin grumbled not quite under his breath.
Sailor Venus
"Knowing what to do about broken glass and needing to get a tetanus booster anyway because your teammates were impulsive and careless are two totally different things," Venus said sweetly. "Let's not add to the clinic's burden this week unless we have no other options."
Minako might be really bashful and uncertain in Ethics class, but Venus had no compunctions about back-talking. Especially when people were being grumpy.
Atton Rand
"Can we maybe stop complaining about everyone's tactics and just go in and get this guy, please?"
Yes, Atton had absolutely not a single leg to stand on in the department of 'not complaining while out on a mission', but so help him, he was going to complain about their complaining anyway-- and then walk up towards the kicked-in door to glance inside.
Zoe Winchester
"I know I'll feel better once I know where this man is," Zoe said, keeping an eye out behind them for a few moments before leaning in through one of the broken windows to look around. "You would think all of the commotion would draw him out if he was here."
Anakin Skywalker
Anakin nodded. "Watch out for traps. There's no way it's going to be this easy."
Karina Lyle
"This'd be way too simple, if it were easy," Karina grumbled, picking her way over to the door.
Raven Darkholme
"At least he knows we're coming," Raven muttered as she made her way into the shop. "We've made plenty of noise."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
"Yes," Jalian agreed, grinning at Raven as she joined the group. "But it made it easier to find you in the fog."
Bo Jones
"What she said," added Bo, who had definitely not hung back out of squishiness or fear of broken glass. Trying to find the place, though? "I haven't seen fog this thick since that weekend everybody turned into Raymond Chandler characters."
She took a moment to shove an umbrella-stand she hoped wasn't made out of a real elephant's foot into place, so the door didn't slam closed on them all and lock them in with whatever danger she was pretty sure still waited on the other side. A spider sense to not tingle: sadly not one of Bo's powers, so she was going to stay cynical, thanks.
Leland Gaunt
The store room looked utterly and perfectly normal, an antiques shop filled with clutter and detritus and things that you cannot fathom someone might actually pay money for.
And -- but wait. Just there, out of the corner of your eye, it's ... is that really what you think it is?
There. Over there, against the far wall. It's the one thing you want most in the world. It's your dead mother, smiling and waving at you. It's your first flute, the one that was destroyed in that earthquake. It's the ancient artifact you've been searching for your whole life. It's the one thing that might possibly distract you from your mission.
Do you turn your back on it? Can you?
Jessica Drew
Making her way through the store, Jessica couldn't help but notice a portal shimmering off in the corner of the room. And through it, she could just barely see Kitty peeking her head through. It was a way home.
"Oh, come on," Jessica said, in case Gaunt was listening. "You really want me to believe you know the way for me to get home better than me or Portalocity? Please."
Atton Rand
Packs of playing cards. Stray datacards. And was that a metal bikini...? Atton's eyes slid past them all, briefly, and never lingered. He held firmly onto his unlit lightsaber. He was taking no chances here: who knew what was going to leap out right as they let their guards down?
A glimpse of brown hair shifted suddenly in the corner of his view. His attention snapped over there, his finger sliding over the on switch of his lightsaber, not tapping it just yet.
Brown hair, yes. Light Jedi robes. Blue eyes, full of defiance and an exhaustion Atton knew from looking in the mirror when he let the mask slip.
His breath caught in his throat, because his body had to take a second to catch up to what his brain already knew-- there was nothing there in the Force. He inhaled sharply to inform it of that fact.
Switch the face of the +1/-1 card, the totals are nine-ten. Switch the face of the...
You know, he'd wanted to punch this Gaunt guy before. Seeing him use her face like this made him want to start punching and maybe never stop. But he couldn't linger on that right now. He let that toxic mix of emotions go into the Force and pressed onwards, forcing his eyes away.
Anakin Skywalker
Anakin had learned long, hard lessons about attachment and trying to change destiny. There wasn't a lot that could distract him from bringing this asshole to justice (and real, by the law justice. Not "cut him into pieces with a lightsaber" justice, though if Gaunt tried to run, sucked to be him)...but Anakin's Achilles heel had always been the people he loved and the regrets he had for the time he'd lost with them.
And so a holographic photo album flipping through shots of he and Rory as teenagers, shyly fumbling toward each other when they thought no one was watching, of Luke and Leia as the babies he'd never seen, of he and Obi-Wan grinning at each other before years of war and betrayal lay between them...that made him stop and catch his breath.
But then a shot flashed up of his wedding to Padme. The one held in secret. The one no one should have proof of happening, and the one Palpatine had someone managed to figure out. And the memory of that man sullying such a sacred memory was enough to jerk Anakin back to the present.
"Ugh," he said aloud, shoving away from the wall. "I hate this guy."
Raven Darkholme
Having not come into the store at all while it was open, Raven couldn't help but glance around as they made their way through. Seriously, there was a lot of junk in here. She supposed maybe Gaunt had had some sort of glamour over it when the store was actually open, and that was what had attracted people to the place, but all she was really seeing was gaudy, broken down furniture and shelves of dusty picture frames with pictures of people no one knew, any more.
Then her eyes landed on one little picture in particular, a tiny portrait of a family of three, dressed in late depression era clothing. The man and woman looked ordinary enough, beyond the hint of a pleased smile on the woman's face, refusing to be dampened by any traditions of solemnity -- but baby they held, maybe one year old, clinging to the woman's shoulder and beaming at the camera -- Well, it was hard to tell in black and white, but the little girl looked like she had scales.
Raven stared at it for a long moment, then snorted. Okay, she had literally just had to talk someone else out of a cursed family portrait. She wasn't falling for this. She reached out to tip the little picture down on its face so she wouldn't have to look at it anymore.
Which of course was a mistake. Not that Raven registered that. She was too busy running happily after her father in a sunny afternoon game of tag.
Or, you know, standing completely still in an aisle of the store.
One of those.
Cassandra Pentaghast
They had entered, and still there was silence, and an absence of Leland. Cassandra still had the faintest memory of an itch for something in the back of her head, and she was eager to be rid of it. So she did not linger over any item as she proceeded onwards, and--
Caught the glint of a sword.
A familiar sword.
She turned towards it, frowning. "How did this find its way here?" she asked, of no one in particular. The detailing on the hilt... the grip... This was Anthony's.
Had been. Anthony's.
Had Leland stolen it? Was that why she had never been able to find it?
Yes, she knew his magic was bound up in objects, but it was something she knew intellectually, not truly. And so she made a fatal mistake: she reached for it. Gripped it.
Didn't let go.
Cara of the Mord'Sith
Agiels held loosely in her hands, their sting grounding her, Cara moved through the store, casting disinterested glaces around. Things , she turned her head as movement caught her attention, people on the other hand...
She watched for one long moment, taking in the play of muscles under smooth skin, tangled limbs contrasting against each other, the easy, inviting grins and crooked fingers beckoning, and worst of all, the open, honest adoration in familiar eyes, before shaking her head in disgust.
Honestly. Even if Cara was fool enough to believe it could ever happen, as if any of them would chose here and now to offer that instead of back-up.
Zoe Winchester
Zoe recognized the frame before she recognized the picture - there were only a few copies of the photograph, and only one lived in the frame Mal had given them. The picture showed Zoe and Wash kissing at the end of their wedding ceremony, and there was no good reason for it to be here. She was tempted to take it, to claim what was rightfully hers, but she pulled back at the last moment and glared at the picture instead. There was no good reason for it to be here, so she was just going to pretend that it wasn't here, and move on. If that was a mistake, she'd deal with it later.
Karina Lyle
Fuck, no, Karina wasn't touching any shit in the store. She knew better, had seen what it had done to Sparkle and had no desire to take a trip to loony-land over anything.
Despite herself, though, she couldn't help but sneak glances at what was in the store. Like, yeah, incredibly stupid and she knew better, but at the same time she was curious.
Not just to see what would catch her eye, but also what he'd have hanging around. Karina was vaguely disappointed it wasn't creepier-she'd half-expected to find things like ectoplasm and trap doors and maybe an ominous grandfather clock tick-tocking about for atmosphere.
Instead, it all looked a lot like… well, broken trashy stuff.
Her gaze skittered over objects, dismissing most of them. A few trophies caught her attention momentarily, but were dismissed easily right up until her eyes landed on a flower crown made of blue roses. Unlike the dusty, broken bits and bobs, the crown was pristine, the flowers looked fresh and she knew, just knew, it was hers, a token symbolizing everything she'd worked for and that if she had it, there was no way things wouldn't work out right; why, it would be just like magic-
Karina's fingers stopped inches from the crown and she wrenched herself away from it, recoiling.
"I don't need magic to get what I want," she snarled at it. "Don't even fucking try to sell me on that bullshit. I'm the one who'll get everything I want, with my own hands."
She balled her hands into fists and stomped further into the shop.
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Jalian hadn't been in here before, and looked around with equal parts curiosity and wariness as they headed in. She had her knives out now that the only one to fight was the male responsible.
There were books in among the junk, and she craned her head to read the spines...then stopped when one of them proclaimed to be The Great Wheel and the Worlds on it: Their Connections and Dispositions.
With that book, she could find her way to her own timeline. Or maybe to another of ghess'Rith's. She could stop Armageddon, could get her friend back...
Her hands twitched, and she hesitated between the book and the back room. No. Protection was for now; the book wasn't going anywhere.
Sailor Venus
Venus had no interest in this crap. She knew what it was, could almost see the negative energy rolling off it since she was transformed. Her biggest temptation was to whip the chain off from it's spot around her waist and smash it all to bits.
Until she caught a glimpse of silver-gold hair from the corner of her eye, the hem of a dress vanishing behind a shelf. "Miss, you can't be in here right now!" she called, stepping away from the group. No, it's not her. It's some townie-kid screwing around where they shouldn't be. "Please go back outside and stay--"
There was no one there. Nothing but the scent of roses, and a single pearl bracelet laid atop a sword.
Venus froze in place, vibrating with fear and anger. Was that... was that blood, on the bracelet? On the sword? No no no no no...
She didn't need to touch the items to be lost in her own memories, staring down at the delicate little bracelet with horror etched on her face and tears streaming from under her mask. One minuet. Two. Three. Four...
Five. Her hand slammed into the wall, and Venus pivoted on her heel, fists balled at her sides as she took long strides to catch up with the group. By the time she reached them, all traces of tears were gone (although there was a fist-sized hole in the wall above where the sword was laying.)
"When we're done here, we burn it," she said flatly. "None of this can remain."
Bo Jones
Bo wasn't the kind of person to privately think *I* wouldn't have fallen for that... about Kenzi's adventure with shiny Leland Gaunt trinkets, but if she had been... Okay, Bo didn't want to be that kind of person, but who the hell, deep down, wasn't?
And who the hell, deep down, wouldn't prove themselves a total hypocrite when confronted by a leatherbound book, open to the yellowed cover page, titled "Succubae Familias: History, Genealogy and Clan Registry, 1000 BCE through 19__ AD."
The "99" filled in by hand so calligraphically on the line was dark brown, like faded... was that blood? Bo leaned close to peer at it, resting her fingers against the page for just a second... but a second was all it took.
Leland Gaunt
The back room was clearly an office; Leland Gaunt sat hunched over a desk, writing out bills with a fountain pen and a bottle of ink.
Anakin Skywalker
Anakin crossed his arms over his chest, looking unimpressed. "Seriously?"
Atton Rand
"I think you sucked all the melodrama out of the room already, Skywalker," Atton muttered under his breath.
And lit his lightsaber as he made sure the exit was covered. Probably a better idea than giving into his impulse to punch the hell out of this guy.
Karina Lyle
Unlike the teachers, Karina wasn't visibly armed. And she wasn't going to be, unless she had to be. It hadn't got to that point for her yet. She slid into the room quietly, leaving the banter for the others, as she was still pissed off about how close she'd come to getting brainwashed, and glowered at the cause of all this shit.
There as a part of her, a tiny part of her, that almost hoped she would have to do something... powerful.
Jessica Drew
"Leland Gaunt, on behalf of the people of Fandom, you're under arrest," Jessica said, pulling a pair of handcuffs from her belt as she approached his desk. "Stand up and put your hands behind your head."
Leland Gaunt
Leland seemed... bored, really, taking a moment to cross his t's and dot his i's before so much as setting his pen down and glancing up.
Ah yes, the heroes had arrived to save the day, had they? He reached for his glass, to have himself a drink of the Bordeaux that he had poured. Took a moment to savor that mouthful, and then, without fuss, set the glass down again and stood.
"Such clever little apes," he said, placing his hands behind his head. "Made it past the temptations, thwarted my honor guard. Why, this must be a red-letter day for you all."
Jessica Drew
"Actually, it's not that great, thanks to you," Jessica said, snapping a cuff around one wrist and pulling the other down for the classic prisoner in handcuffs pose. The second she touched his wrists, she had to steady herself for the wave of revulsion that hit her. If it weren't for her enhanced endurance and habit of displacing negative feelings with smartassery, it might have hit her much worse.
"You have the right to remain silent. I beg you to use it. You'd have the right to an attorney if we had any around here. And you'd have a right to a trial of your peers if we could find anyone as ludicrously skeevy as you." Jessica prodded him in away from the desk and back toward the shop. "Keep your eyes open for anything extra sketchy, people. This guy's making my skin crawl, and that's never a good thing."
Leland Gaunt
"My peers." Leland allowed himself a small laugh at that. "You'd have to travel a very long way for that, little girl."
He looked around at the assembled heroes and curled his lips. "This is Fandom's best and brightest? I just see a sloppy handful of murderers and thieves, freaks and failures who managed to finagle their way into positions of authority."
So much for that right to remain silent.
"Do tell me. How do you plan to save the island when you couldn't even save your...spouse. Your...friends. The people who were counting on you most of all?" Even though his eyes remained straight ahead, Leland gave the impression of locking eyes with each person in turn, on whichever phrase would hurt them the most.
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Jalian tightened her hands on her knives and narrowed her eyes at him, but did nothing more.
Not unless he tried anything. Then all bets were off.
Karina Lyle
Oh shit. Oh shit, shitshitshit. Karina didn't know how he knew but she'd've sworn he was looking right at her when it came to the 'freaks' bit of his comment.
She ruthlessly squashed her panic and snapped, "Those are big words for someone wearing handcuffs."
Like? Hello? They had you captured, dumbass. What were you going to do now?
Jessica Drew
"Handcuffs and webbing over his mouth," Jessica said. Wait, he didn't have webbing to keep him from yammering on? Yeah, well, now he did. "For the record, I got this job with a stellar resume. Let's get moving, Bunky. You have a long night in a cold cell ahead of you."
Leland Gaunt
Leland managed an amused snort at that, at least, though whatever charming commentary had leaped to his mind was going to have to wait until, perhaps, his mouth was a little less...
Webbed. He could say with some certainty that that was a new experience. Well done, little Spider, for managing that. It was no simple task.
He rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, instead, and then gave a little nod toward the doorway. Very well, then. He'd been captured, fair and square. Now it was time to parade him through town as a symbol of their victory and an example to their enemies, to be thrown in the stocks or solitary confinement or whatever it was that humans did with their prisoners these days.
It hardly mattered. He would outlive them all and have a good chuckle about this somewhere down the road. Maybe in a week or two.
Zoe Winchester
Zoe looked back and forth between Leland and Jessica, and couldn't help but smirk. "Congratulations Ms. Drew, I think you're officially my favorite person in this town right now."
Atton Rand
"Jess," Atton said, "I might just get on one knee and propose marriage to you here, right now."
Beat.
"Metaphorically speaking, that is."
It was almost a pity Kreia was dead. He'd love to introduce those two kooky grandstanding, homicidal old people to each other. Though honestly, where it came to old people calling him a murderer, Kreia outclassed this guy fair and square.
Jessica Drew
"First things first, this guy's getting locked up," Jessica said as she led Gaunt back through the shop. "I'll be back when I can to try to help whoever stays for the poor, frozen people."
Cassandra Pentaghast
The sword. Cassandra could not remember anything but the sword. And Anthony, his face before the mages dragged him out, that last moment where he looked on her with warmth, not panic--
And suddenly it was gone.
She practically recoiled, grabbing at the sword to bring it back... and found nothing more than a broomstick. "Maker!"
She tossed it aside and looked up, staring at the others, wild-eyed.
Cara of the Mord'Sith
As she passed Cassandra, Cara aimed a relatively gentle swat at the back of her head. "We had an entire class on manipulating people through desire," she pointed out. "This is why."
Sure it'd been specifically on physical desire but she'd thought Cassandra was smart enough to figure things out from there.
Cassandra Pentaghast
"We were not speaking about enchanted objects," Cassandra hissed, rubbing the back of her head.
She was incredibly embarrassed, yes. "...I will remember next time." Because she had kind of deserved that.
Cara of the Mord'Sith
Cara's next swat was more of an almost-pat between the shoulder-blades. "Do that," she said, not unkindly. "It could have made you do more than just stand still, then I'd have had to take care of it."
Raven Darkholme
Raven finally looked up from her daydream about her parents -- real actual parents! -- and realized she was clutching an empty tin picture frame to her chest. She threw it down with a disgusted noise and stormed after the group with Gaunt.
Dammit, she hadn't even meant to pick it up!
Anakin Skywalker
"If you trip him accidentally, I won't say a word," Anakin murmured.
Raven Darkholme
Raven flashed him a small, ironic smile. "I have a feeling I'd have to get in line."
Anakin Skywalker
"Probably, but we'll be very orderly about it," Anakin said.
Raven Darkholme
"Well then," Raven said. "So long as we're being orderly about it."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Jalian offered Raven a sympathetic smile and shrug. It had almost gotten her, too, after all.
Raven Darkholme
But it hadn't! Raven wanted to shout that, but it didn't seem the time. She'd been reaching out to knock it over! Not to take it!
"I hate this guy," she muttered.
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
"I'm not convinced we shouldn't just stab him," Jalian agreed.
Raven Darkholme
"I am," Raven said darkly. "It'd be too quick."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
"Maybe," Jalian agreed. She bit her lip. "But I might give you a knife if you wanted to try."
Not that Raven probably had any idea what giving someone a knife meant to ken Selvren.
Bo Jones
Bo came back to herself with a book in her hand, alright -- but it certainly wasn't going to tell her anything about who or what she was unless she woke up with a uniform and another name, craving nicotine and airline peanuts again some weekend. She glared at the bargain-bin paperback of Coffee, Tea, or Me for a moment before tossing it grumpily across the room and into a pile of knock-off Hummel figure salt and pepper shakers that her mother -- the non-Succubus one -- would totally have sold her soul for.
"Futhermucker," she muttered at Gaunt as he passed her, but she pronounced it a little differently.
Atton Rand
While everyone else was busy patting each other on the back or nursing each other through mind whammy-induced confusion, Atton did a quick sweep of the premises, lightsaber still in hand. Gaunt was a slippery one, and he wouldn't put it past the guy to put up some traps.
And anyway, they had some missing stuff, right?
He wound up behind the counter eventually, squatting down. Okay... that was an Earth hard drive, wasn't it? And a whole bunch of hair, what the hell. It didn't seem like the usual collection of weird crap that littered the store otherwise, but Atton was still going to be glad he was wearing his gloves while he was touching everything.
By the time he hit something that had Professor Starsmore's Force presence wrapped all around it, he was absolutely positive. "Okay, this crap is coming with us," he announced aloud, then turned around to snag a cardboard box off the floor.
Time to start piling it in.
Raven Darkholme
Raven paused to see what Atton was gathering -- since touching things in the shop generally seemed like a bad idea -- and happened to zoom right in on the hair. Her hand went up to her scalp as she gaped at it.
"This is why she pulled my hair out?!"
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
"Who did?" Jalian asked, frowning.
Raven Darkholme
"The crazy spy teacher woman," Raven said, then paused. "The fat crazy spy teacher woman." She scowled at it and the rest of the collection of things, then moved to help pack them up. "That's so gross."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
"You should have it back," Jalian said, carefully reaching for the hair that looked like Raven's.
Raven Darkholme
"It's not like I can put it back in," Raven said. "I don't even know why he wanted it."
She hadn't been used as a guinea pig for a massive war machine program yet, after all.
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
"Not for anything good," Jalian said. She was sure of that, anyway. She held out the hair to Raven. "Even if you throw it out or burn it, it's yours."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Jalian frowned at that rock. It felt like a person. She'd touched that mind before. She reached out to touch it, and stopped. "Is it safe to touch these things, do you think?"
Atton Rand
Atton shrugged, holding up a chunk of blonde hair. "Doesn't seem to be doing anything to me," he said.
But then again, he had gloves on. "And my senses aren't warning me about anything. These things seem solid."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Right, then. Jalian reached out carefully for that rock. "This feels like Jono Starsmore. He mindspoke with me." The first person here who'd done that.
Atton Rand
"Yeah, that's Starsmore," Atton agreed, tucking the hair into the box. "Or at least about a third of him. Two-thirds? Picked up on it when I was poking around here. Don't break it."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Jalian nodded and held it carefully. "We should bring all these things back to the people they belong to." Unfortunately, most of them didn't come conveniently stamped with psyches. "Do they say who they come from?" Why did evil not use labelers?
Atton Rand
"Nope."
Unfortunately.
Atton looked towards her and shrugged. "We could just leave it wherever the people are. The clinic, maybe. Then we'll use the honor system."
He groped around and found a sharpie.
"COME GET YOUR MISSING STUFF," he wrote, "TAKE SOMEBODY ELSE'S STUFF AND WE WILL FIND OUT AND--"
He squinted, leaned in, and had to scribble much closer to fit the rest on the box, "--wewilltearyourheadoff. There."
Anakin Skywalker
"Very professional," Anakin said dryly.
Atton Rand
"Everyone's a critic," Atton muttered. He pointed at Anakin. "You go do what you do best. You know, glowering in a corner and shucking your coat off dramatically."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Jalian shrugged. It seemed reasonable to her! Besides, things were just things. If someone took the wrong one, the right person could always get it back.
Except for this stone. If this was really part of someone she knew... "Do you know where Jono Starsmore is? I could bring this to him, to keep it safe."
Atton Rand
"Clinic, maybe?" Atton said, shrugging. "That's where this thing is going anyway, so you can tag along if you want."
Jalian d'Arsennette y ken Selvren
Jalian nodded and put the rock very carefully into her pouch, tucking it away safely. "I'll see if I can find who's missing other things."
Bo Jones
"Which crap? It's all a bunch of---oh." The not-crap crap, apparently. Things that still looked shiny and valuable, or at least not like they came out of a Goodwill discard bin. Bo leaned over the counter and scanned the stuff on the shelves and the stuff Atton was throwing into a box, looking for... aha, there. "MINE." She reached down to snag the amulet up by its chain. "By which I mean I stole it first. By which I mean Kenzi stole it first. By which I mean MINE."
(OOC: This post is set Friday evening, after all the items have been smashed -- feel free to continue smashing your items, IC, we just wanted to post this early so all the time zones had a chance to play!
Preplayed with the incomparable craftyladyparts, suitablyheroic, sith_happened, beautifulsenshi, tigerundercover, notacokeperson, seeks_truth, wrongkindofsith, bigdamndean, kenselvren, nookiepowered, and I hope I didn't miss anyone there, and coded by the lovely fly_so_serious. NFI, broadcast is fine, OOC is love!)