marlow (marlow) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2010-12-12 00:14:00

Entry tags:

Getting help (or a New York pizza)
She'd meant to get to New York sooner, but with one thing or another she just hadn't been able to do it. Now while Titan (and Andy) were gone from the compound on Argo business, Marlow took the opportunity to transport herself directly to the street outside of Cornerstone of Creation. If anyone saw her appear in thin air, no one bothered to yell.

Hello, Mr. McNee. I'm Marlow, and I might be possessed by a demon.

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nextgen_misc
2010-12-12 07:29 am UTC (link)

Ian is busy tending his shop when he hears the young woman's voice inside his head. Ah, this would be the young woman that Matthew spoke of.

Just one moment, Miss Marlow. I need to hurry out a final customer. Ian says, walking to the door and turning the sign from "Open" to "Closed". He then pulls down the shade and whispers an incantation, tracing the frame of the door upward and around from bottom left to bottom right. Once he feels the energies in place, he sends message to Marlow.

Please come to the door and enter. Ian thinks.

Once Marlow crosses the street the door is before her. The door will open easily, but Marlow will find herself physically unable to cross the threshold of the door, no matter how hard she tries.

If she attempts to teleport into the building, she will materialize directly outside the shop, at the door, still unable to enter.

Ian wants to know for certain that she is possessed by a demon before he goes any further with this.

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marlow
2010-12-12 07:42 am UTC (link)

Marlow blinked at the voice in her head. She hadn't meant to project her thoughts out, but it did make it more private. She'd have to try it with someone else later.

She crossed the street and stopped at the door. Matt had urged her to talk to Mr. McNee, but he was still a magic user. She had to be prepared for tricks.

The door swung open easily but her first step to cross the threshold was blocked. "Mr. McNee?" she asked, putting a hand up to probe the open doorway.

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nextgen_misc
2010-12-12 07:50 am UTC (link)

A few feet into the shop stands an blond-haired man wearing a pair a red John Lennon sunglasses, a button down blue shirt, blue jeans...and a green cape. A few charms hang about his neck and there is small length of wood joined to his hip by a cord.

He regards Marlow with all the interest of a scientist watching a mouse run through a maze.

"One and the same, Miss Marlow. Please attempt to cross the threshold again." he says, his hand going to his chin in thought.

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marlow
2010-12-12 07:57 am UTC (link)

Marlow had arrived wearing the same thing she wore at the compound (and not in the water), jeans and a tee shirt. Despite the winter temperature in New York, she didn't feel the cold. Her next attempt was no better than her first. She felt an almost writhing sensation in her head.

"Mr. McNee, I'm not sure if you're having some fun at my expense or testing my training with Clea and Dr. Strange."

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nextgen_misc
2010-12-12 08:15 am UTC (link)

"I am doing neither, Miss Marlow. I am confirming that you are, indeed, possessed by a demon. If it were simply an angry specter or a wandering ghost, you'd have been able to enter the door." Ian says.

"I respect Clea too much to have a joke at her expense or that of her students'." Ian tells her.

He gestures with his left hand and says a word in Latin; the resistance Marlow feels immediate vanishes, allowing her into the shop.

"Now that we know your issue, Miss Marlow, I think it's time we discussed how to address it.

Would you like some tea?" he asks.

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	marlow 2010-12-12 08:23 am UTC (link)
	She stepped inside after a moment, ready for any sort of trickery. "I don't know what the issue is, Mr. McNee. My name's Marlow. Just Marlow. Matt said he thinks I'm possessed by a demon, but it's just not possible. Clea and Dr. Strange would have known it. Wouldn't they?" "What sort of tea?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

nextgen_misc
2010-12-12 08:32 am UTC (link)

"Again, I point to the test I just performed. You are under demonic influence, even if you do not recognize it, Marlow. Did Matthew perform this same test upon you or tel you how he noticed in the first place? Did Whisper have a bad reaction to you?" Ian asks.

" Oh, and I have several types; I enjoy tea. I have Raspberry Green Tea, English Breakfast Tea and Jasmine Tea." Ian says.

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marlow
2010-12-12 08:40 am UTC (link)

"Raspberry," she said immediately. It reminded her of Titan and she wished he was here. "I don't know what test Matt did. He asked me how long I've been possessed. Whisper likes me. Matt said if he ever had puppies, I could have one. Though his wards were pretty easy to breach. Maybe he could use a refresher course on how to hide his trail."

The store looked like a place she'd love to browse in under different circumstances. "I'm pretty sure that I'm not evil, Mr. McNee. I fight demons. Just a little while ago we helped one of the Celtic gods get some escaped ghosts back on Halloween."

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nextgen_misc
2010-12-12 09:00 am UTC (link)

Ian knows that Matthew doesn't make his wards as strong as they /could/ be, but if she'd breached the ones he felt were safe...this was indeed a problem. LaVey's haphazard teachings had nearly ruined his apprentice in the beginning; luckily, Ian was able to undo most of that.

"Perhaps he does." Ian says, studying Marlow.

"You may not have ill intentions, Marlow, but a demon can color your magic without your knowledge or consent. When you encounter demons, how to do they react to you?" he asks.

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marlow
2010-12-12 09:10 am UTC (link)

"They're usually trying to kill us. I haven't noticed any of them making me their demon queen." She sat down and leaned forward on her elbows. "I've had some changes in magic. It's gotten stronger. My self-illusions are nearly tangible when before they were good, but not..." she searched for a word "...they didn't conduct more sights and sounds. Now they can be touched."

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	nextgen_misc 2010-12-12 09:12 am UTC (link)
	"That is a significant increase in ability, Marlow. Did you not find that strange at all?" Ian asks. "How long ago did this increase in power begin?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

marlow
2010-12-12 09:24 am UTC (link)

"Not that long ago. Maybe six months. It's not the only spell that's gotten stronger, either. I can pull more spells down and keep them ready. It's been more fun, really."

She sighed. "I agreed to talk to you because Matt thinks it's a good idea. I don't know that I agree that I'm possessed. I've spent over a year with a group of Asgardians and one of them was a sorceress. She didn't like me but she'd have considered me a threat if I was suddenly evil. I don't want to hurt anybody who doesn't deserve it, Mr. McNee."

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	nextgen_misc 2010-12-13 03:10 am UTC (link)
	"Marlow, if every demon who possessed someone advertised their presence, they wouldn't get very far in their plans. If Doctor Strange or Clea or your friend did not find it, perhaps this demon is of sufficient ability to hide itself from detection." Ian surmises. "That is a lot more worrisome than you simply being possessed, or influenced by one." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	marlow 2010-12-13 03:17 am UTC (link)
	"So my increased power may not be mine at all? It could be demonic? How is it that Whisper didn't react? He's a hellhound." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

nextgen_misc
2010-12-13 04:10 am UTC (link)

"Whisper is only half hellhound and it depends on /which/ Hell we're discussing. Your power could definitely be your own, but a demon can influence you in subtle ways without your knowledge. You could do things that you think were your idea, only...they're not." Ian says.

"Have you met anyone new recently? Has anyone commented on you behaving differently than normal?" he asks.

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marlow
2010-12-13 04:30 am UTC (link)

Marlow had to think about it. The Defenders were her team, but she wasn't that close to the individual members. She hadn't exchanged more than a couple of words with at least two of them in the year they'd occupied the compound. Dr. Strange hadn't commented on it when they'd fought Dormmamu or after the rescue, and she thought he would know. It had been a high-stress time for him, though.

Only Matt had mentioned anything about it.

"Matt is new," she said in a soft voice. "Matt said I seemed different. Looked different. Matt said I had a demon in me. Is /Matt/ the start of it all?"

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nextgen_misc
2010-12-13 04:46 am UTC (link)

"Not in the way you're asking, Marlow. Matthew...is different from most practitioners of magic. He has an inborn talent from it, derived from his respective parents and he possesses certain abilities that allow him to do his job more effectively." Ian says.

"He can see things and people as they /truly/ are, when he chooses. It comes with a price, but often enough, he's willing to pay it. Too often, sometimes." Ian says.

"If he saw it, I'm willing to believe it's true, Marlow. I don't wish to upset or scare you; I'd like to help you and Matthew does, too. That's why he referred you to me. There are two ways to end this, Marlow. Both come with a cost. It falls to you to decide which you wish to pay." Ian says.

"The first is to lay aside your power and never practice magic again. Your power would be sealed away inside if you and you could never access it. I believe it would starve the demon of a its nourishment and force it to abandon you...but again, you would no longer be a sorceress." he says.

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	marlow 2010-12-13 04:58 am UTC (link)
	Marlow looked away. "I was given to Clea as a baby and I'm intended to be the next Sorceress Supreme of the Dark Dimension. It's all the identity I have. I don't even have a family name or a birthdate. I can't give up what little I have. What's the second option?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_misc 2010-12-13 05:21 am UTC (link)
	Somehow, Ian thought it might come to this. He understood her desire not to lose what identity possessed, even to save her life. She reminded him a great deal of Matthew's mother. "The second option is much more dangerous, Marlow. Quite simply, it's an exorcism. Are you familiar with the term?" he asks. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	marlow 2010-12-13 05:34 am UTC (link)
	"Yes, but I understood it was in regards to religion. I don't believe in religion." Living with gods gave Marlow a whole different perspective on 'higher power'. "What would be involved?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

nextgen_misc
2010-12-13 06:22 am UTC (link)

"Religion is not necessary, but Faith is." Ian says.

"We would, in essence, try to purge the demon from your body. We would need to prepare a place and agree upon a ritual, but that's easy portion.

Marlow, I need to be blunt; there is a very real chance that you could die or worse in this attempt. You could still lose access to your magic or be rendered mentally impaired for the rest of your life. You could end up insane. It could affect the amount of power you could draw upon." Ian says.

"While I don't urge you to tarry on making a choice, I do ask that you think everything over long and hard. Speak to Dr. Strange and Clea if you need to. If not them, then someone you trust implicitly.

You must be certain of whatever choice you make before you make it, because there would be a great deal of preparation to undertake in either event." he says.

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	marlow 2010-12-13 06:37 am UTC (link)
	"There's a third choice, Mr. McNee. I could do nothing. If Matt hadn't said anything, I would still be living my life the way I have all along. Isn't it possible that whatever Matt thinks he saw could be harmless?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_misc 2010-12-14 01:35 am UTC (link)
	Ian considers Marlow's words. "I can't say I agree with your assessment, Marlow. I've never known any manner of demonic possession to be beneficial or even benign to the possessed." Ian tells her. "However, there may be a way to find out the truth and reason for the demon's presence, if you're willing." he says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	marlow 2010-12-17 06:38 am UTC (link)
	"Just exploratory?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_misc 2010-12-17 02:21 pm UTC (link)
	"Yes. A simple fact-finding mission that will let us know where you stand." Ian says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	marlow 2010-12-17 05:20 pm UTC (link)
	Marlow was silent for a moment. "Are you going to feel you have to take action based on what you find?" she finally asked. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

nextgen_misc
2010-12-18 03:32 am UTC (link)

"Marlow, I have made it my mission in life to defend this world from any threat that comes from the supernatural. I am not the Sorcerer Supreme, but I feel that such is my responsibility as a practicioner of the Mystic Arts." Ian says.

He pauses.

"That said, I am not eager to tie you down and exorcise you until something happens. I want to help you, but I must keep your safety and the safety of others in mind." Ian says.

"I would prefer to learn what we are dealing with before any decisions are made."

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	marlow 2010-12-19 08:50 pm UTC (link)
	She nodded. "What you're saying is very reasonable, but I would like someone here to look after my interests if a choice becomes necessary and I am unable to make it." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_misc 2010-12-24 03:10 am UTC (link)
	"Do you have someone in mind that you want to contact?" Ian asks. "We will take any and all measure you feel necessary if you choose to go through with it." Ian says. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	word_of_law 2011-01-14 02:18 am UTC (link)
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