The time had come. For so many years no one thought that it would actually happen but, lo and behold, it has. Eons it seemed that only the mad and insane believed that the old cosmic horrors dwelled on the outer edges of the universe. These gospels were labeled as little more than the mad ramblings of a psychotic few or the fantasies of deeply troubled authors; but there were those who could read between the lines, who could pulled out the kernels of reality like ticks buried deep in the skin. These were the people who knew the truth, who knew what was coming, and who knew to prepare for the eventual signs.

There was no greater sign of the cosmic forces moving than what occurred on July 1st, 2017, when the world witnessed the very shattering of the dimensional barriers. Though mutants ran amok in the world, their gifts explained away as genetic anomalies, the event on this particular day, under the darkened sky of the eclipse showed that this was no mere display of mutant potency -- the things from the dark edges were creeper closer.

The amount of power it takes to rend a dimensional wall is a gift only bestowed upon the very cosmic horrors that floated throughout the darkest corners of the void. This was the first sign that they entities were on the move, seeping into this reality with an aim of conquering all that they looked upon. But for as powerful as they are, this was a task that could not be completed upon their own. They needed assistance, they needed worshippers, they needed sacrifices -- and there is no greater sacrifice than the that of the sane mind.

Enter the Lovecraft Sisters: Agatha, Agnes, and Abigail. Young, barely fifteen or sixteen years old (no one can quite remember), these three individuals count themselves as some of the most devote followers. Of course they have traveled and meet with like-minded people but never had met a true believer, simply fans who wore t-shirts, inked their skin, or sat around tables rolling dice -- pathetic really.

To these three who act as one, they never truly found anyone with whom they could identify with. Posers, fanboys and girls, little more than that, never any true acolytes. When questioned, however, the three sisters never identified who informed them that their beliefs were real, but rather they just knew it to be true. It was that faith that made them true to who they were and true believers in the cosmic horrors that dwelled in the void.

Thus, when the sign came, the three made their plans. If they could not gather enough followers to bring about their new lords, then they would ensure a sacrifice so great that they themselves would be put at the head of their new deities order. After all, sacrifice is what gains the attention of a god or goddess and with what these three were planning, they would ensure their new rulers that their bellies will be filled upon their arrival.

October 31st. That would be the day. The day in which in barrier between realms is at its thinnest, when the dead and the supernatural are already at their strongest. The dimensional wall was already weakened and so, with a little nudge, the Lovecraft Sisters could help cause that final crack, that last little rip that their beloved deities would need in order to finally set foot and bring a new world order.

---

HELL’S KITCHEN -- Skyline Hotel

The Skyline Hotel. It was built to be the next great hotel franchise juggernaut of the modern world and, instead, simply became yet another hotel struggling to stay afloat in a world dominated by more traditional franchises. The Skyline was supposed to be a glittering diamond but, rather, now simply exists. That isn’t to say that it doesn’t do well, but it could certainly do better, especially if it wanted to get out of choking environment to which it found itself.

Today, on Halloween, the hotel threw a party. An annual tradition for the struggling establishment that was becoming a local favorite, the hotel housed a pretty sizable party in one of its rental halls, sparing no expensive with a DJ, alcohol, food, anything to try and get the word of their presence out into the rest of the city. A pretty sizeable crowd had shown up, as well, enough to actually sell out on rooms for the night. Halloween tended to be one of the Skyline’s most lucrative days -- but tonight would provide to be far different currency...

...one that Abigail Lovecraft knew how to deal in.

The young girl, no more than a teenager, strolled through the darkened halls of the hotel, humming to herself, dressed only in the green, checkered pleated skirt, knee-high socks, and white blouse that was wore tight against her frame. Over her shoulders she wore a black, wool jacket, a coat with an unknown emblem stitched into the lapel. Her bouncy, blonde hair was pulled back into a forest green bow. She was such a sight, the likes of which certainly didn’t belong in this place by herself, but here she was.

She strolled down the hallway, ignoring the sounds of laughter and drunken debauchery happening in the rooms around her. Instead, a small hum sang on her lips as she bobbed her head to an unheard melody. Truly she was a disturbing sight for anyone to behold.

Upon arriving at the stairwell, Abigail began to climb, moving up floor after floor until she reached the roof access. Shoving the door open, she sighed as she stepped out into the cool night. From there her unknown song began to reach a fever pitch as a hellish red light began to glow from the center of her eyes. Teeth clenched, arms stretched out, the young woman lifted her gaze upward and implored the darkness around her.

”Nog uh'eog ot n'ghft nilgh'rishuggogg! nafl'fhtagn! nafl'fhtagn! nafl'fhtagn ng ymg' ulnah mgepnah shugog!”

In the epicenter, from her body, there released a massive darkness, a swirl of shadowy energy that swept outward, across the rooftop, spilling over the edge to encase the hotel, and surrounding, penetrating, everything that came within reach of it. And it was here, here, where the madness began to take root.

FEAR GAUGE

Ahagl's soth l' ah'lloigshogg mgng nilgh'ri!

DICE ROLL

#1 Charlie Sinclair 0/5
#2 Cafas 0/5
#3 Winnifred Ann Wickham 0/5
#4 Andy Sanchez-Soto 0/5
#5 Ignacio Ramírez 0/5
#6 @morgan 0/5

✿

Charlie had decided that halloween parties were the best way to spend the night. She’d experienced many halloweens, some of them good, and most of them ending up in that same bar that she saw far too often. With her track record for death on increasingly supernatural nights, she often just assumed that she would be dead by the end of her halloween night, or perhaps somewhere along the way so she could hop back into the fun. It was just something that came with the territory.

Despite the likelihood that she would end up naked in the basement of the bar, she had gone all out with her Sandy from Goop costume, and was focused on enjoying herself. Her glass of spiked punch had been filled several times already, and she had just stumbled out of a hotel room after enjoying some interesting company. It was probably going to be a night that she wouldn’t remember well.

The blonde readjusted her costume as she walked through the hallways, no real direction in mind. She ignored the hands that reached out to cop a feel for the tight faux-leather. She did like a little more lead up than that, after all. Before long, she had done a circle of the upper floor once again. There were plenty of interesting things going on, but they all looked pretty similar. There were still people slipping in and out of rooms, drunk people in every corner, and music pouring out of every crevice, but for some reason, she found herself searching for more.

Ten minutes ago, that party would have been more than enough to keep her attention, but now her eyes were wandering, and she didn’t know why. She had raised an arm against the wall, trying to keep herself walking in a straight line when her heels and intoxicated state wanted otherwise. She didn’t really know where she was going, but there had been a young girl that had stuck out to her.

She was wearing a green checkered skirt, which, unless she was going for a certain musical, wasn’t really a costume. She also looked far too young to be at that kind of party. Then again, Charlie knew how deceiving looks could be.

To her left, someone bumped into her, spilling her drink right down her front. ”Watch it,” Charlie slurred, doing her best to wipe the liquid off of the vinyl fabric. When she looked back up, she’d lost track of the girl. Too bad, she looked interesting.

The woman turned around, having every intention of grabbing more punch and finding a new room to have some fun in, when something swirled around her feet. It looked dark. Each time a tendril swept against her bare skin, she shivered and her blood seemed to get a little colder. As she sipped the little bit of liquid left in her red solo cup, Charlie uttered one word. ”Trippy.”

Winnie actually loved Halloween. It could be so cheesy, so ridiculous, but it almost always promised a good time to be had. That was what Winnie was always after, a good time, and this year seemed like it was going to promise a hellof a time. With a rip in reality and people’s need to celebrate whenever they think the world was going to end, the parties that took over the city on Halloween were going to be legendary. Winnie had already been to one earlier in the day and now she was in the midst of latest endeavor -- the Skyline Hotel.

The Skyline was known for throwing these amazing parties, but it seemed as if they had outdone themselves this year. They wanted the city to know that the Skyline was where you should be celebrating and Winnie was not disappointed in the fun. The alcohol flowed freely, the music was blaring, the dancing was electric, and the company was, Mm, oh so satisfying. Already Winnifred had made plans to meet up with someone much later in the night, but for now, she just wanted to wander.

She felt sorry for anyone who wasn’t in the hotel strictly for the party. People passing through, just needing a good night sleep, they wouldn’t find any peace and solace here. Most of the rooms had been booked specifically for the afterparty carnalities that tended to ensue, but hotel management weren’t complete jerks. Specific floors were blocked off, just for people to wanted nothing to do with the partying to rest and relax. Sadly, that did little to keep costumed drunks from traveling through.

Winnie was one such drunk. Already a bit buzzed, she had gotten off on the wrong floor and knocked on the wrong door enough times that she had been cursed, ignored, and even had a door rudely slammed into her face. When a good samaritan finally informed her that she was on the wrong floor, the darkly costumed photographer gave them a full kiss on the lips, a wink, and then wandered away. The man’s wife demanded to know who was at the door, but Winnie wasn’t around to hear the man’s stammering explanation as she already made her way into the elevator, the doors sliding shut.

Upon entrance to the top floor, Winnie sighed in relief as she could already see every people in costumes, nudging playfully, holding each other close, or struggling to get doors open. Stepping out, Winnie actually made quite the sight. Winnie knew that she had a good body and had absolutely no problem showing it off. However, this year, she wanted to do a costume that would leave just a little to the imagination -- though not much.

The costume she chose was a genderbend of the comic book villain Toxin, the arch-nemesis of everyone’s favorite, Arachnid-Man. The skintight, black leather costume looked perfectly molded to her curvaceous form, and the white emblem of a spider across her chest served as a stark contrast. It immediately drew the eyes of anyone around her. Moving down the hall, Winnie revealing in the attention she received, even tossing back her hood to reveal her short, pixie hair.

However, after a particularly loud wolf whistle, Winnie turned to grin at the perpetrator, but not before she accidently nudged her arm against someone who was passing by.

>>”Watch it,”

Winnie stumbled but turned back, watching the blonde woman catch her eye. The two stared at one another for a hot second before the other, dressed like some greaser from the movie Goop, continued on. The photographer took a moment to admire the view before she shrugged and dipped her head towards the woman as she walked away.

”My apologies, gorgeous,” she muttered.

However just as she turned to continue on her trek for more interesting companions, she stopped when she noticed something strange in the air. She held her breath, feeling a strange vibration course through her body, but nothing that seemed overtly terrible. Maybe it was just someone running down the hall, or a passing army of dump trucks? She shook it off but paused when she noticed the darkened, shadowy tendrils that curled along the walls and down the ceiling. For a second Winnie just stared at it, unsure of what to make of it. She just gulped and laughed it off (only a tinge of nerves in her voice)

”Wow…” she said, turning to a person next to her. ”They...really when all out on the decorations this year, didn’t they?”


Tag: @morgan

Morgan was an adult. In charge of her own life.

Legally allowed to drink, ink and kink as much as she wanted.

Her father, however, had somewhat different ideas. He was no draconian parent, grounding her at 25 or taking away her internet privileges (like he could figure out how to turn the wifi off anyway), but he would frown, oh how he would frown and in the morning after such events went down he would suddenly be compelled to hoover the hallway outside her room at 6am and cook all manner of strongly smelling foods.

This was why two things:

1. She had booked a room in advance at the hotel known for the best parties around all Hallow’s eve. So her hours of coming and going were unknown.
2. Her costume had layers. So her state of dress or undress were unknown.

She was a clever cookie.

She left the house in a long blue coat and a large felted hat. Her Dad joked about ‘where in the world?’ she was off to, and she didn’t have the heart to tell him that that was the wrong colour scheme. She told him the hotel she was staying at and estimated that she would be home around midday the following. Clever cookies didn’t just disappear into the night without telling anyone where they were going or what time they would be back. There were all manner of monsters out there just waiting to gobble such cookies up. Cookie monsters as it were.

By the time she arrived at the hotel the coat had been unbuttoned all the way, showing a substantial peek of the eagle topped leather corset and pleated mini that made up the gear of Amazing Lady. She checked in, noting the thumping music already spilling through the halls and made a quick trip to her room to ditch the hat and coat, as well as get some small muscle memory for later when she might be a bit tipsy to help her find her way easily through the halls which all tended to blend together.

If she owned a hotel, she would make every floor a different colour scheme in the hallways- so you could remember you were in the green hallway not just one of a dozen matching… she observed the floor critically as she waited for the elevator… red and beige ones.

The ‘ping’ of the lift was immediately followed by a cheer from the rowdy occupants and all thoughts of carpet were driven from her mind. She squeezed in amongst the push and press of bodies and made no effort to push or press a button. She was going wherever the party was at.

Up, up, up they went, and when the pack swirled out of the elevator Mo-mo swirled as well. Not the full-bodied 360 degrees spins of the old Amazing Lady, just enough of a twirl to show off the swish of her leather skirt and her stability on the knee-high booted heels.

This was going to be awesome!

She made eye contact with a girl who’s costume simultaneously left nothing and everything to the imagination. The girl was talking to her, so Morgan tilted her head towards her to hear her better. As she did so she caught glimpses out of the corner of both her eyes of creeping things, spiders, or beetles as big as her fists (which were suddenly clenched against her sides). When she looked at them fully they disappeared into tendrils of a black smoky substance. The woman was complimenting the decorating and Morgan felt the initial twinge subside into a nervous giggle and her fingers relaxed to stroke the segments of her skirt down to neatness. This was Halloween, it was supposed to be spooky.

"Looks like it! I’ve never seen black smoke machines before!"

Nor did she now, for they were well concealed somewhere… maybe on the other side of the vents, to disperse spooky smog without being a trip hazard.

"I’m Amazing Lady, and you’re… let me guess… Andrew Lloyd Webber?"

Always with the stupid jokes with semi-obscure references… This is why she had no friends. Quick! She must recover, with alcohol!

"Let’s hope they went all out on the drinks too! Shall we find out?"

Though there was bound to be severed hands (or other appendages) floating around in them… there always was. That wouldn't affect the taste though, and the hotel had been working on developing special spooky-themed cocktails which they had been advertising for weeks. She wanted to get her hands on a 'no abnormal fear', a cocktail laden with pomegranate and grape chunks.

After being outed as a mutant and kicked off the swim team, the only people Andy hung out with before moving to New York were his moms, himself, and whatever friendly sea creatures he came across in the ocean he spent nearly all of his time exploring. That said, it was safe to say he didn’t celebrate Halloween last year. Sure, he still went pumpkin-picking and helped decorate the house, as he did every year, but that was it. No costume. No friends. No fun. As far as he could remember, all he did on Halloween night was lock himself in his room and cry himself to sleep.

Not this year, though. This year was going to be very different. This year, he had a costume, he had friends, and he was going to have plenty of fun.

That was, if his secret boyfriend stopped trying to hold his hand in public.

“Iggy...” Andy pulled his hand away for what felt like the hundredth time and took a deep, calming breath. They were already drawing enough attention to themselves as feather-headed Aztec warriors (Iggy’s idea); the last thing they needed was to be stared at for being gay. “You can touch me all you want as soon as we get to the hotel,” he assured him with a smirk and a playful nudge to the shoulder.

Several blocks later, the Skyline Hotel came into view and Andy unconsciously started walking faster. Excitement coursed through him as he neared the tall, extravagant building where he and Ignacio planned to party all night and sleep all day without having to worry about their roommates catching them in bed together. Why hadn’t they done this sooner?

When they finally arrived, Ignacio tried to hold his hand yet again and, for some reason, Andy felt the strange urge to let it happen. He didn’t know whether his hypnotic, multicolored eyes were to blame or whether he was just tired of saying no, but one thing was for sure: it felt right. 

The two strolled into the hotel and up to the front desk to check in, their hands firmly linked. “I guess this isn’t so bad…”

As Ignacio spoke with the receptionist, Andy continued surveying the area for any signs of homophobic activity, just to be sure. That was when he spotted what looked like black smoke stretch across the ceiling and travel down the walls in a way that made him think it wasn't regular smoke.

"Holy shit," Andy spat out in a mixture of surprise and shock, wide-eyed.

Tag: Ignacio Ramírez

Halloween was one of those things that had taken some getting used to. It hadn't really existed in Australia. Oh sure, on the university and club scenes, but it wasn't the all encompassing event that it was in North America. Honestly, it was the sort of holiday Cafas could get behind. Dressing up, partying, carbs, an excuse to spend some fun time with Rowan that was fun for both of them. It just wasn't to be though. His publicist had called him a couple weeks out with a request from Skyline Hotel, who knew he was a local, and were hoping to get him on board for their annual bash.

Funny really; A New York hotel called an L.A. publicist to get them to call a New York celebrity, who then had that same publicist call back the hotel, to accept their invitation to a party he'd attended several times before for free. It was a hell of a relay.

Anyway, their offer had been too much to pass up. They hadn't even bothered offering him any money directly, but instead were going to donate his usual appearance fee to the Mansion. He'd been impressed enough by that to take them up. He'd also been impressed that he had an appearance fee. It was the first he'd heard of it.

So there he was, in the ground floor bar, schmoozing the usual suspects, snapping photos, signing things. Sober as a rock. Funny, he'd remembered having more fun with it previously. With a parting handshake and smile "Thor" crossed out of the room to the lobby in search of air, cape flowing behind, Mjöllnir casually floating above him to keep it out of the way.

Was the costume just a little on the nose after his stint with Ragnarok? Maybe. Still, he'd made that outfit, and it had cost Jagger quite a lot; It seemed a waste to never wear it. Minus the helmet of course. No covering the face, it was in the contract. Still he looked the very image of a Norse God of strength, thunder, and the protection of mankind.

Catching sight of himself in an enormous mirror, the X-man did a double take. It took him a second to recognise himself, but that had been happening all night, having bleached his hair back to a Nordic blonde. It was the odd way the shadow behind him moved, like a beckoning tendril of smoke, that gave him pause. It was unsettling, and he would have played it off as a trick of the light if he hadn't seen it again. Curious, he followed it out into the main foyer. Maybe Maya had figured out a way to make her ghosting black? But she was with Ro at the Mansion party. Wasn't she?

>>"Holy shit,"

Cafas' thought exactly. Was that smoke coalescing? It certainly didn't behave like anything he had experience with, besides Maya, but she moved differently. He could tell her air currents. The X-man snatched his enormously heavy prop hammer from the air one handed, though still using his mutation to move it. "You see that too then? That's something at least. Wanna try and follow it with me?" He didn't know why, but something about it set his teeth on edge. Even if it was just some fancy special effects, he didn't want to go chasing it on his own.

Not even a little.

FEAR GAUGE

Ahagl's soth l' ah'lloigshogg mgng nilgh'ri!

DICE ROLL

#1 Charlie Sinclair 1/5
#2 Cafas 0/5
#3 Winnifred Ann Wickham 0/5
#4 Andy Sanchez-Soto 0/5
#5 Ignacio Ramírez 1/5
#6 @morgan 0/5

✿

It seemed that whoever it was that was decorating the party was really good at decorations. What were the kids calling it those days? Extra? Something along those lines, anyway. The black smoke that poured from every doorway, vent, and open passageway was decidedly the definition of “extra”. Charlie craned her neck to see exactly where it was coming from, but she couldn’t see a thing. It seemed to keep appearing from no particular inception point. It had just appeared, and people had simply accepted it as part of the party. There were no screams as it swirled around feet; no surprised faces as it travelled between each and every person, filling the building.

Even Charlie didn’t care all that much.

In her defense, it was rare that she cared about much of anything, and she was halfway done her refilled glass of punch. There was a lot more going on for her than just the strange smoke that distorted her vision of her own two feet.

Still, after all that searching, she hadn’t found anything more interesting in her loop around the top floor. All that had happened was her spilling her drink. Well, that had been sort of interesting, hadn’t it? She’d bumped into a good looking woman in a tight costume. That had been interesting. It was just too bad that she’d lost track of her.

The blonde took a step away from the punch table in the little lobby by the elevators and back into the crowds that filled the long hallways. She kept her eyes focused down to make sure that she didn’t step on anything, but it was too dark to actually see where she was putting each foot down. They really had gone all out on the smoke effects. Their budget had to have been a big one.

She walked down the same hallway that she had just come from and retraced her steps to where she had made contact with the girl in the leather suit. She tried to focus on stepping, but there was something nagging at the back of her mind. Charlie stood up straight and looked behind her. Nothing there except the party. She could have sworn that she’d felt something touch her… it was probably nothing. Nothing to be afraid of. The lump in her throat was to be ignored.

God, what did they put in that punch?

Charlie shook her head, took another sip of her drink, and continued on her way. It only took her a half loop to find the stop that she had spilled her drink at, and the woman wasn’t too far from that same spot. She was with another woman, but that was fine. Nothing that Charlie couldn’t work with.

Ignoring the nagging in the back of her mind, Charlie parked herself next to the other two ladies and rested herself against the wall for support. Heels and ground that was distorted was never a good combination. With a quick nod to the both of them, she let off a half-hearted grin and got right to the point.

”So. I didn’t get your help cleaning off my costume earlier,” she pointed out. Her voice was a little shaky. Why was her voice shaky? That never happened. She really had to stop drinking so much. In a quick decision, she set her drink down on the floor, finished with it. Maybe if she sobered up a bit more it would stop happening.

Tag: Winnifred Ann Wickham

Winnie was actually pretty impressed. It wasn’t like she had never seen special effects on during Halloween before, but this was the first time she had seen them done with such quality. The way the smoky tendrils swirled out of vents and throughout the hall, it almost made her actually scared. However, reaching out, she swept her hand through a particularly thick fog of it, smirking as her hand passed right through. It was nothing. Besides, if it was something dangerous, like a fire, the alarms would be blaring all over the place. The Skyline was nothing if not efficient when it came to safety.

She sobered up a little as she watched the smoke continue to writhe before utterly dissipating from view. Really, whoever it was that they got for the effects this year, they knew what they were doing. She snorted a little, the alcohol still having somewhat of an effect on her as she turned her head to glance at the rather gorgeous looking woman at her side. The outfit was to die for, really, so it was of a little wonder that the two of them were chatting it up.

No matter how drunk she was, Winnie never let an opportunity pass her up.

>>"Looks like it! I’ve never seen black smoke machines before! I’m Amazing Lady, and you’re… let me guess… Andrew Lloyd Webber?"

A giggle fell from her lips as she shook her head. She turned around to face the over, letting her predatory eye gaze upon the woman up and down. Even sober Winnie could barely keep her wandering eye from...well...wandering...but it was even worse when she was buzzed. She was straightforward and blatant in this regard, just grinning like a cheshire cat as she eyed the delectable female she was conversing with.

”Close, Sweetness, but not exactly,” she said with her very light, English lilt. ”I’m the venomous Toxin, from Arachid-Man #114.” She grinned, turning herself so that she was fully facing the other woman. ”And you certainly do look amazing...lady.”

A soft wink was offered to her. Winnie had initially come up here for another party guest but they had been quite forgotten now. Not surprisingly considering how quickly the young woman could switch gears in this mindset.

>>"Let’s hope they went all out on the drinks too! Shall we find out?"

”Oh the Skyline always goes all out this time of year,” the kiwi-shifter explained. ”I’m sure that they have plenty.” she edged a little closer to the Amazonian princess. ”Why don’t we...take a look…together?”

She smiled a beautiful, sparkling smile, edging a bit closer to the other. However, just a she felt she was about to land some kind of deal, she was stopped by the presence of another who had crept up. Turning back to them, Winnie tilted her head, curious, as this woman seemed extremely familiar. She pursed her lips in thought, eyeing the amazingly tight-fitting costume she wore, and arched her eyebrow. Why did she recognize her?

>>”So. I didn’t get your help cleaning off my costume earlier,”

Her eyebrows lifted as realization hit her. Tiling a little, she glanced at the woman’s posterior and waggled her brows. Oh yes, she certainly did remember her now. Though the blonde seemed a little off, Winnie just shrugged it off as the alcohol altering her perception a little. She draped her arm around her Amazing Lady friend and bit her bottom lip as she nodded to the greaser.

”Oooh, that certain is a crime,” she said as she turned and glanced to her superheroine friend. ”This looks like a job for the Super Pals, eh?”

Tag: @morgan

Ohhhhh, well if it was Toxin-from-Arachnid-Man-#114 how could she have not known!? A smile worked its way across Morgan’s face at the compliment. The flirtatious tone was exactly the flirtatious tone that drunk women used with each other at bars and clubs around the country, though usually the phrase was a drawn out ‘I love your shoooooooooooes!’ with a multitude of pointing at said footwear and potential jumping up and down as well. The wink almost threw her off, but she pushed on with her beverage related question.

They were going to look together! Then Toxin could try a ‘no abnormal fear’ too! The woman crept closer and closer and Morgan fixated on the spider motif which looked to be crawling across the fabric towards her. Suddenly it stopped, and Toxin fixed her eyes on another black-and-white costumed party goer who was asking for help cleaning off her costume. The request almost seemed like she wanted to say she was a dirty, dirty girl, but the wobble in her voice seemed like that might just make her cry. The woman set the drink on the ground where moments before had been swirls of smokey darkness, and Morgan blinked. That was a good drink! It didn’t deserve to be on the floor!

She was swooped into a shoulder-hold and she extended a hand to the pouffe-haired teary blonde.

“Super Pals are go!” She agreed with a bounce.

If the blonde took the offered hand they would saunter up the hallway to drinks and frivolity. Or at least that was what would happen in her mind. The fact that she had essentially volunteered to wipe down the other lady tightly clad body completely escaped her. She was sure that the pouffe simply didn’t like the drink she had been given. She would like a ‘no abnormal fear’, Mo-mo just knew it! They were going to be best drinking buddies! The smoke forgotten her smile worked its way into a grin.

Such fun!

Tag Andy Sanchez-Soto

It took Andy a few moments to tear his gaze away from the ominous, shadow-like smoke that continued to creepily stretch across the ceiling and scale down the walls, almost as though it had a mind of its own. Where was it going? Andy had no idea, but something told him he probably should not stick around to find out…

But what about Halloween? What about the party? What about the big, fancy hotel room they booked? What about all the fun they planned to have together? They had only just arrived! Andy didn’t want to leave yet… but he also didn't want to die.

With a long, deep, audible sigh, Andy turned to Ignacio and commenced nudging him in the shoulder with his elbow until he got his attention. “Iggy, we should go,” he insisted, reluctantly, as he pointed upwards. “That shit doesn’t look good.”

>> "You see that too then? That's something at least. Wanna try and follow it with me?"

Hearing a voice beside him, Andy quirked an eyebrow and turned his head to see, much to his surprise, a tall, gray-eyed man in a Thor costume towering over him. Even more surprising, Andy knew him from somewhere. Wasn’t he that famous actor Iggy had a poster of on his dorm-room wall… and one of the X-Men!?

That would certainly explain why he wanted to go towards the danger.

“Uh… not really,” Andy replied, honestly, before realizing how bad that sounded. Ugh, it was times like this when Andy started to doubt whether he had what it took to be an X-Man or even an X-Trainee. What if they didn’t let him join the team because of this?

“I mean…” Andy was about to say a few words to redeem himself when, all of a sudden, he caught a flash of something moving out of the corner of his eye. It was the creepy, seemingly autonomous black smoke… and it was coming right towards them!

Heart jumping and eyes widening, Andy let out a yelp of fear as he watched its shadowy tendrils slither across the floor like a horde of deadly snakes. Andy hated snakes. So much so that he instinctively climbed on top of the reception desk and jumped over to the other side so the stuff, whatever the hell it was, wouldn’t touch him.

In his panic, he didn’t care how much trouble he would get in or how much attention he drew to himself; he also completely forgot about-- “Iggy!”

Tag: Ignacio Ramírez

Ugh, all Iggy wanted to do was hold his boyfriend's hand, but nooo. His bottom lip poked out in pout before letting go of Andy's hand. It's been a month, one week, and four days since Andy and him made it official and the solar teenage god couldn't be happier. Ignacio was still in the honeymoon phase and felt as if he would continue to be in the part for the next five months. He was so excited about him and Andy having matching costumes that his phone storage was almost at it's max from the amount of photos that he had taken of the two of them.

Now at the hotel, Ignacio and Andy happily made their way over to the reception desk to check in when the latter made an exclamation.

>> "Holy shit,"

With furrowed eyebrows, he turned to look over his shoulder to see what Andy was talking about. Now his eyes were wide. "...¿Qué es eso?" His attention then turned to -- Cafas! Ignacio felt the need to fanboy, but realized that this was something that could be considered dangerous.

>> "You see that too then? That's something at least. Wanna try and follow it with me?"

Iggy nodded his head slowly and moved so that he was standing in front of Andy, but his boyfriend had already jumped over the front desk. The eighteen-year-old mutant attempted to go concul his boyfriend, but suddenly, he felt...weird. The hairs on the back of his neck started to stand up and he felt like his body was heating up. He did not like this feeling. He felt jittery and not in the good way, though, he tried not ignore it the best he could.

"W-what the f*** is that?" He asked Cafas. Igancio shook his head to try and rid himself of the feeling, but failed to really shake it. "...no me gusta."

Cafas

>>“Uh… not really,”

Fair enough. He didn't expect civilians to go running towards things that creeped them out. Fine, looked like he was on his own. The X-man took a step towards the beckoning darkness, ready to follow it to its source, if that was even possible. "All good, Thor of Asgard shall look into this apparition!" Ha flashed a smile at the pair, right as one of them yelped and scrambled over the reception desk. Cafas fell into a fighting stance instinctively.

Never turn your back on the threat!

Cafas followed the suddenly panicked young man's gaze quickly. The swirling stuff was spilling across the floor towards them faster than it should have, and with a disturbing motion to it. The Metal manipulator stepped back, ready to seek higher ground, but it didn't seem to be hurting the people already standing in it. Everyone in the room seemed nervous to some degree, but at least it wasn't immediately harmful to stand in. No need to look foolish.

The cooler headed of the two guys, Cafas assumed his name was Iggy from the yell of his friend, was asking the sensible question. Cafas wafted at the darkness with his foot. It didn't move like smoke or mist. Smoke would have built up on the ceiling, mist on the floor, neither did both. It didn't move naturally at all, and seemed to swirl with strange shapes barely perceptible within it. It made the nape of his neck prickle and threatened to cascade a shiver down his spine.

"Honestly? Probably just some kind of mutant special effects." It seemed like just the sort of thing the Skyline would do given the opportunity. Yeah, that was probably it. The staffer behind the counter quickly latched on to the idea and began trying to calm the one guy out from behind his desk with it. They was doing it loudly though, really trying to convince the whole room not just the scared guy. Cafas looked down at the smokey substance once more, but something in his gut said something was off. Maybe it was the way the staff kept glancing at the stuff just as nervously as the patrons, but he didn't like this stuff.

Years as an X-man had taught him to respect such instincts.

"I think I'm still going to investigate though. Feel free to come with, if you can convince your boyfriend. They sometimes like to do these secret events, they're normally worth checking out, kinda like a VIP area for real Halloween lovers." That was actually true. Cafas had wandered in to one by following a trail of fake blood and pentagrams. It had been a really good time. He set off in the direction the smoke had seemed to beckon him before it engulfed the floor completely. Maybe he'd find some new sign. Maybe he'd just get lost in the corridors. Whatever, his contractual obligations were fulfilled already, he may as well enjoy himself.

Tag: Charlie Sinclair

FEAR GAUGE

Ahagl's soth l' ah'lloigshogg mgng nilgh'ri!

DICE ROLL

#1 Charlie Sinclair 1/5
#2 Cafas 0/5
#3 Winnifred Ann Wickham 0/5
#4 Andy Sanchez-Soto 2/5
#5 Ignacio Ramírez 1/5
#6 @morgan 0/5

✿

The top of the red solo cup on the ground only just barely peeked out above the thick coating of smoke on the floor. Charlie peeked down at it a few times, trying to decide if she had judged the drink right. Usually, she was a fun drunk, and she’d never experienced a drink that made her like that. There was also a good chance that it wasn’t just alcohol in that punch, though. There was a chance that someone had put something else in it that was making her feel that way, and if so, she really didn’t appreciate it.

Whatever had been in there had put a nagging in the back of her mind. There had been a few scattered shivers, but now it had mostly settled into an uncomfortable feeling. She was having trouble being herself, and she had to push through a sort of fog to get at the fact that there was nothing to be afraid of.

Wasn’t there?

The two women that she had just joined seemed to have very different ideas about what was going on. The woman that Charlie had come for, the one in the skin-tight spider suit, checked her out before her eyes flashed with recognition of a moment before after she swept Charlie down, which made the blonde smirk. It was good, at least, to know that at least part of her had made an impression.

The other woman, though, the one dressed like the Amazing Woman, looked more bubbly than interested in what the other two were. Charlie gave a knowing look to the first, and then cocked her head at the second, as if she figured that she didn’t know what she’d just signed herself up for. Whatever, though. There was a first time for everything, and maybe they could make her night a little better.

She still felt the nagging in the back of her mind. She could push it out if she focused enough, and she was pretty sure that she had gotten the shakes under control, but it was still there. There had been nothing to warrant it, but it was slowly consuming her nonetheless. Just to settle it, she looked behind her briefly, and, after seeing nothing, turned back to where she actually wanted to be. In the middle of two lovely ladies.

”Well,” Charlie began, her voice far more sure than the first time around. She had regained her footing, even if it was on uneven ground. ”I think I saw an empty room back the other way, if you Super Pals want to accompany me.” She winked knowingly at the two of them and nodded back toward the room, figuring she couldn’t be any more forward than that for the second woman. If she didn’t get that cue, then she was a lost cause, which would be a shame, since she did look good in that costume.

”Unless you had other plans, of course. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of those.” Why was she afraid of that being the case? There was nothing to be afraid of? Damn, she wished that her drink was safe so she could wash down all those weird emotions in some alcohol.

Tag: Winnifred Ann Wickham