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Post by bio858 on Aug 3, 2020 15:26:28 GMT -7
Two young "lovers" if you could even call them that, melded their naked bodies as their lips pushed together in quite the furious passion. The two were exploring each others bodies as they stripped layer upon layer of clothing upon each other. Both were looking to add some spice to their sexual encounter, and that's when they took out a small bag with a strange simple imprinted upon it. One that indicated a red, hood, like ship, looking similar to that of an "A" without a line in the middle. Apparently, the drug was called "stardust" and was the next big thing sold on the streets. It apparently allowed your "soul to exit your body and travel through space". A typical out of body experience. The two young lovers would tear open the bags and start sniffing upon the powder on a desk. The two felt a sense of euphoria, as they continued their moment of passion. But soon, the two would fall unconscious upon the shabby bed. But the two would still hold onto one another, as they suddenly found themselves floating upwards. They'd look down to see their own unconscious bodies. They'd start floating through the ceiling, like they were ghosts, and felt astonished by their newfound experience. The two would keep floating and floating, reaching higher and higher speeds through the sky. They'd fly through the atmosphere, straight into space, until they flew past planets, stars, galaxies, all to finally stop within this strange dark dimension. Shapes and figures floated all around them, as the two felt astonished at the new sights and sounds they were experiencing. The sense of wonder was quite powerful, as the two floated around to explore more and more of this strange, new world. The two felt like they were untouchable, invincible beings floating through this strange mindscape. Except that suddenly, a dark tentacle would grab upon each of their legs. The two would be caught quite surprised, believing that the only things that could touch them were each other. But the tentacles dragged the two to some unknown, dark area within this deep "space". Returning back to the bodies of the two drug users, they would suddenly awake, their eyes glowing red. Getting up out of bed without wearing any layers of clothing, they would exit the building late in the night and walk to a specific location. However, they wouldn't be the only people walking towards this location, as other, blank faced individuals started walk to this building. They all stood outside omninously, which happened to be the homebase for another set of mobsters. They had been getting picked off by some kind of serial killer, and now this strange event was occurring right outside their building. So, the mobsters would call the police, leading to several officers trying to stand between the people and the building. One of the officers would speak through a speaker, pleading the people to head back home. "Please, everyone just go home. Do not resist, we will not ask again!" The group of people didn't respond, as they all simply stood still. It wouldn't just be the mobsters looking terrified of the crowd outside. Others living in the apartment building would stir awake to look upon the terrifying crowd all simply standing still outside their home. Something big was gonna happen soon, but they didn't know what that was just yet.
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Post by Ysmir on Aug 3, 2020 18:19:54 GMT -7
"Impossible? I've learned never to use that word in my line of work."
"I know you're in here... somewhere," Strange said aloud in the Sanctum hall, reading through a dusty tome, "and I must say, I'm disappointed. There truly are far more clever places to hide."As he flipped through the pages, there was a brief flash of light between them. He stopped, dialed back a page or two. That was when he found it. Dropping his hands from the tome, it remained suspended in mid-air as Strange formed several arcane gestures with his fingers. Forming a barrier of magical energy, it wrapped itself around the tome in a quick and practiced fashion, forming a sphere around it. Then, with a subtle manipulation of his hand, the sphere expanded. "Reveal yourself -- spirit," Strange commanded, and upon the second expansion, a presence was ripped from the pages of the tome. The smoky visage of a spirit -- Strange knew not from what realm -- dashed to and fro in its magical prison, bouncing off of the walls as though it were a pinball. Strange sighed as the spirit continued this charade for a few moments more, before coming to a halt. In the vapors of its corporeal form, something resembling a face coalesced. "Sorcerer. Why do you pester this one?", it asked in a hiss. "Because," Strange began, lowering his hands, though the sphere remained in place, "from what I understand, local librarians tend to dislike rambunctious poltergeists destroying their meticulously placed collections. If you are in unrest, simply say so, and I'll fix that."The spirit seethed, pressing the visage of its face against the magical barrier. "What I want, you cannot give me, Sorcerer."Strange was going to speak back to the restless spirit when a peculiar sensation tingled at the edges of his perception. He closed his parted lips, turned his head west. It was faint, like a whisper, but with a wicked aura. Strange narrowed his eyes before turning back to the entrapped spirit. "I'm afraid you and I will have to pick this up later, my friend," Strange said, performing a series of intricate gestures. Before the spirit could even respond, the barrier, tome, and spirit's visage had collapsed into a portal opened beneath them, placed away deep within the Sanctum for safe keeping. Once that minor issue was dealt with for the time being, Strange folded his legs inward, the Cloak allowing him to levitate in mid-air. Closing his eyes, he breathed in. And then, he was free. ----- The Sorcerer Supreme's astral form rocketed through the skies above New York City. He had pinpointed the approximate location of the anomaly he'd sensed just minutes prior, and was now actively on the search for its origin. Eventually, he came across a larger than normal gathering of seemingly random individuals. However, what drew his attention more than anything was the police presence. Something abnormal was happening. Flying down from his place in the sky, Strange hovered invisibly above the police to get a closer a look at the ongoings.
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Post by bio858 on Aug 4, 2020 15:29:09 GMT -7
Despite none of the officers seeing the ghostly form of Dr. Strange, the crowd standing before all of the Riot-geared officers would suddenly shift their attention away from the building. Instead, they all seemed to look intently at the new figure that had floated his way in there, as if they knew exactly where he was at all times. The officers weren't aware that Strange was currently residing alongside them, instead trying to get back the attention of the incredibly strange crowd. "Hey, are you listening? You people need to move now! Or we'll be forced to act. This is your final warning!"The crowd ignore him, all looking at Dr. Strange in unison, as if waiting to see what the Astral Sorcerer would do next. But, someone else would decide to come onto the scene. One notorious Mob Enforce by the name of Julio Manfreddi would exit out the building. "What the hell is going on outside officers?"The man wouldn't be wearing his usual "work" attire that included a suit and tie. Instead, he'd be in his pajamas and a robe, as if he planned to enjoy a relaxing night very day. Officers would ask the man to go back inside, but the crowd had no switched their current attention span from Strange to the man in the robe. Their eyes all started to glow red, as the officers began backing up. "Ah man, they're all powered?" "We should probably get everyone out of the way!" "EVERYONE MOVE!" Officers would move out of the way of what they perceived to be the line of fire, with some of the officers trying to drag Julio along with them. Too bad they didn't realize that Julio was their target. Lasers would erupt from their eyes as they aimed to intercept the poor man's body. If something could be done to block the blast, then maybe the officers surrounding Julio wouldn't get blasted alongside him by the very, strange crowd.
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Post by Ysmir on Aug 4, 2020 17:14:56 GMT -7
"Impossible? I've learned never to use that word in my line of work."
Strange stopped the moment their eyes turned onto him. His own eyes narrowed, and he scanned the faces of every person in the crowd. Strangers to him, each and every single one. But when he looked into their minds and saw their auras, he saw only empty husks; soulless, devoid of life and independent thought. Mindless. This would require more direct intervention. The moments their attentions were turned from the Doctor, his astral form flew back to his physical body, retracing the steps he took in mere moments. In the Sanctum, Strange's eyes shot up, and he sat up. Sensing its master's urgency, the Cloak of Levitation flew to him and wrapped itself snugly over his shoulders. Strange's attire morphed into his sorcerer's garb in a matter of moments as he formed a complex series of hand gestures. Before him, a portal opened, and he floated into it. At the other end of the portal, Strange exited into the open air above the same situation he had witnessed before -- only now, things were more dire. Mere moments after his arrival, the eyes of the soulless crowd had begun to glow an eerie red color. He would need to act fast. Strange swooped down into the fray, placing both hands before the Eye around his neck. The aperture in the center of the amulet opened, releasing the storage of nigh-limitless arcane energy within. He flew in front of the legion of mindless citizens and outstretched his hands. "Seraphim! Grant me your aid!", Strange yelled, and as the optic blasts fired from the eyes of the afflicted, they struck against the invisible barrier conjured by the Sorcerer Supreme. The barrier shimmered as it took the full force of their combined strikes, but held true and did not falter. Strange looked over his shoulder at the officers and the man the mindless seemed to be targeting. He committed the man's face to memory. "Run! Now!"
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Post by bio858 on Aug 6, 2020 23:15:01 GMT -7
The front line of the crowd fired down their lasers, only for their fiery projectile to be blocked by the sudden arrival of the more corporeal body of Dr. Strange. It seemed the sorcerer had succeeded in saving their actual target. The sleaze ball in the robe was running away, with officers getting him within one of their cruisers to make their getaway. Part of the crowd would separate from the rest firing their laser upon Strange. They were running towards the direction of the Mobster in unison, as if they were all a single hive-mind. The rest of the crowd though, were attempting to try and have parts of the crowd walk to the left and right of Dr. Strange. Their goal seemed to be to try and flank the former surgeon, as if someone was controlling their actions altogether to maintain a strange sense of harmony. Hopefully the Doctor can find a way around this predicament.
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Post by Ysmir on Aug 7, 2020 15:58:38 GMT -7
"Impossible? I've learned never to use that word in my line of work."
Strange threw his hands to the side, leaving the Shield of the Seraphim in the air to continue countering the oppressive and endless stream of energy being thrown at him. His head shifted as he noticed a group splintering off to continue pursuing the robed man and the police, and he cursed beneath his breath. Closing his eyes, Strange then muttered another incantation; this time, the aperture on the eye closed shut, sealing off its energy though maintaining the Shield. Strange focused on the ground between the pursuers and the police force, his eyes fluttering shut as he waved his hands through the air. At his behest, the earth split in two and yawned open directly beneath the mindless, causing the group chasing the police to collapse into a chasm that was seemingly endless; whether real or reality-bent by Strange, it was unclear. With a chop of his hand, his eyes opened back up, and the chasm sealed itself, trapping those within harmlessly between layers of conjured stone for the time being. No use, Strange thought as his eyes darted around, noting the assailants attempting to flank him. Can't harm them. Need to purge the spirits from the hosts.The Cloak shot Strange straight up into the air just as he let the Shield fall; the energy beams fired directly into the building behind him, setting it alight. As the other two groups settled on his left and right, Strange knew he needed to act fast. His body pulsed as he channeled arcane energy, and soon, several dozen identical copies of the Sorcerer Supreme separated from his main body in the air. In unison, every single visage of Stephen Strange began chanting aloud a spell meant to banish the unwelcome back to the dimension whence they came; hidden among his illusory clones, the Doctor hoped he'd bought himself and the police enough time.
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Post by bio858 on Aug 8, 2020 19:17:17 GMT -7
As the Doctor flew straight up to the sky, the lasers would penetrate the concrete behind him. The entire front wall of the building would fall apart, leaving it structurally compromised. It wouldn't be too long until that building collapsed suddenly. The occupants would even try their best to leave, but were too afraid of the crowd outside. It seemed Strange was put on a different type of timetable. As for the "Mindless Ones" rushing towards the cops, they'd prepare to fire upon the cruiser vehicle themselves as the cops tried to make their getaway with the poorly dressed mobster. "Holy shit what is going on!?" "Buncha nut jobs. I knew I should have moved out of this city!" "Muties, supervillains, Inhumans, this city has too many powered folks that can kill you in an instant." The mobster in the back though, would decide to interrupt the conversation. Mainly in concerns with his own life. "Hey officers, could you guys stop yapping and start moving!?"Turning back to see the swarm of red eyes looking towards their direction would definitely push the cops to start up the engine. They'd turn and turn their respective keys to try and make their getaway. But it would seem they might be too late. That is, until Strange committed to his spell. An invisible wave of magic would emanate of his body, as it reached the entire crowd of possessed people. Every person that the unseen wave touched would suddenly fall unconscious. Soon, there would be a sea of bodies, all seemingly in a strange sort of coma. As for the things that possessed them, their "spirits" would be rushed back to their place of origin: The Dark Dimension. This would indeed let the officers make their getaway as they drove towards the police station after everyone started falling unconscious.
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Post by Ysmir on Aug 9, 2020 18:45:23 GMT -7
"Impossible? I've learned never to use that word in my line of work."
Strange breathed a sigh of relief he had held in for the several moments it took to charge and release the spell he conjured. The complex incantation had its desired effect; he watched as ever single one of the Mindless husks dropped to the floor, only Strange able to see the demonic and twisted entities getting banished to their dark home. All of this would be for naught, however, if Strange was unable to find where the people's souls had been whisked away to. No doubt this was the work of his oldest and most dangerous foe -- Dormammu. But Strange knew the Dark Lord, and knew that he often preferred to work through emissaries and unwitting pawns. It seemed he had a mystery on his hands. A crack sounded from behind, then a shriek of terror. Strange spun around in the air. Where the energy beams had hit on the building, broken stone and charcoal remained. The building was bowing in on itself as trapped and panicked occupants braced themselves with no means of escape. Quickly, Strange placed his hands before the Eye. The aperture opened and he focused on the building. Through sheer force of arcane will, bolstered by the Eye of Agamotto, Strange telekinetically held back the falling building as it threatened to collapse. The structure was almost ready to give and far heavier than he anticipated, but Strange maintained his hold on the building even as a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. He yelled, his voice amplified by mystic means. "Go! Get out of the building, now!"Strange wavered only slightly as he watched the occupants run from both the back exit and front door of the collapsing building. He gave the escapees several minutes, until his strength permitted him to wait no longer. After seeing no one exit for several uninterrupted seconds, Strange ceased his telekinetic grip on the building, allowing it to fall and crumble onto the sidewalk. Fluttering down from his position in the air, Strange's feet touched gently onto the pavement below where several other law enforcement officials had shown up in the moments after the altercation. To the EMTs surprise, the many bodies of the formerly possessed were still alive and well. Strange had taken a brief moment to examine them when he arrived earlier; their astral bodies had been stripped, taken to another place. Without proper training, such a thing was a death sentence in as little as a few hours. If he hoped to save their lives and get to the bottom of the cause, he'd need to act quickly. A rather taciturn and confused officer stepped up to the Doctor, who was deep in thought. "So, uh... you see anything, sir?" "Sorry, no time. Need to investigate," Strange replied without so much as a look. Turning away from the bodies being tended to by the paramedics, the Cloak billowed and shot Strange into the air, where a portal formed, leading to the local NYPD precinct. The officer tutted and shook his head. "Jerk."
In the middle of the precinct, a circular gateway with golden portals opened abruptly. Strange stepped out, mere seconds after the police envoy from the apartments had arrived with the robed man in tow. Strange stepped forward, reaching into his pocket and revealing an Avengers identicard. "My name is Doctor Stephen Strange, and I don't have a lot of time," he said to the officer first, then turned to the man. "I need to ask you some questions."
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Post by bio858 on Aug 9, 2020 21:11:53 GMT -7
The officers escorting Julio Manfreddi would find themselves caught a bit offguard by the sorcerer who had ported himself to their location through the use of a portal. What caught them even more off guard was the sorcerer approaching the two to speak to Julio privately. See, the two cops with Julio were...crooked to say the least. "Uhhhhhh...." "We got to put Mr. Manfreddi in protective custody. You'll have to talk to him after the move." Julio would simply scoff at the Avenger's face. He had no intention to be taken by one of those super types after all. It would just look bad on his image, and bad on his "family's" business. "You heard the boy's in blu-"However, the Sergeant was on call, and heard part of the conversation. He'd approach the cops, and command them to offer the Avenger an interrogation room. "Sorry boys, but you better give him an interrogation room. I've learned the hard way that Avengers have higher priorities than us with the badge."The Sergeant would then walk away, still slightly annoyed at the privileges an Avenger has over the many officers who have also risked their lives in the call of duty. The other two officers were still left dumbfounded, forcing the sergeant to turn around to confront them once again. He wasn't aware that they were on the Maggia's payroll after all. "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, MOVE IT!" The officers would have to forcibly comply, bringing Julio the nearest interrogation room within the precinct. The Doctor would have the floor, as the two other officers would stand at the opposite side of the one-way mirror. It was just Stephen Strange and Julio Manfreddi within the interrogation room, with the two cops listening in outside.
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Post by Ysmir on Aug 10, 2020 9:59:16 GMT -7
"Impossible? I've learned never to use that word in my line of work."
Normally, Strange wasn't so keen on pulling rank over your average police officer simply attempting to do their jobs. However, two things were for certain. One: Strange had little time to play around with niceties. Dozens of lives, perhaps more, were at stake. Two: the officers accompanying accompanying the eponymous Mr. Manfreddi were undeniably nervous, perhaps more so than they should have been. This didn't sit well with Strange at all. Luckily, the timely intervention of the Police Sergeant ensured that Strange didn't have to take Manfreddi away forcibly. The more altercation he could avoid, the better. Strange nodded in the Sergeant's direction once he dispensed with his order. "Thank you, I'll be sure to be as quick as possible," he said, before following the two officers and Manfreddi to the interrogation room. Strange made his way inside and gave a quick once over the room. It was decidedly plain, free from prying eyes besides the two officers on the outside who Strange could sense. With a subtle twitch of his fingers, a dampening field was set up around every wall in the room. His and Manfreddi's voices would sound to them like muffled whispers, with the words unclear. Strange remained standing on the opposite side of the table from the man. He crossed his arms. "I'll be as blunt as possible, Mr. Manfreddi; I have a feeling you know why you were being targeted tonight. I've already told you my name. What I haven't told you is my job; protecting our reality."Strange stepped forward and extended his hands, pressing his palms flat against the table. "So why don't we start from the beginning. Who, exactly, are you working with?"
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Post by bio858 on Aug 10, 2020 11:28:42 GMT -7
Julio would feel a slight chill down his spine that he just couldn't explain. Did the Avenger in front of him do something weird? He wouldn't be able to identify that off the bad, that's for sure. Nor did he realize that the officers outside wouldn't be able to properly hear what the two had to say. From the cops' perspectives, they would simply hear the two talk about things that wouldn't implicate Julio in any possible crimes. Whatever they heard exactly would be left up to the imagination. For now, let's focus on the conversation between Stephen and Mr. Manfreddi.
"I work for the Vespucci Cab Company. That's it. I probably get a lot of weirdos who drive our cabs, but so do all those Ubers. I doubt these weirdos all happen to shoot lasers out of their eyes."
Julio would show a bit of frustration at being stuck in this room. He wanted to leave, and move on with his life. He didn't need an Avenger breathing down his neck, and he didn't need the rest of the "family" to kick him out due to his "heat". Yet, that didn't stop him from giving away a little sass.
"So what Avenger are you supposed to be? Some kinda circus magician? Don't they already have one of those types? Like that Scarlet Whatchamacallit? God, she's an angel. I'd love her to magic a spell for me, ya know what I'm saying?"
He'd see if Strange would even smirk at the comment, hoping to see what kind of man he was exactly dealing with.
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Post by Ysmir on Aug 11, 2020 11:22:10 GMT -7
"Impossible? I've learned never to use that word in my line of work."
Strange knew this man's type. Crass, over-confident, firm in his beliefs that he was untouchable, and that no amount of questioning or threats of imprisonment could get him to speak the truth of his affairs. And while that may have been the case, what Manfreddi didn't know was that Strange had little reason to sit and play his games if he refused to cooperate. Strange sighed and shook his head, lifting his hands from the table. He paced side to side, looking across at Manfreddi. "Clearly, you're telling the truth," Strange admitted, before lifting a finger, "but not all of it. I need more than that; the dozens of soulless, mindless people who tried to kill you were far more than a few "weirdos"."When he mentioned Wanda, Strange stopped his pacing and gave a glance in Manfreddi's direction. The Sorcerer Supreme was done playing games. "I'll be blunt with you, Mr. Manfreddi; I'm not here as an Avenger. That identicard was a convenient means to an end," he said as he stepped up closer to the table. "I'm running out of what precious little time I have. I'll give you one last chance to cooperate with me, before I make you cooperate."
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Post by bio858 on Aug 11, 2020 13:13:51 GMT -7
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, big man. Are you threatening me?"
Julio would feign the appearance of being taken aback. He felt he could maybe play the hero's frustration to his own advantage in some kind of way. Especially with the two cops standing behind the one-way mirror. He'll even get the bonus of ruining the rep of an Avenger. That's a plus, even if this was all a big waste of time.
Look, I don't care if you're an Avenger. Just don't hurt me. I already told you, I'm just a cabbie!"
Feigning an appearance of fear, he'd start banging on the desk and look towards the mirror in the hopes the officers would come in and get him out there.
"Hurry, he's planning to hurt me! Please officers, come help!"
What he didn't realize was that they couldn't fully hear what he was trying to say, and chances are, the illusionary wall he placed between the Strange and Julio from the cops would make them fully unaware that he was calling for cops.
"W-why aren't they coming in? You do something?"
Manfreddi would stop feigning the act of looking afraid, and look angrily at the sorcerer.
"What did you do!?"
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Post by Ysmir on Aug 11, 2020 22:21:37 GMT -7
"Impossible? I've learned never to use that word in my line of work."
"Less of a threat, more of a statement I intend to back up," Strange reaffirmed to the man, placing his hand down on the table once more. "Tell me why you are being hunted. I'm losing patience and time."Despite his insistence, Julio continued to play victim. But his words fell on, quite literally, deaf ears. The sonic field that Strange had set up allowed no more than few decibels to get through. To the officers outside, Julio's frightened and angered wails sounded like nothing more than pleasant and cordial discussion between him and Strange. Strange sighed as Manfreddi spat accusatory questions his way. Lifting his hand, he rounded the table until he stood by Julio's side. "Your friends can't hear or see you. And don't worry; I won't harm you," Strange said as he lifted a hand, his finger hovering just inches in front of Julio's forehead. "Talk, Mr. Manfreddi. Why are you being hunted?"
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Post by bio858 on Aug 11, 2020 23:04:42 GMT -7
Julio would see Dr. Strange walking over his side of the table, standing next to the seated Mr. Manfreddi. It caused a sense of tension within the mobster that he definitely wasn't used to. Didn't help that he felt a bit exposed simply wearing a robe to cover his half-naked body.
He could see desperation, but also a determined drive in Stephen's eyes. If he didn't give the man what he wanted, chances are, he'd do something a bit less civilized. So, Julio decided to play ball, at least somewhat. He just had to be careful not to give away too much to get himself incriminated.
"Look, I don't actually know who's coming after me, after the rest my boys. There's been some weird killings on the rest of my family too, that we thought were either rival gangs or some vigilante like the Punisher. I assume you know the guy?"
Whether Strange answers that question or not, Julio would continue on with his story.
"Apparently, the Feds found out that it was our own guys killing our own guys. We don't know why that was happening, and we weren't able to ever question our boys who betrayed us. Now that whole crowd thing, that was something new. I don't know anything about that. But, I did recognize some the faces. Some old customers that left us some time ago."
He didn't feel like continuing any further, especially as it indicated him and his boys in the drug business. His respective family Don would be quite disappointed in him if he snitched everything out to an Avenger. Especially as he was about to confess that they were starting to lose customers when some new drug hit the market. Something that may prove instrumental to Strange figuring out what is going on.
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