...To Pay The Bills.

Guest

The Jump City Museum, home to artifacts collected throughout the ages to lay home to a host of history of the World left behind long ago. The mist of midnight loomed both over and inside the Museum, a place that sees activity throughout the day is rather eerie at night. The best time to go shopping, of course, if you minus all the people that don’t like you in there at such a time. Ok well, truth be told, it wasn't shopping per say, it was more...collecting. After all, everyone collects bills, and bills need paying.

There were three Guards on patrol of this section of the Museum, with their courses of patrol all leading up to them meeting in a cross junction before they performed the route again. And after a small bit of banter between the guards, they went their separate ways once again. Walking down the north corridor, this guard had a tune in his head, noted by the fact he whistled it as he walked. Not very good whistling, but it was The Great Pretender by The Platters, perfect tune for the job, they didn't know security if it came up and slapped them in the face. Pretenders, the lot of them.

Psst!

The sound that crept into the Guards ear almost made him stick to the ceiling, the flash light quickly unbuckled from the belt around his waist. Could it have been a pipe? Maybe just his foot scrapping along the floor unusually-

PSST!

No, definitely someone. The Guard made his way to where he heard the noise, a corner turn in his path to such place, as the Guard peeked around the corner before throwing himself out with a lunge to view the full corridor...silence. No one or thing, the Guard scanned the room vividly, looking for what could possibly have made such a noise when from behind a hand pushed the guards head straight into the corner, the guard grunted slightly before falling , only to be caught, as it was none other than the Mike with the Mouth here to claim some goodies. Catching the guard, Mike dragged him around into a nearby window, hiding the guard behind its luscious red velvet curtains, why mike almost wanted to take them. So soft...but, back to the objective at hand, as Mike’s head poked out back around the corner to look at the direction he was coming from, before heading off.

The 5th time now that the guards met up, except now they were missing one. They stood around for a moment, peering into the long corridor where there friend appears from. After a few minutes, their attention was drawn to the spot, a door from the wildlife exhibit, which guard three was amiss. Stepping forward a step, one of the guards shouted.

Bobby?

The question went unanswered, as the guard waited for a response for a few moments before his flashlight was also out and shining a bright path down the hall. The guard began to walk down the hall, followed closely behind by his apparent side kick of a security guard, the two didn't take long till they got near the double doors, as the flashlight shone into the room, the light illuminating the particles of dust floating around the room. But no Bobby, as the guard took one more step closer to the room, now under the door frame, looking around.

Bobby?

The wood of the right door met a large crack from the sole of Mike’s boot as it flung and cracked the guard right on the nose, sending him back into his buddy behind, the guard stumbled when he was hit with the oncoming body but regained balance so that he didn’t meet the floor like his friend did, looking up, and Mike was making a B line towards him, as the man took out his own flashlight for the purpose of a weapon instead of light. He swung at Mike, but Stokes easily parried the move, using his left forearm to stop the swinging right arm in its tracks, as Mike’s right fist clenched shut, before forcing the wind out of the body of the guard with a stern right hand to the stomach. Mike followed this with a few high knees, all targeting the torso of the Guard till the Guard could take no more, falling to his knees, he met the blow of one final right hand by Mike to knock him down to the floor. Mike swung himself 180 degrees at that point, lifting his right foot off the ground, as it pelted the side of the other guard’s head, who also sported a bloody nose, poor bugger.

After a collection of whines and groans, the Museum was once again quiet. Both the guards hid in the Wildlife exhibit, Mike walked along, re-going over the picture in his head of the blueprints on this place, left or right...left, that’s right. No, left is the correct way...much better. As Mike pushed open a door to a security room, and the guard inside there was waiting for...the morning to come, as he sound asleep, his feet propped up on the desk. Mike stared almost in astonishment, before rubbing his index finger and thumb along his brow, shaking his head slightly. So much for a great service to the place, Mike walked inside, quickly planting a right jab into the jaw of the dreaming Guard, sending him into a deeper slumber. Falling off the chair with a thud, the chair rattling as it hit the floor. Mike looked at the computer screen, showing the CCTV for the Museum. As Mike smirked, crouching below the desk, Mike pried open the computer, removing the hard drive from the computer, as the monitor cut to a black screen, before pulling the power cord on the computer, as Mike headed back out of the room.

Heading for his desired location now, Mike threw the hard drive in between his hands, until eventually he got to his desired room, inside laid the collections on display. Relics, statues, jewels, all were placed around the center piece, a sarcophagus, one word came to mind, jackpot.

Mike took a step inside, the items around the room were of a certain importance to the tomb from the look of things, they seemed like enchantments almost, trying to keep whatever what was in there to stay in there. The floor also made a symbol of sorts, as Mike urges directed towards what was inside; he got to the tomb, a stiff pull on the tomb, and not only was the tomb shut, it was locked up tight. And for once it wasn't locked by the Museum, it seemed to have not been opened since it first shut. But, years have passed since then, and it wasn't too hard to find what could open it, as Mike brought out the machete from the back of his belt, sliding the blade into the grooves where the lid met the base. A firm grasp into it, Mike gripped the back of the blade tight, before pulling sharply on the blade, heaving his weight into lift, it took a few moments before Mike found both the right angle and footing as the seal broke.

Voiding warranty here, the breaking of the seal allowed a ton of pressure to escape shooting dust out of every seam it could, as Mike smirked before pushing the lid off the base. Time to find out what was behind Door Number 1.

Subject: Re: ...To Pay The Bills. Sun Nov 18, 2012 10:52 am

How long had she lay there? How long had it been? Seconds became minutes and minutes became.....something entirely different. She had found some level of peace and calm where there once was rage, the deep gashing claw marks scarring the inside of this damnedable prison, a testimony to the violence once imbued within her very essence. She had come to peace with the punishment, willing to lay here and wait for the end of her sentence, when the magic would fade and she could be free to do... to do what? That was the thing that had plagued her for the last fifty years, what would she do when she was finally free? For once she was at a loss.

But there was sound outside the coffin, muffled footsteps. Had the old man come back? Had her time in this darkness finally come to an end? But really, she did not care and nor did she know who was there. A possible admirer of the sages' handiwork, someone who came to mock her situation knowing full well that she could easily hear them. Or maybe someone who...wanted to free her, to gather some kind of favour from the jaded, lacklustre women who resided within? Only a moment would tell, words or incantations? She listened, ears perking for whispers or laughter, there was naught but silence to answer her back. Yet after what seemed like a scant eternity, there was the sound of metal scraping against stone.

It was peculiar, peculiar enough to cause her to raise her eyebrow within the darkness that is. As the sound persisted, the perpetrator whoever they were was truly foolish. They wouldn't succeed with brute force tactics, this coffin was magically enchanted to resist that kind of effort...she had tried so she should know. Yet, imagine the brief look of curiosity on her face when there was a crack of light and a sudden flow of fresh air hit her. The only explanation was that...somehow one of the spells or runes had to be damaged. How fortunate....

As the lid was removed she laid there for the moment, eyes closed as thin beams of dull light pierced the veil like the rising sun. She didn't move, stayed motionless. The only thing of value on her body was a length of gold chain wrapped around a rather long glove, ending just before the shoulder. The glove itself was made with black dyed leather that was stretched so taut as to conform to the limb itself. She was in good condition, perhaps a little too good a condition, made more apparent when she opened her eyes minutes later to stare at the man and at his hand, which had reached for the chain.

"Who are you?" She asked with a certain calmness that was as disarming as it was disturbing. There lurked no hint of anger or disappointment in her face as she shoved herself from the coffin with such force that the behemoth of a tomb slid back several feet, before slamming into a table with startling force. "And what is your purpose here? A robber, a treasure hunter or an adventurer?"

Guest

Ever seen that part in a movie where when someone blows someone like 10 foot back with a shotgun or sniper rifle? Well, MythBusters just debunked it...party poopers....BUT! It was none the less the reaction of Mike when this corpse spoke to him, falling back in utter shock, Mike had his handgun out and at the ready to kill her...what in the blue hell just happened? Mike woke up a Mummy or something? Mike stared questionably at the figure of the woman...and quite the figure it was for being in a tomb. But judging her body was the last thing on his mind, more why did she just pop back to life? Or was she ever dead at all?

Mike || The Mouth || Stokes
Woah-ho-ho-ho! Hold it right there Missy. Now I don't know what part of Transylvania you originated from, but seeing as you just popped back from your apparent eternal slumber, don't you think I should be asking the questions?

Mike said, with that his gun lowered as he picked himself up from the floor, tugging his jacket collars with some force to clean the dirt that his jacket caught on the floor. The rather unamuzed frown turned into a light smile as his personality came to.

Mike || The Mouth || Stokes
Scaring the Jesus H Christ out of me like that....by the way, this may shock you, but, not the oddest thing I've seen in my time...scared me into a little bit of wee coming out, but not the oddest...anyway, lets get to the grips here. Mike Stokes, here to pay the bills by acquiring several items of high fencing value...now, my questions are, who are you? Why are you awake? How did you keep yourself physically fit in a cramped space like that the size of that?...It's not April Fools day is it?

It's not even April, Mike. But it was a good conclusion as to why she popped out of her coffin.

Subject: Re: ...To Pay The Bills. Mon Nov 19, 2012 11:06 am

It was odd being back in the waking world, to see everything with colour once again. But at the same time, her surroundings weren't familiar. The interior of this room held only the barest reminders of.....places she had been previously. For the moment she was lost in the echoes as she tuned him out, paid no heed to the....object he pointed at her as she scrolled along, fingers running across the various surfaces of treasure and trinket alike. It was nostalgic to be sure, some of this had belonged to her....but some still, an unfamiliarity. "Relics from Mulhorand? No, these don't follow their pantheon..." For a moment longer she browsed, stared and examined until she finally came to a broken dagger of unassuming shape and size. It was her blade, there was no doubt about that; the weapon that carried her through thick and thin. Through troubled times and tribulation. It had broken at some point but that wasn't a problem as she focused for a moment, a faint little flicker of flame and spark rose from the hilt for a brief moment.

But that was perhaps a little too much for her as she stumbled backwards with a grunt before stowing the supposedly useless weapon away and pulling her attention completely towards the man who had by now addressed himself as Mike stokes. So he wasn't an adventurer or a treasure hunter....but a thief a rather inquisitive thief, curious and you know what they said about that cat in particular yeah? "My name? I think it's....Ignis. As to why I am awake, I was never asleep to begin with." His last two questions confused her and she merely brushed them off, not viewing them as important or worth answering at the present time. But then again, the utterance of April had for the most part, piqued her interest but she wasn't going to ask just yet. "So where on Abeir-Toril am I? and what is this April?."

Guest

Mike || The Mouth || Stokes
...Ok...whatever.

Mike said, having zero knowledge of the question she imposed at him. As Mike headed to one of the ornaments on display, picking it up, Mike inspected it, a quick inhale of breath before blowing the dust off the sides.

Mike || The Mouth || Stokes
So...Ignis, being put in a Coffin... some cruel Halloween prank, if you want my advice I'd say pick some better friends. Believe me, I know...by the way, on the mention of cruel deeds, it'd be most cruel if you happen to mention my name in any...well, questions asked by the boy's in Blue Uniforms. As I wouldn't be so cruel as to explain you being locked in there for however many days. The only people that should know of our presence here in the next few hours should be you & me. After that, all the guards can come together and explain the best they could of why they suddenly dropped sound to sleep earlier in the morning.

Subject: Re: ...To Pay The Bills. Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:07 pm

Ignis stared at him for a brief moment and simply nodded even though she didn't rightly understand what he meant by Halloween prank. "As you have done me the favour of freeing me, I shall not mention your present deeds to the guards," even though honestly she didn't care about his misdeeds. If it made him feel better she wouldn't tell the guards... ya know, if this place actually had guards to begin with. But sometimes, life wasn't so easy and sometimes life wasn't fair. But for all the unfairness and hardships presented, you always had a silver lining. It just depends on how hard you look for it. For Ignis, it was being let out of that stuffy coffin which was less looking for it and more it finding her. So thankfulness aside, she wasn't going to tell anyone anything about what happened here.

"Considering all my friends and family are dead, I suppose I should pick new friends...Mike stokes." There was something about the way she talked, calm and cold with just a tiny dispassionate hint that just about anyone with half a brain should have realized by now. Ignis wasn't really all there as far as emotions were concerned. Centuries trapped inside of a coffin tend to make people either crazy or make them lose touch with certain aspects of themselves. Or in the worst case scenario, both of these things happen. Thankfully, Ignis only suffers from the latter and not the former. Which really, would just complicate this whole bloody mess. "And since you did get me out of the coffin....I won't stop you from taking any of this stuff. Most of which does belong to me. Consider it payment for services rendered."

Subject: Re: ...To Pay The Bills. Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:13 pm

The sound of a motorcycle engine roared through the streets of Jump City at midnight. It's rider always felt mixed opinions on this time of night. The streets were mostly clear and if any criminal activity was going to be under way, now'd be the time for it. That being said, he would have preferred broad daylight for a number of reasons. Not wanting to wake anyone sleeping with the roar of the engine was...one of them, but not the biggest one. Fortunately, tonight was a slow night on the streets. Maybe the rider could take a little break and get a midnight snack before heading back out...or heading back home, if nothing showed up.

The roar dulled and became a low rumble as the bike slowed down and the rider pulled into the rear parking lot of the Jump City Museum, near where trucks would load in any new acquisitions. Kicking the stand down and removing his helmet, Sam Malcolm dug around in his pockets for his keychain. Finding it, Sam quickly found the key to the rear entrance his Grandfather had given to him and made use of it, letting himself in through the back.

Making a beeline for the break room for the museum staff, Sam's mind was focused on the sub he'd stored in there just a day or so ago. Hopefully, no one had violated the gentleman's fridge agreement: Eateth from the shared fridge only what thou puteth in the shared fridge. Sure enough, it was still there, still paper bagged and wrapped in plastic with the initials "S.M." written on it in marker. Smiling, Sam reached in and pulled out the submarine sandwich before shutting the fridge and grabbing a paper plate. He unwrapped the sandwich, set it on the plate and stuffed it in the microwave. Two minutes seemed more than enough to heat it up.

Sam wasn't too keen on sitting around and waiting around for two minutes, so he decided to go take a walk around. And it was about when Sam passed by the security room and saw most of the screens were off and the guard manning it was even more asleep than usual that he realized something was up.

"AGAIN with this bullcrap?" Sam thought as he ran out into the museum's actual halls. It hadn't been that long since the last...incident at the the museum and already something was going on again.

"Okay, calm down. Let's think this over. Where would a thief head first here?" the young man asked as he navigated the halls to try and find his intruder. "Not the Dinosaurs, that's too heavy to steal. Not the Wildlife exhibit, who'd want to steal a bunch of taxidermy? Art? Maybe, but that's too far away from here. I need to hit some place close...The Ancient History Section! All sorts of artifacts and treasures there."

Destination in mind, Sam was off and running. It wasn't too long until he'd found it...and sure enough, his intruders. A man and a woma-"He opened the friggin' sarcophagus. Mother of God, he did it." He was not a happy camper right now, but he did his best to keep calm.

"Uh, 'scuse me?" Sam said, waving as he walked into the large exhibit room. "Hi. I don't wanna be 'that guy' or anything, but the museum's closed for tonight. So, if you would kindly, uh, get the hell outta here, that'd be greaaaaat. I mean, we wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, now would we?"

Sam cracked his neck as he approached the two at the other end of the room. As much as he would have liked things to go peacefully, he was pretty sure things weren't gonna work out that easily.

Guest

Mike || The Mouth || Stokes
Aww, well, giving away stuff of this value, you always got a friend in m-

At that moment, the voice of a certain pubescent variety was heard across the room. Mike's head turned, holding the same ornament as he listened to the kid speak about the Museum not being open. Kinda rude to interrupt on a conversation. How did he even get in here? Mike spent 10 minutes John McClane'ing the air duct into a ventilation room a few floors up, to know that going through a door was just as simple was...well annoying.

Mike || The Mouth || Stokes
Why no, no we wouldn't, therefore, if you'd kindly...well, how to put this nicely...scram. Then we can all walk away winning, no? I mean I'll get my days work, my friend here gets to stay out of that coffin some cruel, cruel, CRUEL person locked her in, and you, well, you have a perfectly intact Museum minus on or two items Mr Curator...rather young Curator, but you still win in a way, right?

Subject: Re: ...To Pay The Bills. Tue Nov 20, 2012 3:24 pm

"A friend? Maybe, but I doubt i-" Ignis followed the same pattern as Mike, she didn't move beyond craning her head to get a better look at the new arrival, her amber yellow eyes seemingly taking on an almost supernatural glow in the dimly lit room. To say that she wasn't perturbed by the threats and the bluster spewed forth from the mouth of this child, would have been a vast understatement. She barely even registered a twitch, let alone a sneer; a picture perfect example of calmness and tranquillity in the face of sheer stupidity. Yet she felt, her new acquaintance would complicate things. It was better to be calm and polite in these situations. Rudeness usually.... invited violence upon the speaker as Ignis let out a soft little sigh, a puff of smoke escaping her nostrils.

"There is no need for hostilities, nor is there any need for... the callous words being spoken. Rudeness oft begets violence in these situations. It is better to take things in stride, after all if everything in here is worth it's weight in gold, I suppose it would be problematic if things were to get broken. Yes?" It wasn't just the way she spoke, it was the manner in which she spoke that was eerie. Calm and focused, nearly devoid of emotion with just the faintest trace of a metaphorical fire burning in her eyes. She didn't show it, but, she was irritated. "Mike, do me a favour, a kindness and a service. Set me on fire if you can." Now the fact she even suggested that would have sounded crazy, did, sound crazy. But the fact that she in as blunt a fashion as any, requested someone commit incendiarism upon her own body? Well, that was certainly one way of putting the freak icing on the cake.

"Please, no questions as to why I want you to do it. Just do it." Her voice seemed to echo the room as she stood her ground, with a blade-less dagger in hand. "If he tries anything.... well I suppose I could make use of my own services, sharpen my... claws"

Subject: Re: ...To Pay The Bills. Tue Nov 20, 2012 7:27 pm

"Y'know, you're just a bit late with this job," Sam replied to Mike, just as calm as the other two. "If you had done this exact same thing, say, a week or so ago? I'd be all for us cutting our losses and making a compromise. But, I've already in a similar situation recently, and I'm not exactly jumping to repeat i-wait, what?"

Sam stopped dead in his tracks as the impact of what Mike Stokes had said hit him. That woman was FROM that sarcophagus?! That...didn't make any sense. At all. And that was precisely why Sam needed to know more.

"I'm sorry, let me just confirm that. She," he said, pointing a finger at Ignis. "Was inside a coffin here? That's just.... what?"

The young man scratched the back of his head, trying to wrap his mind around this whole scenario.

"Okay, let's just drop this whole standoff thing for a minute. I need an explanation for this. Lady, why in that coffin? How long were you even in there? "

Sam was dumbfounded by this whole situation. So much so that he let Ignis' 'light me on fire' comment slide, despite the fact that the museum has a strict No Smoking policy.

Guest

Quote :: OT Apologies for the disappearance, router troubles.

It was a rather...odd thing to ask of a person. But being around the block as much as he had, well, Mike was on the other side of town going on that metaphor, it didn't take long to work out that this was no popping out of coffin's everyday girl. She has some affliction with fire, a super power if you will, it uneased Mike in a certain way, being that the ones who have powers are the ones who intend to use them on Mike. He didn't like that...but, Mike had on the other hand released her from that tomb over there, maybe it would be to his own benefit, as Mike took his lighter from out of his pocket. Mike flicked the lid open, rolling his thumb across the thumb wheel to light the flame. Holding it out for Ignis...it felt like he was about to light a firework. You don't know the particular course or performance it's determined, you just have to run with it.

Subject: Re: ...To Pay The Bills. Sun Nov 25, 2012 9:13 pm

At face value Ignis had that same dour look on her face, severe and stoic. The kind of look that made you think someone was a total stick in the mud. But she wasn't unamused, rather she found it kind of refreshing to be faced with naivety and confusion after such a long time stuck awake, listening to the sounds around her. It was refreshing to be able to move and walk. "How long?" she gave a small pause, trying to recollect when she was put inside that abhorrent prison. "A very long time I suppose, but that's not what matters right now. What matters, is that I'm finally free." She finally replied with her answer, might not have been what he was looking for, but he would have to be satiated with the response for there was nourishment at hand.

An open flame brought forth from a peculiar device, she would have to ask what that was later but for now, she hovered a hand just above the flame from the lighter, let it lick and lap at her hand, as it tickled the flesh and for a brief moment, she seemed.... pleased by the sensation. Now some would call that insanity, but then again insanity was a lack of rationalization, a lack of coherent thoughts. She didn't have that problem as she pulled her hand back and with it, she dragged a much larger flame from the lighter; draining the vessel dry completely of it's fuel as she shaped the shapeless flame, molded it into a shape resembling that of an apple.

Then, in an unexpected twist, she took a bite out of it like a person taking a bite from an ordinary apple. It was an odd little routine, and certainly an odd spectacle as her mouth moved around before swallowing the first bite, then the second and before long, she was swallowing the last of the fire with a pleased sigh. a look of contentment on her face. "Now, please leave before I have to use force. I don't like hurting children, but I have been known to make exceptions."

Subject: Re: ...To Pay The Bills. Tue Nov 27, 2012 10:40 pm

"Hey, wait!" Sam said as Mike pulled out his wallet. The whole "light me on fire" thing had finally hit him. That was all he said before Ignis pulled the fire out from the lighter and started...eating it? What?

"Strange things are afoot at the Museum," he thought. Not only did some lady apparently just get let out of a coffin after....who knows how long? But she could also control fire, apparently. And could EAT it. That was something, alright.

"We don't have to get violent, lady," Sam said, shaking his hands 'no' in front of him. "I got nothing against you. I don't want to fight you and I'm sure the last thing you want to do after being cramped in a coffin for so long is get in a fight with some punk kid. That'd be a really poor first impression of the world of tomorrow. You can go right ahead and leave. Hell, you tell me a little bit more about how you got in that coffin and stuff and I'll escort you right out the front door. But THIS guy..."

Sam pointed a finger toward Mike.

"This guy I got a problem with. So, you can go out and see that whole new world out there all you like. That's fine by me. But just let me and Mr. Break-and-Enter here settle things one on one, alright?"

The young man paused for a moment and sighed.

"And if you really wanna fight, Lady, we can take it outside. The last thing this place needs is a fire starting inside of it."

Guest

Mike quirked his eyebrow up at the kid. A frown lightly forming on his face.

Mike || The Mouth || Stokes
You got a problem with me? Did I punch down the wall to get in here? Crash a bulldozer through the front door? Kill the guards? Perform a sacred ritual to awaken her from beyond the grave? No. I've been on my best behavior, and yet I still have naysayers...talk about trying to please the people.

Mike said, as the duffel bag he brought along accepted its first item. A small vase that Mike gently placed into the bag, he knew the kid probably wasn't going to let this go, but Mike was having what was rightfully his. Don't like that...let him go cry to his mother.

Subject: Re: ...To Pay The Bills. Thu Nov 29, 2012 6:46 pm

A fight? Now that was something she had never considered until now as her right hand found itself resting against her chin, the amber yellow glow returning to her eyes. "You may not have anything against me, but he broke the seal, set me free and I owe him that much," she spoke in a chillingly calm manner, yet her eyes burned with a dull flame that seemed to legitimately light up her face with it's dim glow. "I am sorry but I cannot let you take him, not without using violence to get your way," her features seemed to curl into a deep, almost dour by appearance frown. She was being serious, deadly serious as flames wrapped and twirled around her arm.

"I apologize, but I will stop you if you try anything. it's nothing personal," she spoke with a level headedness before looking towards the coffin that confined her, the one thing that....in all actuality brought a look of disgust to her face. It had calmed her down, contained that rage and let it die like a flame without fuel and while she was in most parts thankful towards the man who imprisoned her, she would not be contained by this thing again. Her actions would see to that, "but first, an eyesore and potential problem is to be removed from my sight."

Her words would make more sense as she pointed that first towards the coffin, towards that sarcophagus, towards that damned-able prison and with a roar that came not from her mouth, but the flames that leaped from her hands, she assaulted that tomb, incinerating and melting anything the flames came into contact with. It took maybe ten seconds to reduce the volcanic glass tomb into a pile of molten glass that seeped across the floor, giving the room a hellishly sinister glow. It was a reminder of her insanity, reduced to a pile of molten glass and slag. "I suppose we could easily take the fight outside now, if you want to. Unless you want to let him take what I'm letting him take.""