Log:A Collector of More Than Coins, Scene 1

A Collector of More Than Coins 2007/06/07 	 Lady Luck Spirit Wasp Howl Cheese Bullwinkle 1

Scene: Pennyroyal Lane in the Artist's Quarter, just outside Lucky Finds

Dorian is walking down the street, and stops outside Lucky Finds, looking in the window. Apparently he noticed a piece of jewelry...and he considers it for a moment.

The store looks quiet through the glass, apart from what looks like fireflies - except they don't flash - hovering around something lying on the floor. No. Someone.

Dorian furrows his brow as his eyes light up briefly before stepping inside.

The store also says it's CLOSED which seems odd at this time of day, though the door opens readily enough, to the tinkling of old-fashioned chimes. A young woman lies on the floor, the lights dancing and twinkling about her. This side of her looks completely white, as if whitewashed.

Dorian pulls out his PDA to call for an ambulance, giving them the address.

Dorian then starts looking around for clues as to what might have happened.

Jackie is looking for a birthday present for Eveline, something unusual. She saw the name Lucky Finds and thinks that is just the sort of place to try. So she's walking down the street towards the shop.

There's no immediate sign of robbery - though this place is rather haphazard so it might be hard to tell. Once you Dorian see her face though he can see Lady Luck's mouth and nose are covered in an orangish substance!

Jackie sees the door to Lucky Finds is open, thought it says CLOSED on it.

Dorian furrows his brow, "That can't be good." He tries to remove part of it to help Amy breathe.

Jackie knocks and calls out, "Hello. Are you open?"

Dorian looks over at Jackie from where he's kneeling by Amy's body. "Jackie...going to need your help, I think. She was down like this when I was walking by. I've already called an ambulance.

The substance crumbles away in a vaguely familiar way, fairly readily.

Jackie hurries into the shop and over to Amy, starting an immediate emergency paramedic check, pulse, breathing, etc.

Jackie manages to clear Amy's mouth and nose and get her breathing again.

Jackie moves Amy into the recovery position, "Dorian, what happened?"

The substance appears to be cheese. Probably some variety of cheddar, or something similar.

Augustin enters from Pennyroyal Lane.

Dorian shrugs slightly, "I'm not sure. There are these firefly looking things...and what you see is what I saw."

The whiteness which is all down one side of Amy seems to be fade - or to put in another way, colour is returning.

Jackie says, "These motes of light are normal for Amy. You must have seen them at the Best of the Best contests. But her breathing was blocked by ths substance, whatever it is. She needs a EGC to check for any brain damage. Have you called for an ambulance?""

Augustin stumbles into the store, apparently missing the 'closed' sign. He looks around a blinks at the fallen Amy. "Well."

Anastrophe seems to be breathing steadily now anyway.

Amy seems to be breathing steadily now anyway.

The ambulance can be heard approaching.

Dorian says, "What the heck would cheese be doing there? That's just...odd."

There's a quiet thump from upstairs.

Augustin quirks a brow at Dorian, "Perhaps she was eating it."

Dorian raises a brow, "Over her nose? Funny way to go about that."

Jackie looks at Augustin and Dorian, "I doubt if Amy pasted it over her own mouth and nose. Maybe whoever it is upstairs can shed some light on this incident."

It seems to be quiet upstairs now.

"Strange." Augustin concedes. "Death by cheese asphyxiation."

Dorian nods, "Let's check it out...though there may not be anyone up there." He moves to the stairs, and starts up them.

The door at the top of the stairs is closed, but not locked.

Jackie says, "Watch yourself Dorian."

The apartment upstairs *does* look like it's been searched, and pretty thoroughly. Things are all over the place. In the kitchen, the fridge door is open and a very fat white rabbit is helping itself to food.

Jackie looks at Augustin, "The shop isn't open for business at the moment. Unless you're a doctor or paramedic I think you might as well wait outside."

Augustin glances at Jackie. "Oh, but I'm curious now. I'm an acquaintance of the owner."

Dorian steps into the room, and scans it with an EM scan...if there's someone hiding, they may have a PDA turned on to receive calls.

Jackie nods. "Then please stay by the door and signal to the ambulance crew when they arrive."

Augustin nods. "Well, you might want to hunt for the rest of the cheese. This place is rank with it."

Jackie says, "After Amy in in the ambulance. I cannot leave her before then."

Dorian walks over to the fridge, and knowing that rabbits can bite...he moves to pick up the rabbit with a beam of light from his hand, rather than actually grabbing it physically. He tries to move it out of the fridge so that he can close it.

The rabbit looks a bit woeful as it's separated from a cabbage.

Augustin nods to Jackie. "Very well." He goes to wait by the door.

Amy stirs just as it sounds like the ambulance is almost here.

Dorian closes the fridge with an elbow, and looks around for the rabbit's cage, assuming there is one. He's still holding the rabbit with the light beam.

The rabbit doesn't seem to have a cage, being very spoiled. :)

Amy says, "Ch -"

Dorian sets the rabbit down in what appears to be its bed, and continues looking around, making sure to not get his fingerprints on anything.

Jackie reassures Amy, "You'll be okay. Just rest until the ambulance arrives. If you feel up to it can you tell me what happened to you?"

Amy says, unsteadily, "Chalk and cheese...."

Augustin hmms. "Terrible weakness, chalk and cheese." He continues looking outside for the ambulance.

Jackie has no idea what Amy is talking about.

The paramedic arrive just at that moment, in fact, and tell Augustin to step aside.

Augustin steps aside.

Amy says, "It was chalk and cheese....."

The paramedics check Amy over and start to carry her to the ambulance.

Amy says, "Chalk and cheese - my coin? Where's my lucky coin?"

Jackie nods to the ambulance paramedics. "Asphyxiation, unknown duration. Xeno ward."

"Xeno ward..." Augustin murmurs. "Sounds very pleasant."

The paramedics nod to Jackie.

Dorian shrugs, and heads back downstairs..."Just a rabbit rooting through the fridge. Not that THAT isn't odd...but that's the only odd thing."

Amy says as she's carried out the door, "They took my coin...."

Jackie watches Amy get carried out and then turns to Augustin. "Now, reeks of cheese you say. Any particular place the smell is strongest?"

Augustin hmms at Amy as she's led away. "Coin." He then turns back to Jackie and sniffs lightly at the air, trying to track down the scent.

Augustin frowns. "Odd." He heads to the front door and then outside, tasting the air again.

Augustin wrinkles his nose and looks back at the others. "There's a trail. Want to follow it?"

Jackie says, "The case of the missing cheese. Why not."

Jackie shrinks out of her normal clothes and flies over to Augustin. "Dorian? Shall we?"

Dorian nods, "Hmm....sure." He moves to close the door as the group steps outside.

Augustin shrugs. "There's a man's scent too. And not the one who's usually here." He starts off down the trail.

Dorian raises a brow, looking to Jackie, "How can he tell this?"

Wasp smiles, "He claims to be a friend of Amy's. Maybe he's just lucky. Maybe he's a friend from back with she was with a Canadian Superteam. Maybe he's leading us off away from accomplices." she says quietly.

Augustin taps his nose. "A gift from my father." He explains, leading the pair several blocks and then stopping. "The scent turns here, into that alley there." He points. "I would proceed with caution."

Wasp lands and the buzzing from her wings ceases. "Shall I go and have a look, Dorian?"

Dorian nods. "Go ahead. I'll be right behind you."

Augustin steps aside to let the heroes go forward.

The alley goes round a bend after a short distance, cutting it off from sight of the road.

Wasp moves into the alley, and without the buzzing from her wings she's amazingly difficult to spot. When she is seen it's easy to mistake the movement as just another scrap of wastepaper fluttering along in the breeze.

Wasp whispers quietly into her SoJ communicator.

Dorian turns to look in the direction that Wasp indicated over the comlink.

Wasp whispers again.

The figure waves.

Dorian starts to fly upward, leaving a trail of light behind him as he ascends. His form changes as he gets a good five feet off the ground, morphing into his normal Spirit form.

The figure laughs merrily. "So Chalk was right - Dumb Luck set a friend onto our trail. Want to play?"

Augustin steps into the open area between the alley and the street as thing seem to heat up.

Wasp waits Spirit can deal with Cheese, Wasp is certain of that. She's waiting for Chalk to reveal himself.

The woman's arm stretches rapidly at Spirit - then part of it comes right off, flying at him!

Augustin quirks a brow. "Where's a fondue pot when you need it."

Spirit hits the ground, leaving an indentation in the concrete, still conscious..."That was a mistake on your part."

The woman says, "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, sorry! I'm Cheese! Mistress of... cheese. (Also curds, whey and processed cheese food.)"

The detached arm rapidly wiggles its way back up the side of the building.

Spirit gets to his feet, and fires a beam of light up at her, spreading the beam just slightly as he does.

Cheese makes a hole in herself and the beam of light passes through. "Like that? That's my swiss cheese maneuver!"

Augustin walks into the alley as he hears the fight above, slowly making his way deeper into the cleft between the buildings. He sniffs around, trying to detect the man scent from the store.

Augustin hmms. "This is a diversion." He says to himself, and anyone who is listening. "One of them is here, I can't smell the other. A delaying action. The other has the coin."

Wasp takes to the air, her wings buzzing, and flying up kicks out at Cheese in passing, aiming the kick so Cheese will be topples into the alleyway if moved.

Cheese is knocked from the roof into the dimness of the alley. She looks like a woman in shape, but her skin is of whiteish cheeses, her hair of yellow ones, her clothes of orange one, and her eyes are blue cheese! Well, till she hits the ground, and her lower half is flatten.

Augustin blinks as Cheese falls. "You have to be the foulest smelling metamorph I've ever dealt with." He grabs a nearby trash can and strides to her, trying to upend it and trap her inside.

A great mass of cheese suddenly pours off the rooftop down the side of the building and fight its way into the trashcan.....

Cheese reforms, at twice her previous height, bursting from the can. "Foul-smelling? Is that any way to talk about the products of your local dairy industry?"

Augustin stumbles back. "I'm gonna need a dumpster."

Spirit builds up a bit of energy in his hands...holding onto it for a bit before releasing...and then lets loose with a burst at Cheese, the ambient light kicking up as the beam leaves his hands.

Spirit blasts a brown hole right through his target and there's a smell of toasted cheese. "Ow - that hurt!"

Spirit just looks back at her, "Next one will too...I can keep up that level of power for a while. I told you that you made a mistake."

Wasp flies down after the now larger Cheese and kicks out at her again.

Wasp flies straight *through* part of Cheese without budging her. It's not clear how much harm this does.

Augustin looks up at the cheese goliath and just shakes his head before aiming a kick at the back of her legs, going with the general pulverize strategy.

Augustin blinks as his attack goes through the cheese leg. "Ok..." He looks up at Waste. "Do you have a fondue pot? We've gotta hold her somehow. She's the only link to the other, Chalk."

"Oh, aren't you clever?" smiles Cheese at Augustin. She raises a big fist above his head and... collapses.

A mess of mixed cheeses flops into the alley.

Augustin blinks. "Well then."

Wasp looks at Augustin, "Can you track the other one?"

"His scent isn't here." Augustin replies to Wasp. He roots around in the cheese, looking for some kind of 'core', or anything that would stand out. "My guess is she was a diversion."

Augustin sighs. "She can't be dead."

The cheese lies there, not looking very alive at all.

Augustin squats down, sifting through the cheese. "So what happened? Lost control? Bite off more than you could chew? You've intrigued me, Cheese Woman."

Cheese remains mysterious and silent.

And smelly.

"Hopefully those Starguard people will be along and all this will find its way to a freezer somewhere..." Augustin continues to talk to himself. Creepy. "One wonders how a cheese person originated. You're lucky I have smell tolerance or I'd be throwing up all over you."

Cheese just lies there peacefully.

"Well..." Augustin stands, dusting off his jeans. "If you ever want to talk, come look me up. I'm supposed to be retired."

Cheese doesn't seem to be very talkative at all any more.

Augustin hmms, pausing a moment. "This was all strangely fortuitous...I wonder if you have the coin after all."

Cheese doesn't deny it.

Augustin shrugs. "And me without my metal detector..."

Cheese shows no interest in metal detectors.

Augustin hmms, hunting around for any particularly fancy cheese, like a really smelly French variety.

There is a small bit, buried quite far inside.

Augustin reaches in to grab it. "I could use some good cheese."

The bit of cheese makes no attempt to escape.

Augustin takes hold of the cheese and starts to head off.

Augustin's got to about the mouth of the alley when a voice behind him says, "Hey! Come back with my spleen!"

Augustin hmms, holding said spleen. "How well does your spleen taste?"

"I thought you didn't like smelly cheeses?"

Augustin shrugs, walking back into the cheese fields. "Like all things they must be taken in moderate. And with bread or crackers."

Cheese has reformed, but at human size (and doing a pretty good job og looking human), so most of the cheese is still lying there. "Oh, sorry! I'm all out of crackers."

Augustin hmms. "So, did you decide to take a nap?"

"Oh, well, that would be telling. You tell me!"

Augustin quirks a brow. "Tell you what? I'm ordinary an uninteresting."

She smiles. "I don't think so. You worked out Chalk's not here pretty quickly!"

Augustin starts tossing the 'spleen' up and down. "So, what do I get for telling my story? Information is paramount, after all."

"Well, I dunno, what do you want to know?"

"Plenty of things." Augustin replies. "Who you are. Who Chalk is. What you want with our poor Lady Luck's coin. And, I suppose, the million dollar question. Where's Chalk and the coin and why did he leave you to take a beating?"

"Well, it's not much fun if I just tell you! Maybe we can make a game of it!"

Augustin nods. "Depends on the game."

"Well, I like to play all sorts of things - what do you like to do?"

Augustin hmms. "I'll try most anything once. I've probably played most games in my time."

"Aww, I was hoping you had an idea. I don't know what would be fun to play with you."

Augustin shrugs, "Well, I'm sure you're not talking about a board game."

"I guess not. And I guess a fight or something isn't really fair on you. And something you have to be smart for isn't really fair on me." She giggles.

Augustin ahs. "Then how about we talk? No games."

says, "Well, ok, I guess. I mean, if we've got anything to talk about."

Augustin shrugs. "We have plenty to talk about. You're made of cheese.

"And you're made of meat!"

Augustin laughs. "How long have you worked on that comeback? I like it."

Cheese giggles. "Thanks! I've kind of used it before."

Augustin nods. "So how did you fall into this line of work?"

"I didn't exactly fall. I was more kind of pushed."

Augustin nods slowly. "How'd that happen?"

"Oh, you know, wrong place at the wrong time. Industrial sabotage. Being pushed into a big vat of poisoned processed cheese. Same old story, I bet you've heard it a hundred times."

Augustin nods. "I have. I've been all over the world, met all kinds of people. But why stealing a young woman's lucky charm?"

"Oh, for money, of course!"

Augustin ahs. "Who's buying?"

"Oh, now, that would be telling. I mean, it's well-known that we're metas for hire, but, you know, to say *who* hired us, well, that's bad for business."

Augustin nods. "I can understand. I've done some mercenary work myself. So your partner won't have hold of it for much longer, I'd imagine."

She smiles, "Probably not, no."

Augustin shrugs. "Well, it was a good distraction even if it did include some peril for yourself."

"Oh, not really, I'm pretty safe unless there are crackers around."

Augustin grins. "Don't forget bread. There's still the question of your collapse. You owe me a giant whack on the head."

"Oh. I could give you that if you like!"

Augustin shakes his head. "I'll take a raincheck. Still, I think you were doing more than playing possum. Need the money for something?"

She giggles, "Hey, it worked, didn't it? You stood there talking to me for ages because you weren't sure if I was dead or not. Much longer than if we'd been fighting. And then when you lost interest I reformed and called you back, and we're wasting more time now. And if that doesn't work I can fight again!"

Augustin nods. "But you took a bit of a risk as well. Starguard or someone shows up and puts you in a freezer. Dangerous move, you're lucky I'm retired."

She smiles. "They haven't caught me yet. Well, they haven't kept me. Hey, you're not going to tell anyone about me are you? Cos it would ruin the joke."

Augustin quirks a brow. "About your little disassembly game? Maybe. The Lady Luck is an acquaintance, afterall. I might be retired but I do look out for people I consider, well, worth looking out for."

"No, that I'm not in jail! Somewhere in some superprison is a cellfull of cheese they think is me. I don't know how long we can keep it up. but it's great!" She giggles. "Oh, I'm sorry about your friend. I didn't try to kill her, really. I figured she'd be all right. She always is."

Augustin hmms. "Think taking her lucky charm might have affected that? And I don't really care much for the authorities either."

She smiles. "Uh-uh. Cos we tried that before and it didn't work. But the client doesn't know that. Anyway, she still had her funny lights, so that means her powers, right?"

Augustin shrugs. "I don't know. I don't know much about her powers but I wouldn't take the risk if I were her."

"I guess. But she knows it's part of the game, right? I didn't choose to be playing this game any more than she did. But we both know the rules."

Augustin hmms? "Now that's interesting. What's the game? I'm a new player."

"You know - the whole hero and villain thing. She became a superhero on TV when she was only a little kid. I kind of made a lot of enemies when I took my revenge on the people who did this to me and ended up so I pretty much had to live a life of crime. Same with Chalk, though it was politics with him. No choice there huh? But we're all in the game. Myself, I try to enjoy it!"

Augustin nods. "I've tried to stay outside the game. I'm very old, you see. Shied away from the TV with the exception of one very camera heavy moment earlier this year. I hate to see how the game corrupts otherwise good people and gives justification to those whose powers outweight their personalities."

"Ooh! That's a good way of putting it! I like that. Sounds like the sort of thing Chalk would say."

Augustin hmms. "Chalk sounds like an interesting person. I'd still like to get the coin back, however. I would hate to see that young woman down."

"Well - I don't have it, and Chalk will be safely out of the city by now, and I hope you're not going to try to take me hostage or anything because it's been nice talking to you and I don't really want to have to hurt you."

Augustin shrugs. "Oh, I doubt you'd hurt me much. But I doubt I'd hurt you much either. Still, given the game I'm sure we'll get an opportunity to recover the coin."

"Oh - you're welcome to, once we get paid. I wish you luck." She grins. "Who knows? Maybe we can get paid to steal it again."

Augustin grins. "Well, don't look at me. I'm dirt poor."

She smiles and shrugs. "There's always someone. That's another funny thing. I didn't choose the game, but it pays better than making processed cheese food."

Augustin nods. "I could make money, but I don't want that part of the game. I'm retired."

"That must be nice. I'd like to retire, some day....."

Augustin nods. "And not to prison."

"Not much chance of that, hm? So I have to keep playing the game, and with each round retirement is farther away."

Augustin shrugs. "You need to lower your profile, which I suppose is difficult when one is made of cheese."

"Well, I could hide in a fridge, but that has certain dangers."

Augustin nods. "Freezing, eating. But I hope you do get out of it. You don't seem like a bad person."

"Maybe I am, I don't know. I made a big mistake, back when - well, this first happened. I mean, I didn't have so much control over it, and, well, I was pretty crazy with rage. But..."

Augustin nods. "Tell me about it. There's nothing you've done that I haven't done worse."

She shrugs. "You can read about it, if you want to. It's on record. I pretty much destroyed the plant where this happened. That was before I had much control. Then I went and got my revenge on the people who did this. People died. Not all of them the right people. By that point the FBI were onto me and I ran. But I couldn't escape the game, not after that."

Augustin nods slowly. "Ever thought of leaving the country?"

"First thing I did. Ran to Canada. Ok, that's not really the best choice, but it was easy to get to."

Augustin nods. "How did that go?"

"For escaping the game? Lousy. But I met Chalk. The game's not to bad when there's someone else on your team."

Augustin nods. "I know that. I've been alone for about forty years now."

"That's...... I'm sorry."

Augustin shrugs. "I probably needed it. The thing about partners, especially partners who you look up, is that you can start to become them."

Cheese giggles. "Not Chalk and me! Different as chalk and cheese! Funny that. Anyway - I'd better go, or he'll start to worry. Say, you want a few hundred pounds of cheese? I guess I won't be needing it any more."

Augustin hmms. "I'll take what I've got here."

says, "Well - it's been nice talking to you! If I'd known I wouldn't have fought in the first place. Take care!""

Augustin nods. "You too. I'll see about talking to the others about...well, our game."

"Ok. See you!" She heads off, waving her arm in a slightly odd way which doesn't involve elbows.