Mystique PI, The Walrus God 1

The Location
Golden Sands

Golden Sands is one of the most modern parts of Colonial Bay, with new and innovative buildings and home. As late as the 2030s the worst of the city slums were here, but new city refurbishing plans it has turned into one of the more vogue places to live and work. The southwestern part is residential, while the northeastern part is primarily for businesses, especially along Golden Sands Road itself. In each part the streets are broad and lined with tasteful and decorative streetlamps, and the residential streets are lined with trees also, notably proud oaks. Each of the buildings is designed to be unique and yet and to blends with its neighbors, and the businesses here too tend to be unusual and specialized.

The name sometimes surprises visitors: the district has no shorefront, but rather takes its name from the road, which was the road the wealthy of Colonial Heights used to take to reach the sands themselves.

The Action
1:37 PM

The air is a little thick with fog today as trucks, cars and vans move back and forth along the boulevard, the crisp December air whistling through the streets of Colonial Bay. The sun gleams a little bit through the thick grey cloud cover, the air whispering as a Santa Claus Coal Company truck drives past the Business Park, pulling into a parking space near the entrance. A deliveryman gets out of the back and opens it, pulling out a box as he begins walking towards the first building of the business park. The lights change, and vehicles come to a stop, as loud honking ensues from two black vans that have pulled to a stop, just next to the Coal Company truck. "Bastards!" A van driver shouts. "You took our parking space..." Oddly enough, he seems to be wearing a Walrus mask.

Mystique is thoroughly enjoying the wonderful foggy day. Just perfect as far as she is concerned. Something to make up for being on another boring stake-out watching with mist vision for instances of inappropriate conduct between the husband of her client and his secretary. The sound of shouting draws her attention in that direction, a quirky smile on her face at the sight of the van drivers.

Lightray is flying over the area enjoying the foggy skies. Upon hearing the noise below, he heads down, stopping a few meters above the roadway to survey the scene. He smiles slightly at the sight of the man in the walrus mask as sunlight coelasces around his body.

The man in the walrus mask looks up as he turns to someone in the back of the first van.

"These guys will do?" He says. "You're sure?"

A high pitched, squeaky voice echoes from the back of the truck as Lightray gathers energy.

"Sure enough! Those heroes will rue the day they messed with Drago Muspelheim!" There's a slight cough and a gulping sound from inside the truck. "Let's try that again." He booms in a much more normal tone of voice. "Yes, my minion! Those heroes will will rue the day they messed with Drago Muspelheim!" An eerie purple radiance begins to ooze out from the windows of the truckj...

Flowing through a graceful set of movements up on the local rooftops, Xing-Liu abruptly stops and moves to the edge to witness the noise's reason for being, the demented honking becoming a discord in her personal melodious flow of motion. She bounds down to street level, hiding behind the cover of mailboxes, cars, and even people while she nears the commotion. No one sounds like they're hurt.

Sensing the magical energy radiating from the rear of the van, Mystique casts an Analyze Magic spell while moving closer to get a view with her own eyes inside the van.

From inside the van, you hear "UNHAND ME, MORTAL SWINE!" in a deep base rumble. "YOU DARE TO TAMPER WITH MY POWERS! YOU HAVE PROMISED ME THE SECRET OF THE UNIVERSE! I MUST HAVE IT! LET GO OF MY FLIPPERS! THAT HURTS, YOU IMBECILE!"

The man in the walrus mask looks back and says "You're squeezing him too tight."

"He's a God, you idiot! Shut UP! You're breaking my concentration!"

There is an odd, shimmering shuffle as the purple radiance expands to cover the van, a vague smell of fish and blubber wafting across the street towards Mystique and Lightray.

Mystique inhales deeply, the aroma pleasing to her nostrils.

Xing-Liu finds a sense of nostalgia about the scent, still getting a feel for what is going on around her. The demented honking becomes demented yelling, thoughts of exactly how to apply her particular brand of problem-solving coming up short for precisely what to do about the oncoming mess just yet.

The two vans are completely stopped, and six men in walrus masks get out. They are carrying funny looking wand type objects shaped like fish, with open mouths and long, skinny handles. One of them reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a piece of paper. "Jesus...It's hard to read this through the mask...dammit...People of...Colonial Bay...You are doomed! I, the mighty Drago Muspelheim, control Aahruk, Lord of the Doomed Ocean! If you do not surrender your city to me, there will be no fish for miles around! You will pay for mocking me, and now your city will suffer! Ha ha...ha...ha...ha...This is a !@#$!ing mission statement?"

"SHUT UP AND READ!" Drago Thunders from inside the truck. "I WILL HAVE WHAT IS MINE!"

"You are doomed...ha ha ha ha ha ha...I had better get paid double for this!" The Walrus Masked leader says. He points the fish wand at Mystique, and says "You better get out of the way, lady, or I'm gonna let you have it."

Mystique laughs, "Aahruk? Is that you in the van? How long has it been? Atlantis, the reign of Regentus IV. Remember? The rose oil spilled on the waves to calm them for the King's barge. It made you sneeze and flood the seaport."

Xing-Liu glances from behind cover, seeing the walrus-masked goons and now at least getting an idea of what she can do. She maneuvers herself above, taking a silent climb up on one of the vans, ready to strike.

One of the Walrus Masked people turns to lift his fish rod to fire at Lightray, but Lightray fires first, blasting away at him with a bolt of energy....a large halibut blasts out of the tip of the rod as Lightray fires....

The man is knocked down by Lightray's bolt, but the halibut goes wide, sailing across the street and landing on top of a "Save the Fish" information stand.

Drago, from inside the truck, begins to chant and murmur. "Aahruk, give me your power! Lend me your strength, Aahruk!" The chanting continues as the doors to the back of the van open, and Drago Muspelheim steps out. He's wearing a much more elegant Walrus mask, which doesn't really conceal his male pattern baldness or his heavy gut. He has a pair of dirty old Morbane boots that look like they were bought on the internet, and a deep black robe that hangs over his back. Mega-mart....maybe. If he's lucky. He is surrounded in a deep blue and purple field of energy, and clutched in his hand is a six inch Walrus, struggling in Drago's grip.

"LET GO OF ME, IDIOT! I WILL DROWN YOU IN THE FIRES OF MY MUCUS, AS I DID IN DAYS OF OLD! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS! WHERE IS THE SECRET OF THE UNIVERSE I WAS PROMISED?" The six inch high walrus bellows and struggles. It does not look happy.

Mystique stares. Struggles, and successfully muffles a laugh. "Oh, dear. Aahruk. I remember you being a bit... bigger. Fifteen thousand years without a decent circle of worshippers can really put a dent in your status, God-wise." She activates her mage's shield spell and turns her head to look at the man holding the fish-wand pointed at her...

He shoots, now that Mystique has demonstrated something that has convinced him that she is dangerous. A large fish flies across towards Mystique, misses her and splats against a advertising sign.

Mystique says, "You may want to smooth down the rough edges with sandstone. And put some salt and vinegar on that wand. Because if you continue pointing it in my direction I'm going to make you eat it."

Aahruk bellows in Drago's grip. "YOU DARE MOCK ME! WHEN I AM FREED, I WILL UNLEASH A TIDE OF DOOM UNLIKE ANY YOU HAVE EVER SEEN! THIS FOOL HAS DARED TO SHRINK ME FOR HIS PERSONAL USE, IN EXCHANGE FOR THIS UNIVERSAL SECRET! OH, HE WILL PAY!"

Xing-Liu drops down among the fishwanders, taking one roughly and sending him into another, believing that a rain of fish is probably not a healthy thing to have going on, regardless of its food potential. She then moves back to cover.

"AWK!" Two of the men fall down, slamming into each other right before the shots fire, blasting away at Mystique! Halibut fly everywhere, aiming for the ancient mystic, making strange wiggling sounds as the fish wands point. "This is STUPID!" Shouts the Walrus Mask leader. "You gave me a rod which shoots FISH at people? Where's ACRO and their advanced weapons when you REALLY need them! But no! I get fish guy!"

The Halibut sail beyond Mystique, crashing through the window of a hovercar and eliciting screams from a horrified woman as they land inside. "My wedding proposal..." you hear a dreadful sob from a man inside the hovercar. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The two Xing-Liu struck shake their heads and stagger about, struggling to their feet, as Lightray's enemy does the same. The other three look at Mystique, who is dodging, and unleash their fish wands against Lightray, the thwappy halibuts sailing through the air at him.

Lightray leaps out of the way of the fish, bobbing and weaving as best he can.

Two shots go wide, but the third fish slams into Lightray with a wet, disgusting THWAP!

Mystique says, "I would not mock you, Aahruk. This is not an age where the likes of you and I find a welcome. But I will ask you a question. Does this fool who grips you, he who cannot evoke a summoning correctly, seem like the kind of magus who would know a universal secret?"

"IT MATTERS NOT!" Aahruk thunders. "ONLY IF HE GIVES ME THE SECRET MAY I RETURN, UNLESS HE RENEGES ON HIS PROMISE! HOWEVER, I DO NOT THINK I CAN EAT HIM AT THIS SIZE!"

"SHUT UP!" Drago howls at Aahruk. "You're working for me, now! ME, Drago Muspelheim! Those fools in DEMON rejected me, but NOW, NOW they will see my power! BWAHAHAAAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Another run-by by Xing-Liu, this one to take up one of the wands from the walrus masks and abscond with it.

"AWK" the man gasps as Xing-Liu leaps for the wand, grabbing it into her hands and hurrying away with it. "This is STUPID! Where's my Luger? Oh, god, this is bad!"

Xing-Liu is busying herself with repeatedly removing the weapons of fish obstruction from the walrus-heads. Even she thinks the situation is a bit silly, but there's no harm in having free fish on hand...

Now with a pair, Xing-Liu sets the fishwand atop the van the walrus guys drove here in.

Drago turns to look at Xing-Liu, his baldness somehow reflecting off the ridge of the Walrus mask. "Now, Child, feel the power of Aahruk, and let the waters of the gods beyond wash over your soul, driving you mad..." He chuckles lowly to himself. "I love saying this stuff." He points Aahruk at Xing-Liu, and Aahruk's mouth opens, hocking a giant glob of mucus at Xing!

Surprise mounts on Xing-Liu's face at being stuck to the van, struggling to free herself.

Triumphant over the gross walrus goo, Xing-Liu now has a new idea in mind of what she should be focusing on...

Mystique shakes her head. "You are a fool, Drago. You wield the power of a Gods with the incompetence of a retarded child." She gestures and lifts a hand in a complex movement, drawing inwards the foul reeking stench around the mage's head.

"And you are...KOFF...hack...THPPPT." Drago gags momentarily on the stench as he spits up a little bit of liquid underneath the Walrus mask. ""That was...pretty disgusting..." He leers. "Want a date, lady?"

"I HAVE BEEN BOUND TO EMPERORS AND DEMIGODS! SACRIFICES OF BLOOD AND FAVORED ANIMALS HAVE BEEN MADE IN MY NAME! AND YOU...WANT...TO MATE WITH...HER? YOU ARE THE WORST SUMMONER I HAVE EVER SEEN, MORTAL!" The walrus flops and struggles in his grip.

"You're SIX INCHES HIGH! YOUR POWER IS MINE!" He drools a little bit from the stink.

Xing-Liu dives out at the walrus and carrier of walrus, tagging the latter by his clothing and hurling him into the van.

The blow slams into Drago, who is slammed into the ground right where he is. He is far too heavy to lift, his mass as if he weighed a hundred tons or more! "NGGGH." He grunts as the blow strikes him. "That was unfortunate! Now, child, face the power of one who knows true mystic arts!" He leers at Mystique again. "I could have you for my bride, Witch-Woman! Together, we could be unstoppable!"

Lightray tries to reduce the number of fishlaunchers, unleashing another bolt of light at the one who he knocked down earlier! The searing bolt rockets towards the fish wand wielder...

And drills a hole into the pavement!

You say, "I am no more a mortal than Aahruk, foolish mage."

The fish wand wielders begin running away, seeing they're no match for the heroes, the remaining ones who are armed drop their fish wands and begin beating feet, desperately running for the nearest maglev station. "Screw this!" One of them says. "I'm going back to running numbers for the Cangelosis! It's got to be safer!"

Xing-Liu lets the fishwanders go, focusing instead on Drago and his walrusy friend.

Drago lifts the walrus and his eyes turn a dark purple.

"Bathalu...Bathaluu...Holokaramm...Bathaluu, Holokaramm..." He opens his mouth with a dull, low chanting, and points the walrus at Xing-Liu, and there's a strange hissing noise and a sickening pop...

There is a dull sucking noise, and a disturbing howl from Aahruk and Drago. There is a dire grinding sound as a vortex of water appears under their feet, and they kick and struggle, leaving a stench of fish and blubber in their wake as a vague image of a dingy looking summoning circle appears in the vortex. They are sucked in, howling in circles as Drago burbles "I will habb my rebenge, Witbbbtch Wobbbannnnnn!" through the spinning, spontaneously created whirlpool.

The whirlpool fades out of existence, and Drago and Aahruk appear to be gone. Aahruk's voice echoes with the word "IDIOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!" for a full ten seconds after the two of them vanihs.

Mystique sighs, "I knew Aahruk when he was a powerful God, master of his Domain. We all weaken in this age. Lack of worshippers doom a God to slow fading.