Lady Arachne's Summer Garden Masque - all visitors welcome!

[Earl of Purple]

Nocturne & Jack

"Ah, yes. I believe the nearest drinks table is this way." She points, and heads towards it. She half-reaches for Cass' hand before deciding that's too forward and dropping it.

[Morty]

[The Mercenary]

Fayyaad nods to Electra. If she wishes to assign him to Cantata, he's willing to do it. He's already somewhat familiar with her tricks if she were to pull any.

[5a Violista]

[Monarch]

Holly nods and goes to where the drinks are, and soon faces the biggest conundrum known to man: what kind of drink to get.
It is a really difficult problem and requires a lot of thought.

If she were just getting this for herself, it would be easy: some simple juice. Non-alcoholic, because she's already feeling a little out of it, and thanks to the infection, her shapeshifting already is already operating at full tilt just to keep herself from spontaneously-and-randomly changing. Alcohol would only amplify the problem and make her mask slip, and she might say something she doesn't want to say.

...
But the persona she's using would completely pick something alcoholic. Picking otherwise would be out-of-character.

And based on what the guy said - especially the 'pursue [temptations] wholeheartedly' bit combined with asking for a surprise, he's probably expecting not just something alcoholic, but also a good-tasting mixed drink.

So what if she gets something for him, and the virgin version for herself? He'll interpret that as one of three ways, none of which are any good. He could see it as her trying to get him drunk so she can do something to him, or he'll see her as immature and childish, or he'll see her as standoffish and cold and manipulative. None of those are particularly things she wants.

This is so hard.
It makes her want to pull her hair out and scream in frustration. Why is picking out drinks so hard?

Luckily she sees one with a lemon slice. Lemons in drinks are good, right? After being told it's called 'Long Island Iced Tea' she figures it's okay. Something called a tea can't be too alcoholic, right? And it looks like a mixed drink, so he'll probably appreciate it. "Thanks."

So she orders two, and takes them back to Kal so she can hand him one. "Here," Holly says. "It's called Long Island." She doesn't mention the 'iced tea' part because, by appearance, it obviously looks like iced tea.

[Murkus]

[TD]

"No, but there might be complaints and I'm supposed to represent a big company now you know." Dena smiles and winks.
Though as Tina replies, the smile looks increasingly forced. "Eh, we're grown gals. We can figure out plenty of things to entertain ourselves with. Remember when you dressed up as some ancient hero to 'slay' me?" She giggles. "I don't know where you get your ideas, but I'd like to find out." The something occurs to her. "Hey Tina, are you made of actual metal? Or is that just a metaphor or whatever?" She gives her friend a curious look from behind her blindmask.

[TD]

"I was only kidding around. And what, do you think I could forget?" Fettina adjusts Dena in her arms, whirling them a bit more toward the edge of the party. She glances down and around, but her eyes always track back to Dena. "What? You wanna steal some? Looking to woo somebody special, maybe?"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure I'm actually made of metal. Or something stronger. I'm cold... a lot. I'm bulletproof. But I'm not... heavy either, so I don't think this stuff covering me is actually metal."

[Shadowcaller]

[TD]

"Nah, your ideas wouldn't have that spontaneous feel in my hands. Besides, it's hard finding someone more special than you." She waggles her eyebrows as she then attempts to tap her finger against one of Tina's arms. "You do feel pretty solid I admit, and what muscles. Last time I challenge you to arm-wrestling." Dena grins. "Though the reason I asked is, well, metal-people are not effected by my eyes. Did you know that?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

[The Mercenary]

Electra nods back at Fayyaad, then nods at Cantata.

"Actually, I think I'll send Tanin here with you," she says aloud, before signing more.

There will be other guards there, too, but he's aware of how I tend to do things, which will make it easier on everyone.

[Spy On]

Agent C will note there are a few passages leading away....but they're all sized for spiders. At his current size, he might be able to squeeze down one or two of the halls, but there's a good chance he'll run into more spiders of one type or another down the passages. The only normal-sized door is back the way he came. The spider drone is still in the area, looking around, though it doesn't seem to have spotted him yet.

((Area described with Warkitty's permission.))

[Arkhosia]

[The Mercenary]

Cantata raises an eyebrow at Tanin, eyes glimmering with an amused smirk, before looking back towards Electra. She nods in understanding, seeming somewhat conflicted on how to feel about this development. On one hand, more security was certainly nice, even if she highly doubted Malice would take such an action. On the other, it means she'll be that much more constricted in MERC's grip. If things did prove not so amicable and she felt the need to escape, this would make it all the more difficult.

[Zefir]

[The Mercenary]

Electra nods back at Fayyaad, then nods at Cantata.

"Actually, I think I'll send Tanin here with you," she says aloud, before signing more.

There will be other guards there, too, but he's aware of how I tend to do things, which will make it easier on everyone.

[Spy On]

Agent C will note there are a few passages leading away....but they're all sized for spiders. At his current size, he might be able to squeeze down one or two of the halls, but there's a good chance he'll run into more spiders of one type or another down the passages. The only normal-sized door is back the way he came. The spider drone is still in the area, looking around, though it doesn't seem to have spotted him yet.

((Area described with Warkitty's permission.))

[Spy On]

Agent C in his camonflage mode observes the spider drone. Should it be a differetn spy attemp he is sure the spiders will take note of it soon. That might give him a chance to just slip by one path. He still starts to make a Plan B and slowly makes his way to one of the bigger holes. moving very very slow his camonflage got still a very good effect. Assuming Agent C can make out a 'head' he will move whenever the 'head' is turned away. Let us hope this thing hasn't cameras all around.

[Murkus]

[TD]

"Nah, your ideas wouldn't have that spontaneous feel in my hands. Besides, it's hard finding someone more special than you." She waggles her eyebrows as she then attempts to tap her finger against one of Tina's arms. "You do feel pretty solid I admit, and what muscles. Last time I challenge you to arm-wrestling." Dena grins. "Though the reason I asked is, well, metal-people are not effected by my eyes. Did you know that?"

[TD]

"Aw, Dena... how come you're always saying such nice stuff?" Fettina loves it, but Dena is always either teasing her or talking her up when they hang out. She's not used to it from someone she isn't regularly taking to bed. Though the comment about her muscles is clearly meant to be silly, and Tina cracks up. Unfortunately she doesn't have time to comment before Dena adds something much more interesting. "What? Are you serious? How did you ever test that?"

[Morty]

[The Mercenary]

"Let's get going, then," "Tanin" says. This evening has definitely turned out different than he had expected...

[Shadowcaller]

[TD]

"The boss regularly uses golems he gets from his wife and I once went into a staring contest with a winged golem the Mithar mage, you know one of the commanders of VIGIL, have. Completely unprovoked I might add, the thing just kept staring at me. Looked grumpy as hell. I lost that contest, but I usually lose them these days so it would be nice to have someone to win against." Dena remarks as she pokes Tina's foot with the toe of her shoe.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[The Mercenary]

Electra nods and escorts them to the portal, along with the two obvious guards that helped capture Cantata in the first place. As they walk, she moves closer to Fayyaad and speaks softly to him.

"I'm sending Jorgi and Hanzi ahead of you, and I've already set the security systems. I'll be in touch once you're there. But be careful."

Through the portal, everyone can now see a rabbit-shaped robot waiting patiently for the group to arrive. Fayyaad might recognize it; it's been around in Electra's apartments and living areas before.

[Spy On]

The spider drone has a fairly obvious head and only seems to be able to see from the direction its head is facing. Sneaking past it isn't terribly difficult. Once close enough, he manages to squeeze down one of the larger passages, though it quickly becomes apparent that this route, too, is intended for spiders. Especially when it finally leads to a very small space reminiscent of a kitchen, or pantry, perhaps. One sized for spiders, naturally. Tiny cabinets line the walls, and there are even smaller plates and cups stacked on several of the shelves. There's even a tiny refrigerator here.

And from down the hall he just came, he can hear the door open, and the footsteps of three normal-sized people.

[A Personal Affair - Nocturne --> Spy On]

Electra gives Cass an impish grin as the guard leads them to the door. She gestures for Cass to wait for a moment, so that she goes first, though. If there is someone nefarious behind the door, better for her to get hurt than Cass, after all. She reaches into her shawl, and withdraws a small black pistol in one smooth motion as she moves through the door, and stands looking around, for a moment, before motioning for Cass and the guard to follow. On the floor, the spider drone continues to look around for a moment, then scurries out of the way. The knitting party of spiders in one corner is being intruded upon once more....

[Morty]

[The Mercenary]

Fayyaad nods.

"I will. There's no guarantee she won't try to turn the situation to her advantage."

With that assurance, he will lead Cantata through the portal.

[Murkus]

[TD]

"The boss regularly uses golems he gets from his wife and I once went into a staring contest with a winged golem the Mithar mage, you know one of the commanders of VIGIL, have. Completely unprovoked I might add, the thing just kept staring at me. Looked grumpy as hell. I lost that contest, but I usually lose them these days so it would be nice to have someone to win against." Dena remarks as she pokes Tina's foot with the toe of her shoe.

[TD]

"Ahh, okay. Well, hell, I'll bet my life on that," says Tina with a shrug. "I've been wanting to get a real look at your eyes since you got changed."

[Shadowcaller]

[TD]

Dena gives Tina a flat look. "You know, you're already making this sound like a pretty terrible idea. I'm not willing to bet your life away y'know? Besides, Kirk would never forgive me." It sounds like she is partly speaking in jest however.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[The Mercenary]

Once on the other side, the rabbit will hop up to the group, and speak in a friendly voice that's hard to discern an intended gender from. It's also quite a bit larger than it may have seemed through the portal, standing almost waist-high.

"Good evening. I have been instructed to teleport you. To begin, please take hold of my ears, and please remain calm. This may be a bit disorienting for you if you are not used to it, but it is perfectly safe."

It waits patiently, and once both Fayyaad and Cantata have taken hold, it will teleport them and itself away in a bright beam of purple light.

((Scene change to Outside, A Different Sort of Party plot))

[Mercenary Investigations]

Electra watches from the portal until Fayyaad and Cantata are safely away, then goes in search of Magtok. Perhaps the cyborg will be able to shed more light on this "Malice" person who hired a mute merc to kill him.

[Zefir]

[Spy On]

The spider drone has a fairly obvious head and only seems to be able to see from the direction its head is facing. Sneaking past it isn't terribly difficult. Once close enough, he manages to squeeze down one of the larger passages, though it quickly becomes apparent that this route, too, is intended for spiders. Especially when it finally leads to a very small space reminiscent of a kitchen, or pantry, perhaps. One sized for spiders, naturally. Tiny cabinets line the walls, and there are even smaller plates and cups stacked on several of the shelves. There's even a tiny refrigerator here.

And from down the hall he just came, he can hear the door open, and the footsteps of three normal-sized people.

[Spy On]

Good for Mr. C that he is not much bigger. Clearly he is bigger then any housspider but he's still small enougth to pass through. And beeing a stuff animal makes it much easier to squeez through tight spots.
Mr C observes the room. Very suspicious. He never knew spiders would use a kitchen. After all they mostly just catch fings in their weg and either poison them to death or wat untill theiy starve in the net. this has to be investigated, but then there are steps. That is bad. He looks back trying to look around the corner and see who came there.

[Lord Magtok]

[Mercenary Investigations]

Electra watches from the portal until Fayyaad and Cantata are safely away, then goes in search of Magtok. Perhaps the cyborg will be able to shed more light on this "Malice" person who hired a mute merc to kill him.

Magtok's still exactly where they left him, messing about with fireworks on Lady Arachne's behalf. Playing the part of hammy mad scientist is starting to lose its charm, however. As hard as he's trying to remain in character, it isn't difficult to tell all of this overacting and scenery-chewing is starting to get exhausting. Gee, maybe if his dumb player had started posting when the party was still in full swing, instead of waiting until it was nearly over, this wouldn't have been as much of an issue.

[Murkus]

[TD]

Dena gives Tina a flat look. "You know, you're already making this sound like a pretty terrible idea. I'm not willing to bet your life away y'know? Besides, Kirk would never forgive me." It sounds like she is partly speaking in jest however.

[TD]

"Babe, come on! You can't dangle that in front of me and then pull it away! I'll be fine. Promise," Fettina says, fluttering her glittering eyelashes at the gorgon.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Mercenary Investigations]

Electra waits until there's a break in Magtok's performance, before appoaching him.

"Mr. Magtok? I need to speak with you. It's somewhat urgent. Might you spare a few minutes?"

[Shadowcaller]

[TD]

"Fine, fine." Dena resigns. "But not here. You pick a time and location, obviously somewhere where we are alone." She is momentarily distracted by Electra coming out on stage though. So it looked like things were going on, which made it all the more happier that she wasn't working today. Taking a bullet for Magtok was not of her plans tonight.

[Lord Magtok]

Mercenary Investigations

"If I must," Magtok sighs, as if the duplicitous cyborg wasn't looking for just about any excuse to take a break or retire his little performance early. What a bald-faced (and bald-headed) liar. He reaches into his robe, produces a small robotic spider, and places it atop his ridiculous fireworks contraption, to fill in for him during his absence.

"Okay, now when you say urgent, is this 'city-wide epidemic' urgent, 'end-of-the-world' urgent, 'minor but deeply personal matter' urgent, or some combination of the above? If it's the second one, relax, I already have plans in place to fix that which I can't talk about. The city epidemic is someone else's problem, though." Jeez Magtok! She said she has something urgent to talk about; don't get her worrying about societal collapse or the end of days on top of whatever else is at issue right now!

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Mercenary Investigations]

Electra moves off to the side slightly, to get them both out of the immediate line of sight to the contraption, and subsequently, whomever's still watching, before answering his question.

"I'd definitely say it's personal, but as to how minor it is, you'll have to answer that question," she says quietly, ignoring his mention of the 'city-wide epidemic' and 'end of the world' being issues he already knows about. Her concern is much more immediate, though his mention of already working on the second issue might underline the importance of keeping him alive and ticking, as it were.

"Someone hired an assassin to kill you tonight." No sense in sugar coating it; someone of Magtok's fame (or is that infamy?) has probably had any number of attempts made on his life, so Electra's not expecting much of a reaction to this revelation. "My people managed to catch her, and she's given up the name of her client. Are you familiar with someone named 'Malice'?"

[Lord Magtok]

Mercenary Investigations

"Malice? Malice is still around?" Magtok sounds like someone just told him his wild and crazy frat bro roommate from college was in town, rather than...well, whatever one's reaction to a conspiracy to have their shiny chrome backside assassinated is supposed to sound like. He sounds nostalgic, perhaps, maybe a little concerned about the resulting property damage and criminal mischief to follow, but not fearing for his life/lives like any sensible person would be. I know Electra probably wasn't expecting him to be too upset about an attempt made on his life, but I think excited might be a bit too far down the other end of the road, don't you?

"Wow, I didn't think I'd ever hear that name again. Did she mention how much she was getting paid for this hit? Did he only hire the one? It doesn't sound like you've encountered any other would-be killers yet...hold on, you're not an assassin yourself, using someone else's failure and your cover as a member of MERC to get close enough to slide the knife between my ribs while everyone else is distracted, are you? This whole conversation isn't supposed to dramatically build up to me asking something like 'You're sure you caught all the killers?', your reply of 'no' with a devious, knowing smirk, and then a muffled gunshot through the bottom of my jaw?" Mags, please. We're talking about how your violent and terrible demise was averted by MERC, not making up new murder scenarios to try to unsettle Electra. Besides, even if she is a back-up assassin, I don't think calling her out on it like that is going to stop her now. Trust me, you'll get a lot more done if you stop trying to give your own bodyguards stress migraines.

[Murkus]

[TD]

"Fine, fine." Dena resigns. "But not here. You pick a time and location, obviously somewhere where we are alone." She is momentarily distracted by Electra coming out on stage though. So it looked like things were going on, which made it all the more happier that she wasn't working today. Taking a bullet for Magtok was not of her plans tonight.

[TD]

Tina is just about to start squealing with delight when she notices the bit of commotion down below too. "Hey, is that Electra? Wonder if she got that chick's number. Think she's doing job stuff?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Mercenary Investigations]

Electra raises an eyebrow behind her mask, not quite expecting Magtok's level of excitement about the revelation. Well, he knows this person, at least. That's a start. She chuckles at his sudden suspicion of her.

"If I were here to kill you, we would not be having this conversation. Or any conversation at all, really," she says, her smile subsiding into a more professionally neutral expression. "MERC has rules of hire, if you'll recall, and I am a MERC member, a position I quite enjoy, which means wetwork is off the table until the Boss says otherwise. No great loss to me; I've never really enjoyed that sort of work anyways." She shakes her head. "In answer to your previous question, though, so far as we're aware, she was the only assassin hired. She does strike me as a relative newcomer to the business here in the Nexus, though, so it's quite possible that he hired other contractors. She didn't think he was here tonight, either, but do you know if it is possible for him to disguise himself well enough that he could have seen her fail? If so, what sorts of methods does he usually employ? Magic, perhaps?"

[Shadowcaller]

[TD]

"Pretty sure, or Magtok wouldn't be involved. But even if she didn't, it looks like she might have gotten someone else's." Dena smiles. "Want to fly down and say 'hi'? I could evaulate Electra's job performance. Maybe she's in for a raise."

[Lord Magtok]

[Mercenary Investigations]

Electra raises an eyebrow behind her mask, not quite expecting Magtok's level of excitement about the revelation. Well, he knows this person, at least. That's a start. She chuckles at his sudden suspicion of her.

"If I were here to kill you, we would not be having this conversation. Or any conversation at all, really," she says, her smile subsiding into a more professionally neutral expression. "MERC has rules of hire, if you'll recall, and I am a MERC member, a position I quite enjoy, which means wetwork is off the table until the Boss says otherwise. No great loss to me; I've never really enjoyed that sort of work anyways." She shakes her head. "In answer to your previous question, though, so far as we're aware, she was the only assassin hired. She does strike me as a relative newcomer to the business here in the Nexus, though, so it's quite possible that he hired other contractors. She didn't think he was here tonight, either, but do you know if it is possible for him to disguise himself well enough that he could have seen her fail? If so, what sorts of methods does he usually employ? Magic, perhaps?"

"He's me," Magtok answers concisely, glancing back at the fireworks machine, as if it might suddenly go haywire and start attacking party guests if he isn't there to monitor it every single second. It won't, just so we're clear. Magtok's just a little paranoid about all of the wrong things to be paranoid about right now, is all.

"Rather, he's another clone of me. Another Magtok who died, went to hell, and wasn't too happy with how the rest of us have been running things when he finally got back to the land of the living. Decided he'd go rogue, change his name, and destroy me so he could...I don't know, take over the Nexus? Make the name Magtok more villainous again? Honestly, I've had so many enemies they all kinda blend together aside from a few of the really big ones. He wears a red robe and his prosthetic bits are shiny and brass, like a trumpet, and he's just as loud and obnoxious, so I wouldn't count on him lurking in the crowd here if we haven't already seen him. Really, he probably just sent an assassin to say hi, probe the defenses a little." I suppose that would sorta explain why Magtok isn't too worried about this assassination plot. He also doesn't sound like he's heard from Malice in a long time, though. People can change over time; the red-robed cyborg's methods and philosophy could've changed significantly since Magtok last saw them in action.

[Murkus]

[TD]

"Pretty sure, or Magtok wouldn't be involved. But even if she didn't, it looks like she might have gotten someone else's." Dena smiles. "Want to fly down and say 'hi'? I could evaulate Electra's job performance. Maybe she's in for a raise."

[TD]

"Heck yeah!" Fettina says, turning on the wing and swooping down toward Electra and Magtok. She's... an angel covered in liquid chrome with a little black dress and an oni mask. I don't know, her whole look is a mess right now. "What's up nerds? Dude!" She drops Dena and throws her hands out at Magtok. "That was amazing! Did you build that fireworks thing?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Mercenary Investigations]

Electra nods.

"An odd way of saying hi, but I suppose it's a...clone rivalry sort of thing?" Putting it into those sorts of terms just feels weird. "How villainous are we talking, though? What sort of collateral damage is acceptable to him? Would he, say, attack Lady Arachne just because she asked you to provide some-"

She cuts off as movement from above suddenly catches her attention, and she blurs, suddenly in front of Magtok, and facing the direction Tina's coming from before the chrome angel actually gets within earshot of the pair, hand in her shawl where her weapons are hidden, positioned to shield the cyborg with her own body if necessary. She doesn't exactly look pleased to see Tina as a result, but manages not to actually draw her weapon or shoot anyone. Instead she gives Dena a look that's somewhere between annoyance and...smug satisfaction? That can't be good.

"Well, you've managed to almost get yourselves killed, but since you're here, Dena, perhaps you'd like to discuss an additional contract for increased security for Sir Magtok...and perhaps his premises? Someone did just hire an assassin to kill him, after all."