2013.06.09 - Family Reunion Revisited - Strange Observations

Sunday Evening, May 26th, 2013. Seven miles as the crow flies eastward from the center of San Jose an anomalous burst of energy flares as a cross dimensional incursion occurs. It is gone as quickly as it is there.

As luck would have it, at that precise moment nearly a half a globe away, one Dr. Stephen Strange is engaged in a mystical patrol of sorts - though, for the Sorcerer Supreme, a patrol doesn't involve the same sort of menial legwork and pavement pounding that it might entail for other protectors of the realm. Instead, the master of the mystic arts is stationed in the heart of his Sanctum Sanctorum in Greenwich Village, the stars and moonlight shining in from the distinctive third-story window of the building to cast an eerie shadow over his form, arms outstretched and steely greys eyes focused as he peers into the depths of the arcane Orb of Agamotto. The ancient and powerful relic sees all - nothing escapes its sight or notice - and by extension, Dr. Strange is equally informed. He often uses the giant orb as he does now, a scrying device of sorts, keeping him appraised of the mystical goings-on and happenings not just in New York, but across the globe, and so when a rift occurs between dimensions - even as far away as California - Strange is immediately alerted. The cloudy mists inside the orb come into sharp focus as he narrows in on the source of the odd spike of energy, and the Doctor's moustache twitches just slightly as he investigates. "Curious... Whatever created that rift didn't stay around long. Wonder if it left a surprise..."

Strange's projected senses see a young blue skinned and haired woman casting a rudimentary divination spell. Unexpectedly -- especially to her -- the astral form of another woman appears (Amanda Sefton) they speak for a while and then the astral from disappears and a portal is opened by Amanda between that remote spot in California and her apartment building in Greenwich Village -- viewing it from near the blue girl Strange would see Amanda sitting on a chair in her living room and a blue furred 'demon' (the mutant Kurt Wagner) perched. After the blue girl steps though the portal it winks out of existence.

As he watches the proceedings through the Orb of Agamotto, Dr. Strange's eyebrows furrow together briefly in thought. The physical appearance of the blue-skinned woman is distinct enough, but the astral projection of Amanda Sefton and the portal that offers a glimpse to Amanda's home and the presence of Nightcrawler within confirm the sorcerer's initial suspicions, though more questions are raised with that confirmation. "A relative, perhaps," he murmurs to himself. "Not that I'm familiar with Nightcrawler's family tree...." And, as he eavesdrops onto the conversation, a little more understanding is achieved, and a subtle nod of the man's head. "Of course, he might not be so familiar either, if the woman is from a different plane. Is her purpose here intentional? Accidental? In any case, by what designs have the dimensional barriers been breached?" The words are mostly thoughts spoken aloud, and as the blue-skinned woman disappears through the portal, Strange rubs his chin thoughtful. "Perhaps a visit should be paid..." His voice lifts then, and he moves away from the Orb, striding purposefully out of the chamber and down the hallway. "Wong," he calls out, "I'm making a house call tonight."

In the New York apartment the Amanda, Kurt and Merle converse for a while and then another young, blue skinned woman -- TJ Wagner, aka Nocturne -- crawls into the room from outside and joins in on the chat.

The conversation breaks up when Amanda -- who's life force, if scanned, indicates that she is recovering from an injury -- and Kurt head to bed. TJ crawls back outside to bask in the night air and Merle goes into a secondary bedroom where she makes a hide away bed and begins to prepare to go to bed.

Donning his traditional garb as the Sorcerer Supreme, Strange tracks down the mystical energy of Amanda Sefton's portal, and the point upon which the blue-skinned arrival was transported to New York City. There, he's prepared to investigate further - but waits, and listens, and observes through mystical sight as family begins to sort things out themselves. He hears enough from this initial observation that he can tell the transportation here was certainly not by design - and he can also sense it is something that is not likely to happen again. The arrival - Merle, he learns is her name - has enough to deal with on her plate without further interrogation. She'll sort things out with her family, and further questions from the Sorcerer Supreme aren't something that are really needed in this instance. A domestic matter, really. No, Stephen has heard enough, and by the time that the discussion is finished, Strange has already left - a quick stop to California before returning to his home to patrol the mystical borders once more.

'''We intended a longer scene but Strange had to go for RL reasons. We had been paused for a while on our first attempt but it was chosen to wrap the scene at this point.'''