2013.07.22 - Grand Illusion

Sometime on a sunny July afternoon, weeks after the ill-fated Movie Fest. The summer sun slants golden rays into the old theatre building. The place looks and smells a whole helluva lot better. Yes. There are still piles of debris throughout the place. And, yes, there's still peeling wallpaper and paint, chipped and broken plaster, stone, and metal, and all sorts of structural problems that need to be fixed. But the goop is gone. The grume and grime and disgusting refuse of a thousand different monsters, corpses, and things that go bump in the night. Most importantly, the creep feeling of evil is gone. Neutrality has returned and the tingle of magic no longer feels as wrong as it once did.

Amanda has lowered the shield that once stood around the building. She's changed it, instead, to what looks like a green chainlink construction fence around the whole property. There is still protective magic here. Extensive wards have been set -- as much about keeping people out as keeping magical critters in -- this is true. But, it no longer looks like a war zone. And that's a step in the right direction.

The sorceress stands outside the theatre, her hands on her hips, gazing up at the decrepit façade. A localized illusion plays over the surfaces of the building as she considers how best to refurbish it. It might be noted that there is a scrapbook full of old photos of the best examples of Art Deco buildings and theatres laying open at her feet.

The illusion is really only visible if you're standing within a couple of dozen feet of the witch. She's not extending her power very far. And the images are mutable, since she's really just playing with ideas. Even so... Get close enough, and there's definitely something impressive to be seen.

The rank and foul evil may have been purged from the Majestic, though a new sort of evil may well have taken its place.

TJ's gotten an early start today, another restless night leaving her to make a solo trip back out to the theatre to continue the seemingly endless battle with cleaning and rebuilding it from the inside out.

Her presence is hard to miss. Music that had been playing at a more sane volume is suddenly turned up to what most people would consider to be an obscene level even for outdoor use. Despite this, her voice still manages to match the decible level.

"Aaaai! Haaaate! Everyooone!"The girl's got a pair of lungs on her! The lyrics don't get any better from there, heavy and frantic use of drums and guitar alike proving that the Blue Foomper has an interest in Black Metal.

It's always the sweet and kind ones you have to look out for, isn't it?

Like a blue tigger, the moment Kurt is on American soil, he's bamfing through the city, breathing in the scents of what is quickly becoming 'home'. Not the suburb, scent of mowed lawns, no.. but rather, the hazy smell of congested traffic. From side of building to rooftop to alley, the blue elf finds what shadows he can. He's stopped at Amanda's first, and upon finding no one home, begins his progress to the next, obvious (to him) spot. (After grabbing a beer and a donut, that is!)

The closer Kurt gets the Majestic, the bigger the jumps he takes until he lands at the front door, ready to combat bamf in. He stops, a little comically in that he looks as if he stops midstride as he realizes who is here.

Stopping and straightening, Kurt opens his mouth to say something, but the music.. the music?

What is that?

"Is the Banshee back in town?" is called over the ruckus. "Gott im Himmel.. what is that caterwaul-- TJ?"

Oh.. did he forget?

Amanda turns, breaking off her illusion for a moment as Kurt bamfs in -- mainly so that she can throw up a defense if the incoming energy proves not to be friendly. But, it is friendly. It's very, very friendly.

She grins as the Blue Bamfer appears, despite the return of his sulphur, and gives him a kiss in return. "You're home!" she echoes, blue eyes dancing. "I'm so glad."

Relieved, more like it. It means he's safe. Magneto didn't eat him for lunch. Thank God.

She flashes a grin, and glances toward the building, where TJ's voice bellows. "I think she's taking out her frustrations on the lobby debris," she says lightly.

That poor lobby will never know what hit it.

No ladders are necessary, TJ can adhere to every surface equally well. It also guarantees that there's at least two sources of ticked off lyrics at any given moment.

"You have to pick and choose your fights! You have to come out of this alive!"

Probably the song's only verse that doesn't contain at least one F-Bomb. With the noise the return of the town's friendly neighborhood bamfer gets completely missed by the blue girl inside. Including Amanda's arrival.

Heck, there's people outside? Someone might think this building was built in the middle of a major metropolis or something!

Just ignore the sound of something breaking inside. Something that isn't a boombox speaker.

Kurt's tail curls around Amanda's waist for a moment as he turns to give her a hug. Without those glowing yellow eyes peering out at them, offering up some quip about 'getting a room', or simply facepalming. "I'll tell you about the trip af--"

-- come out of this alive! is bellowed again, and Kurt sighs theatrically and dramatically long-sufferingly. There's a fanged grin, however, before, "I came home to this? First plane out to Genosha!"

Uh huh.

Offering up a shrill whistle in order to cut through the racket, though he does have the courtesy to lean and apologize to Amanda for its proximity, the next moment, Kurt's bamfed off to the inside foyer where his daughter is hard(ly) at work.


 * bamf!*

Appearing on the wall of the foyer, Kurt looks around at the work and is ready to give his daughter a big hug. Despite the music making his ears bleed.

Amanda gives up on her illusions for the time being. As Kurt bamfs his way in to see TJ, she gives a light shake of her blonde head and starts inside at a far more sedate pace, walking toward the grand entry and the broken doors that are still at least partially boarded up there.

Hey, TJ's working..! She's just ..enjoying..her work..a little too much.

Hah, someone else is grooving to the music! Must be someone walking past.

Except for the whistling.

A moment later and the music cuts out completely, the silence almost deafening in its own right (the lobby's got some halfway decent acoustics even in its run-down state.)

"Dad!"

-Bamf!--Foomp!-

TJ and Kurt effectively trade places across the lobby in the exact same breath of time, popping into one another's rapidly dissipating sulfurous blue cloud.

TJ stands there with arms held out, hugging open air with widened yellow eyes. "..We may need to work on our timing."

Batterbatterbatterswing--!

And a miss!

Miss is as good as mile, as they say!

Kurt is reaching out to give his daughter a hug, and is left in her bamf-scent. Blinking those glowing yellow eyes, he waves a three-fingered hand in front of his face. "That is not.." He's kidding, of course.

But!

He's left behind with the caterwauling! The killing of rabbits by the thousands!


 * bamf*

To the radio, the elf teleports, only to take hold of it with a light twitch of his tail.

Now, however, he calls out, "Stay put, Herzchen!" before he's gone from his spot once again- but not without sticking a finger in his ear to clear it first.. and test if he still has hearing in that one pointed ear of his.


 * bamf!*

"There you are-!"

TJ spins about and hunkers lower, arms held out to the sides as she ducks and weaves in place without moving her feet. Kinda like a football player looking for the right angle to tackle the other person. It's complete with a "Hup!" every time she switches sides.


 * Bamf!*

Snag! "Gotcha!" she yelps while nearly leaping off of the lobby floor with Teleporter Prime. If they wind up sprawled out upon the floor, well..he should have taken a better stance. Clearly.

"Ohmygodwherehaveyoubeenithasntbeenthesamewithoutyou!" Pause. "Where's my radio..?"

By the time the two have bamfoomped back and forth, Amanda has taken to holding up a nearby wall with a shoulder. She snickers softly. "My God," she laughs. "You're a pair of puppies, I swear." Teleporting puppies. Complete with shedding fur and wagging tails.


 * bamf!*

"I said stay st--"

Ooof!

Kurt holds on in order to try and break his fall, break her fall, and his tail whips out to catch a bit of something hanging from the wall, having them end up hanging upside down in the hug. Like a pair of blue furred bats.

When it seems that all has stopped for at least a second before he plants a kiss to her cheek. A grin comes, showing fangs again at the stream of consciousness, and actually barks a laugh at the last question, his tones teasing. "Guess."

One pair of yellow eyes promptly narrow. "Get my tunes out of Hell, Dad." Nevermind that they sound as though they belong down there. It's still hers!

All the same, she ends up beside Kurt with an arm and a tail looped around him in turn, smiling a pointy-toothed smile over to Amanda who's been patient enough for their comical reunion. "Amsie, hi! We've got the whole band back together today, don't we? I was just ..uhm. Cleaning up the lobby. Some."

Nevermind the bits of broken glass off to the side.

Diversion time! Her expression drops into a mock-scowl, looking back at Kurt and whapping the back of his shoulder. "Cellphones, Dad! It's been days, that's like weeks to someone like me!"

Amanda Sefton: Patience of a Saint. Because, seriously, you need it to keep up with the mighty Blue Bamfoompfers.

The woman takes a glance around the lobby to see just what TJ shattered. Truthfully, since she's not dripping blood all over anything, the sorceress isn't too worried. It's not like the whole place isn't going to have to be rebuilt anyway.

"Yeah. I can tell," she says dryly to the girl, her blue eyes dancing. Her foot scuffs a bit of broken glass. "Target practice? Don't tell me we missed a spot..."

Kurt bamfs down such that his feet are back on the ground, and beside Amanda. "This looks.." Yellow eyes are wide as he takes a look around, really gets that chance to take it all in. "It doesn't stink."

His hands clap once before Kurt begins a slow tour around the entryway, looking through the detritus. "It doesn't feel bad.." and those featureless eyes turn back towards Amanda, taking TJ in with it as well. "You did a lot of work in--"

Days?

Though, the radio? "I thought the hellhounds would like some music to listen to?" Beat. "Howl to?"

The source of the glass comes from an old movie poster display. Empty of any poster. No one will miss it.

Not that it stops the imish smile which results from Amanda spotting the exact thing that happened to get broken. "Darn thing leaped right out in front of me, I swear."

Kurt's reaction to the updated condition of the Majestic as a whole leaves something to be desired. Just a little. "'It doesn't feel bad..?' Really? We removed thirteen tons of liberally distributed negative energy vomit, cleared out the air where forty-seven bottles of Febreeze have failed and made the place as a whole not want to kill you then grow mold all over you as soon as you stepped inside, and 'it doesn't feel bad' is the best you can come up with?"

Arms get folded across her chest, opting for a snarky pose as she stares back at Kurt. "Dare ya to do a better job."

Just as quickly her expression falls, jaw gaping slightly as that stare continues. "How can you not like Chimaira!"

Amanda isn't a big fan of the Black Metal stuff, either, truthfully. But that's only because it tends to attract occult posers. (TJ is quite definitely an exception to that rule.)

She doesn't say it, however. Instead, she suppresses a laugh, though not a grin, as the girl lambastes Kurt about his gross and damned-near insulting understatement.

Of course, Amanda knows Kurt as the king of the understatements. So, she's fine with it. Let him think they just happen to be Just That Good. Because, let's face it: They are.

Nevertheless, she crosses her own arms over her chest in solidarity with TJ, her blue eyes dancing with mirth.

Kurt watches the pair now, his head quirking, "I didn't just fall off the turnip truck yesterday, meinen lieblingen." Holding out a three-fingered hand, he begins to count off in echo of his daughter. "You removed thirteen tons of negative energy vomit, cleared the air.. the mold.. how, exactly?" He holds the three fingers out, splayed. The elf works in base three?

"Let me guess," follows airily, and he shifts his gaze ever so slightly to land on Amanda. "No one is just that good. Unless they cheat."


 * bamf*

Kurt teleports to the wall, and hangs on the side, "You cheated!"


 * bamf!*

To the ceiling, and he's perching on rafters. He doesn't sound upset, however.. but his tail points to TJ too. "Und you were in on it!"


 * bamf*

Landing again by Amanda, Kurt tsks, his head shaking in a theatric slowness, disappointment dripping from his tones. "Just that good."

Twisting around to answer TJ, his brows rise, and he reframes her own question, "How could you like Chimaira?"

"We're just that good, and we cheated, for the simple-minded. We prefer to think of it as taking the path of least resistance." Smile. "I suppose if you would have preferred I could have continued to peel away eighty years worth of unmentionables with your swords."

Your move, Bamf Boy.

"Come on now," TJ says in complete disbelief. "Who cares if we supercharged our scrubbing? Look at this place! It's classic! It's fantastic! It's..one might even say..Majestic! Now quit bein' a whinybutt and go take a proper tour."

And again... Kurt's words slay her, truly they do. "Whaaaat? They're killer! Sometimes a person just needs to dump some raw, concentrated emotion! Bah, your generation, I swear... No appreciation for the new. I haven't had as many chances to cut loose since being slightly misplaced from the rest of the band, as it is."

As if seeking reinforcement she turns to look at Amanda, starting to ask "You liked them alright, didn't yooookay, no you didn't."

Grump.

"Oh, but we are just that good, Liebende," Amanda says to Kurt now, a slender brow arching haughtily. Doubtless he'll recognize that expression as one of her mother's, though when she does it, it's with a good measure of facetiousness rather than true arrogance. "Because it's not cheating. You know damned well you can't remove magical residue with Mr. Clean." A beat. A grin. "Besides. We still had to collect the spell components. With the condition this place was in? That's not easy."

Okay. Actually, it was. But, never mind.

She does, however, reach out to give TJ a playful push on the shoulder when she grumps. "Once we have a stage again, you can make a new band."

"Path of least resistance. When I was in Genosha," Kurt mutters, and his hand rests upon his hip for a long moment, his tail whipping about.

Amanda's response gains raised brows in return. He can hear Margali in that.. the voice of his childhood. The certitude that everything she did was for the ultimate good. For her, that is. But there was always that belief in herself.

"It is cheating, but I'll accept it. For now."

With a glance towards TJ, he adds, "Don't do it again." Like that's going to happen?

"Now, when I bamfed in, did I happen to see the Majestic looking.. majestic?" Kurt pauses, and a smile rises to show fangs, "Or was that just an illusion?" Of course it was!

Though-- the thought of that music? Waving a hand, Kurt is looking to dismiss any thought, any discussion regarding Death Metal being played in the theatre. "New band? You won't play that stuff.. the music that is probably making the hellhounds ears bleed by now?"

You can't remove magical residue with Mr. Clean? From the sideline there's a somewhat distant "Ooooh, so that's why it wasn't working..."

Collecting those components? Serious timesink. It might have taken them five whole minutes! That's like ..well, okay, that's like five minutes to someone like TJ.

There's a silly "Hey..!" when Amanda pushes on her shoulder, though it's quickly followed with "Maybe we can pick a halfway decent name for this one..."

Of course, nothing can be perfect. TJ's thrilled to have something of a family right here in this reality. So far things have been working out great! But..as with every iteration of Kurt that she's yet encountered, there's always that stubborn side lurking somewhere near the surface. As by design, this version is starting to keep TJ's track record flawless.

"You'll accept it? If our cleaning process doesn't agree with your delicate beliefs then you're welcome to go back to your boat. It's marvelous!" she declares once more, hands held out wide to the building around them all.

Then her arms drop to her sides. Lifeless. "Okay, you might be able to turn my stereo into the world's most demonic Easter Egg hunt but you are not telling me what kind of band I can have."

Like snapping fingers there's another -Foomp!- which brings TJ right in front of Kurt. Staring. Leaning in until they're very nearly nose to nose.

"Unless you'd like to start every day to the sound of me practicing my vocals."

Now, Amanda chuckles. "It was an illusion," she tells Kurt. "I was trying out different looks for the place." She grins. "Oh. And the city approved my deed." Which means the theatre is now officially hers.

(And, yes, she used magic to pull that off, too. Unabashedly.)

Kurt watches and listens as TJ goes through her tirade (for her, anyway,) and as she comes to a halt right in front of him, leaning and almost touching nose to nose? There is only one thing he can do under the circumstances, and that is...

He licks her nose.

After he does it, an impish grin comes to his face. "Your radio is in your room at Amanda's. Und.. the boat is a nice place to be, ja? Roomy, spacious. All it needs is a couple of cannon und she'll be ready for the high seas."

Amanda's news regarding the theatre gains the elf's attention, and he turns his head, though his tail comes around to wind about TJ's waist in a fatherly 'hug'. "It did? Really? That is the best news!" It's not a half-step to bring Amanda into a big hug, and he leans a little to stage whisper in her ear.

"I have some good news too. My bamf is back fully. After a little meeting with Magneto on the island. He didn't do it on purpose, however. Nor.. dare I say, in an offensive way."

Now, Kurt raises his voice for TJ's sake, even though she could easily have heard it. "My bamf is partially based on the magnetic fields. If things are out of whack, it's just a little more difficult. Now, my range is back to about 300 miles, if not a little more."

Did..did he really just...

"Gah..! Not cool, man!" TJ whines while leaning back and furiously rubbing at her now wet nose.

At least her radio's okay. It would never survive an encounter with the hounds, she's certain of it!

The news is quickly improving, too. The building is now fully Amanda's and Kurt's smelly teleporty trick is back up to par (of which she didn't realize it wasn't before.) "Guys, that's great news! Almost makes me wish I had a success story to share with you all as well. But, I don't! So."

Amanda's turn to get a power-hug! Well, another one. It just goes right around the room with this crew, doesn't it?

"What's next on ye olde agenda? We're ..hmm. This place is gonna need a lot of green to get fixed up to code and all, and not the moldy kind of green. How are we going to foot the bill?"

Amanda returns the hugs, laughing now.

That's the one thing you learn very, very early hanging out with Wagners. There's no such thing as personal space. They really are overgrown puppies. The lot of them! You either get used to being hugged and manhandled, or you find somewhere else to be.

That Kurt has his bamf truly back? That's not just good news -- it's excellent news. And a great relief. It will keep him safer, and necessitate fewer portals on her part... (Aw, who's she kiddin'?)

"Sure you have good news," she tells TJ, offering a wink. "Your radio survived Hell."

Kurt grins at the reaction, and a laugh is barked at his daughter. It's true! There's no such thing as personal space!

Amanda's understanding of the 'bamf' thing, he can tell she 'gets it' as her face lights up in happiness for him. He's ready to burst- she's the first person he's told, and the one that would truly understand. "Ja.. I was leaving his audience chamber," for lack of a better word, "und he had a proof against bamfing there. He put it down for me so I could leave with Mystique to the crater." The mountain that was. "I felt the shift, und.." Poof. Bamf?

There is a moment he remains with Amanda in a hug, but it's opened for TJ, his tail reaching out now for her own. "Ja, you have good news, meine Herzchen. You are still with us. Und you are well. Und.. your radio is still in good health. Home. Under a pile of three pillows."

"Worse than that," TJ replies to Amanda with a familiar toothy grin. "It survived a trip to my room." Assuming that it really is where Kurt says it is. She'll turn his boat inside out if it's not!

Kurt's observation is met with slightly less enthusiasm. "Yeah... Yeah, I guess so. Haven't lost my singing voice."

The matter isn't given long to fester before she snaps right out of it. "So c'mon! You've gotta check the place out. This part's a disaster area by comparison." Because she had been working on it. Yes, yes, it's all her fault.

It's a good thing TJ isn't any more of the moping kind than Kurt is. Otherwise... Hoo.

Thus, Amanda smiles as TJ inevitably bounces back. She glances to Kurt. "Who knew Magneto could be so helpful?" She's certainly never heard of it. Or doesn't believe it when she does.

Amanda's a little more cynical than either of the Blue Brigade.

Still, as they talk about checking the place out, Amanda inhales a slow breath and lets out her will in a whispered spell that ripples out and drapes the shattered interior in silvers, golds, and fiery coppers. One of the various 'looks' she was playing with outside manifests within the foyer, staircases rising where they were once collapsed, a chandelier glittering up against the ceiling. There are Art Deco sculptures on pedestals where there weren't any before. A sunburst relief shines over the main doors and the place shimmers with reflected, illusionary light. A dream. A vision. A single possibility.

Kurt is pretty sure TJ would turn the boat inside out at the first chance of anything. A new box of Swiss chocolate? Pillows all over the floor. Or so he imagines- and it's easy to imagine the tear for chocolate.

With his tail wrapped about TJ's waist, he draws her in slowly, and puts an arm around her shoulders to help bring her from that flicker of depression. It's something that breaks his heart every time he sees it.

But he'd rather see it than to have it exist but hidden from him.

As the other fuzzy blue dainty elf finds her footing once again, Kurt is more than happy to follow suite. Though, when Amanda brings out the tableau, there's a moment when breath catches in his throat. He's seen Amanda do such amazing things with her illusions, but this? This, in his opinion, simply is her piece de resistance. It's awesome, in the classic sense of the word.

"Liebling," Kurt begins. "Es ist..erstaunlich.." This is amazing. "The-the-the colours. You have the textures, the feel.." He shakes his head, in an attempt to clear it, to see the reality behind the dream, but the dream remains. But not so elusive. "I never thought, in a million years.."

Moping's no fun. Nobody likes moping. TJ's understood this for a long time. Sooner or later things will catch up to her and she'll have a sitdown with Kurt and they'll go over things (if he can get her to start talking in the first place!) and that will be the end of it.

For now there's sooo much more going on. Besides, she's a metalhead, not an emo.

"Well, in some timelines..." she starts in though stops before it can turn into a long-winded retelling of stories. She can just sum it up with a slight grin. Really, it's a shame that Magneto's less than good in this reality. So far he's ..okay, he's destroyed a mountain and killed a few hundred people. That's pretty hardcore bad-dude. She's going to stop standing up for the guy in this dimension.

The surprise is something to be shared. TJ nearly jumps in place as the interior of the worn out building suddenly becomes vibrant, and colorful, and new. "Holee wow, too bad you couldn't make these changes permanent! ..You can't, can you?" No? Ah well. "Least we can enjoy the grand illusion for a while, because this definitely does not suck. The metallics are just... Yes," she concludes with two thick thumbs held up.

Amanda smiles gently at Kurt's awe. The woman is nothing if not an artist. She has to be, if her illusions are to have any true success.

She glances to TJ, however. "Yeah. The money's an issue. But there are ways around it..." Kind of like with the cleaning spell. But, the spell components she'd need to realize the historic vista that surrounds them here?

Expensive. Very, very expensive.

Sure, a full reno is worse, but, still... no one in government is going to believe such a quick turnaround. And there are licenses and permits. Even if she did use spells to rebuild, and save them some cash, the time it would take is virtually the same.

Particularly to match code specs she has yet to truly investigate -- Extreme Home Makeover marathons aside.

"Regardless, it will still take time. And money."

No one likes moping, no. But there's a difference in moping for attention and moping simply because one is down. The need to life one's spirits, then, is to be sure that no undue attention is paid.. but Kurt catches TJ's journey back up. His tail gives the girl a squeeze; he knows he's going to regret it if he doesn't get to talk to her and soon. The greatest of intentions..?

"He didn't realize he helped me, liebling. Though, I think that if I asked him, he might actually have tried." Maybe.

"It is lovely," Kurt agrees, that hint of wistfulness is easy to hear in those tones. "Of course money is an issue. But, I am not without the chance for work." Kurt includes the pair in this, "We'll see this come back." He's got yet something else to work towards. Perhaps Kurt is getting used to having a home, having a place to come to. And having family and friends? How can an elf wish for anything more?

"We'll do it. Now.. 'Manda? Can we see the stage area? Please?" Kurt has a hold on the pair, and it's easy enough for a simple *bamf*.

"Non-cheating ways?" TJ inquires with a grin and a single brow hooking upward. Cutting corners is all fine and good until they start breaking laws, but Amanda's not the kind of person to do something like that... Right?

"Between the three of us I'm sure we can figure something out." Says the non-employed one. "Time's fine. We've all got that to spare. Well, I sure do."

"Yeah, from what I hear on the news that guy doesn't realize he's doing a lot of the things which he is," she adds with a subtle rolling of solid eyes. "Seriously, here. Who blows up a mountain! Guy's got more issues than a New York library."

Of course Kurt would want to see the stage. This time TJ gives him a playful push. "Go on, do your thi--"


 * Bamf!*

"--ng."

Amanda drops her spell in the lobby as she feels Kurt gather them in for a bamf. As they reappear on the stage, away from the pit, she lets the ruin and mess register for a moment or two before she performs her soft illusion again.

Another chandelier sparkles. The golds and silvers and coppers are there again, but muted by the lush velvets of the curtains -- red for the main drape, the rich blacks of the legs and borders. The stage floor is also a deep black, the lights and other equipment state-of-the-art, the fly tower tall and ready for an opera or three worth of rigging... or a single circus worth of rigging.

It's Kurt's dream, really, but Amanda has been a performer long enough to know how to cast it.

She slips her arms around the waists of both Blue Bamfoompfers, her family. "Soon," she promises. "All this... soon enough. You'll see."