2013.06.27 - What's that Voodoo All About?

The day after the incident at the Quad Towers, Superman has put out a bulletin for any heroes involved in the matter to discuss things with him at the Hall of Justice when they're available.
What is known about Madame La Masque at this point is very little, and was only garnered through Superman's efforts as his alter ego, Clark Kent, during an investigation into La Masque's church. The New Orleans Police Department had suspected rampant child abuse, but had never been able to prove it.
Evidence suggests, however, that La Masque is able to conjure a type of black magic. Superman believes she is responsible for killing the crops at his family's Smallville farm. He also believes she's responsible for his mother's odd sickness and for the curious incident this week when he received phantom wounds.
As Vorpal and Amanda are shown in, Superman is standing in front of a large monitor which projects a giant map of New Orleans.
Vorpal isn't sure he belongs here. This is the Hall of Justice, its name says it all-- like the Death Star. Well, not really like the Death Star, the same but opposite, if that makes sense. Nevertheless, he was involved in the festivities of that night, and being magical in nature meant that there might be something, whatever it may be, that he could do.
He wasn't the kind to step down from the possibility of helping due to thoughts of inadequacy. As Amanda mentioned... he was Compelled.
He gives a little nervous smile to the woman who has been his mentor and trainer so far, hands clasped behind his back, as they are showed into the room and there he is--- Superman.
'That's Superman...'
'No spit, Sherlock'
'I'm in a room with Superman'
'Yep'
'He's right there...'
'Yep'
'I... I'm going to embarrass myself, am I not?'
'Yep'
'I'd better keep my mouth shut until I'm spoken to, right?'
'Yyyyyep'
His inner monologue isn't so much Jekyll and Hyde as it is Abbot and Costello. As they walk into the room he takes great care to stay a step or two behind Amanda and, for all appearances seems calm and collected.
Except for his tail, which is lashing all over the place with nervous energy.
'Godamn it...'
Daytripper, dressed once more in the practical, magic-laced combat-leathers-and-hood costume she adapted from the X-Men's usual blacks (no trace of the x-insignia on her any more), rather than the more flamboyant costumes she's used in the past, is probably far more at ease in the Hall of Justice than a lot of other 'street' or non-JLA heroes might be -- particularly the purple feline beside her. But, then, the woman is both a consummate performer, and used to the pomp and weirdness that is found in the outer magical planes... and among certain higher level practitioners of the Winding Way, where every aspiring-demagogue-and-mystic with a mitre likes to set himself up as King or Duke or Master SomethingOrOther. Paying visits to courts -- and, let's face it, in some ways, that's what this is -- isn't so much second nature to the urban sorceress, as it is a necessary evil to which she's adapted.
And besides: She might be helpful here. It does no one any good to see Superman laid low by any sort of magic. The man is a walking morale boost for almost every person living in the Big Apple... hell, in the whole country. Daytripper may not hog the spotlight herself, but she's perfectly happy to push someone else out there. And ol' Blue-and-Red is pretty much perfect for that sort of thing.
And, at the very least, maybe she can help keep Vorpal from embarrassing himself too badly... (Not that she'll hold her breath on that one.)
When they're shown in, she takes a moment to absorb their surroundings, the map, and the man who stands gazing at it. "Good morning, Superman," she greets him simply. "We came as soon as we could..."
Superman looks over his shoulder and then turns as he sees the pair of magic users enter. He gives a friendly smile, but it's a weary one that fades far sooner than it should despite its earnestness.
"Thank you for coming," Superman says reaching out his hand to each of the heroes. "I wanted to share some information with you regarding an occurrence when we all met last. Some of the heroes at Quad realized I had been attacked. Others didn't." He looks between Vorpal and Amanda and gives a half smile, "I'm looking to put a team of people together interested in helping me out in New Orleans."
The cat shakes hands with Superman. Or at least, that's what he thinks he did. It was a little bit fuzzy. Like himself. Haha.
"You're welcome... it's the least I could do."
'It's probably the MOST you could do-- you don't *do* magic, you're just magical'
'I do DO magic! of a sort'
'Oh really? You gonna talk about that voodoo that you do so well?'
'Shut up'
'Or about the babe with the power of Voodoo?'
'Who do?'
'You do'd'Do wh----shut up already'
When New Orleans is mentioned, his eyes grow slightly larger. Now, there's something everybody knows about New Orleans: it has some of the most delicious food in the world. But the second thing everybody knows about New Orleans is----
"We're talking about... Voudoun?"
Daytripper nods slowly to that, watching Vorpal argue with himself -- she knows the signs to look for in his face, even if he doesn't actually say anything aloud. Poor kitty.
"I... would be willing to come," she says slowly. "Though, I'll warn you, my abilities there won't be nearly as strong as they are here. I have a... unique connection to New York." And a couple of other cities around the globe -- but Nawlins isn't one of them. She's never been fond of Voudoun or dark magics... not that they're always one and the same.
Of course, even if her magic isn't quite as strong in New Orleans, that doesn't mean it'll be useless. And, of course, she retains the knowledge she has.
"I take it the attack you suffered originated there? Do you have any idea who launched it?"
"Well, not exactly," Superman says to Vorpal. "Voudoun is a true religion, with many followers in that area. Most are nothing but honest, hard working, Americans of faith that unfairly lumped in with the stereotypes of this country."
"However," and at this he nods to Amanda, "A woman by the name of Madame La Masque is the Justice League's top suspect. As we speak, the District Attorney's office in New Orleans is writing up an arrest warrant, but both they and I know that she won't be able to be taken by police. As far as your power levels, Daytripper, really, we can use all the help we can get."
Vorpal was torn. He was scared, actually.
If they were going up against an actual witch, sorceress, magician, what have you, there was a huge chance she could see through his illusions right away. She might even be able to see him while he was invisible. That counted out two of his major powers right out.
Then again... how could he not offer to help someone to whom he had looked up so much? He still could create objects, and he had his Black Tiger First training that made him deadly at close quarters with his claws--- and getting up close and personal wasn't too difficult when he could teleport, albeit with limitations. Who knows? Maybe his magical nature made him slightly less vulnerable to magic?
He didn't know. He hadn't had the chance to get blasted by magic. Maybe he should have asked Amanda to blast him. Then he would have found out.
"Y-you can count on me, S-superman. I'm not sure what I can do.. but I'll do it well."
'Okay, that was officially lame'
'Dear gods, it was.'
'Lame with a rubber stamp.'
'Oh man...'
'Lame with a cheery on to--'
'I GET IT!'
Daytripper pats the runed satchel slung across her torso. "I'm rarely without my bag of tricks," she notes. "So, I'll be alright." She just be a little more oblique about how she goes about things. That, and a little more circumspect about the spells she uses. If they get caught out in the swamp... well, funny enough, Mother Nature is kind of her nemesis, in that regard. Screws with the effects of her spells. She'll be safer with magic bolts, shields, artefacts, and potions, than she will be with spellcraft. But, that won't significantly hamper her.
"I'm in," she says without much more thought. "What do you know about this Madame La Masque?" the sorceress asks now. "We've established, I think, that she's a practitioner of the darker Voudoun arts. My real concern is the 'pull' she has in the area: Numbers of innocent followers she might throw at us as distraction or fodder... or, worse, the broader sorts of magics she might summon. Zombies, ghouls, simulacrums, homunculi, the possessed... they're all possible, and all dangerous."
"I'm sure you can do a lot, Vorpal," Superman says with a reassuring smile. "I wouldn't ask you to come if I didn't believe that."
Superman nods to Amanda, "Well, I'm glad for your help as well. And if you know of any others, please don't hesitate." He nods over to the map, "Well, in terms of a congregation, La Masque's group is very small. Reports are that she's only got about 10-15 parishioners." He gathered this information long ago, during his investigation as Clark, but is sure not much has changed in the six months since.
"The most she's been tied to right now is being able to attack via long distances. Zombies, ghouls, et cetera--she hasn't shown to be that powerful."
A cold feeling in the pit of his stomach at the mention of Zombies, and a slight relief that she might not be that powerful.
Oh, who was he kidding? The woman was probably living in the swamp now on a hut that moved on duck legs. It would be his kind of luck.
"My teammate was also involved in the situation last night... but he's more technologically-inclined than magically inclined. I don't know if that'll help or not." Patrick was covering his route while he came over to the hall.
"Attacking a a distance is bad enough, though... that isn't a small feat." he looks at his mentor with a concerned look, "Isn't there something that could be done to shield someone from distance attacks?"
He may not be able to cast spells himself... or, well, his powers were apparently some sort of spell-casting, but so specialized as to be the Allen Wrench of magical versatility- terribly specific for one set of applications, useless elsewhere. And he didn't know how he did it. But he made a point to ask Amanda for something he could read to bolster his knowledge in the basics, at least. Being ignorant of your own origins was as embarrassing as not knowing your own plane---
'Ok, bad comparison there'
'Thank goodness I kept my mouth shut.'
If Daytripper knows anything about magic users it's that just because they've not shown signs of being able to do something doesn't mean they can't. With magic, anything is possible. It's the nature of the beast. So, you know, she'll make sure to pack extra 'Zom-B-Gone' and 'Ghoul-Off', just in case. Pity she's not the religious sort, or she'd consider crosses and stakes, too. No, wait. Different monster kit, those. Regardless, holy hand grenades work on just about everything.
"It never hurts," she says to Vorpal, now, "to have all sorts of abilities on hand. You never know what can turn the tide. Frankly, most magical creatures I've encountered can be turned by non-magical means. Magic is most useful for combating the source, often as not. But, there are always properties to be defended and, more importantly, lives to be saved. When magic users go rogue, death and mayhem are almost always de rigueur." Unfortunately. "And usually by the most bizarre means possible."
"I agree with Daytripper," Superman says as he looks to her, nods and then back to with Vorpal. "Your teammate. Iron Spider, right? If he's willing to come along, he'd be welcome." Superman exhales and glances back at the screen. "The arrest warrant will be issued at noon tomorrow, and our goal is to be in New Orleans at the time that its issued. The Justice League has jets we can use, if you need transportation."
"Yes, The Iron Spider-- he's taking over my patrol so I could be here. I'll let him know." Keith was happy at that... He and Patrick, they were a team, in more ways than one, and they worked well together. The cat nods "Noon Tomorrow... I'll be ready..." Pack a small medkit, and bring a weapon. He could create all the weapons he needed for his training... but just in case Madam La Masque could neutralize his ability to create things out of nothing....
Well, the old witch had an other thing coming to her.
Then again, he didn't know if she was old. Was that stereotyping? Oh gods, he hoped it wasn't. He didn't want to offend Amanda.
Ok, then, the variable-age witch had something coming.
Daytripper can think of a couple of others that might want to come along for the ride, too -- providing the Man of Steel doesn't object to teleporters. But, she'll speak to them in private. "Noon, tomorrow," she confirms. "Shouldn't be a problem. Where are you assembling in New Orleans? Thank you for the offer, but I have my own transportation." Interdimensional portals for the win!
Superman nods to Vorpal and Daytripper as they accept, "The French Quarter. That's where her church, and as far as we can tell, her home is."
Vorpal nods. "If Iron Spider can accompany me, we'll both be here at noon. Or if he decides to follow up on the data he downloaded from the hacker while we deal with the threat, I'll be here alone."
That was a possibility. He was nervous about that-- being under the scrutiny of his mentor -and- Superman on a mission without his teammate. Talk about performance anxiety.
But heroes didn't make excuses.
"Let me know a specific rendezvous point," Daytripper smiles, "and I'll meet you there." She rattles off a burner phone number. "Just text or call." The French Quarter isn't exactly small. Though, to be sure, she'll be doing her own research into Madame La Masque before the day is out. It never hurts to be prepared and always helps to know your enemies.
"If there's anything else I can do to help, I will. I'll send you over some of the information I have on the sorts of magics we may be facing down there. It won't be encyclopaedic, by any means, but it'll be better than Wikipedia."
Superman nods to Vorpal, "Well, if you've got anyone else besides Iron Spider, they'd be welcome too." To Daytripper, he considers for a moment, "I imagine we'll be headed to meet at Jackson Square. Her church is not far. Any information you can bring will definitely be useful."
Vorpal was trying to think of any allies he may have on the side. Making a quick calculation....
Huntress? Not really an ally, but she had given him that 'Oracle' phone, which he hadn't used. Maybe she would feel up to fighting the forces of sorcerous darkness. Or maybe she would feel uncomfortable leaving Gotham. He'd still ask.
Booster Gold, who had been a friend an an advisor. And also an ally of Superman's. He had the impression that Superman would have asked him already. But it never hurt to ask.
Then... who else? Well, there was Thor, but he had no way to get in touch with him until he came back from Asgard after the wedding.
Jocelyn seemed to like keeping a low profile... but her ability to syphon off energy, including magic, could prove vital. If only he had asked her for her phone at the wedding. Damnit!
Kurt could help, but Amanda knew him better. He'd ask her if she thought about talking to him--- and Domino, well...
Was it really a good idea to contact Domino? He got the impression that she could be... he'd ask Amanda about that, too, since she seemed to know Kurt
"I'm not terribly well-connected, I'm still fairly new to all this... but I do know in passing one person I could ask- Huntress. She might prefer to stay in Gotham, though. She doesn't strike me as someone who goes on road trips." Unless it is tripping villains and smashing their faces into the road.
"Thanks," Daytripper says to Superman, now. "I'll try to get you something by the end of the day. If not, certainly I'll send something you can review before the flight out tomorrow." She rather doubts Superman will be using the jet, himself. But, you never know.
She glances to Vorpal, and then to Superman. "Is there anything else you need? Otherwise, perhaps we'll take our leave, now. There are preparations to be made, and some of them will take time."
"Anyone you think would be good, will be good," Superman says to Vorpal before nodding to Amanda, "Yeah, I've got some pressing things I need to attend to. Thank you both for coming. We'll see you tomorrow."
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