Kishan smirks at the second comment, and then nods, as she was guilty as charged.
"Toys, if you can manage it. That would be perfect; it gives an explaination for the misunderstanding without automatically making everyone suspicious. The cops will know what they saw, and if it goes missing, they'll rightly suspect it was stolen. If they find toys, they'll doubt themselves, and eventually convince themselves they were mistaken."
"They're not stupid though, so make it a realistic toy... like one of those plastic pellet guns people use to dress up in uniforms and play tag..."
"The pipe bombs could be aerosole cans. Empty deodorant cans or the like."
"I have another idea! Have you heard of SWATing? Kids will call up the police and tell them that a kid they know is dangerous, and then sit back and watch as their rival gets a visit from the Police. It's harassment dressed up as a prank. If we could add some details to make it clear these items were planted, in addition to them being toys... Scratches and pry marks on the lock to show that the boot had been forced; a note that says 'Gotcha, Jules!' That would explain both the gear, and the anonymous tip I'm sure they'll have received."
"As you wish."
The pipe bombs become painted paper towel rolls; the gun becomes a toy, with orange plastic areas repainted black; the pistol cases become empty boxes (one of which is filled with fire crackers), also painted.
The trunk lock shows signs of being forced and there's a note that says 'paysback a b%$!~, J', written in cut up newspaper clippings, under the boxes.
"Wow. That's a neat trick. Is it... permanent, or will they revert at some point?"
"Permanent, but reversible if I need it. It's not Glamour or going to revert if you touch it with iron or take it to a church yard. It's a good trick- it should be, I paid enough to learn it."
"Well, I guess we should stand back and watch this situation defuse. It should, unless Theil has managed to buy off enough of the cops to make them ignore obvious evidence - and risk doing it in front of witnesses. Hopefully, that should be beyond even him."
"Can you do an illusion of laughter from out of sight when the bomb squad looks into the trunk? That should top it off nicely."
Within a few moments a strange vehicle, half fire truck half mobile command center, painted in black and white, arrives. It takes a few minutes for the crew inside to suit up in their bulky explosive resistant suits. They forgo the robot and approach the car, perhaps not taking the threat too seriously.
One officer drills a hole in the trunk and inserts a small, flexible fiber optic camera, then removes the camera and drills out the lock. They pop the trunk open and find the cardboard tubes and toy guns, grabbing their helmets off and chuckling to themselves.
Into their radios:
"Looks like we have a hoax here, not clear whether the kid was behind it or there is some sort of pranks."
Following some chatter, headquarters decide they should bring the kid in for questioning and see what is behind all of this.
Bomb disposal clears their equipment, officers come to bag up the evidence in the back of the car, and a tow truck arrives to impound the car.
Finally, the car with the kid inside begins to pull out of the lot, squawking its siren and flashing lights.
"Good job...we should still follow them though. Think you can Veil us into the station Kishan?"
As you follow the cruiser, it drives a few miles before a black SUV passes you at high speed, and you see another in front of the cruiser. All three vehicles pull over to the side of the road, the police cruiser flanked front and back by the government stereotype SUVs.
"I guess we now find out if the cops are in on this or not..."
She recharges her sword while signalling the driver (probably Jarrod) to pull over a few car lengths behind the hind SUV.
"Should we stop them, or wait to see where they take him? I hate to leave a child in jeopardy, but he might lead us to other hostages if we follow them. I think I favour intervention; we can take prisoners and extract the information later, without taking the chance of losing the boy."
"I say we follow them. Who's to say these guys aren't taking him to the police station and then releasing him into the custody of his 'parents', some Fomor? We can't just waylay some police officers anyway. There'd be an investigation into us."
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Jarrod pulled over a ways behind the vans before them. "We should follow for now and stay low," Jarrod said, looking around at the others. "Sure, I don't like thinking about that kid in the Fomor's hands, paws, claws, tentacles, whatever, but unless you have a secret hideaway stashed in your back pocket, Warden, where would we interrogate any prisoners we take?"
"I agree on following them if they switch him to one of the SUV's. I'd prefer if we could switch him out for one of us in disguise during the transfer. I'm guessing the grab on the way to jail was brought on by our visit to the penthouse and Frogboy seeing I grabbed the file. So this could be a trap aimed at us and my fault. The boy shouldn't have to suffer for my need to grab some papers. I'm pretty sure I could do enough of a shapeshift to pass, though it would be easier to do me than one of you."
"Shotgun needs to drive, Aaron might be too close to giving them what they want with him being as he is and having the sword and all, and the Warden likely has some rule about transformations."
Odd John appears sheepish his earlier action as well as worried about the kid
"I might be able to manage a switch if I start on the other side, but there'd have to be a sizable distraction for it to work."
"I could blow up a windstorm or something. Knock down a tree into the road?"
"Something like that should work, but either try to make it look like a normal thing or, at least, like it's not part of an attack or something on them. The Warden going to have to be on the other side to help the boy when he shifts over. And we need to do this quickly."
Gets out of the truck, pulls Kishan along. Sees a flower entwined road sign at the last corner. "Perfect" Unwraps a single, blossom strewn vine. Chants a childish tune under his breath while walking around the pole. At the third revolution, Kishan realizes they are in the NeverNever.
scans the area
"This is a risky strategy; will you be able to see what is happening in the real world from here? While I am thinking of it, give me a lock of your hair. If they manage to lose us, or your travel is obscured, I'll be able to use it to home in on your location. I doubt you want to be left in the hands of the Fomor any more than the boy would, so it is best to have a backup plan."
In the NeverNever, you find yourselves in a corn maze of dried stalks with deeply hued Indian Corn of many colors. You hear a high pitched giggle from nearby, but can't pinpoint the source. The sky above you is a deep summer blue, the ten foot tall stalks blocking out everything else.
"Odd-John, I don't think we're in... You know, actually, this might be Kansas. I've only seen pictures, I've never actually been there. Let's make this quick, shall we. I don't like spending any more time in the NeverNever than strictly necessary, and that's on the Ways. Middle of no where NeverNever is rarely a good time, Yellow Brick Road's notwithstanding. "
Seen in the NeverNever, John looks - different.
His back seems more bowed and his eyes are concealed in shadow.
He's possibly more wrinkled, gnarly even, and his teeth and nails seem to draw the eye, almost as if they were, well, fiercer.
His belt and pockets still bristle with tools, but without the familiar gleam and gloss of a modern handyman's usual gadgets.
And when did his hat get so wet??
yanking out a handful of hairs from his neck, handing them to Kishan
"The important thing is making sure the boy is alright."
turns and looks fiercely into Kishan's eyes
"You to make sure he gets out of here.
He to get out of here.
You don't know how bad it could be if he's here too long.
It's not safe for a kid like him."
"And watch out for yourself- we don't know what the boy can do or how he'll be affected.
Or what he'll attract."
In the NeverNever, the ground beneath you is a soft black dirt, as rich as potting soil and almost as soft as fluffy sand. Not enough to impede your movement, but enough to feel strange beneath your steps. From several directions you hear the occasional as from perhaps a human child.
In the "real" world, the cars are pulled off on the side of the road. On that side of the road there is a small wood or forest as you are on the edge of a big, fairly wild park. On the other side of the street is a small strip mall with a SubWay, a fabric store, and a real estate office. The parking lot is mostly empty except for a few cars at the SubWay, as it is lunch time.
The men from the rear SUV climb out of the car and are talking to the officers, also out of their car. Julian is sitting in the back of the police car.
"So, should we cause a distraction or something? Maybe we can make a noise that sounds like a gunshot to get them to look away for just a second?"
"Can you give me a boost above the rows?
I need to the kid for this to work." says John quietly while keeping a wary eye on the rows.
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Jarrod watched as Odd and Kishan disappeared from sight, all his senses telling him that they were just...gone. He was so glad that he wasn't going back to that other place. Once was more than enough for him, thank you very much. Looking over at Aaron, he answered, "A distraction would be good, but a gunshot would probably create more trouble than we need right now." He closed his eyes in thought for a moment, his fingers tapping against the steering wheel in a random staccato, before his eyes snapped back open. "Other than supercharging magical swords, what else can you do?"
Kishan looks at the diminutive man, and then raises a hand, chanting softly.
A gentle wind gathers up around John, gathering speed until it begins to lift him up off the ground. It levitates him some five feet above the ground, giving him a good vantage point from which to look over the corn stalks.
"I'm strong. I can jump high, about 80 feet with little effort. Skin is pretty tough, enough to shrug off small arms fire if I really need to, though putting it to the test is uncomfortable. I tried to see if I could breathe fire for a long time, but all I really managed to do was build up my lung capacity enough to blow up a small tornado if I really needed to, like I did back at the store with the demon. I am IMMUNE to it though, so there's that. If you wanted to hit me with the car, I'm tough and I heal fast, so maybe we can pretend that? If I try really hard I can clap my hands hard enough to make a sonic boom, hence the gunshot idea. Plus side to that, no bullets. We could pass it off as the truck backfiring."
"There's a few other things, but they wouldn't help a ton, unless you can think of a use for me understanding languages or being able to see/hear everything. Besides the obvious for the latter, of course."
"You?"
Feels himself lifted, "Okay-dokey. Not what I was expecting, but it works", he thinks.
closes his eyes to See better, looking for Julian and the goons
Looking out over the corn, John sees the occasional undulation of stalks as if something is disturbing them. This field is fairly contiguous with the mortal world, and you can see your prey about 100 feet away. You quickly record in memory the way there through the maze.
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"I can shoot my shotgun and drive my truck," he said with a wry grin. 'Really does suck occasionally, being the only normal one around,' he thought to himself. "Other than that, I'm good at tracking and gathering information. Not really sure I have anything that would prove useful in this particular situation."
looks down to the Warden, points
"It's that way. About fifty paces or so."
Kishan starts walking forward, John still held aloft so that he can see over the cornstocks and guide the two of them through. She follows his directions, moving them to where he wants them to be.
assumes a 'flying' pose, grins widely
"Now we're talkin'."
When the alarm goes off, the cop still in the car steps out of the car and moves to his partner who is talking to the two men from the rear SUV.
So you have two guys from the rear SUV and two cops standing between the SUV and police car. There are two more guys in the front SUV, and of course Julian in the back of the car.
seeing the cops/goons shift attention away from Julian, John realizes it's time
"Here we go. Keep him safe and get him out of here before anything shows up to take him."
focuses deeply, brings together the thankfully faint memories of this happening to him, and mentally swearing that this is a not a theft
Picture the boy, no, picture Julian with as much concentration and focus as I can bring to bear.
SEE him, seep into that image.
Feel the car around him/me.
The cuffs, the fear and confusion.
See what he sees, feel what he feels, one with him.
And take all of it for myself.
There's no room for the boy, the Other.
He is forced out and behind.
Good luck, kid.
forgive me
shifts position in the car, fearfully trying to see who these new guys are and what they want with me
Kishan reaches out an arm and contacts the shoulder of the boy just as he emerges into the NeverNever. She quickly brings a second hand up to steady him, given that he was in a seated position. She helps draw him up to his feet and moves around to face him, trying to console the look of confusion that threatens to overtake him.
"Julian, I am Lakshmi, and I'm here to help you. There is not a lot of time to explain, but to sum up, my friends and I are afraid that some bad people are trying to get to you, and that they are the one's that planted all that stuff in your car. We brought you here with a little magic so we can get you to safety. I don't know if you're aware of magic or not, but it is real, and if you have trouble with that, just remember that you just disappeared out of an armed police escort, and are now sitting in a cornfield in only god knows where. We can handle the details later, but for now, we need to get you somewhere safe."
Julian brushes himself off and quickly backs away from Lakshmi.
"You're here to help too? Everyone seems to want to help me all of a sudden, but no one really wants to tell me whats going on! Magic?!"
He takes a look around and realizes that he's no possible way that he could've fallen out of the Officer's car and out into a nearby lot.
"Oh....Magic... I think.. I think I need a minute." Julian plops down on the ground and rubs his eyes. "This isn't what I thought my day would be like when I woke up this morning. The whole SWAT team thing at school, the officers took me and told me... WAIT" He jumps up off the ground in a panic.
"My parents! They're going to get my parents! I don't know if they could be trusted or not, but the police, they kept saying they were trying to protect me and that they were picking up my parents to get us back together." He peers around wildly, as if looking for an exit. "How do I get back? I need to make sure they're safe!"
One of the officers moves across the street toward the alarm, while the other heads toward the patrol car. He opens the back door and ducks his head in, "Julian, there are some agents here. We are going to turn you over to them, and they are going to take you to your parents. Don't be afraid, Julian. Everything is going to be alright. Come on out now."
At the same time, over in the Never Never, the inhabitants of the corn field grown interesting in these usual visitors. From the stalks come several silent projectiles
vs Kishan
vs Julian
Six tiny arrows or darts, appearing to be made of porcupine quills, fly from different directions in the corn maze,
Porcupine quills are sharp as needles. Unlike needles, quills have backwards facing barbs that catch on the skin making them difficult to extract.
Optional Response:
Spotting a hint of motion just before the attack is unleashed, Kishan moves in front of the boy while simultaneously shoving him to the rear.
"Get down!"
The rest of my action:
Kishan pulls her sword free from her coat, holding it out in front of her in a guard. Pouring her will into it, she throws up a shield in front of her, between her and the unseen attackers. A semi-circular shapr 30 ft across, it should keep the attackers at bay long enough to grab the boy and get out of here.
Echoing her thoughts with actions, Kishan grabs the young man's arm, pulls him to his feet if he is not already there and starts a hasty retreat from the location of the ambush.
Kishan pulls Julian along through the corn maze, catching occasional glimpses of what might be a small person riding a porcupine, or possibly some sort of small porcupine centaur?
The quills dig painfully into the wounds as she moves.
Holy Crap! The dice roller likes me! It really likes me!
Kishan pulls Julian along for a few hundred yards before pulling up to a stop to gather her concentration.
"अलग"
A hole opens in mid-air, hanging among the corn stocks. Kishan sheaths her sword and wraps the two of them in a veil of invisibility before pulling the young man through.
Kishan and Julian leap through the portal, finding themselves surrounded by trees. For a moment, Kishan thinks she has returned to the wrong place, but then she hears the alarm in the distance, and, looking through the trees, sees the road in the distance. The ground is littered with fallen leaves. Her attention drawn to a strange light behind her, she turns to find Julian's skin blazing with sigils of fire, his body strangely still.
Back on the road, Jarrod and Aaron see "Julian" being led to the rear SUV and put into the back seat. One of the agents takes a phone out of his pocket and makes a call, then looks up into the woods as though something has grabbed his attention.
From the woods, everyone involved hears a strange high pitched ululation, like something a 1950's Hollywood Indian on the Warpath might make.
Aaron snaps to attention.
"What the hell is that noise?"
He peers off in the direction of the sound.
Even with his enhanced senses, Aaron can't see anything unusual in the woods. And since Kishan and Julian are Veiled, they are also beyond perception.
Kishan closes the gate behind them, in order to cut off any pursuit that might be coming from the NeverNever. Looking at the boy, the light shining from the runes along her skin reflects off her wide eyes.
"Julian? Are you alright? Has this ever happened to you before?"
Kishan notices that the leaf clutter nearby has been disturbed as if several creatures have zipped through the gate and into the world. The noise seems to be coming from the trees in between Kishan and the road.
Julian replies, "No, ma'am! What is happening to me? What did you do to me? Where are we?" Growing increasingly hysterical, he begins to scream, "HELP! HELP!...." his cries continuing and echoing though the wood.
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As everything starts going to Hell in a handbasket around him, compounded by cries of help coming from the woods, Jarrod just lets out an expletive and jumps out of his idling truck. Reaching in the back for his shotgun, he pumped a few rounds of rifled slugs into the chamber and looked over at Aaron. "Well, Mr. Wizard, I hope you brought your bag of tricks with you cause I forgot to bring my ruby slippers."