Tweak

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Tweak says, "Expelliarmus!"

Carol Danvers (cpt_marvel) wrote in snapthread,
@ 2019-05-22 19:17:00

Entry tags:

carol danvers (mcu), john constantine (vertigo)

Who: Carol Danvers (MCU) and John Constantine (Vertigo)
What: A date? Sort of.
When Wednesday Night
Where: Through the doors
Rating: TBD

After her encounter with Kal in the woods, Carol had felt better. It helped to get some of her aggression out, especially since she didn't have to worry about the damage afterward. She almost hated to admit it, but she missed the fight. Well, maybe not the fight as much as the power. By the end of it, she'd cleared her head and she felt able to function pretty well up until Tuesday. Then the monotony started to set in again.

So what did she do? Tell Constantine it was time for an outing, of course. The poor man had become her go-to in recent weeks. Not that he likely minded some of the ways she was using him to cope. But Carol had been serious when she told him she didn't want to talk about feelings. Especially if she wasn't sure if there were feelings or what those feelings were.

Carol had opted to lean against the wall outside of the building as she waited for John, one hand in her jacket pocket and a book in the other hand. She was actually reading an old paperback of Game of Thrones that she'd snuck away from Natasha for the day, not sure how long he'd be. That and Carol hated to look like she was waiting for anything.

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cpt_marvel
2019-05-30 05:25 am UTC (link)

His comment about water was met with her own attempt at an unimpressed expression, even if the smirk on the corner of her mouth said otherwise.

"A proper street urchin. What are you, Oliver?" But she could relate. Music had been something she had also connected to when she was young. The Who, The Runaways, Heart; all of it was an escape for her. Especially during the hard times when her father was shouting drunkenly downstairs or worse- when he came to pound on her door.

"I guess I can't blame you there. No kid is going to think J.R.R. Tolkien is cooler than Sid Vicious."

She appreciated that she actually got that reference. And even as his demeanor changed and her own senses went on high alert, Carol stayed calm. He ignited the fire in his hand and she clenched a fist, a low glow emanating from her hand as she too started to look around, then up.

Definitely not squirrels. So far, the creatures hadn't moved. They were watching the pair from above. All around, actually. Out of the corner of her eye, Carol saw a hint of movement, and as she slowly turned her head, she realized whatever they were had blocked the path they'd just come down.

They were surrounded. "Okay...." Her voice was steady but quiet. "First question: Do you know what these are? Second question: Do you have a plan?"

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_constantine_
2019-05-30 04:10 pm UTC (link)

"Not Oliver," John said with a laugh. "I didn't go around begging for anything." Of course he hadn't. He'd learned how to steal. How to charm. How to make friends who had more than him, so he didn't have to go home either.

He didn't explain the real issues there, and neither did Carol, but everything probably would have matched up similarly. Maybe people like them were just drawn to one another. Or maybe the world was just a shittier place than what a lot of people thought it was. "Maybe not Sid," he said. "The stabbing always soured him on me, a bit." Not that he didn't love the Sex Pistols anyway.

The creatures didn't seem inclined to shy away from the fire, even if they didn't get closer either. Maybe they were just waiting. Biding their time? John wasn't sure. "Dunno what they are. Don't look very nice though, do they?" He chanced a glance back over at her and considered their options. "Well." he said after only a beat. "You wanted demons. These don't look far off. Go with the original plan."

Which was to say, let some steam off and punch things.

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cpt_marvel
2019-05-30 06:30 pm UTC (link)

Personal and childhood traumas had definitely been something both of them had avoided discussing so far. Which made sense, since they both were more the sort of people to deal with such tragedies in other ways. Like punching things. Though she did nod when he explained his reservations about Sid Vicious. "And here I thought you could relate to the over-sensitive, troubled soul."

You know that strange feeling where the hairs stand on the back of your neck? Carol was feeling that in spades. Every inch of her body felt on alert. It was the sort of dread she rarely felt these days given her abilities, but it was familiar enough from her childhood and her days before the tesseract. Whatever these creatures were, they weren't like anything she'd been near before.

Go with the original plan. Right. She gave him a nod. "Count of 3. One. Two." And on three, she unleashed a photon blast in the direction of one of the creatures. They hissed and fell back, the light shining off some sort of black scales. But it barely seemed to make a dent and for an instant, Carol saw just how deeply they were surrounded. There were possibly dozens of them in that area along, dog-sized animals with sharp teeth. And the attacks only seemed to anger them. They closed in, jumping at Carol and Constantine with a screeching sound that pierced the air.

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_constantine_
2019-06-03 02:35 am UTC (link)

"Not one that stabs his girlfriend," John said, casting Carol a snarky sort of sidelong glance. Look, he was rough around the edges but he wasn't bad. Not like that anyway.

Carol's count of three was really ... well, just for Carol. Because as ever, John was sort of just inclined to see what she could do on her own against things while he stood back and watched.

Except it seemed that couldn't really do a hell of a lot to them, and there was no such thing as standing back and watching when you were basically surrounded.

"Well," he said, and that was about all he had time to say before he had to move. He threw the fire he was handling toward the thickest part of the crowd but was well aware it'd do very little and was always working on his next big play, hands moving in the air even as he stepped backward until Carol was directly against his back.

And then, they had a shield, small but sturdy, and it covered them from all sides. For now. "This isn't Narnia."

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cpt_marvel
2019-06-03 03:35 am UTC (link)

Carol was tempted to call him out on not doing anything as she turned back to him to give him a very incredulous look. Not that they had time for that sort of thing with whatever these creatures were ready to attack.

And then, his attack hadn't worked and she was actually feeling nervous. She was about to try again when she felt him pressing against her back and the creatures started to bounce off the shield around them. This was new. A good new, but definitely something she hadn't expected. Small miracles, right?

"Yeah. Yeah, I see that." She muttered as she stared at the creatures as they tried to crawl onto or jump through whatever John had created. "How long do you think you can hold this?"

She was thinking as fast as she could. They could try to fly out of this. Her eyes shot up and she realized that might be their best chance. The creatures seemed ground-based, and she had noticed they had a limited jumping range. "How do you feel about heights?"

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_constantine_
2019-06-06 04:46 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't as if he didn't have more attacks -- Constantine was a bag of tricks on even a bad day and fire was hardly the start of his arsenal, but he was well versed in the art of retreating over trying to go in stronger. Constantine survived on retreating, for the most part. Or, well, on not finding a reason to go all out with a full display of power anyway. When the big guns were really needed was when you knew you were fucked, after all.

He twisted his hand slightly, the force shield widening slightly, pushing into the creatures outside of it, sparks flying off of them and it. It'd last a decent amount of time, sure. He wasn't tired and hadn't done anything beyond parlor tricks in weeks. But that didn't mean it was a lasting plan.

"Heights?" He repeated, glancing over his shoulder at her. Hm. "I won't throw up on you, if that's what your asking."

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cpt_marvel
2019-06-06 06:04 pm UTC (link)

Carol grimaced when he mentioned throwing up. The shield was holding, though. And she couldn't complain when it started expanding, keeping an eye and a wary stance on the situation. Her fists were still glowing, but at least she saw the light. Literally.

The creatures had parted a bit and she spotted the entrance to the woods. "Do you think you can move this thing? I mean, if we start walking in a direction, will your shield move with us?" She glanced at him, hoping her plan might just work. Because she didn't know what they were going to do if it didn't.

Well, she did know. But she really didn't want to get vomit on her clothes today.

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_constantine_
2019-06-06 09:36 pm UTC (link)

"I could manage it," John agreed. "Makes it less sturdy though, but that might not matter." He glanced around them too, thinking about the way they'd come in just as much as what might possibly be on the other side of the woods.

"Which direction, do you reckon?" He asked with a bit of a smile because -- well. Even in the face of danger he was willing to make bad decisions and big risks out of pure interest and curiosity. "And what've you got in mind?"

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cpt_marvel
2019-06-06 09:55 pm UTC (link)

"I can probably handle one or two that get through. As long as most of them are outside." Maybe. She really wasn't sure why her blasts hadn't worked the first time. That was very bothersome.

She nodded and pointed towards where she saw the light. "This way." And she started moving. Slowly to let him follow with the shield. The creaturs continued to nash their teeth, but we falling off the shield as they moved. "Unless you have a better idea?" She glanced at him as she walked, not realizing that there were at least two of the things starting to break through Constantine's magic.

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_constantine_
2019-06-06 10:53 pm UTC (link)

Sure, he'd head for the light. Even if he didn't necessarily like how that sounded because gods, what a bloody cliche. He'd died once or twice enough to know that there'd be no light waiting for him at the end, anyway.

"Well," he said, voice pinched a bit, like he was doing his best to keep himself together, the spell going while he moved. It wasn't often he had to do something like this for more than a few seconds. "S'pose I could do a big style explosion, see if they don't back away enough to allow you to get us where we're going faster--Carol." Fucking little night creatures, sneaking through his barrier. He had to stop, had to waver in order to tighten things up again, and it was pretty wildly fucked when his shield lopped one of the things' heads clean off.

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cpt_marvel
2019-06-06 11:02 pm UTC (link)

It hadn't exactly escaped Carol that this was so damned cliche, but at the same time, she didn't seem to care. It was a sign they could get out of the woods (literally, another cliche), and she was going to take it. She wanted adventure. What the fuck was she thinking?

She could tell he was straining and she realized they probably had to move quickly. "That's a good- " And she was cut off by when she realized something was breaking through. He cut through a creature with the shield and she blocked another, blasting it as it screamed and died from the impact, falling to the ground.

"Okay. Are you going to be alright?" They were almost there. She moved closer to him. "I can get us out of here if I can get an opening. Just promise not to puke on me first.

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_constantine_
2019-06-08 04:53 pm UTC (link)

So many cliches. They probably should burn this place to the ground before they left, just to put a stop to the madness.

To be fair, adventure was still kind of good. Even though John's expression was a bit pinched from the effort of holding a shield up, he didn't exactly look like he was having a bad time. Then again, he'd been clinically certified as crazy in the past so maybe using him as a gauge wasn't the best idea.

"M'fine," he said, still considering. "I won't throw up on you. Probably." He wouldn't. "I'll make a big bang, it'll clear out this lot some and then you take it from there, yeah?"

It was clearly decided already according to Constantine who had taken one hand away from the barrier in order to draw more vague shapes in the air, fire crackling short and unnatural with every new bend and turn of his finger.

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cpt_marvel
2019-06-08 05:00 pm UTC (link)

She nodded, her face going a bit harder with determination as they prepared to make their escape. The truth was, this was what Carol lived for these days. The adrenaline was coursing through her veins and she was feeling that old sense of urgency that got her going. A little grin was even forming her face as her whole body took on the familiar glow usually followed by a burst of power.

But John was right to think they would probably have to burn this place to the ground when they were finished. Whatever these creatures were, they weren't good.

She glanced at him, watching as he formed the shape and then as soon as there was an opening, she grabbed onto him, pulling him closer. "Just um...hang on."

Carol shot off, quickly as she could through the gap and straight to the door. Nearly at it, she landed. She really didn't want to see him vomit on her. "C'mon!" She was staring back at the creatures that were now chasing them and pushing John through as soon as they could.

Well, there went another backpack.

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_constantine_
2019-06-08 05:51 pm UTC (link)

They were similar in that regard (a lot of regards, actually) -- both unsafely attracted to the things that were the worst for them, that got their blood moving and their hearts beating, something that made the rush of blood in their ears sound like the very best sort of music.

It was dangerous, maybe, but there was no stopping it. The simple life was not for everyone.

When he slammed his hand down onto the ground, the shield disappeared and a shockwave of of noise and fire took over -- and then Carol took it from there, and damn if he didn't appreciate their collaborative skills.

He didn't throw up. That wasn't a thing. He just hit the ground running, feet crunching over snow until the door was in front of and then behind them and he was amped enough to close the thing with a magically gestured swing instead of using his actually hands.

It was always weird, how once those doors closed, there was nothing left behind them that could scratch through.

"Bloody hell." It'd been a while since he'd actually needed to bother using magic that wasn't just the stuff that happened in the background.

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cpt_marvel
2019-06-08 06:50 pm UTC (link)

Carol was impressed by the move. And the truth was, that was what attracted her to John. There was a raw power there something that nearly matched her own. That and he was almost as hungry for that rush as she was.

Once they were through the door, she was breathing hard and grinning a little. Escaping from life threatening danger was somewhat of a rarity for her, especially in this place. She could tell by the look on his face it was probably the same for him.

Still breathing hard, Carol acted on her rush and grabbed his face, kissing him in a very rare public display of affection. “Not bad, by the way.”

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_constantine_
2019-06-08 07:05 pm UTC (link)

John might have been a little offended to know it had nothing to do with his rugged good looks. But probably not. Not that he didn't like a blonde himself, but the fact that she was argumentative and had light up fists weren't anything to scoff at either.

The kiss was unexpected but frankly something he was keen on, especially since they were both so obviously keyed up, yet. And really, how public was a house full of secrets and doors, anyway? "Right?" He agreed with a laugh. "I didn't even spiff a biscuit. Mission success, I'd say." Even if they'd literally managed nothing. It'd still be fun.

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cpt_marvel
2019-06-08 08:02 pm UTC (link)

“Yeah. I think puking might have killed ruined the mood.” Carol was still grinning. “So...my place?”

She was certainly not one to beat around the bush. Carol grabbed his hand, tugging him along with that dark gleam in her eye.

Deep down, Carol would probably act more cautiously if she wasn’t high on the rush. She was getting too close to Constantine for her own comfort, but then again, where was the harm in that? This was temporary after all. And maybe Nat was right. It was nice to have someone close once in a while.

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