Description: Reese pays a visit with her former employer to pass along buzz of the $10,000 television opportunity to a seemingly down-on-his-luck Marius. His method of repaying her generosity is an unexpected one for sure.
The Dream Amusement Park is a fine source of amusement for those that have the time, the money, or the children. And today was particularly 'special' because this evening there was a special show being run by 'Mars Mystique'- twenty minutes of magic, mystic, and adventure!
Now, Mars wasn't exactly happy with his show. Sure there was a large gathering of parents and children, and sure his tricks were as grande as always, but it isn't difficult for -one- person to tell that he'd been annoyed all night despite his smiles and demands that the young follow their dreams.
The final trick upon the stage had just completed, Marius having 'transformed' his voluptuous, blonde assistant into a man and then back with but a wave of his cape. Then shortly after his bow he walked off-stage, muttering and grumbling to himself as he headed to a somewhat run-down dressing trailer to get changed.
Perhaps his day may brighten with an unexpected visitor?
Reese hasn't been to Southtown for a while, but when she saw the flyer for the magic show as put on by 'Mars Mystique', she couldn't help stopping by the amusement park. It's only, she tells herself, to see how the act's changed in the last few years. To see if the tricks are any good. It's //not// to check in on Marius. No way, no how. The Australian is //not// getting involved in that again.
However...
Maybe he'll cheer up a little if she drops in on the trailer (quite literally) and mention this little rumor she's heard about camera crews, fancy dinners, and a LOT of spotlight.
It's not difficult to get atop the trailer, thanks to the rusty ladder at the back, and with skills shown to her by Marius himself, it's no hard task to unlock the small little sun-dome latch and drop down into the center of the worn down thing.
"Ain't ya s'posed to smile when you do a show like that, mate?"
A very important skill for a fighter is to expect the unexpected. This is much trickier when one is dealing with a magician. It's even -trickier- when it's the magician's former-assistant who just goes wherever she wants whenever she wants.
Last he had heard, Reese was having some fun out of some country someplace. He didn't care! Well, he did but.. He didn't care dammit!
Marius, with his hat off, was pouring himself a glass of wine when suddenly Reese dropped in, surprising him in such a way he didn't stop pouring the wine.. And of course it spills onto the floor as he stares wide-eyed.
"Oh, it's you.." he says, trying his hardest not to sound interested. Still pouring wine. "I -was- smilin-- Wait.. You watched my show?" .. Seriously? Suddenly the cold magician has puppy-eyes.
"Forced smiling is not //smiling//," Reese points out. "You're cranky. Annoyed at something." A teensy smirk appears on her face. "What's the matter, Mars? New assistant not working out?"
Okay, it's unnecessarily cruel and mean, but she can't help it. Not until she sees those puppy-eyes and she shrugs out of her jacket, reaching for the bottle of wine before he pours the whole damned thing on the floor of the already rusted trailer.
"Of course I watched your show. Bit low key for you, isn't it? Shouldn't you be on the tele already?" The bottle is set on the counter and she looks for paper towels. Opening one of the few cupboards in the trailer shows her that whatever paper towels that //were// there once upon a time are now a //nest// for something and she quickly closes it again before that //something// wakes up.
"Right." Stepping over the spilled wine, she moves to sit atop the little table and then glances at him. "You're better than an amusement park, you know."
"Mmngh.." Marius grumbles as Reese hits the nail right on the head; and his silence on the matter is confirmation enough, "That's none of your business, of course. But yes I was a bit annoyed but that's my own problem." he glances downward in time to see what Reese was reaching for, and pretends that he had nothing to do with the puddle of wine at his feet- His cheeks did redden a touch though. "For the record," he notes after the other thief's cupboard adventure, "This isn't my trailer. And yes, I know, I -know-, but I'm having a difficult time right now. Things aren't the same.. Right now." his eyes shift about a bit, avoiding looking Reese in the eyes. "I'm better than an amusement park, but SNF isn't.. It isn't for me, as much as I'd love to be on television, getting in on those fight maniac viewer ratings.." ... "It must be nice having things be so much simpler for you, Alice."
"Pays the bills, pays the expeditions when I take them." Feet curl up under her, moving her as far away from that //something// in the cupboard as possible. Reese is not afraid of many things -- she bloody well grew up in a strange cave and cavern system in Australia, so rodents and creepy crawlies don't disturb her. Nests of unknown origin and species? It's just better to be safe than sorry. Especially since there's not much room to swing a whip around in here.
"One, fire your assistant and find a better one." Beat. "Two, I heard there's some documentary that's being made. Fighting. Or some reality show. I'm not really sure what the details are, at least not entirely... but if you see a film crew and they ask if they can watch you, it's probably best if you do it."
Reese tightens her ponytail and stares at him. "I //heard// that they're paying pretty well for that."
Ok, Marius had to fight hard not to crack a smile- Primping and fussing as usual, is she? Of course, no one can fuss and primp as well as the magnificent Marius! He clears his throat to relax himself and removes his gloves, pretending to be oblivious to Reese's most unbecoming sitting on tables. Honestly, was she raised in a barn??
"Documentary?" he then asks with a quirked brow. "Reality? That is rather popular these days.. Hmn.." the more he thinks about it, the broader the magician smiles, and soon it is very clear he's very pleased by this information. "And they're paying for it, that's very interesting! Come to think of it, I may have seen a crew earlier, I thought it was just the news." As for firing his assistant, well. Also, normally he isn't content to agreeing with the raider about who to fire, but it was a painful truth. ".. Mnn. Perhaps."
Reese is comfortable anywhere -- in the middle of the desert, in the middle of a cave, atop a rickety table in a rusty, worn-down trailer. Though she's careful not to actually //touch// the table on the off chance the something that's living in the cupboard has been using the table as a skating rink.
"That's what I //heard//. You can always look into it a little more. It'd get you out of //this// at the very least."
Rolling her eyes, the Aussie shakes her head. "Fire her, don't fire her, ain't skin off my back either way, mate. She was awful though, missed your cues. The audience didn't notice, but //I// did."
"Please, don't remind me.. Well I suppose I'd best not change just yet.." Marius replies, and places his tophat upon his head once more with a twirl of his wrist and a smirk. "Yes, I understand that's what you 'heard', but I believe you're quite capable of sniffing out a hoax. Well seeing we may have the opportunity, perhaps we should make a quick sweep of the park and see if the crew is still here, hmn?"
Gloves back on his hands, he then starts toward the door, knocking it open with his foot, "Yes, I'm well aware she missed the cues." he then notes; with a brief glance over his shoulder, "I suppose that is reason enough. I would have never expected you to come along though-". Oh but he had a plan. Naturally he wasn't going to reveal it to Reese until the last possible moment. "Well enough dilly-dallying, let us be on our way! Mind the wine on your way out."
"What?"
Reese stares at him for a moment. "You want //me// to go hunting for the crew with //you//?" Rubbing the back of her neck, she stares at him for a moment. "You're rather confusing at times," she mutters under her breath.
The Australian archaeologist has //no// intention of going out the door, as she'll have to pass the something in the cupboard, and avoid the wine. Instead, she stands up on the table and pulls herself through the hole in the roof. Then it's down the ladder and to the ground. It takes a bit longer, but it's better than dealing with the mess.
And Marius is standing right there with a silver pocketwatch in his hand once Reese is back down on the ground from the ladder, "Moving a little slow, aren't you?" he quips, "Anyhow -yes- I want you to go hunting with me, and what is there to be confused about? I'd just said that you are good at sniffing out a hoax, did I not? I'm quite certain I did."
He gives a shake of his head, then leads the way, "Not to mention if this turns out to be a prank, you won't suddenly disappear. Not that I'd believe you'd really trick me." BZZZZZZZZZT Lie. Upon passing the stage, Marius's stage-hand smiles brightly toward the magician- but the moment she opens her mouth to say something, he points to her with his cane as he rushes by, "You're fired." then continues along, leaving her jaw-dropped.
"You've some sort of critter bunking with you in the trailer. I wasn't about to go past it again." Reese wrinkles her nose. "If you're //that// bad off, Marius, you should find another job. A heist. Make a bit of money. At least stay in a hotel."
The Aussie isn't really //that// great at sniffing out a trick, though she's good at determining if the money is real or not. If it's a lark, well then they fight the camera crew.
"I wouldn't trick you when it comes to //money//." Following him, she tries not to snicker when they pass by the stage-hand. Biting her lip, she shrugs at the girl. "Your timing was a bit off, mate. You missed the cues."
"Don't tell me how to live my life, you're not my mother," Marius mutters to the girl; honestly there was little reason why Marius would put himself through something like this unless he was feeling miserable. So his situation was pretty much brought on himself, even if he was making himself look like the victim (or at least failing at it). "Hmn, I do wonder about that.." he murmurs, though he's actually just being difficult to keep her talking.
The blonde woman's shocked gaze shifts to Reese when the woman speaks, and of course is offended by this strangers comment, "W- What do -you- know you.. You.. Witch!" she cries with a stomp of her foot. She ends up taking her frustration out on a wooden crate which she delivers a swift kick to, then hops around holding said foot. "Ouch!"
Afterward the pair practically walk right into the crew- Manned by a group of five or so, there's a somewhat athletic man, who has sort of a punk-ish theme with tatoos and piercings on his body, wearing a Sonic the Hedgehog snowhat on his head, ripped, blue jeans an red sneakers. "Oh oh! And after a hard day of practicing my air guitar, I just like to head on down to my favorite food cart and order myself -three- delicious chili-dogs. Three chilidogs please, my mustachio'd vendor-type friend." he says, entirely in a nasal tone.
Marius visably blanches.
"Plenty," Reese replies, and then she //really// can't help it. She laughs. It's just too much, watching the girl kick the crate and hurt her foot, and she knows that it's awful of her to laugh, but she can't help it. "I'm sorry," she calls over her shoulder, "Just work on hitting the cues and you'll be fine!"
Once they run into the crew, she blinks.
"I really don't think that's them."
"You're terrible," Marius murmurs to Reese with a bit of a smirk. Pot calling the kettle black, that's for sure. "But that was some decent advice at least. I'm afraid to admit I have to agree, though that man actually does look a bit.. Familiar somehow.."
The man is given his food, and one of the cameramen, clearly exhausted, asks, "Well that's very.. Um.. -Interesting-, Mister Onix, but could you tell us something about your -fighting- style. Please."
"Huh? Oh, oh yeah sure!! My style is completely unique, it's a comination of speed, speed and more speed. I just hope your cameraman can follow me as I perform my demonstration, you ready?"
"Yes."
"Done!"
"... What?"
"Hmn, on second thought, it must be.." Marius murmurs with a frown. "This is terrible. This is a -travesty- to television shows everywhere. This is clearly a job for Mars Mytique to come to save this downward spiral!" he reaches out to try and slip his arm about Reese's hip- And should she not slip away, she'd find herself pulled quickly against his side. "How do I look?"
"Sometimes," Reese admits, "But no worse than anyone else that's trying to be honest and helpful." Which she //was// doing, and perhaps the girl will understand once she's had time to calm down. Better to lose one job and work at getting better for another than to continue making the same mistakes over and over.
The Aussie blinks at the demonstration, the camera crew, the frown on Marius' face and she's left blinking because she's suddenly being grabbed about the waist and pulled to her old partner's side.
"What?"
Blinking again, she reaches up and tilts his top hat back to a proper position. "Better now."
Marius was moving quick; and despite his somewhat rushed actions, Reese was able to keep up- or rather go through the correct motions despite having little idea what's going on. She was perfect as always, and as such there should be no surprise after his hat is adjusted that he replies, "Good. You're hired."
Hey, she -did- say hire another one. Of course it was hardly a contractual obligation, but he was still determined to try and trap her.
"Yeah, I guess your cameras can't follow me. I'm just too fast for ya-" Onix starts when suddenly there is a huge burst of white smoke, sending him into a coughing fit and the camera crew in complete and utter confusion.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt this program for a special bulletin! Prepare to be dazzled! Prepared to awed! I introduce to you, the magnificent! The mystical! The mysterious!!"
With a gentle wisp of wind, the white smoke is brushed to the side revealing Marius, with Reese in tow, and Onix now bound and gagged, propped against the side of the cart. "Mars Mystique! And his lovely assistant, Venus!" Marius finishes, with a dashing smile.
Confusion abound, but the camera continues to roll, zooming in on the pair- Admittedly a liiiittle closer on this 'Venus' for a reaction.
"I... //what//?"
Except there's //no// time to react at all because Marius is up to his old tricks. Were there //not// a camera crew there, she'd jerk away and fuss at him for his awful timing. Becoming his assistant isn't at //all// what she was implying when she mentioned that he should fire his other girl. "I'm not in costume," she hisses.
Then comes the introduction, and she's quickly got a smile upon her face and is posing appropriately, one leg in front of the other, hands in the air. It looks //ridiculous// with her outfit (especially as she left her jacket in that awful trailer) but it'll have to do.
It's true, she wasn't in costume, but considering the circumstances the magician would take what he could get. It's clear the outfit was part of the confusion to the crew but Marius continued forth as if nothing was wrong, "If I may have but a moment of your time.." he replies, "I wish to include both myself and my assistant within your television project. I am Mars Mystique, magician by trade and martial artist. As you might guess, my fighting style consists of magic.."
"So I see!" one of the cameramen reply as one of the cameras zoom in upon the tied up Onix. "And the assistant, Venus.. You look familiar; aren't you a martial artist as well?"
Reese is going to lose it on Marius once they're away from the crew. She's gong to yell at him and fuss at him...
... and then likely go find her old costume and see if it still fits -- even though she's not likely to //fight// in it.
"Something like that," she replies with a smile, hitching up the holster and shifting the whip around. "Let's just say I can hold my own." Most of the time.
-Old- costume? Marius would want no part of that, there would clearly be need for a -new- costume, but the magician will cross that bridge once he gets there. For the time being, however, he seems completely oblivious to the yelling he's going to recieve later, simply flashing a brilliant smile and pointing to the camera with his cane. "Indeed; you could say that this would be a 'collaberation' of sorts, but this would hardly be a two-for-one deal, Venus has her own tale to tell." he notes with a nod of his head.
It isn't the strongest pitch he'd deliver, but he can't throw his best out in the first apperance, just enough to entice the audience would be enough! And it seems the camera crew's leader would take it hook, line, and sinker. "Well then, Mister Mystique, Miss Venus, we can provide you the paperwork overnight, you two appear to be just the kind of dynamic we're looking for; this should be quite unique! We'll then contact you by phone and we'll set up a schedule as soon as possible!"
"That's what I like to hear," Mars replies with an amused chuckle. "I'll give you more footage than you can shake a stick at. Very well, it seems our job here is done- I'll leave you back to your regularly scheduled program."
"Did he just imply we're a dynamic duo?" Reese groans inwardly and then whispers, "I am //not// wearing a Robin costume." She may not be largely into comic books and the like, but who //hasn't// heard of Batman and Robin?
"We all have tales to tell, don't we?" A smile is offered to the crew, and then she tips her hat a little. Hand dipping into the pocket of her bomber jacket, she pulls out a card and scribbles Marius' info on the back of it before handing it over with a great deal of flourish.
"Come along, mate," she says to Marius as she turns and starts to walk away, as though she masterminded the entire 'show' herself.
"Don't be ridiculous," Marius murmurs back, "He means 'force'. Besides, I think you could pull off the look quite well.." the magician has to try quite hard not to chuckle at the thought. He brushes up to glance to his watch as Reese provides the contact information (such a good assistant!), and once she proceeds to exit, Marius pauses for just a moment.
"We'll be looking forward to it! Thank you for.. Um. Dropping in." another employee says. ".. Well, I suppose we'd better untie this guy, anyone good with knots?"
"Of course you will," Marius murmurs with a dramatic sweep of his cape when he turns to follow alongside Reese in which he says in a clearly much better mood, "That went rather well."
"Crikey, don't be givin'em ideas," she calls over her shoulder to Marius. Under no circumstances will she be wearing a Robin costume. Not even if she could potentially pull it off. It's just really not her style.
Twisting back toward the cameras, Reese can't help but pull off one further stunt. The whip is unleased from her belt, and lashed out at the poor man that's tied up. Rather than hit him or do any further humiliation, she simply cracks it against the knots a few times until they fray open.
Then she's off, waiting until they're far enough away from the cameras before she hisses, "You //tricked// me."
"Uugh!" Onix freed from his squirming, he falls flat on his face, but then is quick to get to his feet in a slightly paniced state. It was as if he had no idea what just happened in the past two minutes, but once he gets his bearings, he grins wide to the camera, "... Hey guys, sorry about that, I got a little tied up with something.. But I'm back now!" A chorus of groans follow the pun.
"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," Marius replies without missing a beat and even starts humming to himself a bit. "As far as I know, I did everything I said and everything you said.. No tricks were involved." and a glance is given to the woman, "You haven't lost your touch, you know. You should have seen yourself, it was breath-taking."
Reese stops in her tracks and turns to //stare// at him. "You. Tricked. Me. I said get rid of your awful assistant and you turned around and hired me? Just so you could look good on camera?"
Throwing her hands up into the air, she huffles and turns around, prepared to storm away.
Until he compliments her.
"Stop flirting and figure out what this whole duo shtick is that you're scheming up. I'd really like to know what I agreed to, Marius."
Marius looks a little shocked; though it's hard to tell if he's faking or not, "I did no such thing," he repeats, still smirking, "You left out a small detail, you said 'hire a new one'. I did just that, didn't I? And besides, we both benefit with being with one another, there's really nothing to complain about." He would try to walk around and past Reese after that, but she might not make it quite so easy.
"And I wasn't flirting, it was either that or 'thank goodness I didn't have to fire two assistants in one evening'. Which would you prefer? It's hardly a scheme, it's simply more screen time for the both of us, should you decide to join in on the fun- it is a lot of money, you know." said in a patient manner. "People who watch television are interested not just in characters, but character interaction. The only thing that's important here is not to let any of our more.. Embarassing secrets slip out." a pause, "Meaning watch your temper when the camera rolls. You can start practicing now, actually."
"I didn't mean //me//," Reese argues, knowing that it's to very little avail. Quietly looping the whip up, she latches it onto the belt again, and then makes a face at him. "My fault then. Next time I'll be a great deal more careful when dealing with you verbally, mate." She'll ensure she's not getting conned into joining anything.
"You wouldn't fire me even if you wanted to. Not //now//." After he's just told the world that they're a... //team//.
"Fine, fine. Though keep in mind, being constantly on camera is going to make it //rather// difficult to pull off any heists. Hope you've not got anything on the books."
"Of course you didn't," Marius replies with another smirk. He isn't buying it, even if she -is- telling the truth. It's funny- as annoyed as he is with Reese, that he'd so easily take her in due to her work ethic. There's a brief pause, and he shakes his head, "You don't get it; I told them we're a team because you passed the interview. If you hadn't, we wouldn't be having this discussion." Marius doesn't have just fast fingers, after all. Whatever his idea of an interview was -did- happen, Reese just didn't realize it.
To the mention of heists, suddenly Marius freezes up. Oh dear, he had forgotten about that, ".. I. Ah.. Of course I don't.." he mumbles guiltily, gripping his cane tighter. "It isn't like I can't go a month or two without stealing something- I'm not some sort of addict you know.. More importantly, I'd like to see your outfit again. It's possible it may need an update in design.." he gives a look that says 'you -do- still have it, right?'.
"What interview?" Reese just shakes her head, wondering if Marius hasn't been infected by whatever it is that bites that strange old man before a fight. Pressing her lips together she eyes him curiously over her shoulder and then shakes her head.
"You aren't?" A grin touches her lips. "You could always just learn to be discreet 'bout it, mate." Then she starts walking again. "Of course I do."
"The one you were in," Marius explains, "The moment we appeared on camera, to be exact. Your motions were flawless, as I had mentioned before. The presentation was a touch lacking, but that was hardly your fault so I couldn't deduct points there. From that point, I decided you were hired." So if she didn't pass, who knows what he would have said on camera. That was rather risky in hindsight, wasn't it? To the mention of discretion, he seems a little bit relieved, "Well yes.. That is a good point, and exactly what I was thinking," he tries to play off, and follows the pace once more. "Well then perhaps we should go and take a look at it. After I treat you for drinks for being such a good sport."
Log created on 19:49:23 10/12/2011 by Reese, and last modified on 11:13:52 10/26/2011.