A Brand New Face

Participants:

elle3_icon.gif julius_icon.gif

Scene Title A Brand New Face
Synopsis Elle Bishop goes out for breakfast, and ends up getting way more than she bargained for from Julius.
Date October 3, 2010

Red Hook


It's a dreary morning today. The clouds cast a gray hue to the sky, which unleashes a steady drizzle upon the city of New York. Add to that the fact that it's quite chilly, and it makes for a somewhat miserable morning.

And Elle not only forgot her umbrella back at the Octagon, but she couldn't find one in Lola's apartment. There also wasn't any food. None that looked remotely appealing, at least. So, Elle Bishop has ventured out into the rain, a rather large frown on the little blonde's face as she trudges through the rain. Her quest: a convenience store. With no vehicle, she has to rely on the horrifying world of public transportation to get to and from where she needs to go.

She wears a pair of loose-fitting jeans, a pair of tennis shoes, and a black hoodie. The hood is up, but it does little to protect the woman from the drizzle, and she instead clings tightly to her purse. She looks rather irritated.

The hunger gnawed at Julius, but it wasn't a hunger for food. It was the hunger to create, the hunger to make something and someone new, to make someone better. The dreary morning was actually his friend today since it would mean fewer people out and about to see what they didn't need to see, not that many in this neighborhood would say two words to the police anyway.

As Elle walked down the street, one of the few people she would see would be Julius. He was in disguise, making sure he blended into the background of the scene. He may have been the star of the scene, but that wouldn't be evident until he grand revealing. For the moment, he looked like an old, bedraggled homeless man taking shelter just inside the mouth of an alleyway, crouching against the wall and trying to stay dry.

Elle briefly glances to Julius, offering only a faint smile to the man before quickly averting her gaze. Always a good reminder of not having it so bad, to see the homeless of the city. At least she has a home, and friends who are willing to take her in and offer her housing. It also makes her a bit thankful for Cardinal's protection.

Her path brings her right past Julius, quietly trying to avoid looking at him as she walks past.

As soon as Elle is past him, Julius moves quickly, with a speed that would be wholly unexpected from the man he appeared to be. A damp cloth is pulled from his pocket as he stands, then his arms are wrapped around Elle. The cloth is brought to her face and pressed over her mouth and nose as the man holds her firmly, "Shhh, don't try to fight. Just breathe in and it'll all be over soon.."

Her attempts to avoid looking at him certainly didn't help her much. She doesn't hear him over the patter of rain, and is thus taken completely by surprise as the cloth is clamped over her nose and mouth; she takes a sharp gasp, immediately beginning to struggle against his grip. She would electrocute him…but that would hurt her in return. Dammit.

Her first scream is muffled into the cloth, and after yet another sharp breath of the chloroform, her struggles rather quickly weaken. It doesn't take long for the chemical to take its intended effect, and unconciousness encloses around her, the little blonde going limp against Julius.

Julius grins as the woman's struggles cease. He holds the cloth against her mouth and nose for another few moments to ensure she isn't faking before quickly pulling her back into the alleyway. Once shielded from view, he hefts her over a shoulder and heads for an older van just around the corner at the other end of the alley. He shoves her into the passenger side before climbing into the driver's side. The ride back to his place doesn't take long, but he keeps an eye on Elle to ensure she isn't waking up. Should any signs of waking be evident, the cloth would be placed back over her face again to send her back to dreamland.

Arriving back at his domicile, Julius pulls into a back alley and stops the van. He grabs Elle and puts her over a shoulder again before carrying her into the hidden back entrance to his basement lair. His workshop, one might call it. The woman is placed on a table in the center of the room and stripped down before a series of straps are used to hold her down. Her wrists and ankles are shackled to the bed while a thick leather strap goes across her torso to keep her from moving. At the head of the table, a pair of metal protrusions are adjusted to allow her head to fit between them before a strap is placed across her forehead to keep her securely held to the table.

Once he is sure the woman won't be going anywhere, Julius turns on a small digital video camera, then steps into a side room to change his face back to normal and change into his working clothes.

The chloroform has a strong effect on the little blonde, and conciousness doesn't come to her until well after she's strapped in, while Julius is changing his face and clothing. Elle wakes up with a start, shouting and struggling against the bonds. Her head is restrained, so it's quite impossible for her to look around; her eyes rove around the room.

Her hair is still wet from the rain, and she's naked and cold. This won't do. "What the FUCK! Who the— let me go!"

A door opens and Julius strides back into the room, wearing a pristine white labcoat, black gloves, black slacks, black boots, and his trademark goggles. He walks towards the table, chuckling lightly, "Ah, the beauty awakens. I hadn't realized I'd taken such an attractive girl until I got you back here. Still, that will simply challenge me as I improve upon it." He taps his chin lightly with one finger as he walks a circle around the table, eyes roaming over Elle's body as a sculptor looking over a chunk of marble.

"Wh— what the hell?!" She struggles in vain against the bonds, quite firmly held in place. She could easily zap him right now, but that would, in turn, zap her, thanks to her damp hair. Instead, she turns her eyes toward the strangely dressed man, a furious expression on her face. "Improve upon it? What the hell are you talking about?!"

She struggles again, her teeth gritted. "Let me go!" She hisses this out, pulling at the bonds on her wrists. "I don't know what the hell you're doing, but you'd better let me go. You won't like the people who will come after you if you do anything to me. You're better off letting me go."

Julius rolls his eyes, though it can't be seen through the dark goggles, "They /always/ say that. Yet never once has anyone ever come knocking at my door. Well, not after that first time, at least.." He shrugs and leans over the table a bit, grinning, "As for what I'm talking about? Why, I'm going to make you /better/. Perfect, you might say.." He chuckles a bit and stands upright again, circling the table once more, "I just need to decide exactly /what/ I'm going to do."

After a bit of struggling, Elle relaxes slightly, glaring up at Julius with a rather hateful expression. Oh, if only she were dry, she'd totally show him. Another pull at the bonds, as if after the brief pause, they'll magically loosen enough for her to escape. It doesn't work, and blue eyes follow the man. "Just wait, and you'll see. My employer will not take too kindly to someone messing with me." She narrows her eyes at him. "I'm perfect just the way I am, thanks. No work needed." This is a very uncomfortable situation, being the helpless one.

Julius sighs, "Oh hush. You should be grateful. Most people have to pay me a lot of money to do what I'm doing for you for free." He hmms, "Of course, they also get to choose what they're going to look like.." He waves a hand, dismissing the thought, "Bah, anyway.. I think I have some ideas on what we're going to do.." He steps up to the table again, grinning down at Elle with a slightly crazed expression, "Yes, you're going to come out quite nicely.." He brings a hand up, pulling the glove from his right hand and slowly extending it towards Elle's face.

Elle glares up at him. "This is me, not grateful. I like looking like me." Like her mom. As his hand extends toward her face, her struggles resume, though her face is rather firmly in place. "Get away from me!" She snarls, pulling at the bonds around her wrists. Not like it's going to do any good. God, if only she was dry! "I'm gonna kill you if you touch me!"

Julius sighs, "If you keep making so much noise, I'll have to take away those lips of yours." He presses his hand to her forehead for a moment, the bone and flesh seeming to soften as he begins to reform the shape of her skull. His other hand comes up, letting the glove slip off as it begins to press and move her flesh as well, "If you stay quiet and don't struggle, it won't hurt. Struggle, and I can't guarantee that."

It's become increasingly apparent that struggling won't help; he's got her strapped down to the point where it's difficult to move, and struggling is only sapping her energy. Plus, this is strange. Blue eyes stare in shock up at Julius as she feels his hand move her flesh and bone. "Wh— what are you doing?" She's quieter this time, going still.

Julius sighs at the interruption, though his hands continue to work her scalp, "I told you. I'm making you perfect. Right now I'm changing the shape of your head and your follicles, so your hair will grow in a different color." His hands move farther back to manipulate the skin and bone farther back on her head, "This part won't take too long."

Elle mostly just frowns as Julius works, falling quiet as she ponders this development. He's changing her face. That must mean she's going to look different. The implications of that are amazing. How will Cardinal recognize her? How will anyone recognize her? This could be a very bad thing to have happen. Alternately, it could be a very good thing to have happen.

Julius hums softly as he continues to work. His hands move to the woman's face, pressing and molding the skin and bone there. The feeling intensifies as he does more detail work on her face, a feeling like thousands of tiny things crawling across her flesh. The tune he hums is quite upbeat as he always feels so damned good when he's using his power to create for himself as opposed to for others.

Elle cringes as he hums, and at the sensation of tiny things crawling over her flesh. Her feet wiggle a little against the bonds, but she holds still, otherwise, still glaring up at Julius. Finally, when she's sure he's not working around her jaw, she asks another question. "Why are you doing this? Why me?" She frowns, watching him with those big blue eyes…or are they even blue any more?

Julius cants his head a bit at the woman's question, "Why? Why not? Does an artist need a reason to sculpt a statue? To paint a picture? This is my art and you are my canvas. As for why you? Well, you happened to walk by." He smirks a bit, "Your face is done, by the way. Would you like to see?"

Elle blinks a few times as he points out that her face is done, her brows raising. She frowns slightly, wiggling her toes. "Um…sure." She wiggles a little in her bonds, mostly trying to move to keep from getting too uncomfortable now. "Could you get me a blanket? Or maybe turn on the heat a little bit? It's kinda cold."

Julius grabs a mirror on an articulated arm and moves it over so Elle can look at her new face, "Sorry, can't do a blanket because I need to be able to see your body to work on it. I can see about turning the heat up, but it doesn't often do much down here." He steps over to the wall and flips open a cover over the thermostat, turning the temperature up a bit before walking back over, "What do you think? Pretty perfect, hm?"

For a long while, Elle can only stare up at the mirror, at the different face, in silence. If she could, she would be touching her face right now. Now dark eyes stare up at her reflection, from a smooth, innocent face. And the red hair. "…That's not me." She blinks several times. "I…I look like a different person. You…that ability…" She blinks a few more times. "I look like an angel."

Julius laughs, "Yes, yes, I know. I truly am amazing." He brings his hands up, cracking his knuckles before moving his hands to her throat, "Please don't talk for a moment. And this is going to feel very odd." The odd tingly, crawly sensation begins anew as he squeezes and manipulates Elle's neck and throat. For brief moments, she would find it impossible to breathe, but the ability would return within seconds.

Elle obeys and doesn't speak, though she squirms against the bonds as she finds herself unable to breathe. Briefly, her fingertips spark and static crackles over her scalp, which in turn prompts her face to screw up in pain; the brief flare of electricity dies down quickly, however, once she finds herself able to breathe again. She keeps her eyes closed for a moment, before opening them to peer at Julius, a frown on her face.

Julius's hands move down to Elle's shoulders and upper chest, "You may speak now. And allow me to apologize in advance for touching you in rather intimate places. Rest assured that I am thoroughly enjoying it, but attempting to be as professional about it as is possible." Should Elle speak, her voice would no longer be her own due to Julius's restructuring of her voicebox while changing the contours of her neck. He smirks a bit as his hands move to one of those aforementioned intimate places, manipulating the flesh there as he has her head, "Ah, just one of the many benefits of my power and art."

Elle blinks quietly. "You're going to—" The woman blinks again. Different voice, now, a little deeper than normal. She doesn't even sound like herself any longer. She chews on her lower lip for a moment, a mixed expression on her face. Then, he's touching places, and her eyes are widening, her cheeks going red. It's not like she can do much of anything right now, still a bit too damp, and she'd rather not fry her own head. Her own medicine is not pleasant. She instead files away that once he's finished, she's going to have to zap him.

Julius smirks at Elle, removing his hands from her chest and instead doing some sculpting and contouring of her waist and abdomen, "Now, now, it's entirely necessary. Like I said, just because I enjoyed it doesn't mean it wasn't necessary for the procedure. Do you get mad at a doctor who gives you a mammogram or a gynecological exam?"

"Usually, I have a female doctor for those things. You're decidedly male." Elle frowns up at her new reflectiontion, still having trouble believing it's her. But when she moves her face, her reflection moves its face. "This is weird. I mean…what the hell am I supposed to do after this? My face doesn't match my ID…neither does my voice…people might get worried if I turn up missing." She peers down at him with dark greenish-brown eyes.

Julius's hrmphs, "If it was that important, I could make myself look like a woman, but it's really not that important." Finished with her waist and stomach, he moves back up to reshape and contour the woman's arms, "Sorry, can't help you with papers or the like. I'm sure you can find someone to get you some if you ask the right people. There should be some in Red Hook if you're careful. Course, they also might knife you."

"I'm hardly worried about being knifed. I live in Red Hook." Though after this, if Cardinal even accepts that it's her, she may very well accept his offer to move into the Redbird building, should it still stand. "I'm also fairly sure that, assuming my employer doesn't try to kill me for being an imposter or something, he can help me out. Or something." She frowns.

"You know, at this point, I would look weird if you stopped what you're doing, and I would rather not look all deformed, in any case. Could you at least unstrap my head from this thing?" She peeks up at him, raising one eyebrow.

Julius hmms, considering for a moment, "I suppose I can unstrap your head, since I'm done working on you there." He reaches up and releases the strap across her forehead, "There. Now, don't say I never did anything nice for you." Once her head is released, he goes back to working on her arms and fingers, "You'll have new fingerprints, by the way."

As he unstraps her head, Elle moves it around, sighing faintly at the relief that comes from being able to move. "Thank you." She mumbles this out, still frowning up at the mirror. "You're the most accomodating kidnapper I've met." She lifts her head to peer down at her body, brows raising. "So do you just like to kidnap random women and change their appearance and identity, with no regard to the aftermath?" She chews her lip, peering at Julius.

Julius shrugs, "Like, need.. same difference really." He finishes her arms and hands, moving down to her hips and thighs, "Again, you'll have to accept my apology in advance." He doesn't touch his most intimate bits, but his hands do roam across her hips and thighs as he reshapes them, "Every so often I just can't help but need to create. It's the drive of an artist, you know. Always striving to create his next masterpiece."

"You remind me of someone I used to know. Need…drive…" Elle tilts her head toward him, before turning to look at that mirror. She's still not used to not seeing herself in that reflection. "So I'm pretty much a completely different person, on the outside…" She peeks down at his hands, then peers up to Julius thoughtfully. "I could feasibly get a fake registration and everything? Or…well, a real one?"

Julius peers at Elle, "Really? Hm, so I'm not the only one." He works his way down her legs, squeezing and shaping her flesh as he does, "As for registration? Not clue, really. I've never had need to find out how deep my changes go. I do know that you'll change back in about a month unless I touch you up." He sighs, shaking his head, "I guess it's a curse that my art is doomed to fade after such a short time."

"So it's not permanant…okay." She lays back, staring up at her reflection thoughtfully. "So this is art. Making people." Elle thoughtfully peers at her new face. "Kinda neat, though I must say, I'm gonna be pretty mad if you've left me screwed over and my employer doesn't believe me." She sighs softly. "Touch ups free, since you kidnapped me? If I like this, that is. I don't even know if I will."

Julius nods sadly, "Yes, only temporary. It's a travesty, I know. Art should be lasting, have permanence, but mine is doomed to fade." He finishes her legs and feet and moves back up to her waist, "I apologize about this." He slides his hands under her bottom, squeezing and manipulating the flesh.

Elle's pale face flushes, and she attempts to lift her rear a little to assist him. Totally, totally going to zap him after all is said and done, apology or not. It's the principal of it all. He kidnapped her, stripped her down, changed her face against her will (at first), and has been playing with her lady bits. "So does that mean I get free touch ups?" She's curious about that. The new face is fairly nice. She liked her old one better, but…it may be interesting.

Julius shrugs as he continues to manipulate the flesh of Elle's bum, "Perhaps. But if it's free, I choose what you look like. Unless I get better ideas, I suppose I'd leave you in this form. Why? Are you pleased with the results? Some have been less than pleased. One even killed herself afterwards." He shrugs, apparently not in the least bit upset about that.

"Well, as pleased as someone who has just been kidnapped, is still hungry for breakfast, and has had her face changed quite literally, and against her will, can be." Elle arches a brow down at Julius. "Honestly, this is way better than that last time I got kidnapped. They broke my feet, then healed me, then broke my feet, then heeled me, and when I wasn't getting my feet broken, I was kept in a tub of water. Not very fun. Especially with them using an empath too. That wasn't fun. They made me like getting my bones broken." She pops her neck, promptly.

Julius winces a bit as he pulls his hands back out from under Elle's bum, "That does sound quite unpleasant. Worst I've done is taken away someone's mouth so they would shut the hell up and stop whining." He steps back and crosses his arms over his chest, giving his finished product a good look over, "Yes, yes.. quite good. Very nice indeed.."

Elle peers down at her new pale skin, tilting her head to one side. "Well, at least you're not that bad. Still. It's kind of weird, looking in a mirror and seeing a different face." She lays back. "So do I get to get dressed now? The heat helps, but it's still kinda cold right now." She quietly tugs at a bond, and looks to Julius.

Julius frowns a bit, "Not yet.. I'm always a bit drained after working, especially on such an extensive project." He walks over to a cabinet and grabs a blanket bringing it over and draping it over Elle, "Wouldn't do to let you go and have you kill me because I was too weak to defend myself." He heads towards the stairs up, "I'll be back in a few hours after I've napped a bit. We'll see about letting you go then."

Elle frowns up at Julius. "Look…it may have potentially given me a bad hair day, but I could've killed you at any time when you were touching me." She's lying. She probably would have set her head on fire if she had tried to zap him when he first started working on her. "I could probably kill you right now, if I wanted to, without even having to be unstrapped. If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already."

Julius yawns before answering. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, he really /does/ look exausted, "Sorry, not the first time I've heard that and I can't risk it. A few hours laying there won't kill you." He slowly climbs the stairs, pausing about halfway to rest for a moment.

Elle puffs her cheeks out slightly. "It's not the most comfortable place in the world." She rolls her eyes, angling her hand to point a finger at Julius. A small arc of electricity flies out, missing Julius' head by inches and leaving a faint scorch mark on the wall. "I could have turned into a live wire at any moment while you were touching me. I just missed you on purpse. Let me go, please, and I'll be on my way." There's a dangerous tone behind her voice. "I'm fucking hungry. I was going to eat breakfast before you chloroformed me."

Julius stops suddenly as the bolt of electricity narrowly misses him. He hadn't expected her to be an evolved like himself. He slowly turned back towards her, "Fine.. I'll let you go. Just don't kill me.." He comes back down the steps and moves over to the table, unfastening the straps across her chest, then the shackles on her arms and legs. Once she's free, he steps back and nods towards a cabinet, "Your clothes are in there." He'd planned on chloroforming her again and dropping her off back in Red Hook, but that wasn't going to work now it seemed.

The woman sits up, rubbing at her wrists and coversing herself slightly as she recovers from muscles that have been immobile for far too long. She doesn't make any move to attack him (yet), slipping quietly from the bed and moving over to the cabinet, opening it up and quickly pulling her clothing on and adjusting it. Then, she turns to peer at Julius. "Give me a card. I don't know if I'll like it, but I'm giving this a try and not killing you for it." She makes sure she has everything in her purse, her head tilted to the side.

Julius arches an eyebrow, "You think I keep cards advertising this? What would it say? 'Want to be kidnapped? Want to have your appearance changed? Just call me. 555-5555.' Riight.." He shrugs and reaches into a pocket, pulling out a card, "Okay, so I have a card. but it's more just for my more legitimate work." He flicks it through the air towards Elle, "Just a warning, the last people that tried to come after me didn't end well."

Elle reaches out and plucks the card from the air (barely!), peeking it over. Then, she tosses it in her purse. "I'll not promise anything about people coming after you. That's entirely my employer's decision." She tilts her head to the side. "I may keep in touch. I'm not sure." She frowns slightly. Then, she's moving to follow him up the stairs, her purse tucked over her shoulder. "Got an umbrella, by any chance?"

Julius nods a bit, "I can't guarantee the survival of anyone that comes here to do me harm. People have a tendency to die rather quickly when their airway ceases to exist." He pulls open the door and steps out of the door hidden in a book case. Once Elle is through, he pushes the book case closed again to hide the stairway, "Yeah, I guess you can borrow one." He walks across his art studio to a storage closet to retrieve an umbrella, "Here ya go." He holds it out towards Elle.

Elle's deep green eyes trail around the art studio as she steps out into it, her brows raising. "I'll be sure to warn my employer about that part." She murmurs this out as she examines some of the art around the area. When he hands her the umbrella, she takes it, nodding toward him. "Thanks. I'll be sure to try and keep my boss-man from hurting you too badly, but." She tries out an angelic smile at Julius, before she's promptly headed out the door.


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