The window behind Carmine lead to the outside, students could be seen in groups coming and going from their classes. Occasionally another professor or staff member would walk by as well, likely changing classes or simply leaving, much like the students. The leaves on the trees would wave slightly in the wind. “You know a little bit after you stopped answering calls a police investigation started up. Since I was one of the last people seen speaking to you I was questioned, they were really persistent you know.” Carmine said as he began to stand up, he rubbed the bridge of his nose as he began to continue. “They detained me for a while after they thought they had something on me, the university even fired me for a little while, said they didn’t want the reputation of hiring a suspected kidnapper.” Carmine said, an undercurrent of anger could be heard as carmine slammed a nearby wall with his fist.

“Carmine, I’m so sor-“David began to speak but Carmine swiftly cut him off with a wave of his hand.

“Don’t say you’re sorry!” Carmine shouted, but it looked like he had just vented off most of his anger as he took in a long breath and breathed out again. “Its fine, I got my job back, and besides, I’ve had a whole year to be angry.” Carmine stopped to take a drink from his cup and began to continue again. “What in the world happened to you? At first everyone assumed you were just busy for a few months, but when calls started going unanswered and that police investigation, that’s when we thought you were dead.”

“You remember that paper I published, about undiscovered tribes?” David asked, after taking a moment to remember Carmine nodded his head in confirmation. “Well I thought I found some evidence leading to South America and I followed my lead.”

Looking somewhat interested Carmine turned towards David. “And, did you find something?”

“Ah, that’s a bit sensitive, but yes I did.” David replied, as he gripped the inner edges of his vest nervously. Seeing Carmine edge him on with a slight nod, David began to speak again.

“Well before I say anything else, I’d like to know about the state of the world first. You see, I’m missing a bit of my memory, about a years’ worth.”

Carmine stopped by his desk again to take a drink. “Yeah, I think you hinted at that earlier. Alright, let’s go for a walk, somewhere empty. The air’s too dry in here.” As he made his way to the exit he grabbed a tan jacket with leather elbow patches, picked up a brown hat and handed it to David. “You left it here, part of the reason why the police came for me.” After graciously accepting it David followed Carmine out the door.

The park near the college was empty, it seems like most of the students would rather be inside, or had plans elsewhere. But the wind was giving David a slight chill. “And a little bit later the domes were taken down.” Carmine said, taking in a slight breath, as if he had been talking a while.

“Were you hurt in any of this?”

“No, not as much as some people were anyways. Your family should be fine, they all live in Ohio right?”

“Yeah, they do. Have they-” After a short pause David began again. “-Have they given up on me?”

“I wouldn’t know sorry, I might have been under investigation at the time, or just not informed.” Carmine spoke, a soft undertone of worry coated it. “Speaking of which, have you called them, they’d probably be glad to know.”

“I’ve been thinking about that, but the thing is.” David trailed off as he inverted his damp pockets, revealing only a wallet containing destroyed dollar bills and an expired driver’s license. “No phone.”

“Hold on then, I’ll lend you mine.” Carmine began to take out his own phone, as he fiddled with his own pocket a scream could just be heard elsewhere in the park.

“Was that a” Carmine began to ask but it was David’s turn to interrupt.

“Yeah, a scream, come on.” David gestured to his friend as he accelerated into a run.

“We’re not the cops dammit, come back here, dang it.” Carmine spoke as he ran as quickly as he could behind David. He got to travel the world with his doctorate but I stay in all day teaching, how can he expect me to catch up? Carmine thought to himself as he huffed and puffed along behind David.

As they got close enough to see David and Carmine’s eyes both drew themselves to some kind of creature. “Is that one of those Demons you mentioned?” David asked as his eyes darted around the creature and the kids, to the two adults.

“No, it looks different; almost like a harpy from legend.” Carmine replied as he took a few moments to catch his breath.

“It looks like it has a human head, maybe it can understand us. Look, it hasn’t hurt those kids at all, they don't have a scratch on them in fact they look more scared that we showed up.” David whispered as he took a few slow steps forward.

“David, what in the world are you thinking, get back here.” Carmine angrily whispered back, he jerked slightly forward as if to follow but his legs refused to move any further.

David tried to give a reassuring nod to the other adults, one of which looked as if she was on the verge of fainting, but he wasn’t sure if it worked or not. Turning towards the harpy and the kids David began to speak. “Hello, my name is David, can you tell me yours?”

-redacted-

---

White on white on white, with a black undershirt and striped shoes with a black trim. It was all Barron wore and all of it expensive, true white was a beautiful color and in his time in post apocalyptia true white was unobtainable always stained and no amount of abraxo cleaner could grant him that hue that absence of color it contrasted perfectly with red, like a self destructive symphony white was simply the best detailing every little speck of blood, spit and puss. He wore a blank canvas and on the off chance Arcadian attacked he’d become a living portrait of Arcadian’s death. Twas a entertaining thought indeed for him as he parked his rental car in the Reeve’s driveway. Flipping his phone out of his pocket he called his wife. ”Your voice is sweet nectar to my ears my rosebud, my wine flower m.”

“Dear, it’s almost time for your meeting.”

”Of that I am aware, I simply lost myself in your voice. Sadly I spend another night bereft of your touch, your smell, your enchanting beauty. But this is work, a task that needs to be done.”

“Yes yes. Make sure you step carefully, they must not know of our plans. Nor your involvement in other business.”

Barron kissed the air. ”We shall not be apart long. Once I’m done here, I have the means to find Arcadian. Sleep well. My love.” He hung up the phone and soon found himself knocking at the door. ”I hope I’m not too late, too ages to find a proper aged wine.”

Ben stood stiffer than like a mannequin in the dining room, his nose filled with the scents of past shimmered mushrooms, caramelized onions, and numerous other ingredients. The bad part, they were already warped up for tonight’s dinner save for the main course of beef wellington in the oven. Lorrie had made Emma go all out in preparing a great deal of appetizers and horvers, most already set out on the table, to appease their coming guest tonight. The display irritated Benjamin who brooded silently as he balled his fists at his side and allowed Lorrie adjust the shawl along his tuxedo. Her fingers slipped into the outside then straightened it several times, smoothing it over repeatedly until he was wondering if the thing would fall off.

When the ornate door knocker thumped heavily against the wooden door, the sound echoed into the foyer. past the large living room and made its way into the kitchen. Lorrie paused in her action and peered up, her eyes narrowed on the direction then turned to Daniel. The older man nodded once before he flashed his best smile and indicated for Benjamin to follow him. With a begrudging sigh, the teenager flipped on heel to trace his steps and follow in the man’s wake to the door.

Daniel was the one that greeted Barron, his hand pulled the door open and stepped away to allow their guest inside, “No, you’re a few minutes ahead actually. The horvers and appetizers are already set on the table, the entrees, main course and dessert will be ready shortly. How do you like your beef wellington, well done, medium rare or rare?”

”Oh, medium rare, I like the pink hue. Spacious Home you have here, could run a marathon in here. A bottle of Dom Perignon P2 1998, not my preferred choice; it’s a fine wine and all and considering I don’t know many good wine houses not a bad find. But I have better back in Vegas, though I’m more of a whiskey guy.” As Barron handed off the wine he continued rambling on. ”You know, I cook a mean wellington myself. Learned a custom recipe replacing a few ingredients for a shindig once and it was so popular with my wife I cook it now and then.”

Benjamin inhaled sharply, his eyes fixed on Barron. Something was familiar with the individual, but he couldn’t place why or how. His mind ached when he struggled to recollect the memory just ripping itself out of his grasp. A slight irritation nagged at him for not being able to understand what connected Barron to familiarity. Daniel naturally ignored his confused looked and the boy in general, making Ben painfully aware he had slipped into the background once more. In the past, it would’ve bothered him.

Now he was use to it.

Out of habit, Ben’s fingers slipped into his tie and subtly tried to pull it loose. Lorrie had fiddled enough with it that he felt a noose was suffocating him about the neck instead of something fashionable. He watched Daniel begin to kiss up to the power individual that had entered their home as the sight inwardly sickened him.

“Of course, I believe I have some New York Honey whiskey in the study,” Daniel said, taking the offered wine bottle gratefully, then turned toward Ben, “Benjamin, would you kindly get the whiskey from the study?”

“Yeah, sure,” Ben causally said then began to move off to right of the foyer, toward the double door room. His hand paused on the knob as he looked once more at Barron, trying to place the man, then opened a door to retrieve the whiskey.

At the click of the door, Daniel shook his head at the teenager’s reply and then adjusted his attention back to his guest. He held out his hand then gestured for Barron to follow him to the open doorway to the left, leading into the elegant living room, “Shall we?”

”Of course. Shoes on or off? Some prefer leaving shoes at the door to save their carpets.” Following Daniel’s lead he had a seat on one of the couches. ”Shall we chat then, your time as DA has been smooth. And a blessing to your family.”

“On, there’s marble flooring from here to the dining room. Only the study and a few other rooms are carpeted, which are easily cleaned and one of the reasons I fell in love with this place,” Daniel mentioned as he smiled, then placed the wine upon a wooden rack made for the purpose. The wood was decorated by carved ivy stems and leaves, giving a homely appeal to the usually otherwise plain red stained wood. His hand then reached for the cabinet nearby and pinched two facet whiskey glasses between his fingers before he returned to the couch. His head turned to watch Benjamin snap shut the door, his hand held the honey whisky in his hand, and edge toward the two now casually sitting on the sofa.

“I wouldn’t say smooth. A few cases have slipped my attention mainly because I have to determine which is more important and make difficult choices. Lorrie has been very understanding and supportive over the matter, through Benjamin seems unfazed by my role,” Daniel mentioned, brushing by the fact Ben didn’t just ignore his methods but outright disapproved of them.

Daniel smiled then reached to retrieve the liquor from Benjamin’s hands. The man held up one glass then filled it generously and passed it to Barron, not bothering to thank or address Ben. Already the teenage knew he had slipped successfully into the background. Not wanting to listen to the discussion between the two individuals, he started to shift toward the kitchen. A strange scent wafted over him causing the teenager to abruptly stop and his figure stiffen. A mixture of cologne, aftershave and… something else caught his attention as the boy continued to sniff the air. His head turned toward Barron’s direction, staring at their guest, and instinctively reacted.

“Benjamin, what do you think you’re doing? That’s very rude to get into our guest’s personal space,” Daniel’s sharp, unexpected reprimand jerked Benjamin into awareness over his actions.

He was literally hovering over Barron, about less than a foot from the man, and sniffing the air between them like some dog seeking a scent.

”HAHa, what you’ve never smelled cologne before boy? I’ll admit it’s a tad strong But I do like the smell it gives off. Really makes an impression at times.” Of course Barron knew why Ben took an interest in him, he did everything he could to cover his own scent but the Werewolf smelled a Vampire and no amount of cologne could change that. ”Still, space is important as curious as you may be I can always lend you a sample later.” Barron said playing off the young Wolf’s curiosity as best he could.

“No… you didn’t smell like that before,” Benjamin mumbled under his breath, his figure pulled upright once more. Confusion and puzzling thoughts worked themselves through his mind as he tried to recover his mistake, spying the opening Barron had presented to him. However his pride refused to use it as his father interrupted his thoughts.

“Benjamin, apologize. He’s usually well respected over personal space,” Daniel spoke, his words reflected how he bluntly ignored the fact his son was standing feet from them both.

“I’m sorry, I was trying to place the scent. It’s a bit too…unique to be purely just cologne. I only smelled it on three other individuals so far and I enjoy figuring things out on my own. That’s part of the fun for me,” Benjamin stated and tried to fight the growl budding in his tone.

”Right. Kids being kids.” Barron took a moment and could smell the wafting odor coming from the kitchen, with barely a sniff he could smell food coming out of the oven. ”Something smells good and this time it isn’t me.”

“It seems the Welllington’s likely done, shall we?” Daniel gestured toward the dining room.



Emma placed a beef wellington down before each individual, placed on a plate and steaming freshly from the oven. When Benjamin got his, he crunched up his nose in confusion when the scent hit him. Normally it would be making him salivate and eager to dig in, but not now. Thinking that the situation had began to affect him, Benjamin cut into his meat then placed a bite into his mouth.

The meat tasted bland and the texture was tougher than he remembered, despite the clear juices that oozed from it and onto the plate. His expression turned up into disgust as he tried to muscle through the meat and force it down his throat. He coughed a moment before he turned his head, careful to not draw attention to himself.

“Benjamin, is there something wrong with your meal?” Lorrie asked in concern, through Ben knew it wasn’t for his health she worried but the quality of the meal for their guest.

“Ahem, no. I just got it stuck in my throat and lost my appetite so may I be excused?” Benjamin explained, hiding the fact his stomach rumbled inside and betrayed him.

His arms fell under the table and tightly clenched it as he tried to fake illness. Lorrie glanced at Barron, who until a bit ago was locked in conversation with Daniel, then casually pulled upright from her seat. Her legs snaked about the table to his position and her hand lightly brushed his forehead for a fever. She frowned upon finding nothing then leaned into hiss a quiet warning into his ear, hiding it in a form of a kiss against his head side.
It took all of Ben’s might not to recoil and snap at the bitch’s face. His left hand tightened on his thigh while her words slithered in causing dread to creep into his very core.

“I don’t know what game you’re playing at, but you will not ruin this evening. Now you’re going to sit here and eat everything then you’re to excuse yourself, and head upstairs. If you try to come downstairs, you’ll find the door locked…,” Lorrie threatened then lifted upright, flashing another fake, motherly grin at Barron and Daniel. Her figure moved to return to her seat as she began to dig into her own meal, “I hope the wellington is suitable to your tastes, Mr. Vanderbilt. Emma’s an excellent cook, but I’ve been considering replacing her.”

Ben tensed at the subtle threat toward the housemaid and gave a scowl in his father’s girlfriend’s direction. Her lips pulled into a more wick smile as she folded her hands under her chin, eagerly about to listen to Barron’s next statement.

Barron had already had a few bites, while it was not as bloody as he would have liked it to be; mostly for the feeling of blood dripping down his throat it was still rather flavorful and worthy of a five star restaurant. ”It’s wonderful, I sample dishes every week to ensure our meals are gourmet. If I had to say though it would seem Ben is changing, you know kids these days every few years they’re liking food prepared a different way or become allergic to some common food. If it’s not the food it must be the tenderness.” Cutting a good piece away roughly the size of a broccoli. ”Perhaps he needs something a bit more rare, here see how this tastes to you.” Setting the piece upon the boy’s plate.

Ben stiffened. However it wasn’t because of Barron that he did, but when the scent hit him, his mouth salivated and his will fought against literally snatching the bloody one up instantly into his mouth. With a trembling hand, he managed to stab the bloody piece with his fork then quickly place it into his mouth. It was quickly downed in moments. A look of blissful enjoyment crossed Ben’s face as he let the chunk slide down.

Just as Barron thought, raw meat was best for a young wolf boy. Knowing he can’t just have Emma bring in raw meat he needed to convince Daniel and Lorrie it was properly prepared. And he smiled knowing just how. Sitting within view of everyone Barron didn’t need to move much as his eyes glowed red and burned into Emma, Daniel and Lorrie’s iries.

”Emma was it? Could you get Ben something RAW..” To a observer the question would be abnormal but to those dining all seemed more than normal as if they could simply not hear and see the obvious.

Ben stared at Barron’s statement, then glanced around the table. No one found it odd as Emma bowed and turned back to the kitchen, preparing the bloody raw wellington. When the rare meat came, his eyes widen and then instinct kicked in. He began to wolf it down at an alarming rate. In moments, the wellington vanished and no trace left save for some blood red streaks. The clawing sensation of hunger abated causing his eyes to look at Barron, confusion lingered in his expression, at what he had done to the individuals at the table.

“My, Benjamin you wolfed that down fairly quickly,” Lorrie commented causally then sipped her wine, “Well it seems you were correct Mr. Vanderbilt, he does like it rare. I wonder why you didn’t order it like that dear.”

”You know why Buffets are soo popular, people never know what they want until it’s placed right in front of them, that and they over indulge. Not the point though. People grow their tastes change and as a Casino Tycoon I must always anticipate what my customers want. It’s why my Casinos are so highly rated.” Placing a napkin down he watched as everyone began digging into their meal.

The rest of the dinner went off with much of an issue, each individual enjoying their meal without further incident. Ben finally departed leaving both Daniel and Barron to their business, though the fact the vampire was so close made the teenage werewolf unease. Grudgingly, the boy moved up to the top floor and out of sight shortly. Time passed as his face lingered on the window, pacing to and from, his tension growing the longer the minutes became hours. Finally, he spotted Barron bidding his farewell as he slipped into his car and drove off.

Casually, Ben looked to the digital clock nearby. It blinked in dim green at exactly ten pm, two hours before midnight and the full moon. It was going to be a very long night.

Suddenly, Chris saw the woman who was attacked by the behemoth of a man jump to her feet and dash towards her attacker. However, he could only see a purple blur racing around the man. The only time when he was able to see her was when she would momentarily stop to complain to him about his own inaction.

“Then you better step out of the way. I don’t want to get a reputation of hitting pretty ladies like you.” Chris told the speedster as he sized up the man charging towards him. With his sword in hand, Chris took a swing at the behemoth of a man. However, his opponent caught the metallic portion of the blade. A stalemate ensued, as both men exerted their strength to overpower the other. One had superhuman power on his side, the other, the marvels of human ingenuity.

Chris needed to think fast. While they were currently in a stalemate, he did not know how long his armor could keep it up. Obviously, he could not brute force his way to victory. So, he needed some other alternative. However, after only a moment of pondering over this problem, he finally came up with a solution. He first deactivated the external speakers so that his enemy could not hear what he was doing.

“You might want to look away for a moment.” Chris warned the speedster before he had turned off his external speakers. Once those were off, he began to give orders to his armor. “Computer, activate the energy pila.”

WARNING: Object is in hand. Do you want to proceed? Chris saw on his internal interface of his armor.

“Affirmative” Chris said, “Set type from projectile to burst. Also, deactivate visual display and set arm to be in front of hostile’s face when the energy pile is ready.”

Everything went dark as his external video feed cut out. Right before the burst of energy went off, Chris could feel his opponent getting the upper hand as he began to drive him back. But then, he heard the man cry out in pain. When Chris turned his visual interface back on, he saw the man grabbing at his eyes as if he had been dazed by Chris’ attack.

“Hey, Speedy. You can mop things up here.” Chris told the purple speedster, “This guy here has a date with the Pacific Ocean.”

Chris shot a grappling cable around the man’s ankles before he took off. However, when he tried to take off, he discovered that the behemoth of a man was so heavy that Chris could only get him a few feet off the ground.

“You really need to cut down on the late night snacks!”

_{banner credit to Hellis}







The inside of the warehouse was rather normal. All the shelves were modern stacked with crates and forklifts sat in the corners. There was quiet, as the inside was obscured to the outside world, rows upon rows stacked towards the ceiling. The forklift was the only light source as the charging light blinked. As men patrolled the grounds two stood out, as gloved hands reached for the door into the warehouse office. “Boss wants a check done, things have been crazy ever since someone hit us in Lost Haven.”

“Yeah, you’re telling me Klein. Wasn’t happy about explaining things to the local buyers. Don’t know why we’re here, no one’s gonna mess with us in our territory.” The door clicked and the lights flickered on inside the office. “Klein, call a few boys to check the inventory. Make sure everything’s in place. Make sure the Mimic isn’t eating the crates again.”

“Sure sure. I’ll have them do some legwork.” Klein rustled through his pockets as he gripped a black phone. “Take a few guys and inspect the warehouse right and proper. The Mimic should be doing it’s job at pest control but make sure it’s not damaging any of it’s surroundings.”

“Got it boss. Doing a sweep log now.”

---

Lekh, dressed not unlike a paintballer or some sort of special ops agent in his facemask and kevlar vest, crept along the corrugated fencing that lined the outskirts of the warehouse. On the other side he estimated a sixty foot dash to the walls of the building itself, through an area used by delivery vehicles which would park up with their rears to the loading bay doors for easy movement of goods. The place was basically deserted, apparently business hours were irregular in Barron’s organisation though Lekh was not to know that the inside of the warehouse itself was practically empty, for whatever reason.

With an athletic leap he caught the edge of the fencing and pulled his body up so as to peek over, checking the coast was in fact clear before nimbly vaulting the barrier and dropping down on tarmac. Creeping quickly but quietly across the gap he swiftly reached the loading bay doors, two large corrugated things that looked locked tight. Luckily, it seemed they had put in a side door for use when opening and closing the doors would be an excessive hassle just to let one man in or out. He just hoped the thing wasn’t alarmed while there were still people inside the warehouse, because he knew not everyone had gone home from work yet.

It was a relatively minor effort for the practiced thief to pick the lock with a metal pin and screwdriver designed for the task. With a click and a squeak that made Lekh wince beneath his mask, the door swung open and before him was the warehouse proper. And it was dark. So very dark. Illuminated only by the dim amber lights of forklifts sequestered away out of sight, presumably on charge for later use. Usually, darkness was Lekh’s friend, but with the sort of creatures he was expecting to encounter the balance had shifted and suddenly his old friend had become his worst enemy. With a gulp to master the fear that any reasonable human would feel going into such unknown, Lekh sought out the damp wooden stake from his waistband and clutched it tight while with his free hand he drew his pistol. Knocking the door shut behind him, he was plunged into near complete darkness. With weapons close at hand, he began to cautiously advance into the warehouse, awaiting the smashing of glass from on high.

---

Meanwhile, upon the afternoon-lit roof, Mandate faced a conundrum. It was a simple matter, but confounding.

Did Miss Ambassador want me to count fast, or slowly? Upon reconsidering, the golem decided that the matter was actually not that confounding at all; humans (like Miss Ambassador) were extremely slow on their feet sometimes. Logically, the fey-dealing woman would require some time to get into position, as would as her strange friend.

Okay, slow it is. Metaphorically patting herself upon the back for her quick deductions, Mandate resumed her slow count upon her fingers, using the rhythm to allow herself some further space to think. It was not particularly difficult to count to 100, but it was even easier to do it with her digits.

The realm of her idle thoughts was not a particularly enlightening experience, she found. If one killed a vampire, did the blood count as its own? Did vampires disintegrate, she wondered? She hoped not, for the sake of her own curiosity regarding their inhuman innards. And metahumans, an even more wondrous proposition; they were mostly non-magical things.

Is a vampire bat a vampire or a bat first? Oh, that’s 90. Standing tall upon the roof of the warehouse, the ever-curious golem cast her gaze out. Her thoughts momentarily drifted in the wind, and the warmth of the afternoon sun soaked intriguingly into her unyielding surface. The glimmer of the light upon her mercurial ‘skin’ was a fascinating effect that she wished to observe further.

But sadly, her time was up. Up to 100, specifically. Mentally patting herself upon the back once more, Mandate refocused. Her fingers curled, her foot thumped upon the roof of the warehouse, and she threw herself forward.

The golem descended head-first through the window, preceded by a spray of debris and followed by a shaft of afternoon light. Her landing was almost as hard as the blows that would soon follow.

“THE HELL was that!! I’m gonna check it out. Get your golems ready Klein.”

“While you do that I’ll call up the boys.”

--Outside--

Odette approached the edge of the building peeking around, there were a couple dozen vehicles parked in the lot. The entrance was generally quiet, the odd person heading inside or exiting. Beckoning Bach to follow she walked straight through the doors, looking lost and confused. She walked right up to the desk, one lone woman smartly dressed in business casual diligently typing away at her computer. She peeked up already with a smile to greet Odette. Bach was already behind the desk looking over her shoulder at the computer. Visibly the woman shivered involuntarily. They only had a less than a minute before Mandate began the distraction.

“Good afternoon...” Odette peered down to the woman’s name tag, “Abigail. My name is Jennifer, I’m here to drop off my husband’s lunch. He forgot it at home. Do you mind if I sneak it into the break room?”

Abigail smiled sympathetically reaching for the phone, “Of course, Mrs…?”

“Smith.” She supplied smiling pleasantly. Odette noted, “That is an awfully cute blouse, perfect for work.”

Abigail smiled politely typing across her keyboard, “Bought it on sale.”

“What a deal.” She replied.

She tapped her manicured nails across the surface of the desk while she waited. The phone rang, Abigail promptly picked it up and paused when the person on the other line panicked, telling poor Abigail to call for help. “What’s- slow down, what’s happening-” Bach promptly smashed her head off the desk cutting the phone call short.

He ripped the phone from the desk throwing it to the ground. “I believe Mandate has begun.” He plucked the security badge off of her hip throwing it to Odette to catch. She quickly stepped up to the front doors, twisting the locks. She pulled out her tome from her purse and began casting traps along the front doors, little yew tree symbols etching into the glass windows. Effectively booby trapping the entrance.

They pulled off to the left pressing the badge to the magnetic door lock, stepping through to one of the offices, surprising not only herself but Klein and a few other office employees.

--In the Office--

“Blue haired gals don’t belong in here. So I’ll have to ask my friends to escort you out, sic her.” Klein yelled and pointed Odette’s way as the two rubber golems finally reached their maximum size the other three workers reached for their weapons in response.

Odette tensed at the sight of the golems, unique in composition. There was no space for her to move in the office. Desks, furniture and golems stood between herself and the mage. She moved her hand, snapped at the closest desk, “Bouge toi!” The desk lifted at her spell command blocking their sight of her. She pointed to another desk, repeating the spell but this time to throw it, aiming generally for the the mage. Closing her eyes she concentrated, brow furrowed. Every bit of furniture in the office began to glow slowly lifting a few inches off the ground. Chairs, office supplies, desks, ergonomic peddlers.

“I appreciate the offer of an escort but I feel as though I’ve only arrived.” She said smugly. Bach moved past her, dodging between the floating furniture. His target was one of the golems.

The golems charged through the desk and began to make their way to Odette. “Open some room tear down the mage with the walls.” Klein called out as he readied some floating bubbles. Intent on striking from afar.

Bach ran straight, stumbling into a newly formed magic bubble seeing through the slightly transparent bubble, struggling against the molasses-like substance. Even through the nearly opaque bubble, Bach’s form began changing colour slowly growing, pushing against the resistance.

The golem came crashing through the furniture, taking the most direct route to Odette. She sidestepped nearly right into a magic bubble, catching glimpses of Bach. She looked at the rushing golems, now stuck between a rock (rubber) and a hard place no time to move without lodging herself into that ridiculous bubble. She shielded herself with her arms hoping the blow would be absorbed by her wards.

With the golems crashing through the walls debris flew in every direction as Klein prepared more bubbles to defend himself with, he needed to put a gag on her something to prevent her spellcasting. “Take her down, bury her in your weight!” The golem charged Odette again tackling her outside into the warehouse floor below as it fell from the second floor office. “Mute the bitch err witch.” The golem pressed its large hand over Odette’s mouth and left a melted print of rubber as it rose off her. “Watch her,” Klein said as he felt his phone ring.

Klein looked at the restrained mage. “I’ll be back to question you later.”

She struggled kicking against the golem fruitlessly, its dull featureless head unmoving its weight keeping her pinned. Her mouth filled with bitter rubber effectively silencing her. Odette’s nostrils flared as she glared at the mage walking away. With a huff and sigh through her nose her legs relaxed while the golem increased pressure to compensate for her relaxation. She glared up at the construct, was that necessary?

Je le tuerai.

--The Warehouse floor Mandate VS Lynch--

Lynch on the other hand flew on the scene while a silvery golem fell through the roof. As people scrambled into place the lights kicked on, but Lynch didn’t need them as he gave off his own light source as he circled the intruder. Knowing that it was some sort of golem he decided getting too close was just a bad idea and began firing blasts of energy from his hands. Outside however the doors busted open as goons who heard the racket came rushing in, armed with small arms they went to try and secure the building. The five of them split up to find the intruders and check on the offices.

In hindsight, Mandate considered, perhaps burying herself headfirst into the earth was not the most elegant of entrances; certainly not as elegant as Miss Ambassador. Tearing her head free from the floor with a spray of debris but relatively little fuss, the towering golem staggered to her feet- and promptly slipped as an immense heat washed over her frame, and tore into the floor in the process. It weakened beneath her feet, and gave easily. Stumbling but unharmed, the golem wiped frantically at her singular eye in an effort to clear it of rubble, focusing on the curious shining man and his equally curious blasts of heat. She considered her approach, but did not yet move.

As the blasts fired at Mandate her exterior absorbed the attacks, which was not quite correct, it appeared to Lynch that her body could withstand the heat. Keeping his ever decreasing distance he called up Klein for some assistance.

“Right. Kinda need help Klein, got a golem here and melting it isn’t working.” Lynch kept his distance as he pelted Mandate with plasma balls.

In truth Lynch’s attacks were affecting the mercury golem just not enough to melt away her body as the heat made her swelter. A golem rushed through the warehouse charging directly at Mandate with the directive to pin her against the wall.

From stumbling to her feet in the midst of melting floor to being pushed rapidly across the warehouse, Mandate found herself deciding that it was something of an off day. The golem planted her feet into the floor as she was sent skidding towards the wall, her internal sense of weight shifting. The great force behind her opponent was halted with a final stomp upon the floor, crumbling it and burying the golem’s feet up to the ankles.

”Get off me! I’m busy!” The haze of smoke and dust made spotting her opponent difficult, so Mandate didn’t bother; Instead, she lashed out at the space in front of her, attempting to slam her fist into where she guessed her smaller opponent stood. At least the uncomfortable prickling of heat had temporarily abated.

Whacking the rubber golem produced a reverberation as it took a knee while the impact dispersed into it, shaking but holding steady. Klein was growing more and more impressed with the golem a marvel of sorcery. “I’d love to study it, but, Lynch. See if you can’t get out of here. The gunfire is dying down that’s never a good sign, inform the boss.”

“You sure?” He said tossing fireballs every couple minutes. “If things aren’t looking good maybe I shouldn’t take off.”

As Klein raised his arm and commanded his golem to attack, he felt a surge of power. “My golem. The bitch destroyed it somehow.” His hands glowed with magic, as he looked towards Mandate. ”I’ll break her toy! Get going Lynch.”

Mandate’s preoccupation with her fellow golem prevented her from overhearing the exchange between the men. Personally, she found herself impressed with the rubber thing, and the manner in which it stood against her punch, however weakened the blow was for the sake of the warehouse’s integrity. Her weight had dropped again by the time the rubber golem attacked once more, driving her further back towards the wall. More annoying, however, was the constant fire. The smoke and dust was making it impossible to coordinate, and that was just rude. ”Enough!”

Filled with a sudden idea, the mercury golem took advantage of her counterpart's continued attack. Her fists, planted against its sides, uncurled and clamped down upon the smaller construct’s limbs. Her grip was that of an indomitable vice. Rather than attempting to tear open the golem, however, she instead heaved upwards, trying to lift the rubber creation in between herself and the fire of her other opponent. Her strength was momentarily lowered even further to avoid accidentally throwing the other golem around.

”If you don’t stop that, I’m going to throw burning stuff all over the place, and then I’ll find your boss and tell him it’s your fault his warehouse burned down!” Mandate’s voice was raised to a threatening holler, directed in the general direction of the illegible voices a good distance from where she had started.

“Good for me then!” Lynch said as he flew higher, “I ain’t fighting you no more. There are better places I have to be.” He said flying through the skylight Mandate made.

The rubber golem struggled at Mandate’s grip, “It ain’t fighting you, thanks for the skylight!”

As the rubber golem struggled in Mandate’s grip Klein held up a lifeless rubber golem totem in the palm of his hand. He pressed his lips towards the little statue and whispered words unbeknownst to normal men, words that invoked magic and began tearing at the souls that lay within Mandate. To anyone it would be harmless but to other golems it began to suck the soul that bound them to their body and with it he could reforge Mandate to his will, if that was Mandate was a typical golem. It tugged at her very core while Klein willed his own magic to tear her apart.

--The Warehouse floor--

Lekh heard the sound of concussive energy blasts bursting on the mercurial form of his temporary golem ally. The sound was awesome, loud and shocking following the smashing of glass and the heavy thump of Mandate falling to the concrete. He couldn’t have asked for a better distraction really. Hell, he knew what was going on and even he wanted to head towards the sound of that fight and see what was going on. The men who were sent to sweep the warehouse would be betrayed by their own curiosity.

The lights came on with dazzling suddenness and Lekh took a moment to shake his head. Daylight was flooding in from shattered windows up above, but he hadn’t expected all the lights to get turned on so suddenly. He was starting to wonder, was there really any vampires here? Wouldn’t they be losing their advantage turning the lights on like that? He shrugged, if the enemy wanted to do his job for him, all the better. Keeping low and allowing stock upon the shelves to conceal his form, Lekh crept through the outskirts of the warehouse and looked for internal cataloging systems. Numbers, symbols, whatever really. Anything that would allow him to determine what was in each crate, so he could ascertain if he had found what he was looking for. He kept his eyes and ears open in any case. If any of the sweepers were unfortunate enough to cross his path they’d do well to avoid a bullet in the head.

As a guard held a small handgun he went through the isles knowing two confirmed intruders were inside he sought out to check if anyone else had gotten in, taking a general peak between the middle shelves to see if he could spot anyone at chest height he was unwittingly moving closer and closer to Silence.

Lekh was rifling quietly through a cardboard box inside an open topped wooden crate. The outside of the box had just said ‘Dangerous’ and the natural thief in Silence was intrigued. Perhaps he should have been more cautious, but inside he saw only small silver rings, unadorned with gems or anything similar. There was some sort of markings written on them, but it was not something he was familiar with. Shrugging, perhaps recklessly, he took one of the rings and pocketed it. Then, looking up he caught a furtive movement between two crates two aisles across. It would seem some of the guards had resisted the urge to head towards sounds of battle. Lekh dropped into a quick crouch, ducking through the racking to hop into the next aisle with a quick glance left and right. It was all clear, for now. Tracking the sound of movement, Lekh held his pistol at the ready, though he’d pocketed the stake for the time being. Then, he waited. Eventually the sounds of footsteps drew near, and he ascertained that a guard was closing in on him.

It was a matter of moments of deliberation for the criminal, but in the end he had come to the conclusion that the overly active guard was going to have to go. He was hoping to avoid murdering too many people for this, but moral quandaries were going to have to wait until he had what he came for. Keeping low and nestling himself in the lower level of the racking, he waited with his body obscured by crates. He’d have preferred it to be darker, but the spot he found was good enough to avoid detection for long enough to get the drop on the guard walking towards him. As luck would have it, the man was looking in the wrong direction when he passed Lekh’s cover. His head started to swing around, and his fate was sealed. With a loud pop Silence’s silenced pistol put an end to his life with a bullet to the head. He dropped like a stone, his gun clattering to the ground, but with all the noise in the warehouse that wasn’t enough to perturb the Pole. What he should have realised was that the blood pooling from the man’s open skull was the real threat, glistening crimson as it soaked the stone grey concrete below.

The air was filled with iron as a vampire sniffed the scent of freshly spilled blood. He stepped out into the main aisle way and sure enough saw the other vampire doing the same as they narrowed down the smell. Rick had cut his finger three months ago, and they had never forgotten that smell. It was unfortunate but his death would lead them to another intruder as they scurried off climbing the shelves and vaulting over the aisles with ease while avoiding sunlight, it had helped that the broken windows were the opposite direction. As they neared his body the female dropped down first impacting the ground with enough force to kill a normal human.

Lekh had relocated back across to the aisle he was in previous and was rummaging through a box that looked promising when a faint rattling sound reached his ears. The vampires were quick, and they were quiet, but even they couldn’t quite negate the sounds of the racking creaking and groaning as they hopped from one to the other. Lekh cocked his head for a moment, trying to work out for himself what was coming his way, and then decided whatever it was, it was going to be bad for him. He turned on his heel and started running, down the aisle to an intersection, and then across, so as the create the most distance possible from him and his pursuers. If they wanted him, they’d have to catch him. The vampires heard his footfalls turning to his direction and began chasing him down their yellow eyes focusing solely on him. Their reach swiftly catching up to the running man their clawed fingers scraping away at his back, while the other produced a knife.

Shit. Turns out vampires were even faster than Odette had told him. Silence was no slouch, in fact his athleticism bordered on the supernatural itself though it was in fact at the peak of human performance, perhaps some by-product of his meta-human genes made him naturally faster and stronger than he should have been by rights. Despite this, the vampires gained ground on him quickly as he led them on a merry chase around the outskirts of the warehouse, the first to catch him made a grasping motion with their claws, and were met with the barrel of his gun poking underneath his left arm. Or rather, the extended suppressor at the end of it. He fired wildly behind himself, emptying his magazine into the creature behind him to buy himself some time. He had a destination in mind, he just had to get there.

The vampire staggered as the intruder fired shots into her, her momentum faltered but mere human bullets weren’t enough to outright kill something that wicked and although injured wounds of that nature will heal in time though with this intruder she feared it wouldn’t be fast enough. However even as she stumbled her companion was still gaining on the man knife drawn ready to lunge just as soon as he saw an opportunity.

As his gun clicked to empty he shoved it into his trousers and withdrew a still slightly damp wooden stake. As luck would have it, just in time before a heavy impact drove into his upper back and the tearing of fabric and the cracking of ceramic filled the air. Silence stumbled for a few steps and then fell, heavily, his own momentum driving him onto the concrete. He only just maintained the wherewithal to turn his ungainly fall into an untidy forward roll, before jumping back up onto his feet and turning to desperately stab his stake at the vampire advancing on him. His brain hadn’t quite caught up yet, but the vest he was wearing had just saved his life.

The vampire grasped at the intruder’s arm before he fully noticed what was happening his form combusted falling into a pile of ashes as his self contained spontaneous combustion quickly burned through his flesh and bone.

The female vamp screamed in anger as she charged towards Silence. “ARRGH!!” Pulling out her own side arm and firing towards him.

Nothing had really prepared Silence for the explosive reaction the holy water doused stake would provoke in the vampire as he managed to plunge it into its flesh. The sudden burst of flame that rendered the man turned monster into ash and dust in mere moments caused Silence to step backwards in alarm, a wordless exclamation on his lips as his eyes flickered to the vampire he had wounded. Doggedly, she still pursued him, screaming as she drew a pistol on him. He was caught in the middle of the aisle, his own weapon expended, with nothing but a sharp wooden stake to his name. He couldn’t outrun bullets. So, he charged at her, stake at the ready, the first shot hit him square in the chest before he had covered half the distance, and they came thick and fast afterwards. Two more crashed into the vest covering his torso, and he felt a crack and a sudden pressure as one of his ribs broke from the strain. Still, it was life or death, and even as felt a round cut clean through his vest and through his lower body he drove his stake down hard towards the vampire’s left shoulder blade, with enough force to pierce through to her heart.

As she was prepared for a hidden stake she reacted as quickly one would imagine a vampire on edge would respond taking the stake directly to her hand avoiding a fatal blow as she struggled with his arm attempting to wrench control away. As Lekh tried to pull the weapon clean her own flesh and fingers clutched the stake, twisting it and his wrist so that the wooden spike flew from his hand. The pain of the bullet that had tore its way through his flesh hit him at this crucial moment, grinding away at him as he slung a low cross in with his gauntleted left hand, aiming for the hinge of her jaw. It was a tactic for fighting humans, but that was what Silence knew. The force smacked her jaw popping it out of place as her brain rattled around inside her body seized and mind blanked long enough for Silence to retaliate. However, after delivering such a blow the over-extension of his torso had further torn the bullet wound in his abdomen, and Silence’s left hand flew to his side instinctively. He staggered a moment, barely capitalising on the vampire’s momentary disorientation, before finally lashing out with a side kick to her right leg with his left, after which he followed up with a straight right aimed at the bridge of her nose. Angrily snapping back she ripped the stake free from her hand tossing it to the side clear from the burning sensation she tried to clock Silence with a punch attempting to slaughter him with her fist.

Silence was trying to drag his mind away from the pain flaring up across his chest and the already ragged, piercing sensation in his lungs that told him he was getting winded. It worked, sort of. Focusing entirely on surviving, his mind flipped the switch on his power and the debilitation aura seeped out into his surroundings, at such close proximity the vampire was about to feel like she had drank one too many, and not blood either. Pulling back away from the creature’s sudden onslaught his arms drew together in a boxer’s guard, catching her fist half-way between each armoured forearm. Already the bracers he was wearing played their part, absorbing a heavy impact as his feet slid across the ground. This was combat he could understand, for the time being at least. Hoping to capitalise on the sudden addition of his aura, he stepped forward and unleashed a quick combination of punches towards her head, trying to force her to cover up if he could. With her prey fighting back she was backed into a position where she had to guard, it was embarrassing to be cornered by a weaker creature but her mind was groggy feeling like she was about to chuck up her last meal after one too many benders it was all the time someone like Silence needed to grab for a weapon.

Which was exactly what he did. Albeit, not a very conventional one. As if by magic, a squeeze bottle appeared in Silence’s hand, half-full of what seemed to be water. Which wasn’t far from the truth. Waiting for the inevitable drop of her guard, Silence sprayed Holy Water full into the vampire’s face and eyes. Reeling back as the blessed water seared her face she tried wiping it off with a cloth as furiously as she could in order to see as it burned her eyes obscuring her vision. At which point Silence staggered past her, wincing and groaning beneath his mask as he scooped up the discarded stake. With a shaky step, he hit her from the side, driving the stake between her ribs and into her heart. Her chest burned, a heat sweltered up from within as she burst into flames as her limbs crumples into dust letting the stake fall to the warehouse floor. Hardly a moment after, Lekh too fell to the floor, dropping to his knees as his breath came in gasps. He lifted his mask to suck in more air, but his lungs rejected it and he coughed painfully, spitting blood onto the ground. That, is not good. He knelt there, calmly reloading his pistol, going through the motions. He wasn’t exactly sure how long he knelt there for, but at some point he realised something had changed. The sounds of fighting from elsewhere in the Warehouse had ceased…

---

Yeong laid across her bed with nothing but silence to keep the ever slowly ticking minutes far from her mind. Granted that this once comforting moment would have been drowned with her twin’s mumbling. How long had it been since Ji suddenly stormed out of the house due to their fight? This wasn’t the first time that one of them had decided that some space was very much needed though it felt strange. As if someone had completely erased the room’s once lightened atmosphere and just added in a small amount of guilt into the stale air. Guilt which had flooded the home completely by now.

The woman glaced at the clock once again, feeling as if she had forgotten something important, before noticing some hurried scribbling upon a sticky note attached to the object. The name seemed to have stuck out like an opened wound. Benjamin Reeves. So that’s why the feeling was there.

A full moon acted like ever werewolves worst enemy. Stripping them of any and all humanity before leaving them with nothing by primal instincts. Not that the young woman truly minded such things. Then again the young woman always did seem to love her more animalistic side instead of the bothersome human form which was caged the beast inside. Human’s were fairly weak compared to most of the supernatural beings in the world and yet they always seemed to survive. No matter what was thrown their way which was why, in a way Yeong was beginning to change her once biase feelings.

”Stop it Yeong. Focus on Ben right now and worry about Ji later. If I’m right about this she’s driving to one of her friend’s house to spend the night. This will allow us both to calm down from the full moon’s effects. When she’s ready then she will return but until then you have a puppy to deal with.” She mentally told herself as she began getting ready. The woman gathered extra cloths inside her backpack along with an old blanket which still had a faint smell of their now deceased pack’s scent embedded into the fabric and a bottle of lotion to keep the dryness of her element at bay.

Once Yeong felt as if she had gathered all that was needed she walked outside the apartment, not daring to look back, while jogging to the boy’s home.

Meanwhile, everything in the manor was dead silent. After Baron left, the agency arranged for Daniel and Lorrie to be invited to a late night performance at the New York City Center on short notice. It was a ploy to keep them from spotting Ben’s scheduled transformation and limit the collateral damage. Everything made sense but the eerie impression of loneliness settled in and create a restlessness within him. It fueled the fear and knowledge about his future, quietly adding negative more to whatever fire they started.

The woman walked straight ahead before turning a corner near the young man’s home. She placed the bag inside a bush before looking around to see if the coast was clear. Thankfully the twins still weren’t registered with the troublesome agency though they both seemed to know that once they caught wind of other werewolves living in New York then they would need to take care of the paperwork. The young woman continued to look around as a couple walked past before undressing. Something which every werewolf learned that was much more easier to change. Once the girl changed forms and walked the pathway.

It left a helplessness within Ben that nothing seemed to put at ease. Casually his feet paused and rested into the carpet, letting them slowly sink in the plush surface. His toes curled then unfurled to dig in deeper in hopes the sensation of something solid under his soles might ground him into the present a little better. Slowly, his left foot began to break off and pace along the already established groove on the surface. Each step retraced the past dentitions and gradually made it deeper as time passed, unable to tame the endless, nervous energy tingling through his system.

With his experience of the last few times, he had actually had the foresight to strip down to his boxers and prepare for the worst. His agency guardian had departed an hour ago to check in on the patrol efforts now scattered throughout Hudson Valley. It left the boy to deal with the upcoming tension and change about to begin, the realisation grated at his confidence in being able to handle this on his own.

As he drew toward the blinds, he paused in thought. Part of him had considered trying to shut himself into the room, close the blinds, and wait until this awful night passed, but from what the agency said… it didn’t matter. The moonlight still held her sway and would draw the animal from him either way. Cautiously, his fingers reached out for the only shield he had against the outside world. Ben pulled the blinding upward causing the pale, transparent moonlight in. A single line striped across his bare chest, well formed by his own toning habits, as it chilled the flesh it touched.

A familiar sensation rippled over him as the transformation began.

A pair of brown eyes searched the blackened side road for any signs of Ben. Since he was just a puppy it shouldn’t be so hard to keep him in one area considering that Yeong was the oldest of the two. While adding in the advantage of elemental powers. Something that the teenager lacked. Then again his kind never evolved as much as they had.

A sudden crashing sound made her ear flicker towards her left, allowing her to assume that the boy had just finished sifting, the splashing sound that that followed afterwards helped pinpoint his position. The route must have been simple, crash through the bedroom window just like before, and landed into the backyard pool.

Benjamin fell deep into the swirling darkness. Breath rushed from his lungs as the hard surface collided with his chest, all the air compressed out in surprise. The water soaked his fur in moments while the tarp caved in. It surrounded him, the plastic cover entangled into his limbs and weighed them farther to the pool bottom. He kicked then thrashed out with his claws. Sounds of rips and tears were easily muffled by churning water bubbling to the surface, his air slowly dwindling to nothing.

When his legs touched the bottom, his blue eyes jerked wide open. His muscles coiled and shoved from the solid perch, shooting him upward. Benjamin broke the surface almost immediately air filled his burning lungs. He lunged forward and tried to paddle to the closest edge. The tarp continued to warp about his hind legs causing him to kick out, his body dipped underwater again, as he thrashed upward to catch another breath. His forepaw managed to thump upon the pool’s stone edges and helped lift him partly out, his chest pushed upon the side.

The thrill of a chase filled the air as Yeong’s lips formed a massively early victory smirk. The wind around her brushed through her pitch black fur, the once brown eyes dulled, as an electric blue took their place. The spell was mostly for show than a warning. Yes, using this simple technique would reveal her position but then again it wouldn’t be much of a fight with such a newborn. More like playing with fire without thinking of the consequences. Easy to get burned then to douse or even tame such a powerful weapon. Her back right paw dig into what felt like the moist damp ground, forcing small amounts of dirt to shift from it’s original placement, allowing an extra lift to her step. The woman’s front left paw soon copied the movement making the dirt the stuck to her pads fall. Getting caught by the makeshift wind.

Water surged up with Benjamin and darkened the white stone, his fur plastered against his muscular form making him look fairly thin compared to his usual mass. His claws clicked and scraped against the surface as he hauled himself out of the pool. A flood of mist expelled from his nose, water collected in his lungs, as his claws scraped across the surface. Glass shards were scattered across the pool area and crunched underneath his paws when he managed to roll onto the deck.

The debri caused a little bit of trouble in case the other werewolf decided to take off right away yet in her own opinion right now the effect looked so damn cool. Yeong steadied her breathing and readied her body for a fairly rough impact. Another advantage which came in handy. Ji had also been the smart one but her pain tolerance always seemed nonexistent unlike the youngest sibling. The girl could pack a punch if she knew the receiving end could handle such a thing. When they could the woman never really held back then again that was when they were just human’s. Now the girl was forced to hold back her strength much more. At least this target didn’t need months to heal but minutes which meant there was no holding back.
Benjamin snorted then sniffed, his nose came to life at the scent of magic and wolf. It mingled in his brain as he started to identify it. A word, disconnected a bit, formed in his intelligence. Yeong…. He didn’t quite understand why a simple word held meaning. His head turned to the property edge and began to move toward it, curious about the sounds and scents beyond it.

The girl lunged forwards, teeth bare and gleaming in the moonlight, as her body shifted diagonally. Most of the weight was distributed towards her upper half in order to knock the boy back into the pool’s water. If this didn’t work then the older werewolf wouldn’t have time to stop, taking the dive inside herself.

When the clicking claws and thumping feet hit close by, Ben’s head whipped about to face the black wolf. His lips curled back in a snarl as she rushed at him. He only moments to react. HIs forearms lowered as his braced, letting the tension form a thick wall of muscle and fur. She connected.

Honestly Yeong hadn't expected the young man to do anything. Yes, the impact had moved him towards the pool’s edge but in reality the girl had expected such an effect to have the desired effect. Mainly the side wolf once again inside the widened pool so she could keep the teenager in a single spot.

Her chest smacked into his shoulder and his claws scratched along the surface. His left side lowered as his right lifted, Yeong’s balance off kilter, while he jerked using her momentum to flip over him.

She knew that she had messed up almost instantly. A foul which the girl hadn't considered until being tossed aside like a rag doll.

Meanwhile his head lowered and snapped at Yeong’s paws, catching her off guard. Between the rush, his angled back and his teeth, the older wolf would be easily tossed into the pool and into the tarp floating between the top and bottom.

The young woman jerked her paw upwards, in attempt to keep from the sharpened teeth from sinking in her own flesh, Though the sudden counter was, in a way, rather amazing to witness. The young puppies that Yeong watched her twin train never seemed to show any signs of intelligence then again the young woman never really stayed around to actually watch them for long. Mostly because she wanted to be free from any and all responsibility from a seemingly idiotic chore. Something that the youngest sibling wished she could go back in time and change.

Her head was the first thing to hit the tarp, followed by her shoulders and midsection, becoming more wrapped around the troublesome object. The last thing to follow was her bottom half. Yeong could feel the rough plastic clinging to her figure dragging her downwards in attempt to claim a new victim for mere fun. Panic filled her own body as the wolf’s lungs slowly started burning, demanding oxygen that was forcefully ripped from her. Yeong’s claws scraped against the object trying to force it to rip apart or never to make it release her from this watery graveyard.

Minutes seemed to pass before it seemed to give way, allowing a small hole in the right corner, to allow a small sliver of moonlight. Again the young woman clawed frantically until to rip became larger. She wormed her body through the hole only to manage to get her paw stuck in the narrow part. In a way Yeong’s mind told her she was going to die and another part called out for her siblings help. Everything happened so fast and here she was, helpless to save her own skin. The girl mentally growled as she twisted and turned her paw free and swam to the surface. She took a deep breath and glanced around noting a fleeting figure in the distance.

Pendragon (OOC Banner later, tablet doesn't do well with those.)

With a tiny army bearing down on the trio Dickens impaling the little soldiers as they charged using tentacles formed from his flesh Eva pulled him back and started to retreat."We nee-- to get out of here.” When Eva called to the stranger to run he had already taken off catching her off guard. "FUCK! The Bleeder ran off. Dickens! We’re getting out of here.”

The world around them was odd, Eva could see the borders of the world pillars crafted out of what looked like game boards as houses, shops and even castles lined the walls and ceiling as if the laws of gravity simply didn’t apply here. Being chased she didn’t have much time to stop and gawk, it was even more hectic than Game Genie’s ability to summon Video Game characters something she had looked forward to; wasn’t often one got to meet fictional characters and while she couldn’t enjoy their company save the time she spent with Voyager and Shovel Knight, it was still mostly fun. Eva wouldn't call herself a nerd, or even that much of a gamer shunning most genres but who can say they met Shovel Knight in real life. But as her train of thought completely derailed a black horse nearly jumped on top of her and Dickens the rider seemingly one with his mount as he drew blade. With a powerful overhead swing Dickens met the knight’s sword in his maws crushing the weapon, the knight paused and turned his head towards the castle. “INTRUDERS!” He yelled out with his dying breath, Eva watched as the others who were chasing her stopped and yelled the same thing in unison shifting direction and charging the Castle. ”Oh, okay. Creepy. Guess I now know where the other guy went.” Setting foot towards the menacing sky castle Eva gazed at how it floated there it’s gate always facing whatever side she viewed it from as a road rose to the sky to greet it. The closer she got the more opposition she faced, Dickens was utterly befuddled by the road beneath his feet, was it there as it twisted re-formed and spiraled onwards or was he just imagining it. Eva felt woozy, her head spun like a windup doll and as the road churned so did her stomach.”Nope, magic bullshit don’t toss my dinner.” Eva said as she wiped spit from her lip. ”I need some answers from the wanker in that castle.”

The denizens of this world fought her and Dickens back even though the road they stood on was a stable as a wet noodle, and slashing and stabbing living playing cards didn’t help Eva keep her lunch down. ”Right, break down those doors! We’re coming in like a raging train!” Complying Dickens charged and rammed the doors open bursting through Eva saw the stranger climbing to the top of a pedestal reaching for two spears. ”Dickens clear a space. AND YOU!” Eva shouted towards the well dressed buffon who had dumped her earlier. I have questions for you.”

“Oh great, punk rock is back.” Abraham said. ”As much as I appreciate the help I’m kinda not looking for a sidekick. Nice tryout though.”

Flipping a finger Eva spat. Fuck off. I’m here cause you opened a portal to a pocket dimesion thing in a mansion. One I am certain does not belong to you.”

Abraham scoffed. “Big words give you trouble? OH.” As a giant Chess Piece reached it’s hand out towards Abe grabbing his pants leg he kicked at it’s grip against the crowned giant. “Your Highness, I’m afraid I’m going to have to topple you reign.” Pulling out a shotgun a blast rang out echoing throughout the chamber, as the crown rolled towards the ground. “Bloody fucking Kings. And onto my prize!”

”Dickens. Attack.” Pointing towards the pedestal he whipped his tail smacking both Abe and destroying the pedestal which the spears sat upon. ”Big tail giving you trouble. NOW, Dickens Push the rest of them back, I need to have a few words.”

Climbing out of rubble Abraham coughed as he pushed himself clear while Eva jumped down. You and I need to talk. Why did you open a portal in Alistair Wahlforth’s Mansion, and what are these things?” Eva yelled as she stepped on one of the spears.

“First, while I did open a portal I wasn’t the one who placed it there. Alistair did, and this concerns the fate of the world girl, amateurs should go home.”

”Funny, I’m here cause the fate of the world is at stake. Why don’t we talk about that or I could stab you with a pointy sword. I’d think I’d know if the previous owner left something magical here.”

“Clearly not. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here, Young Mouse.”

”How, how do you know that?” Eva asked genuinely unsure, only a few of her closest friends and her Grandfather called her that.

“I dove through my grandfather's memories. Painted quite the picture.”

Berenice had not been happy to spot the adults approaching, which had been just ahead of Amy owing to her vantage point a bit higher up. Her talons had gripped tight enough to start prying splinters out of the fence when the woman screamed, and the approach of even more adults did her mental state no favours. Having only met one adult human in her entire three weeks of existence and come to the conclusion that he had been trying to steal her kill, she was not at all pleased to see more food-thieves. Her brain had also not yet made the connection that the children and the adults were the same species, and, realising that there might be a threat, she hopped around the kids, who were just starting to move forward with placating gestures and shouts, landing between them and the adults. While not necessarily being aggressive yet, she was hopping side to side, head snapping to look at both pairs of humans in rapid succession. Hey eyes were wide, and while they were sized for her head, they were slightly wider than a normal persons, and they were coloured just like an eagles Currently, those eyes had pupils that were very dilated.

With Owen's parents occupied with some strange box that the male was saying things into near his face, the female hanging from his arm and staring at her but not making a move towards the children, Berenice turned to the strangers, glaring at them and bobbing slightly. “You stay away, egg-thief,” she snarled at David, baring her predator's teeth in what she hoped was an intimidating way. “Not care your name Dah-vid. Stay away from the friends!”

Amy moved up behind her, dodging deftly around the half-beating wings and tried to calm down the harpy. “Look, Berry! Hes not trying to hurt anyone. Please listen!'' She gave a pleading look to the man, saying directly to him, “Look, Mister David, she's really not dangerous, she doesn't know any better. She's only been around a few weeks and we don't know where she came from, but she's been nothing but nice to us.” Glancing behind her, she saw Owen over by his parents, trying to calm them down with little success. They had obviously called the police. Amy turned back to the stranger with panic in her eyes.

“The police aren't going to understand! They'll just shoot her or carve her up or something! Please you have to get her out of here!” Turning back to Berenice, who was showing more confusion than anything else, she cupped the harpy's face in her hands and got her to look the girl in the eye. “Berry, you have to get out of here. If you go with the man he can keep us in contact, okay? But men are coming who won't want to talk, they'll just think you're bad and they'll take you away!”

The others were scattering, trying to create distractions so that they had enough time to get their friend out of the area, but Berenice was obviously not happy. She had never seen her friends worried like this, nor did she really have any sense of danger. “Norra danger, Ah-mee. Norra wanna go, wanna stay and play more.” She shot a venomous glare at David and the other man. “Without egg-thiefs.” Amy rolled her eyes exasperatedly and shook her head. “We'll play again another time, okay? But if you don't leave now we'll never get to play again.” That sank in enough to shake Berenice, and she hopped slightly closer to David, eyeing him warily. “Okay, Ah-mee. I will go with Dah-vid-thief, but if he try things funny, I will rip him!” She flexed a talon into the dirt she stood on, trying to give her words weight.

1:05 AM

"This the place?"

In a car, two men in black clothing sit, staring at a darkened two-story house. The lawn is manicured, and a winding concrete path leads to the front door. At the end of the path, a white door waits, surrounded by brick. A metal plate at eye-height, to the right of the door marks the house as 4359 Sunset Avenue.

The passenger, a wiry man with a wispy pencil mustache squints, looking at the address, and nods. "Yeah, we're here. Pretty ritzy place."

Putting on gloves and a balaclava, the driver, a thick-jawed man with a buzz cut and five-o-clock shadow, grunts. "Yeah, yeah, it's nice. Bet it has some good shit, too. You know why the boss wants us to break in?"

The second man nods. "Some girl. Probably a meta, with all this weird crap going on, recently." Pulling on a matching balaclava and gloves, the passenger steps out of the car. "To be honest, I couldn't care about the situation. We're getting paid a lot, we take the job."

Chuckling, the driver steps out of the car, shutting the door behind him quietly. "That's good. Wouldn't want ya to go chickenshit on me, now."

Creeping around the back, the two burglars tread quietly across the lawn, heading to a sliding glass door around back. Hefting a tire iron he brought from the car, the bigger man smashes the window, and reaching inside, unlocks the glass door, sliding it open.

Looking to his companion, who raises a handgun and nods, the big man creeps inside, taking the lead.



Glass shatters, somewhere. A break in. Nicholas wakes with a start, rolling out of bed quickly. Opening his night-stand's drawer, he pulls a handgun from within. Rushing to his bedroom's door, he opens it slightly, peeking out into the upstairs hallway.

Two shadowy figures, one bulky, one lanky. Both headed down the hall, to Abigail's room. They're coming to take her.

Nostrils flaring, Nick grimaces with anger. He won't let that happen.

Stepping out into the hallway, he creeps behind the men, stepping softly. As they reach the door to his daughter's room, he is upon them. Grabbing the scrawny one, and pulling him into a chokehold, he aims his gun at the bigger man.

"Unless you want a bullet between your eyes, drop the weapon, and get on the ground."

Turning around slowly, the big man drops the tire iron. Raising his hands in the air, he looks at Nick, glaring. His friend flailing in Nick's grip, he can do nothing but comply, getting on his knees, hands behind his head.

"I'm going to tie you up, and then-" Any further commands are cut off by the skinny gunman flailing, and hitting Nick in the nose with the back of his head. Grip loosening in surprise, Nick is caught off guard by a sudden elbow to the chin, and lets go of the man, staggering back.

Standing straight, he looks up, just in time to see the bigger man charging at him. Hitting Nick with a shoulder check, he lifts him off the ground, throwing him down the stairs. Landing hard at the bottom of the stairs, Nick lies there, dazed. Above, the big man nods to his companion, motioning to Abbie's room. Tromping down the stairs to Nick, he grins evilly, standing above the man, swinging at Nick's ribs with his tire iron.

Rolling away from the blow, letting it hit his hardwood floor, Nick sweeps a leg at the big man, attempting to knock him down. Connecting, and making the man fall backwards, landing on his back, Nick scrambles over to the big man, punching him in the nose, and places a knee on his throat.

Flailing at Nick, the big man tries to swing at him, but he simply catches the blow on his forearm, and grabbing his hand, breaks the arm by twisting it further than humanly possible. The big man lets out a gargle that would probably be a scream if not for, well, the knee on his throat.

Holding him there for a little bit longer, Nick waits for him to go limp before grabbing his gun from where it landed, and rushes up the stairs. Gotta keep them away from Abbie, can't let them touch her....

Reaching the top of the stairs swiftly, he sees the man opening the door to Abbies' room. Eyes dilating and nostrils widening, he whips up his gun aggressively, and shoots the man twice in the back, once in his right shoulder, and once in his left.

Falling into Abigails' room, bleeding, the man started to scream. Rushing to the intruder, Nicholas dragged him to his feet, spinning him around. Grabbing the back of his head, Nick began to smash the man's face into the wall, until he broke through the drywall.

Panting, Nick turns to look at Abbie, who sits up in her bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Dad? Are- Are there people here?"

Nodding, Nicholas points to Abbies' closet. "Get your stuff, sweetie, just like we practiced. We're going to have to leave for a while, okay?" Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Abbie leaps out of bed, opening her closet, pulling out a large backpack.

Pulling the man out of the wall, Nick tosses him down the stairs, making sure he's out of commission. Couldn't be too careful, even with two bullets in the man. Going into his room, Nick changes out of his sweatpants, taking a suit from his closet, and putting it on swiftly.

Putting his gun in a shoulder holster, he walks across the hall, into his office. Inside, a large wooden desk sits, surrounded by bookshelves and gun lockers. Opening a drawer, and taking a holster, a gun sling, and a duffel bag out, Nicholas puts the holster around his leg, and opens the gun locker, revealing the multitude of weapons within.

Taking a Sig Sauer P229, and putting it in his holster, Nick tosses several boxes of .357 SIG ammo in the duffel. Grabbing the gun sling, he attaches it to a SPAS-12, and slings that around his shoulder. Taking the 12-gauge ammo, and stuffing it in the duffel, Nick zips up the bag, picking it up by its' handle.

From within another gun locker, he grabs a MP5 (with suppressor,) and enough ammo to make a gun enthusiast cry, and holds it in his free hand, stuffing the clips in his pocket. At the bottom of the locker is a knife wheel, and from it, he pulls a fixed-blade knife, one that is easily concealable. Grabbing a sheath and attaching it to his belt, Nick steps back, re-locking the rest of his weapon lockers. Leaving the room, he grabs his keys, wallet, and phone off his desk, and closes the door behind him.

Once out in the hallway, he walks to Abbie's room, and looks inside. She's finished. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he asks, "Ready?"

Nodding, Abbie looks frightened to leave her home behind, but she is resolute. Like her mother.

Stepping past the bleeding and broken burglars, lying on the floor, they leave the house, entering the garage. Inside, a Mach 1 1969 Mustang sits, ready for them, as if anticipating their need. Taking one last look in the house, he shuts the inside door.

Getting into the Mustang, and opening the garage door, the Churches drive off into the night, through the streets of Lost Haven.

There was a storm coming, and Nicholas was going to weather it, for his daughter.

It was time for November to return.

Ben’s form paced through the back alleys and hidden corners of New York City. His mind struggled to rein in the panic sensation he was locked in, his instincts spurred on by some unknown source. A dark tongue lolled at the edge of his muzzle, sided by two white and dangerous looking canines protruded from the dark lip and gums. The werewolf’s breath misted the air with each pant as his blue eyes scanned the shadows about him. His black nose twitched and inhaled, drinking in a faintly familiar scent that stirred a hazy memory.

Cautiously, his expression scrunched into suspicion causing him to edge carefully forward at first. His telepathy rang out into the darkness toward where he scented the figure lurking there, waiting patiently for him to react to its...no, his presence.

“Who are you?” His words were almost foreign to the wolf’s mind, yet they felt apart of him and accurate for what answers he wanted.

There was a depraved glare, his feral eyes narrowed onto his freshly made Pup. He had transformed earlier than planned probably due to whatever magical device that radiated throughout the city days ago. However the Boy happened to be didn’t matter, finally one of his victims comes into the fold. “Boy, I am your Alpha. The first, Arcadian. And you my fledgling child are one of many who will soon join me. Obey my will, for now you shall fight those who oppress us, and my Pack.” His smile widened baring his broken teeth in a crooked grin.

Arcadian outstretched his hand offering the young Benjamin scraps from his last meal. As a body lay further behind him mutilated but still recognizably human.

Ben whimpered when the voice penetrated his head. His ears pinned back and pressed against his skull, his eyes never left the Alpha. Blood reached his nose, a pungent and iron one, causing him to narrow on the body hidden behind Arcadian. A young woman stared at him with fogged over eyes and a blank expression on her face, her torso ripped in several places and blood stained the pavement. His sight flipped over to the Alpha’s claws, deep down sensing in dread where the fresh meat had come from.

The pup moved forward on all fours. His wolfen mind curious and obedient, unbothered by the known facts he was about to become a cannibal, in a slow gait.

Deep inside was another matter as something strange and bizarre stirred. Benjamin’s human mind began to claw his way through a thick slumber and race to the surface, desperate to stop this. Every few inches he gained, he slipped back several feet causing the human boy within to scream at the young wolf’s stupidity.

Suddenly the wolf came to an abrupt stop just a foot from Arcadian, anger and fear swelled in his chest. His lips pulled back revealing his teeth once more then let out a deep, throaty growl at Arcadian.

Arcadian teased the boy, dangling the fresh meat even closer. “Come boy, eat your fill, and give in. I want your Obedience, your ferocity.” He spoke as the earth beneath him began to rumble. Arcadian was thrown off balance as pillars of twisting churning blood broke through the concrete and asphalt lashing out against him. “No, No No!! Not you. I covered my tracks, you could not have found me.” Throwing Arcadian to the ground as debris fell from the sky attempting to bury him.

Ben yelped, the sound echoed through the night sky, when his feet left the ground and he hit the adjacent wall causing him to crumble. His head shook from the impact as he tried to focus on the source.

”Well.” Barron said as he stepped down the blood rising into the sky. ”I can find you, and I will. Not much you can do but DIE!” Barron yelled as Blood whipped around Arcadian who leaped and lunged out of the way. ”Haha! Been holding back too long, nothing like a good and brutal slaying to lift my spirit. Plus, I saved the Pup here from munching down on Human, didn’t anyone teach you not to take candy from a stranger?” Arcadian began Wolfing out Mid Air as he deftly dodged strike after strike, but as he ran and prepared to attack the ground around him began to disappear. Blood disintegrated each strip of road, each wall it came into contact with stripping away the high ground with each passing strike.

Ben rattled his head once more as the titans clashed around him, the daze fading finally. His hunches raised and his head lowered with a feral growl at Barron. Muscles coursing with adrenaline, his body rushed at the elder vampire’s back before he slammed both back paws down and shot into a lunge at the head. His teeth widened and glistened in the bright moonlight while he sailed forward.

Barron felt Benjamin pounce on his back ripping out a sizable portion of flesh away, the weight shifting his body off of the pillar he stood upon. But instead of falling the blood rushed to meet his misstep. ”Really. Gaagh. Guess what they say about Alphas are true. You really think that’d wor.. work.” As Barron scanned the street, Arcadian had fled. He used his pup, Ben as a distraction and in his fully Wolfed form could be miles away by now. Barron with a hand created out of the same destructive blood smacked Ben who had landed with his prize into the ground like swatting a fly.

The street beneath Ben crumbled, his body flattened slightly by the impact. Blood poured from his muzzle and leaked into the spider webbing cracks while he wobbly rose back to his feet. It seemed his joints and bones had withstood the damage though they likely won’t stand another blow like that without breaking. Anger and fury at the attack fed his core causing him to climb from the small crater he had made, each step painful and rattled his nerves into screaming to lay back down.

Barron rubbed his back, feeling the gash left behind by the wolf boy as his arm extended and the blood from his torn flesh responded to his own returning to where it came breaking into crystals and floating back to his own body.

”Oh come now. I didn’t hit you all that hard, look. Your Alpha is gone, his influence wanes. Surely you have some Human thought left in you. I saved you from yourself, if you wish to continue we shall. But clearly this isn’t a fight you’re ready to take.

Still staring at Barron, the wolf continued to snarl deeply. He could barely stand, let alone move and fight yet his spirit and pride refused to let him stay down.

‘You… attacked, Ben whimpered, his mind uttered the sensation on accident rather than intentional, Pain...

”And you ruined an expensive suit, I mean. This is designer, made to protect from ultraviolet rays. I liked this suit. Plus you’ll live. All you need is a proper meal. One without human flesh. I’m not about to let you have me, and no more of my suit so.” There was a torrential downpour; blood rained from the sky all around Ben as it wrapped and chained him down squeezing the Boy’s bones as they began to pop and crack. Barron kept the pressure, enough to injure Ben, but not enough to kill. At least that he was sure of, although it would be uncomfortable. And Barron would likely have to ship the Boy to his friends. Though the thought annoyed him, it was why Ben had a Bodyguard and Babysitter after all.

Ben went down easily. His fur drenched and weighed down causing his already wobbly state to topple.The wolf snarled then snapped before he howled in pain. The edges of his vision faded into black before darkness consumed him.

I shuffled the seven square tiles to figure out what word I could spell with the letters that were written on them. The Immortals do not typically go on patrol, since the Son of Osiris wanted to stay on good terms with the Tri-P department by allowing the police to handle the regular crime and we would only interfere when something like the Game Genie occurs. However, we still usually have two or three people on standby just to make sure there is a first response team if something happens. While some crazy stuff does happen in Pacific Point, it’s no Lost Haven. Some days, nothing will happen. During the wait, we usually have some sort of board game to pass the time. Kyra chose Scrabble for tonight’s game. Once I figured out my play, I placed down the tiles S-O-F-T next to the word ‘ball’.

“You’re turn.” I told Kyra as I retrieved four replacement tiles from the small, felt bag. The Immortals has their headquarters in a hidden portion of Ithakan Innovations, the corporate office of Odysseus’ company that kind of allows him to be a badass normal amongst all of us powered metahumans. We had a table set up in the center of the room, with several computer monitors, which would send an alert to us if something needed our attention, located to the side. Due to my drider anatomy, I couldn’t really use a chair without deactivating my powers, so Kyra and I found a large bean bag chair that I could use so that I wouldn’t need to stand for the whole time.

“I’m so glad Talus isn’t here.” Kyra told me as she peered at her tiles.

“Sometimes I just want to deck that tinman. That seems to be a common reaction of mine towards high-tech heroes now a days.”

“I didn’t quite mean that.” Kyra tried to elaborate on what she meant. “Normally he wants to play some complex game, like Axis and Allies”

“What?”

“You’ve played Risk before, right?”

“Sure.”

“Well, it’s like Risk, but a hundred times more complex. Sometimes we have to pause the game so that we can actually go to bed!”

Kyra then pointed to another table that was set up in the same room. There was a board on it that had a map of the world printed on it. And on the board there were countless plastic miniatures.

“We still have to finish that game.” Kyra complained as she rolled her eyes.

“Looks like it’s only five players, so thank goodness I’m the sixth person on this team!”

“Don’t get your hopes up. Talus probably would just break out the deluxe edition and have you play Italy or something.”

Kyra then placed down the tiles B-Y-R-I-E-N-D onto the board, spelling out ‘boyfriend’ with the f in ‘softball’ and the o in ‘omit’, which was two tiles above ‘softball’.

“50 point bonus.” Kyra smirked as she acquired a new set of seven tiles from the felt bag. Kyra’s play reminded me of her peculiar response to the mention of my own boyfriend. I almost entirely forgot about it.

“Do you want to talk about anything?” I asked Kyra while glancing down at the word she spelled out. “You made a weird remark back when that Game Genie guy attacked the city.”

Kyra’s face immediately turned a bright shade a red. “No.” She quickly replied, although the tone of her voice revealed that something was on her mind.

“Are you sure?”

“Well, when I went back home a few weeks ago, I met with my boyfriend, or rather ex-boyfriend. Ever since the dome that appeared in Atlanta gave me fox ears and tails, he kept being harassed because, well…” Kyra turned her head away from me, as though she was embarrassed to say the rest. “Because people think I’m a furry and that he’s sinning by dating me. We decided to break off the relationship mutually.”

“What?” I honestly cannot start to comprehend what Kyra was feeling. Sure, we’re both in the same boat as being animal-themed metahumans, by I have the luxury that only a select few people know about my powers. “Sure, you have the ears or tails, but we’re still human. It’s not like we’re a different species or something. You’ll eventually find someone who doesn’t mind a girl with nine fox tails.”

“What about your boyfriend? Have you ever wondered whether he’s only dating you because he has a thing for spiders?”

“Sure, but he has liked me long before I got my superpowers, so he obviously sees something in me other than my powers.” While we were talking, I finally realized a move that I could play. “Speaking of spiders, that’s a 50 point bonus, plus points for making boyfriend plural.”

While Kyra was scribbling down the points that I earned from that round, my phone began to buzz. Before coming here, I made sure to set an alarm to remind me to head back home to get ready for that charity event I and the other girls had to attend.

“Well, looks like that’s my cue to get out of here.”

“Do you want me to set the game aside for next time?” Kyra asked.

“Nah, we can just call it a draw or something. Are you going to be fine being here alone?”

“Of course.” She told me. “Nothing will probably happen tonight. Are you going to that fundraiser for the families of those people who have disappeared this year, like that singer in Lost Haven?”

“That’s the one.” I got up onto my eight legs and pushed the bean bag the side of the wall so that it would be out of the way of the walking lanes.

“Well, that’s nice. Hope you have fun.”

“I’ll try, but when some people might see you as the girl who replaced one of those missing people, things get a little awkward. Plus I have to deal with that Iron Knight jerk. I would almost rather put up with Talus and his board games than enduring a night at an event with that guy.”

“Well, I guess I’m the lucky one, then.” Kyra smiled as she saw me out of the Immortals’ base.

-redacted-

_{banner credit to Hellis}





--In the Office--

Back in the office Bach continued to grow, sprouting branches from his shoulders and arms in every direction. The branches finally broke through the magic bubble, flooding the area with his own brand of magic. The branches that escaped the bubble grew green and leafy with yew leaves, twisting and gnarling. The trunk widened out, his body effectively disappearing into bark. It was several minutes before the tree was large enough outside of the bubble that Bach’s hands reached through the bark hauling himself out. He looked around, the furniture of the office was still floating but his partner was nowhere in sight. He panicked scrambling down the branches back to the ground.

“Odette!” He shouted, eyes wide with fear, his imagination racing. He followed the trail of destruction carefully avoiding the magic bubbles. Neither clumsy nor fool enough to run into another one. He got to the edge of the hole in the wall looking down to see one of the rubber golems standing over someone. Bach backed away then took the stairs down to the main floor.

He approached from behind, seeing Odette pinned beneath the golem. She was alive albeit very angry and muted. He was unsure if the golem would notice him, constructs made from the soul of a human. His most recent time spent around Mandate said they could very well learn to see Fey if not outright. They weren’t human. The golem’s ‘head’ unnaturally snapped at his approach. Odette struggled again, wiggling as much as she could against its grip trying to distract it.

Bach sunk to the floor his hands glowed green against the concrete, his very spirit fueling his magic. It came from his core as opposed to the arcane stream, oh how he hoped one day to understand or harness the power of the arcane stream. A little envious of humans and of Odette by extension.

The concrete moved beneath his hands then with unprecedented speed a spear of concrete pierced the golem’s head, but not quite tearing through. Odette stared up at the golem, it’s grip having not wavered. She struggled again glaring at Bach.

“Tough, yes?” He said with a little awe, calmly he stood from his spot eyes on the golem. He licked his lips, recalling what he knew of golemancy. They had worked briefly with golems once before when Odette was young. She still was, as far as he was concerned. The bonding of the human soul is what animated the construct, removing the bond would require melding his energy directly to pull it apart. There were such spells to do so safely without contact hidden in the pages of Odette's grimoire, but it wasn't an option.

The Golem struggled against the concrete spear that was by extension apart of Bach, it had embedded itself deeply into it’s head and attempted to forcefully remove it by pulling at it.

Gun shots rang out through the warehouse making Bach and Odette jump, startling them. Her eyes grew wide, she wouldn’t have been able to hear Lekh’s, they must have been from the vampires. She turned her attention back to the golem, impaled by concrete. Struggling again, grunting in her throat. She turned her head to the side noticing someone approaching from her peripheral.

“Perhaps if I hop on it’s back it’ll at least let her go…” Bach mumbled, noticing the new person. He squinted too realizing before Odette, he was no man but one of the vampires stalking about. “He’s a vampire.” He said to Odette, who in turn huffed angrily against her gag. The golem stubbornly refusing to move off of her.

“I can only slow him down.” He whispered, tensing as the vampire approached. Unsure if his invisibility still held up against the likes of him.

The Vampire cackled, a annoying sound as he approached Odette. “Oh man, wittle witchy got trapped under a big mean golem, looks like Klein wants you alive.” Stopping just short of her he ran his tongue across his teeth under his lips. “I’m sure a little bloodletting couldn’t hurt, I happen to be quite parched. What do you say, offer a guy a drink, what’s that?” He said holding his palm to his ear. “Gladly, well don’t mind if I do.” He quickly bent a knee and grabbed Odette’s wrist, his finger punctured her skin tenderly slicing down a small section to expose her blood to his lips. “Such delicious blood, you’re a fit one, athlete maybe. Don’t mind me just enjoying the fruits of your labour. And such sweet fruits you have.”

If looks could kill, Odette’s glare was as sharp as daggers. Her temper boiling away any fear as the disgusting vampire spoke. The slice into her skin was painful, she grunted against the pressure of the golem. Her blood welled out of her wound, cooling as it rolled over her skin. The vampire took no time in latching on like a leech drinking it up. Bach glared deciding then what to do next. Nobody was allowed to touch his partner, much less the filthy undead.

His invisibility held against the vampire, Bach pushed into a sprint at the golem jumping onto it’s back. Immediately the golem began to struggle, trying to shake the pesky imp off it’s back while trying to keep Odette pinned.

Bach gripped with little purchase to the golem’s back. His hands glowed, his energy seeping into the porous rubber. Settling quickly, he anchored himself to its back try as the golem might to shake him free. Bach made short work taking control of the golem’s limbs, seeing glimpses of what the golem could see. It was muddled, only enough sight to tell one shape from another with little detail. Incredibly simple constructs. Simpler to unravel still, he reached for the spirit powering the golem. His magic insidiously wrapping about the soul, fleeting images of the person the spirit used to be. He snuffed it out.

The golem lost its core, the hard rubber pieces immediately lost grip of Odette. She rammed the heel of her now free hand into the vampire’s nose, rolling away now free. Her wrist bled on, she pulled her sleeve down to wrap around it. The rubber still in her mouth.

“That was wholly unnecessary girlie. I was just complimenting your nice and supple skin but now that you’re free by whatever magic you used I have free reign to feast upon you however I see fit, your wonderful thighs will be saved for last.” With claws extended he went for a straight thrust towards her stomach pulling back his arm and thrusting from his hip.

Odette tensed as he spoke, guessing correctly he’d initiate another attack, she side stepped. He was incredibly quick closing the gap of space between them within a blink, she brought down her elbow over his extended arm cutting the attack short. She gripped his shirt, with as much force as she could brought up her knee into his groin. He doubled over, using her elbow once again, she brought it down over the back of his head. Bach was nearly free of the golem, he stumbled off the top of the pile. His hand extended, the spell he shouted was in common fey green light disintegrated the rubber gag.

She spat, glaring into the eyes of the vampire looking up, she worked her jaw. “How generous of you to save my legs for last. When I’m done with you - you will be ash.” She pulled the stake free from her belt, holding it with her good hand, without another pause she aimed for his heart.

“Stake? What, no wine? Perhaps you should pour me a glass of your blood and maybe I’ll ignore your improper dinner etiquette. Well, I’ll take the honor of this dance while your head rolls.” He smiled, as he pushed off from his back lifting him and Odette off the ground, his arm popped in the process and was hanging loosely from its socket. “Looks like I dislocated it, no matter. Worth it.” Readying himself to lunge at Odette who had lost her advantage over him.

Bach was off the golem, throwing seeds at the vampire’s feet. Odette stumbled away creating more distance from the undead creature, quickly regaining her composure. Her wrist throbbed, blood dripping at an alarming speed.

Bach willed the seeds to grow, thick green vines wrapped around the vampire’s legs crawling from his ankles up to his knees tightening a terrible grip with enough strength to crush an ordinary man’s bones. They wrapped without prejudice anchoring the vampire where he stood. Giving Odette a few precious seconds to dash forward, with an underhanded swing she used both hands to plunge the stake deep into the vampire’s heart. Odette’s heartbeat throbbed in her ears, she could smell her own blood on his breath. Snarling out her spell, “Incinérer!”

The stake caught in a burst of brilliant flame, Odette took several steps away shielding her eyes from the sudden heat. The shrill screams of the vampire filled her ears, dying shortly after the flames consumed him from the inside out. Almost too quickly to take satisfaction, he turned into ash. The embers of his body glowed brightly as the fire spell found nothing left to fuel it’s flame.

She gripped her wrist to slow the flow of blood, her vision blurry. “Bach! Stop the bleeding!” Bach stepped up to his partner, his brow furrowed as he chanted a healing spell using her sleeve as an anchor for it. Letting out a grateful sigh of relief resting her head against his shoulder, the pain ceased as he worked the spell. The bleeding had stopped but the wound was an ugly gash, sticky with blood.

“I hate vampires.”

“We need to find what we came here for.”

She shook her head, “No, we need to narrow down our search and meet with Silence. Bach, I need you to search for the prize.” She pointed to the office. “I need to meet with Silence.”

“It would be faster with you.”

“Perhaps. We haven’t heard a sound from Mandate’s fight and now we hear gunshots? Something has gone wrong. Don’t argue with me.” She said warning him, her patience run out. “Come find me when you find what we need.”

Odette clicked her heels ascending to the top of the aisles, well out of earshot Bach muttered, “I hope for both our sakes you find him with a bullet through his skull.”

---

--Warehouse floor - Silence--

“Gowno.” The bleeding criminal muttered, as he used a knife to slice through the bottom of his shirt. He ripped a long strip of material out of his own clothes and painfully hefted up his vest to wrap it around his lower torso. It would serve as an impromptu bandage for the time being, but he was gutshot, which meant if he didn’t receive urgent medical attention, and soon, he was a dead man. Not to mention being shot fucking hurt. Groaning, as he wiped his bloody hands on his cargo pants; he picked his gun up where it was lying on the ground and pushed himself to his feet. The quiet told him the fighting elsewhere in the warehouse was mostly done, but there could be more of the Barron’s men waiting for him somewhere. In his condition, any further fighting would not be pretty. His hand reached for the bottom of his mask and pulled it back into place, once more concealing his pale and rather pained face. He had a lot of ground left to cover if he was going to find what he was looking for, but now he had twice as many reasons to go searching for a miraculous cure all.

Above the warehouse floor and its occupants The Ambassador hopped from one shelf to the next pausing to scan the floor below for any signs of movement or a clue. Making her way to the outskirts, keeping an ear out. The quiet worried the sorceress. Mandate was doing well and keeping their tougher opponents focused on her while they moved about.. She hoped Silence fared better.

She resumed her search, squeezing through gaps in crates or climbing over them. The effort was minimal, comparable to an upper body workout. She tried to keep weight off her bitten wrist, Bach’s healing spell was a temporary bandaid, healing was not a skill he was particularly good at. Something Odette forced him to learn along side her when she began practicing magic.

Slowing again to a stop she looked down noticing a couple piles of ash, she climbed down to investigate. Her feet enchantments absorbing the last of the jump. Crouching low, she was now able to see the small pools of blood and droplets leading away. The ashes meant the vampires were dead, their small arms were among the dust. Odette followed the trail of blood. She knew Silence was injured but was able to walk away, a good a sign as any.

“Must be losing my edge.” Silence cursed quietly. “Should have approached this differently, found out exactly where the desired items were kept, gone in quiet. This was sloppy.” His eyes roamed the crates to either side of him, looking for any sign of an item he was after. All the while he dripped blood onto the floor behind him, but in his pained mind the significance of leaving such a trail behind was lost on him. On the plus side, it would be fairly easy for Odette to follow the dark red marks on the grey concrete floor, to the end of the aisle and turning left at the end. Silence’s own ears perked up before she got to him.

“More vampires? Come, then, kill me if you can.” He called, foolhardy, it was not like him to issue such a challenge, but the gun in one hand and the stake in the other proved he did not mean to go out without a fight.

She picked up her pace following the blood in time to hear Silence call out his challenge. When she rounded the corner, she froze at the sight of him his gun raised and a stake poised. His voice the first clue it was him, her eyes trailed down to his shirt the bloody strip soaked through. “Bold challenge for someone injured.”

“Can you please lower your gun?”

“Ms Ambassador.” He sighed, dropping his weapon with relief. It seems he wasn’t to die pointlessly fighting Vampires in a warehouse. Not today at least. “I see I am not the only one to run into trouble with Vampires.” He nodded at her bloodied wrist and lifted his own armoured forearms. “Unfortunately my precautions did not prepare me to be shot multiple times by a creature that cannot be easily killed with bullets.” He coughed a few times, the wracking cough of the badly ill, and the pain shot up a notch as he felt his heartbeat, pounding in his head.“Please tell me you have had more luck than I, in securing what we seek?

“I knew something had gone wrong as soon as I heard those gunshots.” She stepped right up to him getting a closer look, worry lined in her expression. “No, Bach is looking in their inventory files as we speak. Sit, I know first aid and if you were shot I can remove the bullet.”

She began rifling through her purse looking for her first aid kit. “Sit.” She said a tone not meant for argument.

“Was surgey covered in your first aid class, Ms Ambassador? I have been shot in the lower abdomen, the bullet is lodged inside my body somewhere, possibly fragmented. Unless your magic can replicate hours of lengthy surgery, I am not sure what you can do.” Despite his complaints, Silence walked over to Odette and sat with his back to one of the metallic supports for the shelves, keeping his pistol and stake close as he hefted off his battered vest and lay it on the ground beside him, he pulled off his mask so he could breath better and winced.

Crouching on his injured side she laid out the kit, pouring hand sanitizer over her hands then slipping on a pair of blue rubber gloves. Gingerly she peeled away his makeshift bandages, squinting at the injuries leaking blood, moving around did him no favours. “I have a spell to remove metal based things from the body. It works for iron poisoning and removing bullets. Painful but it works. Why haven’t you applied any of the salve I gave you?” Turning her judgemental gaze onto him, having noted his other injury.

“Ah. Well, the salve you gave me is back in Lost Haven.” He shrugged apologetically.

She sighed irritably then flicked him on the nose. “What kind of idiot leaves a healing salve at home before participating in a heist?”

Removing the bandage completely, she pulled a sterile gauze pad from the kit to ready it for when the bullet was removed. “This is going to hurt. Don’t shout.” It was the only warning she gave, straightening her back holding both her hands over the injury, closing her eyes. The spell began quietly, typically as they always did in French. Her hands glowed blue. Distinct memories of the last time she used the spell came to the forefront of her mind, removing iron directly from her body was a relief and searing pain. The magic seeped into his injury coiling around the bullet, gently as she could manage began pulling it free.

A cold sweat broke out on Silence’s pale face, plastering his mousey brown hair to his scalp as his forehead furrowed in pain. A long tirade of hoarsely whispered Polish curses filled the air as the criminal experienced the suffering of the bullet lodged in his torso slowly worming its way out through his ravaged flesh. It pulled free, seemingly intact, with a literal flood of blood pooling from the wound. Silence had likely been saved graver injury by his vest after all, things could have been a lot worse than a flesh wound like this. Though if you were to try telling him that as he sat there with his hands balled into fists so tight his fingers started to lose circulation, he would have thought you mad. He groaned quietly as the bullet freed itself from his flesh, his own hand seeking to stymie the flow of blood.

Letting out a long sigh, the exertion noticeable. When she opened her eyes she caught his hand, snapping, “Your hands are filthy!” She wet down the gauze pad with antiseptic solution, applying it directly with adequate pressure. “Stitches next. Please hold it down like this while I get the needle ready.”

While she turned away, she felt a little blood dribble down from her nose. She paused patting her nose with her arm and grimaced. I should have finished that basket of fries.

Quickly stringing up the needle, she dipped it in disinfectant then returned to his injury. He dutifully removed the gauze to allow her to work. Sewing up the wound quickly with practiced hands, her brow furrowed as she concentrated. When the stitches were complete, she retrieved a new gauze pad, cleaned the area free of blood. Using clear tape she tapped the pad over the wound, securing it.

Leaning back onto her heels she said, “There, that should hold until you can see a professional.” Stripping the gloves free she deposited them into a yellow plastic bag, zip locking it. She grabbed a tissue cleaning her nose properly looking none too happy.

“You do not mess around.” Silence observed, as he probed the sewn up area with a wince of pain, running his gloved hand over the gauze. He allowed his shirt to fall back down over the wounded area and groped for his pistol. “Thank you, Ms Ambassador.” Pushing himself to his feet, or rather, climbing partially up the racking and dragging himself up until he was able to stand, he turned to her as she wiped the blood away from her nose. Apparently her magic was not without cost.

“Shall we see what Bach has discovered then? I am eager to be done with this place.”

“You’re welcome.” She replied packing away the kit, “He should be along shortly.” The kit disappeared back inside the purse and she fished out a protein bar taking a quick bite. The blood loss must of sapped more of her energy than she assumed.

As if on cue she felt his approach, a few aisles away. “This way. Are you alright to walk on your own or do you need help?”

“I can walk, lead the way.”

She shrugged, “Suit yourself.” Eating the protein bar as she led them to Bach. Tension was tight in her shoulders, in truth she could barely stomach to eat it. She forced herself to eat knowing they still had to escape and approaching her limits now was much too soon. They caught Bach rifling through a crate a couple shelves above their heads.

He looked down over his shoulder, pulling a face at seeing Silence. “My Lady, Silence. I found what we need. Barron isn’t storing any finished products but he has stock piled loads of ingredients that can easily make a potion to heal anything and everything.”

Bach said excitedly, “Unicorn horns, dragon’s teeth, golden fleece, even strands of hair from the original gorgon sisters! Also this.” He tossed something down for Odette to catch. It was a petrified hand still adorned with it’s rings in a vacuum sealed bag, she pulled a face of disgust. “You are holding a lich’s hand, perfectly preserved. I’ve never seen anything like this!”

She turned to Silence, “He said he found some rare ingredients that can be used to make a cure all.” She tossed the lich’s hand away. “Grab the fleece, the horns and the dragon’s teeth for ourselves! We haven’t the time to window shop.”

Bach gave her a thumbs up, packing a few spools of golden fleece into his pockets. Pocketing the horns into his jacket and the teeth into his pants pockets. Generously grabbing as much as he could carry. He shimmied down the shelves, passing off the spoils to Odette. Holding up the spool of golden fleece, it caught the light glittering beautifully.

“Excellent.” She smiled at Silence, genuinely pleased. “If you want I can hold on to them while we escape.”

“Seeing as how I have no idea how to use any of those materials, I think that would be best.” He looked around furtively for a moment longer. “I would like to look around for longer, but I am afraid if we run into any trouble I am in no condition to hold my own. Would you say those materials are sufficient to create a curative?”

“I’m certain. They’re imbued with incredible healing properties and are very rare. Combining the unicorn horn and the golden fleece could cure cancer. Much more potent than the salve.” She replied solemnly. Licking her lips she added quietly. “I would be completely confident if I knew exactly what you were hoping to cure.”

“I will explain when we escape this place. Will we need to retrieve Mandate, or can she extricate herself?”

Odette nodded then pursed her lips, worry washing over her once again. “It has been too quiet. I don’t want to assume she’s alright until I see her.”

Bach commented, “I’m sure she’s fine. She shrugs off bullets and our spells bounce off her.”

Odette shook her head, “Illusion spells, she deflected illusion spells.” She argued on, “That mage specializes in golemancy. He would know how to hurt her, how to get beneath her armour.”

“I apologise Silence, I know you are in no condition to be here any longer but we need to see to Mandate first before we leave. She is an asset.” She said, chewing away at the inside of her cheek still tasting the bitterness of the rubber.

Silence’s eyes narrowed as he considered his options. Risking his life for Mandate was not something he wanted to do, but the Ambassador was the only one who knew how to use the materials. If Bach couldn’t convince her to leave the golem, Silence wasn’t too confident he could either.

“Fine, then we had best be going.”

--Meanwhile…Mandate vs Klein--

For a moment, Mandate did not know where she was. She did not, in fact, know anything, except that she was lost in a darkness that was not. Memories and emotions, a hundred facades to an ephemeral fractal. Twining together with endless complexity, spiralling eternally. There was a tug upon the fractal existence from the outside, a foreign touch that pulled crudely at some of the many. It would take more than such a simple touch to break through the wonder that was the systems that constructed Mandate, but the tool was appropriate for the task of gaining a reaction.

With a crack that was more felt than heard, Mandate’s strained souls snapped back into their proper place, and pain followed with them.

Mandate did not think. Rather, she screamed, a sound like an agonized chorus, as she felt the sting of pain deeper than any flesh for only the third time in her artificial life. Her arms curled inwards, as if she could shield herself with a physical barrier, and the rubber golem was brought along for the ride. She paid no attention to the fact that she was smashing the golem against herself with an unreasonable degree of strength, such that the air rang and the dust shook with the impact.

Her wail echoed through the cavernous expanse of the warehouse interior, ephemeral and haunting and full of mingled rage and memories and agony. ”I’LL KILL YOU!” she hollered. Her words were lost against the rubber golem, but her intent was clear in the vocalized rage.

As Klein stepped back his feet slowly being placed behind the other. “This, this is not a Golem, it is far worse. I know not what magic created that thing, nor how they vaguely shaped it in the form of a Golem. I should not be here.”

Klein looked upon the Golem with fear, he saw that it was no mere creation, while Golems have had implanted personalities they were artificial nothing more than the voices they put in phones. His own Golem was at the mercy of Mandate’s grip and while she couldn’t crush it it also couldn’t break away

Mandate could not understand the human through the haze of pain, but she could certainly hear him. Her scream resounded again, equal parts pain and rage, and she slung the golem in her grasp in an uncontrolled arc in the man’s general direction. It was without aim, but the 6 foot tall golem was thrown with a dangerous speed behind its weight nonetheless.

Klein dodged out of the way as his Golem bounced and collided with the shelves, he needed to lead her somewhere more advantageous and as his Golem stood on it’s feet he called out. “Pull back.” The Golem obliged and Klein taunted Mandate again by trying to tear at her souls, if Mandate didn’t notice it he was pulling her towards a certain spot in the warehouse one not far considering how large the warehouse was to where Mandate crashed through the roof.

Mandate stumbled as the outside force reasserted itself on her existence once more. Like a rubber band, the displaced souls snapped back into place, bringing flashes of memory and terrified isolation. The magic that held her together would not allow separation from such a simple application of force, but the very presence of another against her structure strained her mind.

Mandate pushed off of the floor with force sufficient to shatter it, unleashing a scream that was more of a horn than a human sound. Dust and debris was kicked up into a cloud as she stumbled into a sprint, her massive stride allowing her to come hurtling through it in minimal time. She stumbled briefly over the trenches left by where her feet had dug into the floor, but her attention was solely upon Klein. She charged onwards like an incoming train, ignorant of the man’s plan.

Klein ducked and weaved through the shelves, Barron would not be pleased with their
destruction however there wasn’t much he could do to stop the rampaging Golem; taunting it proved highly effective and dangerous to his own health but just a few aisles down he knew where to find the Mimic. It was a creature of a certain magical nature that collaborated together to lure in prey and devour them, a octopod like thing small as a baseball but as one dangerous enough to kill bears. Checking back over his shoulder he could see the silver golem charging recklessly fueled by it’s own anger, smiling he came to a halt and held out the small totem and readied himself to dodge her charge.

Mandate’s charge was relentless, and it was only after her shoulder crashed through one of the shelves without stopping that she began to evade them. Miss Ambassador would already be angry with her, for taking so long and making such a mess. As angry as she was, some small part of her kept her swerving in an attempt to avoid further damage. It was a mostly vain effort, of course; the concrete shattered beneath her feet, and the errant swinging of her limbs left dents that ruined the entire structure of whatever shelf she would strike. Still, onwards she rushed, and Klein’s sudden pause simply encouraged her; she was confident in her ability to crush his opposition, and then his body.

With a last second lunge Klein tossed himself out of the Golem’s way as his own Golem came rushing after him. Mandate rushed straight into an odd looking chest just out of the way of the other isles and immediately something retaliated against her, as tendrils wrapped themselves around her mercury arms as the chest itself grew teeth and uprooted to deal with this new prey that wandered into it’s mouth.

Mandate’s first reaction to the obstacle before her was to stumble as she suddenly found herself off-target and assaulted by an unknown factor. Her second reaction was to swing with a good degree of force, as it was with most obstacles. 1 ton, a corner of her mind registered. Her arm tore its way free of the tendrils, and slammed into -and through- the creature. Rather disconcertingly, this did not seem to stop it. ”I’ll kill you too!”

Klein took this opportunity to flee, his rubber golem scoped him up in its arms and began running through the warehouse inching closer and closer to the exit until he saw a blue haired woman.

--Warehouse Floor - Ambassador & Silence--

Odette picked up her pace at the inhuman sound of Mandate’s roar, the increase in noise hurried her along. She threw a look back at Silence trying not to get too far from him in case there were more vampires lurking about. If they hadn’t already attacked she assumed an ambush awaited them.

She saw the mage first, Klein’s head snapped at her and her fists clenched. Odette knew she had a little energy left, it would be well spent on removing him of his power as he did earlier with her. It was only fair.

“Se vider! Restreindre!” She shouted the Words of Power, like a coil the blue light of her magic surrounded Klein binding his arms to his torso, wrapping around his ankles and wrists. The spell was simply crude, it was constructed from pure energy of the Arcane Stream to drain Klein of his magic and restrain him where he stood.

Blood dribbled anew down her upper lip, she paid it no mind. Focused entirely on the mage before her.

Klein was yanked from the golem’s grip bound by petty magic, but effective for the time being. As he felt magic draining from him he commanded his golem to attack.

Bach wasn’t far behind Odette, without a word he planted his feet beside her. Sharply his arms swept up in brilliant green light a ward erected just behind Klein in time for his rubber golem to collide with the brand new ward. With no time to slow down, it bounced off the ward with all its momentum stumbling backwards a few feet.

“Mandate! The golem!” Odette shouted.

The rumbling and crashing which had been echoing from the direction Klein had come ceased for a moment. Then, it resumed, growing rapidly closer as something ploughed through obstacles. Truth be told, Mandate had only heard the Ambassador’s voice, not her words, as loud as her brief confrontation with the Mimic had been; it was simply a beacon of welcome reprieve.

And so it was that the golem came charging onto the scene with the Mimic in question still hanging onto her form, an unwanted passenger. Registering the scene before her, she came skidding and stumbling to a halt. ”Miss Ambassador! He hurt me!” she shouted, as if it was a most grievous sin.

As his magic drained faster than he could fight the spell that held him, his golem that had smacked into a barrier turned as Mandate came running in. “Oh, for Pete’s sake, just stay down.”

Bach jumped with a start at Mandate’s arrival, the rubber golem was turning on Mandate once again. He raced forward meaning to take the distraction as an opportunity to destroy it.

Odette clenched her fist, the restraints squeezed tight enough to cut off his blood circulation. Her glare was sharp and unmistakably angry. “So I heard.” She replied to Mandate casting her gaze away seeing and recognizing the mimic clinging to her like a statically charged sock. In a blink she snapped her fingers with another spell to burn the mimic off of Mandate, “Incinérer.”

Similar flames that had burned away the vampire ate into the flesh of the mimic. The spell drained the last of Odette’s energy, she dropped to her knee with an audible grunt holding her nose, her sight going blurry.

The Mimic loosed its grip upon Mandate it’s collective consciousness too frail to continue to devour the Mercury Golem it crawled off as the tiny pieces fell away and hid under the shelves.

Silence peered around the corner of the racking at this point, having lagged some way behind Odette as she ran towards the sound of her distressed ally. Lekh didn’t really care either way about Mandate, so he saw no need for urgency at the risk of tearing his stitches. So it was that Silence only reached the scene as Odette scorched the mimic off the golem’s body and seemingly another construct made of rubber turned to attack Mandate. His instincts, ever sound, told him it would be wise to hunker right here behind the corner of the racking and let these forces fight each other. Even if he were in any fit state to fight, there was no way for him to obtain any advantage if he just ran straight in.

Sighing as his feet and perhaps even his conscience outweighed his better judgement, he started moving. Turning back around at first he quickly moved down the aisle adjacent to where the battle was taking place, reloading his weapon as he went. He could make out Odette, kneeling, apparently exhausted by liberal use of her powers. Her magical opponent was before her, though for how long she could restrain him with magic was up in the air. Lekh couldn’t do much, but perhaps the man was as vulnerable to bullets as any flesh and blood. Startling pops filled the air as he fired round and round through the racking and over the tops of crates and through fabrics and magical supplies, saturating the area around Klein with gunfire, many of those shots looked to be on target.

Klein didn’t even have a chance to stumble the bullets and his lack of magical protections from the witch’s trap left him defenseless, no dramatic death grip, nor a life flashing before his eyes moment as one would expect in movies. By the time his body hit the floor his life was gone and his golem carried out his last orders to the letter, swinging away at Mandate despite how futile it now was.

Bach sprinted on not sparing a glance at the very dead Klein, making a beeline for the rubber golem, meaning to do the same as before. Remove its soul from the construct. He took a running leap onto it's back, “Mandate! Hold it down while I remove it's soul!”

Struggling at the unseen force the golem thrashed around until someone could bind it.

Mandate would have whined about the sudden onset of death in her primary target, if it was not for the distracting assault from the familiar rubber golem that forced her to backpedal. It was a big disappointment, but at least there was this thing to help Miss Ambassador with, and the silly human was dead as dead could be. ”Okay!” she chirped, her good mood slightly rekindled. She switched tactics without warning, lunging forward and slamming into the smaller golem. Her foot raised up and came crashing down onto its leg in an attempt to drive it down, and her hands moved to grapple it by its arms.

Bach had begun to sink his feet into the golem but his hands hadn’t the chance at the sudden impact, he flailed his arms about. “AAAAHHH!” When the golem dipped forward onto its knee Bach flopped forward his hands grappling for purchase the light of his magic sinking into the rubber of the golem.

He searched again for the soul, finding it this time deep into its pelvic region as opposed to its chest as the one before. Bach sunk deeper nearly up to his neck reaching for the soul, when he finally grasped it in both his hands. The memories flashed before his eyes, he clapped his hands around it wiping the light out. In that moment the golem fell apart in heavy rubber pieces collapsing to the ground.

Slowly he pulled his face free, looking up to Mandate. “It is done.”

Mandate peered at Bach for a moment. Her face briefly seemed to shift from its smile, before it returned as she reached some conclusion. The golem unceremoniously released the pieces of rubber she had still been holding. ”That was interesting! Can you do that to humans?” she asked, tilting her head and briefly peering over at Klein’s corpse, followed by her own Miss Ambassador.

Then, she froze. Without a supernatural predator clinging to her, more details came to her attention. ”Miss Ambassador! They hurt you too?!” she all but yelped, hurriedly sending the rubber pieces of golem skidding with a kick as she made her way to the human’s side. Her hands hovered uncertainly, the presence of Silence and the disconcerting abilities of Bach momentarily forgotten. ”Are you okay?”

He worked his way free again, looking over his shoulder at Odette kneeling, “Not directly.” He replied to no one, watching Mandate go. He hopped struggling to free his foot last then hopped down to the ground strolling back to Odette’s side with Mandate hovering over her. Bach kneeled beside her and asked, “Do you need a little?”

She cast a tired eye up at Mandate then replied to Bach’s question.

“Oui, s'il vous plaît.” Odette muttered, she held her nose to try and stop the bleeding.

Bach placed both his hands on her shoulders, the light of her tattoo glowed through the fabric as he transferred a little of his magic to her, just enough to get her back on her feet. Too much would overwhelm her and force possession.

The blood slowed, Bach offered her a handkerchief. Shakily she climbed back to her feet accepting the cloth, her hands a bloody mess. She looked to Mandate her tone flat and filled with exhaustion, noticeably slouching, “Could be better. We are leaving, we have what we came for.”

Mandate’s smile had firmly reverted to its opposite configuration, but she nodded nonetheless. With Miss Ambassador on her feet, she instead began to turn her head to and fro to nervously scan the area. The recent memory of pain had made her skittish, and now Miss Ambassador had evidently had a rough time herself. Finally, after a pass over the corpse of her attacker, her eye settled upon Silence.

Silence looked at her through the racking, nodding slowly as he stuck his pistol back in his waistband. “If we have what we came for let us get back to the vehicle, quickly, before more of the Barron’s gang arrive.” Silence’s voice was pained, but steely all the same. He was a survivor if nothing else, it was not in him to lie down and catch his breath, nor to die here if he could help it. Silence would split off from the main group, tracing through familiar paths with his ears alert to any sounds. By this point, he expected any remaining gang members to be in disarray, or they would have come to the aid of their golemancer. As if to prove his point, he went unmolested back to the side door from which he came, pulling it open and staring out into the open air to look for company. So far so good, he ran outside and hugged the warehouse wall all the way to the fence, vaulting it with an audible grunt as his wounds tugged and bled beneath his shirt. He wasn’t getting out clean, that was for sure.

Odette beckoned leading Mandate and Bach to follow Silence out. She stumbled a couple times catching herself and carrying on. The three of them escaped through the backdoor, in time to see Silence vault over the wall. “He moves like he wasn’t just shot.” She muttered, picking up pace now out in the fresh air once again.

Odette used Mandate’s back to climb the wall she had easily hopped over before, landing on the other side with a stumble. Bach helped her find her balance again while Mandate pulled herself up over it herself.

The street was still rather quiet and with luck whatever reinforcements that arrived would be caught in her traps she set at the entrance. It was a brief thought, with the van in sight. Odette jogged up to the van, then climbed into the passenger seat. Bach followed up behind Mandate into the back closing the sliding door. He finally revealed himself, lifting the veil for only Silence’s benefit.

“Off we go then.”

“Not exactly how I would have planned it, but good job everyone. Now, time to leave.” Silence breathed a final sigh of relief, put the rental into gear and sped off.

---

There was nothing more inviting or more familiar to Marie than the smell of The Red Devil, not because it was particularly pleasant, but so much of her time had been spent among its diverse patrons, performing magical services or dispensing her knowledge to the plethora of other witches in Puck’s service. So accustomed was she to the atmosphere of the bustling tavern and Puck’s habitual, and somewhat obligatory, mingling with patrons that she was surprised to see him confined to his office, peering down at the growing stacks of contracts that eternally collected on his desk.

Puck, feeling Marie’s prying eyes, turned his attention to the tired, young witch and her ethereal companion, his signature grin at the ready.

”My darling Marie, I didn’t think I’d catch you snooping around my tavern until you’d finished your quest. Has something happened?”

Marie rolled her eyes lovingly and waltzed through the door to his office, taking off her long coat and resting it on the back of the chair opposite Puck before taking a seat.

”Let’s skip the part where I pretend to not know that you watch pretty much everything I do in that mirror of yours out front.” Her tone was impatient, but only because she had been through quite the ordeal this evening. She gave Puck an apologetic look before continuing.

”But no, everything is fine. It wasn’t nearly as smooth as I would have liked, but I should have expected as much. Still, I found Gwyneth’s Eye. A simple hagstone, but something powerful enough to help me locate her other items . . . at least, I hope it can.” Marie sounded more than a little dejected. Since receiving the hagstone, she had gained no further insight from Gwyneth. No visions or whispers, no surfacing memories, nothing of any substance. She counted the Eye’s retrieval as a win, though she worried for the future of her quest.

Puck noted Marie’s looks of desperation and responded with a little more warmth in his voice than usual.

”Worry not my dear, I have complete confidence that you will succeed. And, on that note, I have a little information that might be to your benefit.”

Marie perked up slightly.

”There have been several disappearances in New York as of late, many bodies turning up with missing limbs, large claw and bite marks, some not appearing at all. It would seem that an Alpha wolf has been increasingly active in that area, but none have been successful in tracking him down.”

”Wait,” Marie interrupted, head tilted and voice filled with utter confusion. ”What has any of this got to do with Gwyneth? I thought you weren’t sending me to complete contracts right now.”

”It’s less of an order and more of a suggestion.” Puck replied with a wide grin, eyes turning back to his desk, hands fumbling with papers.

Marie sighed.

”Puck, I don’t have time for this. What aren’t you telling me?”

Pucked amused himself with signing papers and making revisions as he spoke. ”My dear, what I’m not telling you could fill volumes. It’s what I am telling by not telling you that’s important. If you wish not to busy yourself with the affairs of werewolves then by all means, end your quest now and return to work.”

Marie looked furious, but there was nothing to be done. There was nothing she could do to keep Puck from being as cryptic as demonically possible. But she had learned to interpret a majority of his stops and pauses, she knew that everything he said held double meaning.

With much hesitation, she stood up, dramatically pulling her coat from the chair and stomping over to the door.

”Fine, I’ll go find the suit and send White Witch to investigate. Just, give me a little more to work with when I come back.”

Off she went to the workroom to change. Holt, who normally follows Marie closely, stayed behind at Puck’s request to speak of private matters.

--15:30 local time
--Lost Haven Outskirts

Three hundred damn miles, and Nicole had finally made it to Lost Haven, the city she planned to make her new home, and hopefully where her nightmares would cease. Any normal person would probably toss down their bag and pass out in the first comfortable spot they could find, but the fifteen year old didn't even remember the last time she slept, or even felt tired. "Or hungry," she thought idly as she walked past a diner in the suburban style area on the west side of what she vaguely recalled being named Carver. For a moment she considered trying to beg some food off of the people inside, just for something to taste, but she swiftly shrugged it off and continued making her way towards the centre of the city.

As she went, things became more and more like back home in the Kitchen, and her mind started recalling that day a month ago. She shook her head, trying to clear her brain. Time enough for recollection and introspection later, for now she had to find out where the hell in this city she could look up a superhero. Or a scientist. Hell, anyone who could tell her how to fix this would be good, though after the journey here she wasn't precisely sure any more whether that was still her goal. After watching Icon and the rest stop the Pax Metahumana on the news, on the radio, and from the street itself, she knew she had to get here, but an ingrained sense of distrust for authority figures had stopped her from going to the shelters and asking for help. After all, she wasn't going supernova or slinging lightning bolts accidentally or turned into some animal person. She was just..."Damn, after two months and I still don't know how to explain this." All she really knew was that she seemed to be like someone out of the comic books.

Thinking about her condition, coupled with the noise of the afternoon street traffic and the smells of the city wafting along with her meandering path finally tore down her internal defences and dropped her mind back into introspection mode. The car driving past back-fired noisily and she wavered on her feet and slumped against the warm brick wall of an alley entrance and slid down into a sitting position, no longer really controlling her body as her mind completely flashed back to that fateful day three months ago.

It was getting dark, street lights just now flickering to life, as she struggled with the flimsy plastic bags and made her way home. Mentally, she ticked off her grocery list in case she forgot anything, though she had spent nearly an hour double checking herself anyway. Dad was probably going to be a little miffed it had taken her this long. Being distracted by this checklist meant she missed the shouting until she rounded the corner of her block and came full into view of the fight.

Ten guys on one side, maybe twelve on the other, spread out in two opposing lines, showing colours she knew to stay away from. They occupied the whole damn street, and were between her and her building. Other bystanders wee already scattering as the first shots rang out, and she ducked behind the dumpster next to her, clutching at the food in her arms and hoping it would end quickly. The scent of fermenting garbage did nothing to make her more comfortable. Thankfully the gun shots did cease fairly quickly, but when she realised she was clenching her eyes shut and opened them, it was not to see a few bodies and an empty street. A sort of green, hazy light filled the street, and thins were happening that nearly broke her brain right then and there.

One of the fighters had begun sprouting awful looking set of bug arms, one was starting to crackle with electricity. Several others were doing even more weird stuff. Looking down at her hands, she realised her vision had gone blurry, and thought that maybe she had been drugged. And then her mind had gone, and she spent the next twelve centuries or eighteen seconds or three galactic ages or a single heartbeat seeing everything that had ever happened, was happening, or was going to happen. And as suddenly as it had started, her vast, expanded consciousness collapsed back into itself, coming a second time very close to completely destroying her mind. She felt queasy, and as her vision cleared, she looked up to see some guy flying at her from across the street, flaring like a firework. And everything exploded.

Nicole came back to the present shaking uncontrollably under her clothes, still slumped against the wall and pale in the face. Several people were staring from across the street, and she knew she must look like a junkie or something. She struggled to her feet, snatched up the duffel bag she carried her few meagre belongings in, and set off as fast as she could without looking like a freak back towards down town. "Stupid stupid stupid," she thought at herself angrily. "Way to keep a low profile, dumbass." Not that she could control it. Her mind had been torturing her all the way across the country, and it didn't look like it was going to let up any time soon. "Just gotta keep moving."

Not having a cell phone was costing her, though. With no GPS, and having left the interstate with its helpful signs pointing the way, she had no idea where she was going. A sense of purpose had driven her from the funeral all the way here, and paranoia grounded in being a rebellious and underage girl out by herself in the world had kept her away from any sort of police or anything else. Some helpful asshole was bound to peg her as a runaway and take her in if she wasn't careful, and though she had ditched her ID and everything else that could identify her except the family photo tucked into her vest, she knew that somehow her luck would run out soon enough. She had to reach someone that could help her before then.

--19:10
--Lost Haven Interior, between Little Sicily and Chinatown

With evening closing in rapidly, Nicole made her way across the bridge from Carver into Olympia warily. She flinched for cover every time she saw a police cruiser, trying to both stay out of sight and not look suspicious at the same time, though however weird she must look doing so, she must have pulled it off because none of them bothered stopping. Stepping off of the walkway and onto the normal streets again, she glanced up and down, noting a number of places that marked this as some sort of Italian district, though she had no idea where the borders of it might be. All she really knew for the moment was that she was going to have to find a place to bunker down before a more enterprising peace officer decided to investigate the lost looking teen wandering around as night wore on. In fact, noting a somewhat more marked police presence in the area than she was used to seeing on normal streets, she flipped a mental coin and pressed on towards what she figured was south, moving through alleyways and trying to avoid knots of people.

“When did it get dark,” she thought, looking around as she climbed a ladder behind what smelled like a Chinese restaurant. Getting to the top, she saw only vent ducts and a shoddy looking air conditioning unit, which would probably make for a decent back rest while she slept. She was just about to mount the top of the ladder and poke around on the roof when the sound of shattering glass caught her attention. As swiftly and quietly as she could, she moved to the front of the building behind a sign for the restaurant and looked down.

Several men in dark clothes stood around, arguing in harsh whispers in some foreign language

<Is this going to take for-fucking-ever, man?>

<I don't know, shit for brains, the last one took maybe five minutes.>

<Yeah, well, I don't like being this close to the police line.>

<Hey, shut the hell up for twenty seconds, morons.>

The last phrase had been said by a really beefy looking guy off to one side. Unlike the rest, he didn't have a gun. All of them looked Asian, and she could swear they were speaking Japanese or Chinese, but she didn't know any foreign languages at all. Not that it mattered. “Who robs a friggin' restaurant,” she asked herself under her breath. Another guy climbed out of the window, this one covered in tattoos underneath his cheap suit.

<All done in there. Let's get the fuck out of->

Nicole's world went loud and white for a brief moment, and she felt herself flying through the air without any sense of direction before hitting the ground. As her eyes adjusted to the new light conditions, she noticed that she was now lying in the street, covered in brick dust, and the roar of flames and falling debris filled her head. She tried fighting it for a second, but her mind flickered back to memories again.

She woke up buried under a layer of broken bricks, water pouring down to clog her nostrils from a broken pipe somewhere up above her, though she was upside down. Someone nearby was screaming, though she couldn't tell if it was from panic or pain and she was too disoriented to sort it out. She shifted and a brick fell away from her face, revealing a street covered in rubble and bodies. Even upside down, she recognised Miss Tuttle, broken and bloody, lying twenty feet away, her eighty-three year old eyes staring sightlessly into the sky. Which meant she was in the corner of her own building. Panic overtook her and she struggled out of her awkward position, chunks of apartment falling around her, and she slid down a cascade of ruined lives to rest on another body, covered in gang colours and blood.

Distant sounds of fighting and panicked mobs reached her ears, and distantly in her mind she recognized that the green haze had gone away, leaving everything much darker than it had been before she had lost consciousness. She had no idea how long it had been, and everything was blurry. Painstakingly slowly, she turned her head, dreading what she knew she was going to see.

Her apartment, where she had been born and raised for fifteen years, was a smoking crater in the side of the building. Apartment 212, just below hers, was a pile of rubble. The floor of Miss Tuttle's apartment had collapsed into hers, the oven from the old lady's kitchen dangling from what was probably an open and leaking gas line. And there, sticking out of the ruined wall of her room, was her older sister Abby's arm, recognisable only because of the bangle bracelet Nicole had given her just two months ago for her birthday. Nicole's vision went red with rage.

Coming back to the present, she heard the jabber of the foreigners again. She shook her head and pushed herself off of her face. Still nothing hurt, just like always. Looking beneath and behind her, there was a clear trail from where she had slid through broken building chunks that had, presumably, come with her as the restaurant exploded. There was broken glass everywhere from the sign she had been hiding behind. Just next to her was the tattooed guy, who was also getting up, though he looked considerably worse for wear and probably had a broken leg from the way he was moving. A word clicked into Nicole's brain, which she uttered out loud without thinking, venom dripping from every syllable as rage consumed her mind. “Yakuza.”

The guy looked up and sneered at her. “The fuck you talking about, little kwailo biaozi?” He spat blood on the ground in front of him and struggled to his knees, wincing from some internal injury. He held up his jacket, revealing a green silk shirt. “Yu zhizhu and very much better than those Japanese dogs.”

Nicole slammed her fist into the ground and nearly threw herself to her feet. Her head felt fuzzy. She knew she was baring her teeth. “Japanese or you jee joo or whatever you are. I'm gonna beat the piss out of you for that.” She jabbed her finger at the blown apart structure to her right, lit now only by flickering flames. The man laughed and then immediately coughed out a wad of bloody phlegm, bent over double by pain. “Haaaaa. What're you goin to do, huh?” He raised his head to grin at her again, only for his face to meet her fist coming the other direction at high speed, sending his badly balanced form back to the ground.

Nicole was not heavy. Nor was she a trained fighter. All she had going for her in any fight had been an Irish temper and moxy. But now, she didn't have to worry about breaking her fingers or bruising herself, and with her mind flooded with pure adrenaline and fury, she didn't even spare a thought for what might happen. As soon as her fist carried through with the first hit, she pulled it back and slammed it into the side of the guy's head. This repeated for several strikes before something slammed into her side and carried her away from the man. She vaguely recognised it as a really big arm in a torn suit before her vision jerked. Her brain found an answer as a fist slammed into her gut, though she only felt a slight pressure from the blow. “The big guy is hitting me. And he tackled me.” Furious both at the interruption and the presence of another bomber, she began flailing wildly with both arms, trying to land any sort of damage on the bastard. In return, he grabbed her by the neck with one meaty fist and slammed her down onto the pavement. Even as he did so, her left foot swung up and caught his knee. Her soccer training had given her a kick like a mule, and he buckled and backed up, grimacing. She got up, took up what she thought might look like a serious fighting pose, and grinned at him while he favoured one leg and spat at her. “Looks like a fun night out now,” she thought, and went in swinging.

_{banner credit to Hellis}





Time: ???
Location: ???

A quiet evening in Lost Haven, a phenomenon growing rarer and rarer if recent events were anything to judge by. A gentle late summer rain drizzled on the empty streets outside his apartment window as Lekh took in a cold breath of air. There wasn’t much of a view to look at, but it was one decidedly American. Bright lights, restaurants open at all hours, everything so big and vibrant, gaudy even. For all the trouble this place had got him into, he found he wasn’t surprised to realise he was going to miss it. With a rare melancholic sigh, he turned from the sill. Fingers deftly typed out a message to the closest thing he had to a friend in Lost Haven.

Miss F,
If it is not too inconvenient, do you think you could meet me at the docks in LH, wharf five, early tomorrow morning? Say, six o’clock? Bring the medicine if you could. Thank you.

-L

Lekh walked through an empty apartment, stripped of any sign of his presence, only the bed remained untouched as he slumped into it, waiting patiently for a reply.

The reply came a little over five minutes later, as per usual with old styled emoticons throughout the message.


-`ღ´- Good timing~! -`ღ´-
The medicine is ready for you.
☀ See you in LH bright and early ☼
~*~<3~*~

In bed early for the night for once, upon her return to Paris she had plenty of work to catch up on. Fey were waiting on her while the Syndicate was in need of her specialized transport. It was good to be home but it seemed like she was being pulled in every direction. Odette had barely heard her phone’s text tone, she had long ago set a special tone for Lekh, even dredged from sleep she was able to reply. She had been wondering when he would be calling to see the fruits of their labour from Las Vegas. She squinted at the screen, rubbing the heel of her hand against her eye. The docks? Discreet and no one would be around that early but was he planning a trip?

Tossing the smartphone back onto her nightstand after setting an alarm she rolled back over.

She would find out in the morning.

--- The Next Morning ---

Bright and early might have been a tad optimistic. Overcast and dreary was a little more fitting a description of the day, Lekh thought. He walked outside of his apartment, raising a hand to flag down a cab as he dragged a small suitcase full of his belongings behind him. Unceremoniously dumping the suitcase in the boot of the taxi he sat in the front and nodded to the driver.

“The docks, please.”

“Whatever you want bud.”

A short while later Lekh stepped out onto the docks. He glanced at his old-fashioned watch, checking he was still on time. It was just six o’clock now, so he had made it on time to meet the Ambassador, among other things. He looked around for her at the entrance to the wharf itself, where a large transport vessel sat slowly warming up as its crew bustled about making final checks.

A couple storeys above The Ambassador had made her perch having arrived ten minutes prior, her outfit was on the more subdued side. Her sleeveless dress was dark grey-brown with a thin black leather belt just above her waist, on her shoulders she wore a long black shawl, accessorising with a vintage necklace and few rings. Never without her small clutch purse slung around her shoulder. She had seen Lekh arrive and hopped down from the rooftop when the cab pulled away. The only activity was seemingly on the ship. She had decided again, despite of the last instance she went without Bach’s presence, to meet him alone.

“Bon matin, Monsieur. Right on time, as usual.” She greeted him, wearing a smile.

Lekh acknowledged her with a curt nod and a tight smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. His apparel was far less stylish than her own, comfortable clothes, the sort one might wear if they planned to travel. He lifted a hand and stopped in front of her, drawing his little suitcase to a stop behind his feet.

“Bonsoir, Madame, there is never an excuse for tardiness.” He laughed at the pointless platitude. “You look well, Odette, better than me at any rate.” He spoke the truth, there was still a greyish pallor to his already far too pale skin, a gunshot wound tended to lend itself to fever and illness for a good while, and Lekh was far from fully recovered even now.

“Thank you, it doesn’t take much time for me to recover from a rough fight. A good night sleep and a good meal then I’m back to normal. Yet you still insist on recovering of your own merit than relying on the salve.” She commented, gesturing to his abdomen. “I understand why, but it still is a strange choice to me. I suppose you and I will never really see eye to eye on that.” It was silly to opt out of using a healing salve, in spite of not trusting it. Odette knew she wouldn’t use something when she didn’t know the exact consequences of it. Magic often came at a high price. She chewed at the inside of her cheek.

“I trusted your magic once and it burned me, lessons learned harshly are not soon forgotten.” Lekh shrugged.

Admitting to being a hypocrite wasn’t what they were here for today, anyway.

She looked over her shoulder at the ship then asked the obvious question, “So, you’re taking a trip? Will you be coming back to Lost Haven anytime soon?”

“You could say that. I am returning home. Speaking of which, do you have the medicine?”

She nodded, “I suppose you were waiting on this before heading out. Probably for the best you left the city. I heard the gang wars have become rather disruptive.” She kept her eyes on her purse, thinking of Titania’s prophecy. She couldn’t bring herself to kill an ally, especially one she actually liked. As she had promised to Mandate there’s always a way out of a prophecy. Digging into her purse she pulled a clear glass corked bottle with a pink ribbon tied in a bow around the neck. The contents inside the bottle were sparkling blue.

Proudly she held it up and smiled, “I know you’re not one for more technical aspects of magic but this potion is truly a work of art.”

“I brought the unicorn horns and golden fleece to the best potion master I know, he owed me a favour and was happy to help me make this. The unicorn horn has powerful healing properties but alone it can only heal while it is in a person’s system, as soon as it passes the healing aspects go with it.” She said continuing her explanation, “The golden fleece however is what gives the drinker incredible vitality while keeping the effects of the horn actively healing until the body is fully restored. It took some experimentation to be sure it truly did heal the terminally sick. It replaced blood cells, reversed cancer cells, and restored damaged brain tissue and neurons.”

“It’s absolutely incredible. We created our very own Panacea.” She held up the potion for him to take. “The colour of the potion is purely aesthetic. Eric, the potion master, had mentioned it was good luck to add something from your own garden. I added vervain from my garden to give it that blue hue.”

“I hope this will be worth all the trouble we went to.” She chewed at the inside of her cheek once again, still unable to read his expression. “What I can’t seem to understand about you Lekh, is that you say there is no trust in my magic... but here we are. I only assume modern medicine has failed you where magic is now your last resort.” She commented curiously, she gazed at him then quietly asked, “What are you trying to cure?”

“Desperation must sometimes supersede one’s principles, Odette, but you are quite correct. I have spent all these months in Lost Haven siphoning a not unsubstantial amount of money into research, to no avail.” He took the bottle, holding it gently in one hand and opening his suitcase. He crouched down to place it in a sealed pocket with a small padlock, giving it one last glance before he hid it away for the long journey back to Europe.

“As for what I am trying to cure?” He stood up and released his control over his aura for a moment, letting it flood the area around him before sealing it back up. “You know what I can do, imagine experiencing that affect day in and day out without a moment of respite. My family all have a gift of some kind or another, but there is something wrong with my sister’s power. She can hardly move, hardly breathe. I am not a good man, Odette, but I would do anything for my family.”

She felt the affects of his aura momentarily, mild compared to what she had felt before. A reminder really. It took no small stretch of the imagination to figure how such a power turning inward could deteriorate the mind. It answered a few more questions she had been wondering since she had met him, his powers were hereditary. It was a true shame for his sister, a condition that could only have a hope at healing with a miracle. He carried on before she could comment, it was nice to have a peek behind his veil.

“We are different in many ways Odette, I think you can be unnecessarily cruel, I think that your associations with the Fey have changed you more than you may realise, though I have only known you as you are now. I say this because there is a part of you I have fallen in love with, yet when I look into your eyes I see terrors no man should see, and you make those terrors your servant.” He shrugged, in no way embarrassed by his little speech. It was not his way to be otherwise. “I do not think I shall come back to Lost Haven, there is a fire raging here that threatens to consume all in its path. I hope that you are spared the flames, Odette. If you ever need me please make it known that you are a friend of Lekh Antol anywhere in central Warsaw, around Market Square, I will find you. If this potion saves my sister, I will owe you everything.”

Her composure dropped, the often carefully neutral expression she wore disappeared. Colour touched in her cheeks. Odette caught the crook of his arm before he walked away, “Wait!”

Staring down at the pavement, the moment stretched as her mind raced. So rarely did someone say something that threw her off base. How was it possible? Since they first met she had shown him the worst. How could he still feel that way after everything they had done. He even said so himself.

“It is cruel.” She took a deep breath in through her nose trying to find that composure again and failing. “You could have said no dozens of times. You still responded, still met with me and decided to work with me… You even stood up to me! Anyone else-” She stopped herself then finished quietly. “I don’t- I don’t understand. You have everything you could want from me.”

Odette shut her eyes pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead, her other hand held his arm. “It’s cruel, the one person who has seen my worst is leaving.”

She felt exposed. How could she simply convey how important that was? There was no time to properly articulate it, no second to think. He was leaving now and there wasn't anything she could do to stop him. Nobody, had such a hard look at her and decided they liked her much less love after the fact.

Silence turned as she grabbed his arm, looking into her face as her iron-clad composure faltered for just a moment, his own eyes softened.

“As I said, Odette, I am not a good man.” He held her wrist and pulled her hand away, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek before brushing her other hand away from his arm. “Au Revoir, Madame.”

Odette felt a flood of emotions, when she went home today she would struggle still to understand what she was feeling. It would have been easier to let him go. To pull back on the reigns as she had done so for so long. A quiet part of her asked what Bach would think seeing her like this. Losing control. Her expression was pained.

She found herself not caring, at least for the moment.

Gently she cupped his cheek, without waiting another second she pressed her lips to his. Kissing him, she felt the tension drain out of her. Her shoulders relaxed and her grip tightened around his shirt.

Silence had been about to turn away, when suddenly Odette kissed him and his eyes jumped open in surprise. This… is a mistake. He thought, but like Odette he too found himself hardly caring as he kissed her back, his hand resting on her hip as he fought the urge to take her in his arms. For a moment, his grip wavered on the suitcase behind him and it seemed he would let it fall to the ground. It was the sounds of the ship’s crew shouting last call that brought him to his senses, or who knew what he might have done. He broke away from Odette finally, his expression confused.

“You could not let me leave cleanly, could you? You always surprise me Odette, I will not forget you, but I must go now, you understand?” There was no snappy exit for him, only a lingering glance as if pleading with her to let him go. If she were to say otherwise…

She held her breath hesitating, tempted to pay out his ticket for a little more time. Steal another moment. With incredible exertion of will she stepped away, out of reach. Letting the nearly iron grip she had on his shirt go. It really was for the best, to separate.

“Au revoir, Monsieur Antol. Likewise, if you need me I am in Paris. Whether you need help or just… want to see me. Just-” She pursed her lips, “Don’t forget to wear the cufflinks.” She said her smile was small, unmistakably soft. One she never practiced or tricked with. I will miss you.

Lekh returned her smile with one of his own, rarely genuine, though still marked with a little confusion. It was rare for him to be so out of his element, yet here they were. He turned, walking towards that big ship and an uncertain future, hope for his sister rolling along behind him and melancholy settling in his chest all the same.

“Good Bye Odette.”

Slipstream watched as the Iron Knight fired grapple lines around the mountain of a man’s ankles, and then struggled to fly off with him, only managing to get several feet off of the ground as he took off out toward the ocean.

“Well, that’s not something you see everyday…” Slipstream said to herself as she watched the almost absurd scene play out in front of her. “Unless you’re me, of course.” she finished her thought as she remembered the captives in the van. She made her way over to the van and opened the back door, revealing about a half a dozen people tied up and gagged on the inside.

“Didn’t your parents warn you about strangers in creepy vans?” Slipstream quipped as she went about freeing the captives inside. Once she was able to get a better look, she noticed that four of the victims had animalistic traits, or otherwise obvious meta human traits. Once she had freed the six captives from their bonds and climbed from the confines of the van, several of them immediately ran off in different directions, while the others remained.

“Who were those guys, and what did they want with you?” Slipstream asked the remaining metas.

“I-I don’t know.” a young girl of about fifteen years of age confessed. “I was walking home from a friend’s house and they grabbed me. Mentioned something about ‘The Hounds.’ I don’t know what they were talking about.”

“Why don’t you guys get out of here? You’ve had a long night, get home and stay safe.” Slipstream told them as she was suddenly aware that the iron suited hero had returned from taking the man-mountain to wherever it was that he had taken him.

“Took you long enough.” she said as he touched down behind her.

“Well, things got hairy there when he started to recover from that energy burst and to tug on the cable. But it wasn’t anything a cold, salt water bath in the Pacific Ocean couldn’t solve. Then I had to wait for STRIKE to send down a containment squad. What’s the point of taking him down if he can just run off right after you have left the scene? But now that’s done with, the only question that remains is who are you? You wouldn’t happen to have two speedster cousins in Lost Haven, would you?”

“Lost Haven? What?” Slipstream asked completely taken off guard by the Iron Knight’s line of questioning. “No, I don’t have any speedster cousins...you’re strange, did you know that?”

“Me? Strange? It never crossed my mind!” Iron Knight chuckled after he heard Slipstream’s response. “The only speedsters I have known were siblings, so you can’t blame me too much for assuming that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

“Oh, I didn’t know. I just assumed I was the only one.” She told him. “They call me Slipstream.” she said as she extended her hand.

“Well, I’m Iron Knight, if you didn’t already know who I am.” Iron Knight accepted Slipstream’s handshake, although he had to be careful not to crush the poor girl’s hand because of the mechanical nature of his armor. “So, any ideas who these creepers are?”

“I have no clue. But they did say something about someone called ‘The Hound, or Hounds.’ Mean anything to you?” she said, ignoring the first part of his introduction. Although she had never really been into superheroes, she did know a few of them, and he was certainly one of them. He was too high profile to not know who he was. And because of that, she hoped that he might know something about what was going on.

“Hmm…” Iron Knight pondered for a few moments,  “That does not ring a bell, unfortunately. They obviously must be a new upstart group or have been operating in the shadows for quite some time. I wish I had some more answers, but I need to look into it a little more.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Something tells me that this won’t be the last we hear from them.” she agreed, then a disturbing thought came to mind. “They were rounding these metahumans up for something, but what could that be?”

“It is not entirely clear, but it must be sinister in nature.” Iron Knight concluded, “Metahuman Trafficking is a likely possibility, although it is not the only explanation. A human weapon is probably quite the commodity on the black market.”

“Whatever it is, I don’t like it. We have to find these guys and put an end to it before it escalates any further.” Slipstream said, the thought of someone dealing in metahuman trafficking sent chills up and down her spine.

“I’ve got the feeling that these guys aren’t going to hang up a sign saying ‘we’re right here’ for us. ”

“Of course not, don’t be ridiculous. But with your connections, I’m pretty sure you have the best shot of finding these guys.” Slipstream told him.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Iron Knight promised Slipstream, “I doubt this problem can be solved overnight, but that shouldn’t deter us from trying to solve it.”

“Exactly. We should hurry though, I think that this...whatever this is, is just getting started.” she sher voice accented with a slight edge of worry.

“I’ll get my peeps to start working on this ASAP.” Iron Knight told Slipstream as he prepared to depart. “In the meantime, I have some prior obligations that need my attention. Can’t keep the nightlife hanging!”

Without any delay, Iron Knight rocketed up into the sky, soaring away from where Slipstream and he had apprehended these unknown criminals. While he was departing, he sent a data report on the situation, alerting S.T.R.I.K.E. to the situation at hand. However, instead of personally overseeing the investigation, at least for that night, Iron Knight allowed S.T.R.I.K.E. to start digging into the problem. As he said, Iron Knight had other places to be.

Slipstream stood in the middle of the roadway near the van which had held the captive metahumans. She watched as the man known as the Iron Knight vanished from sight, and all she could think about was how cool this whole experience was. Not only had she saved the metas, but she had done so with the help of Iron freakin' Knight. However, her excitement was tempered by the fact that they still didn't know who was behind this ordeal, or what they might be planning next. All she could do was hope that she would be ready when the time came. And with that last thought, she began running. She didn't know where she was going to go, or what she would do when she got there, but nonetheless, she was gone in a flash.

Witching Hour, Part 2

---

Marvelous . . . Hekate looked in awe at the work of her witches. In just a few short months, she and the Five Families had been able to coordinate the organizational efforts of Barron’s original mage staff and create veritable works of art with his plethora of resources.

This warehouse in particular, affectionately referred to as the “Wyrdhouse” by the mage staff due to its large collection of witching items and attending witches, was Hekate’s favorite. It housed a strikingly large collection of materials for witchcraft ranging from specialty herbs and reagents uncommon to the practices of other sorcerous folk to the personal journals, grimoires, and formularies of long dead witches of myth, not to mention a small fortune’s worth of magical trinkets crafted by those same witches.

”It is a sight to behold, My Lady. Though I’m not surprised, you have always been an excellent leader.” Medea expressed her adoration from behind, waltzing through the through the front entrance to the main floor, dressed in flowing, emerald garments that called back to renaissance dresses, with a modern twist, and auburn hair pulled into intricate braids, held in place by golden bands and circlets.

”Medea, my love. How you flatter me,” Hekate turned with great haste at the sound of Medea’s voice, drawing her in for a long embrace before kissing her twice on each cheek, ”but you give me far too much credit. It was the cunning and intellect of the local Covens which brought all of this to fruition, and let us not forget our gracious host and his lovely wife for allowing us access to this rich foundry of knowledge and art.”

Medea’s expression turned sour at the mention of Barron.

”I have been meaning to ask, if I may, of the exact nature of your contract with Mr. Vanderbilt. Why ask and deal for what you could gladly take? He has no power over you, and I doubt that even the strongest magician in his company could match your strength. Why . . .”

”Medea,” Hekate interrupted, ”you know as well as I that in the wake of a changing world, one must find new ways to go about one’s business undisturbed. A tenet of the witch is to be silent, is it not? Such hubris would surely lead to our downfall, regardless of the power of those with whom we contract.”

Medea bowed her head.

”I am sorry, My Lady. I did not mean to speak out of turn.”

”Oh, my love, you have not offended me nor angered me with your inquiries. No, I encourage such discourse. It is wise to question the motives of those in charge, though I must remind you, I am not your superior nor your commander. As a witch, you are free to do as you wish. Think of me not as your leader, but as your patron; one who guides and keeps a watchful eye, who steers from danger, but who will respect your wishes and allow you to make the necessary mistakes.”

Medea and Hekate shared another embrace, Medea becoming slightly emotional from her lady’s wise words, wiping away her tears on an emerald, silken sleeve.

”And besides,” Hekate continued, ”it is not a matter of whether I trust Barron. He is but a means to an end. I have done all that he has asked to ensure his peaceful cooperation, but I would be a fool to think that he was not, at this very moment, searching for ways to protect himself from me and my influence, or worse, ways to end me should he feel threatened. That is precisely why I have provided his wife with a bit of . . . misinformation.”

Hekate gave Medea a knowing grin.

”How do you mean?”

”Well, Mrs. Vanderbilt came to me in search of a way to protect she and her husband from Greed, Broker. It would appear that he is attempting to form some sinister cabal of ne'er do wells and criminals for whatever reason. I showed her the recipe for a Mesopotamian Spirit Vessel and claimed that it could entrap the Broker’s essence, but of course, it cannot.”

Medea turned her head in pondering and, unable to come up with an answer, questioned Hekate further.

”But why, My Lady? Surely this will damage Barron’s trust. Why place a wall between you two?”

”A lesson in greed,” Hekate confidently replied. ”Barron truly thinks he stands a chance against one such the Broker. He is arrogant and prone to fits and childish outbursts. This will certainly be his undoing. My simple yet tactful betrayal will, once discovered, show Barron that he cannot win in a battle against ancients. We are far more clever and skilled in the art of deception than he. If this damages his trust, so be it, but our contract doesn’t condemn strategic lies when they are needed.”

Medea gave Hekate a wicked grin, now fully informed and in tune with her lady’s plans.

”How cunning you are, My Lady. Truly the wisest and greatest among us.”

”Oh, enough flattery,” Hekate smiled playfully, taking Medea’s arm in hers and walking her around the warehouse, ”and enough talk of Barron and his dreadful empire. Come, let us instead explore his treasures and see what we can’t find. Mrs. Vanderbilt gifted us the privilege of taking some of these trinkets for our own use.”

The two of them glided merrily about the warehouse, stopping and marveling at priceless artifacts from their days in Greece that had managed to surface once again, old world charms that had scarcely been seen since the days of early American settlers, and mystical tomes and manuscripts of varying ages. Their browsing was interrupted occasionally by a chatty witch or two, all of whom Hekate was more than pleased to accommodate, and the conspicuous glances of mage workers, some of whom looked at Hekate in awe, others in disgust and disdain of her and her craft, seeing it as a lesser discipline.

They came to a far wall where pallets and trucks were filled with curious items that had yet to be organized or shipped out. One trinket caught Hekate’s eye, a small ornate box fashioned from ancient wood, worn carvings and embroidery snaking its edges. It felt familiar.

Hekate picked up with wooden box, slightly larger than a normal jewelry box, and turned it over in her hands, listening for the rattle of its contents, but hearing nothing. She went to open the weathered latch, but stopped before touching the simple copper lock.

”Is something wrong, My Lady?’ Medea asked, taking note of Hekate’s strange behavior.

Hekate said nothing, instead recalling a memory of days prior. The box had an aura about it, something strong, something hidden. A spell had been placed in the box, the magic keeping its contents undisturbed reminiscent of the power she felt surging from the witch she had observed through the Graeae’s Eye. The two were linked.

Hekate turned to a worker nearby, presenting him with the box.

”Has this item been placed on your inventory list?”

The worker looked at her for a few moments, surprised that she had thought to ask him anything. He then removed a folder from a bag around his waist and searched its pages for an item matching the box’s description.

“N-no ma’am,” he stuttered, “I don’t see it anywhere. Would you like me to add . . .”

”That won’t be necessary,” Hekate cut him off, handing the box over to Medea. ”Please keep this with you until I ask for it again, and do not let your curiosity lead you to opening it. Will you do this for me, my love?”

Medea gave her a confused look, but nodded anyway.

”Of course, My Lady.”

Hekate smiled, then turned back to the worker.

”Thank you for your assistance, that will be all.”

He looked at her for a few moments, pondering whether or not he should take note of the box somewhere on his record. Then, after an impatient look from Hekate, decided to let it go and hastily walked in the opposite direction.

Shortly thereafter, a tall, slender Elven woman and a fair witch came rushing into the warehouse. The mage workers started in their direction with the intent to stop them, but Hekate waved them away. These two obviously came with urgent news.

“My Lady,” the frustrated witch began, dark hair falling in messy curls over her round, pale face. She was out of breath from her sprint to the warehouse. “I’ve just heard news of two separate attacks on Barron’s men, one in Maine a few days ago, and another a few miles from here last night.”

”What has this to do with My Lady? Does not Barron have men of his own to deal with such disturbances?” Medea spoke before Hekate could respond.

The Elven maiden stepped forward, an ethereal glow emanating from her translucent wings.

“We would not have come to you were it not for the presence of Fey magic in both cases, the likes of which rivaling some of the noble faerie sorcerers of the highest courts.”

”I see . . .” Hekate had not been tasked with keeping Barron’s men safe, not directly anyway. But with such powerful magic involved, the assailants could become a threat to her own self interests.

”Have you any leads?”

The Elven maiden nodded.

“A group of Sylphs under the agency of the Five Families intercepted a sprite working for the culprits. She identified herself as an affiliate of The Ambassador of the Fey, a French national who works in close proximity to the lower Fey courts in Europe.”

Hekate nodded. She did not wish to disturb the Fair Folk or meddle in their affairs, though she assumed that even the lowest courts would have no cause to attack Barron’s men. If this Ambassador had gone rogue, she could be a threat to Barron in the future, and by extension, Hekate.

”Has she been captured?”

“Our divinations and subsequent reports from survivors confirm that The Ambassador and others were held captive for a time, but managed to escape with a collection of magical reagents. The local Fey could likely lead you to her, assuming she’s still around.”

”Well, we can’t have some faerie sorceress wandering about and meddling in our affairs. Medea, shall we pay this ‘Ambassador’ a visit?”

Medea nodded, a wicked grin streaming across her face.

Hekate waved away her informants, took Medea’s arm, and away they flew in a torrent of black smoke to find the troublesome Ambassador.

---

A wolfed out Ben hung over Barron’s shoulder slept off his beating as he effortlessly carried the boy towards his home, rather than driving there and ruining his lush interior seats he opted to walk the way if one counted bounding from building to building walking. Upon landing on a roof destroying shingles as his feet came to a halt Barron took the time to pull his phone out. ”Good news.”

The Agency girl on the end sighed and looked at the caller ID. “Mr. Vanderbilt, what prey tell is good news tonight?”

”I found your Teen Wolf. Had to knock him around a bit, that Alpha tried to put him under his sway with all that entails. Human wasn’t on the menu for this one.”

“You found, our lost wolf? And how do you know it is ours?”

”There’s four wolves in New York, it’s a boy and being hunted by it’s Alpha. How many more wolves can there be?”

With another deep sigh the woman responded. “Fine, we’ll send an Agent your way, where are you?”

Taking stock of his surroundings he noted that there was a giant Doughnut right to the side of him. Something he did see but hadn’t yet associated with any landmarks. ”Over a Krispy Kreme. And the street is..”

“Understood, an Agent has been dispatched, please don’t cause any more trouble.”

Ben drifted in and out of consciously. Each jar of Barron’s bouncing figure from building to building jarred the aching fire in his very muscles, reaching to the broken bones causing him to wake. His muzzle crunched up and lifted his head upright. Gradually his vision started to unblur as he gained a sense of surroundings, the air reached his nose and immediately pulled his awareness into focus. The wolf growled with the sound rumbled deeply against his throat.

His arms, only half healed, started to reach about and pressed against Barron’s back. Ben’s hind legs dig into Barron’s navel, blunt claws intending to grip, push up and hop over the elder vampire’s shoulder. He was intending to make it onto the roof’s solid foundation.

The wolf pup struggled in vain as he tried to escape. ”Hey now, who said you could go anywhere. I’m helping here.” With a quick flick of his wrist which to be honest was only for flair than an actual purpose blood wrapped itself around Ben and slammed him to the ground. ”I’m taking you back home, or well to the nearest Agent even if they tend to be useless wastes of bodies. A Ghoul has a better chance of keeping track of you than those slack jawed dimwits.” Levitating Ben in his new restraints Barron smiled and continued on. ”Trust me, you aren’t fully in control and as much as you hate me, I have nothing against you.”

Ben yelped when he hit the ground, his head turned to avoid colliding with the roof, as his arms were jerked and wrapped about him. The blood pressed into his fur and began to form a jacket about his torso, his fur bristled in irritation. His shoulders shifted back and forth, his back paws trying to tear at the ‘fabric’ in order to get loose. Each move shifted him from where he made contact with the roof until Barron lifted him upright, holding him there in mid air. His back legs continued to scratch at the restraints as he growled. His lips curled and fangs revealed, ready to lash out and bit when Barron got closer.

‘You...hurt me. Threat and danger, I can’t trust you,’ Ben’s words pooled into Barron’s head, less disjointed than when he first transformed. However he still needed more time before his mind harmonized with his primal instincts. It was clear the pup associated Barron with pain and danger, bring only animosity toward the elder vampire.

Rune had been driving around for a while. That was the thing about pretty much all tracking magic. It was unreliable and unclear. But damned if you do, damned if you didn’t. He had to try and find the young werewolf who Otto’s Agency contact claimed could sniff out magic.

Make a right here! Rune yelled to Otto who swerved almost off the road in their haste. Runes head bounced against the ceiling and he swore.

Ben was exactly what he needed however, so this was but a small sacrifice, his head that is. In fact, this was exactly what the world needed, if his hunch about Brokers plans was right.. Well, saying otto had a contact within the Agency was a bit misleading. The two men had nicked the radio of one by confused agent and was now listening into the conversation between one agent and a creature known as Barron. What they hadn’t counted on was the report of Barron, the malevolent and violent vampire.

They came to halt just a few meters away from Barron and Ben, storming out of the car. Before Rune could speak, and possibly get them both killed with his usual bluntness, Otto spoke. “What do you think you are doing to the poor thing?” He affixed the kind of stern voice any child recoiled from. That of an authoritarian organisations absolute confidence. In this case, it was perfect for someone impersonating an Agent.

“You put him down, right this minute Barron.” Otto continued, and Rune idly thought to himself that Otto was in the wrong business. He had some acting chops.

”And just who are you? This poor thing is a young Pup not in control of his own thoughts let alone his body. Say I wasn’t here and instead a pretty blonde walked by there’d be a different tale to tell. But.” Unwrapping his bloody grip on the young wolf with a toss in the air. ”If you insist.”

The moment Ben felt himself tossed, he tried to catch himself. His arms reached out and touched the ground, the pads gripped the concrete. However, the moment weight was applied… they crumbled. They collapsed on themselves as his snout connected with the roof with a loud smack. Blood stained the rough gravel and a small, painful yelp escaped his chest into the air while his body skidded to a halt. Bone was sticking out of flesh, but that didn’t seem to register in the young pup as he tried to stand up again.

His ears flickered and twitched, his nose scenting his own blood in his attempt to crawl away. He was already starting to heal again but with all the damage, it was slow going. And the young pup wasn’t helping himself much in his attempts to stand on all fours and run away.

“No need to be a dick.” Rune said as he slowly approached the hurt werewolf. Acutely aware that he could tear Runes head off. “Easy there kiddo. You are in no shape of running” He helped Ben up. "Lets just lead you to the car, I think I got some lyco-suppressant herbs somewhere on me, we can deal with your problem.” He whispered so only Ben could hear “We are friends, but we gotta get you out of here.”

Ben sniffed, his nose flickered and caught the scent of magical that Rune produced. It was something new and interesting causing the werewolf to pause in his attempts to haul himself up. His tail flicked back and forth, eagerness in his posture as he leaned a bit against the older, drunken champion. The young pup let the man get him upright, through the pain threatened to distract him, and carefully navigate him toward the car.

Otto stared Barron down as he spoke. “Alright. Thank you for your service Barron. The agency will keep an eye on Ben…” He began to back towards the car. By now, the fact that Otto had yet to produce a badge might ring some alarm bells in Barrons head.

”Hey. Wait a minute here,” Barron said pondering. ”I knew I forgot something.” Barron said following an intimidating stride over towards Otto.

“Otto! Hulk time!” Rune yelled and just like that, they switched gears. Otto snarled as he went from human to massive wolf form much faster than a normal werewolf. With the intention of not letting Barron mount any sort of defense, the hexenwolf formed ball of lightning between his palms and rained down spears heaven's own light show around Barron. Forming a cage.

”Well. I was not expecting this.” Barron said briefly recoiling as the mere touch burned his fingers. ”Can I say not cool. While I must admit lack of credentials were a thought I had, I merely assumed you were busy. But this overreacting, I was only getting some healing salve. I’m not an ass and I wouldn’t bang up the kid unless I had something to treat him with.”

“...Toss it to me” Otto stared. A bit dumbfounded.

Pulling the jar out of his pocket, Barron gave it some airtime as it flew towards Otto.”It’s good stuff, I should know I had a talented Alchemist make it. Not a panacea but it’ll heal a wolf up right quick. Next time we meet though I’m kicking your ass.”

“Next time we meet, Vampire, Rune and I will bring ashwood and have us a stakeout. And how about you just try NOT to beat up people. Period?” Then he began running towards the car. “Go. Before the actual agents come.” He yelled to Rune who helped Ben into the car. By the time the car pulled away, the light cage had flickered out existence. Rune leaned out the window. “Thanks for the werewolf, sucker!”

Pointing angrily at the car that pulled out of sight. ”See. Double standards right there! First you call me a dick then you call me a sucker what a dick move.” Walking away from where the cage was Barron held up his hand forming a compass of blood. ”And yet I can track that Pup anywhere in this city. Who’s the sucker now! Let’s hope you leave quickly before I finish changing, who knows maybe I’ll make up my mind to follow you. For now.” Barron said pulling at his suit. I think I’ll wear the black one.”

"Hey, I think I saw purple. Is that her?"

"...no, that's just a car. The purple is going to be a flash of light, remember?"

The skinny guy with greasy black hair groaned as he took the binoculars back and lifted them to his eyes again, shivering slightly from the sea breeze despite his leathery biker jacket. His teammate for the night kept lookout, a hand resting over the weight of a pistol in her jacket pocket as he paced back and forth.

"Dude, would you stand still? You're distracting me," the man said irritably. "And the sooner we spot this alien chick the better."

"This is pointless," the woman spat out, not hearing or not listening to her friend as he glared at her. "The Neo-Ronin rule these streets, why are we chasing this squid-headed baka around?"

"The 'squid-headed baka' has been hitting our operations hard, idiot," the greasy biker grumbled, dropping the pseudo-Japanese pretense. "You heard about that armored car fiasco with the tarantula chick? It wasn't the first time the xeno has been causing us trouble since we took out the other gangs."

"But the Neo-Ronin are invincible!" she declared, her voice almost trembling with reverence at the very idea. "We cannot be stopped by anyone!"

"And that's why you're not the Shogun," he responded coolly. "See, the Shogun's smart enough to know when to remove a problem before it gets too big to handle. That's why we're here helping to track her down."

"Oh....fine," the raven-headed girl conceded with a huff. "But I would have went out and fought her myself, not hire this....mercenary." Her pouting turned into a scowl as she filled the last word with as much venom as she could muster.

"What, are you offended by the concept of someone working for money instead of honor now?" her companion said disdainfully. "News flash sweetheart, that's kind of our shtick too."

"I was thinking more about the man being a creep," she snapped back, dropping down to sit on the ledge next to her friend. "I don't like...wasps, that much."

"...okay I'll give you that, the dude's a creep, but have you heard the stories about this guy? Hell if even half of them are true the dude deserves to have a gimmick, even if its a weird one."

"Someone tell that to the ninja robot," the girl retorted out the corner of her mouth.

"Besides, better him fighting the alien chick then me," the man said, ignoring the comment again. He considered defending some of the Rogues that popped up recently, but given how much the other Neo-Ronin disliked that colorful bunch of mad scientists and cat-headed DJ's, it was always a losing argument. "I saw what she did to that big guy in the diver's suit, and I don't...aha!"

"Did you see something?" the woman asked.

"Yeah, something flashed purple right past South Barkley..." Almost on cue, the radio transceiver crackled to life with the other teams reporting on the location of the flash.

"She's headed up 5th street past South Barkley!" one of the teams sounded out clearly over the other voices on the line.

"Perfect," came the response over the transceiver in a cold, electronic voice. "Delta, you're on, burn it. Everyone near zone C converge. Rest of you...sit back and watch the fireworks." The voice laughed, low-pitched and distorted, dripping with cruel bemusement before the radio went silent. The woman shivered, though this time not because of the cold.

"Guess we're the lucky ones," the greasy haired guy said as he pulled himself to his feet, tossing the binoculars aside with a careless toss. His partner strode over to a small pile covered by a dark blue tarp deposited earlier in the day and roughly ripped it open. The gas vapors assaulted their sense of smell as the woman took one of the cans in both hands, shouldering open the stairwell door and staggering down. The man took another one of the cans and started pouring the contents onto the roof. Tossing the can into the puddle, now wafting fumes across the air, he paused to admire his handiwork while he fished around in his pockets for the signal flare.

Time to burn the house down on this alien.



"...and then I zapped the gun with the Psibeam and Fangs shot off into the harbor! Splash!" Riley waved around her arms for emphasis as she landed from her jump down to street level, despite the fact that she was communicating over a headset.

"Yes, glad everything is working," Dr. Martel replied, sounding a little distracted. "I take it the lens' work, then?"

"They went a little fuzzy after I used the beam but they are still in once piece!" Riley declared, tapping the goggles with one long finger for emphasis.

"Good, I was hoping the same material in the inhibitors would function like that. When you're finished for the night head back and I'll see what I can do about the fuzziness."

"Oh dear, it is quite late," Riley lamented. "And it was such a lovely day too. Couldn't Jordan take over so I can stay out later?"

"She had to leave, something about her girlfriend having the flu," Martel explained.

"Okay, I guess I will return shortly," Riley said, sounding more dejected then she had in a while. Things had been going so well that it was harder and harder for her to come back 'home' after being out all day doing hero things. She'd fought with those street gangs, traded blows with villains like Monsterk4T and Amorphous, and just helped out in any way she could. Riley got the feeling people liked having her around, and someone even took a picture of her for the newspaper! Dr. Martel wouldn't let her tape the picture to the test room wall, but Jordan had a nice little frame made for it the other day and hung it up on the wall anyway. It made her feel fuzzy inside just thinking about it, and she was so appreciative that she almost knocked Jordan over when she tackle-hugged her.

Riley's thoughts were interrupted by the approaching sounds of sirens. She quickly jumped off the sidewalk into the bushed out of surprise as the fire truck peeled around the corner and shot past her, the lights flashing and the horn blaring. Poking her head out to get a better look, Riley thought she saw an orange glow in the distance.

"Fire!" she announced to no one in particular, and without a second thought she jumped back out of the bush and took off after the truck, eager to help in any way she could. Voyager wasn't done for the night after all!

Props to NMS for the sexy banner.