---

---

---

Jiang didn’t have a chance to react to the question, let alone appreciate the sauntering that came along with it since he suddenly went on pause mode for the weirdest one sided conversation that was bordering on insulting since it was obviously about her. She was irked to say the least and was about to give him peace of her mind when she suddenly blinked, her jaw dropping open slightly from surprise at being called Madame of all things. She hated that phrase! Her nose wrinkled in disgust under her mask, a deep frown and a harsh glare set in this masked figure's direction. He was damn lucky he disappeared just as rapidly as he had appeared because ancient spirit or not, she wanted him to taste her wrath slowly and painfully. She was not old! Okay, yes, she had lived for centuries but it wasn’t like she would rapidly age into a decrepit hag if she gave up her swords. She was merely paused in time and watching as an observer more than most or gaining wisdom for when she continued the natural flow of life and time. This whole night just seemed designed to put her in a foul mode.’At least it can’t get worse than this.’, Jiang thought in exasperation.

She cringed at the booming voice, her eyes widening as her gaze slowly moved away from the broken ceiling to the direction of the two figures that had decided to join in the ranks. She prayed for it not to be them, not being able to stand to be in either of their company very long because of their crude nature and annoying habits. If she didn’t know better, she would blame them for stalking but it seemed fate just kept putting her in their path or visa versa. It tended to happen at some point though with all immortals, meeting one another that is since they had nothing but optimal chances to do so. If they hadn’t met, then usually they had at least heard stories of each other and knew of each other’s existence in that matter. A groan left her lips as she finally got a view of the demons, cursing under her breath and debating on if she really wanted to deal with them and the mess they usually left in their wake. Jiang knew she could slip away and none would be the wiser. She wasn’t a hero and more than once she had avoided the two in a game of ultimate hide and seek, one she had never agreed to. She couldn’t in good conscience leave things as they were though.

It was her guests that would suffer and if a few hadn’t lost their lives already it would be a miracle. She hated dealing with the undead heathens left behind, not just because they were a pain but she felt a deep sadness for them. No one should have to fall prey and become something so grotesque. She gave a sigh, gracefully taking gliding steps towards the two, preparing not only to defend the heroes that had decided to address the demons but fight alongside the masked individuals.”Hey Cretins! It is my distinct pleasure to inform you both that you were not invited to this soirée nor are either of you welcome so if you would both kindly remove yourselves and crawl back into the pit from whence you came, that would be most appreciated. I do not have patience to deal with your chaos and irritation.”, Jiang practically growled, her swords at the ready since she doubted it would be that easy to sway these two.’What did I even do to deserve this?’, she thought to herself, reflecting on the mess this whole gala had become.

---

Every few moments as someone pushed to get passed Boris, he stood there like a pillar, annoyed and tired. He watched through the crowd blocking the exits as police arrived outside where the car crash occurred. Soon their attention would clearly turn to this chaos inside the gala. He pulled out his phone and searched through his contacts until he landed on Spencer. "Need help." was all he sent. He thought it best to not tell him what happened with his boss yet.

He turned his head, body in the same position, to the two weirdos who as far as he's concerned, are the reason he got fired. In the midst of the chaos he watched as one of them raised his arms and began shouting in the room. "Grandmaster Ninja?..." he said mockingly under his breath. Under other circumstances he would have used the opportunity to throw a few 'accidental' punches their way... but they did pay him handsomely. So he just turned around and continued looking at his phone while the other masked heroes took care of the chaos. When spencer replied "sorry, busy" Boris groaned. He began shuffling around the crowd, looking for an opening so he can get out.

“The hell are you doing here, crooked cop? Better get out of here before your friends show up.”

"I'm not a cop anymore" Boris replied almost instinctively as he turned his head toward a familiar face, regretfully.

“Actually if you are getting out of here, take me with you.”

"You!" he slurred out in Russian. He walked up to Lev and pressed his finger firmly on his chest. "Of course the only other time I find myself in the middle of a freak-show with swords you are somehow involved."

As police sirens begun echoing in the background Boris looked around frustratingly, seeing Lev had definitely surfaced some anger Boris had been holding in for a while.

"Can't you just blow up a hole in the wall like you blew out our cargo? I mean this time at least it would be useful and wont result in a mafia boss holding me by the neck for the rest of my life!" He gestured with his arm toward a walled section of the building in which no one else was around.

"Go ahead, then we can get out of here, oh and while you're at it, maybe pay back the mafia for what we owe since you clearly can afford it" he said vaguely gesturing around "seeing as you can afford to meddle around with all these rich folk!"

Snowflakes drifted down slowly out of the black sky, a few settling on the bright fabric of Foo Dog's costume. He sat on the corner of a roof, watching the twinkling lights and shop windows below. Cheerful Christmas music played somewhere in the distance.

"You know, Shi, sometimes this "lone warrior" thing kinda' blows. We should restart the Avengers."

"Don't lose focus of your mission," Shishi chided.

"Yeah...the mission. Always the mission." Bolin grumbled as he stood and continued on his way. He needed to investigate what the Hand had been up to before he interrupted their meeting. He was sure they probably cleaned shop after his epic battle with their warriors, but maybe they left some clues behind.

The old factory had been shut down for years. The Hand had a way of picking the absolute creepiest hide outs they could find. Bolin scoured the dust filled hull of rust and old machinery, but came up mostly empty handed. That was until he found a small, white fragment on the floor.

"Is this bone?" He asked, picking it up despite his better judgment, "Shishi, you don't think..."

"The last of the exilir was drained. They shouldn't have access to more. But if they've found the right ingredients..."

"Oh damn, that could get messy quick. If the Hand is working on a new batch of resurrection bullshit, you can bet whoever they want to bring back is better off dust."

---

---

Lev couldn’t help but scoff at Boris’s comments, before retorting to defend himself. “First off, you were damn useless during that whole situation so I don’t wanna hear shit about you blaming me for what happened. Second, it wasn’t me who blew up the cargo. Third, not a cop anymore? What, your buddies find out you were dirty?” Half of what he said came out in English and the other half in Russian. A seamless transition between languages. His attention was drawn briefly from Boris to the now missing Lion and two men being confronted by his former dance partner.

He barely missed Boris commenting on him meddling with rich people. His blue eyes snapped back to Boris and he let out a laugh. “Bold of you to assume I haven’t already paid off my debt.” He had, in fact, not paid a single cent of his debt, and had spent the last, who knows how long avoiding the Russian Mafia like the plague but he wasn’t going to tell Boris that. “Also, I can’t afford to meddle with anyone. I was working as a waiter. I know my charming good looks make anything look like a million bucks on me but this is a waiter's uniform...which is ruined now.” He motioned to his clothing and the moment he said something about it being ruined the adrenaline started to fade and his back began to sting. He could feel his back wet with his own blood.

“Shit.” He muttered to himself as he walked over to the wall Boris had motioned to. His back now to the larger man he would see the many cuts down his back from the initial shattering of glass. Some deeper than others. “We can argue about this later, too many supers for my liking, let’s get out of here while they are distracted by that.” He motioned to the two men as he took his staff and hit it lightly against the wall. One would think that the force would not have caused any damage but with the staff being charged still it blew a hole in the wall large enough for them to get out of. He looked back at Boris motioning for him to exit first. “After you, age before beauty.” He winced as he said that the stinging of his back was growing more intense but he needed to focus on getting out of here.

When his eyes opened again, the fire crackling in the old stone fireplace had died, leaving the room chilly. The window glass had collected frost on the outside, glimmering in the light blue of dawn. The sun hadn't peaked over the skyline yet, but there was a subtle hint of pink in the horizon. Raph groaned as he sat up. His body had worked hard fixing the left over wounds from last night. It had burned through his heavy meal, leaving him hungry yet again.

But that wasn't what was at the forefront of his mind. No, rather a certain wizard lingered in his thoughts. The events of last night had left him feeling...odd. Confused, conflicted, maybe even hopeful. He hadn't felt hopeful in so, so long.

He climbed out of bed and stretched his arms and wings. The tips of each wing brushed the walls on either side of the room. Once they were tucked back comfortably against his back, Raph slowly ventured out into the hall. The boy was probably still asleep, and his new wizard friend may be as well. But Raph couldn't sit still any more. His head was full of thoughts and his legs needed to move to keep them from overwhelming him. Ideally, he would clear his head in the chilly morning sky. However, hungry as he was, that wasn't a great option. Raph didn't know where they kept food around here, and he didn't know that he could simply ask for it.

[Location: Bar back alleyway]

Lust grimaced as she turned with her hands up. She had sensed who it was. Dragonkin...great. "The name is Lust." Her voice became layered with her power and reached out with her mind, brushing his lightly. "I was almost attacked and I saved myself. Saved many other women too." She stepped forward towards him and brushed a hand lightly against his chest. "Please...you make me feel safe...kiss me?" She leaned in close to him hoping this was her way out. To charm him and blind him momentarily so that she could escape.

Draku quirked a brow curiously at the woman's name, Who on earth calls their child that?, he would ponder to himself before a very peculiar feeling began to overtake him. A feeling, for matter of fact, he hadn't felt towards another being since Noella.

He would allow a slight smirk to play about his lips before speaking once more, "I know this feeling…" he'd mutter softly, before looking down to Lust's hand against his chest and back to her when she questioned for him to kiss her, "This feeling led me astray once upon a time..." he'd continue, slowly balling his hands into tightly clenched fists, "Cost me everything.." He could feel himself muttering these words as all the while her words echoed in his mind. He wanted to comply to her wishes, hell he could even feel himself slowly leaning in towards her to do exactly that, until the familar scent of sulphur and brimstone invaded his nostrils yet again.

[b][i][color=16F529]IDIOT![/b][/i][/color], came the all too familar roar within his mind.

And with that Draku snapped to, inches before her lips, and growled intimidatingly, "That almost worked, you she demon. Lucky for me, the illusion of that particular spell was broken eons ago." He'd pull away from her, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets, "Had you attempted that in any of my previous lives, we wouldn't be having this pleasant little conversation…" he'd clear his throat slightly as the memory of a large breasted vixen besting him once in competition flashed back to him, "Now… Who are you really and where are the other two demon scum that you came with?"

Lust pushed back from him and hmphed as she crossed her arms. Rolling her eyes she looked over at him, “I am called Lust but I have no issue with you so I think I will take my leave. The other two though? I have no clue if you follow the screams and you'll likely run straight into the two psychos.” Her aura began to glow and she starts to turn from him.

Draku's lip would curl as she stated her name was Lust yet again, gritting his teeth slightly as she admitted to not knowing the other two's whereabouts, "You're responsible for them being here. Just as responsible as I am for letting them get away... So regardless of whether you have quarrel with me or not," he'd step towards her as she began to turn from him, "I most certainly do with you." and as if almost to make his point, a wall of hardened snow would rise before her in an attempt to block her departure.

She turned back to him with a look of really on her face. “Look big guy if you are some hero then you're better off heading in the opposite direction of here. That’s where they were headed…” She pointed to the snow and gave him a look as her eyes flared. “...also do you really think some snow is going to stop me?” The snow melted and as it fell on her it turned to steam which billowed out in a cloud as she ignited her hands and flew off into the night sky in hopes of losing him.

He would growl as he watched her take to the skies, Lucky for you I don't really like fighting chicks...", he'd think to himself before moving in the direction she pointed out to him before doing so.

Sighing as she flew, it had looked like she had lost him but she wasn’t sure how. Using the Sin of Lust’s knowledge the dragonkin weren’t easily escapable. Lust herself had been taken out by one a very long time ago. Focus…got to finish the mission but to do that she was going to have to get to the next safe house.

---

---

---

After Alistar killed the two ninjas, he would just drop their corpses at his feet while shaking his head “Good form you two, if your opponent was anyone else you would have had better odds.” closing his eyes he says a silent prayer for the two ninjas he just killed. Looking around to see how the other ninjas were doing, until a female started to walk up to him and started saying, “I really wish you hadn't done that. Now I'm going to have to deal with you too when all I want to do is go home and wash the stench of ninja off me.”. Hearing this he sighs, “So you are mad at me for cleaning up a little bit of yalls' mess? Excuse fucking me for doing it the right way. Shit like this is why people always get hurt, you never finish the job. You see I don't let my enemies leave alive, you wanna know why? Because I don't want them to plan an attack and try to kill me. It’s such a fucking hassle to deal with you know.”.

Ash growled low in her throat, the sound very clearly not anything that could come from a human throat. She stalked closer to the man with the big mouth.

"First off, this isn't my mess. Second, none of the ninjas I put down are getting up anytime soon and third, who exactly is going to clean up your mess? What...do you plan on explaining this" She indicated the blood and bodies. "to the police? Or you just planning on killing them too?"

She was already turning to face the woman with the blades having heard her approach. She inclined her head respectfully. "Well met. Do excuse the mess." Her glare made it clear she included the leather clad figure in that last statement. She smiled a fierce, feral smile. "I was just about to clean house...unless you'd prefer to deal with it?" Her eyes held the man in leather’s gaze daring him to come at her. The smell of blood and the thrill of the hunt still sang in her veins.

She was angry at the unnecessary loss of life but the primal urges and power currently coursing through her made it difficult to really feel anything else.
Even as she waited for the man in leather to respond she could feel her nails becoming claws beneath her gauntlets.

Rex would have sat back against the edge of the table as a particularly bold heroine, clad in gold and green, approached his brother and began speaking rather casually to him.

That was actually rather peculiar to Rex, not the reaction most heroes had to unnecessary loss of life in his opinion, and if not for her comment about the stench of ninja, he would have mistaken her for their being here. That's just how at ease she came off to him.

He would continue stuffing his face with whatever random assortment of hors d'oeuvres were within reach before a second individual closed the distance between them and Alistar. His eyes would narrow instantly in suspicion as this masked individual approached his brother, two blades drawn at the ready. Despite this though, his sudden interest in the newest member of their welcoming party wasn't for fear of his brother's safety.

Nah.

It was more like he recognized that mask. And when she started to speak, it clicked.

He leapt from his lax position upon the table with a pointed finger in her direction,

"GREAT WHITE BUFFALO!", he shouted to Alistar through a spray of half chewed food and beverage.

Looking at the approaching figure Alistar would sense an old soul, but how can this be. Then he heard Rex yell “GREAT WHITE BUFFALO” with a full mouth. Shaking his head Alistar wonders how the hell they were raised by the same father. Then it hit him, bowing he said, “Why hello there the beautiful, elegant, fierce lady Jiang Shijian. My my my it's been awhile”, looking up at her he winks, “Time has been friendly to you darling. I must say it’s hard keeping my jaw from hitting the floor.”

She turned her head and attention away from the demons for a moment, planning to answer the masked heroine’s question about cleaning house when an unpleasantly worded and food garbled shout rang out causing her to pause, her eye physically twitching in her irritation. Twice, that was twice she had been insulted in some form which just added salt in the wounds that was her ruined evening. She snapped her focus back on the two before her, eyes narrowing and immediately locking onto Rex as her nose scrunched in slight disgust under her mask, her grip tightening on her weapons, her hackles practically raised, and about to rip him a new one (physically or otherwise) when Alistar’s movement pulled her gaze. She had only escaped these two for so long by being guarded or playing by her wits and she wasn’t about to change that now. While the two grated her nerves repeatedly over the many years she had walked this Earth, somehow always running into each other, at least Alistar was somewhat tolerable whereas Rex’s upfront abrasive personality was off putting in many ways but none more so than his mouth. If Alistar’s plan was to distract her from attacking his brother then at least he had succeeded.

”Save your flattery, Sabbath. I am in no mood to be trifled with and as I stated before, both of you are unwelcome here.”, Jiang stated, sounding relatively calm for someone still pissed with one of the two brothers and the other making her leery, never sure to handle the mix of respectful and polite flirtation. ”Everywhere this one…”, she said pointing one of her swords at Rex before continuing,…goes, death always follows, victims who’s poor souls are damned, lost, and twisted while their bodies are forced to return from the grave beyond which I usually have to take care of. If by some slim chance this has not already occurred and chaos is what you are both seeking, obviously that has passed and there is no need to continue in our presence. Begone from here or receive a kiss from my blades…”

Krotar was finishing up outside. Smashing the last two corpses together just as the police arrived. He pulled a cigarette from his jacket pocket and lit it with a snap of his fingers. Hooking his thumbs into his pants pockets, he calmly ascended the front steps into the Gala, as police pulled up beside up out front.

Kicking the door open, Krotar entered the room. “So…” He called out to all present. “Who’s the basic crotch socket that still finds it impressive to raise the dead.” He asked, his gaze drawn to the two in glorified fetish gear.

Rex would always enjoy the feeling of frustration and anger, Jiang's was even more enjoyable, but for her to acknowledge him or any of his accomplishments over the years absolutely filled him to the brim with giddiness!

Their relationship was so unique. He chased, she ran. She acted like his killer charms didn't faze her, but he knew it was just her acting coyly. That's just how things turned out over the many years of their deadly game of cat and mouse.

Oh how he yearned to feel her flesh against his, to acquaint himself with her scent; and not just through the faint tracks and trails of blood she left behind when eluding them either, to hear the steady throbbing of her carotid artery supplying her lovely face and neck with her equally amazing life force.

It hadn't always been this way though, he didn't always feel this way about her. No, no, no. He used to be filled with the worst type of hatred for her. He despised how she constantly escaped them. How she constantly made fools of them. And for how long. Oh the gods, how she stayed off their radar for so damn long he would never fucking know. It infuriated him. Hell, most believe she was the reason why he decided they were making the mortal plane their own. But his hatred eventually melted away into infatuation, his heart nearly beating from his chest anytime he caught her scent or laid eyes upon her. No matter the disguise. It confused him at first, then it became his drive. To the point of obsession. So much in fact that his mood would slowly become affected by her absence, causing him to wreak even more unnecessary havoc upon the world until their next encounter.

He allowed himself to be lost in the thoughts of his boyish-like crush before hearing a string of the most crudely put together insults that he had ever had the pleasure of hearing.

"Oye! Did this cock sleeve just call me basic?' Rex would laugh raucously as he turned towards the newest arrival, "Waaaaiiiiit a minute! YOU'RE THE HOOD ORNAMENT FROM EARLIER!!!!!" he'd burst out, breaking down into further hysterical laughter.

“Thank you for recognising me, though it’s not my fault people on the planet can’t drive.” Krotar said as most of his armor materialized around him. “Though I would have to agree you probably aren’t basic.” He paused. Thinking for a moment. “Seeing you, I would probably say discount or knock off.”

Rex's mirth would seemingly vanish, narrowing his eyes at Krotar and twisting his lip in annoyance, glancing over his shoulder at Jiang and the rest of the room before looking back to Krotar, "Well, eek barba durkel, lookie what we got here," he'd chuckle, though dryly, "on your way to a sci fi convention or did you think you'd try your hand at playing hero, kid? If so, you've been reading too many comic books. Now run along before you get hurt, you've got first place in the bag."

Krotar all but let out an audible laugh. “Oh, I’m not a hero.” He straightened up. Looking past Rex at the woman. Directing his next words to her, while still somehow responding to the demon. “Besides, I always make sure that I come second.” He said with a wink.

Rex looked to Jiang then back to Krotar, eyebrows raised, "Oh?" He'd scoff exaggeratedly, raising a closed hand to his mouth in the process, eyes wide and eyebrows raised in disbelief, "You mean you two??" He'd question, first pointing to Jiang then to Krotar with his other hand.

He'd begin to laugh, pondering whether to end this fool's life now or to wait and see where this was going, before registering what else the techno geek had said to him, "Wait a second, if you're no hero, what the fuck are you doing here?"

He looked the demon up and down. “Well, I may not be a hero, but that doesn’t mean I have to be a dick.” He said rather matter of factly. “Besides, undead are so, faux pas.”
“So, overdone. Next you’ll be pondering whether to end a ‘fool’ like me.” He said using air quotes around the word fool. “Please, I bet you’ve never had an original thought in your life.”

Rex would grin absentmindedly, only partially listening to the brazen words of this seemingly mortal, human male, oh what lives they chose to lead. These young, reckless, pathetic life forms… Perhaps it's what made killing them so fun. That and their cunning. The hero types were his favorite. A stubborn villain, even more so.

"Boy, when you've been around for as long as we have," He'd gesture to Jiang, Alistar, and himself, "any original," He'd mimic Krotar's air quotes at the word, "thought was more than likely thought of by one of us." His eyes would then begin to glow brighter with each of the words that followed, "And you know what, kid? You're dead on. Hammer on the head of the nail type of deal. I was pondering the thought. Guess you helped me come to my decision, though." He'd step forward from the spot he had rooted himself to upon his arrival, the shadows within the room seemingly darkening with his movement.

Ash was pissed. Was it too much to ask for one night, one! that didn't end a total disaster. All she wanted to do was go home, shower and go for a run but she didn't like the idea of leaving as things were. But then no one seemed to be paying her much attention anymore and she considered leaving them all to it.

She was considering her next move, which boiled down to a) Beat the shit out of the loudmouth in leather or b) leave them all to sort it out, when said loudmouth seemed to get serious. She narrowed her eyes as shadows seemed to gather around him as he took a step towards the man in the doorway.

She took a step forward and then hesitated as she caught a familiar scent. She'd noticed it earlier but had been too distracted to focus on it. But now...turning she lifted her face taking in deep breaths through her nose. Her mind automatically filtered through the myriad scents in the room. The rich coppery tang of blood, the musky odor of fear, and others that were unique even to her.

She focused on the familiar scent, one she had only recently discovered yet one that had appealed to her instantly. There! She fixed her eyes on a specific area wondering if he had somehow not made it out. But then she realized it was coming from one of the masked people in the room. Specifically the man in the blue and white suit.

She was walking towards him before she was fully aware of it.
It seemed she and Oberon had more in common than either of them had known.
She stopped near him and then hesitated realizing she hadn't really thought this through.

Krotar casually stepped forward. Clearly the beast he was speaking to was too dumb for words to have any effect. He so enjoyed witty banter, but speaking to this demon just lacked the nuanced competition. No worry backwards and forwards. Just this thing trying to prove it had the biggest dick in the room. So he moved to the side and walked up to the masked girl and winked. Walking straight past the demon without so much as acknowledging its existence. The defense systems in his NegaBands and armour were activated automatically. Ready to spring into action should any move be made against him.
Extending his hand for a handshake, he made to introduce himself to the woman. Sure wearing a mask and having two swords may be considered a red flag for most people, but Krotar had questionable taste in partners. “Good evening, mademoiselle.” Krotar said in the most charming voice he could muster.

The words spoken were enough of a warning sign, even without being able to see the demon's eyes from her current position and Jiang felt herself tense. The moment he moved from his spot towards their newest arrival to the scene, she slammed her weapons back into their sheaths ready to move towards the two in a determined stride while ignoring the darkness that was creeping in but before she could even move to execute her plan, she found herself taken back in a bit of shock. Not only had their newcomer breezed past one demon but placed himself in front of another just to make her acquaintance, which was quite impressive. She wasn’t sure if it was impressively stupid or impressively suave, probably a lot of both but it did make her nerves on edge either way. ”Evening, monsieur.”, she answered politely, placing her hand in his own while glancing over his shoulder at the pissed off faces.

"Pleased to meet you but un instant s'il vous plaît.”, Jiang added, not sure if he even understood French but she did use their connected hands to an advantage by using her super strength to pull him forward as she stepped to the side so he was now behind her as a defense. She had no doubt he had something else up his sleeve if he was this confident to turn his back on demons though she wasn’t sure whatever it was would be enough. Him being behind her gave her an extra ease and took an unknown factor out of the equation if only for a second. She slowly glided forward with a sway in her step, sliding her mask up to rest on top of her head and revealing her true face for the first time in a while but it was the easiest way to get close to her target. A flirtatious smile played on her lips, her silver eyes hooded, not speaking a single word just yet as her fingertips reached out to tease along the hem of his pants before resting on his hip while leaning in close.

”Alistar…”, Jiang purred as her other hand gently slid up his chest. ”It seems our conversation was rudely interrupted but…”, she stated as her hand reached his shoulder while she continued to speak, her melodious tone lowering even further, ”now, that you have my undivided attention, could you do me the smallest favor?” Jiang raised up so she was just a breath away and whispered, ”Deal with your brother.”, and with that said, her eyes narrowed, her smile fell, and her grip on both his hip and shoulder tightened as she got a better hold so she could lift him up with her enhanced strength. Once she had the upper hand, Jiang quickly tossed Alistar with as much force as she could in that moment of surprise directly at Rex. She had no idea how much help it would be but at least it would give some space between the demon pair and them for an escape or for a fight. She doubted it would be long now before the police would come in and add a whole other level of chaos to this mess. She rolled her shoulders, flicking her long hair behind her once more before glancing over her shoulder, ”Apologies, I don’t believe I got your name. Either way, I suggest we vacate the area. This won’t end well for anyone.”

---

"What do you mean it wasn't you who blew up the cargo? you have-" Boris was caught off when Lev actually blew up a hole in the wall. Boris scratched his head and scuffed with a confused grin. "You have that." he gestured vaguely before he looked around quickly, worried this would draw the attention of others but it looked to him like in the midst of all the chaos, no one looked their way. Hesitant at first, he shrugged, hearing the police approach the building.

Boris walked past Lev through the hole, landing on the garden outside, and Lev just watched him. He couldn’t stop himself from watching the man’s body move as he moved past him. He really had gotten physically bigger since the last time they had crossed paths. He hesitated only a moment before the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He turned back to the group converging on the leather clad men. Deciding he didn’t wanna be around if a fight broke out he jumped through the hole following Boris.

Boris turned around briefly to look at Lev. A part of him wanted to say thanks, but he decided not to when he noticed something weird was happening with the shadows inside. He grunted, turned around, and started walking as Lev followed.

“Really though, how did you fill out so much, what’s your secret?” Asked Lev, to which Boris did not respond, Lev was honestly just trying to distract himself from his back which was beginning to sting more as his nerves calmed and he stopped converting his body’s energy. But if he could annoy the former cop that was a plus, at least a little bit. Not too much though, he would need help treating his back, and it seemed the only good option right now was the man he was now following.

The former cop did seem annoyed, he had a lot to say earlier, but the question struck some nerve that pushed him into silence, so Lev decided to speak again. “Say um…could you help me out once we get the heck out of here. I know you probably don’t like me too much but I can’t exactly reach my back to take care of the glass that may or may not be stuck in it.”

Boris stopped briefly to eye Lev, and really only now noticed he looked injured. Lev hadn’t been acting like someone who’s in pain, and Boris was too busy remembering how his last ordeal with him was the catalyst of the cascading events that ruined his life. "You should probably go to a hospital." He wanted to throw in an insult, but instead just sighed and nodded, reluctantly. Lev smiled and looked around for a quick way out without them being noticed and after a moment or two he pointed toward the back of the garden that seemed to go toward an alley. ”We might be able to sneak out that way.” He said, pointing in the direction to which Boris just grunted to again, and began walking.

As the two made their way to the alley, Boris put a hand out to stop Lev from walking, and began sniffing the air. The white haired male raised an eyebrow in response but said nothing. "Good, There are no cops through here." said Boris before he proceeded forward.

Once they reached a secluded spot in the alleway, Boris just gestured with his hands for Lev to take off his shirt and turn around. Lev complied easily enough, though it seemed the act of removing the clothing caused him some pain.

In Russian, Boris asked in a low voice "Did you really pay off your debt with the Mafia?." As he noticed the piece of glass protruding from Lev’s back, Boris took off his jacket and dropped it to the side before he ripped off the sleeve of his shirt to use as cloth. He carefully placed his hands on Lev’s back, and used the cloth to stop the bleeding as he pulled on the glass. There was an audible hiss of pain from the pull, and Lev tightened his hands into fists. Lev hadn’t even realized that there was actually glass in his back. No doubt the injury was made worse by the fact that he had fought off more than a few of those ninjas. ”I haven’t paid that fucker a single cent if I am being honest."

Boris scuffed. "You know, Kazan thinks I’m dead. You’d think that would mean my debt would have died with me." sounding annoyed as he spoke, he pulled on the glass a little harder almost on purpose. The white haired male grunted and dug his fingernails into his palms in an attempt to not scream like a little bitch. Shit hurt but he sure as hell wasn’t gonna let Boris know. "But then he went after my sister to pay my debt for me."

”Let him go after my folks, if he can find them. They ain’t got shit either...” There was malice in Lev’s usually unbothered voice. ”Not to mention it was the Chinese gang’s fault. He should really be going after them.” Lev had no intention of ever paying back Kazan, he would get his money when he pried it from Lev’s cold dead hands. Not that Lev was well off.

He shook his head, shaking off the foul mood he was in now. ”Why does that fat fuck think you are dead?” He was trying to change the subject from himself back to Boris. He didn’t get paid for information about himself, but others, that he could make money off of. Not that he would sell Boris out to anyone but still, any dirt on Kazan and his gang was leverage he could use if they ever caught up to him.

Boris fell silent again for a moment. That was honestly a complicated question, and Boris wasn’t sure how much he wanted to share. Kazan thinks he’s dead, and the less people that know about that, the better. He finally pulled the piece of glass out, and pressed the cloth firmly against Lev’s back. It soaked red, but soon the bleeding stopped. "Okay. Looks like nothing vital was cut." He reached his jacket with his foot and kicked it up to catch with his free hand, before he held it with his teeth to pull out a flask from the pocket while his other hand kept the cloth on the white haired male’s back. "This is going to sting." he said before pouring cold liquid down Lev’s back, as the stench of alcohol filled the alleyway. Having had some warning this time about the pain Lev was braced for it, still it didn’t stop yet another hiss of pain from escaping his lips, his eyes now watering a little bit. To distract him, Boris finally answered "Because officially, I am dead. Hit and run." Finally he let go of Lev’s back. "As I am sure you are well aware, you gain a lot of enemies dealing with certain types of people and not doing exactly what they ask."

His back now stinging and cold, Lev shivered a little. He couldn’t help but think about how much a shower was going to hurt later. He would have to take cold showers for a while. ”Well that honestly brings up more questions than answers but I suppose pushing further won’t help anything, especially since you helped me out." Boris put his jacket back on "Mhm. Don’t mention it." He said as he crossed his arms. "Even if you were a little…unnecessarily rough about it.” There was a hint of teasing in Lev’s voice. "Yeah well… I've wanted to strike you ever since the cargo blew up." He paused to drink the remaining vodka in his flask, knowing it wouldn’t have any effect on him but liked to pretend anyway. "But I guess pouring this on you will do."

“Really though, thanks. Can’t afford the hospital, nor do I want to explain to anyone how I got my injuries…” He glanced at his shirt and vest, both of which were pretty much useless at this point. “So is it safe to assume you haven’t paid off your debt either, what with the whole, being dead thing?” Boris shrugged. Lev leaned down grabbing his discarded clothes, figuring they were better than nothing. They would get him home at least. ”You got a place to stay?” He paused for a moment before realizing it might come off that Lev was trying to mooch off of Boris more. ” Ah, I ask cuz I am not sure how long you have been…back from the dead you can crash at my place as payment for helping me out if you need to.” He wasn’t sure if that was worse or not but it had already exited his mouth, too late now.

"So what, we’re friends now?" Boris smiled, now a hint of teasing in his voice. Boris did have a place to stay. He had been renting out the same motel room where he keeps all his stuff, including his suit and weapons, and now with the money the two demon boys gave him, he could stay there for much longer - but he wasn’t going to tell the white haired male any of that. "I go from place to place, mostly trying to avoid the police or the mafia from finding out I am back -" He suddenly stopped speaking when a raccoon jumped out of a trashcan in the alleway, his eyes suddenly focused on it, he pulled out his tongue in excitement. He had an urge to chase the raccoon, but turned around and pressed his palms to his face to fight it. He groaned, annoyed at this inner persona constantly trying to take over whenever something like this happens. Lev carefully watched Boris as this happened, making a mental note of it but not saying anything about it.

"Thanks for the offer. But if I am being honest, I doubt Kazan isn't keeping an eye on you and where you live. And I really don’t want him to know I am back, not before I can get to him first." He turned around, the expression on his face was firm. "And do me a favor. Don’t sell me out."

When Boris turned back to face Lev his eyebrow was raised. “You planning on going after Kazan?” It would seem Boris had caught Lev’s undivided attention at the mention of it. Boris stared at him blankly. "I did just tell you he went after my sister." He crossed his arms and sighed. "I came back to clean up some of the corruption I was involved in, and decided Kazan was a good place to start."

”I know a few of his safehouses, getting information from upset, or slighted lackeys is pretty easy if you are good with people.” There was a sly look on Lev’s face, like a cartoon fox excited at the thought of his next big trick. “Of course, to give you that information I would need, a way to keep in contact with you.” His gaze never once left Boris, excitement in his eyes at just the thought of taking Kazan down.

Boris hesitantly gave a half nod. Of course, if anyone would have wanted to take Kazan down it would be someone who owes a debt like him. He pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and extended his arm out. "Call your number."

He did as Boris asked, his phone vibrating for a second before he ended the call from Boris’s phone and handed it back to the man. ”I honestly forget some people actually like there family sometimes.” He muttered to himself as he did so.

Boris put the phone back in his pocket and stared at Lev for a moment, clearly deep in thought. Then he spoke. "Text me the details. I’ll take care of it from there."

Lev scrunched his nose when Boris said he would take care of it. ”No offense but…you weren’t exactly the most helpful the last time we worked together. Sure you got some muscle on you but…what exactly do you have planned? I would hate for you to go in alone.” He really meant no offense, even though he was sure Boris would take at least some. Packing on a muscle wasn’t going to be enough to take out Kazan. Lev would have done it ages ago if that was the case.

Boris put his hand to his head as he wasn’t sure how to respond to that. ”Look a lot… a LOT has happened to me since we last met.” He turned to look around, searching for something to show Lev that would be easier than explaining. He picked up a rock, bounced it in his hand for a moment, before throwing it. It flew past Lev like a bullet, crashing into the cement wall at the corner end of the alleway, much farther than where they stood, creating a loud echoing sound. The rock itself shattered almost as if it vaporized, but the cement wall it hit had a crater crack on it.

Lev blinked, staring at the wall the rock impacted, his mouth agape slightly in awe. He definitely didn’t do that the last time and he doubted the larger male had that hidden in his pocket since then. Things were certainly getting interesting. After a moment or two of staring his blue eyes went back to Boris who continued to speak.

”Obviously that’s not how I plan to take him down… well maybe… but there’s a lot more that I can do. I plan to hit him before he knows I am coming, and then I plan to hit him hard.” He said gesturing toward the crater on the wall. He kept things vague enough on purpose, not wanting to reveal his identity as the masked vigilante that had been lately stirring up trouble for the authorities, taking down various known criminals in the area. ”And no offence to you, last time we worked together things did not work out great for either of us.”

”Fair enough, guess you have it handled.” said Lev. Boris gave a reassuring nod. In truth, he did consider that Lev’s abilities could be useful when it came down to it, but for the sake of keeping as much about himself as secret as possible, he wasn’t going to agree to it right now. "I'll send you the info, and anything else I can dig up in the meantime. If you need bait, as much as I would hate it, I would be willing to do it. Anything to take this fucker down.” He looked over to the wall, his eyes traced the damage on it. ”Also, if you need anything I have some…less favorable contacts I can pull some favors from, just let me know and I will see what I can do.”

”Thanks. I do appreciate that.” Boris said as he put his hands into his pockets. Maybe this guy wasn’t all that bad after all.

Lev turned back to Boris, the sly smile still on his face. ”Glad you aren’t dead. See you around maybe.” He turned to take his leave. "I am going to go home and… attempt to wash my back, then sleep for 12 hours.” Not to mention his exposed back was getting colder the longer they stood out here since his jacket had been long since forgotten in the employee area of the gala. He would have to find a way to get that back.

Boris stood there silently for a moment, watching Lev as he walked away, before turning and walking the other way. He pulled out the cash the two demon boys gave him, smiled at it as his stomach grumbled, and chuckled. Time to get something expensive to eat, a happy thought that was interrupted when his phone vibrated. He thought Lev had already texted him the information, but it was Spencer. The text read “DUDE U GOT ME FIRED??”

Rex clenched his jaw as the mortal stepped around him, ignoring him entirely, causing him to ponder if his whole schtick really had begun to grow stale in the passing years. He admittedly actually despised vampires, despite sharing so many similar qualities with them. There were a lot of things about their hierarchy and unbridled love for each other that got under his skin, but the whole hissing and baring their fangs thing was the straw that broke the camel's back with him, it was so unnecessary. He actually found it embarrassing to be even remotely like them and considered them amongst his favorite prey and at the top of his personal hit list.

Then here came this guy, cocksure and silver tongued to boot, either too fucking stupid to realize that the shadows were literally forming beneath Rex and expanding outwards or just that confident in his skills.

Rex intended to find out.

Until reality hit him.

Like a two hundred and twenty five pound sack of shit.

Alistar came crashing into him just as Rex would begin to will the darkness into a nigh inescapable dome of shadow, causing the two to become engulfed in the shade and spat out into the lush forested peak of Mount Lamington. An andesitic stratovolcano in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea. One that he aided to erupt back in 1951, resulting in the death of over four thousand people and the hindrance to the rescue parties and the focus of relief efforts; hampered by suffocating pumice dust and sulphurous fumes, and hot ashes on the ground, which arrived on the scene for the town of Popondetta and other surrounding areas at the time for many months to follow.

Good times.

With a growl, and a shove, he would remove Alistar from atop him and rise to his feet; a summit complex of lava domes and crater remnants rose above the low-angled base of volcaniclastic deposits that were dissected by radial valleys and a prominent broad "avalanche valley" extending northward from the breached crater met his gaze, there was no mistaking his handiwork. The unmistakable scar in the northern side of the mountain from the violent eruption that occurred three days after its initial one was all the evidence he needed, the image of it being blown away and the devastating pyroclastic flow that poured from the gap for a considerable time afterwards brought a brief smile to his face.

Alistar would chuckle, catching his bearings as he rose to his feet as well, taking in and remembering the area fondly,“I remember the fun you had here, brother!” he'd exclaim.

"Tch. That lucky son of bitch..." he'd growl, ignoring his brother's attempt at reminiscing good times alongside him, "Why'd a geek like him get to pull a bad bitch like that?" he'd mutter to himself as he looked out over the land.

Then the yelling came.

"AND WHY THE FUCK DID YOU CAUSE ME TO LOSE FOCUS ON CREATING THE DOME?!?!?" He'd roar turning on Alistar in an instant, "Fucking idiot..." He'd growl lowering his voice to an irritated whisper.

“One, he didn't pull her. You seriously think she would just choose him without knowing him? I thought you knew her better than that. Two, you saw what she did to me, you're gonna tell me if she did the same to you that you wouldn't be putty in her hands? Three, you act like I did this on purpose. I didn't. When I get my hands on him, I'll kill him.”

Rex merely continued his gaze in Alistar's direction, jaw clenched in aggravation, debating whether he was going to respond. He knew Alistar wouldn't have chosen to break his attention in that manner, it was absolutely absurd to think he would. His once feral little brother had grown well past those methods and stages of his life in these passing years, into a somewhat more refined and respectable individual, just as Rex had begun to embrace that feral part of himself. But the rest of that shit, he could kick him square in the dick for. He wasn't watching anything beyond the spot that that arrogant little prick had been standing in before he had chosen to disrespect him. The one who had brushed aside and treated him like he had done to so many other powerless individuals before.

The gall.

It was already bad enough that it had to be Jiang's party that they crashed in the first place, but to have that deplorable incident unfurl right before her…

He'd chuckle quietly at his thoughts, bringing the palm of his hand to his face and shaking his head, What the hell was that guy's problem?, he'd think, dragging his hand away from his face.

“Come now, brother, let's take a vacation while we're here anyways, huh?" Alistar would grin, "You want to cause some chaos here on the locals, maybe get some happy endings as well? It's all on me this time.” he'd continue in hopes of distracting his brother from tonight's, technically yesterday's; thanks to the sudden shift in time zones, mishap.

Rex shook his head, "Nah, I'm good. You chill here if you want, I need some ME time." he'd shoulder check Alistar in their lighthearted fashion as he stepped past him; their personal brand of brotherly love, "Besides nothing's gonna top the way I fucked this place back then." he'd laugh boisterously before stepping away into the shade of the trees and vanishing.

Location: Hotel - Gala Fundraiser Outside
Interactions: Everyone In the Gala within ear shot

---

“Krotar Gaant.” The alien responded to the lovely lady. He offered his hand for a handshake. At the sound of a metal man shouting about everyone leaving, and asking if SHIELD was still a thing. He sighed. “Unfortunately.” He muttered under his breath. “It was truely a pleasure.” He said to the lady. “Would love to get coffee some time. I Don’t have many friends around here.” He said as he took a step backwards towards the door. “Dial seven sevens to contact me.” He turned to the door. Authorities were pulling up when he walked through the door, so they were due to enter right about…
Now. The doors burst open as SWAT swarmed in. Krotar kneeled and put his hands behind his head. Ready to be taken into custody.

Oberon stood there with his finger in the air trying to get a word in edge-wise but the time never came so he put his hands on his hips as a female figure stepped over to him. "Hello, Miss. Seems like we are both being ignored. You fought well back there. Might just have to team up sometime if the need or chance ever arises." He stepped forward and held out his hand to the heroine.

Ash hesitated a moment before taking his hand and shaking it firmly. “As did you. I would welcome you as an ally in a fight.” Ash was trying very hard not to remember that this was Oberon, if she thought too much about it she was sure she would make a mistake. She did not want him to learn that she knew who he was, as it was his secret to tell. She also needed to be careful that she did not give herself away either. As much as her instincts said she could trust him she had been burnt before and had since learned to be cautious.

“I am Wildheart. And you are?”

As they touched a ripple effect ran through his suit as if the nanites or the substance that produced his suit reacted to her touch. Strange, though in the end, he chalked it up to inertia dampeners acting up. "The name is Frost-Weaver." Just then in his ear he heard the police scanners and S.H.I.E.L.D. operations. "One-second Wildheart."

Stepping a few feet away he pressed at his ear. "Director, yes. Clean up. Yes. Demons and Ninjas." And before Oberon turned around the Demons disappeared. "Well, actually they disappeared. There are ninjas on ice for ya though. No clue they were chasing some kind of creature that turned into a man. Gone. Yeah, no clue. Yes, new supers. Might be able to. It would be on my or their terms." Oberon turned back around to Wildheart.

"We need to clear out everyone!" He looked at Wildheart "I'll be in touch. Be safe and steer clear of here and the main road if you can." With that, he turned to War spider and gave him the gesture to move out.

Ash's eyes widened as she felt a frisson of heat from their touch. If she hadn't already known who this man was, this would have confirmed it. She hadn't felt that same attraction to anyone else she had touched here. She hadn't felt such a strong reaction from any man in quite some time in fact and she herself blush. Awkwardly, she nodded as he stepped away.

She did her best to appear indifferent as he conversed through his earpiece. She could, of course, hear every word thanks to her overdeveloped hearing whether she wanted to or not. But she did not want to appear rude and so she acted ignorant of the conversation.

She nodded at his words. "Trust me, I know how to avoid notice when I need to." She had no doubt that he would find a way to contact her even without knowing her identity. Besides, she wanted to see him again and would contact him if she did not hear from him first.

"Watch yourself." She said and the concern in her voice was genuine. She then turned and leapt into the air becoming a small brown bat as she did so, and flew out of the building.

Oberon stood back and looked on in astonishment as she transformed and flew out. With that he and his crew left in a hurry.

‘The city is in a frenzy this morning as this year's charity event gala was interrupted by some very unexpected guests. Eye-witnesses claim that the glittering affair quickly turned into a bloodied battle ground in a matter of moments as a group of highly trained ninjas fell through the domed glass ceiling of the convention center ballroom. It is unclear at this time but it seems they were after a fairly large creature, possibly a lion of some sort according to the police reports but no evidence could be found and local zoos have confirmed that no lions are unaccounted for. Some witnesses even went as far as to state that upon their exit, they caught the sight of undead corpses rising from the ground though none of that has been confirmed. This has been the first odd circumstance to occur since the fall of our beloved Avengers and many worry about what this will mean going forward. What will the city do without protection? Is this bizarre event just the first in many others to follow? Who were these new masked heroes? And where did they come from? Only time will tell. For now, we go live with Tom O’Connell and our news crew outside DSI where a speech is being held to address the city.’ 

Tom stood in front of the camera as the wind blew lightly and snow drifted. "Thank you newsroom. We will now give the floor to Mister Price, CEO of DSI."

Oberon smiled and cleared his throat as he took the mic. 

"Good evening everyone. As this was supposed to be an event discussing old and new projects we will get to that after my announcement. Due to the events of last night at the Gala I was unable to make my donation and my pledge to the wildlife association to henceforth make my company and its subsidiaries green by the end of next year as well as a task force to help clean up current habitats, relocate animals, and defend preserves with new technology. My donation is the task force plus one hundred thousand dollars to the charity every quarter for the next five years!" Oberon paused as the audience around him applauded. "Now furthermore as I have taken over Stark technologies I want to reassure Pepper Potts that I will not ruin Tony's good ingenuity. All his old projects that haven't been shut down but the federal government will be continuing as well as a new project that he had in the works before his death."

On a screen behind Oberon an image of a satellite zooms out to a view of the earth and then a multiple of the satellites appear around the globe. "This is the Stark Defense Network. These satellites will surround the globe to protect the world from invaders and defend against them if another New York incident were to occur. Each will be powered by an Arc Reactor which has become self-sustaining. This is a government project, however it will be run by both civilian and government officials with oversight from each country around the world. I hope to make this project Starks final gift to the world and my first. My second gift is to open a new bioengineering lab in New York creating jobs. In conclusion I want to leave this world one day better than I found it in hopes of a long future for generations to come. Thank you and have a great New York day." With that Oberon handed the mic back to Tom who stood speechless for a second before turning to the camera. 

"Well folks you heard it here first. Oberon Price pulling out all the stops for his fellow man and animal." The camera stopped rolling and Tom turned around to see Oberon walking up the steps to his building. "Well there goes my exclusive."

Oberon walked into the lobby and then into the elevator heading to the penthouse to go over the files James collected last night if any. Once inside the elevator he opened a panel and twisted a key which activated his floor. 

Once at his floor he stepped out and then locked the elevator to the floor. "Athena please contact James' AI to have him send over the encrypted files so we can get started and have James come. Also contact Theodore cause I'll need him as well."

"Yes sir." Was all the AI said as I Oberon grabbed the bottle of tea from the fridge and took out a small vial. Tipping the vial into the bottle Oberon sighed as he began to shake. The bottle then frosted over and Oberon quickly chugged the concoction. 

---

---

---

A thunk sounded against the countertop as another shot glass was slammed down to join the ever growing pile surrounding her. Tonight had been nothing short of a disaster and while she couldn’t get back all the time, care, money, or effort she had put into her Gala, at least she could drown her frustration and sorrow. Already, the world was more than a bit fuzzy and this was by no means her first stop had this night and hopefully not her last. Jiang couldn’t remember how she ended up at this night club (which could use a better selection of music), nor did she remember why she had forgone protection or even a disguise. She vaguely remembered ditching her garments at home, changing into ones that would actually combat the freezing temperatures outside before seeking her normal bar for Baiju but after that everything just disappeared. Either way, she was far too gone to complain and anything she did would be sober hers problem because right now, blissfully numb was a lot more pleasant than the suffering weight of her years or mourning over disappointment. ”Barkenep! Another shot!”, Jiang smiled happily, pointing at her glass. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” the bartender questioned which was met with a pouting face.
“Issa not causin’ any trouble and I’ma makirng jit worth ya wilds.”, she answered, sliding over a hefty tip as a way to keep them coming while not being kicked out or shut off from her source.

Silently watching her, he tried to get the courage up to talk to her. "Come on man just go, worst she's gonna do is just push me away." Finally after a minute he went over to her with his hands up, "Hey Darling, don't you think you had enough yet?", saying with a soft smile. "Look, I wanted to apologize for tonight. We honestly didn't know it was your gala or we would have behaved differently."

Jiang turned her attention away from the bar toward the voice addressing her, another shot being poured as she did so. She found herself struggling for a moment on why this man looked familiar, dragging her eyes up and down his form in silent appreciation before a memory clicked in her brain and she pathetically glared since it didn’t quite hold up to normal standard in her current state.”I just answered dat queztion, ijiot. Wha it to ya what I do or don do?! Anyway, jest cause it wfas mine gala shouldn’t haf mattered! Boph of ya shouldn’t haf i-iner..um, interrupted either way. Wait, why are ya here sayin’ sowwy at all!? Both of you aren’t ‘ere, right!?!”, she asked with a hint of concern, cautiously glancing around. Rex wouldn’t harm her, she knew that but he was more unpredictable and without a weapon then she couldn’t clean up the resurrected mess if he decided to have fun with the humans around them.

Sitting down next to her he could instantly smell the alcohol on her which made him feel even worse for what he and his brother did to her Gala. Rubbing the back of his neck he sighs, “No he's not here, beautiful. I will gladly pay you back for everything.” looking over to her he says, “Look, you think of us as the bad guys alot but I see humanity differently and I'm sorry.”, looking towards the bartender he orders a shot of whiskey and laughs, “I don't know why I even bother drinking. I just burn this shit up inside fast, sadly gotta go to hell for the strong stuff. Are you ok, Jiang? Really, is this just from the gala or has this been building up for awhile? I’ve never seen you like this before, Madame. You know you can talk to me? Just because you don't consider us friends doesn't mean I can't listen”, smiling softly at her.

”Ugh, I hate dat word…madame. It sounds soooo old fashioned.”, she groaned, grabbing her glass and shooting back another shot before setting it on top of one of the empty ones. She placed her arms on the counter, almost using it as a pillow as she leaned her flushed cheek against it while looking at him. She debated on answering but ultimately she had a lot she wanted to say though her mind was slow and a bit jumbled. ”Imma human, ya know? How do ya fink I feel when someone flatters m-me but also looks down at wha I am?”, she said, giggling a bit but ending in a sadden smile. ”Dey all betray me. None ta be trusted. Ya ain’t so bad, jest no good either. Nothing ta be sowwy for since demon an all. I don’t needs cha-char…I don’t need any money. I’ve gots loads, too much even!”, Jiang stated loudly and with much enthusiasm, trying to remember everything he had said. It hit her suddenly that he had asked about her well being and while on a normal day and in a sober state she would play it off, right now she was a fairly open book. She pushed herself off the bar leaning closer, gripping him a bit for balance as she almost slid right out of her stool, and whispered as if it were some big secret.”I’m not. It’s lonely an sad. Everyone dies. Everyone leaves. Everyone betrays an runs. Guess who still ‘ere? I jest clean up da mess. Hey, why are ya dis close?”, Jiang asked at the end and effectively cut off the whispers as she was distracted by the next thought, placing a hand on his cheek as her thumb traced his cheekbone.”Handsome….”, she muttered, not really understanding personal space or when to draw back even though she was just questioning it a moment ago.

Why does she have to be drunk to show me attention like this, if I was any other way I would be that jerk but it's her, one of my oldest friends somewhat.“I'm this close because I wanted to tell you a secret”, looking both ways he whispers, “I'm not a full blooded demon, no I'm also part human and angel. And darling please don't tease me like this, you only find me handsome because you're drunk, gorgeous”. Taking her hand off his face he places them on the bar and brushes the hair out of her face, “All those who left you are stupid, you are a gem. You are a precious person who should have everything for her.” he says looking into her eyes.

Her brows furrowed as her brain tried to wrap around how it was possible to be three different species but it made little to no sense to her alcohol riddle mind so she ended up laughing with a shake of her head.”Dat makes no sense but okie dokie!”, answered with a shrug before tilting her head a bit as his words confused her more. ”I’m no tease an I hold my drinks jest fine, tank you. I mean whats I say. Ya is always handsome but poisonous things are too…already took lesson. Last handsome face left scar.”, Jiang determinedly stated, watching as her hands were placed back onto the bar but feeling her eyes flutter close as the hair was brushed out of her face, trying to lean a bit into that touch. She opened them again when she wasn’t able to rest into it, wavering and off balance as she tried to focus again.”You demons crazy, nothin’ special here. No clue wha ya see.”, she smiled.

Lifting her chin up with his finger he would continue to brush her hair back then leans in, "You're a good person and deserve happiness no matter what fate throws at you. Hey at least you got me in your corner." He would wrap an arm around her to give her a half hug. "I wish you happiness darling I really do. Fate is a cruel mistress at times. I remember the first time I saw you, you took my breath away literally and figuratively who would've thought you were that strong. Oh those were the days less to worry about." Grinning, he rubs her back.

”No as good as ya think but shweet of you ta say.”, she replied with a playful smirk, letting his arm stay where it was instead of shrugging it off. ”Miss dose days, w’ere I could surprise….hey, Als…”, Jiang purred, placing a hand over his heart before brushing her lips to the shell of his ear to whisper,”Still breathless or do ya jit like da chase?

Holding her hand he grins “You make me breathless, but I still love the chase. It's exciting, isn't it darling? What about you do you, still enjoy it? I haven't hunted like in the old days, but now you have all theses apps that all you have to do is say you have money.” he would continuing to rub her back “I wish I was more like you Jiang better in touch with my good half, might not be so lonely if I was good.”

”I don’t chase, I wait an um….pfft, can’t tink…, she laughed, before looking at the hand holding her own and not sure whether to withdraw or leave it so she decided to continue speaking instead.”Apps for fools. All fakes if ya lookin’ for special.”, she stated, mostly thinking of them as a joke, an easy way out, or simply a way to not do the work. Half the time it was just those wanting a quick fling which was definitely not what she wanted. Her time with most would be short as it was and making it even shorter was a waste of time. When he spoke again though, Jiang looked directly into his eyes, probably really looking at him for the first time in many decades or even longer.”Do ya know why lotus my fav flowers? Even when its roots in dirtiest waters an grow in mud, it makes beautiful pure flower. T’ere hope for ya….it be a sight.”

“It's also the flower of creation and rebirth, a beautiful flower for a beautiful woman. I have seen the lotus bloom before, such a beautiful process. My favorite flower is a rose, beautiful yet it can hurt the beholder.” Taking his hand out of hers he sighs “How come we never really have sat down before now? I know you must hate me for being what I am and sometimes I hate myself for it.”

”Cause I gotta be careful, like ya said rose got thorns. Don't wanna hurt. Oh, an hate strong word….I dis-slike how ya twos hurt peoples an bad plans. No care. Hate for wha ya are be like hate tiger for stripes. Makes no s-sense. Judge for who not what, das wha my father said.”

"Well I'm sorry for my horny sides." he says grinning."Are you hungry yet darling? I could go for a steak with taters and gravy, they don't have that in hell and I’ve been there for a long time. Food down there is garbage." Grabbing a handful of peanuts would toss them into his mouth once he's done eating them he says, "What's your favorite meal?"

”Steak…”, she laughed, holding a hand over her mouth as if she had said the funniest joke on the planet. Honestly, it was going to make no sense to anyone else but what she found hilarious was that steak was exactly what she used to distract predators and of course, someone she sometimes viewed as such, liked it the most as well. Jiang smiled, not really understanding how hell actually worked but her mouth was faster than her brain on stating her opinion, ”Issa be more con-conjern, um…concern if it did taste good. Is hell….” She watched him, zoning out a bit as she did but startled back to the present at the simple question. She blinked, trying to decipher his words for a moment before grinning, hopping wobbly off her stool and taking his hand while practically dragging him away. ”I’ll show ya!”

Tossing what was probably over a couple grand to the barkeep he says, “Keep the change my good man.”, then he was dragged away by Jiang. He trusted her and that's saying something, he didn't just throw that around his trust, she had it because she saw him at his worst and yet she still talks to him. Not too many people have stayed after that. “Oh darling where are we going? I don't mind the journey, it's just because I'm curious is all.” He says as they hurry around out in the cold.

”Hate da snow.”, she muttered, trying to huddle more into her sweater as she pulled Alistar along, grinning all the while even despite the cold. ”Is a secret! Shhh…”, Jiang giggled, holding a finger to her lips as they continued down the road. It was honestly a miracle she was able to navigate at all but after living for so long in one location, it does help solidify everything into memory plus it helped that she was usually slightly on the paranoid side. It wasn’t long before they would find themselves in Chinatown, way closer to home than she normally would have been comfortable with but again, that was a sober her problem. Right now, she was happily plopped down at a table, at her favorite place to eat, and ordering her favorite meal of Dan Dan Noodles.

After a while he noticed the direction they were going to was Chinatown where he frequented a lot. He found it funny that she took him to this spot, the restaurant he loves going to. “I love this place. I come here often for the noodles and just a little taste of home. I make sure the owner of the place gets what he needs, even got his whole family brought over here. So I get to eat here for free. I like to come here but not often, can't let others know too much about him and me. I have never seen you around here though, but if you don't wish to be seen no one, not even me, can find you hahaha”. Ordering his normal, he smiles looking across the table at her, “Safe to say you live nearby, I won't pry I promise you have my word.”.

”An ya said ya wish ta be close to good half. Seems ta me, ya ain’t too far off.”, she grinned, messily pouring herself a cup of tea. Jiang chuckled, a playful smirk teasing her lips before she took a sip, ”You’ll neva know. I don let guys see my place till a fews date.”

Grinning he would say, “Well then I must wait till you are not drunk and take you out gorgeous”. Looking over to the jukebox he would grin as he gets up and starts a slow dancing song and takes her hand to start and lead her into the dancing. Holding her close to his chest he kisses the top of her head “I'm really enjoying this Jiang, really I do”

”Don count chicks before dey hatch. Jist cause I has my fav meal an yous all sweet don mean Imma meltin’ butter. I’s onta ya.”, she said, half teasing and half nervous seriousness. Just because she couldn’t remember why the offer caused a moment of panic or the ghost pain in her back, didn’t mean that she was gonna ignore those instincts. On one hand, this had been rather pleasant and nice but the two of them didn’t always see eye to eye on certain matters. Complicated wasn’t in her forte at the moment so instead, she went back to enjoying her noodles, well, until she found a hand in her own. Jiang looked up at him curiously, wondering for a split second when he got up. She followed his lead as he took her into an open area to dance. It wasn’t an official dance floor and people were looking at them but she was too focused on just trying her best not to step all over his feet to care about other people around them. She hadn’t even realized how close they were until she felt a kiss on the top of her head, causing her to glance which suddenly made her feel very small and fragile even though she knew that she was anything but. ”Is better than fightin’ I guess.”

Alistar would close his eyes and hum as he dances with her, not caring about the people around them he picks her up just enough to put her feet on his. “Here let me help you gorgeous. I learned to dance for fighting, and I don't think I'm bad at dancing. Of course though you are damn near perfect even when drunk.”. Thinking to himself, ’Maybe I should show her the wings? No one else has seen them and she won't remember anything’. Grinning he says, “You showed me something important to you, now I want to show you something.”. Gently pulling her outside, he looked for an apartment building, finally finding what he was looking for he went behind it and checked to see if anyone was around. Thinking it was ok he says, “Trust me darling”, as he picks her up in his arms and lets out his wings and flies them up to the roof and lets her down. “What do you think of them?“

Being on his feet was a lot easier, not having to focus on tripping, falling, or stepping. Normally, it would have been embarrassing and way too childish for her to even consider, especially since she was an excellent dancer but she was currently grateful for the help. It was nice having to worry or care for a bit and just feel the sway and listen to the humming as a backdrop to the music playing. Jiang raised an eyebrow at his statement, curious on what he wanted to show her and even more so when she was led away from the restaurant. He seemed to be searching for something and her nerves went a bit more on edge when he pulled her around the back of a familiar apartment building, looking about like he didn’t want anyone else to see. She bit the inside of her lip, a bit of panic forming but it was soothed a bit by his words. ’Should I trust him?’, was the fleeting thought that passed by her mind before she found herself scooped up into Alistar’s arms. She would have been thrilled with flying normally but right now, her eyes quickly closed and she gripped onto him like a lifeline. Luckily, it seemed like a short flight and before she knew it, she found herself on solid ground again. Jiang slowly opened her eyes at the question but they widened even more in surprised delight at the sight before her. A dazzling grin lit up on her face at the sight of bright crimson feathers and she couldn’t even answer, for once speechless. She stepped forward, her fingers gently and carefully petting her fingers through one of the wings before moving to the other one to see if the feathers were just as downy on the other side. She wanted to pet them forever and snuggle her cheek against them. They were so vibrantly beautiful that it saddening her to think they were ever hidden away.”Beautiful…”, she gasped in awe.

“You know, no one has seen them, and I mean no one. I found out when I was young but I didn't want anyone to know, being from hell that's a no no.”. The sensation of her running her fingers through his wings felt oddly pleasant. He would then take her hand and sing an old song from their time in Asia and would wrap his arms around her and then his wings would surround them as he slow dances with her under the stars. “Why must you be drunk Jiang? You won't remember anything and that sucks.”. If she would look up, she would see a few tears drop from his black and red eyes which were unusual seeing as normaly they are white and redish. After awhile he says while smiling at her, “Well darling, you need to head home soon. I don’t want you to get sick out here, it's ok for me but not you.”.

Her heart raced at his comment, her flushed cheeks from her current state and the cold brightening to a deeper red at the thought of no one else having seen them let alone probably touched them. She wished she could have one feather to prove to herself later that this existed but Jiang wasn’t going to ruin the trust he had suddenly placed in her hands, even if it was extremely tempting. She almost whined in protest as he took hold of her hands but the soothing sound of his voice which brought back a bit of nostalgia was a decent distraction to her one track mind. She really didn’t know what to say to his comment. She couldn’t read the future. She didn’t think he could either but he seemed to be full of surprises tonight or maybe she just didn’t remember. Her brows furrowed, deep in thought even as he pulled back, telling her to head home to avoid getting sick. She glanced up finally, noticing the streaks of red under his eyes even though he was smiling.’Is that normal?’, she thought to herself but pushed it aside and gathered her hand into her sleeve so she could wipe his cheeks with her sweater. ”Dare, no bloods. Imma go buts first, gives.”, Jiang stated while holding out her hand expectedly. When he looked confused, she pouted with irritation as if it wasn’t clear what she wanted. ”Ya says I don’ts member so gives sometin’ ta proves it. Den I can’t forgets.”

Turning his back to her he sighs, "Pick one and be gentle darling.". Never would he have thought anyone would have asked for one. Once she picked one, he put his forehead to hers and kissed her lips gently. "Please don't forget about me darling ever. If you did, I think that would be enough to send me to hell and never come back.”. Lifting her up he would fly her back down and wait to see what she does next. He would then place something into her pocket without her knowing.

She didn’t have long to admire her newest treasure before she felt a warmth on her forehead. Her gaze flickered up, questioning the closeness when she felt lips gently pressed to her own, shock making her silvery eyes widen and unable to process answering the kiss before it was over as soon as it started. Jiang placed her finger tips to her lips, the tingling sensation answering whether or not that just happened. She didn’t have a chance to ponder on the meaning of it long though as he spoke shortly after, deep words that felt like a heavy weight. What does one say to something like that? How was she supposed to put words together? It felt unfair. She squeaked as she was scooped back up into strong arms once more, her stomach very much protesting to the flight down as butterflies gathered there. She stubbled a bit, swaying as she tried to find her footing and taking deep slow breaths. She took a few steps back, nervously turning the feather in her hands as she bit her lip before looking at Alistar, ”That’s lot ta asks of a drunk woman. I won’t promise but gonna try. Sees ya laters, Alligators.” She gave a small wave before slowly heading towards the front of the apartment building, hopefully to hear the sound of a bed calling her name though it was probably going to be more like the porcelain throne if her stomach was any indication.

---

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Lev had made it home fairly easily though by the time he made it there he was freezing, he wanted nothing more than to take a hot shower, but he knew the hot temperature would only cause his back to sting more. So, annoyed, he instead took a cold shower. “You could have just pushed her out of the way idiot, why did you have to be the night in cloth armor and block the damn glass with your body?” He questioned himself as the water ran down his back and he got used to the stinging sensation. This wasn’t his first rodeo, he had been injured before, but it still sucked either way.

After about an hour of standing under the cool water and attempting to gently wash his scratched and battered back he got out of the shower. He took a look at his back in the mirror. It looked like in the time it took him to get back most of it had stopped bleeding, though he had opened a few spots in his attempt to clean. “This is going to be a pain in the ass the next few days…” He groaned to himself as he slipped his boxers and walked into his bedroom where he made sure to plug in his phone to charge and then planted face first into his pillow, and shimmied under his blankets.

Turns out trying to sleep on your stomach when you are not used to it is not an easy task. He couldn’t get comfortable. He tried laying on his side for a bit too but honestly it wasn’t any better, causing some of the cuts to sting a bit from the pressure. So, eventually, he gave up on falling asleep and grabbed his phone, 4am... It was early but now was as good a time as any to send Boris the info he had. “Yo, here are the locations of the safehouses I know about. Some may be inactive now but I know at least a few are still in use. The fat fuck never stays in the same one for long, almost never stays in his actual house. I do know his girl stays there though so if you wanna drag him out of whatever hole he is hiding in you can always use her as leverage. Not sure if you are opposed to hostages but it’s an option.” He typed out the locations carefully and then hit the send button. Lev stared at his phone for a while, he wasn’t really sure why, it’s not like he was expecting a reply soon, or at all really. Eventually he decided to add, “Oh and I know the names and locations of some people that are in debt, if you wanna hang around their places for a while and question his goons when they come to collect.” He did not send this list, it was more of a, let me know if you want it, kinda text.

After a little while of fiddling around on his phone playing random games he sighed. He was tired but knew he likely wasn’t getting any sleep today, he would try again tomorrow. Getting up from his bed he got fully dressed, carefully putting on a shirt and his spare jacket and deciding that since he didn’t get anything at the gala like he had wanted he would have to take to his usual methods of gaining information. And so, with that, he headed into the city for the day, with no intention of returning until he had some information he could trade.

Ash woke early the morning after the gala and stretched lazily, she heard several irritated grumbles as she moved and disturbed her sleeping companions. Before she'd really had time to do more than that there was knocking at her door and her brother breezed in a few moments later with a mug of coffee that smelled divine to her senses. He handed it to her with a grin and perched on the end of the bed carefully making room amongst the three cats, two racoons and several wild rabbits. The racoons and rabbits took this as their signal to leave, they might like being around Ash but her brother was another matter entirely. In their words, he stank of two-leggers.

The three cats who happened to own the home simply curled back up around him and went back to sleep. He watched her as she sipped her coffee and finally he burst out.

"Well, tell me everything!" His sudden words caused Artemis, asleep on the floor beside the bed, to lift her head and growl softly at him. Automatically he reached down to scratch behind the german shepherd's ears and she rumbled softly leaning against his legs. Of course, Apollo wasn't one to be left out and he peeked his head over the bed from his position on the floor on the other side. Ash reached over and gave him some fuss as she grinned at her brother.

"I went, I drank, I danced, I fought, I came home. The end."

"Wait a minute. Did you say dance? With who? Have you finally met a guy?"

"That's what you got from that sentence?"

He rolled his eyes. "Well it's not as if you've never fought before but dancing...that's new,"

She smiled as she remembered Oberon and her brother grinned. "ooooh someone's in luuurve." He sang and then laughingly dodged the pillow she threw at him.

"Seriously though, did you have fun?" His brown eyes looked genuinely hopeful for her and she smiled at him, wanting to put him at ease. He'd always felt guilty for not being there that night even though it wasn't his fault and he was always trying to make her happy.

"Let me finish my coffee and then I'll tell you all about it over breakfast."

Several hours and multiple plates of eggs and bacon later Ash was strolling through the trees at the back of her house with Apollo and Artemis running around her. She found her favourite perch in one of the trees and curled up on a branch whilst the dogs played below. She soaked in the atmosphere greeting the many friends she had in the woods before finally pulling out her phone. She had debated all day whether or not to call Oberon. One minute she was sure he would see it as a sign of her being too keen, the next she worried he would think she wasn't interested. Plus she worried he already thought her a coward for running away when the fight had happened.

She sighed as she stared at the phone, things had gotten complicated given she knew his other identity whilst he had no idea of hers. Finally, she made a decision and dialled the number, a pleasant female voice answered and explained that he was unavailable at that time. She left her name and number and asked the oddly robotic-sounding woman to pass the message to him before she hung up.

Well, she'd made the first move and now it was up to him. Seeing it was only mid-afternoon feeling restless since she had the day off work she decided to make another call. She hadn't expected to see Akaya at the Gala but it had been a pleasant surprise and it would be nice to catch up with someone who understood what life could be like for those of them with superhuman abilities. She loved her brother but he couldn't truly understand the strain her powers had on her. Though he wanted to.

As she dialled Akaya's number and waited for either an answer or a voicemail she idly played with several small birds who had landed to keep her company.

Krotar sat in the interrogation room of the NYPD. His fingers tapping on the cold metal table. The cuffs were a nice touch. Little more than an inconvenience should he decide to leave, but the alien left them on. He knew any attempt to leave would only make things worse. So, sat and waited. He waited and sat. It seemed for hours. The local law enforcement didn’t come in to question him since he gave his statement when they brought him in, but he had no doubt they were watching him. Probably waiting for SHIELD to send the lackey.

A man in a black suit entered. “Agent Smith.” Krotar said in a joking tone. “We both know that you know my real name, Krotar.” The shield agent said as he sat across from the alien. “Yeah, and I use humour as a defense mechanism to help cope with trauma.” The alien retorted. The shield agent simply nodded. Krotar raised his hands to motion at the cuffs that had him attached to the table. “Now Lance, are these really necessary?” The shield agent chuckled and slid a handcuff key across the table. “Use the key this time. It’s such a waste when you break them.” Krotar picked up the key and started to unlock the cuffs. “So Lance, how’s the wife and kids?” Lance chuckled again. “Krotar, we both no I don’t swing that way.” Leaving the cuffs on the table, Krotar stood up. “Not so fast.” Krotar paused. Halfway between sitting and standing. “SHIELD is concerned about the increasing number of demon activity.” The agent continued. “So? Isn’t that a job for Wand or the sorcerer supreme?” Krotar questioned. “Well you know how these spy organisations work. Everyone trusts about as far as they can throw. With a global defense network in the works, everyone’s a bit on edge. After the Triskelion and the Insight debacle, the higher ups want someone to investigate without any known ties to SHIELD.” Krotar sat back down. Leaned back and put his feet up on the table. “So another black bag op then. No flags. No support.” Krotar said as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and lit it with a snap of his fingers. “You’ve done it before.” The agent said. Sliding a dossier across the table to Krotar. “I’ll want access to Stark’s blueprints. The secret ones. I know shield wiped his latest stuff off the internet and Stark made his servers very secure. I also know that SHIELD likes to keep things it deems useful or of tactical value.” This brought a frown to the SHIELD agent’s face. “I don’t even know what schematics we have on file, though I’m sure I can convince them to let me give you something from R&D that will be worth your while. It might not be Stark tech, but it might help you get home.”
At this, Krotar put the cigarette out on the table and picked up the dossier. “Alright.” He stood up and made his way to the door。”You’ll be wanting these.” Agent Lance said holding up the holster with his two guns in it.
Krotar took his guns and left the NYPD precinct. His SHIELD friend making sure he was released easily.

---

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There were quite a few unpleasant sensations she felt upon awakening from her short bout of sleep. The first was that her eyes felt agitated and burned behind her eyelids, which was followed by her head painfully throbbing, her body feeling extremely achy, her throat being horribly dry, she desperately needed a toothbrush, and on top of all that while she was in a sweater the cold was still seeping into her side. Jiang slowly opened her eyes, instantly regretting it with a groaning hiss at the sunlight that was leaking in from the other room and her hand instantly going up to block her face. She slowly forced her way off the tiled bathroom floor, frowning with a scrunched nose of disgust as she took in the mess she had made. Carefully, she used the counter to stand since she was still a bit dizzy, flushing the toilet and turning on the sink to wash her face a bit. She was definitely looking more than a little worse for the wear as she stared into the medicine cabinet mirror but she didn’t have time to care as she opened it, instantly going for the meds. She popped the pills into her mouth, swallowing them down with some water before working on brushing her teeth and debating on if she should clean, eat, or change first before continuing her lovely morning.

Ultimately, her morning grievances were completely her own fault and Jiang was old enough to know better than to binge her frustration away but old habits die hard. It had been a long time since she had fucked up this bad though, black out was not something she had felt comfortable enough to experience in decades and even then it wasn’t like she work to get black out drunk. ‘Talk about coming back strong.’, she scoffed in thought as she spat in the sink and rinsed everything away. She pulled her hair up in twin messy space buns to get it out of the way as she worked to scrub up the missed puking attempts from the night before, figuring if she got dirty then at least it was already affecting something that needed to be washed rather than risking new clothes. Once everything was in much better shape than when she awoke, she headed into her room and only stopped to slam the curtains shut before attempting to find a new outfit for the day, preferably something loose and baggy. She dragged the filth ridden sweater over her head, tossing it to the ground when she heard an audible ‘thunk’ of something heavy within its pocket.

She took a seat on the bed, snagging the sweater off the ground and rifling through the pocket when she pulled out a phone. This wouldn’t have been that much of a surprise if it had been her own phone but it clearly wasn’t. Jiang took a moment to inspect the outside of it, really making sure it wasn’t hers without the case or something but it was completely unfamiliar. Had she bought a new phone last night? Had she stolen a phone from someone? She frowned, placing the phone next to her before digging more into the pocket for a receipt or something to give her a clue and while she did find a folded up piece of paper, it was definitely not a receipt. She felt herself go a little white and her current nausea rising from the nerves she now felt with the first few words.

My dearest Jiang,

I'm sorry for the way we seem to always meet. I find myself in awe of you. You make me wish I could be good but I don't know if I can, or even be the man that should be by your side. Ha, I don’t know why I think I even deserve to be around you but I can't stop how I feel. In this phone is my personal number. I will give you one favor that you can use at any moment no matter what it is. Maybe you can consider me a friend sometime in our lifetime.

Your devilish friend,
Alistar Grimm Sabbath

P.S. If you are ever needing a place to lay low or if someone is after you, call me. I will arrive as fast as I can.

She stared at the message in her hands far longer than she should have, re-reading it a dozen times as if it could magically answer the most important question she now had. What the hell had she done last night?! She couldn’t deny to herself that she hadn’t seen Alistar last night because there was no way he got this to her while she was sober. One, she never usually let them close enough to do so and two, she would at least have had a partial memory of the event. It made her heart sink, wondering what else she had said or given away. Heck, she could have just flat out insulted or rejected him and have a pissed off demon on her hands. She wanted to rake her fingers through her hair and instantly regretted the buns decision she had made earlier so instead she rubbed her temples. Jiang’s headache increased and she tried to take deep and slow breaths to calm down before she glanced weakly at the phone. She could ignore it, pretend she never saw it and move on but it was going to eat at her. The note seemed sincere and it was an olive branch of sorts. They didn’t see eye to eye. They viewed things differently. She couldn’t rely that if it came down to whatever plans he had, that she wouldn’t get physically or emotionally hurt by not being chosen over said plans or worse, that this was a trick and invest in an illusion. They did have somewhat of a respect for each other but she had never admitted to a friendship with either demon through the years.

Jiang grabbed hold of the phone, staring at it before tossing it back down on the bed. She stood up, deciding to continue stripping down and changed into her outfit for the day. She went to the kitchen, knowing she needed to eat so she could help get rid of this vicious hangover and quickly worked to make a simple rice cooker congee since it would be light on her abused stomach and started up a kettle for tea on the stove. She plopped down on the couch, switching on the tv but putting it on low sound settings so it wouldn’t cause more of an issue and turned on subtitles. It appeared that her Gala had been newsworthy in all the wrong kinds of ways but at least she recognized someone from the broadcast when it switched to Oberon Price. It seems with the benefactor of the event being anonymous and no one able to get a hold of anyone else who had planned the event that part of this had landed on his shoulders or maybe he had things to say. It was short, sweet, and to the point which was just how she liked her news. She quickly flicked to a different channel, tossing the remote onto the coffee table when something caught her eye. Usually, she kept her keys in a bowl by the door so she wouldn’t lose them but instead there they sat in the middle of the table with a bright crimson feather that shimmered in the light almost as if the embers of a fire flickering to life here and there.

She gently picked up the small feather, petting it lightly before placing it back down quickly like it had burned her. Where on earth had she gotten that? The huge gap in her memory was getting more frustrating by the second and she wasn’t sure she was mentally prepared to deal with anything of this nature this morning but she probably couldn’t avoid it forever. If it got to be too much then she could just hang up, right? If it was worse than too much then she could just toss it out the window and call it a fluke moment that would probably never be repeated or discussed again. _{”Fuck it.”}, Jiang muttered to herself before moving over to the bed and snatching the phone, pressing the only available contact and waiting as it rang.

Alistar had just stepped out of the shower as he heard a familiar tune played from his phone. The tune was a song he recently found called Insane by this man called black gryphon, it was very catchy. Sliding to the phone he picks it up and says, “Well well well darling you must have a massive headache today”.

She pulled the phone away from her ear and rolled her eyes, covering the speaker to take a deep breath and try to curb her frustration since she was currently hung over, sleep deprived, and lacking coffee or at least tea but it didn’t seem to have helped because what popped instantly out of her mouth in a sarcastic tone was,”Thank you, Captain Obvious. Glad you seem to be enjoying my suffering. Here I thought, maybe you could be of some assistance but I guess that was too much to hope for….” Jiang paused for a moment, debating on if this was a good idea or not but at least she didn’t wake up bleeding or dying and got home in one piece so she could at least cut him some slack. ”Can you please just tell me what happened last night?”

With a quick serious tone he says, “I don't like your suffering, you should know that by now. I have half a mind just to hang up, but since you asked nicely I will tell you. We had a nice quiet date. That's what I would call it. I found you drunk as a skunk at a bar which was my fault for the gala, you have to know if we knew that was yours we would have done things differently and for that I'm sorry. It was just you and me and we talked.”, he would go into detail about the conversation. “Then you took me by the hand and showed me to your favorite place to eat, which by the way is mine too as I helped the owner out in the past, then we danced. After that I took you to a roof top to show you something of mine.”

It was truly hilarious that they both had half a mind to hang up on the other but we’re sticking it out for one reason or another. She was extremely skeptical of the fact they had a ‘date’, still not sure if you could call it that with half the party completely three sheets to the wind. She frowned at the mention of the gala, about ready to state that it shouldn’t matter if it was hers or not, that they shouldn’t have tried to cause chaos at all but she figured it would be on deaf ears. They were going to do what they wanted like always and at least she was getting an apology out of it, plus she didn’t want to interrupt and have him stop the explanation of her evening. Jiang felt her nerves spike at the mention of her favorite place to eat, seeing as it was so freaking close to her home and the last thing she felt comfortable with is them knowing where she lived. She was used to avoiding them both, not spilling everything in one damn night! What in the gods' names had she been thinking? It was all the more unsettling that she had no real clue on anything. ”Showed me something of yours…..should I even ask?”. It was honestly somewhat of a valid question seeing the demons’ track records with verbiage about women and the actual flings she had witnessed.

Instead of simply telling her he unfurls his wings and sends her a picture with his shirtless body and the red fiery wings, “I showed you these darling, you and Rex are the only ones to see them darling. Maybe for once in your life you will trust me and not go straight to bad thoughts with me. You know you are ruining the fun we had last night, the most fun I had in ages but of course I'm the bad guy right? So that must be all I want from you is just your body RIGHT HUH ANSWER ME!!!!!” this would make Alistar pissed off. She could hear him break his sink with a single slam, and if she would listen closely she would swear he was crying softly in the background. The feather in her hand would seem to dim a little bit as if it was still connected to him.

She winced at the loud beep in her ear, figuring he had sent something via text if his words were any indication but she was really unfocused and dizzy. She could barely hear what he was saying as he sounded both up close and far away at the same time while nausea bubbled to the surface. She literally shut her eyes, shaking as she tried to ground herself but when he actually started to scream at her, Jiang dropped everything in her hands to cover her ears as she desperately tried to stop the ringing and searing pain. She shouldn’t have called and just took a nap like a normal person, let go of her curiosity but nope, she had to let curiosity kill the cat. She blinked tears out of her eyes, noticing the clattered phone on the floor but instead picked up the feather first to place carefully on her nightstand. She went to reach for the phone but found the world tilting on its axis, ungracefully falling with a yelp against the wall, nightstand, and then to the floor. She groaned, her aches and pains from earlier seriously protesting from sleeping on the bathroom floor and now this.

Jiang reached her hand out, patting the ground for the device and planned to just hang up as soon as possible. She wasn’t ready for this obviously and needed to hang up soon so she slid the phone weakly closer to her ear, only to have more rotten luck as the teapot started to squeal loudly. _{”You have got to be fucking kidding me.”}, she muttered, completely forgetting about the fact she was on the phone for a split second. She carefully pushed herself up, holding the phone unconsciously with her shoulder and planning to stand up off the floor to deal with the teapot when she heard soft sobbing over the line. Jiang paused all movement, pulling the phone away to look at it before placing it back to her ear to make sure she was hearing right. Was Alistar…crying? She opened her mouth a couple of times trying to find words but she was honestly stumped and speechless. How do you comfort a demon? Or worse, how do you comfort a demon when you can't remember why they were crying because you didn’t have the skills to listen? She bit her lip, debating if she should just let the issue drop and give him space but that didn’t seem right when she thought over the note she found earlier. ”Are you alright?”, she asked in weary concern, feeling completely stupid and lame. ”I’m sorry if I upset you. It wasn’t my intention,”

Taking a deep breath he would pick up the phone, "Sorry about that darling, it's just when you make me sound like a bad guy it does hurt. When you were drunk you said I ruined your Gala, yet all I did was defend myself like I always do. I was hoping that seeing my wings would jog your memory of last night then you wouldn't be mad. Last night was perfect. We both had fun and you even rubbed my feathers. I understand it's hard for you to trust me, cuz of my past but know this, you are important to me."

She pulled her knees slowly to her chest, curling into herself as Jiang listened to his words. She had never been the best in this category or types of situations but there was no backing out now. ”My gala was ruined long before the two of you showed up but Rex is always a complication, raising the dead and all. It was just the cherry on top of an already horrid evening because I am the one to usually clean up the mess.”, she stated, taking a moment to pause, feeling awkward and unsure how to word her next words. ”As for last night, I apologize but I don’t remember it. I don’t doubt what you are saying as I do have a feather but trust is not something that is easy for me. Everyone I have trusted is no more or has used that trust to harm me in some way. I never asked to be important to anyone and to be honest, I’m not sure why you see me as such. As far as I know, I have done nothing to have any importance placed on me.”

Sighing he says, "Let's get one thing straight darling Rex doesn't raise the dead, he gives them new life sorta a speak. Yea sometimes they don't ask but, he makes them stronger. He doesn't kill them. The reason why I consider you important…. Well for one I feel like I taught you quite a lot and watching you train I just, I don't know. Importance? Ha you can escape me and Rex no one can usually do that little fox.", Getting dressed he would continue, "I like a woman who can stand up for herself, and let me tell you that you can. I'm old and most women nowadays are all blah, all fakes, where you my lil fox are not. We have similar takes on society. Some people should die, not just go to jail. Now imma just say I've seen you over the years specially during the 20's you have a beautiful voice. I have a few records of your beautiful singing from your days at the club.", He would start humming a song.

”We will have to agree to disagree where Rex is concerned. I doubt we will fully see eye to eye on that subject. As for escaping, it was only because we didn’t know each other’s tricks so it made it easier to flee from those that would wish to pursue. Besides, luck and dedication to a craft are hardly merit for being labeled important to anyone.”, she sighed with a bit of a chuckle, finally standing and heading to the kitchen to drag the kettle off the stove so it would stop screeching and causing her more pain. Jiang waited on his reply, listening carefully as she poured herself a cup of tea. She hadn’t expected him to dig into more detail on why he liked her compared to others or bring up facts that even she couldn’t deny they shared. She was still weary of agreeing to a friendship when keeping it at acquaintances with mutual respect seemed to be working just fine and she couldn’t even begin to wrap her head around more since she never had any luck in that department. Alistar startled her though as he complimented her voice, a blush rising to her cheeks not only because it was flattering but just the thought of the 20s and the silliness of those years.

Those had been some of the few years where she had tried to have a normal life, instead of being any kind of…well whatever she could count herself as now. Obviously, that hadn’t been something that had worked out but for a short time, it was a nice reprieve from the norm. She had almost given up her swords, been a singer and found a peaceful life but it has lost its luster fast. Prohibition and having fun being on the wrong side of the law had caused all sorts of trouble as well. Jiang didn’t remember seeing him in either club, legal or illegal but that was probably for the best since they didn’t always play nice. ”I thought I had gotten rid of those. Why I ever agreed to record anything is beyond me, I must have been going through a mid-century crisis.”, she joked, taking a sip of her preferred drink as she leaned against the countertop while she waited on her breakfast to finish up. ”Hey Alistar…thank you, for telling me about last night.”

“Darling it was my pleasure and one thing please give Rex a chance. Now excuse me, I have some business to attend to. Got a business to run and people to deal with. I can trust that you will not get that drunk at this hour huh? Hahaha it's not the 1920’s darling.”, he would then hang up the phone.

”I’ll think about it. I’m still debating on your chances. Try not to get in too much trouble. Maybe I’ll take my own advice and try to keep out of trouble myself but no promises.”, she answered, tossing the extra phone on the counter once she heard it click. Jiang signed, planning to just eat and take a nice nap, maybe forget about the alternate universe she must have woken up in. This was definitely a new change of pace that she might end up having to get used to. ”Why is nothing ever easy?”, she asked herself, already knowing most of the answers to this very question but it was nice to say it out loud. She popped open the rice cooker, scooping the congee into a bowl before moving back over to the coffee table with tea also in hand. She flicked the station off the news, trying to find something decent when her phone rang and instantly grated on her fine nerves. She practically dove for her phone to answer it, just to make the noise stop. ”Hello?”, she asked curiously before pulling the phone back to see who it actually was before placing it back up to her ear. ”Ash, is that you?”