@wikkit

Abigail “Atom Bomb” Zebrowski

Mr.Q looked quite disappointed by her choice of not cooperating with his request, but he knew well that humans were very stubborn. “Okay have it your way.” The demon shrugged his shoulders. He snapped his fingers like a piece of paper and a quill materialized in front of them. Quickly jotting down the terms on the piece of paper, signing his name with the blood red ink coating the end of the quill. Handing over the piece of paper for her to sign as well, “Do you accept these conditions?” The piece of paper floating right in front of her face for her to see. As they were talking Abby entered the room with Kaliani, “Q…you gotta send me to Boston…” Her voice sounded heavily tired. Mr.Q rolled his eyes in annoyance, turning his head 360 degrees not wanting to move his body to face her. “I think that would be unwise my dear, you should be back in the medical room recovering.” Of course, his advice was quickly ignored by the blonde woman. “Hell with that, I gotta see someone there, and if ya don’t take me there and i ain’t gonna help ya…” Mr.Q’s body soon joined his head facing Abby. “You are in no shape to travel, doing so would be determined to your health, and my employers would not be happy if something bad happened to you.” Again his false sense of concern was ignored by Abby.

“Either you take me to Boston or you will have to explain yourself to your boss. And I guess he ain’t gonna be happy not having his ace in the hole.” Recalling what he had called her before, is a good reminder of who wears the pants in the relationship. “Stupid monkey!” Q thought. “Very well Abby, your wish is my command.” There was intense sarcasm in his voice, snapping his fingers as a portal opened up beside Abby and Kaliani. “You will have to go alone, as it will bring more attention to you than you would like.” Q had his bony finger pointed at Kaliani. “What i ain’t gonna leave her alone…she’s gonna come with me, ain’t that right girl?” She turned her head to the slobbering alien. “Me stay…you safe without me…” This made Abby look quite sad that Kali would not be able to join her. “If that is what you want.” Abby jolted down something on a piece of paper, handing it over to Kali it was her phone number. “Call me anytime you need help okay.” Abby gave her a few head rubs, And with that Abby went through the portal. “Now where were we?” Q turned to Janet ignoring Kaliani chewing on some machinery.

Körbl Meier

"That'll be two grand in cash, with the fact that this gold bar is unmarked, dangerous business you know-"

Körbl tuned it out as he looked at the multitude of newspaper cutting, some of it old and worn, while a fresh one just arrived today. Detailing about the hero convention event in Philadelphia, multiple heroes of middle-rank and an appearance of a top tier hero.

"And as per your request, satellite phone, keyed to a specific number."

Hmm, fairy hero turned serial killer? Körbl scratched the bottom of his chin as that detail caught his attention, wondering how that happened.

"Hunting knives-"

He walked onwards, ignoring the muffled music in the background as the carpeted room did a poor job absorbing it alongside the random, chaotic mix of footsteps dancing to it. At least the strong scent of alcohol, tobacco, mixed smoke of electronic vapes, and the scent of people was kept away properly.

"Passport, as mister Engelbert..."

Tracing a finger on a counter situated in the middle, its surface and interior reinforced enough to handle bullets from assault rifles. No doubt, the glass that separated the room in half, was similarly reinforced.

"Clothes, a bank account, card, no strings attached and clear of anything. As usual."

Though it wasn't as strong as the ones in Thornwood Asylum. It would easily be shattered had he decided to break in with his fist alone, never mind the knife that he had.

Then again, he was already behind it anyways.

"Of course, the moment you've been waiting for-"

Körbl finally turned to his dealer as he produced two large golf bag from the sides, heaving and grunting as he struggled to place it on top of the oak table, filled with countless swords.

Pulling one out, he inspected it carefully. All of them high quality but ordinary made steel. It wasn't anything special compared to his first one but they were purposefully ordered to be like that.

"I'm surprised. I thought you'll go for those fancy metal, or something like those new fancy fangled orihalcum metal that they recently discovered. Those thing are darn near indestructible." The dealer wiped the sweat of his brow as he sat down and took a swig of an opened bottle of his gin. "Cost a fortune though, even I wasn't able to get it. Not even a piece, those things are going up to a million per gram-"

Körbl had come to a realization, of why he lost to his arch-rival.

He had relied too much upon that sword, it was a chain, weighing him down.

So now, he had to retrain himself. This was part of it.

"Good." Körbl replied as he put it back in. "I shall rely upon you to supply me more."

"Don't." Franky, weapon, information broker, and club owner waved his hand. The large swarthy man and his dark afro hair moved alongside his shaking head. Dark sunglasses, gaudy clothes, fancy suit, alongside with way too many accessories than needed which Körbl find distasteful to downright head-scratching.

Compared to his grey suit and pants, and white-collar shirt, brown boot. Körbl looks completely underdressed to the monstrosity of fashion that was Franky.

Still, Franky was his most trusted person on this side of the continent.

Franky could have sold him out immediately the moment he stepped in but didn't. No, it was good of Franky to be courteous at least up front to inform him that he'll sell him out after he's done with his purchase and out of his establishment.

"So, where you plan to go now? They'll have your mug plastered on every corner of the streets, man!" Franky then leaned forward and his hands closed together. "How about you do a job for me? Just one! And I'll get a ticket out of this country for you in ten minutes!"

"No." Körbl shook his head, grabbed the luggage and two golf bag, let it slide around his waist and tested the weight as he made micro-adjustments to it. The bag behind him contained all his new personal effects. It'll garner attention but Körbl welcomed it, if anything, he looked forward to it.

"You're going for payback huh? That ain't wise, brother." Franky sighed as he leaned back into his chair. "He's in New York, and it'll take an hour or two, maybe less for them to know if you take the direct route."

"I'm not going to meet him directly."

"Oh?"

"I'm still weak, I'll challenge him again after I'm done with my training." Körbl mentioned offhandedly, that'll get some heat off Franky when they inevitably come to investigate. Knowing his luck, they'll send the lower-tier ones instead. After all, it's not like the top tier heroes sit on their backs every day doing nothing.

Franky muttered from the sides, not aware that Körbl heard him mumbling sarcastically that Körbl was weak.

Well, now that he was ready, it was time to move out. "You prepared that, Franky?"

"Oh, that old antique of yours? Yea? Made a couple of them, a nice showpiece or for those muscle-bound idiots that think it's a good idea."

Körbl brushed it aside as Franky took the lead and diverted him to an elevator, a quick press of a button and they're soon in the underground basement. Numerous large trucks sat but one piece of item in the sides was a unique existence.

It was a large motorcycle, modified in one aspect. It ran on a hybrid engine of fuel, electricity, and can be charged via kinetic movement. One that required tremendous effort and was relegated to novelty and competitions for people to showcase their fitness.

To Körbl, it was the best way to move around while training.

Grinning, he rode it as Franky tossed him a key. A swift pressed of a button from the latter and the basement opened a hidden passage. One meant for Franky more...illicit trade.

"Don't get caught so soon, you hear me brother? I can get more deals with you around." Franky said as Körbl legs start to pedal the motorbike, slow at first but it ramped up to the point that it became a blur as he swiftly turned around and rode out of here. Giving a final passing wave to Franky.

It took minutes of travel but he soon saw lights from passing cars, cleverly hidden as part of a subterranean highway tunnel.

Joining the traffic, Körbl matched cars in terms of speed and overshot some of them as he weaved between before settling to one side of the road. His destination was already set.

Eyes looking at the roads to California, Körbl continued his journey. Billboards and advertisements to the sides, as lamp post illuminated the roads clearly in its orange light.

Then at the corner of his eyes, a large advertising monitor had changed to an emergency channel for the public and heroes alike.

Somewhere else....

A news report was running all over the different news channels. Informing the masses that a group of escaped super villains have escaped and were last spotted near an amusement park. All of the escape's photos were then shown to millions of Americans, one of the photos was of Abby about to be tackled by a guard. Now everyone knows who they are and what they look like, it was only a matter of time before heroes would come knocking to send them back to Thornnwood.

Hmph. Körbl huffed as he continued on, it really did seem that the response was slower than he expected.

It was slightly insulting and annoying, did they not warrant a state of national emergency instead?

Well, he suppose he'll has a long way to go until then.

The door to Cian’s Cuts opened and Julia walked through the door first, Rue behind her. Julia waved and smiled. “Hi, I’m here for an app-I mean I don’t have an appointment but I’m here for a haircut and color.” Being the first person Julia had talked to outside both the prison and the sanctuary for over half a year, her social skills and patter with strangers were clearly rusty.

Rue looked at the receptionist and asked, “Is Cian in today?”

“Aye,” the brunette at the front desk replied. “She’s free now, actually, just cleaning up her station from her last client. If you go in she’ll see you right away.”

Rue nodded and led Julia into the salon part of the building, noting how clean and modern it looked now compared to the last time she’d been there, with at least four stations along the back wall and three along the front windows. The far right one was unoccupied, a rather tall woman with reddish brown hair in waves to her shoulders sweeping up blonde hair off the floor around the barber chair and vanity desk with the row of lights around the mirror attached to it.

“Oi,” the woman paused in her sweeping and looked up with stormy sea green eyes, her gaze immediately landing on Rue and Julia, and a large grin stretched across her face, showing off a set of sharp upper canine teeth. “By my fangs, Rueyn Grimm is that ye? Where the hell have ye been for the last two decades?” The Irish accent that came out as she spoke was thick but still understandable as she waved them over with the broom still in one hand while the other held the long-handled dustpan.

Rue guided Julia over and began the process of introducing them with, “Well, it’s a long sad story but prison, for one. Finally got out. Cian, this is Julia, Julia, this is Cian. Cian is a longtime friend of mine and great with a pair of hair scissors.”

“Pleasure to meet ye,” Cian replied, smiling at Julia. “I’d shake yer hand but mine are busy at the moment. Let me finish sweeping up and then I’ll see what it is ye need.”

“That’s alright,” Julia responded in what the Irish vampire would recognize as a light, diluted Scottish accent. “I can’t really…shake hands anyway.” She stared down at her gloved hands, slightly melancholy. She really hoped that Kanata could teach her a way to regulate and control her powers. She looked back up at Cian. “I was thinking maybe something short to medium, and I’d like to be blonde. I’m starting a whole new chapter of my life and I want to look like a completely different person, you know?”

“Och, aye,” Cian nodded at Julia as she emptied the dustpan into the trash and set it and the broom aside. “I feel ye, I can definitely do that. Oi, do ye happen to be from the highlands? I recognize the accent but it’s faint, and ‘ere, come sit, please.” She patted the back of the barber chair with pointed red nails, smiling as she got her scissors and a fine-toothed comb in her hand.

“I’ll style yer hair and then I’ll dye it blonde, waste less product and it’s easier ta see the way it sits that way.”

Rue decided to take that as the cue to sit on the windowsill, arms crossed as she played with one ragged split end of her hair as she watched them interact.

Julia sat down, already starting to smile. “Glasgow. Not that you can really tell anymore after so long of talking to Americans. Naw like am a pure wee ned ahnymeir.” She giggled to herself after putting on a cartoonish Glaswegian accent for that sentence.

Cian laughed as she settled the barber cape comfortably around Julia’s neck, carefully placing her hair above it and gently combing it out with the fine-toothed comb and her fingernails with practiced hands.

“I like ye, I’m from Dublin meself,” she grinned as she gently placed her fingers under Julia’s chin and met the other woman’s eyes in the vanity mirror with a fanged smile as she imagined which cut would best fit her face. “Glasgow, though, I’ve been there and I have ta say I liked it though the people there could be pretty drab at times. Lively when the food is good and the ale keeps coming though,” she added with a chuckle. “I think a bob that's short in the back but long in the front would be pretty damn hot, wouldn’t ye?”

Cian gathered up the back parts of Julia’s hair to give a quick faux-effect to demonstrate what she meant before saying, “What say ye, Julia, lass?”

With Cian’s comments about Glasgow being drab but having good ale, Julia tried to place when the last time Cian visited was. The 70’s? Possibly earlier? She glanced at the mirror to try and catch Cian’s reflection but of course, it was just Julia reflected back. Right. Vampire. Still, to look so young but be so long-lived, Julia felt slightly jealous.

Looking at the proposed length and cut, Julia nodded. “A bob would be cute! I think if you made the edges really soft it’d look chic and retro. Make them too sharp, it could verge on Karen-y with my face. I’m not a natural smiler.”

“Aye, I was thinking I’d make the cut a gradual one so as to not contrast starkly with yer face and make ye look bad,” Cian agreed. “Now, keep ye head still as possible for me please while I spray yer hair down a bit so it’s easier ta cut.” Cian began the process of styling Julia’s hair by getting it damp so it would lay straight. She then began cutting away small bits at first as she trimmed the dead ends, then she started to actually style it.

“So,” Cian began as she was cutting away. “What brought ye to America, Julia?”

“Well,” Julia started, giving Rue a nervous glance, unsure how much she should divulge, before the television in the corner did her job for her.

“Today’s top stories; There was an attempted breakout at Thornwood Asylum earlier today,” droned the reporter, showing helicopter footage of the asylum along with several faces scrolling across the screen. One of them was clearly Julia’s. Another one was Rueyn. Julia blushed and coughed awkwardly.

“If you could make me look nothing like that picture,” she sheepishly joked. The reason for this visit was now becoming apparent.

“Aye, I got no problem with that,” Cian replied with a wry smile. Rue matched her wry expression with a grimace of her own, serrated teeth showing beneath the currently humanoid face she wore so as to not draw as much attention as her regular skeletal face did, especially now that it was plastered on the news stations around the country.

The bell’s chime announced Ameliya’s entrance into the store, and not even bothering to talk to the receptionist she strode straight over towards the small group. Turning to see what everyone else was looking at, she was in time to see the newscaster declare the second top story of the day.

"Death and destruction swept through the city today as a bank was left massacred with an unknown body count thanks to the massive amount of blood and limbs strung around the bank. Nobody was left alive, unfortunately, and the cops have no leads as whoever committed such an atrocity seemingly knocked out all the cameras before anything began," shifting the scene to two people standing in another location, the news anchor talked to them. "and on the other front of destruction, a city block decimated from a spontaneous fire. Here's Jeff with more on that."

"Yes, thank you, I'm here with a man who said he witnessed the fire begin and his story on trying to escape,” passing the microphone to a young African American male, "Aw, yeah, so I was going to the rooftop to smoke cause my lady don't like us smoking inside with our kids and I came to the top and found the door locked. Which isn't normal as I go up there almost every day to smoke so I tried pushing on the door and then I started to hear noises."

"What kind of noises did you hear?" The anchor asked before the man continued.

"I heard people fucken! I don't know who was going at it but whoever was giving it was givin it good. That woman was loud! Like dude I heard so much slamming against things first I heard em on the left side, then the right side like they fucked across the building rooftop. I swear I heard 'em above the door at some point. They must have been on that kinky shit cause I heard her screaming ‘choke me harder’ and I was like holy shit I gotta get out there and record. Man, but I wasn't able to, cause I smelt fire and realized whoever was fucking was going so hard they must have done to much of that kinetic energy from his dick and started a fire. So I boosted. Left everyone behind. You know? Save myself first and foremost, oh, and my kids. Lost the wife in the fire which is a plus. Single dad here, if any bitches wanna fuck my number is-"

Being cut off the television cut to technical difficulties as everyone watched.

Staring with wide eyes, a bright blush grew on her cheeks before she quickly tried to move the attention from the vivid images on screen, “You think we got time for me to get my sidecut fixed?”

Cian looked at the two redheads, the brunette who was in her barber chair and about to go blond, and said with a hint of laughter in her voice, “Ye all are fucking wild and crazy. Yeah, we got time, I’ll speed it up so ye can get the fuck outta here.”

When she finished cutting Julia’s hair, Cian fluffed it out, combed and brushed any and all of the loose hairs out of it, made sure Julia liked it, and then began the process of separating the woman’s hair into chunks and dyeing it a soft, platinum blonde that would go well with her skin tone. She left the foil in Julia’s hair and said, “Ye let that sit and do its job while I fix these two up, and then I’ll rinse ye out, aye?”

She pointed a finger at each redhead and told them, “I do nae care which of ye goes next, but be quick about it.”

Julia sat at the designated chair, and now that she was doing nothing but waiting, she took this time to notice Ameliya was there. Julia raised her eyebrow. “I hope the opening I gave you didn’t go to waste. You’re here pretty quickly. What’s up?” she asked her.

Looking towards the loud Irish woman and then back to Rue who had made no movement to get up, Ameliya smiled at the hairdresser, “Looks like it’s my turn.”

Sitting down in the seat next to Julia, she took a moment to look at the mess of her hair in the mirror before sighing and talking to Cian, “I need a fix-up real bad. I am thinking of a 2.5 clipper for the side cut and just a clean-up on the split ends.” Looking over to Rue for a moment she then attempted to be more polite about it and looked towards Cian to say, “but, Rue says you’re the best so I will trust you know what you’re doing.”

Turning back to the mirror, that was when Ameliya heard Julia speak up and as an instant response, her cheeks started to tint a light shade of red. “We talked,” was all that Ameliya replied, both unsure if she wanted to talk about her conversation with Kanta and unsure about what had actually just happened.

"Damn right I'm the best," Cian twirled her comb in her fingers with a smile full of pride and joy at the compliment. She began to run her hands through Ameliya’s hair, fluffing it up, before commenting, “But, Aye, I think ye be right, that's exactly what ye need. I can see that ye used to have a decent side cut," she said, switching to the spray bottle to spritz her hair before running a comb through. Looking at her from both sides she said, "Though yer line needs redefining and yer ends need a trim unless ye want it shorter than it is?"

“Keep it at the same length,” Ameliya said nonchalantly, but she smiled hearing that the hairdresser add some notes about how she was going to do her hair. It seemed Rue was correct about her being good.

Rue's ears twitched as the sound of a bell rang and she turned her head to see a familiar face. A small mischievous smile crept onto her face as she started to talk loudly.

"So, Ameliya,"Rue drawled, leaning back into her chair and staring at her. "You know we haven't really seen you two actually talk since you've gotten here. And knowing the two of you," her spine shivered with awkwardness as she tried not to imagine it, trying to get the words out. "You definitely didn't fuck. Cmon, spill it to us, no secrets between sisters in arms? I wanna know what made my father say you're a couple now." She grinned, showing off her wicked, serrated teeth.

Looking at Rue with a side eye as her hair started to be worked on, Ameliya seemed to be growing a brighter and brighter shade of red with each word her fellow demon friend said. Though as soon as she heard Rue mention that she somehow knew they were supposedly a couple now, her hair under the tender care of Cian instantly lit up flames and she whipped around to stare at Rue. Staring wide-eyed at the large smile that greeted her, she instantly refuted her, “I never agreed to that.”

Cian swore softly as her fingertips turned bright red with heat from the redhead’s fiery hair, and Rue gave her friend a raised eyebrow in response to her reaction. Cian took a second to grab the spray bottle and spritzed her fingertips with it, the color returning to their normal pale color after a few sprays, and she returned to working on Ameliya’s hair with only, “Got a temper on ye, don’t ye lass.”

After a moment, she started to realize exactly how she had reacted and if even possible, blushed even brighter than before. Taking in a deep breath, her hair started to return to its normal state before she gave Cian a sheepish smile. Glaring back at Rue from the corner of her eyes, she started, “He seems to think we are.” Then after a beat of silence, she finally added, “I don’t know what we are.”

“Sounds to me that talk of yours raised more questions than answers, then,” Rue replied, eyeballing her friend without bothering to hide her amusement, though she did her best to tone it down so that poor Cian’s fingertips didn’t get burned again. “I personally find it awkward to have my friend and my father be fucking each other around me, but anyone with fucking eyeballs can see you have feelings for one another, so maybe… act on it? I don’t know, do something other than you know, burn my building down?”

Rue then shifted and leaned forward, elbows on her knees and hands clasped together in a serious manner as she said to Ameliya, “The last time I was with my father he rarely smiled and that was a long time ago. Even when he did, it felt distant, like he was there but his mind was elsewhere. He has been more happy with you than I've ever seen him and that is honestly saying something.”

Keenly listening, Ameliya’s blushing face started to slowly transform into a sullen expression. She wasn’t so sure about what to do but, the more she listened to Rue the more she came to the conclusion that this was going to end terribly when he realized who she really was. Sure she might be but beautiful and deadly, but what he had seemingly yet to see so far is that she was unloveable. She was a weapon and that was all she was created to be.

“He’s made a mistake,” she muttered out loud to herself more than anyone else.

With a heavy sigh the woman sitting at the waiting bench got up and said out loud, "Sorry, I have other business to take care of." Leaving in a quick exit.

“What makes you say that?” Julia leaned forward in her seat. “You like him, he likes you. I’ve seen that you make each other happy. Don’t need to formalize it, and it doesn’t need to be more complicated than that for now.”

Leaning forward, her mind no longer on her haircut, Ameliya put her head in her hands before dragging her hands down her face with a small groan. Looking toward Julia, she thought for a moment about how they both had similar issues with hurting people before sighing and admitting, “I wasn’t made for this.”

Leaning back into the seat, she gave a small bitter smile and stated, “You don’t love a dagger.”

Rue scoffed at Ameliya’s words and narrowed her eyes as she said to her, “Don’t love a dagger my fucking ass. A dagger may be sharp, aye. A dagger may end up stabbing you if you mishandle it or aren’t careful, or if someone decides to wield it against you, aye, but a dagger is a beautiful, deadly weapon that can save your life if you take proper care of it. I don’t fucking know about you, but I have loved every single one of my daggers, even after they cut me because guess fucking what? A dagger is sharp for a reason, Ameliya, don’t let its sharpness deter you from doing what you know in your heart to be right, even if your mind is scared of it.”

There was a moment of silence that hung in the air after Rue had stopped talking, as Ameliya stared into the mirror before a chuckle escaped from her lips. Even if her mind wanted to reject what she was being told, she couldn’t deny there was some truth to her words. In the end, she wasn’t sure if she was made to love or to be loved but, that didn’t stop her from wanting it. A small smile played on her lips before she asked, “I …really make him happy?”

“Aye,” Rue nodded, a smile upon her lips that made the scar that ran from above her left eyebrow and down to her cheekbone crinkle. “You make him the happiest I have ever seen him, and I was with him for two decades as a child, that’s a very long time for my kind. I want to continue to see that happiness in him, Ameliya. So far, you’re the only one who gives him that.” She was honestly a little envious of the fact that this other woman with fiery powers made her father so happy when even the fact that his own daughter was alive barely elicited a smile from him but considering what she knew of his own past, she couldn’t hold it against her.

“I doona mean ta interrupt this tender moment, lassies,” Cian’s Irish brogue lilted out. “But I would like ta finish up ye hair, Ameliya, lass. If ye doona mind.”The vampire grinned good-naturedly as she held up her scissors and an electric set of clippers that she had gotten from somewhere whilst they had been talking.

Sparks rose off of Ameliya as she quickly sat back on the chair and attempted to nonchalantly cross her legs. In all the fuss, she had forgotten all about the fact that she was supposed to be getting her haircut. Looking from Cian in the mirror and then at the other two girls, Ameliya let out a small good-natured chuckle. She really needed this, she couldn’t remember when was the last time she felt this comfortable around other people.

Cian smiled goodnaturedly and resumed her wok on Ameliya’s hair, separating her longer locks from the parts that were going to be clipped short with a hair clip before plugging the clippers in and gently grasping Ameliya’s face with long, red-tipped fingernails as she began to clip away the undesired length. It didn’t take her long to do that part, and she combed it out before quickly giving the rest of her hair a trim, snipping away the dead and split ends. Another comb through of her hair and then she tilted Ameliya’s face towards the mirror.

“There ye be,” she said. “I hope it’s to yer expectations. Now, Rue, get yer ass in this chair and tell me what ye want.”

Turning her head to the left and right as Ameliya looked at her reflection before a wide smile grew on her lips. It looked as if Rue was right about her being one of the best. “I’ll be sure to be back,” she commented to Cian with a warm smile. Smoothly slinking out of the chair, Ameliya left the chair for Rue but kept checking out her new haircut in the reflection. It was good to start to feel like herself again.

Rue grinned and stood up to walk over, settling herself into the chair which Cian had to lower a bit due to the other woman’s height. Rue thought for a moment when asked what she wanted and then said, “You know how we did our warrior braids back in the day, aye? I want that, but shave the right side and leave the middle by itself so I can have a braided mohawk, so to speak.”

“You got it,” Cian replied, getting her comb ready again. “You’ll be done in no time, though I do say it's a shame to cut so much lovely red hair off.” Rue shrugged and Cian chuckled a little before getting to work on parting her hair on the left side to match the fact that her right side naturally didn’t grow any hair, tying the bits that were supposed to stay up out of the way before turning the clippers on and getting to work.

She was done in no time, and quickly brushed the remaining hair out once she’d taken Rue’s hair down as well, trimming the dead ends and quickly braiding it in a fashion that was reminiscent of the Viking style of braids. She then motioned to Julia to come with her as she walked over to a chair that was positioned near a sink, indicating that it was time to rinse her hair.

After Julia sat down in the designated chair, she turned back to the others. “So, are we heading back to the bar after this, or picking up the things from your house first?” she asked Ameliya as she leaned back.

Watching Julia’s transformation with some curiosity as she leaned against the wall nearby, Ameliya couldn’t help but playfully smile at her as she replied, “Think we got to go pick up something from Sanctuary first.” She wasn’t going to admit it to anyone but after that talk, she actually was looking forward to seeing a certain someone again.

The Phoenix Lodge was a peculiar location, though the outside appearance of a somewhat ordinary, if not rich mansion might tell otherwise. It serves as the meeting place of all the phoenixes scattered throughout the world, and was thus made to be as hidden and inconspicuous as possible in order to avoid detection from even the magical hunters of the Cabal. To this end, it is rigged to teleport to a random location in the wilderness every single hour, though its keeper, the aptly named Dominus Astra and the first of the Phoenixes, is able to warp the whole mansion to another place should the situation necessitate it.

Alfred knew of this place only from memories derived from Frostbite’s previous hosts. Until this day, he had never set his eye on it, let alone set foot within its hallowed halls. Now, though, he was here, thanks to the portal of his primogenitor.

The Machine God quickly morphed into his human form; a young man with swarthy skin and a rather… luxurious sense of fashion. It seemed like that whatever time he didn’t spend on technological shenanigans would be dedicated to getting the best tailor around. As for Dominus Astra, the great celestial phoenix did not morph, for he did not choose a human host, and probably never will. Instead, he simply flew off to another section of the gigantic mansion without a word.

“Well, brother,” the human host of the Machine God turned around, willing the lights around them to come to life, “I haven’t been introduced to you yet. I’m Kareem. The rest you probably already know, since I’m the only one that was recently hosted, along with you, Alfred was it?.”

“Uh huh,” Alfred nodded, still unsure on what his reaction should be despite his derivative memories telling him that this was the annoying brat of the family. “Well, who else is here? I don’t imagine everyone is here now, right?”

Kareem nodded, the phoenix within him urging him to press on with those burning questions. “Well, Blaze is here, along with Naturespawn, Joygiver, and uh… the Artisan.”

“And look at who is here.”

The fluttering of wings coincided with the harmonious clanging of bells and chimes, as the Joygiver landed upon the nearby perch, staring down upon the two humans. “The Machine God, and the Frostbite. It has been quite a while my brothers, yes?”

Now, the Joygiver was different from the rest of them. While most of the Phoenixes ranged from apathetic at best and chaotic at worst, the Joygiver is a heroic character. She is part of one of those superhero teams, and because of that, the Cabal cannot touch her without inciting the wrath of her compatriots. Now, many of her siblings have done the same and gain the benefits of having allies, but the others are far too arrogant. Others have done bad things and thus could never be inducted into a team like hers…

“Yes, sister,” Alfred nodded, recalling this phoenix of festivity and explosive firecrackers from the memories of previous hosts as well. “It has been a while.”

“Oh, I fret at your prospect, brother Frost,” the Joygiver continued, slightly giggling as she spoke. “You destroyed the sorcerers that held you in chains, and the people now see you as a villain for it. And they’re now looking for you…”

“I know,” Alfred answered, and fell silent for a few moments. “Either way, do you know what happened with the family I left behind in Juneau?”

“Relocated to the city where I hold jurisdiction," the Joygiver replied, sprinkling magical glitter that coalesced into a scenery of the other Gunthers doing business as usual in what looked like to be an island. "The Cabal cannot move in Puerto Rico. I will make sure of it, so you need not worry. But I wonder what you'll do now. Those sorcerers might not be able to chase your family, but if you go to them, my compatriots and other heroes will surely know to hunt you as well."

"Perhaps you can finish what you started."

Summer Blaze, ever the pyromaniac, came down upon the immaculate wooden flooring, which was unharmed by her flaming form. "It is what you want, after all. They threatened your family and your friends. Not that the rest of us should be involved, but yeah."

Alfred shrugged. That is indeed what he and the Frostbite wanted. In some places, those duplicitous sorcerers, who stole vast portions of Dominus Astra's energy to create the other phoenixes, have sunken their claws deep into civil governance. He was already seen as a villain, and no amount of public explanations will change that. He will just have to live it out.
.

---

---

Kanata waited to stand with his eyes closed listening to the room. He waited until he heard the door open and a familiar group walked in. With Small smile, he laid his hands on the mic as the music started to pick up. Tapping his foot to the beat.

"She got something like a poison," he started with a low voice leaning forward with the mic.
"The way you hit you got me frozen, Her love, her love, her love, I love you," his eyes laid on Ameliya staring into her eye's from afar. Staring back at him with wide eyes, embers suddenly sparked off her skin and danced in the air around her.

"You say you hate me at the moment," taking the mic from the stand he started to walk down the stage towards her. "Could take my life without a warning, But I know, I know, I know it ain't true."

Stopping in front of her he placed a hand on her cheek walking around her dragging his finger down her neck and to her back before leaning next to her ear. "Cause I'm addicted to the taste of your blood red lips and you're sinking your fingertips."

Her body shivered under his touch, and just before she was about to put out her hand and grab on to him, he was gone. Leaving her just with this ever increasing feeling in her chest that she had no name for and had no idea what to do with.

Walking back past her he looked left and right as he sang "I tighten the noose whenever I'm with you I could never let you know." As he reached the middle of the room he closed his eyes as he started to sing with more emotion..

"My lover is a serial killer, She don't need no trigger," swaying his head and with the lyrics grasping onto his chest. "Because I know she's heartless," swinging head towards Ameliya the wind picked up his hair blowing in the breeze. "She stole my heart, it's true" Closing his eyes he brought his head back bringing his hand to his chest then running down his side. His hips swayed with the beat. "My lover is a serial killer, But I always stay with her, Cruelness is a thing you do."

He walked back to his starting position to stare out to the crowd as a new spot light turned on pointing at Ameliya from directly above. "But I love you, you, you, you,I love you, you, you, you.” Burning bright red, Ameliya’s hair had once again lit up and become a river of magma as embers sparkled around her person.

Slowing his movements he set the mic back onto the stand, "I tried to touch you but you cut through, My own-american psycho, and your loves a drug that takes me so high, high"

"Lights go down and you break mad," the lights shut off for a moment as kanata pointed at the wall. "You can find her on the wall path," the lights popping back on to see a flustered Ameliya, who had in the moment of darkness had decided she needed something to calm her nerves and stolen someone else’s drink.

"And she's not the same in the daylight!" Crying out his body leaning forward with the mic stand. Before dropping his head to the left and slowing his tempo and making the breeze stop. "But I'm addicted to the taste of your blood, red lips and you're sinking your finger tips"

"I don't want the truth when I'm with you, I could never let you lose," outstretching his hand he pointed at Ameliya. "My lover is a serial killer, But she don't need any trigger. Because I know she's heartless. But she stole my heart, it's true.My lover is a serial killer. But I always stay with her. Cruelness is a thing you do"

Placing his hands back onto the mic the lights started to dim. "But I love you, you, you, you. I love you, you, you, you. I love you, you, you, you, you. I love you, you, you, you.I love you." His voice trailing off as he walked away from the mic instead using the air to have his voice travel to Ameliyas ears alone. "But that's what makes me feel alive,But that's what makes me feel alive." His eyes settled on Ameliya before turning quickly and rushing backstage.

Turning to look at the other girls, Ameliya’s face was still bright red. “I - ,” Ameliya started but at this point she had no idea what to even say to all of that. Her body felt on fire more then it ever did when she was literally on fire. Than of course there was they way her heart felt like it was about to escape her chest. She had no idea what to say, but, she did know what she wanted to do. “I will be right back,” Ameliya finally finished before striding towards the bar’s makeshift backstage.

Julia guided herself to a seat at a table, scratching at one of her bandages with her knuckles. She was smiling but despite this, her face looked weary, her eyes looked alert and her heartbeat was audibly in fight or flight mode. “They’re like teenagers,” she joked to Rue and Sunny in spite of this. “It’s pretty cute to see.”

Rue simply nodded in response then gave a small shake of her head at a few inner thoughts, pouring herself a drink before sliding one over to Julia in an attempt to get the other woman's nerves to calm down. Sunny smiled and looked in the direction that Ameliya and Kanata had gone off, holding her chin in her hands with a delighted look.

As the others figured their own problems out, an eye passed through the contract line by line, each sentence being scrutinized for its potential to screw her over in a few years. Demons love this kind of legalism where they'll follow the letter of the law but twist it with some kind of unfavorable interpretation, but at the same time, they'll also just outright lie. Professor Perfection was certainly on the losing end of this contract in either case.

Did she have much chance to find a better offer, though?

Oh well, she could finagle her way out of this one when the time came. She laid it out on the table, wrote it, and with a hidden mechanism drawing blood from her neck she sealed it in her own sanguine fluid.

"We were finishing this contract."

She passed it off to him without much more thought given to it. It'll just be another mine she'll have to walk around in a while.

"Q, for your end of the deal, I will need you to act in the role of chauffer. A waste of your undoubtedly fantastical capabilities, yes, but the only other option is for us to travel by road. I doubt you want to sit in the car with me for weeks."

"I figure the safest plan would be the immediate destruction of the internet."

She let it hang in the air dramatically for some reason. Even if she came across as devoid of emotion, she couldn't deny her love of dramaturgy.

"Since my incarceration, the internet has spread to every corner of life, it seems. Every other news bulletin, they mention websites - politicians are discussing matters of world policy on whatever Twitter is supposed to be. Billionaires make their money that way. If we were to disrupt the lifeline of modern society, we would only open up new opportunities. Now, there's only one thing for us to do."

"We must visit the nearest library to learn about the internet's weak points."