Mutants & Masterminds: Lake City Universe - HoH: The Early Bird Killer (IC)

[Superball]

"I'm... in no condition." Naomi responded. "This concussion is going to impact my performance as is... I don't think I would be of any help."

Something about the odd Faerie's 'deal' rubbed Naomi the wrong way, but she held her tongue. She didn't want to get turned into a newt.

[Heritage]

Colby face darkened as she crossed her arms, idly rubbing one thumb over the rim of the trap-can. "Define 'attend'; what does 'attend' mean in thsis context? Is is just giving you a place to sleep, rides around town, or is there some weirder aspect to this? 'Attending to one's needs' can mean a lot of different things."

The paramedics had 'Russelina' in the gurney, Blitz hovering over her form as they made ready to load it into the back of the ambulance.

[SalmonMax]

Sigil nodded, grateful someone had some experience at this.

"Someone to accompany me," she explained. "To be either in my presence or within my ability to call them when I need them. They will need to answer such calls as quickly as they can, in preference to other duties. They will answer my questions truthfully and fully, and keep me apprised of customs and expectations. If I'm about to make a mistake, they'll warn me, to the best of their ability. And I'll need food, water, clothing and shelter as well."

Normally she might try to extort a bit more, or fold in some trick of words, but the reality was that she probably needed them more than they needed her at the moment, so it behooved her to be generous.

"A guide, I suppose you could say. I will be here for a limited time and I have a great deal to do, so it's a necessary inconvenience."

Sigil glanced at the gurney and lifted her eyebrow. They were wheeling away the only leverage she had.

"It's a small thing to ask for what I offer, I think. The damage done by the curse, should its disease ravage him unchecked, will not be undone by its lifting, after all. And should he die of the cursed illness...no magic can bring him back then. The faster it's undone, the better."

[Superball]

Naomi sighed. "I have a few rules then, Miss, If I agree."

"1: If you are to learn our ways you stick with me."

"2: Any 'technology'..." She points to the vehicles and other technological things, including her suit. "...you let me handle first so as I can show you how to operate it properly."

"3: You show due restraint with your abilities. While with us."

"4: You inform me of any medical or nutritional needs that you have that may differ from ours, for your safety, of course."

"5: I am only human, while I will assist you if my conditions are met, I will insist that you show some self-initiative before requiring aid."

"Everything else will come easy. I will help on those concessions. Do we have a deal?"

[SalmonMax]

Sigil turned a little so she could look back at Naomi appraisingly.

"So I'm bargaining with you now? So be it."

She walked over to Naomi and peered at her more closely.

"The terms 'due restraint' and 'some self-initiative' are too vague. But I think I understand your concern. You don't want me to cast spells and hexes at random, terrorizing the mortals of the world..." Sigil smiled. "At least not while they might associate it with you. And you don't want me constantly pestering you with trivial matters that I could work out myself."

"So. I will agree to your terms, restated as that for the term of your indenture I will not enspell a mortal save in defense of my person, property, or honor, without first consulting you...and if you're not present, I will make reasonable effort to solve any problems I might have before calling for your aid."

"In return for these considerations, and for my help dispelling this curse, you will then fulfill the conditions I specified to your witch. Are we agreed?"

[Superball]

"Agreed. One full turning of the moon. That's more or less 28 days."

Naomi starts a chronometer on her helmet's HUD. "To be honest you're probably going to be lost here, so I don't mind playing guide. I do need to..."

She steadies herself on Bo. "...I should be resting more than anything else right now. Concussions do that."

"Then again it might have been the blood loss... that could be why I'm feeling dizzy too. Although the bleeding looks to have stopped I can't examine myself while in this suit. Russ has a illness in that form that is a dangerous respiratory disease for anyone to catch."

"Once we get back to base we can get you settled in and I can start the process of cleaning my suit."

She giggled. "I bet people think I wear this thing all day and at night. Although I did try that once to simulate a long-duration emergency. Not too uncomortable."

[SalmonMax]

Sigil looked away as her new guide babbled. She had obligations to fulfill.

"His name is Russ?" she murmured as she went to the gurney. She laid a slim hand on Blitz's shoulder and gave her a kindly smile. "Please step back for a moment."

The spiraled ivory wand lit with a pure white light as she lifted it and waved it over Hellhound's be-whored form.

"Shiyatah!"

There was a pulse of light that washed over Russ, and a miasma rose from his body to oppose it. The two struggled briefly...but the darkness sank back into him a moment later.

Sigil frowned.

"There's some power behind this after all. No matter."

She stepped back and held the wand outward. Light gathered around it again, this time forming a halo around the fey queen entirely, but flowing always towards the wand tip, which gleamed brightly enough to be difficult to look at in the dim alley. Her voice rang out with resonance, echoing strangely off the walls on either side, and a warm wind gusted, sending papers and dust scattering along the pavement.

"Turn the last page, call out good-bye,

The sun turns to ashes and falls from the sky.

Lakes dry to deserts, flesh falls from bone,

Mountains explode or are ground into stones.

Empires rise, and fall into dust,

Dreams fade on the waking, betrayal kills trust.

There are no exceptions, no armor defends...

This spell too must come to an end."

The wand pulsed again; a soundless burst of light that eclipsed the ambulance's sirens and cascaded through the alleyway like a river, spilling out into the streets on both ends. The darkness rose again out of Russ to do battle with Sigil's new spell, but was faring noticably more poorly!

[salmonMax] 6:58 pm: Okay, rolling Sigil's dispel check.

SalmonMax *rolls* 1d20: 7+6: 13

[salmonMax] 6:58 pm: Hah! Um

[salmonMax] 6:58 pm: Extra Effort for +2 power.

[salmonMax] 6:58 pm: /roll 1d20+8

[salmonMax] 6:58 pm: Warning ! Only IRC subset can be used (Type /? or /help for list of IRC commands)

SalmonMax *rolls* 1d20: 13+8: 21

[salmonMax] 6:58 pm: BETTER

[Superball]

Naomi smiled. She couldn't believe she was rooting for the faerie as it went to war.

She saw a couple people were gawking and something in Naomi thought they were too close.

"Everyone! Stay clear! We're dealing with something paranormal! Let the lady do her work."

Naomi loses herself again, and Bo gets hold. Naomi's bandage was looking redder.

"Ya might not need stitches, but that wound is really goin... I'll get that medkit you brought and get that shiner closed. "

Naomi nodded. "Yeah... I was bleeding like a stuck pig in the Beast."

She looked at the blood covering her suit. "I look worse off than I am."

[Hellhound]

The first time the strange darkness left Russelina's form the frail body of the girl's eyes flickered and she gasped. Only to return to silence as the hex returned to her.

Then came the magnificent spell woven in poetry and the hex rose from the body of the girl to do battle once more. The girl's back arched, clearly racked with pain. But her eyes were open and she was conscious. That much was a step forward. As the two spells clashed, the girl's mouth stretched open in a silent scream. She continued to write in pain as parts of her form twisted and changed. Something about her was changing, or at least trying to. Her arms and chest became more robust. Her hair became shorter, and it's color began to darken. But they were not rapid changes. They were slow. Slow and very very painful from the looks of it.

The changes began to stutter. There was no smooth return to normalcy. The modifications came in spurts and some of them were even undone from time to time, replacing what progress had been made toward Russ' original form with that of the girl once more.

The battle between the two otherworldly powers raged on, and though Russ now thankfully had at least some of his senses about him once more, he could do nothing but hope his new faerie benefactor would eventually meet with some success.

As he lay wracked with pain, he counted his incredible luck that the Hellhound that made up the other half of his being had not yet been returned to him. With it gone, his senses were still very very dulled. Very thankfully the removal of the curse was only blindingly painful rather than maddening...

[Superball]

Naomi sat on the hood of THE BEAST as she let Bo work on her wounds. She saw all the events of the superhatural battle for Russell's survival occur and she was quite pleased when she say Russell's body return... although she regretted not seeing Russell stay a girl... she was sort of cute... well would be if she wasn't wracked with Tuberculosis.

Naomi stung a complaint as Bo applied rubbing alcohol on Naomi's cut. "Girl don't move, you're gonna mess up my work here. Might get some of this in your eye, then you'd be cryin."

"Yeah yeah..."

She sighed through the stings. Wondering what the Faerie had in store. "Well... 28 days... I hope my sanity will take it."

"Want my opinion? Shoulda just not took the deal."

Naomi looked at Bo. "No... Russell is my teammate. It's a small trade. Be thankful it wasn't my life for his."

Bo gulped realizing in a buiness like this that could happen. He rapped on the door of THE BEAST for luck when Naomi mentioned that.

"Not like any silly superstition will change your odds, Bo."

Bo just shook his head as he continued.

[SalmonMax]

Finally the shadow in Russell was achingly torn from his body, silently screaming and clawing at him as it went; making Sigil fight for every inch until it was ripped free. For a moment it writhed in midair, blindly trying to find its target again...but without anything to hold onto, it began to break up and finally dissolved entirely away.

The light of the counterspell faded as Sigil lowered her wand. Whatever one's feelings about the deal made, there was no denying she'd worked hard to uphold her end of it. She was visibly diminished in grandeur, shoulders a little slumped, gait a little heavier. A bit less immortal fey, a bit more tired human.

"Infernal magic," she muttered irritably. "A demon, or human taught by one. Nasty things."

With a deep breath Sigil squared her shoulders and stood up straighter. "It's done though. The curse is thoroughly broken." She glanced down and added, "He's already awake as well."

She leaned down a bit, looming directly over Russell's head and poked him with the tip of her wand. No magic. Just a poke. Even with her magic faded a bit, she was still gorgeous as she peered down at him. A model's body, a face that perfectly blended innocent youthful freshness with the knowing experience of age...the elegance of a princess' features, but under a wild tousle of red hair.

"Are you still sane?" she asked loudly, in the kind of voice usually used by tourists to ask the locals where the nearest hotel is. "Can you speak?"

[Hellhound]

"Infernal magic," she muttered irritably. "A demon, or human taught by one. Nasty things."

"Are you still sane?" she asked loudly, in the kind of voice usually used by tourists to ask the locals where the nearest hotel is. "Can you speak?"

Indeed he was awake. A little non-plussed as well. "Hey, point that thing somewhere else." Russell managed to croak in true Han Solo fashion. He sat up, and his eyes locked with those of his savior for a moment. "And watch what you say about demons. They're not all bad. You just need to know how to handle them."

God she was beautiful. For once, Russell was very glad he didn't have the devil on his shoulder. He was already otherwise involved.

"I heard you earlier. Russ is my nickname." He extended his hand in greeting. "And just in case you really are Fae, we'll keep it to nicknames for now. I've got enough trouble without giving anyone else any power over me. All the same, thanks."

[z-Blitz]

Blitz knelt next to Russ after he was he again. She started to react to the redheaded woman poking him with her stick but stopped herself. If she reacted right now, it would probably have a fair amount of violence behind the action. Instead she remained a silent support as she counted under her breath, working on getting her temper in hand. The woman got that leeway only because she’d returned Russ to his normal form.

“Yes, thanks for giving Russ back his form. I’m Val.” Blitz was more her name than Val or Valentine, so Val it was. Plus, she was in her street clothes, not her costume. Masks were another kind of protection against the fae, or so she was remembering. She could be wrong; she had never dealt with the fae directly. Her eyes darted back to the insanely beautiful creature before she asked, “And who are you?”

[Superball]

Bo finishes up his first aid work. "Well... yer not gonna be steady on yer legs, but you're lookin' good."

Naomi looks in a rearview mirror, and sees the bandage looked quite less bulky. "Thanks."

She closes her helmet faceplate again and walks over to where Russ, Blitz, and Sigil were. Well, as best as she could with her slightly lowered blood pressure.

"I and Colby will work on getting your dog back, Russ. Although I'd think you enjoy not having that with you." Naomi said, turning to Blitz. "We'll probably have to keep Blitz under observation for a bit since she was around you before we took precautions."

Naomi leans against the ambulance. "You really love the guy, don't ya?"

She adjusts her helmet before clearing her throat.

"That and I'll have to rest for a few days, seem my weakness more comes from my loss of blood after our accident than the concussion... Although I'll probably have to see a doctor at HQ to assess the initial damage."

"Other than that... seems mission accomplished. Everyone's alive, mostly well, and we'll probably have to sanitize the scene here."

She sighed. "But seeing Russ is alright gives me some relief."

[SalmonMax]

"Who am I?"

Sigil stood up straight again and gave Val a curious look, trying to decide if she just hadn't heard her introduction from before, or if she was asking a deeper question.

"A visitor," she said. "One who is very far from home. Please call me Sigil. I'll leave you to your reunion for now. Perhaps later we can speak more."

With a quick step she moved over to Naomi. She didn't exactly tower over the younger woman, but the difference in height was quite noticible. "I have many many questions for you, guide," she said, "But first...I would like to eat."

[Heritage]

Colby cleared her throat.

"Uh, okay, why don't we...why don't we get everybody back to the HQ, alright?" She indicated Russ with a nod. "Then we can open the trap up in a safe environment; I can work a spell net that will catch our ghost but allow the hell-pooch to pass freely, and we can have a medic on hand to give Balloon Girl a quick check-up."

She turned to Bo, now finished with patching up Naomi. 'Bo-meister, can you call ahead and see if Kiki can order some food in for our new guest?" The detective then addressed the fae monarch. "You probably like pheasant and weird shit like that, right? Or can you eat pretty much anything?"

- - - - -

Back At The Team Headquarters:

"Before we do anything else, we need to get Russell's friend back where he belongs."

Colby and Russ were in a cleared section of the library with the reading tables pulled aside; the witch said she could probably due the ritual by herself, but anyone else was welcome to watch. As she spoke, she was marking out a circle on the carpet with a can of hot pink Silly String of all things, with Naomi's improvised trap in the middle.

"And after that, we should all have a nice appetite!" Then she added a few symbols around the edge, humming as she worked; when she was done, she gestured towards the diagram. "Okay, Russ, would you be kind enough to step in the circle? The sooner we finish, the sooner we eat."

[Hellhound]

"Yea, sure." Russ nodded. His head was still pounding. Without the other half of his being, he just wasn't himself. Since the exchange in the alley, he'd been drained, exhausted, and irritable. But hopefully now, he could get back to what he'd come to consider normal.

Not knowing what to truly expect, he released his grip on Val's hand, and stepped across the threshold of Colby's complicated runes and into the center of the circle. This was something he had to do, like it, or not. But luckily for Russell if there was one thing he had in spades it was determination. He'd see this thing through come hell and high water.

"So, now what? You want me to sit? Or stand?" He asked, through labored breaths. He looked toward Colby for further direction.

In a few moments he knew the trap would open. He knew the hound would instantly be drawn to him. But he also knew that Strick would be free within the circle, and he would be pissed. Russell, wasn't sure if he would have to wrestle Strick down again, or what, but whatever happened, he knew he'd come out on top.

Russell Buchanan wasn't done being a part of this world. No, not yet, he thought, For once I've actually got something to live for. He cast a sideways glance toward Val.

[SalmonMax]

Sigil watched Colby's preparations with interest at first, but her interest waned as she recognized what the witch was doing. When she laid the circle from some strange hissing device, she couldn't help but chuckle. That circle was fragile enough for a stiff wind to break. What kind of serious practitioner didn't have an engraved circle, or at least a cloth with a circle woven into it?

Everything she'd seen of the mortal world was intensely confusing. The only thing in it she recognized were basic utensils like spoons and doors and windows...and people. Her eyes told her there was magic everywhere...and yet she couldn't sense magic power being used. It was as if the mortals had learned to harness the powers of nature without magic, which seemed ludicrous.

But here she was in a room lit by rods of pure light, and the only magic in the air came from that witch and her foamy pink circle.

Naomi, while affable, wasn't as much help as Sigil had hoped. The girl had no experience with magic so she rarely understood what Sigil was asking, and tended to try to explain things in arcane speech as formidable as any wizard's cypher.

She HAD managed to glean though that this unlikely group constituted a kind of city guard, each with unusual powers and sworn to defend their home. That thought made her smile.

They'd be perfect.

[Heritage]

"So, now what? You want me to sit? Or stand?"

Colby blinked a few times. "Uh, sure, you can sit down." She grabbed a chair and put it in the circle with him. "Here you go; you've had a pretty shitty day, you should definitly take a load off."

Once Russ was comfortable, the detective-vodun priestess handed him the small charred can. "Just hold onto the that, and we'll get started." She lit a single candle and placed it on a tea saucer on the floor just outside the circle. "Everybody ready?" She then closed her eyes and began to rhythmically sing in West African Ewe and clap her hands, her body swaying from side to side; this was not stiff white girl dancing, but an oddly intimate performance, as though she was completely unaware of the others' presence. The repetitive song began to take on a droning quality, and the hand claps became strangely muffled, as though the air itself was getting thicker or they were all underwater.

As Colby writhed in a sort of trance, the candle began to flicker and the overhead lights blinked and sputtered before going out completely with a pop; the hair on the back of everyone's arms and necks rose as the room went dark but for the dancing flame.

Somehwere in the darkness by the door, Kiki whispered, "We're not alone."

[Superball]

Naomi had set up her suit in the decontamination chamber in the lab, a system that used many different stringents, UV Light, and other cleaning chemicals that would kill any bacteria or render any virus inert. She was... impressed.

She decided to put on some clothes for some dirty work, a military surplus flight-suit over a white T-shirt. She indeed looked like a ghostbuster now... all she needed was the proton pack.

She walked in, Bo's reqorked bandage and tape stitches holding firm, and knowing Colby's mojo she decided to keep some distance, keeping next to Sigil.

We're not alone.

The thought crossed Naomi's mind... what if it was the wrong guy... Colby better have mer mystical firewalls up or they're hooped!

[Hellhound]

Russell took the seat and set it in the center of the circle, he sat heavily in the chair and stared intently at the can. "Whatever happens, no one enter the circle." he warned.

Somehwere in the darkness by the door, Kiki whispered, "We're not alone."

Scarcely had the words left Kiki's mouth when the room was suddenly alight with a bright torrent of flame erupting from the can. It lasted only a fraction of a second, before giving way to a jet of flames shooting away from Russell accompanied by a loud bang reminiscent of cannon fire.

The jet of flames crashed into the inside of the circle's barrier just in front of Colby's face. The flames washed over the magical containment wall and finally seemed to dissipate. The flames didn't extinguish entirely. There was something left at the edge of the circle.

It was a hound the likes of which none in the room had laid eyes on before. It was Enormous, standing around four and a half feet tall at the shoulder covered entirely in unnaturally coal-black fur. It's eyes... It's eyes burned an unsettling red. Their color deeper than blood, deeper than sin. Surely, this hound was not of their mortal world, but something else entirely. The throat of the enormous beast rumbled with a feral snarl that seemed to shake the entire building.

In the center of the circle, Russell was motionless in the chair. The can that had served as the trap for the ghost had toppled from his now limp hand. He stared ahead into the darkness, not at the hound, not even at anything in particular. He just stared. "Heel". the word, spoken calmly broke the sound of the hound's feral growl and it turned to face him. Russell did not react. The hound whirled in place and fixed his burning eyes on Russell.

The hound barked. The minds of everyone in the room was assaulted by a rasping, harsh voice. "Heel? Heel?! No... I've escaped from your influences. I've escaped from this infernal containment." The voice seemed to chuckle at the use of the hellish adjective. Apparently, this demon sported an ironic sense of humor. "You'll not control me any longer." The hound began to circle Russel in a Predatory manner. It circled the outside of the circle with hungry eyes. Russell sat motionless in the center.

"I can and I will. You and I are part of one whole. Bound to each other. Like it or not, you're part of me, just as I'm part of you." A shock collar with vicious spikes suddenly appeared around the neck of the hound. The hound winced and shook it's head, but couldn't seem to shake the collar. It continued to circle, nearing one full completion, "Strick." Russell's ghostly whisper continued, "What's become of him,"

"Strick? Ha!" The hound completed it's circle and sat on it's haunches in front of Russell, "That simpering fool. He puts all ghosts to shame and deserves not the title of Demon." The hound bared it's teeth. Its wicked 3-inch fangs like were sharp as razors, "I killed him!" the voice barked. "He was tasty. As I'm sure you'll be!"

The hound leaped from its haunches straight at Russell's throat! Russell, miraculously, finally seemed to find control of his body once more, reacting just in the nick of time. He stood from the chair so quickly that it shot out from behind him, coming dangerously close to breaking the circle.

Russell stalled the hound's attack by latching the creature's shock collar with both hands. It was on top of him, lashing out at his face and neck. It's jaws snapped faster than the human eye could follow. Russell's face and shoulders began to accumulate a set of wicked looking lacerations as the hound tore at his flesh.

Then the tide of the struggle changed. Russell's hand clamped over the hound's muzzle and he threw it to the side, throwing his weight on top of it. Uncharacteristically, the hound seemed to let loos a whimper. With his left hand around the creature's snout, holding it closed, he pulled at something on his own neck. A dog collar of his own had appeared. A fiery spectral chain began to extend from the collar led by his hand. He quickly attached the chain to the dog's collar while it whimpered and wailed. The rasping voice rang out in their heads, "No! I will not go back!"

"A deal was made. A pact was sealed.

Hound of Hell it's power revered.

Satan's guard unto another.

Spirit given to protective brother.

A price was paid. Partnership congealed.

A paltry sum, one man's soul.

Paid to achieve a desperate goal.

Hound of hell thou art mine to keep.

Until life's flame extinguished be.

The bargain filled, and my soul reaped.

Submit, fell demon! Return unto me!"

No sooner had Russell finished chanting than the hound burst into a cloud of fire and smoke. Russell's arms stretched out, and his back arched with what looked like a strange mixture of pain and euphoria. The smoke and flames were sucked into his chest.

All at once, the room went completely silent, the summoning candle was extinguished and there was nothing but pitch.

[Superball]

The sudden events knock SB back... her legs were still wobbly... she really needed to eat just to up her protien to help get her blood back up to normal again.

"Son of a..."

She blinked... did her device just not only catch two for the price of one, but the one they wanted to retrieve consumed what they wanted to deal with?

Naomi's head spun.This was too many shocks for one day.

"Ohhhhh.... That's...."

Yes, it was crazy.

[SalmonMax]

Sigil, leaning against the wall farther over towards the door to the room, blew air out her nose. Between the witch and the warlock, there was at least one decent showman among them. The prickly feel of the veil thinning, the magic interfering with the lights...not that they were doing it on purpose, but mortal thaumaturgy was always geared towards lowering the barriers in the minds of the watchers, so they wouldn't unconsciously mess up the actual spell...which was usually quite subtle among the fireworks.

The demon now, that was another story. She'd spied it being drawn into the vessel, she realized. The rest...made no sense to her.

"Diabolism," she said tonelessly, disapproving. She gave Colby a look. "A bit of a surprise from someone claiming to be a white witch."

Then her green-eyed gaze swept across to Russell. "And to think I saved your life, just so you could damn yourself. What was your bargain, doomed one? Power? The love of a woman?" She flicked her eyes ever so briefly at Val, then back.

"Whatever it was, it wasn't worth it."

[Hellhound]

Deep within the murky darkness of the circle of protection, Russell suppressed a growl. For the first time since their encounter with Strick he was finally thinking clearly.

He realized he was exhausted. He wanted to sling curses at the Fairy for being so cavalier about the situation.

What right does she have? She doesn't know shit about us.

Shut up, you. You're still in the doghouse.

It had been a long day. He didn't need to make it any worse.

When he emerged into the dim light of the rest of the room, it became clear that his injuries at the hands of the hound had miraculously healed. He approached Sigil and even dared meet her gaze, "It's not her fault." He nodded toward Colby. "I've was like this before she even met me."

"I've already thanked you once for saving me earlier, so I'm not sure what you want. Far as I know, you can't just take it back. That curse has been dissolved. It's long gone. If you're thinking about trying something else, I'd think twice." Russell's eyes briefly flashed red.

"But you're new here, so I'll cut you some slack. I'm not your every day pit fiend. I'm not a bad guy. I'm not on their side. And I do not appreciate you judging me. You don't know the whole story. So I'd like it very much if you'd keep the rest of your insults to yourself. It's been a pretty long day for me. I've had it about up to here," He gestured with his right hand, leveling it with the top of his head, "With shit from different worlds and planes. I don't feel like adding Faeries to that list, so please don't give me a reason to. Don't be so quick to judge something you know nothing about."

For a moment, it looked like he'd say more, but then he turned on his heel and made for the door, "I need some fucking coffee." He said, stripping his tie from his shirt and tossing it over the fallen chair within the circle.

[Superball]

"Great to see you're back to full, Russ." Naomi said with a weak smile. "I just made a few tweaks and did some maintenance on the coffee machine before our mission, so it should be running properly now... unless a pot is already made, so the result will speak for itself."

She gets herself slowly to her feet to prevent a fainting spell. She looks over to Sigil. "I think over dinner I should give you a short briefing on what is going on with our group.I'm sure Russ' situation is more complex than is to the eye."

She straightens her outfit a bit, looking a bit flustered. "And another thing, since you are trying to understand things with us, Russell has been a trustworthy, stalwart ally of our group, despite his condition. He isn't the evil you seem to believe him to be."

Naomi wasn't completely sure on the circumstances... "He did it for love."

Naomi has read enough romance novels to be a sucker for this sort of tragedy.

"Some people are willing to sacrifice their soul for another to live... might seem silly... I think it is a nobility that is unquantifiable."

[Heritage]

Kiki followed Russ out of the room and back into the command center. "Yes, I already made coffee, and the food is here!" She gestured towards the folding table she'd set up, piled high with food; not sure what everyone was hungry for, the young redhead had apparently ordered everything from a local restaurant's delivery menu. There were two large pizzas (one veggie, one pepperoni), an aluminum tray of lasagna, five full orders of fried chicken, garlic bread and mozzarella sticks. There was also a fresh urn of coffee, a case of ice-cold bottled water, several two liters of soda, and bottles of Smirnoff, Bacardi and Jack Daniels. The wall of smells was intoxicating. "Uh, the booze if from Mike's office. Dig in!"

Colby held her tongue for a while, waiting for the others to say their piece. She pulled an electric lantern out of her bottomless bag, switched it on and set it on the table. "For the record, I never said I was a white witch; at best, I'm a light dove gray." Then she pulled a broom and dustpan out and began to sweep up the Silly String circle by the lantern's light. "I'm a cop, Sigil; I don't always have the comfort of moral certainty. I catch the bad guys." She stopped to lean on her broom and chuckled. "Of course in this case, the bad guy was eaten, which will admittedly be very hard to explain to the rest of the department."

[Superball]

"Simple, Colby... We fed the Dog."

"In a way there is a ironic comedic punchline in all this. He was consumed by his own evil."

She looked over to Sigil. "C'mon... I'll show you the command center when you're ready. Dinner should be there. I really should ask... do you have any dietary requirements that I must take note of?"

[SalmonMax]

Sigil watched Russell go, and listened to Naomi and Colby. The food announced was tugging unbearably at her nose...a welcome relief from the strange smell of fire that constantly burned in the air here...but she paused to answer the concerns of the others. She'd had to pry at Russ a bit, to see what was beneath. Now she felt she understood, despite his claims.

"I disagree, guide. It is neither silly, nor unquantifiable. His story is as old as stories themselves. Men seek power for themselves...or for others. I wanted to see which. Now I know. That's all."

She looked briefly back at the door he'd stormed out through. "It was important to know."

"Colby, my words for you were unwarranted. Your spell only contained the demon. The rest, he did. I was wrong to imply you had anything else to do with this. I will make amends." She smiled. "For what it's worth, being a 'cop' does not seem far different from being a white witch to me. No honest witch would ever claim to be better than 'light grey.' Nor would any honest queen."

The smile spreads to a grin. "Should there ever be one."

With a quick dusting of hands, Sigil turned to face the aromatic door.

"Now then, guide! Please come with me to the 'command center.' I will need you to point out only the best foods, as I can smell that there is a great deal. That is my only requirement at this time."

She hustled off to eat at last.

[Superball]

Naomi nodded to Colby. "My suit's in Decon right now, should be clean by morning. Also I'll be getting screened for TB in a couple days, just to make sure. Although I'm sure I didn't come into any contact with Russ' body fluids during, but I did have an open cut."

"I'll have to attend to Sigil, if only to make sure she didn't do anything too... harsh. I don't mind her though, really. If I can keep her out of trouble, the better."

Naomi starts to follow along. The smell of the Lasagna was compelling her to actually skip a little.

"Okay guys, no drama policy! Let's enjoy ourselves! There is no evil ghost killing the citizens of our city, Blitz and Russ are okay, and... well... I've earned my first scar!" She says, pointing to the bandage on her forehead. "A productive day, I would say."

She smiled. She was actually proud of her performance.

[Hellhound]

Kiki followed Russ out of the room and back into the command center. "Yes, I already made coffee, and the food is here!" She gestured towards the folding table she'd set up, piled high with food; not sure what everyone was hungry for, the young redhead had apparently ordered everything from a local restaurant's delivery menu. There were two large pizzas (one veggie, one pepperoni), an aluminum tray of lasagna, five full orders of fried chicken, garlic bread and mozzarella sticks. There was also a fresh urn of coffee, a case of ice-cold bottled water, several two liters of soda, and bottles of Smirnoff, Bacardi and Jack Daniels. The wall of smells was intoxicating. "Uh, the booze if from Mike's office. Dig in!"

"Thanks, Kiki," an exhausted Russell smiled at their assistant, "I could use a nice stiff drink right about now. Though I'm not sure I'm hungry. I can't remember the last time I ate, but I feel like I just ate a cow." He held a hand over his stomach and made a disgusted face.

Russell moved to the table and fixed himself a Rum and Coke. As he took his first sip, he started to feel some of his cares lift from his shoulders.

It had been a long day. But any day he didn't wind up in the ground was a good day in his eyes. Already halfway through his Rum and Coke, he turned to greet his teammates with a smile as they entered the Command Center.

[Superball]

Naomi smelled the one thing that could light light up her mood.

*sniff sniff* "Ohhhhh... Just what the doctor ordered!" Naomi says, happily sauntering over to the Lasagna. "All that meat... all that sawss..."

Her grin was from ear to ear as she took a reasonibly large portion and a fork, and grabbed a large orange juice that was specially ordered for her. "This should be a good stimulus package for my hemoglobin production!"

She smiled at Russ. "Now, don't go too wild, we might get called in on an emergency. Although me..."

Sitting down she crosses her legs and begins to eat. "I think I might need a few days. Just a couple."

She's earned her first scar. There was a little sense of pride in her, other than the mild headache. "I'm just glad everyone is okay. Well that and the city... I think if we manage to survive, usually that is also because... well... we accomplished our mission."

She lifts up her juice. "To many more happy returns?"

[z-Blitz]

Val had been standing as close to the circle as she dared when the ritual had started. When the hellhound had appeared, she’d jumped backwards. She didn’t stop backpedaling until she reached a wall. Pale-faced, she pressed against the wall, watching as one of her nightmares played out in front of her. The vicious demonic hound. Someone she cared about. The leap and snapping teeth.

It wasn’t exactly the way it had played out. Russ stopped the demon and then absorbed it. Christy had died. But those events had featured so prominently in her nightmares she was unable to separate them now. Thankfully, Russ and everyone else was so caught up in Russ’s drama that she went mostly unnoticed. In fact, she was given a few blissful moments alone after everyone had followed Russ or their noses out of the room.

What the hell am I doing here? Teen angst reared its ugly head as Val pressed her hands to her face. She should have split the second she’d figure out who Russ was. That would have been the smart thing. But nooooo, she had to let a cute smile and some adorably rumpled hair get the better of her common sense.

She could still run. Val had done it before; she knew who to talk to when she needed new identities. She could go back to a life of crime, only she could be like Robin Hood or Catwoman—stealing from those that deserved it. Her green eyes flicked toward the open door, toward the freedom of the open street and anonymity. She wouldn’t have to lie anymore—not that lying itself bothered her. What bothered her was what was going to happen when screwed up. Ben was right. It was a bad idea for someone like them to form relationships where they couldn’t be themselves.

“Shit.” Val had no idea what she was going to do. All she knew was she really didn’t want to run away from this job. Or from Russ.

Pulling herself together, she went to join the others for food. She found many of them eating, but some drinking. “Good idea,” she muttered as she headed for the Rum.

Mike intercepted her and shook his head in mute warning. “Sorry. No alcohol for you for three years.”

Val sighed. “Alright.” More subdued than normal, she grabbed some grub and took the seat next to Russ. She smiled at him, but her weariness was clear.