Mutants & Masterminds: Lake City Universe - HoH: Looking Through A Glass Onion (IC)

[Heritage]

Colby snorted as she pulled a laptop, overhead projector and folding projector screen and stand out of her bag; from time to time, slender feminine hands with many rings and unusual skin tones were briefly visible helping with the gear from inside the bag. "'Grandma Baba Yaga', huh? Well, the truth might be stranger than you think." She quickly set up her presentation equipment with the skill of a practiced academic, and in just a few minutes, Blitz and Russ were looking at her desktop, which had the image of a beaming Colby, on a sofa nearly smothered under a pile of adorable nieces and nephews, as the wallpaper.

,,

"Okay, so a few things first." Noticing Blitz and her perpetual fidgeting, she held up a hand. "Don't worry, I'm giving you guys the short version." She cleared her throat and continued. "Alright, there are three kinds of ways that humans can use magic. Ritualists like me have to do it the hard way, by doing a lot of research, studying obscure tribal practices and making potions, fetishes or whatever; given enough time and materials, we can be pretty potent, but off the cuff, we have a lot of problems."

,,

She paused to reach deep into her bag and pull out a bottle of Dasani; after a quick sip, she continued.

,,

"Arcanists start out a lot like ritualists, but all they're trying to do is find the True Name of some powerful extra-dimensional entity to use as a bargaining chip; they then make a protective circle, summon the poor beastie and strike a deal." The detective shrugged. "Traditionally, we're talking 'selling your soul to a demon', but there are others ways this can be done, but almost any way you do it, you're getting tremendous power for a very short-term gain. Most arcanists are dead and buried within ten years of striking their deal."

,,

Colby then stopped dramatically, took a step towards Russell and pointed at him.

,,

"Now I know what you're thinking - 'Hey, that sounds like me', but you're wrong." She began counting points off on her fingers. "You didn't do any kind of occult research, you didn't draw a magic circle and you sure as Hell don't know your devil dog's True Name. So why the fuck did he show up?"

,,

And now she tapped a few keys on her computer, and a two pictures appeared side by side; an old man in a hooded robe with a long wispy beard, and a stooped old woman bent over a staff, crouched in front of a hut that stood on a pair of giant chicken legs. Colby grinned like an idiot and shook her head like she was impressed.

,,

"It's because you've got magic in your blood, my friend; old dark magic that goes all the way back to the Old County." She hurried over to the screen and indicated the two figures. "Now these aren't your actual relatives; they're just clip art I found on the Internet, but they do represent the two sides of your family tree, the two ancient bloodlines that crossed, giving you the potential to be so much more than a mere ritualist or arcanist."

,,

She stepped over to Russell and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

,,

"You, sir, are a will-worker, and there is no limit to what you can do."

[Hellhound]

"I..." Russell stammered as he stared into Colby's background images of his clip-art-ancestors,

,,

"You, sir, are a will-worker, and there is no limit to what you can do."

,,

"Shit... really?" Russell held an expression on his face that was a strange mix of begrudging comprehension and disbelief. Like some of what had happened to him was finally starting to actually make a little sense. Now, Russell wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed sometimes, but he certainly wasn't the dullest either, "So you're saying that all that hokus pokus from my childhood was exactly that: Hokus Pokus. Like, real magic. Colby, what's this all mean? Exactly what is a will-worker?"

[Heritage]

Colby pursed her lips and took a sip of water; as she swallowed. she sort of rocked her head from side-to-side, like she was trying to work something out herself. Finally she set the bottle down and took a seat on the table next to her laptop.

,,

"Will-workers are very hard to pidgeon-hole, since in many ways no two are exactly alike. I guess the common denominators are that they are natural conduits of magical power, and that some sort of extraodinary event occurs that unlocks that power." She leveled her gaze at Russ. "You don't train to be a will-worker; it's thrust upon you by circumstances beyond your control. And your bloodlines help to shape the kind of magic forces you can control."

,,

The detective leaned over to tap the return key on her computer; the picture of the man with the beard went out of focus and some text scrolled across it.

CLAN BUCHANAN

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IRISH FAMILY WITH ROOTS IN SCOTLAND AND DENMARK

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BLOODLINE: STORMS

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POWER OVER: WEATHER, EMOTIONS, COMBAT

,,

The witch tapped the projector screen a few times, making it ripple. "Your dad's family? These were the guys who were naked and painted blue when they fought the Romans. These were the guys who invoked the name of Thor and Odin when the went into battle, foaming at the mouth and gnawing off the edges of their shields. Stone cold badasses." Colby smiled. "Druids and barbarians, my friend, striking down their enemies with lightning and axes, summoning fog and sleet to blind and confuse their enemies. Scary people who knew how to party." She shugged as she fetched her bottle again. "But, that line is pretty thin by now, like all the bloodlines; nothing would have happened if you called on the powers of Hell, except-" And then she leaned over to tap her keyborad again, and now it was the old crone's turn to go all blurry and covered with text.

MYKOLAITIS FAMILY

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LITHUANIAN, CHANGED NAME TO 'MICHAELS' AT ELLIS ISLAND

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BLOODLINE: BONES

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POWER OVER: FATE, LUCK, PROPHECY

,,

The vodun priestess pretended to looked shocked. "Oh my God, what do we have here? Mom's family isn't so white bread after all!" She smacked the screen hard, and the crone went all wobbly. "The Mykolaitis family, a seething pool of Baltic, Slavic and yes, even a little Romany blood. Luck thieves, card readers, casters of lots. Curses that would curl your hair, or make it all fall out, more likely. Lots of bad mojo."

,,

Colby hopped off the table and made her way back over to Russel's side. "These-" She gestured back towards the screen. "Are two very powerful bloodlines, going all the way back to humanity's early days on the African plains." She brought both her hands together, meshing the fingers. "Combine them, and we are starting to see some very scary potential here." She leaned forward and poked the stunned young man a few times in the chest. "That is why Augie Doggie heard your cry for help; your ancestors made deals with his kind centuries ago, maybe even thousands or millions of years." She spread her hands as she started to pace back and forth. "So now the Hellhound hears you, is bound to you, and more importantly, changes you so that you can direct his power through yourself." Colby shook her head. "That is something that neither myself nor any other ritualist can do, and very few arcanists, at least for any length of time before they burn up."

,,

She took a deep breath. "Actually, it's pretty fucking cool, although scary as hell, too. You wanna know who some of your fellow classmates were at Will-worker School?" She grabbed two glossy pictures from her manila folder and held them up on either side of her head; one showed a pretty young brunette in a black mask and dark grey leather costume, the other a very scary-looking Eurasian man in bright orange prison outfit, his head, chest and arms bound in some sort of complex metalic restraint.

,,

"Grimalkin and Silver Sorcerer, aka Penumbra. And we all know how they both turned out."

[z-Blitz]

Blitz’s eyes widened at the revelation of Grimalkin’s connection to Russ. “Wait,” she interjected, “what kind of will-worker is Grimalkin? I thought she was a fairy, not a human with fairy magic. And if that’s the case… what does that mean for Russ?”

Val put her hand on her boyfriend’s shoulder, the only physical comfort she could give him in public. She’d properly console him later, when they had privacy. For now, it was all she could do to let him know that in her own way, she understood. She had her own nasty origin story, too. She just couldn’t tell him that, and once again, she felt the loneliness of that isolation.

[Hellhound]

"It means..." Russ struggled to find the words, "That Grimalkin had a similar circumstance as me. She had some event that altered her life and made her what she is." Russell gently plucked the photos from Colby's hands and held one in each of his hands. He gazed hard at the picture of Grimalkin. When Blitz placed her hand on his shoulder he seemed to be jolted out of a sort of trance, "...But if she's part faery," he thought aloud, "Then that would mean that by this point, I'm probably part demon..." He looked over his shoulder and locked Blitz gaze in his own, trying to get a sense for her thoughts.

,,

Yes, let the power of the Dark Side flow through you...

Seriously? You're an ancient demon! How do you know so many pop culture references?!

Hey, just because it's Hell doesn't mean we don't get cable. We just only ever get the Starz Network and Family Learning Channel.

Jeez, that does sound like Hell.

Like you wouldn't believe. And don't even get me started on the commercials. They go on for years! Actual years! Sometimes you have no idea what you're even watching anymore.

I am so, so, sorry.

Hey, I don't want your pity. But really, why do you think I volunteered for this position. It sucks down there!

Huh, I never thought about it like that... Still I can't believe they gave you Star Wars in hell...

Oh, it was only the prequels.

You know, I should have seen that one coming.

,,

"Colby," Russ addressed the detective once more, "This makes a lot of sense. It explains at least in part why I've always felt in control. Every time you hear of demon posessions and things of that nature, it usually results in the host body being completely dominated and forced into submission. Like all those exorsist-ey head-spinning films. That's never been the case with me. Although..." He gazed down at the photo of Penumbra in his right hand, "I'm guessing that it's a pretty slippery slope until things get out of hand."

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He handed the pictures back to the detective and looked toward the pictures of his ancestors, "You said that you don't train to be a will-worker, but why not? I mean, think about those Scottish Berserkers. They don't tell stories about them because they were able to take a beating but died right after the battle. They tell those stories because those men survived what would easily kill a lesser man. That takes training. The ability to ignore that kind of pain and injury, even if it comes from a spell, you'd need to practice to be able to direct that willpower. I know this because I've done it." He held up a fist, and it became wreathed in flames, "There's a trick I've got that you haven't seen yet. If I get injured, like stabbed or shot, I can touch another person and draw away some of their life force to heal myself. It's loads of fun when you combine it with a kidney shot or something like that. But the catch is, that it doesn't last. The moment I stop concentrating on it, the injury comes back. Just as bad, if not worse." Russell was silent for a moment, letting the flames dissipate. He soldiered on, "On my mother's side. The Mykolaitis line. If they're the type of gypsy fortune tellers I'm thinking of, their spells and things didn't just occur. They needed something to focus on. A voodoo doll, or crystal ball, or witch's brew." He looked between the two women, "Why can't I do that? Why can't I train? Maybe I can combine the discipline and focus of Bones with the raw power and force of will that comes from Storms?" He turned to look over the library and waved his arms toward the books, "Why can't I learn this stuff?" He picked up the pictures of Grimalkin and Penumbra again, "It'd sure as hell make this job a lot easier, and learning to master these powers I've got would probably help make sure I don't end up like these two." He smacked the pictures with the back of his hand.

,,

"Colby, you've done a hell of a lot figuring out where I've come from. But have you got any suggestions on where I go from here?"

[Heritage]

Colby smiled and shook her head. "Let's get a few things clear; when I meant you can't train a will-worker, I meant you can't train to become one. That doesn't mean you can get better at your abilities once you have them. And yes, even a little fore-knowledge before the transformation can help; it's just not the key to the power."

,,

She moved to Russell's side and carefully took back the picture of Grimalkin. "Russ is half-right about Grim; she was born a human of the Moon and Bones bloodlines, but at the point of death, something she won't...wouldn't talk to me about-" The detective sighed deeply. "She became something else; her mortal body is dead and gone, but her spirit or soul lives on in a fae body composed of pure glamour that transforms at her will." She jerked her head upwards, toward the general direction Sigil's seemed to have gone. "Until Her Worshipfullness showed up, I thought Grimalkin was unique, but now I'm not so sure."

,,

The witch set the glossy aside and then placed a hand on the hell-touched man's upper arm. "I'd be happy you help you develop your powers further, in any way I can, but remember that you need to stay in control of it; if you relinquish that control, your power will destroy you." She gave his arm a gentle squeeze. "And you're right; you probably aren't fully human anymore."

[Hellhound]

Russell actually seemed to accept that news rather well. It had been something that he'd expected for a while. He'd come to terms with it as a possible eventuality long ago. After all, what human could manifest the type of powers he could? Just because someone was telling him out loud didn't mean his world had to come crumbling down. "It's okay, Colby," Russell shrugged off her concerns, "I think most of me saw that coming long ago. Hearing you say it just seals the deal. I can't say I've got an issue with it. After all, it doesn't really affect how I feel or act. Even if I'm not strictly human, I've still got my humanity, and that's what matters to me."

,,

"As for staying in control..." His gaze settled on the picture of Penumbra once more. He stared into it like he was getting lost in a dream for a few painstaking moments, "I've worked way too hard to manage that thus far to let it go now. I have absolutely no desire to end up like him." A sudden thought occurred to him that made his face pale, "In fact, while I'm happy I'll be able to train my powers, I think there's something else we need to do before we even start that process." He looked from Colby to Blitz and his gaze settled on her eyes, "We've got to come up with a way to stop me, if I ever do lose control. We need to do first, before I go about getting any stronger." Russell swallowed hard. He knew Blitz would object, and Colby would scold him, but it needed to be said.

[z-Blitz]

"He's right." That was clearly not the answer that Russ was expecting. "I've seen what demons can do, and if I'm guessing right, you have a good idea what they can do, too, Colby. The thing that I dont know that you probably do is how to defend yourself against one. Even if we dont go figure out how to stop Russ cold, we need a Demon 101, just in case the worst happens."

,,

Val glanced at Russ, her green eyes both sad and somber. "I'm not advocating killing you, Russ. In fact, thatd be really hard to convince me to do. But we do need a way to stop demons if they can bridge in through you. Or possess you or whatever the cool magical lingo you kids use these days." Her attempt at levity fell a bit flat.

,,

"So Colby, if the denizens of Hell rise up and take over Russ, what do we do?" Val locked her eyes on the other woman as she added, "And if Russ goes magic-crazy, how do we stop the damage and fix him?"

[Heritage]

Colby laughed and shook her head. "Don't worry, I''m waaaaay ahead of you two." She went over to her bottomless carpetbag...and drew forth a massive two-handed sword! She began swinging it around her head like Arnold in the original Conan the Barbarian, and Russ felt a sudden involuntary lurch in his guts, like he was on one of those amusement park rides that drops down ten stories; the thing practically radiated power as it droned and buzzed through the air.

,,

"This is my favorite demon-slaying blade; I call it 'the Lopper', after the serial killer in that one Seinfeld episode." She stuck the tip down into the carpeting and leaned on the crosspiece. "So just to be clear, I have absolutely no problem taking your head off with this thing if it ever comes to that." The witch shrugged as she lovingly wiped down the blade with an oiled cloth for her bag. "Hopefully it never will, and there are certainly steps we can take to avoid that scenario." Gingerly lowering the disturbing blade back into the bag, she sighed almost to herself.

,,

"The thing of it is, our best chance to 'save' Russ is probably gone; it was when the Hound and him were seperated." Colby returned to the illicit couple and resumed her seat on the edge of the table, crossing her arms like a marriage counselor. "But as we saw then, he was weak; a lot of that was probably the TB, malnutrition and syphilis he got from being trapped in a Ninteenth Century's whore's body, but I don't think all of it was." She leaned forward and locked eyes with Blitz. "We have no way of knowing if he can survive without the link to the demon; he might have changed too much."

[Hellhound]

"Woh, remind me to stay on your good side," Russell stated as the wooziness left him when she dropped the sword back into the bag. "Ugh, I can feel that thing from across the room and I already hate it. I don't even wanna think about what it'd do to me if you ever really had to use it. I'm just glad there are counter measures in place, even if they are extreme."

,,

"I'm not sure how much was the disease and how much was the separation." Russ said, flatly, "But I can tell you that I felt like a part of me was missing. That has to say something." Russell shrugged, unable to offer any more conclusive opinions, "I don't know if I'm looking for salvation, really, just some guarantee I'm not going to hurt the ones I care about, let alone the citizens I'm supposed to be protecting. Is there any way we can do that that doesn't involve 'lopping'? That circle you made before seemed to keep the demon in well enough, but would it contain me as well?"

[Heritage]

"I'm not sure how much was the disease and how much was the separation." Russ said, flatly, "But I can tell you that I felt like a part of me was missing. That has to say something." Russell shrugged, unable to offer any more conclusive opinions, "I don't know if I'm looking for salvation, really, just some guarantee I'm not going to hurt the ones I care about, let alone the citizens I'm supposed to be protecting. Is there any way we can do that that doesn't involve 'lopping'? That circle you made before seemed to keep the demon in well enough, but would it contain me as well?"

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Colby nodded as she absently wiped the last bit of oil of her hands with a wet wipe. "Yeah, I should be able to whip something up, but I will need some sympathetic connections to you to give the cricle a bit of extra juice." She expertly shot the used wipe into a grbage can across the room. "Nothing but net! Gimme a sec to grab my sample kit."

,,

Once again returning to her bag, she brought out two small packages; one looked to be some sort of travel shaving kit while the other looked more like sealed medical supplies.

,,

"So I'm gonna need a bit of blood and hair, nothing major." Tearing open the medical pouch, she fished out a pair of latex gloves, a small hypodermic and rubber-topped sample vial; the detective gave Russ an evil grin as she began to pull the gloves. "You're not afraid of needles, are you? Big dog like you?" She gave the latex a sinister snap.

[Hellhound]

"What, that little thing?" Russell smiled at the detective. He undid the buttons on the cuff of his sleeve and rolled it up so Colby could get at the veins on the inside of his forearm. "Please, I've had flu shots worse that that." As soon as Colby took the blood sample, he also allowed her to pluck a bit of his hair, "Ah!"

,,

"Well, now that that's in the works, what's next?" Russell was back to being clueless, "Where to I start training? And don't tell me I'm too old to be a Jedi. There's got to be some book I can read or something?"

[Heritage]

"Well, now that that's in the works, what's next?" Russell was back to being clueless, "Where to I start training? And don't tell me I'm too old to be a Jedi. There's got to be some book I can read or something?"

,,

"Nah, you're never too old to learn." The young detective grinned as she carefully put away her arcane connections to Russell. "I must say, your enthusiasm is encouraging; as far as books go..." Colby walked over to the book shelves and began to run her fingers along them. "Mike set this place up using Dewey Decimal, since he's old-fashioned and all that, so we want the one-thirties." With the trained eyes of a former academic, she honed in on her prey. "Okay, we've got metaphysics, epistemology, yadda yadda yadda... here we go, 'Paranormal phenomena and the occult'!" She whistled appreciatively. "Wow, you guys have got some sweet tomes in this place!"

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Colby grabbed several books off the shelf and began to set them on a table in rather alarming pile; some of them looked fairly modern, but others bore the musty look of classic horror movie props. Once she was done with the occult section, she scampered over to another shelf. "Can't hurt to hit the three-nineties, either; Folklore sometimes has a few treasures as well." She waved a book in the general direction of the rest of the HQ. "Plus, might not hurt to read up on the Fae, either; care and feeding of your new faerie queen."

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When she was done, the witch loudly dropped a pile of maybe twenty books in front of Russ. "Okay, I don't expect you to read all of these." She set aside a small stack from the top. "These ones I would consider to be essential reading; the rest-" She waved a hand absently. "Ah, that's more if your interest is piqued and you want to dive in deeper; reading up on the occult and such can be very addictive. I should know, I spent most of my college years knee deep in this shit." She plopped herself down on the table, found her Dasani bottle and took a swig. "You studied law, you should be fine."

[Hellhound]

"Can't hurt to hit the three-nineties, either; Folklore sometimes has a few treasures as well." She waved a book in the general direction of the rest of the HQ. "Plus, might not hurt to read up on the Fae, either; care and feeding of your new faerie queen."

,,

When she was done, the witch loudly dropped a pile of maybe twenty books in front of Russ. "Okay, I don't expect you to read all of these." She set aside a small stack from the top. "These ones I would consider to be essential reading; the rest-" She waved a hand absently. "Ah, that's more if your interest is piqued and you want to dive in deeper; reading up on the occult and such can be very addictive. I should know, I spent most of my college years knee deep in this shit." She plopped herself down on the table, found her Dasani bottle and took a swig. "You studied law, you should be fine."

,,

"Yea, and at the time, I hated it. I've never been very bookish." Russell blanched as Colby placed the large stack of books on the table, "Always left that to Naomi's type." When Colby separated the small stack, he breathed a sigh of relief, "I've always been more of a learn by doing kind of guy. And I never really enjoyed law. But this..." He hesitated, searching for the right words, "This applies to me. This isn't some stuffy court room. This is who I am now."

,,

Russell pushed around the small stack of books, looking at the various titles. "Let's kill two birds with one stone, shall we?" He lifted one of the books from the table. The glossy green script on the front read, Irish Folklore and the Truths They Tell Us. "Colby... Is there anything, you know, besides reading I can do?" He smiled sheepishly as he tucked the tome under his arm.

[Heritage]

"Colby... Is there anything, you know, besides reading I can do?" He smiled sheepishly as he tucked the tome under his arm.

,,

The witch-detective drained the last of her water and tossed the bottle into a nearby blue recycling container, then idly scratched her nose. "Well, Mr. Learn-By-Doing, there is always practice, which may not actually make 'perfect', but at least leads to 'much better'." She drummed her fingers on her thigh. "There are a few options; if you can tear yourself away from your lady love for a few hours a week, you can come by my ritual space at home." Colby shrugged. "The protective wards I have up should be able to block the worst side effects of any screw-ups you manage to pull off."

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Then she sighed. "The other thing I can think of is to get as far away from civilization as you can get and then, well, just let loose; y'know, balls to the wall magic mayhem. Bo's buddy has that compound a shortish drive away, with all the rusted-out cars you can torch." She grinned. "He also brews his own beer, which is damn good. Or, y'know, you can always do both."

[Hellhound]

Russell nodded at Colby's suggestions. He looked back over his shoulder at Blitz. The look he gave her wasn't really one seeking approval, "I going to try this," it told her, "You need to be okay with it."

,,

When she didn't object, Russell gave his declaration, "Then it's settled. I'll do both. I'll stop by and see your ritual space, and once I've learned a thing or two, I can go taste test some beer. And y'know, blow stuff up." Russell gave the ladies a stupid grin. It was the smile of a man that loved his job.