Fantasy Department of Defense Against the Supernatural

[Ferra Invicta]

"That depends on who you're asking for. Who am I to society, to yourself, or to me? If it is to society I'm just a dying old man with the afterlife lingering around his presence. To yourself i would be considered a poltergeist, and a very calm one at that. Yet I still don't know what to make of myself, for I came to existence by forces beyond my control," Adamus ranted. Realizing his cover had been blown, but sensing no hostile will towards himself Adamus apologized, "Sorry, people are not supposed to see my otherworldly self. That either makes you very lucky or very powerful. So... which is it?" Adamus inquired.

 

[BookWyrm]

Carnifex faded in and out of consciousness along the trip back to base. "HQ this is Black 1, primary asset recovered I repeat, primary asset recovered and is intact." I have awakened..... The next thing Carnifex knew he was being carried into the HQ, the Dutchmen suddenly next to him. "Did he use the Soul-Stone?", the man's accent thick, but his voice tinged with both concern and wonder. "Affirmative.", one of the agents replied. "Excellent. He has awakened." Within less than five minutes Carnifex had been placed into a recovery cell and stabilized. Finally conscious enough to talk, the Hollow was not shy about hiding his anger. "They have him. They got Vortigas."


"I know," the Dutchmen started, "and I plan on getting him back, in due time. His retrieval was not our primary concern. You on the other hand," this earned Carnifex a stern look and a finger pointed at him, "you are the primary concern. Or, at least, what has now been awakened within you."


Carnifex thought back on the stone, and the transformation. It had all been blurry to him, like he was watching it happen, like he was watching it all through someone else's eyes. "It wasn't me was it?" The Dutchmen shook his head. "That, was what we've been trying to achieve. That has been the goal of the Order since it's beginning. And now, that dream is a reality formed in you." Carnifex thought back on what happened after the explosion. "I took some hard hits during the fight. Aether magic, light energy, but I pulled through. I felt drained afterwards, and my mask cracked."


"You are not used to the amount of energy that was produced. The injuries you sustained were harsh, yes, but not lethal. Luckily, what Aether and light energy you encountered was in small doses. Large quantities could have proved much, distasteful."


"You've been beating around the bush, now its time to ask. What the hell is inside me?"


The Dutchmen looked at Carnifex carefully. "Lets just say, for now, that by sending you into the Abyss, we allowed something to come back with you, something that is now residing within you like the soul you once had, merged with your body. You two are now one." Carnifex was taken back by this, but it wasn't shocking. He had pondered this before. "Vortigas?" The Dutchmen shook and nodded his head. "In a matter, both yes and no. Vortigas was not created the same way, but within him lies great power, it is just purely his own though. Your true power stems from the Abyssal Presence that has merged with you. That is why we retrieved you and allowed Vortigas to be taken captive."


Carnifex suddenly understood. "He still has his Soul-Stone." The Dutchmen nodded. "I don't for see the Department containing him for too long. Of course I expect he'll be detained, stripped of his power for a while, and allowed to rot in a cell, but as you know, they won't get anything out of him through interrogation or torture. Besides, I have a feeling you will want some revenge for them taking your brother no? Well, heal up, I have big plans. If they thought they got away without any harm done they are sadly mistaken. Our moles allowed us a long enough glimpse inside their system to, well, get them by the balls, so to speak." With that the Dutchmen walked off, leaving Carnifex alone to heal and think. All along, that voice in my head has turned out to be me, how pleasant.

 

[Elias]

''All the voices in my head....Will stop when I am...dead. But I am not dead aren't I? Death surely feels more grim, more real than this hell I am currently into. I feel drained, leeched of power. The memories are coming back to me. I was captured. By the deparment. But unfortunately for them I'm still alive''


Vortigas awoke silently, not making brusque moves or sudden jumps. The agents could still be around him. He had to check. Opening his eyes slightly behind his mask, he was greeted by a rather unfortunate view. The interior of a Deparment cell. Vortigas let out a silent sigh, clutching the soul stone lying deep in his pocket. He had the marvelous idea to soul-bind it to him while he was falling, so fortunately the stone was still there. Looking around, the hollow tried to asses the damage did to his body. There was still the gaping torso hole, uglier than ever. Three of his fingers were missing, and on the other arm, a large deep gash could be seen going from elbow to shoulder. A couple of broken bones could be seen gaping out of his leg, but he didn't feel any of it. Yet. He knew it would start hurting soon. You know why? He was in a draining cell. He saw that the moment he woke up. By looking around, on the spiritual level, he could already see energies sucking his power out. His hollow life force. He had to get out of here soon. But still a couple of days should be waited to lower the agent's suspicion. After that, carnage would happen....

 

[lazee]

Within the city cemetery, the grave of one Jasper Crawford, a respected local businessman, suddenly erupted.in a large explosion, spewing grave dirt all over the immediate area. All that was left of the grave was a roughly human-sized crater...with a living breathing Jasper on it. But something was different about him, almost as if he wasn't quite the same person...


This body will do nicely, Leoric thought to himself as he begun to stretch and get used to his new mortal skin. It had been several ages since he last walked the Earth as a mortal and when poor Jasper gave him permission to use his old body after his soul passed on, the Wraith was overjoyed. Or, as overjoyed as a spirit could be. It was now time to investigate what exactly was happening with the world. Even his subordinate wraiths could sense that a large unknown loomed on the horizon. This Wraith was not willing to let it come to him and was determined to satisfy his uncharacteristic curiosity. As he walked through the streets of Washington D.C, his presence drew quite a few bewildered glances and stares of disbelief. He should have saw it coming. Jasper's recent death would have still been fresh on people's minds and he could not blame their shock. Leoric discreetly swiped a porkpie hat from a vendor, which helped hide his face somewhat. That takes care of unwanted attention. After quite a bit of walking and dodging over-curious people, he finally reached his destination, the DDAMPSEA HQ. Jasper had pointed him out to this place, stating that if it involved the unknown, they had to be involved as well. The smart Wraith he was, Leoric saw fit to try and approach them. Entering their headquarters, he marveled at the modern wonder that was the Lobby and began approaching people and asking where he could find a representative of the organization. Thankfully, almost no one gave him a second look. Perhaps Jasper wasn't that popular in this city, he remarked to himself.


(Sorry for the late intro, I missed my chance to open up at the best time because of stupid Wifi and family -3-)

 

[Sleipnir]

As Leoric asked for a representative, it was then that Piper happened to be moving on by. She stopped, looking at to her what seemed to be an ordinary man, and approached him. "Good afternoon," she greeted him half-heartedly. "Detective Piper Reed. I guess I'm unofficially director-in-training of the Department of Defense Against Supernatural, Paranormal, and Extraterrestrial Activity of Malicious Intent. What do you need, sir?"


Shylock had tested his umbrella against his shoulder by then, listening to this stranger with interest and curiosity. "Well — I'm a vampire so I suppose I'm moderately powerful, though in the grand scheme of vampires I'm pretty weak. I wouldn't say I'm too powerful." Shylock carefully skirted around the part about his allegiances, not knowing what sort of person this man was. "I am very lucky, though. That's probably it. So — if you don't mind me asking. What happened to you? I've heard of plenty of poltergeists; they never act like you do."

 

[lazee]

It didn't take much waiting on the Wraith's part before someone came to him. She introduced herself as the unofficial director in training, which was a reassuring enough position. "Yes, my name is....Leo. I have a few inquiries that needs to be discussed. Privately." He spoke with a deep and stern voice and stressed the last word of his sentence. Sure, this was their headquarters, but there was no such thing as being too safe. Leoric also noticed that he still cast no shadow, despite a light source being nearby. That should set off some alarms...

 

[Sleipnir]

It most certainly did alert Piper that this man, whoever he may be, was not human. However, this was the Department. Her best friend was a vampire, her intern summoned magic ghost-beasts, was apparently friends with a very angry dead boy, they had a ghost with a pet zombie running around, a kraken, and a Black Dog acting like he owned the place.


Frankly, she wasn't worried.


She led the man to her office, sitting down in her chair, offering Greyston's to 'Leo.' She wasn't fully convinced by his name given his hesitation. "Now, what seems to be the problem?" She asked.

 

[lazee]

Now that he was here, he was sort of at a loss for what to say, as silly as it sounded. He should've given the matter more thought. "Well, let me be frank. For once. I am a wraith, a spectral attendant to the souls of mortals. And I sense something sinister on the horizon. The previous owner of this body pointed me towards your organization," he explained. "My fellows have also informed me that the massive influx of souls at New Orleans was your people's doing. An explanation for that would be much appreciated, as the spirits of the victims are rather reluctant to share the details," the wraith added. He supposed that there was no need to hide anything if he wanted to get anything from them. Leoric was rather inquisitive for a servant of Death.

 

[Sleipnir]

"That explains the shadow. Or lack thereof. It's a pleasure to meet you, then. I'm glad you'd come to warn us you feel something bad is coming. We've had far too much of that recently." Piper scowled, then turned her attention to New Orleans. "As for New Orleans — your friends only got it half right. There was an attack on the city by a giant, tentacled octopus monster from the ocean and it essentially decimated the place. We were called in to stop it, but it was that thing and its little bug-guy minions who caused the death count to go up. So... You can imagine why peoe wouldn't wanna talk about it."

 

[Ferra Invicta]

Adamus slightly raised his eyebrow. Either he is lying or he isn't aware of his own strength, Adamus contemplated to himself. "Oh? I wasn't informed that strangers exchange their life stories without giving each others names," Adamus jested. "The name is Arnold McNeil." Calm as can be, Adamus put all his effort into this name. It was true that at some point this was a name his friends called him by, but it was one of many names that Adamus owned. The Truth is often the best lie. "When a poltergeist is born with conflicting emotions, they are more stable than most others. It is only when this balance is disturbed that we begin to rampage. Rampages lead to our demise, and I am not ready to give up on life yet."

 

[lazee]

Confirmation of his suspicions should normally comfort him, but it didn't for this case. There could be much more at stake here. These were men and women and variations thereupon that were combating supernatural threats for a living. If that didn't warrant respect, Leoric would be surprised. But if what he sensed was far worse than expected, would they be able to stop it? A job like this seemed to need all the help it could get. "Pardon my straightforwardness, but would it be possible for me to...lend a hand in your activities? I have witnessed countless human tragedies happen firsthand, but only now do I feel that I could directly make a difference."

 

[Sleipnir]

Piper nodded. "Of course. I'm unsure whether you mean to join permanently or not, but we're a little understaffed at the moment," she told him. "Any help would be appreciated."


Shylock chuckled. He was mildly wary of the name, but truth was, indeed, the greatest source for a lie. "Shylock Nakamura," he replied. "Pleasure to meet you, sir."

 

[lazee]

That was a major relief. It was clear that the organization did not discriminate. That, or he wasn't as much of a threat as whatever was in store for them. Either way, it was going to be quite the experience being useful to the living for once. "Fantastic. Do let me know what I can do to help at the moment."

 

[Ferra Invicta]

"And what has you walking about during the day? Searching for The Brotherhood, or perhaps you are interested in my services?" There was no point in denying who he was, Adamus made it a habit to fight with weaker beings. Seeing how Shylock easily saw through his illusion, Adamus concluded a fight would be counterproductive. It also helped that Adamus was in a relatively peaceful mood.

 

[Sleipnir]

Shylock could have been caught off-guard by this had someone he knew a little better asked in seriousness — especially someone like Piper or Greyston — but among strangers this was a common assumption. He shook his head. "No, sir, actually it's the DDASPETAMI that's giving me quarters here in DC. And I don't know your business, nor will I pry — it's rude and aside from that, a vampire in this world, whether he looks for them or not is far too likely to run into a Brotherhood member. Prying is a dangerous game for someone like me," he assured Adamus. "It seems that whatever services you could offer, unless you're a salesman of property it isn't much use to me right now." He grinned, hoping to temper his previous staying with humor.

 

[Ferra Invicta]

Maintaining his composure, Adamus stood from the bench. "Oh? Well seeing how you work for DDASPETAMI, could you do me a favor and take care of a siren for me? I left her at the underpass this morning. I'm afraid that rejection has left her in pieces, and I just can't bring myself to go back there any time soon." Their subordinates don't know about me. I should make my escape for now Adamus concluded. Adamus solemnly spoke "Be gentle with her. I doubt she can stand on her own anymore." Adamus concentrated on the light rays, bending them to his will. " Donec obviam redimus" (Until we meet again) Adamus spoke while activating Gravity Veil to make his escape, but before he left Adamus gave Shylock a final warning. "The DDASPETAMI isn't safe." He vanished.

 

[Sleipnir]

Shylock listened and watched as Adamus disappeared. He frowned at the man's final warning. "For me, in general — or is the department in danger?" He asked the empty air, considering this for a moment. He shook his head and turned, raising one wrist to look at the pin on his shirt before turning to go back to the headquarters.


Piper reclined some, looking at the ceiling. "Well, whether you plan to stay temporarily or not, you need a partner. We work in teams of two, generally. I'm afraid since we aren't sure what exactly this threat is, we can't quite fight it. I'll find someone to pair you with." She hesitated, then added, "I might know someone who will work very well."

 

[WitworthGold]

She nodded, a slight smile playing at the corners of her mouth as Piper's words before she turned and made her way through the department's winding hallways toward the alchemy lab. Once there she tied her hair back and donned a white labcoat as well as a pair of goggles before taking a few minutes to explore and become familiar with the lab before setting about to find the ingredients for a regenerative potion.


Aloe was easy enough to find as were lavender and chamomile, but the final raegent hydra bone was much more elusive. She shook her head as she got to work peeling, plucking, dicing, and grinding to release the inner essences needed for the potion to work as required.


With the easier portions of her work complete she set her bag on the counter and slowly began rooting around inside of it. After one particularly deep lunge she produced the same ornate box that contained the bone she had earlier sold part of to Ronan. At the thought of him a slight blush crept across her cheeks soon followed be a sliver of guilt when Justin crossed her mind moments later.


"I'm so screwed." She said aloud before Bartholomew chimed in lasciviously, "Only if you're lucky luv." Her only reply to him was a look that could quite literally burn holes in him. So potent was it, in fact, that several unattended sheets of paper burst into flame along with the pile of refuse left from her stripping the necessary parts from the assembled ingredients.


"Watch it luv, you've got no one but yourself to blame for your current predicament..." he continued after leaping up onto the counter "That and I doubt your new bosses would be thrilled with you burning down the lab in a fit of rage." He stated smugly while curling in on himself to get comfortable. Grudgingly she dismissed the accidentally conjured flames with a wave of her hand before getting down to the task of grinding down a portion of the hydra bone to a fine powder.


Thirty minutes, and a second more controlled flame later, the potion was brewed and following a short incantation ready for use. Setting the room back to rights was much easier with the aid of a little magic and the two of them were soon off to find Sanja and administer the potion.

 

[Ferra Invicta]

How long will I endure this hell? How long till these memories fade. The worst part of being immortal was the countless nightmares Adamus would endure. He would relive the memories of the thousands of souls that made him. Arabo witnessed his father burning, his mother bleeding, and his sister beaten. Sophoniba saw the limestone columns turn red, generating unbearable heat. Jezebel and Yzebel woke to the screams of their children, followed by their own wails. Then there was Mathos, whose final thoughts were the same as everyone else’s. The gods have abandoned us. Their final moments would be filled with memories of their loved ones, tears filling their eye, and screams congesting their throats. Begging for this hell on Earth to end.


Every memory Adamus would relive, not a single one forgotten. Although he hated these memories and emotions, they were the reason for his existence. There was one thing Adamus was thankful for, and that was his ability to cry. Not spectral energy that gave the appearance of crying, but actual physical tears. Adamus felt that this was his only release from the pain and suffering he was forced to witness, every single time.


He could feel himself forming into a sphere, when suddenly…

 

[Elias]

Justin groaned slightly as he worked out at the ultra-high tech gym they had going at the HQ. The apparatus there was designed to help or fit for any supernatural thing, should they come here to do some grinding. Justin chose to do weightlifting, because some more muscles here and there would only help him. Plus, it wouldn't kill his chances of looking good around the ladies, he thought, as he saw Winnifred cross for 2 seconds pass the gym door. She was looking lovely today, even in her lab coat. Then again, she looked lovely in anything. Returning his attention back at the weight before him, he mustered some power, and lifted it off the ground in one clean lift. ''Still got it'' he said smiling to himself, then glanced around the gym, There were many agents here today. Agent Chavez, the muscular new intern from Mexico, who was apparently a Chupacabra. Agent Jason, the ghoul, was running on the treadmill, and then there was that new guy Bran, the shapeshifter that had a total crush on Piper. Smiling to himself, Justin entered in some conversations, to pass the time faster.


William had just finished playing some sound based game with Melody, and now he was roaming the halls with nothing to do, he had done a case earlier in the morning, which involved some particulary angry venti (storm spirits) that were terrorizing the local folks. He got rid of them quickly enough, and now he was unsure of what to do. His steps automatically carried him towards the lower area, where the prison cells where, and then even lower where the special jail cells were. With calm, he stopped in front of a draining cell, and looked inside, at the creature they had just captured. Vortigas. What was he? Piper called him a mutant hell spawn so William was gonna go on that one. Looking at him, he studied the guy. He was slim, tall, but he had quite an atheltic build. He was dressed in a ragged old hoodie-jacket pale-green couloured, with the hood slumping over his head, and his black hair. Under the hood, the mask layed there, showing no emotion. It had the general look of a teenanger, yet William knew he had immense strength. Perhaps that's what he was before he became this. A simple teenanger. With a simple life. Vortigas...huh? Interesting name....It didn't have the raw sounding name of the other one, whose name reminded him of carnage. This one seemed more calculate, more precise. Perhaps he was indeed the brain, and the other...the muscle.

 

[Sleipnir]

Sanja was now awake, laying in the infirmary beds when Fred found her, the spirit wolf curled up at her feet like some big dog. She looked up as the witch walked in and, only half-joking, she said, "Remind me to beat that boy later. I can't believe anyone that size could just push you down hard enough to break you." She paused then, and then added, "I can't believe him. I was starting to get the impression that Bael's not so easily categorized but today he definitely proved it. That light...." She trailed off, frowning, then jumped slightly. "I'm sorry, Fred. I shouldn't bring this case back to headquarters. It's no good for morale, to say the least... How are things here? How's your shop? I intend to go visit it sometime soon; I've got some charms and things I'd like to consider." She leaned down, petting the wolf.


Piper looked at Leo, still thinking, before saying, "You said you're a wraith, so I feel comfortable telling you this - no one else at the department really knows except Greyston and Luke, and I don't intend to spread the love around to everyone: We have a Black Dog here. Galleytrot. Of course we have a report on him buried somewhere in the computers but I made sure it's hard to find. How would you feel working with him?" It seemed a fair enough pairing to Piper: Both were similar in function and vagueness as far as availability went. She had been wondering about giving Galleytrot something to do while he hung around HQ, drinking "Greyston's coffee" and screwing around with their agents. It would keep people from asking questions about the shapeshifter freeloading around here. "The best I could figure for you is to keep you around and keep you busy until this threat gets a little more clear to us both. I don't really want people asking questions about Galleytrot and I imagine you would get bored just hanging around without a job until then. How do you feel about that?"


Pairing them up also reminded Piper of something: The sudden influx of potentially world-shattering cases as well as agents - quite possibly related to those cases - meant none of them, excepting William and Justin, had partners at the moment. Her mind drifted a touch as she considered this, trying to file through the various agents and possible groups.


@Lazy Rocktime


Shylock arrived back at HQ some time later, and he wandered without a whole lot of thought on his encounter with the poltergeist. He wandered a bit, exploring more than anything. He had been around for a few days, but he hadn't seen most of HQ. Most of it was incredibly nice.

 

[Hel]

Meanwhile in another realm, where Death and Evan-Dor had been playing cosmic tennis, the spirit of Life appeared to the two. "Death, dear, I have a gift waiting for you. Would you and your friend like to come by for tea made from the waters of youth? It's excellent for the skin, for those of us who have it. Oh! And Evan-Dor, I'm Life, by the way. I don't believe we ever officially met."


As Bael walked to the train station, he felt a hand take his. "Hello, Bael. It's been awhile," Wednesday said, her voice as deadpan as ever. If Bael looked around, he would see the zombie bride sitting by herself on a bench, for once her veil covering her face.


Greyston remained in his wheelchair at his desk, filling out paperwork from cases others had taken on.


(I will do a time skip as soon as conversations are finished.)

 

[WitworthGold]

She offered a kind smile as she stepped into the room and took a seat at her bedside before responding, "If you need to talk about it then talk about it." She says disregarding Sanja's attempt to change the subject. "Morale is like the tides..." she begins, "Sometimes its high other times its low, but no matter what it its always there."


Following a momentary pause she answered Sanja's questions. "Things were tense while you guys were deployed. There isn't too much to be said about that, as far as my store goes I'm going to have to hire someone to run it when I'm away on department business, other than that fine."


After a moment's pause she snapped her fingers as if she'd suddenly remembered something important before she reached into the pocket of the labcoat and produced a glass vial filled with a sparkling golden concoction and stopped with a cork. "Its a regenerative potion. It'll mend your arm and alleviate any pain you might be feeling." She said offering it to her.

 

[Elias]

Vortigas was watching the man sitting before his cell, analyzing him aswell. This was one of the agents that lead to his demise. Tall, well-built, great speed and reflexes and tentaclary appendages who came out at will. ''Leviathan. In human form'' he said finally with a shrug of his head. William was jolted with interest as he heard the creature speak. This was new...somebody recognizing his species in such short time. ''You're really perceptive'' William said dragging a chair and sitting in front of his cell. ''How's your 'treatment' going?''


''Treatment? Is that what you call stripping a man of his belongings. His mere life force?'' Vortigas asked with a glint of instinging madness in his voice.


''We're helping you'' William said after thinking for a moment. ''What you are now...I bet you weren't always like this. I bet you would give anything to be like before. Before living in madness''


''Blah, blah, martyr stuff'' Vortigas said making a spitting sound. ''Madness? It's called life for me. Me and my brother, we have something you Deparment knuckleheads don't''


''What's that?'' William asked with interest.


Vortigas got closer to the bars, and looked William straight in the eye. ''The guts to kill every fucking piece of scum that stands in our way to our goal'' he said still looking at Will. ''Oooh, the things I would do to you, Leviathan. I would dissect you so slowly, you'd wish death would come for you. Your human body would fail under the pain, you'd probably faint, which is probably something new for you'' he said then laid back again. ''But that's not your body ain't it? If there's one distinct thing I know about Leviathans, it's that they can only use a human body with a curse. So tell me...William. Whose body is this? Cancer pacient? Dead body you found on the road? Or a living one you are currently tormenting right now?'' Vortigas said with a chuckle, noticing the Kraken's bewildered reaction to what he was saying. ''You know, I could scream. Tell them about you...about what you did'' he said twitching excidetly. ''But I'll have some more fun first'' he said finally as he layed back on the bed he had in the cell, arranging himself not to hurt his torso hole. ''I would say goodnight to you agent'' he said with a sigh. ''But I'm not in the mood for sleeping so I'll settle for just tellling you: Fuck off''


With those words, the hollow turned his back towards the door, and William left, a fury burning in him...

 

[Sleipnir]

Sanja nodded. "Thanks, Wyn," she said gratefully, taking the vial from her.


Bael pulled his hand away, turning to Wednesday as he did. "Suppose so," he replied. "I was just heading home. What are you doing here?"


He could tell Galleytrot was also around, realizing then that he wouldn't be going to Michigan after all. No doubt the dog was sent to bring Bael back. He suppressed some irritation at the thought.