Fight and Flight of Serendipity [RP]

Jace shrugged. 'Well, i'd rather that than you sneaking up on me again. It's a blow to a girl's ego you know.' She shrugged, a smirk on her face. When he appeared to lose interest she shrugged again, figuring he was done talking and probably already thinking on his next task for the day. She shoved her hands in her pockets, continuing on to her meet, shaking her head. That was the problem with Preternaturals, she thought with a sigh. They never stayed on task for too long. Their thoughts jumped from one thing to the next faster than most human's. Of course, sometimes it was that which made her job a whole lot easier. She turned up to the rendezvous only to find her contact had gotten skittish and left. She sighed, seeing the orange flames on the horizon. She'd heard distant explosions but hadn't even thought that it might make her contact bolt. She sighed, shaking her head again.


'Damned junkies. Can't trust them to follow through with their deals.' She kicked a can out of her path. 'Well, Might as well pay that visit to Tesla.'


Stepping out of the cab outside the brownstone two story building, Jace paid the driver and walked straight to the garage, noting the combination locks. She had yet to try and crack the code, but if she knew Victor, it was probably rigged to go boom or something at the wrong press of a button. She knew how paranoid he could get, having been his bodyguard plenty of times. Pressing the buzzer she looked up to camera. 'Tesla, open up! I've got a job for you.'
 
Victor had just gotten comfortable, his foot propped up, his walking stick by his side. A hot chocolate in his hand. And that damnable buzzer erupted it's klaxon, causing the scalding drink to spill down his hand. His left eye was stitching as he bit his lip until it bled, keeping the scream in, seeing Jace on the monitor before him.


He'd kept her alive, when he found her broken and bleeding. The least she could do is call when she was coming over. He would grab his walking stick, using it to help him stand, walking to the door and opening the three barricades for her, rather than walking up and escorting her, as he usually did, down the plain sandstone stairs.


She would see him, bandaged ankle, brown-stained arm, scowl on his face where there was usually a smile. He hadn't had a good night so far. He really hadn't. The doors would ominously clang shut as Jace walked through them, their sensors working. He'd obviously gotten his power problems sorted. Which meant that his security was up. Which meant he had to let her out, even though she had never seen his state of the art offensive systems.


"Thank you for giving me warning. I could have told you I was closed for business."


He was grumpy, the pills apparently having lost their original high on him. He was tired, annoyed, and it seemed having a worse night than accidentally mentioning her in passing.
 
As the doors opened and she walked in, Jace saw the disgruntled and more than a little disshevelled expression on his face and guessed it hadn't been a great day. 'See, I think differently because YOU sent ME the text to say you had a job for me. Which is really good because I have one for you. But first,' She pulled out the weapon, aiming at his barefeet, noting the bandaged ankle and pulling the trigger. The bullet grazed the side of his foot only just, a deliberatre miss on her part, and embedded itself on the floor. Within seconds she'd holstered the gun and pulled a fist back, punching him fair in the jaw, her ring splitting his lip. 'The bullet was for setting a possibly murderous maniac on my tail. The punch was just for being down right rude!' She explained, a little breathlessly as she pulled back again and waited for him to retaliate, because, and she knew this from experience, he would. 'I mean, seriously, You cannot just casually mention your bounty hunter pal to any old prenatural you know. I could have killed him. He could have killed me! I could have had the entire prenatural community on my tail in the blink of an eye. You're so damn lucky, you know that? AND you cost me my contact. He balked out while waiting for me 'cause of some explosion downtown. That wasn't you was it?'
 
The punch connected, and Victor ended up on his arse on the floor, being berated. His scowl deepened, using the cane to help him back to his feet. Favouring his good leg, she would feel a poke in the shoulder with each of his sentences, not hard enough to hurt her or push her over, just to accentuate the point.


"I don't mention my bounty hunter pal to any old preternat. I mentioned you to Caleb, because I thought you would appreciate the job. He's a maniac, yes, but one I happen to trust with your details. As for the explosions, no, that was strictly amateur hour. You can tell this because most of the city is still standing."


The last jab would have him hitting the button in the handle of his walking stick, the sharp smell of ozone and burning fabric as Jace would slump to the stone floor. She would be out for about an hour or so. He would shake the cane a couple of times and then shock her a little zap for feeling and luck. Then he would mutter, half lifting her awkwardly, a smirk on his face, leaving her on his couch and going to sew up the wound on the side of his foot. And to sew a line of fake stitches on her side.


At least he would be nice enough to leave her a sandwich, a glass of cola, and some ointment for the circular burn on her shoulder as he moved back to his computer, settling himself back in.
 
Vent resisted the urge to poke Meido again, while listening to her little description of the place he could rest. He chuckled. A few insects and a owl? They were practically his brethren, the sylphs being fairly in touch in nature, and other creatures of the air. That owl would probably provide endless hours of conversation. Despite what the humans thought about them being wise creatures, they were more about the thrill of the hunt, and the fun they could find in the moment, then about wisdom and knowledge. The misconception was funny to Vent. Silly humans.


Suddenly, the wind's tone took a dramatic turn, and it began to worry Vent. His ears twitched as it spoke to him, seemingly altogether too much was happening around the city, it worried the wind. He glanced around, slightly panicked. He'd never heard the wind this wound up before? Was it usually this panicked around humans? Vent bore it's concerns, making them his own.


As a voice hailed out to Vent and Meido, Vent became suddenly worried, as it seemed the bearer of the voice was human, but as his goggles fell, the glowing, brilliant yellow of his eyes made Vent realize he was far from human. ".... Thank you for the advice, stranger. Are you alright, can we do anything to help?" Vent called back as the creature turned and began to walk away, in the direction the wind was most distraught.


Even more startlingly, Caleb landed between himself and the other creature. Vent gasped, eyeing his friend, who seemed even more bestial than usual.


"Yes, I'm fine, Caleb, please relax." He asked of Caleb, sensing something was off, or not right about his friend.
 
Meido chuckled softly at the man's warning, and at the slyph's trusting nature. A man grabbing people up needed a body to grab, and one that couldn't slip into his own at that. And as for wanting to grab up supernaturals? Well, he'd have to be stupid or quick on his feet to not consider that fact.


As the Slyph questioned the well being of the stranger, she wrapped her arms over her chest. A yawn left where her mouth should have been. It was around this time another of their kind joined them, uttering the sylph's name. Her body twisted, stretching upwards before she jutted back into the darkest shadows, hiding among cracks in the brick wall.
 
Jace's body jerked with each prod. Retaliate. Prod. Retaliate. Prod. She had expected this. What she hadn't expected was him to press the button on the cane. Her body jerked and her eyes opened wide in surprise. 'What the-' before she finished her sentence she was collapsed on the floor in a heap, the electricity causing her body to twitch a little.


~


'Are you sure you're ready to do this?' Mark's voice was a low whisper as he looked at Jace. She looked at her brother with an exasperated expression. 'Of course I am. Honestly, You need to lighten up. i'm not a kid anymore.' Mark shook his head, exasperated. 'I wish you wouldn't.' Jace sighed, peeking out from behind the corrigated iron fence they were crouching behind. 'Look, I appreciate your concern but I can do this. You should go. You might ruin it all.' The young woman hissed. Mark sighed, all but throwing up his hands. 'Whatever, I'm out.' He started to creep away and then turned back. 'If you get shot or something it is not my fault.' Jace just ignored him, watching the home of her target carefully. It was her first night on the job. She was hunting a man by the name of Jarvis Manwell, a well known figure in the underbelly of the city, and to few, a lycan. Jace had been recruited by an anonymous source for the ring she ran in to eliminate him as her reputation as a gunhand exceeded her. She was more than a little nervous. Although she hated to admit it, Mark was right. She could very well end up dead. She looked at the weapon in her hand, wondering if it would do the trick. She hoped to god this wasnt some kind of prank. She'd been told that the bullets were forged especially for this kill, that they were a combination of wolfsbane and silver and she hoped she wasnt been ridiculously superstitious.


Taking a deep breath, she stepped out from behind the corrogated iron fence and knocked on the door of the house. There was no need setting the beast off straight away. If she did this with enough tact she may be able to get this done quickly and cleanly with no danger. When she got no reply from her knock, she got a prickling sensation on the back of her neck. Something wasn't right. A low growl caused her to turn around to see the massive wolf looming behind her. 'uhhh.. nice wolfie?' She tried, cursing her stupidity. It had probably heard her talking to Mark. She leapt out of the way as the claw came down on the place where she had stood only moments before, rolling away and aiming the weapon at the wolf. 'Stay back. I swear to god I'll shoot.' She panted, her hands trembling slightly. A strange noise eminated from the lycan's throat and barely a moment too soon she realised he was laughing. The sound made her shiver, causing her to be more than a little disconcerted by the sound. You would be too if you were facing off a giant wolf and it started laughing at you when you were pointing a gun at it's muzzle. It's not exactly the most empowering feeling in the world. 'What are you laughing about? You're about to become a rug on some rich bastard's floor!' She exclaimed, trying to remain confident, but that gleam in his eye sent chills down her spine. Was she really going to die on her first job?


No.


'No. I am NOT letting you think you can do that.' She said aloud, pulling herself to her feet and steadying her hands. She fire three rounds into it's chest. It jerked back, growling and roaring loudly, swinging a dangerous claw at her, charging forward and slashing across her shoulder. She jerked back, clutching her shoulder in surprise. 'Jesus christ, you don't like to play fair do you?' She cursed, noting the bullets did little to stop him. 'You're a big mothertrucker aren't you? Well it's a good thing my client is going to pay me by the kilo, you'll make me quite well off.' She bragged, smirking. Fatal mistake. The wolf, although it seemed to be slowly being infected by the silver, was still coming at her and it threw her to the ground. The beast was at least twice her size and much stronger. He towered over her in two strides and slashed at her chest again. She rolled and it caught her side, causing her to cry out as the sound of claws through flesh filled the empty street. 'Mother-' She cursed as she fire more bullets at it, hitting it in the left forearm. He jerked back, roared and reared up on his hind legs as she scrambled to her feet, attempting desperately to staunch the blood. Jace wiped sweat from her brow with the back of a bloodied hand, ducking for cover as the raging monster thrashed around, trying to fight the poison in it's system and hunt her. As she bolted for cover one of it's flailing paws caught her around the waist and sent her flying into the wall of the building. She cried out, her body spasming with the impact, bleeding and close to breaking. She groaned, sliding down the wall, a new set of claw marks slashing down her left breast, oozing crimson. She closed her eyes, concussion taking over when all of a sudden she pulled herself forward, moaning, gun in hand.


'Not.. Done... Yet..' Her words were strained but she pulled herself to her feet nonetheless, steadying the gun and firing two more rounds, watching with blurring vision as the monster before her lurched back, the amount of silver now in his system having a drastic effect. She walked towards him, spotting an axe in a large wooden stump and wrenching it out. She swung it with force, knocking over the semi-unconscious beast and stood over him. 'Say night night beastie.' She managed, raising the axe high over her head. She swung it down with all her might, the axe's own weight bearing down upon it and severing the head from the spine. She let out an exausted sigh, leaning against the axe a moment before dragging it back to the stump andleaning it against it. She panted for a moment, holding her side, ripping shreds of her shirt to staunch the bleeding. She sank to sit on the stump, trying to remain conscious. Her vision swam before her eyes and she felt drained. Despite fighting to stay awake, Jace was slumped on the ground in a pool of her own blood in mere minutes.
 
Swarm stopped, one battered boot scraping over a few pebbles on the ground and he turned halfway, strange eyes peering over his glasses and studying the creature that had spoken to him. Letting out a sound that could have been a low chuckle, he smiled an unseen smile and replied.

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"Not advice. A warning," the giant uttered simply, as if these words explained everything. "Haven't been alright since I got grabbed up a few years back by tha' white-coated fu--"

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Before he could finish, the mutant's words were interrupted by a creature that had slammed down between them. Swarm quickly spun around hunching over in anticipation of an attack, a clicking growl and foreign-looking movement coming from behind his mask. To his surprise, the beast pushed forth words from a face that looked human. To the giant, they went unheard. A cold, animalistic panic gripped him.


Swarm's hands twisted into a claw shape and the wrapping around his fingers began to tear ever-so-slightly, revealing something shining and azure, a razor-tip sliding forward from it. Still awaiting a strike, his eyes went to the other male, Vent, as he addressed this thing called Caleb.

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"Friend a' yours?" he questioned, voice low and hostile. "Cause I'd really appreciate him backin' off before one've us does somethin' really goddamn stupid an' senseless." As he spoke, the covering that hid his mouth shifted again unnaturally.

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'This isn't good... yer' losing control,' he thought to himself, golden gaze shifting back and forth between the two things wildly.

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Glancing to his sides, Vent saw Meido had gotten out of the way. A wise move, one that he would like to make, but could not. Lifting his arms up, his hands over his head, Vent swallowed a lump in his throat, and walked ever so slowly in between of Caleb and the other creature, the one who had been nothing more than a helpful informant thus far.


Standing defiantly with Caleb to his back, Vent eyed the other creature, and offered a weak smile, his knees shaking a little bit from the excitement of the situation. He didn't like conflict, and he would do anything to avoid it, even putting himself in harm's way.


"Please, relax. Caleb only asked if I was safe. He can be a little surly but he only has good intentions. He won't hurt you, so don't feel as if you're in danger." Vent spoke with a calming voice, the wind still around him. It was warning him, warning him to leave. Things were not as they seemed any longer. Vent shook his head, trying his best to ignore the wind at the moment, as it continued to clamour on about things it had already told him.
 
Night sky was beautiful, above the clouds the stars twinkled like wonder filled eyes staring down at the worlds beneath them with eternal surprise. Up there the air was thinner but clean, in the city below the air was always tainted by the smell of pollution and human sweat. This particular city however was different, it smelled of 'others'; creatures of magic. For a moment he closed his eyes and dived into cloud, his wing held tight to his body, his head and neck stretched out to maintain balance while he dived. Suddenly he opened his eyes and glowed with an incandescent light, magic ran up and down his body, now the world looked different again, there were strands of colour floating above the city like an eternal rainbow.


He drew close and closer to the ground, at the last minute he unfurled his wings and caught the air. He was now horizontal with the ground his belly only inches from scraping the concrete. He tipped his wings back and began a steady ascent higher into the air. He was now only feet above the lowest building now, tired he flapped his wings to lift him higher into the air, then he alighted himself on a derelict house wrapped in yellow bands that bore symbols he didn't yet understand. The house shuddered and creaked under his weight but it held firm.


He sniffed the air and noticed something unusual, his narrowed somewhat and he tasted the air this time, his forked tongue flicked from his reptilian mouth and he was surprised that there were beings of magic in the house beneath him and they were accompanied by wildlife. He tasted the danger in the air and thought better of staying there, carefully he jumped from the roof and raised himself into the air. He did not need to cause any undue trouble and flew off to return to the river he call his home. For the night he would rest and then would explore once more at some later time.
 
The following contains a co-post with Aeradom.


To Zeke, the girl actually did look hurt, certainly not a threat of any kind. That is, until the girl started acting... weird, as if her entire personality changed in a heartbeat. Coming from her was an entirely different voice emanating, solid with a challenging lilt. At this point, Zeke had no clue of what was happening, and he stood still as the.. girl.. stood up and looked at him.


"Wait, your mouth isn't moving..." He pointed out. "... Are you... Are you in my head, lady!?"


And what did she mean by releasing energy? She wasn't going to kill him, was she? If anything, he could always flare for Xan... As he attempted to processed this, the girl already grabbed onto his collar, pulling him from out of the shadows to this condemned building. They reached to the metal contraption that he remembered being called the fire escape on the side of the building; the loud clanging of the metal with just a step startled Zeke, his wings twitching so much his cloak fell off. Luckily his secrecy was already in the shadows, the only light being her.


Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! went the platform as they swiftly ascended beside the building until the first window was reached. Using only a single touch the girl burned the boards that barred the windows, shattering the glass behind it. The shock made the pack Zeke clutched onto so naturally all these years, slip through his fingers. Immediately the girl brought Zeke inside the room, her body illuminating the the damp, musty place. Her glow appeared to be geting brighter and brighter; he felt immense warmth from her as her arms wrapped around him. His view now obscured, Zeke felt himself being pulled down, stopping at his knees. He looked down to find his slacks burning, flames slowly licking up his thighs, his body being pulled further down that he brought his hands down to the fire, more flames dancing on his arms and hips. His face was being pulled down into the pit now, the fires left Zeke as the heated ballroom, glowing, this radiant stranger being the director.


~*~


The world outside was quiet and peaceful, spare the strange sounds coming from a second floor window of an abandoned appartment complex. Suddenly, the sound was transformed into a sharp cry, before the building detonated. Shards of glass and chunks of brick expanded outward, as the interior simply collapsed from the lack of supports. The two lovers were surrounded in a shield of fire as they plunged down the chasm that had been formed. Remnants of the first floor finally stopped their descent. As the two lay together, both exhausted, the dragon quickly felt the girl getting hotter underneath him. The temperature was so intense that the heat had begun to penetrate his rough skin. The girl had began to glow red, the pulsing of her skin grew brighter and brighter, the pulses came quicker and quick as a great entity from within her longed show itself. The burns brought Zeke back to reality, swiftly bringing himself up. A good bit of the rubble pinned his wings down, and it took the use of his arms and back to set them free. His eyes slowly etching around the damage, his mind switched to fit the appropriate situation, the damage done, the girl that now laid...


He had to leave fast. Assessing the damage done, he figured that, even if his items had survived the impact, there was no way he could find them in all of the rubble. Looking up to find some leverage, Zeke leaped for a crashed beam, grabbing himself with his now expanding claws. His wings beat harder with every grunt upwards, his true form impatiently growing, begging to be free. There was a gaping crater where the concrete roof would have been that would have easily let him out in his human form, if his nature would have allowed it. Instead, the swelling had forced him to squeeze through, the loose bits of concrete giving in. The beast was finally set free, his size unforgiving to the already abused structure. The dragon spread his wings out and shot right up, his wings beating faster, harder, yearning to reach the sky as it couldn't come soon enough. After reaching his point, the dragon presumed to gliding along, doing his best not to let the moon catch him. Should he need to flare, he hoped it wouldn't give more attention. It was a clear night.
 
Flexing his wings outwards too late to stop Vent from bypassing him, Caleb growled low in his throat and knew no more the capacity for speech. Damn him, damn him, his sylph was in danger and too young to know. Seeing the bright glint of claws tipping the limbs of the taller creature, Caleb lowered his head as his muzzle lengthened, shoulders tight with the urge to leap forward. Vent was not so big that he could not clear his head if the creature attacked, buzzing maggot breeder that it was. When his lips peeled back to show his glistening maw, his eyes shifted from fiery blue to a duller, smoldering red the human sense in him all but driven out.


There was no fear in the odor whirling with the friendly wind around Vent and Caleb drew in a breath sharply. Suspicious, he hooked a wing to drape behind Vent, a sheltering gesture that would be awkward to break from if he was given only a moment to react. Agitation ruffled the fur and feathers along his spine, but he closed his lips, attentive to the shifts in the night.


A sense of fire and heat was borne first on the edge of the wind and he thought it from the conflagration he had encircled before, not yet understanding the new deaths it sang with.
 
“Fluffy! You can't potty there,” the little old lady said to her small poodle that had stopped next to a car as it rose up it's hind leg. Mrs. Annette McCreedy was out walking her dog just like she had done for the last fifty years. Not with the same dog of course; this was the eight dog that had accompanied her on her long walk down Border street. She had always enjoyed the waterside view that this route provided her.


As Mrs. McCreedy tugged at the collar to bring her dog back on the sidewalk, she caught what she thought was a flash from one of the roofs down the street. Looking out across the way, she saw a bright streak of light leap into the air before vanishing. Then the light became a roaring fire that flared up, much like the roman candles she enjoyed every Forth of July.


Suddenly, the fire skyrocketed high into the sky. So high did the flame go, that every anyone within twenty miles could see it. It illuminated the sky for the briefest of moments before vanishing as quickly as it had came. An eerie calm surrounded the area, as Mrs. McCreedy looked over at fluffy and him back up at her. They both knew that something was terribly wrong.


In an instant, an ear piercing scream sounded from the rooftop that raced down the streets and invaded the minds of every individual in Praesul. Mrs. McCreedy was brought to her knees from the proximity to such a high pitched sound; blood running down her nose and ears. Fortunately, she wouldn't have to deal with the pain for long.


Just as the scream reached it's climax, a large detonation was set off from the rooftop. Mrs. McCreedy was killed in an instant from the Gamma Burst that shot out from the roof. Her frail old body was vaporized, only the shadow of her and her poodle remained, etched into the ground from the intense heat.


The burst was quickly followed by a wave of pressure and heat that spread out from the epicenter. Those that were unfortunate to be within a tenth of a mile from the blast were first picked up by the hurricane force winds before being cooked to death. Those who were fortunate to be this close to the blast zone never knew what it was that had cut their life off.


Those that were further out, as much as a half a mile, weren't as fortunate. They looked on with a mixture of awe and terror as the blast wave moved through the city streets. The force of the gust was strong enough to pick up cars and fling them into buildings and down streets, much like a small child after a temper tantrum. One man watched as a stop sign impaled him through the chest. Another man, managed to duck down in time behind a concrete barrier and watched in horror as his brand new hummer was picked up and thrown behind him, rolling around on it's side down the road. He looked down in his arms and saw the blood boils along his arm from the intense heat.


All the way up to two miles away, the affect of the explosion was still having an impact. The houses along the roads were all without their windows; being shattered into a thousand pieces from the pressure wave. There was still a large amount of debris that was carried up in the wave of energy. Much of it simply impacted whatever structure it found, large pieces of wood and metal rammed through walls and doors.


Finally, with the energy having been expended, the pressure wave weakened until it was just a strong breeze that blew through the rest of the city. In it's wake, a large swath of Praesul had been destroyed, and secondary explosions and fires began to break out as far as half a mile from the epicenter. Looking over all the chaos, a gigantic mushroom cloud of dust and debris high into the sky.


One particular piece of fire engulfed debris was launched high into the air, where it made a trajectory to land in the midst of the group of preternatural that had congregated.


Border Street Incident
 
Beneath the water the world above seemed so far away and it's troubles worried him not, or so he thought. His scales bristled and his body shuddered, Tipua opened his eyes and with all his strength he launched himself from the river to rise into the air. Rivulets of water cascaded from his body catching the light thrown off by the nearby buildings, he spread his wings and beat them furiously. All his instincts warned him of catastrophe but instead of fleeing he felt like he was heading for its epicenter.


The cool winds buffeting his body dried the moisture still clinging to him, he searched the city below for any sign of the trouble but couldn't find a thing. In the distance he made out a derelict apartment building, on the street nearby was an old woman with a strange dog. An explosion followed by a bright light caught him off guard but rather than being thrown into the distance he was suspended in the air unable to move. Light suffused his body and Tipua could feel the affects of his magic burning from within him.


He wanted to scream, he was in intense pain the corona of light expanded from his body to clash with the radiation that resulted from the magical blast. It felt like he was there for an eternity as his life slowly ebbed away. In actuality it all happened within moments and when the light faded from the sky he was let free from his power. Exhausted, Tipua couldn't keep airborne and careened to the world below. His descent was quick and ended with a deep resounding thud, The last thing he saw was a little girl staring at him in fright. His eyes rolled up and the world spun Tipua was out.


Images swam about before his eyes, tall wooden poles carved with his likeness, a child with brown skin, a scowling man; blood dripping from his mouth, glowing with forbidden power.


"The longer you remain, the closer your death will come, I will hunt you forever and always 'beast'"


Darkness took over once more and for a time he was lost.
 
The mutant backed up slightly, tearing the useless sunglasses from his face and throwing them aside. His eyes burned wildly, going into slits at he stared down the beast before him. Shifting them toward Vent, a hissing snarl escaped from behind the bandanna over his face.


"Hate ta' break it to ya', but he seems more'n jus' surly," he grunted, snapping his eyes back to 'Caleb' just as the creature's form began to shift and draped a wing behind Vent. The bandanna churned once again and, in frustration, Swarm tore it from his face. What was under it seemed like a normal human face at first, despite the shining eyes set in pits of blackness. However, more than a glance revealed the flesh from his mouth to be dry and cracking, as well as creased ever slightly from his nose down.


Gritting his teeth, the giant let out another hissing snarl, his chin splitting into halves. His human teeth were there, but on each side under where the flesh had split lay rows of shimmering azure spines. The halves reformed and he began to speak again when another explosion rumbled across the night. The sky lit a second after and the creature could feel everything shudder as a cloud rose into the air.


The sounds his ears began to pick up, both close and farther away tormented him and sent his mind into a sudden panic. "No... that can't be right... can't be that big of a..." he began, words trailing off as he rose his face to the sky. Something was plummeting toward them, descending at a terrifying pace that would no doubt strike them before everyone could react. "GET BACK!" he roared behind him, mind wild with hopes that whatever idiotic move that he was about to make wouldn't kill him.
 
The night air had been cool on Victor's skin. He had managed to get his security net half up. He was leaning against his van marking a red circle as done. He had had a full night of mischief. That was when he heard the shots.


As soon as he uncurled himself, looking around him for damage, he would pick up his walking stick, running towards the shots. It was only because it was shots, and the knowledge one of his occasional customers lived near them that he ran towards the shooting than away from it. He would arrive and survey the scene in front of his client's house, walking over and looking to check the werewolf's pulse, before kicking the head lightly.


"Bloody amateurs. This will be a waste."


He would mutter and take a small box out of his pocket, upending the contents on the creature's corpse. Then he would turn and walk over to the assailant, he assumed, reaching down and checking for a pulse, seeing how weak it was. He would see better in the flare of light that was moments before a corpse, and now was a surprisingly large circle of bare earth.


"Bloody hell."


Another pat of his pockets and he would proceed to duct tape the wound on her chest closed. It would do. He would half wrap the girl around his walking stick, picking her up and carrying her back to his van.


"Gunfire, should have driven. Then the cops would stop me. Come on girlie, stay with me. It's only a scratch."


Five long exposed minutes and she would be in the back of his van in the light. A first aid kit opened, and she would feel the sting of pain from a larger bore needle. It would slightly increase her blood pressure, but the duct tape was working well, and it wouldn't be too far for him to go, he just needed her awake right this second. It would hopefully keep her conscious and definitely alive until he could get her to his place.


~~~~~~~~~~~~


Victor was sitting watching the screens as his monitor suddenly lost about a fifth of his video feeds. He tapped the monitor, as if that would make them magically get fixed. Then his alarm would start flashing, registering unexpected seismic activity. His brow would furrow, remembering the small explosion earlier.


A sigh would leave his lips, bringing up a city map, seeing where it was roughly. It would barely tap into his territory, and he would let out a snort. He would self destruct the cameras that had gone down, just to make sure they weren't found, in case whatever took them out hadn't done the complete job.


He looked over on his couch.


"Looks like you owe me another one, Jace. Tonight is not a good night to be above ground."


A few minutes watching the various screens. He hated amateurs working his city. It seemed like there was one going nuts. He added to his to do list the need to track them down and take them out. Wanton destruction for it's own end sickened him. It really did. He would lean back. Explosions. He would start his computer assembling overlaps, to see if he could find anything suspicious, and then connected to the net and logged into a game. He found letting his mind wander while he leveled up ended up getting him new ideas, even if it was the equivalent of whistling while he pissed. Besides, it seemed like he had a guest for the night and part of the day until his computer finished it's work, and his devices let him know it was safe, and nothing nuclear had gone on.
 
Vent had little time to react. He glanced back at Caleb, who was sheltering him defensively with his wing. He was a little behind the strange man's reaction, as he'd been trying to block out the wind's whispering voice. In his efforts to block it out, he had missed it's screams of terror. Something very bad was about to happen, and the strange man seemed like he was about to defend them.


"Please, you should really move!" Vent stated, a little panicked, as his mind raced to reach a decision. Should he stay and help the man, or run and save his own hide? The man had been nothing but kind to them thus far, if a little on edge. And Caleb was here now, and despite being much faster and stronger than Vent, Vent wasn't sure if Caleb could outrun whatever was about to happen, let alone did he know if he could. Meido would most likely be fine, Vent theorized, she/it/whatever seemed less worried about dangers of a physical nature.


With the now all but finalized decision before him, Vent bit his lip, trying to stand strong despite his quaking knees. The wind around him whipped about wildly, and his gaze turned to the man once again as his ethereal wings of brilliant green light formed from his shoulder blades, and his eyes began to shimmer.


"Where is it coming from?" Vent questioned, the adrenaline in his voice all but palpable as he tensed up, scanning the sky, one with the wind itself. He saw it, the flaming debris, hurting towards them at a blistering speed. "Let me help!" He yelled at the strange man, as he lifted a hand up at the debris.


"Please help me once again..." Vent whispered, swallowing a lump in his throat, the winds shouting their answer to him at once. One of their own, they screamed, they would help without a second thought. Wind swirled and whipped around Vent's outstretched hand, seeming to gather, before launching forward in a spinning motion, like a tornado itself had originated from Vent's palm. It shot towards the debris, with the intention of slowing and diverting it's course as it was about to come crashing down upon them.
 
A strange feeling soaked through Jace's body. She felt like she was in a deep state of sleep, like she was trying to move but she was stuck in some kind of viscous substance that wouldnt let her out. She couldn't remember anything, couldn't see anything. She tried to move her arms, her legs, open her eyes, anything! But her body remained shut down. A strange pricking sensation brought a somewhat tingling feeling through her body as all her senses turned back on like a robot wirring to life and she jerked upright into a sitting position, gasping as if she'd been holding her breath. As she did so, her skull collided with the man in front of her and she groaned, clutching her head, dropping her gaze which caused her to see the duct tape across her torn flesh, as she felt the pull of the substance with each rise and fall of her heaving breaths. She looked around her, vision blurring in and out of focus a little as she fell backwards again, her body unable to support itself in her current state. The rustle of the tarp beneath her made her jump. From the floor she could only see some of the tools that were lined along the walls, the strange light that filtered in from the front of the vehicle. Where was she? Her eyes finally came to rest on the blonde man before her, the man that seemed to have no issues with the fact that she was bloodstained, well and truly beaten up and her clothing mostly torn. Staring at him she reached for her weapon only to find it wasn't there. Damn it, she thought with some annoyance once she tried to calm herself. She must have dropped it when she passed out.


'Who are you? Where am I? And what have you done to me?' The young woman demanded to know, her voice coming out cracked and husky. She saw the needle near by, her eyes widening a little more as she took in the site of the first aid kit side by side with the large industrial strength toolkit. Was he some kind of murderer? If so, why did he bring her back? She supposed he could get his kicks out of bringing people back from the verge or something. Of course, this was all after thought. She moved a hand behind her and grabbed a screwdriver from where it had rolled after falling out of the toolkit. She gripped the handle tightly and tried to calm her breathing, groaning as pain tore through her chest and she doubled over a little more. 'Damn it... Damn it why aren't I dead? Why did you bring me back? Is this how you get your jollies or something?' She demanded, wincing with each breath. 'Finding half dead strangers and bringing them back to suffer the same fate?'
 
The detonating boom that had gone off had sent Meido into a very quick paced form of flight or fight instinct. She lacked a proper thing to fight, or a body to do so, and the flight mechanism took hold. With a quick glance at the Sylph, who seemed just fine, she slinked through cracks, crevices, and into a pipe that lead down to the sewers below.


The sound of falling debris echoed through out the lage pipe like system. On occasion streams of dirt would fall from the ceiling, a display of larger objects falling from above. Shaking her head, she kept herself nothing more than a shadow against the wall, darting down the wet place quickly. She didn't have a destination other than away, but that worked just fine for her.
 
In no particular order, speech was often the first to go as the mind would slow and slur, and of cause now this is where things get interesting. You know that little voice in the back of your head? Well that little voice says fuck it, and you lose the filter on thought and word as he for once takes a well deserved break. Your balance goes off kilter and you find perhaps your stumbling into one to many minor obstructions you could have sworn were never there before, and then of course you would begin to lose your inhibitions . . .


The list of effects goes on, a not entirely good list it has to be said, but then that's all anyone ever thinks to talk about. Liver and heart failure go hand in hand afterall. Now Eoin, he liked to look at things perhaps a little differently. In fact he made a life of looking through the bottom of a glass half full, the likes of which were more beautiful than it could ever have been sober. Just like that seemingly pretty little blonde at the end of the bar on a late night Out.


For a start, by the bottle, drinking worked out a hell of a lot cheaper than many other vices such as gambling, smoking or partaking in the use of drugs. It is also entirely organic, consisting of a variety of fermented berries, fruits and vegetables, even wheat, and not to mention that something funny is usually going to happen because just as the gods of the universe decide that you shall fail miserably the moment you demand attention as you announce proud as a plum; '(I) can do it'. So do they decree that when even just a single person is drinking that there is fun to be had, because of course it is only when the alcohol kicks into the system that things begin to get interesting as you begin to see life as it would be reflected in a house of mirrors.


Contorted and bent out of shape and focus toncreate amusing results.


No one enjoyed a good drink like Eoin. Indeed no one could hold or drink as much and still be ALIVE like Eoin, and at this particular moment he happened to be standing atop a bar, his foot stomping in time as he would lead the drunken ragtag brigade before him in a traditional rendition of 'Johnny Boy'. Words nicely slurred and pitches entirely off as beer sloshed from the pint glasses that were raised high in time to the chorus, swaying side to side as the little man would wave his arms in time like a conductor at the proms. His eyes wide and filled with mischief and merryment as he would sing out; "-aross the River Shannon~, I can still see neh neh neh smiling , everybody now-!" His words lost in the chorus that echoed about him.


"Johnny boy~, o Johnny B-" BOOM


The explosion could not have been more on cue and was not entirely far off, and the suprise had the little man stumbling makig 'woah woah' sounds, arms helicoptering in circles to keep from falling as he would finally right himself. . . A moment, a stamp "Alley Oop!". And then the cheers would erupt once more with the interlude forgotten as the crowd as one would raise their glass and down the amber content with laughter and pats on the back, the chlurichaun pausing, drink poised yet not upturned as with a smirk he observed his handiwork before eyes would move to the windows looking out at the burning rain that seemed to fall beyond the glass. . . Ah right.


There was also of course the calming effect that alchohol could bring as well. . . Or perhaps idiocy? It was often hard to tell.
 
Dull red eyes fixed keenly on the unfamiliar creature, Caleb rocked his weight forward at the threat behind the gesture of bearing its teeth. He hadn’t quite set his mind to respond in like when an explosion burst as sound and pressure in his chest in the next moment. His broad wings struck the sides of the narrow alley when he thrust them out and he roared in frustration. Fire lit up the sky but he barely needed to angle his head to view it.


Panic and rage were hot in his nose and he growled again, building to a second howl that broke off when he saw the burning debris hurtling toward them that had drawn the focus of both the unknown creature and his sylph. The wind whipped unnaturally around them, but Caleb was not of a mind to consider what action it might be taking. Forcing the bones of his rear limbs to change, he reared back onto them, yowling at the splintering pain but able to balance in an upright position. The tight vortex of air Vent had created tore into the mass of alight debris, scattering it into a hot rain in the mild spring night. Caleb brought his wings in to wrap around the smaller sylph, shielding him from any of the burning fragments.


Fire and smoke blanketed the north eastern quadrant of the city and the flames spread from the abandoned district east towards the mines, south towards downtown and shook the support beams of the Liberty Bridge. The furthest citizens feared an earthquake at first, and then, with yellow streaked smoke blocking out the faint stars over the lake, feared worse. For the trio of preternaturals in the alley and everywhere around the city, the cover of dark was shredded as the startled and confused citizens came out in the disturbed night.


OOC: My next post will be a time-skip to the next morning. Tie up whatever you need doing.
 
Everything seemed to slow to a crawl for the being called Swarm. He could faintly hear the chaos around him, his own ragged breathing, and the quickening crash of his heart beating in his ears. Vent began yelling at him to get out of the way, but the male didn't move, instead staring up at the fiery comet that was headed right at him. "GO!" he heard himself roar, faintly feeling his face shudder at the force of his own shout.


Other noises echoed with dullness around him. Movement. Caleb? Was he going to attack... now of all moments? Swarm found himself uncaring, yellow eyes set on the ball of flame and rubble. With no warning, wind tore around him, sending his shredded coat flapping at his skin. A shred of him hoped it would slow down the thing or push it away, but as he watched, it only served to tear pieces away. Hot embers spiked his face, but his glare remained locked. He exhaled one last time and extended his arms outward as if he meant to catch it and then everything went silent.


Impact.


The debris hit him like a wrecking ball and shattered, catching both dry clothing and flesh alight almost instantly as fragments of heated trash poured over him. It covered him, blanketing his senses with sounds of roaring fire and flashes of brightness between the black. There was another sound, seeming to match the horrid straining feeling in his throat. It took a moment, but as he lost consciousness, Swarm realized it was his own screams.
 
Nathaniel waited patiently, waiting for the man that Miss 'Monroe' was meeting, but after half an hour passed and the man was still a no show, he wondered if perhaps his moment had finally come. He waited another beat, watching her from across the room, accepting the glass of wine that the waiter brought over for him, before standing and making his way over to her. He slid into the chair across from her. 'I'm sorry to intrude but you looked rather lonely, and I hate to see a woman kept waiting. Let me guess, blind date was a no show?' He smiled a charming smile, pushing dark hair out of his eyes. 'Such a shame, he had no idea what a beautiful woman he was meeting.' Blue eyes met her crimson, his gaze level and calm. 'That is an interesting eye colour you have, contacts?' He asked, giving her an out if she felt she needed one.


He was most intrigued that she'd not cover such a betraying aspect like that. It was a dead giveaway that one did not belong. He was lucky, his glamour abilities allowed him to disguise the tri-coloured irises of his own species, but there were some that didn't have that ability. Such a shame for them, he supposed. It was the only ability he had really continued using over time. That and minor wards, but he didn't use those often. Only around his own home. It wouldn't do to have something interrupt his work, legal or otherwise. Snapping back to reality he drank from his glass, watching her over the rim. As he set the glass down again he spoke. 'Where are my manners, I'm Nathaniel Marx, and you are?' He wondered if she would answer, if she would give her real name or her false one. Maybe she'd just ask him to leave. Either way it wouldn't phase him. First contact had been made and he intended to gauge the kind of woman she was for himself, rather than just watching her. He had to admit, she would be a hard woman to keep a track of, but now he had met her, perhaps they could find some kind of arrangement in which he would be able to gather more intel. He had scented blood again and was longing for more. He enjoyed the way his works turned out, the way he made the contrasting patterns work. Perhaps this time he would have more of a plan, more of a perfect debut. Marie would be enough, enough to start the panic. If the police didnt make the connection then he would just have to stir up the dust a little more. Though he didn't like to be cliche. There would be no ridiculously cryptic letters, no silly little bat signals or anything like that. No, He would be subtle, delicate yet straight to the point. If his past crimes didn't pop up on their radar then the police force weren't doing their job right.


(HeartBrokenIceQueen)
 
Annoyed. Ellemea was utterly annoyed, slightly furious yet she hadn´t moved a finger to show her frustration. She had been stood up by a contact; A contact that could pretty much determine what her next move would have been. Deciding to wait a few more minutes before leaving, unexpectedly she was approached.


At first she was expecting him to be her contact but was proved wrong by the young man in front of her, she felt uncomfortable. Humans were detestable in her eyes and the richest of them was always like this. Confident. But this one was different; he was to comfortable, too confident. Especially as Ellemea usually is met with frightened gazes and loud whispers when she didn´t occasionally wear her contacts. He wasn´t afraid.


His blue eyes were full of calm yet she felt a chill run through her, an alert of danger. Ellemea was a person how followed instinct and right now her gut was telling her to play along before excusing herself. Ignoring his small flattery, she wrecked her gaze up and down his body looking for any weapon of sorts before returning her gaze to his eyes.


"Yes, a masquerade party at my friends house." She answered, her voice soft and calm. But her eyes were far beyond; she wasn´t turning her gaze away from the blue irises in front of her yet like a bunny or parrot she discreetly checked her surroundings for ways of escape. A small window was located at her left; she could fit but she doubted the man in front of her could. There was also a bathroom and of course the door behind her her.


She snapped out of her animalistic instincts as he mentioned his name; Nathaniel. Nathaniel Marx. Ellemea made sure to note that in her mind whether it was his real name or not. "Janette Monroe." She smiled softly, not a single hair in her body showing discomfort. After all; She was a perfect liar.
 
Nathaniel smiled smoothly again, calm demeanour. He knew she would be seizing him up, and why shouldn't she? It wasn't every day that one was approached by a random stranger in a restaurant. Let aloneone who seemed unfazed by their peculiar appearance. He rested his arms on the table, calmly studying her. 'Ah, of course, if I'm not intruding, what exactly are you doing here when you have this social event to attend? Not that I'm complaining, I could never dream that my night would be lit up so brightly by the prospect of a beautiful woman's company. But of course, you will probably leave now.' He gave a defeated sigh, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. He was disguising the slight annoyance he felt at her lack of expression. He had been hoping to be able to read her easier, but then again, she was a woman. He would be lucky if he managed to even get a true smile out of a woman without all but murdering their arch nemesis. Except Marie. She had smiled often, he thought a little nostalgically. She'd had such a beautiful smile. He pushed it to the back of his mind. He could revell over the spoils of his work later. Nostalgia was not his priority right now.


Lifting the glass to his lips and drinking again he spoke. 'I will confess, I'm hoping you'll be kind enough to remain and keep me company. My own partner left me rather recently and I'd quite like a distraction of sorts. The company of a beautiful woman such as yourself would work well for that. Before you panic at my request, I wish to clarify I merely meant to ask you to remain for dinner. It seems a waste of a perfectly good dress to me.' He said with an approving yet polite nod to the dress she wore. He had to admit, the woman knew how to dress. In thinking that he unconsciously ran a hand over the collar of his suit, smoothing it flat and then adjusting the tie again. All the while his eyes stayed locked with hers, a charming smile, playful and slightly cocky, the rich boy air. He liked people to think that of him. No one knew the lengths he had gone to in order to build himself up as such. He was wealthy, he had money, means and necessities, and he had worked hard to get there. He knew if she were to look his name up she would find he was head of Marx Technology Incorporated, a corporation that developed any number of useful things, ranging from top of the line security systems to the menial web cams of today. Which meant she should, if she was anywhere near as intelligent as he pegged her to be, put that ascention together with the fact that he wasn't the typical rich boy coming from money. She could believe his father owned the business before him, if she wished, but the records would show that the business had been started by Nathaniel himself twelve years previous and had been built up gradually and successfully until he had created a name for himself. All in all, he'd done damned well to get to where he was. Thinking about this he spoke again.


'Well, what do you say Miss Monroe? Will you join me for dinner or run away like a frightened rabbit?' He was genuinely friendly, not meaning to imply anything. 'I'll be honest, the other women have and I can't seem to figure out why.' Another flash of the charming, boyish smile as he cast her a somewhat pleading look, imploring her to stay. 'I have a whole bottle of this to drink tonight and I'd rather not drink it alone.'
 
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