Fantasy Humanity Stands RP Thread

[Pacificus]

Desert View Inn.

As suggested by the Athena Agents, Casey got a room at the same hotel. It was a small dusty place, for guests that never intended to stay for more than a night, but not bad. Certainly affordable for Casey, who threw his bags onto the single bed in the small room. The day had been eventful, but as tired as he was, he couldn't rest yet. Now was the time for maintenance and research. He started by clearing the rooms small desk and laying out his firearms upon its surface. He turned on the lamp and set his tools in a very specific order off to one side. He then plugged in his phone and set it off to his side. He plugged a small drive into the phones USB-C port and then typed in a phone number. After a few rings the phones speaker made a digitized crackling noise, followed by a series of numbers spoken by a text-to-speech device. Then a message flashed on the screen. It read: "Encrypted link established. Standby."

While the phone did this, Casey examined his weapons religiously. He started with the FGC-9. He removed the magazine and pulled the bolt back to eject the 9mm hollow-point from the chamber. Examining the exterior, he saw the submachinegun had a new scrape on the side from how it had been dropped. He separated the upper and lower receivers and began disassembling the internals.

Then, a voice came over the phone. "Well, if it isn't my favorite customer." the voice was modulated, but had a barely noticeable French accent.

"Good Evening, Periscope." Casey replied while cleaning the fire-control grouping. Periscope was a broker and arms dealer for hunters that weren't afraid of skirting the law a little. Casey had never met him, but the two's business went back several years.

"What can I do for you, today?" Periscope said enthusiastically.

"I got an information request and I need a requisition drop-off."

"An information request? That's atypical of you, Mr. Know-It-All."

Casey rolled his eyes. "Ya, anyway. I need info on a vampire."

"Description?"

"Female. Tall. Long purple hair. Brown skin. Wears an eye-patch. She utilizes extremely powerful illusion magic. Possibly has an accomplice. Possibly has the ability to fly. Last scene in Hartfield, Arizona." Casey thought for a second. "This is going to sound weird coming from me, but she was... beautiful. Unlike anything I've ever seen."

"Well, that's specific yet vague. Give me a minute. I'll have Prima run a database search."

There was muffled background conversation for a few seconds before Periscope returned.

"While she's doing that, what do you need for this equipment req?" Locke asked.

"I need guns N' ammo."

"You always need guns."

"Fact. But what I have on me isn't enough. I need some real artillery."

"You name it, I got it. What did you have in mind?"

"I need 6 smoke grenades, a Deagle Mark XIX and 200 rounds of .50 cal Action Express. Can you have your guy overload the cartridges?"

"Hot Action Express?" Periscope sounded incredulous. "Are you trying to break your fucking wrists? What are you hunting? Cthulhu?"

"Just do it. I also need a Benelli M4 with the flechette cartridges."

"Those're illegal. Gonna cost you extra."

"You know I'm good for it."

"O.K, Done. Where do you want it all dropped off?"

"Hartfield, Arizona. Desert View Inn. Send it Express."

"Sure thing. Wait one." There was some muffled conversation before Periscope returned. Periscope clicked his tongue against his cheek upon returning. "Sorry to report, but Prima didn't get any hits back. Maybe if you have a name or an affiliation?"

"I don't. I knew it was a slim chance you'd find anything. Don't worry about it. I'm working with Athena on this one. Maybe they'll have something on her. Anyway, that's all I need."

"Pleasure doing business, Hunter. Periscope out."

With that, the line went dead. Casey removed the thumb drive and stowed it. He continued cleaning his weapons to completion. He needed more information on the vampire. A name. An affiliation. something really identifying. Periscope didn't have access to Athena's database, however. Casey would have to rely on Agents Vic and Farron to get more information on the mysterious vampire. He decided he'd talk with them tomorrow. He was feeling really sleepy all of a sudden. Unusually hot too.

Casey finished cleaning and reassembling his weapons. By the end of it, he was breaking out in a hot sweat. "What in the hell..?" He thought. He didn't feel sick. The heat inside him was tolerable, but felt unlike anything he had ever experienced. He stowed his guns and went to take a cold shower. The heat intensified. By the time he got into the shower, he was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. Suddenly, he was feeling nauseous. Casey felt the cold water rush over him. It was a relief. He watched the water circle the drain. He noticed steam rising off his skin. "That's not... physically possible." he thought, his distress growing.

The heat was no longer just an internal warmth, it was burning. Burning inside him. Like his insides were on fire. The pain grew until it became unbearable. He struggled to stay standing and gasped for air. In a flash, a heatwave washed over him in a sensation that felt like he was burning alive. Casey screamed. The water around him instantly vaporized and exploded into a cloud of superheated steam. The shower head itself ruptured from the steam pressure and automatically shutoff. Anything plastic inside the bathroom began to show signs of melting due to extreme heat. Mirrors and glass fogged over and condensation gathered on every surface as newly made steam swirled around inside the small bathroom.

Then, as quickly as it had began, the heat started to dissipate. Casey exited the shower and stood infront of the mirror, arms propping himself up on the sink. He felt like he could pass out at any minute. He gasped for breath. With one hand, he wiped a streak of condensation off of the mirror. In his reflection, he could see blurry lines escaping his mouth with every breath, like hot gases escaping. "What...the...fuck?!" The gases ignited, seemingly from nothing. A ball of fire exploded infront of Casey's face. Like a tiny airburst, its concussive wave blew Casey backwards off his feet and into the door. The back of his head hit the metal door handle and he was knocked out. There were no lingering flames, but the Inn's poorly maintained fire-alarms failed to sound.

( Silver- Zat Neo Alice )

 

[Silver-]

Farron Giroux
Tags: Zat | Mentions: Pacificus JesseMarshall | Location: Desert View Inn

Farron cursed herself when she walked up to the motel receptionist’s booth after having stood there for at least fifteen minutes tossing the idea around of whether or not she should really be renting a room for the night when she could just shift and find a good spot to curl up in as a wolf somewhere. The man behind the protective glass pane stared at her with a look as if he’d cursed his entire family for how long she’d taken his time away from whatever he’d been doing prior. He snapped at her to get a move on to which she laughed nervously, quickly asking to rent a room wherever Agent Vic and Casey had gone ahead and settled around before also inquiring about whether or not Agent Greenwood had shown up since his scent was nowhere around here. Apparently the only other Athenian that had checked in aside from her was their friendly spider-folk associate. “It seems like there’s already one reserved for you here under your name.”

Surprise had flashed across her features and she’d taken the key to the motel room more so to appease the receptionist whom she didn’t really want to bother any longer. She stepped into the warmly lit room cautiously, instincts bringing her to scour any closed doors, intervals between shelving and of course, a sweep of the underbelly of the full-sized bed that had been provided. Her hands passed over nothing but innocent furniture lacking in tracking devices. Who could’ve comped her room for her? After all that fighting and interacting with others it was gradually becoming all too overwhelming. She hadn’t been with Athena long and so anxiety was an opponent she hadn’t been ready to go up against for when there was downtime between jobs.

Should she bother telling Vic and Casey that Greenwood hadn’t shown up? She wasn’t really used to having to keep tabs on so many people at once and now that she plopped down on the motel room bed all she could do was fumble with the sheets unconsciously, her mind was buzzing all too loudly.

It wasn’t long before Farron found herself caught under an icy spray of water. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief at how easily her thoughts were dampened by the thrumming of water against porcelain, leaning against the wall briefly to watch how the crimson that had stuck to her body simply faded down the drain. Whatever this whole ordeal with The Hive and Athena was about, she hoped it would smooth over soon. After showering, she froze in place after drying off, realizing with ever-creeping fear that her clothes that she’d been wearing earlier were blood-stained and dirty now. I didn’t pack anything! Farron cursed herself again, wishing would’ve just headed straight for Phoenix now like she’d planned and scoured the motel room with a desperate look after wrapping herself in a towel. She couldn’t just be a wolf around the other agents as they might mistake her for a foe.

Shit. Shit. Shit. The werewolf pulled out the shelves of the nearby dresser knowing her efforts would be in vain since she’d already looked through them all earlier. Wait. The closet had a shelf up top. Propping the folding door open, Farron squinted her eyes to see that she could make out the shape of something rectangular sitting up there, her hand soon reaching and touching some type of water-resistant fabric. For a heartbeat Farron lost hope until she drew the object down from it’s perch, narrowing her eyes with suspicion at how similar it looked to a backpack she’d left back in her room in the Athenian city she was considered to be headquartered in. The contents of the backpack had her shoulders slouching in another wave of relief. A few articles of clothing including more gloves, her government ID, a phone and some sealed protein bars denoted this was indeed her bag after all. Thanks Chace. For whatever reason the SAIC seemed to know her all too well enough to go so far as realize she wouldn’t have taken anything with her out of naivety. She should be better prepared next time, it wasn’t good to rely solely on her superiors paying attention to her faults.

Shaking her head, Farron slipped on her new outfit that consisted of a dark gray bomber jacket and a black mock neck top and pants. She’d have to be careful about wearing this jacket in the heat, it was awfully scalding around here compared to the city. In fact—it felt unusually warm now. The air had shifted, thickened maybe, to the kind of moisture that hung around after taking a hot shower but her’s had been ice cold so why…? Casey. Her wolf was quick to answer but there was no doubting it. His scent reeked in the air, percolating through the walls somehow and it was raising alarms in her head. She had to find Agent Vic. Farron tucked away her backpack into the closet hoping she wouldn’t forget it later and headed out, shoving the motel key into her jacket pocket as cool night air greeted her. The air out here was more crisp, lacking in the almost choking heat that was beginning to fill her lungs.

She didn’t know what room the spider-folk nor the human were tucked away in but Vic’s scent was the freshest and led away from the heated air, brewing doubts in Farron as she now wondered if she should look into the peculiar scent first instead. There was no time to think as the sound of rapidly shifting air assaulted her focus, followed by the thump of a heavy weight coming from somewhere. Both sounds had been so brief, maybe she’d been mistaken? Growling in frustration to herself, she sought out her fellow agent instead, catching him just as he had been heading to the lobby area. “Vic! Did you hear or smell anything peculiar just now?” Farron tried to pinpoint whether or not what she’d heard could’ve been anything else but the heated scents were too convenient and they were all happening too consecutively. “I think we should check on Casey, I have a bad feeling.”

 

[Zat]

Vic paused as he felt a low-frequency thump flow over his trichobothria, the sensitive hairs that covered his exoskeleton. Much of the feedback was muted due to his clothing, but there was still a good portion of his legs left bare. The air also seemed to have changed the direction it was flowing down the hallway. The air changing directions wasn't exactly unusual, but it didn't normally happen in bigger buildings like this. The air tended to flow in one direction, at the whims of the HVAC setup. Still, even if it was a bit odd, it was hardly something to think twice about.
Not until Agent Giroux came sliding around the corner, eyes locking on to him with a burning intensity.

“Vic! Did you hear or smell anything peculiar just now?” she asked seriously, “I think we should check on Casey, I have a bad feeling.”

Her file had mentioned that she was a werewolf, so Vic would put more faith in her senses than his.

"Uh, felt a thump earlier and the airflow changed? It came from that direction, I'm pretty sure," he buzzed, pointing in the direction of Casey's room, not that he knew that. "Not much for smelling, unfortunately." He could smell some, but he'd need to take off his leg sheaths or unfold his face to do so, and even then the sense was worse than that of a baseline human. Anything he managed to smell would be blindingly obvious to a werewolf.

He stripped off his thick gloves to reveal bladed hands to match his bladed forearms, and drew his sidearm. "If you think there's something wrong, I'm inclined to trust your instincts. Lead the way, Farron," he said. She'd dropped the Agent in front of his name, so he figured he'd follow suit.

Maybe it was nothing, but he preferred an over-reaction that ended in a bit of embarrassment to an under-reaction that ended with someone dead.

Interactions: Silver-
Mentions: Pacificus

 

[PixelSymphony]

~(Sr.) Val'sharra Nightshroud~
~ Keep your friends close... ~​

Val's eyes popped open as Harper thrust a finger towards her. Eep. There was little doubt in the demoness's mind that the werewolf wasn't joking around; her right horn was already twinging in discomfort. "Ah... sorry about that, I just wanted to get us up and running as fast as possible. Uh, early dinner, my treat?" Thankfully her mentor seemed uninterested in dwelling on the point, as she strode towards the door, swinging it open with little delay and looking back expectantly. With an expert rebound off of the springy bed, Val launched herself back onto her feet and followed behind, the door closing behind them with a thunk-clunk as Harper turned the key to lock it.

"So, what kind of grub you thinking?" Val asked idly as they walked down the hallway to the lobby. "I think I saw a bar on the way here, they'd probably have-shit!" Out of the corner of her eye, she'd spotted a VERY familiar van out in the parking lot. Oh of all the crummy luck... damnit, I should have expected this would happen. "Teach, bad news: spiderman's out in the lot, which means dollars to dimes, the other agents are close behind. They don't know what your human form looks like, so you go ahead to the truck and swing around back; last thing we need is Special Inspector Golly-gee hounding us about everything that happened." With that she quickly turned and began heading for the side stairwell and towards the rear entrance, waiting for the familiar Ford to come rumbling around before diving out the door and into the truck in a single fluid motion.

As the truck returned to the road, Val peered in the passenger side mirror to check if they were being followed. "Ok... ok, I think we're in the clear." She straightened back around in her seat and and glanced over at Harper. "Holy moly, this is gonna put a serious crimp in our style boss..."

---

Interaction: BoomersAndMash
Mention: Zat

 

[BoomersAndMash]

HARPER STEELBITE

Location: Truck

Just their luck, just their damn luck. Of all the places that they could have picked to rest it seems everyone and their grandma is coming to this shanty motel. When Val had left to the back side Harper walked out the front to bump into the giant spider. He greeted her kindly but she was hungry, pissed off about her truck still and now pissed about seeing him here that she shot him a nasty glare that would send anyone reeling back and reconsider kicking up small conversation with her.

The desert heat greeted Harper with open arms. A low growl erupted while she made her way to the truck and popped open the door that gave a whine of protest of being used again. Slamming it shut she pulled open her visor and removed the spare key and placed it in the ignition, letting it roar to life for a few seconds before placing the truck into gear. Driving to the back of the motel she waited for Val to get in and once the demon was just barely sitting Harper took off, not wanting to risk having another run in with the law.

Food was on her mind and each ticking second that passed by just made the werewolf that more agitated that she wasn't stuffing her face full of something. When Val spoke about how this was going to put a cramp in their style she gave a low "humph", letting her fingers tap the steering wheel. Oh this day was just getting better and better.

Thankfully the bar wasn't too far from the motel, it was almost as though who ever designed the location knew that visitors would want to forget their stay here and drink their memories away. Pulling into the dive bar the sound of rock and roll music could be heard thumping outside from the walls and the name of the bar was again one of those cheesy names, The Watering Hole. Jumping out of the truck, Harper slammed her door shut and waved for Val to come with her. Rows of bikes littered the front of the bar and from what the werewolf could guess this town either had a local biker gang, or a out of town gang was shaking the town down for money. It wouldn't surprise her in the least given how remote this place was.

Opening the door she was greeted to the stench of sweat, cheap beer, cigarettes and by the heavens above she could smell something cooking and could hear a grill sizzling. Yup, this was where they were going to eat. Unlike in movies or shows where a new person walks in and the music abruptly stops and everyone stares at the door no one batted an eyelash to Harpers entrance. She made her way over to the corner of the room where no one was sitting and seemed like the least likely they would get spotted.

A grizzled looking woman who seemed like she had been in the sun too long, with obviously dyed blonde hair, wearing a blank tank top and blue jeans with black boots walked over holding a notepad and came over to Harper and Val. "What are ya having?" she asked, her voice was rough and grainy. Harper could smell the stale nicotine coming from her mouth. Ordering 3 cheese burgers that were rare, side of fries, side of chicken tenders, side of onion rings and a beer the woman was about to walk away but Harper stopped her dead in her tracks with saying "That's just for me. You need to ask this one what she wants."

If this world didn't have supernatural or somehow did have supernatural but they were kept quiet the old lady would of looked dumbfounded. But instead she shook her head and mumbled out "Goddamn monsters with their goddamn stomachs." Harper just gave a small smirk under her hands. That was the highlight of her day.

Interaction: PixelSymphony
Mention: Zat​

 

[BoomersAndMash]

Aguruth 'Humans are just uncultured beings that need look at us as gods and goddess'

Location: New York City

A puff of smoke lingered in the air lining the ceiling slowly as it swirled around. A man sits behind a large mahogany desk as the sound of music reverberated against the walls. His eyes glance down at some of the paperwork that was neatly placed in front of him from the board. Some of them said "Urgent" while others were just memo's of things that needed to be done. He gave a low grunt before taking a long puff from his cigar as the twang of the guitar began to play.

His name was Aguruth, and though he looks like a gentle grandpa that would give you a hug and take care of your needs, this man though, no this beast was nothing of the sort. He was a cold, calculating being who demanded results and action to be done and he would rather see his ends met before creating a partnership with anyone that he saw as just a pawn in the chess board.

What made him deadly and feared was Aguruth was a gargoyle. A being that no one had really taken the time to get to know. In his own world, before the gate opened he saw himself and his kind as gods and goddess, for they could never die from disease or wounds. They were powerful beings that were feared in battle. And even the most respected supernatural knew to keep away from a gargoyle. When the gate opened an opportunity arose. The world that they came to was inhabited but it was by cattle and uneducated things that call themselves humans. They have no powers, they have no abilities. These things could die from a mere cut by a wyvern or a pixie! No, they were weak and feeble. They needed to be dominated, enslaved and revere those who have come through the gates as their new masters and bow to them.

It was perfect and Aguruth thought the rest of the group would go with his plan. However he was smacked with disbelief when most, if not all of the council from each member of the races denied his plans, berated him for trying to cause war and condoned him for even thinking of trying to enslave the humans. This was an insult to what he believed, nay what the supernatural stood for! How could they push him away like a child? No, this was not going to stand. With a roar of anger and a decorrelation of calling the council fools Aguruth announced that he was going to create a new faction called the Coven and if anyone who believed in his views were welcome to join him.

So it was sealed and so it was written in how the Coven was created. But Aguruth did not see himself as the leader, nor did he want that position. He immediately appointed another to be the leader but he wanted to still be known to have say in matters. He also made a reputation quickly that he hated to be disappointed by failed missions or if Athena was destroying anything they worked for. He was well known for his short temper. And now the gargoyle was waiting to hear back from a Coven member named Silver in her newest mission of taking out a problem. He flicked some of the ash from his cigar into his tray and picked up a piece of paper when his phone went off. Not even looking at the caller ID Aguruth picked up and with a low rumble voice spoke. "Speak."

"Mission accomplished on the assassination of the Athena agent."

"What about the werewolf?"

"We haven't had a check in yet. But we picked up strange energy spikes in their area. I sent you information about it directly to your email."

His brows furrowed as the person over the phone spoke. It seems they could tell that he wasn't pleased with the news as they took a quick breath.

"We're working on it quickly. I wanted to start off with good news first before bad news. I know how you work-"

"Don't even say you know how I work! We sent that pup out on an easy mission to take out a washup ex-Athena now Hunter and you're telling me that there was a problem in the matter!? What type of problem are we talking about? And do not tell me to check my email or I will come down there and rip your arms off, limb from limb and make sure each moment of it is slow and painful!"

There was a gulp sound and the voice turned a tad shaky now as the person was picking their words carefully.

"We're not sure what happened but someone attacked the location our agent was at. We're not sure who they are or what they are but we know for a fact they are not Athena and they are not one of ours. We're working to find out who they."

Aguruth pinched the bridge of his nose feeling a headache coming on. The information was only getting worse and worse. He just wanted to hear from the agent sent on the assassination of the Athena agent.

"Get me the name of the assassin, NOW!" the gargoyle barked out. On the other end papers could be heard flying around. Finally it seemed as though they found what they needed and quickly came back.

" Markus Dupree. That's who you want."

"Thank you. The next time you call me and say you know how I work I want you to hold your tongue and rethink your choices." Slamming the phone closed Aguruth shook his head growling loudly. He then picked up his phone and dialed one of many numbers to the board members. It only rang a few times before it was answered.

"Get me Markus Dupree. I have another assignment for him."

Mention: JesseMarshall Silver- Neo Alice​

 

[Silver-]

Silver Blackwood
Mentions: JesseMarshall BoomersAndMash PixelSymphony Neo Alice | Location: Ma’s Diner>Closer to the edge of town

A white wolf peered at the driver’s side mirror of Agent Greenwood’s vehicle now, amber-gold eyes burning with curiosity as it tried to make out who might be in there. After being unable to catch a glimpse of their face, Silver gave in to her curiosity for once and circled the SUV until she made a half circle around it, reappearing at the driver’s side wearing the skin of her human form instead. A man around her age was slouched inside with the familiar rhythm that his chest rose and fell at signifying a pretty comfortable looking bout of shut-eye. Tilting her head a bit, she recognized nothing out of the ordinary within the vehicle from what she could see but he had definitely been the one to bring such radiance back to Ma’s Diner with how much magic poured off of him even while unconscious. It was a recipe for disaster if some kind of power-eating supernatural were to come out of the works. Speaking of which.. Silver scanned the area slowly, noting how strongly it smelt not only of the kid in the car but also of multiple supernaturals. It was odd. Normally so many would never come to populate one particular area at once without leaving little to no traces. The signs of a struggle were apparent but it almost looked one-sided judging by there being a bit of werewolf blood and nothing more. There was also.. Ophelia.

A white wolf peered at the driver’s side mirror of Agent Greenwood’s vehicle now, amber-gold eyes burning with curiosity as it tried to make out who might be in there. After being unable to catch a glimpse of their face, Silver gave in to her curiosity for once and circled the SUV until she made a half circle around it, reappearing at the driver’s side wearing the skin of her human form instead. A man around her age was slouched inside with the familiar rhythm that his chest rose and fell at signifying a pretty comfortable looking bout of shut-eye. Tilting her head a bit, she recognized nothing out of the ordinary within the vehicle from what she could see but he had definitely been the one to bring such radiance back to Ma’s Diner with how much magic poured off of him even while unconscious. It was a recipe for disaster if some kind of power-eating supernatural were to come out of the works. Speaking of which.. Silver scanned the area slowly, noting how strongly it smelt not only of the kid in the car but also of multiple supernaturals. It was odd. Normally so many would never come to populate one particular area at once without leaving little to no traces. The signs of a struggle were apparent but it almost looked one-sided judging by there being a bit of werewolf blood and nothing more. There was also.. Ophelia.

Silver’s hand instinctively slid to her left hip, hovering over the weapon that clung to her hip as her eyes focused in the darkness. Ophelia’s scent was faint but it was definitely there. After taking a quick glance to her surroundings, Silver caught a glimpse of something interesting within the vehicle. Vermillion flickered in the shadows, distinct against the interior of the vehicle and she felt her body go rigid as her breath caught in her throat, her dominant hand shooting up to touch the back of her neck as a chill ran down her spine. Confusion flickered across her normally emotionless visage as a cool wave of air felt like it was wrapping itself around her, absorbing the drop in temperature that desert night brought. Frigid tendrils dug into her entire body like savage claws tearing fissures into her, a choked noise coming from her when she realized that in one moment she was standing and in another she was somehow crouched on the ground with her vision clouding exponentially.

The stiff feeling in her limbs returned with a vengeance as she struggled to even remain crouched, her chest tightening with every inhale and exhale as she drew in breaths that stung her throat and lungs. It was like the air around her had chilled multiple degrees and continued to drop. Fiery white wisps escaped her lips with an ever shortening rhythm of air gracing her lungs and she could physically feel herself growing cooler, her hands trembling as she took a chance to look down at them even with the threat of keeling over lapping at her mind. Her head was beginning to swim, but she knew she had to get away from this spot. It was far too exposed and if that magic-user ended up stirring after sensing her presence, there’d be trouble for both parties afoot.

Snarls erupted in her head denoting her wolf’s internal brawl with whatever appeared to be consuming her body and icing her down till she felt like a living corpse. She struggled heavily to even make her body lift itself, trying her best to not allow her heartbeat to thud any harder than it already was as the blood that was rushing in her ears steadily turned into a howl. A layer of ice had taken hold over the entirety of the vehicle in front of her without her notice, not frost but straight ice. The area every which way in about a five foot diameter had drastically lowered in temperature to the point that any moisture in the air was coming down in the form of solidified ice crystals or— “Snow?” Silver blurted incredulously, capturing a few of the soft specks in the palm of her hand, her eyes narrowing with exhaustion when they didn’t melt but rather hardened into hail the longer they gathered. It was like she was creating her own flurry of ice and snow the longer she remained in a particular spot.

The werewolf attempted to drag herself away from the area but the cold only seemed to follow her there while also worsening her physical ability to move. Her sluggish gait made it feel as if she were walking for an eternity but in reality she only made it to an area halfway between the diner and the sheriff’s office, not even reaching the parking lot where Harper and that demon’s scent had grown stale. A small copse of trees and vegetation received her in silence, Silver practically falling onto one of the sturdy trunks and in true wolf fashion, she tucked herself as best as she could from view as her sinews seized up. The struggle of her efforts had her clothes sticking to her like sheets of ice weighing her down and surprisingly enough, she couldn’t even feel her sword humming at her flank. Her extremities were numb, her eyes darker than ever but her pupils blazing with those bright blue slits from before as she stared at the trail she’d left in her wake with half-lidded eyes. Any attempt to move now was in vain. Her insides were slowing their functions, the very blood pumping through her body seeming to acquire the sluggish pace she’d traversed at with her vital organs seeming to freeze over glacially. It was painful. She wanted to scream, howl, maybe even go so far as to ask for help, but in one aspect she felt she deserved this. The cold that she had looked forward to every year had taken ahold of her bodily functions in a way she couldn’t imagine and now the very area around her reflected the glacial conditions. Silver could only watch as vegetation solidified and snow fell; glowing bluish-white in the ethereal light of the moon that had finally shown face for the first time in the night. How merciful it was to be able to see snow for the first time before she’d lose consciousness for who knew how long.

Any form of control Silver had over the rapid cooling was unshackled as she felt herself slip away, her wolf’s call uproaring just as the snow turned from soft flakes to ice crystals bursting into creation upon sitting on organic surfaces, jutting out like dangerous flowers springing up everywhere. Until there was nothing left to freeze but Silver’s very body, the ice crystals formed into multiple shapes and sizes until she was essentially sleeping inside of one whilst the frozen area gradually cooled the rest of the area until the town dropped several degrees due to the accumulation of ice and snow that didn’t appear to be melting anytime soon.

 

[JesseMarshall]

Coven Infiltrator: Markus Dupree
Time: 7:15 PM EST
Location: Requisitions and Inquiries Department,
33rd Floor,
Athena Project HQ

​

Markus Dupree eyed the photo of the werewolf from the confines of his own small office. Mai didn’t show up for work this morning, and that simplified transferring Special Investigator Greenwood’s case file over to his own workload. The emergency transfer documentation proved easy enough to forge. He now possessed the space to look over the picture in private and noticed slight inconsistencies with the image itself.

The swirl of fur going against the flow, the way the snout looked off skew, a wolfish grin on the right compared to the scowl on the left—they were all contrarieties Mai would have caught. Was she not buried in an unmarked grave, that is. Mai’s resignation letter came as a massive shock to her supervisor, so much so he passed it up to Director Shellenberger for reviewal.

The forgers in The Coven avoided illusion like the plague. In their opinion, it didn’t matter if your craft fell under the category of undetectable; their slogan remained unchanged—there’s always someone better than you out there. Why gamble on Athena already hiring them? Human ‘volunteers’ did forgeries the good, old-fashioned way, in isolated rooms with not an ounce of preter ability.

Shellenberger also found the sudden departure of Inquiries and Requisition’s top officer suspicious, especially after the October Massacre. As a result, the director became adamant about cleaning house of any suspected covert double-agents. After the first team caught on and abandoned the faux mission, Coven sent another group behind them with a less observant commander.

That little town, the perfect postcard picture of preternatural and human cooperation, stood at the precipice of prestige and renown. So Athena Project selected that insignificant backwater as the location for a an advance headquarters. The city tower would become a branch division, and it would not only make national news but leave Athena’s cold image behind as a thing of the past. Their plans included having a front-of-house open-door policy for anyone wishing to file complaints, tour the current facility, and indeed meet the director herself. It would have put an end to most fear surrounding preter relations.

Of course, when The Coven caught wind of the operation, they launched their own... countermeasures.

After inspecting the resignation letter with critical analysis, Shellenberger found nothing out of place and stamped the document with the director’s approval. Following that, Director Shellenberger sent a handwritten note in reply to the attached address in Honolulu. If Mai ever changed her mind about being dead, she would have a job waiting for her whenever she wanted.

Markus groaned in frustration, slapping an open palm onto the desktop by his keyboard. Special Agent in Training, Anthony Ortega, passed the wide doorway to Markus’ office at that moment. The tall, dark-haired youth poked his head in with a sympathetic smile.

“Bad bit of paperwork, Dupree,” he asked. “If it’s something that I can help with, I’ve got the time.”

Markus glanced up from the screen, looking haggard, “No, I’m trying to clear up an image that someone tampered with.”

“Ah,” Ortega nodded, “Yeah, Agent Halcomb is always complaining about that. Impossible to do unless you know what the person looks like. I’m sorry.”

Markus smiled. “That’s okay. I’m just frustrated, is all.”

“Understandable,” said Ortega. “I wish a program existed that could remove the magic from tampered photos.”

Markus froze, his eyes snapping agape at the young man. A second passed in eerie silence before Markus found his voice. “That gives me an idea, Ortega. Come in and shut the door. I’m going to need your help.”

The SAIT nodded and pulled the door closed behind him, “Sure, what’s happening?”

RI Agent Dupree pushed himself out of his chair and sauntered across the short expanse of his office to where Special Agent in Training Ortega stood. The trainee towered over Markus by almost a foot, but Markus felt positive he could overwhelm Anthony in a fight, if that’s what happened.

Markus closed the gap between them to where their chests almost came into contact. Ortega’s high cheekbones flushed as Dupree looked up into his dark eyes. He extended his father’s influence between the two of them.

“Say what you just said, again,” Markus murmured, raising his arms to wrap around the back of Ortega’s neck. His fingers settled into the soft, dark hair at the nape of Anthony’s neck as Markus’ other hand rested on his cheek. The soft skin of Ortega’s face warmed under his touch.

“Agent Dupree,” he said, “I’m flattered, but I don’t find men attractive. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I-”

Markus used his thumb to tilt the man’s chin down, forcing their eyes to make contact. Anthony’s protests stopped, and the typical, glazed look of lust fell over his face. The RI agent made sure the spell took root, trapping Ortega under its influence. Finally, when Markus felt sure they could make no escape, he released his chin and slid the same thumb over Anthony’s lower lip.

“Tell me what you said when you came in the door,” Markus murmured, raising on tiptoes to brush his mouth against the helpless agent’s throat.

SPAIT Ortega wandered lost in Markus’ emerald-green eyes. “Sure, what’s happening?”

Markus frowned, and the bridge of his nose wrinkled. The seduction charm faltered for a flash, and Anthony blinked several times, as if trying to clear away the fog of sleep. Dupree strengthened the spell work, and Ortega’s dark eyes became unfocused once more. The other man needed to work fast before the SPAIT became a blubbering mess.

“No,” Markus urged. “Right before that. Say it exactly as you did before.”

“Please,” Ortega groaned. His arms snaked around the RI agent’s waist and pulled him close. “Tell me what to say and I’ll say it—I’ll say anything. Do anything!”

Markus smiled, applying force to the back of Anthony’s neck, dragging him closer to his face, “I wish a program existed to remove magic from tampered photos.”

Ortega nodded, his eyes open, and his lips mere inches from Markus’ own. “I wish,” he began.

With those two words, the emerald irises set deep into Markus’ eyes expanded to cover the whites, and the once normal pupils dilated into vast pools of inky black. “Yes,” he pressed.

“A program existed to remove magic from a tampered photo,” the young man panted, leaning forward to catch the lobe of Markus’ ear between his teeth.

Markus pulled away. His face morphed into something inhuman—something monstrous. His eyes blown out of proportion, and his grinning mouth stretched the corners to both ears. Insidious would be an understatement, and even pernicious fell short of the mark. The straight teeth now stuck out jaggedly from an extended lower jaw, reminiscent of an anglerfish.

When Markus spoke, he spoke with a voice that echoed a thousand others—the ancient voices of all djinn that have roamed the earth before him, and all that will grant the heart’s desires after.

“Your wish is my command.”

•❅──────✧❅• ✦ •❅✧──────❅•

Sometime later, Markus scrolled through a report on Special Agent Harper Steelbite. The story was quite interesting. She commanded the first strike team sent to wipe out the little town of Hope’s Birth in the October Massacre. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long before Harper caught on to the ill-conceived plan. They stormed away together from the scene ‘by using an acute sense of logic and valor in the face of overwhelming deceit’.

The whole thing made Markus want to vomit.

Whatever idiot thought sending in a pack of werewolves on the ground, a good idea could go rot. Markus thought.

It gave him great satisfaction to know that they probably were somewhere rotting away. Markus submitted the idea of scrambling an airstrike against the town. That meager pile of frogspawn was nothing but smoldering rubble by the time Director Shellenberger knew what happened. His station in The Coven rose after that, and with a well-placed reference, landed him in the RI department.

“If a field worker should encounter the aforementioned Harper Steelbite, it is under the personal order of Director Shellenberger to inform her of her honorable discharge from the Athena Project. Furthermore, the agent should also explain the permanent hold on Harper’s position as commander, or any other position they find fit to their considerable courage and loyalty,” Markus read from the report.

The report continued.

Do not antagonize the agent or push them into accompanying you back to headquarters. Inform them of the circumstance behind the October Massacre and supply them with Director Shellenberger’s personal phone number with instructions that they may call, if they so choose. They hold an honorary rank of assistant director and the awarded title Marquis of Valor.

The cogs and wheels in Markus’ mind sprang to life. It looked as though Special Investigator Greenwood stumbled into a well-known agent on the run. Considering the report he just read, he couldn’t imagine what the mutt fled from, but that was neither here nor-

Markus fixed, his thoughts rushing to him. Unless she believes they think of her as a deserter.

Too good to be true! That could be the only reason. Imagine Harper Steelbite thinking she was a fugitive of Athena. What a simple thing to pit them against each other and do all The Coven’s dirty work themselves. Director Shellenberger would be aghast.

A vibrating pulse coming from his desk drawer cut his musings short. The sound of plastic trembling against the aluminum interior was like nails of a chalkboard—jarring. Markus pulled open the desk and reached for the burner phone inside.

The double agent put on his best impression of a witless airhead. “Thank you for choosing Antonio’s pizza! Is this for takeout or delivery?”

A woman’s voice poured over the phone. “Dahlia Vanderbilt calling on behalf of Aguruth. I’d like to be transferred to the garden department.”

Markus’ heart sputtered to an abrupt halt. The face and voice of The Coven wanted to be connected to him? What could he have done? Something must have gone wrong somewhere, but he couldn’t place it.

The woman on the other end cleared her throat. “I said, I’d like to be transferred to the garden department, please.”

“Yes, you can patch him through,” Markus responded, swallong hard.

“Excellent,” she said. “One moment.”

The line rang and clicked open. As soon as Markus could hear open-air, he filled it. “Mr. Aguruth, sir. It’s an absolute pleasure to hear from you. How can I help bring blessings upon The Coven?”

A gruff but gentle voice waded through the murky, static-filled waters of a shoddy wireless connection. “Ah yes, Markus Dupree, I presume? I can tell you’re a little nervous, boy—don’t be. You haven’t got on my unpleasant side yet.”

The ‘yet’ sounded like it held no implications, but Markus knew better. The Voice of The Coven never minced words, and every syllable carried weight and purpose.

“I have a job that requires a special touch,” the man continued. “I heard you took out an Athena agent without the slightest trouble, and I need your services.”

Markus nodded. “Yes, sir. What can I do?”

Despite the implications, Markus found the voice of The Coven to be a calming one. It carried a tone of respect and understanding, at least it did on the surface. The young double agent could only guess at the unfathomable depths of anger it could contain, but his vision and brilliance would lead Markus to the ends of the multiverse if that’s where it needed to take him.

At the other end of the line, the gargoyle’s lips spread into a malicious grin. This young blood wouldn’t let him down. “I sent an operative to dispose of someone, but they have yet to check in. I feel they’ve failed in their mission, and I think you’re the perfect instrument to get the thing done. Your new target is a former Athena drone turned hunter—Harper Steelbite.”

The ash of his cigar stretched long and precariously off the end, and Aguruth tapped a slender finger against the chewed side to topple it into the ashtray. He poured a glass of whiskey over ice before pressing onward. “I want them gone. Use any means necessary, and find our missing agent. If it turns out they have indeed failed in their mission, I want you to think of them as a wayward child, disowned and embarrassed. I am employing a strict measure of tough love on those kinds. Do we understand each other?”

“Spare the rod,” Markus began.

Aguruth finished with a chuckle, “Spoil the child.”

Markus felt a genuine smile tug at the corner of his mouth, “It’s astounding that you should mention Former Agent Steelbite, sir. I’ve just found the most exciting piece of information here at AP Headquarters. Special Investigator Greenwood, a class five mage, is in a small town called Hartfield, Arizona. He wandered upon Steelbite by utter coincidence. I’m going to do some rewording on this report and send it to him. With any luck, Greenwood and Steelbite will go for each other’s throats. Whichever tears the other’s out, I’ll be there to dispose of.”

The blond laughed. “I’ll convince the RI department head that an established base needs to be put down in Hartfield while this mess is going on, catch the next flight out, and let you know as soon as it’s done,” he said. “Was there anything else, sir?”

An incredible stroke of luck, Aguruth thought, and a decent plan to boot.

Markus, two steps ahead, formulated the beginnings of a plan before Aguruth even called. The ancient being stretched his grin to devilish proportions. This child possessed the confidence and knowledge to get the job done. Aguruth took a long pull on his cigar, exhaling a noxious cloud of sickly gray smoke. Confidence pleased The Voice of The Coven, but it became so easy to mistake confidence with arrogance these days. Aguruth couldn’t stand arrogance.

“No, not at all,” the man replied. “Forge and manipulate the reports that you need to, and I’ll send you the information on our operative. Keep me informed about Steelbite and let me know when she’s no longer breathing. I have trust that you’ll get the job done.”

“Bless the Coven,” Markus said at the end of the call.

The line went dead, and the double agent smiled to himself. On a mission assigned from The Voice of The Coven. Markus knew it would come down to his life, or that of one of his targets. He decided it should be his target. However, if Markus failed, he’d find someone to wish the world apart before he came back empty-handed.

If I go, he thought, all of existence shall come with me into the void.

Markus chuckled, “Oh, this is going to be remarkably simple.”

A knock interrupted Requisition and Inquiry Agent Dupree’s line of thinking. “Come in,” he called.

Mihika Sagar opened the door and peered inside. “Oh, Agent Dupree, I worried we did not make it in time before you left today.” Her northern Indian accent flowed through the office like sweet honey. “A few of us are going out for dinner tonight and hoping you would join us.”

“Ah,” Markus intoned, putting on an apologetic expression. “Unfortunately, Mihika, I’ve already had a huge lunch. I won’t eat again until much later.” He smiled at her, nothing like the disfigured grin from before, and patted his stomach.

“I see,” Mihika laughed. “Now that you mention it, I see a little of your lunch stuck between your front teeth.” She awarded him with a lovely, unmarked smile of her own. “Well, if you work up an appetite again, you can find us at La Blu sushi.”

Markus nodded, “I’ll keep it in mind.”

Once she closed the door to his office, Markus raised his fingers to his front teeth and felt for the obstruction. He found it and used the thin, sharp edge of a fingernail to remove it. An unsightly bit of brown leather clung to his finger, weighted down by saliva from his mouth.

The agent frowned at it—leather shoes were tough to chew through, and he could never finish them.

Anthony Ortega’s shoes rested in the bottom drawer of Markus’ locked filing cabinet.

 

[Silver-]

Farron Giroux
Tags: Zat | Mentions: Pacificus

Farron had practically collided with Agent Vic after racing out of her motel room and making a beeline for the lobby. A familiar werewolf scent reached her briefly but she pushed the thoughts that threatening to conjure as a result of it for the sake of a bigger problem that may be underway.

The direction Vic had pointed in was enough for her to start walking in that general direction, her eyes scouring over the smallest details of every door and window they passed while she balanced listening to his chitters, ever shifting creaks and movements. “That’s enough for me,” she nodded to him appreciatively, his words confirming the two biggest things any close-by humanoid would’ve heard if they’d been simply listening.
The shedding of some material behind her had her glancing over her shoulder to see the spider-folk drawing his weapon and removing his gloves in one fluid motion, experience riddled through it especially with how he held the gun without so much as a tremor unlike how humans did. “Thanks. Also, this probably isn’t the time but I appreciate your efforts in all this thus far. I’m not.. particularly good at interacting with people just yet, so it was nice to know someone of a higher caliber was around when things were rough.” Farron didn’t face him as she murmured, her words coming out as matter-of-fact more than dripping with gratitude but she was just trying to be honest with her fellow Athenian agent. It wouldn’t be good if they didn’t at least have a good starting point with each other if they were going to be crossing paths more than once.

The werewolf halted when she heard hissing from behind one of the doors, reaching to touch the room’s doorknob but freezing as she could feel heat coming off it. It was metal, hotter than normal but not enough that touching it for a few seconds would brand her with some type of degreed burns. The door looked.. misshapen? She stepped back to analyze it a bit, comparing it to the unit beside it and tilting her head. The wood had shrunken a bit, the hinges not quite aligning but then allowing air to be sucked in from the bottom crevice. If she kicked in the door, it would let in a lot of air and her wolf shifted uncomfortably at this, as if there was something more. If the air from the outside was being taken in and the doorknob was hot.. “If we open this door too quickly, I think it’ll cause an explosion.” She looked between the only thing holding them back from entering and Vic. “I could try to rip out the doorknob or simply punch a hole and open it from the inside but.. what do you suggest? There’s a least one person inside and the temperature is warmer than normal.”

 

[Zat]

Desert View Inn

Vic looked over at Farron while she confided in him as they ran down the hallway, surprised. And here he thought he was the one out of his depth, stepping into a situation he knew nothing about.
"No problem. I'm glad I was able to help out somehow, but it seems like you did the majority of the heavy lifting," he replied, and he might have said something more if Farron didn't stop them in front of a specific door.
It was... not looking great.

Farron mentioned the possibility of an explosion, probably from a backdraft? He could indeed feel some heat coming from the door, but as soon as she said that there was still a person inside Vic knew they'd have to risk it. When she asked for his opinion his mind was already racing. If the room was burning and someone was in there... every moment counted. He holstered his gun.

"Alright. First priority is getting whoever's in there out." he said, as he started to sling off the large leather robe that covered his lower half, handing it over to Farron. "I can take care of the door, and my chitin is basically armor. I should be fine wading through fire for a little bit." He'd probably burn all his trichobothria off and that would hurt like hell, sure, but it shouldn't harm anything vital unless stayed in there long enough to cook. He certainly wasn't planning to stay long. Robe off, and put his gloves
"I go through the door, you slap my robe up over the doorway to starve a backdraft. I'll be out in a moment," he rushed out, his voice getting a little rough given the speed he was talking.
He paused for a moment. "Do feel free to come to the rescue if you hear me screaming and dying in there," he added, with a hit of grim amusement.

Then, it was go-time. He hoped Farron was on board with the plan because he wasn't waiting. Vic hopped back a body length, then surged forward, his left-hand cleaving through the door's locking mechanism as the rest of his mass flung it open. His multiple eyes took in the whole room near-instantly, and found it... distinctly not on fire. It was quite hot and steamy, and the room was wrecked, like some sort of explosion had gone off, but it wasn't burning.

The most relevant detail, of course, was the unconscious form of Casey laying on the floor, his upper body lying halfway out of the entrance to his bathroom.

"Farron! I think it's safe! Casey's in here and he's hurt!" he shouted, quickly putting his gloves back on as he rushed over to check on the man, praying that he wasn't dead.

Interactions: Pacificus , Silver-

 

[Neo Alice]

Ophelia, Galadriel & Verónica

Location: The Hive's HQ -> Ma's Diner

Mentions: (I'm tagging everyone basically) Pacificus Silver- JesseMarshall BoomersAndMash Zat

​

Verónica was attentively seeing the young body floating inside the giant cylinder in the room, it was impossible to miss as it was right in the center. "I can’t believe it… This little brat?" A few minutes ago Casey had evolved, triggering the reddish pink of orb and a moment later so did Silver and thus activated the cyan orb. Curiosity had filled the Vampire’s head and finally she got Galadriel’s to reveal the next step.

"You honestly thought that humans had fabricated the technology to suppress supernatural beings? These morons couldn’t even dream about designing such a thing, much less succeed in making it." Galadriel laughed, even the idea of it was ridiculous. "Athena’s Most Promising Asset, Frederika Von Einzbern." She smirked, her hands pressing the cylindrical glass. Of course, that wouldn’t wake her as there was nothing to awake in the first place.

"Now repurposed as Project Eva, fitting." Said the Queen while entering the room, her rest finished and her powers ready to be put in action once more. "Her abilities were limited, her technology obsolete. Still, she had a good run while she lasted." Ophelia moved her hand in the air, projecting images of the girl having fights with supernaturals and easily winning them but something was really weird about the fighting styles employed. "Once the organization managed to bribe the right people she was easily detained, as the rest of us. However, she was key in keeping us prisoners." The psyqueen had destroyed what was left of her mind when her powers were unleashed, these memories were nothing more than mere remnants of her old self. The girl she wouldn’t be any more, the girl no one needed her to be. "Initiate the waking sequence."

Galadriel nodded and both she and Verónica left the HQ with the three orbs, cloaking themselves as the first time was essential to keep a low profile but as soon as they arrived to Ma’s Diner once again the invisibility was gone. By this point everyone here was knocked out, they weren’t targets but hunters. While Verónica held the orbs Galadriel threw out a capsule from her purse, which at contact with the floor expanded into a full table.

Diasomnia put the orbs in the table, it would be uncomfortable to carry them for the next part. She waited for Cypher’s signal, the entire event would be broadcasted in every electronic device in the world. After this there was no going back, it was thrilling, a new level of adrenaline and her words would show the entire world what The Hive is capable of. All around the globe all electronic devices interrupted their normal functions to project video and audio, the logo of The Hive composed of a brain made of honey combs was shown briefly at the beginning with the Psyqueen holding it in her palms, Diasomnia at her left and Cypher at her left. Then the footage showed Verónica as she began to sing to the orbs:

Spoiler: Edited by me, sorry

The orbs glowed hard and by the end of the song they began to crack, even Casey and Silver could hear Diasomnia’s voice inside of their heads which woken them up from their slumber. Finally, from the orb hatched 3 mechanical dragons, the bigger one was the golden dragon which was a big as a tower while the reddish pink one was medium sized like a car and the Cyan one was just as big as a regular person. Verónica’s voice stopped and so did the recording, only a message was left in all the devices ‘The Hive has arrived, are you ready?’. Then everything went back to its normal course, as if nothing ever happened.

The golden dragon stood at the top of Ma’s diner and roared towards the sky, signaling the other two to hunt and find their respective marks. Resting is a luxury the prey can’t afford if they pretend to survive the night.

 

[Pacificus]

Casey lay unconscious on the floor. The cheap wallpaper was singed. The condensation from the steam explosion had largely dissipated, though everything that had come into contact with the extreme heat was melted to various degrees. Casey's breath was shallow. Oxygen went in with every inhale. Volatile flames flared from every exhale. His body lay motionless except for his face, which seemed to contort with eyes closed, reacting to something inside his subconscious.

Inside Casey's Subconscious

He awoke on a hard floor. Casey sat up with a groan. Everything hurt. It burned, but not as bad as earlier. "What the hell?" He said aloud. He was in a strange place. An infinite black spread out around him. He stood up and looked around. He was alone, but he didn't feel alone. A light ignited behind him. He turned around to find a large flame burning from an invisible source. It was a pure blue color and its tips flickered a half-dozen feet high. He felt compelled to approach it. As he did, the burning he felt inside dissipated. It was replaced with a warmness.

Casey took a step back. Was this an illusion? No. It didn't feel like one. What he was seeing wasn't a trick of the eyes or any of his senses. This place felt familiar, but different. He wanted to trust the flame. The urge was great and he stepped towards it once again. He reached out towards the pure flame. His hand shook. This fire was foreign. It was not his own. Not the same fire that had always burned inside him. But this fire did not burn. It was warm. Inviting. It wanted him and he wanted it. He thrust his hand into the fire, then music began to play.

SNAP BACK TO REALITY...

Casey lunged upward from his lying position. Immediately, he started coughing. "H-holy shi-it!" He exclaimed between coughs. He heard shouting behind him. He looked back to see the two Athena agents, Vic and Farron. He recalled what had happened before he was knocked out. "I guess that explosion drew them. Well, good to know they care about strangers." Casey then realized he was still naked. He waved off Vic.

"Don't worry, I'm fine... I think." He stood up and grabbed a towel off the rack and attempted to wrap it around his waist, only to find the towel had shriveled up into a hard non-flexible piece by the heat. Instead, he just used it cover his dangly bits. His toned, but not large muscles and body remained open to the air. He triaged himself, quickly. There was a notable bump on the back of his head, but other than that he was fine. He moved to retrieve a pair of pants from his bag that was still on his bed.

A confused look formed upon his face. "Do you guys hear music?"

Zat Neo Alice Silver-

 

[Silver-]

Farron Giroux
Tags: Zat Pacificus | Mentions: Neo Alice

Farron scoffed in a bit of amusement at Vic’s mention of ‘heavy lifting’, her mind yet again wandering to another topic that she wished they had more information on. The Hive. What exactly was Galadriel planning to do in working with a group like them? And what had they done to her after she’d been unrecoverable during their last operation together? When Vic holstered his gun, the shifting of metal against leather had her blinking back to reality, a blank expression spreading across her face as she glanced between him and the door for a brief moment.

His words came out swifter than she thought they would with her enhanced hearing not helping in any way at this point since she’d only caught half his words at first. “Right,” Farron responded slower than she should’ve but it seemed like her mind reacted quicker as she held his armor. She nearly dropped the chitin for a heartbeat, the weight of it surprising her. Shaking her head, she whisked her thoughts away once more, offering Vic a grin instead. “You’ll be alright, I’m sure.”

Farron watched as the spider-folk took out the door’s lock in a single strike, the blades laden across his arm punching through metal and brittle wood. The air inside shifted immediately upon interaction, Farron following suit with the plan and throwing up the leather garment as she was directed but giving the inside of the room a side-long glance as well. Neither the crackling of a kindled flame nor ashen smoke billowed from any part of the room, to both of their astonishment. The room was just hotter than normal—as if they’d just missed the actual action. She gave the door—which barely hung off its hinges now—a look of disdain. They’d have to explain to the motel owner their reason for breaking down the door now without proper cause. She could only imagine what Agent Greenwood would say.

Farron carefully placed the robes onto the nearby bed when Vic gave her the all clear, allowing the cool currents from the outside to clear the tangible fog in the room. She crouched down beside him, noting how the closer they got to Casey, the warmer the air became. “He’s.. the source of the heat in here.” It wasn’t just a fever that was running through him nor did he smell sick, it was rather that he wasn’t fully human anymore. Something had changed within him since they last saw him.

The head of the shower had clattered onto the tile floor not too far from where Casey laid with plastic containers looking warped and condensation clinging to metal and glass surfaces. “Check him for wounds, but be careful, I think he’s what could cook you if you touch him for too long.” Farron did her best to not look at Casey out of respect for the fact that he was.. well, naked. He’d probably been showering before the heat had consumed him. She did notice the flames coming from his exhales, her wolf bristling at the sight of beasts’ age old fear but she soothed its worries just as Casey himself shot up from his position on the floor. Farron nearly leapt backwards at the sudden movement, exclaiming quietly when he burst into a bout of coughing and waved off Vic.

“You don’t seem fine. There was fire coming out of you.” Farron crossed her arms, still keeping her eyes averted as she stood, though they narrowed to steely slits at his question. “Music? No. What kind of music can you hear?” Her gaze flicked over to Vic in wonder. These conditions were compiling rapidly and now she questioned whether or not this had something to do with what Casey had been shot with by that Hive vampire in the first place.

 

[Pacificus]

“You don’t seem fine. There was fire coming out of you.”

"There was fire... coming out of me?" Casey was concerned. A little scared even. He was shaking. His "tough guy" attitude vanished for a moment. When he realized he was shaking involuntarily, he took a deep breath and recentered himself. He was a professional, not some civilian. But he also had to admit it; something had happened to him. He couldn't deny it, as much as he wanted to. He ran his hand through his hair. "I-uh. I think that vampire did something to me." He rubbed the spot on his head. "Whatever she injected me with is still in there."

Casey finished throwing on the pants and a belt. "I was planning on asking tomorrow, but do you guys..." He gestured to her and Vic. "Know anything about that vampire?"

Silver- Zat

 

[Zat]

Desert View Inn
Interactions: Silver- , Pacificus

Vic looked at Casey worriedly, but the man was up and moving, so he took a few steps back and snagged his robes from the bed, getting them back in place over his abdomen. Not like there was much to see as far as a human would be concerned, but he'd gotten so used to wearing them at this point he felt a little exposed without them on.

Whatever was happening to Casey was not normal. The man was running as hot as a furnace, and had been literally breathing fire earlier. That sort of thing generally made normal humans dead. But Casey seemed to be fine, and the only injury he spotted was a small lump on the back of the man's head. Which meant either Casey was under the effects of a spell of some sort, or he was no longer a baseline human. Vic nodded in agreement with the man's assessment that the serum he'd been injected with was the likely candidate.

Considering the lump on his head and the fact that he'd been knocked unconscious, Vic figured he better check for a concussion. The fact that he was hearing music that didn't exist made that check just a bit more urgent. He was no medic, but he did know his first aid, and had picked up a few tricks over the years. He fished his pocket light out of his jacket, while Casey finished asking them if they knew anything about the vampire, and he had to stifle another surge of annoyance at Kevin because Vic knew exactly jack shit.

"I'm afraid I've been somewhat comically under-briefed for this situation. Perhaps Agent Giroux can fill you in on what she knows?" he posited, giving Farron a hopeful glance. "But before that, would you mind looking straight ahead and keeping your eyes wide open for me? I want to check you for a concussion, just to be safe," he asked as he turned the flashlight on. It wasn't the ideal kind of light to do this check with, but it'd work.

 

[PixelSymphony]

~(Sr.) Val'sharra Nightshroud~
~ ... and your enemies closer ~
​

Status
Condition: Nominal
Wearing: Semi-formal outfit
Location: The Watering Hole, Hartfield, AZ
Time: 3:40 PM

---

"Yeah-hyeah, now this is my kind of place!" Val exclaimed as the doors pushed open. Piles of random memorabilia nailed to the wall, in between memorialized biker jackets and wildly painted fairings. The row of bikes parked outside hadn't particularly fazed her; maybe it was because they were dealing with far bigger issues at the moment but at this point, she wouldn't be surprised if Harper would have taken any manner of nonsense from the gang as an opportunity to blow off some steam of her own. For what it was worth, Val would be right behind her; this whole business with Athena and and whatever in the hell had happened both at the Sheriff's office and at the diner was starting to get on her nerves. Alas, it appeared their time at the bar would be fairly peaceful, their bellying up to a table only interrupted by the weathered waitress who came by to take their order.

At first Val wondered whether Harper was ordering for her as well, given the magnitude of the items she listed off, but as she ordered the waitress back to the table with a remark for her to now get the demoness's order, Val let lose a snort. Sheesh, teach... not helping the stereotypes. "Right, I'll take whatever you got around here that looks like a pizza, and a beer for me as well." After the old lady jotted her addition on and turned to head towards the kitchen, Val leaned back and knit her hands behinds her head. "Ahh, feels nice to take a moment to ourselves, not having some whackjobs attempting to put a syringe in us... wait, hang on, I never told you did I?" She leaned forward across the table to conspiratorially whisper "That wolf you fought in the Sherriff's parking lot, and that hunter who was lolling around at the diner? Yeah they both got gat by some kind of... injection; i could see it come out of the bushline at the office, and the shards of glass at the diner matched. Whatever the hell's goin' on in this place is more coordinated than I'd like to believe. Wish I had some clue of who they were though..."

As if to answer her plea, her phone began to chirp, louder and louder. Surprised, the white-haired hunter pulled the communication device out of the pouch she kept it in, and flipped it open, immediately being blasted by the electronic presentation that had spread throughout the area like a miasma. "What the... 'The Hive'? The hell's going on?" She followed along dumbfounded as the three women present on screen went through their entire song and dance (literally), before activating the spheres they'd been holding onto this entire time. Wait, are those- She didn't have time to finish her sentence; the orbs cracked and shattered, revealing the mechanical creations that had been incubating inside. And then just as quickly the feed cut, leaving only their final message emblazoned across the screen, before her phone returned to its normal, blase home screen.

"... boss, I think I know who's pullin' the strings here..."

---

Interaction: BoomersAndMash
Mention: Neo Alice

 

[BoomersAndMash]

HARPER STEELBITE

Location: Watering Hole Time: 3:40PM

Harper listened to her partner with a raised eyebrow of interest. She remembered that the wolf she was fighting earlier had been injected with something that caused them the act strange like they were drugged and cease the battle. Her finger tapped against the wooden table while her mind was placing the pieces together as to who this new force was and what they were planning on doing with the two that were injected with whatever it had been. The music seemed to grow quieter as she allowed herself to converse with her beast, who was now resting and waiting for the next battle.

What do you make of this? Seems as though we have more trouble than we wanted in this small town.

Danger. Enemy. Protect people.

Figured you would say that. You were always the one full of honor. That's why you and me have survived so long. We trust each other.

Her eyes flicked over to Val as they both felt a sense of protection to the demon. Her beast liked Val and she was starting to grow fond of the demon around her. With whatever was happening Harper would keep her safe, even if it meant that she would throw herself into danger.

Val. Protect. Danger. No harm. The beast spoke in broken words but she understood what it meant. No harm was to befall her. No harm was to touch or lay a claw on Val as long as she lived and breathed. Even if this demon has proved she could hold her own in a battle Harper feared that they were going to be going against bigger threats that were above the demons league.

She didn't realize that she was stuck in her thoughts until the waitress came back with their plates of food. It looks like the cook in the back did make something of a pizza for Val and Harper got one of her three burgers with the side of onion rings.

"You'll get the rest of it soon. I don't have eight hands so hold your horses." the waitress told Harper, not wanting to hear her complain that her whole order wasn't there.

It didn't matter. The wolf began to dig in without so much as making a peep about missing half her food. She scarfed down the burger but then a strange sound caught her ears. It was loud and obnoxious that she fought to cover them but when Harper turned to the source she started at Val's phone and watched as whatever was playing did it's act and said their name, The Hive. The Hive, that name was spoken earlier by one of the agents. When an orb cracked and something came out the feed was soon cut off and a hole opened up in her stomach. Her beast was pacing now letting out growls and snorts of warnings. Whoever these folks were it wasn't good and it shook Harper more that Val know who they were messing with.

The waitress came back with the rest of the order and the two beers. Harper raised her hand to the older woman. "We're gonna need another round of drinks please. This is gonna be a long night." Cussing under her breath about how she wasn't some servant the waitress left as Harper went back to her food, not even thinking of putting them into a To-Go box. To hell with that. They could talk about work and eat at the same time. They didn't always have to be on the run. Clearing her throat and taking a long drink from the cheap draft beer Harper leaned forward to Val and spoke in a ready tone to take all the information in. "Alright kid, floors yours. What are we dealing with and how we stop em? Oh and we're not leaving until we both finish eating."

Interaction: PixelSymphony
Mention: Neo Alice​

 

[BoomersAndMash]

Aguruth 'Humans are just uncultured beings that need look at us as gods and goddess'

Location: New York City

A roar could be heard coming from the office. Those that were close hurried their pace, not wanting to get caught in the rage of the gargoyle's fury. Something had set him off. Something had caused his quiet and calm mood to now be a blistering rage of hell. But they couldn't pin point as to what it was. A thunderous crash pounded the wall as the door buckled from the impact. The secretary on the other end, the one who has heard and seen her bosses wraith did not seemed phased and continued to look at her social medial page. She could guess what pissed off her boss. It was the show that was placed on earlier, the one done by the three lovely ladies that call themselves The Hive. And it seems they had something that was powerful on their side.

The door sprang open, Aguruth came out, his hair looked a bit out of place but not as out of place as his office. The desk was smashed, the chair was destroyed. Papers were flown everywhere and some books were strewed on the ground. Taking a deep breath he fixed his hair and glanced over to his secretary and cleared his throat loudly to gain her attention.

"Have someone clean up the mess in my office. I'm off to speak to the board about this.....development that has turned up. Hold my calls and if someone insist on talking to me tell them that their life is not important to me to destroy."

He didn't wait for an answer. In a brisk walk Aguruth was down the hall and to the elevator. Heading to the top floor he clasped his hands behind his back and growled trying to control his body from changing to his true form. Small flecks of stone appeared and disappeared around his cheeks and a glint of yellow flashed across his eyes. He took a few deep "calming" breaths just as the elevator halted and dinged to announce it had arrived on the designated floor. The board was already seated down in front of a long glass table, all walks of supernatural stared as Aguruth stepped in. Unlike those downstairs who were afraid of the gargoyle the board held him in respect if not a little tired of his short out burst. Taking a seat in one of the leather arm chairs he leaned back and the meeting began.

"Right, it seems we have new competition that has made themselves known. They call themselves The Hive." A woman spoke as she stood up and pointed to a board that had a freeze frame of the three woman. Her fangs glinted in the light. "We don't have anything on them yet and don't know their motives. But what we do know is that they are a new threat to The Coven and must be stopped."

A chorus of whispers filled the room. Each member agreed that this new turn of events was not what they wanted. Aguruth stared at the image closer taking in their details and also having vision of how he would dispatch them.

The woman spoke again to quiet the noise. "This was taken in Hartfield. A small town in the desert. I'm not against having this place destroyed. It's a dried up area and posses no use for us. But then that makes us a bigger target for Athena. It seems we're at a cross roads."

Aguruth eyes lit up. Hartfield. He had an agent being sent there and had one already placed. There was no need to bomb the living hell out of the town if already two of their people were there. Plus it might give him a chance to spread his own wings and fly out to personally take care of The Hive himself. Sitting up straighter he cleared his throat and all eyes laid on him.

"There will be no need for drastic measures my lady." he begins in a charming way. Reaching into his coat he pulls out a cigar and a lighter, taking a few puffs the gargoyle waits a few moments before continuing his thought. "I have two agents already out there in that small shanty town. One of them I have the upmost confidence will complete his mission without fault. The other.....Well you know what happens to those that are lead astray."

The board looks at each other with small nods knowing what he means. Aguruth couldn't contain his smile. It wasn't the end of the world as he thought it was. They just needed to come together and think. "My lady though I do have confidence in my one agent I ask that I be sent out to personally see to it about this rabble with The Hive. We can't afford to lose any more good agents. "

A small gasp washed over as he suggested to be sent out on the field. One of the board members, a demon brings their head out and speaks with push back. "But you are the mouth that speaks! You are the voice of The Coven! It is silly if not reckless to send you of all to the fight! Send someone in less rank! Don't be a fool, Aguruth! You are no longer a fighter, you are a-"

In a flash Aguruth had made his way to the demon. His hands gripped around their neck tightly and not only that but his body had finally changed to it's true form. He snarled low lifting them up for their chair and spoke with a thunderous boom. "How DARE you speak to me! How DARE YOU speak to me as though I am a CHILD! I am Aguruth! The voice of The Coven and bringer of destruction! I am more capable of destroying The Hive than you with a legion of ten thousand!"

Throwing the demon down to the ground Aguruth transformed back and turned to who he had been speaking to. He ran his hand through his hair and spoke as though nothing happened. "So, do we have an agreement?"

A few hours later with a bag packed Aguruth was in a private jet making his way to Hartfield to aid Markus and to bring down The Hive.

Mention: Silver- Neo Alice JesseMarshall

 

[Neo Alice]

Tales of The Hive: Sinclair

As an orphan all that Sinclair ever had was her books, not knowing from where she came from nor having an interesting life of her own the books offered her an escape and a sense of fulfillment. Who hasn't ever felt represented by a character in a book, movie or show? But that wasn't quite her case, there was nothing to feel identified with because she felt empty inside. Instead for the limited duration of the book she would turn into the character itself, mimicking its personality and gimmicks.

Eventually the staff at the orphanage noticed that something was off with her, she was evaluated and subsequently interned in a psychiatric institute. There never was time for a diagnosis as she was taken for experimentation by the God's Eye Foundation for Humanity's Survival, the psychiatric institute was just one of many fronts they had to collect people no one would miss to turn them into their lab rats. Her first day at the lab was when finally the Psyqueen's powers imploded, unlike the many humans in the building she didn't die nor was knocked back. The exposure to the Psychic Energy had a different effect on her which drew the attention of Ophelia to her, a fascinating specimen indeed. "Who are you my child?"

Books began to appear on top of the corpses next to Sinclair and from there numerous duplicates separated from her original body to grab those books, in unison they all replied. "Oh, I am one yet many!" Her voices echoed as the duplicates merged back to her, the books melting into one singular grimoire with a golden rose in its cover. "I am... Infinity." For the first time in her life, the emptiness inside of her felt possible to fill and Ophelia was marveled by this new development coming from a simple human.

 

[Silver-]

Farron Giroux
Tags: Zat Pacificus | Mentions: JesseMarshall Neo Alice

Farron mentally slapped her own forehead when Casey reiterated her words of how he had been breathing fire. She shouldn’t be muttering observations that will most likely cause fear and anxiety in the person that the situation is affecting. She was about to say something when she saw the way he was trembling a bit, catching the scent of confusion coming off him in waves which caused her to look away from him, cursing herself silently. Even when his heart rate thudded to a normal pace, Farron kept her focus on the nearby shelving, allowing Vic to do all the speaking for now.

Both Vic and Casey appeared to be seasoned in the professional line of things—with the spider-folk having a hand in Athenian contacts and procedures, judging by the way he moved and reacted with such ease and the wayward human that had shown how adept he was in combat without a hint of hesitance grazing his actions earlier. Farron couldn’t tell if the feeling that was creeping up on her was envy or irritation at her own shortcomings. Maybe if she’d only paid more attention and trained more with the time she’d had before they sent her on scouting duties, she could’ve done something about Galadriel before The Hive had taken her. Even the information on her falling out with Athena was sparse.

The werewolf breathed a low sigh and tore her gaze away from the space to watching as Vic examined Casey, feeling useless as she had taken a spot on the very edge of the motel room’s bed. Once they’d gotten settled and Casey allowed himself to be looked over was when she began to speak. “I don’t know if I can really say much. It seems this group is called ‘The Hive’ per some things I’ve heard in the main Athenian city. They seemed more like one of those groups that people know of but don’t really delve into the details since they had been spotted together but not them plotting anything in particular. A group on a watchlist of sorts.” Farron spoke as if the group were merely a few people coming together to be a potential threat more than an actual one but after a pause, she shifted a bit.

“The one thing that I don’t think people have mentioned is who exactly makes up The Hive though and weirdly enough.. I feel like I know one of them but I honestly can’t be sure how. The only confirmed individuals are that vampire and whomever that woman was that was being bitten by her.. illusions.” She waved her hand dismissively, wanting to shrug off her suspicions but instincts were telling her otherwise. “Either way, there’s no confirmation of who is who just yet. At least not until we get something from the higher ups or maybe Agent Greenwood knows something, so I don’t think we should jump to conclusions. I think it would be best to just rest for now with the brief time we all have until something else happens.” With Casey’s motel room door being mostly unhinged and fully incapable of locking, she wondered if Agent Vic would lend a hand in having them stay together or if the motel personnel would be kind enough to give the Hunter another lodging for the night. Regardless, she hoped that whatever had been administered to Casey wasn’t fatal. Perhaps they should have Agent Greenwood do an examination on him as well to locate just what source of power his newly forged flames were burning from.

 

[Stricken Steel]

Nescura
Location: Hartfield, Arizona -> Desert View Inn.

The sound of an explosion went off a few minutes ago, waking up the female. "Umph! Time for the job to start...but first a small snack." Nescura spoke before absorbing a copper penny with her hand. "Mmm. Tastes like the usual." She sat up, before melting into a liquid puddle of metal and moving towards the crack under the door of the motel room. She slipped up under the door and moved across the pavement slowly, whenever something had caught her non-existent eyes.
Looks like a door had been forcefully knocked down, and bit of metal and pieces of woods where scattered everywhere. She quickly formed into main form and slipped into the room, before seeing others inside as well. The room was really stuffy...unusually stuffy.
"Uhh I dunno what happened, But that explosion came from here? Anyways, Why is everything singed in here...?" She asked, before quickly taking another look at the door. "Wait...Is this what I think it is?"
Her hand turned into a temputure gauge, and she was stunned. "Whoa...You guys have thermite in here or something?" Her hand turned back to "normal" before turning into a small fan.

Silver- Pacificus Zat ​

 

[Zat]

Vic followed the explanation Farron gave, nodding along as they explained what they knew. Apparently not all that much more than him, which made him feel both better and worse. More intel on what exactly was going down here would have been nice.

"Yes, sticking together and getting some rest sounds good. I'll tell the front desk guy about the... um... incident with the room. I'm sure I can convince him to put off dealing with it until tomorrow." Vic quirked his head at Casey, in the best imitation of a 'friendly look' he could manage, given his blank mask of a face.
"If that serum does end up being behind your new... ah, abilities, which seems pretty likely, I think we can get you off the hook responsibility-wise for these damages."

Vic started moving toward the door.
"I think it'd be best if we found a room we could all share. It may not be the most comfortable, but... it... would...." he stopped, staring at what appeared to be some sort of metal person stepping through the door. They... She? It was kind of hard to tell with very little in the way of identifying features, looked around for a moment before speaking.

"Uhh I dunno what happened, But that explosion came from here? Anyways, Why is everything singed in here...?" the metal woman asked, before quickly taking another look at the door. "Wait...Is this what I think it is?"
Her hand appeared to shift into some sort of... device? She stared at it and seemed stunned as far as Vic could read her body language. "Whoa...You guys have thermite in here or something?" Her hand turned back to "normal" before turning into a small fan.

Vic just stared, incredulous and wary. She was... awfully casual about this whole situation, given the extent of the destruction. Casual enough to put him on guard. She might be playing with them. He'd seen many a cocky Coven member waltz into a disaster all cheery, looking to screw with people before starting the bloodshed. He was ready to drop his gloves and fight if need be, but if that metal form was as malleable as it seemed he wasn't sure what he'd be able to do.
Still, he hoped their timely arrival and casual demeanor was simply coincidence, and no fighting would be necessary. He tried the diplomatic route first.

"And, who, exactly, might you be?" he asked, letting a hand dangle by his sidearm, for all the good it would do.

Interactions: Silver- Pacificus Stricken Steel

 

[Neo Alice]

Galadriel & Verónica

Locations: Outside of Ma's Diner

Mentions: Pacificus Silver- Zat

​

Its wings flapped hard in the sky, the red dragon had to go farther than the blue one that just got to walk a few meters to find the white wolf. Yet it did not attacked her right away, instead it took a moment to appreciate the ice covering her surroundings. With a motion of its left hand the ice dissipated into the air, cooling it down as the morning sun rose. Soon the wolf would awake herself, these wild beasts had good intuition.

On the other hand the red dragon arrived to the hotel when the sun was already up in the sky, this one wasn’t as fast as the blue one nor as powerful as the golden one. It was like the middle ground, equilibrated in all its aspects. Surely his presence wasn’t a secret at this point so why bother with the subtlety? Red words began to appear around its mouth ’The endless flame that eradicates existence itself’ was written in the air, forming a magical circle in front of its mouth that flared crimson red and when it finally roared a powerful crimson blast flew from it towards the window and destroyed the entire wall.

Afterwards more red words engraved themselves around its entire body: ’Only Casey can hurt the red dragon, others won’t even tickle it’. From up and down the line of words a sphere of red energy formed a force field around the dragon that would negate all attacks that weren’t from Casey, specifically, his newfound powers.

Both Casey and Silver can feel their respective powers getting amplified by the presence of these dragons, electric shocks run wild through their spines with heat and cold respectively that weren’t uncomfortable anymore. Since their evolution had taken place they no longer were affected by any temperature to a bothering point.

”Greetings Specimen-C and Specimen-S!” Galadriel’s voice rang through the mechanical dragons. ”You can consider this a test, pass it and you may live, fail it and… well, you know.” She took a moment to let it sink in and then proceeded. ”Ok, drama time is over. Let’s get down to the parameters, shall we? In front of you there’s a powerful being, modified by your truly, that will do anything in their power to destroy you. Your mission is to use your new powers to- Ah yeah, Athena Agents! ” A bit of spite could be heard in her last words. ”As you can see this isn’t any of your business, the dragons can’t be attacked by anyone other than my test subjects and should you interfere in any way I’ll make sure to blast the entire town with my third baby.”

A holographic projection appeared from the dragons’ eyes to the air, showing how a monstrously big golden dragon was resting on top of Ma’s dinner. ”You might call this a hostage situation, I like to call it a controlled environment for examination.” The dragon roared to the sky, its power so big it could be heard in the entire town. ”Keep your nosy fists in your pockets or I’m making a new great cannon, understood?” She made a pause, as Diasomia whispered something in her ear. The holographic projection turned off and she spoke one last time. ”Of course, we are at Ma’s dinner if anyone is interested to know. In case you people want a rematch.”

Her voice stopped, that was the end of the transmission and now they had another thing to take care of as Diasomnia took the shells of the colored pearls. ”What are you doing?” She asked curious as she saw the girl take out three guns from her backpack.

”Something that Ophelia has been teaching me, she said I could make servants with these.” She took out a sheet of paper with a bloody magic circle painted on it. ”Of course, I’m not nearly as powerful nor knowledgeable with spellwork as she is. So for this task I’m using her energy and magical formula.”

She knew she could ingest psychic energy but the fact she could use it for something other than her usual energy constructs was interesting. ”That’s still impressive.” Specially for someone that was a human a few years ago, acclimatizing to the supernatural lifestyle is an achievement by itself

She laughed nervously, psychic magic was something entirely new to her… well, all magic was new to her actually. ”This goes here…” She put the remains of the orbs each on a different gun and then took out a capsule from her backpack, it was one of Galadriel’s capsules and the moment it touched the floor it expanded into 3 cages with 3 cute bunnies inside. ”And now this…” She located the cages on top of each other and then put the sheet of paper on top of the last one.

Them she left the energy inside of her, belonging to the psyqueen, flow to the magical circle and golden threads linked each bunny to a gun and its respective pearly orb. In a golden flash the bunnies were no more and in their place now 3 bunny girls, one with pink hair, another one with cyan hair and finally the leader with blonde hair and an eye patch were standing in front of the pair. “The Pendragon Corps have arrived, you called on us, Lady Diasomnia?”

​

 

[BoomersAndMash]

HARPER STEELBITE

Location Desert View Inn Room 202

The day had been long, dragging and strange. But that shouldn't be a surprise to Harper, she was use to seeing things go tits up in a seconds notice. From coming into this hell heated town known as Hartfield, where only small pockets of inhabitants live she was a fool to think it would be a quiet day. Between the young demon coming up to her boldly at the diner asking to be trained as a hunter, to the feral werewolf attacking them at the sheriffs parking lot with no rhyme or reason and then this new threat called The Hive popping up, it would cause anyone to have a raging headache.

Returning back to the motel Harper body was once again aching in pain and screaming at her to rest. The older woman turned to her partner, who had nestled up against the passenger side of her truck after they ate dinner and was now sleeping. With a small smile she opened up her door and got out of her truck and carefully picked up Val, bridal style to not disturb the demon from her slumber. Her beast inside moved around back and forth keeping a close eye on their new friend.

Keep safe. No harm to them.

Yes, I know that. Calm down. She's just sleeping. She ate a massive meal at the bar.

Harper chuckled at herself and to her beast side. They both have grown attached to the new addition to the pack. Unlocking the room, she placed Val on the first bed by the door before closing it and locking it. The air was filled with the smell of the Athena agents and other happenings but she was too tired to be worried about them. Her body needed sleep to recover from the fight though the mark around her neck was probably going to be a nice scar.

Moving to the second bed by the bathroom Harper flopped down with a loud 'Oof!' and allowed the mattress to creak in protest from the new weight. She didn't even cover her body in the sheets and it wasn't long before sleep over took her too. It was a welcome end to how crazy this day had been.

Interaction: PixelSymphony​

 

[Pacificus]

Hartfield. Desert View Inn. Casey's Room.

Casey was cooperative and looked into the light that the spider shined at him. The arachnid sure was a caring fellow. Agent Vic seemed like a good man... spider....man-spider- a good agent. Meanwhile, Agent Giroux gave him the rundown of the Hive. Casey listened intently. He knew nothing of this group. This series of events that he was getting wrapped up in was entirely out of his depth. All he ever knew was: "Target. Find. Kill/Capture, Repeat." He had never really delved into organizational details beyond what was necessary for him to catch his bounty marks. Now, since it seemed that the Hive had painted a target on his back, he would have to learn about them to defend himself from them. This put Casey on his back heel in a way he really didn't like.

Casey responded gratefully to Vic's offer to get him off the hook. "I appreciate that. And, ya, that sounds like a good idea. But I think I'll just sleep in my truck. I don't seem to have very good control over this... power?" He shrugged. "I hesitate to call it that. I get the feeling it's going to be more like a curse. 'S probably better I stay away from large buildings full of people." Once the spider seemed finished making sure he didn't have a concussion, Casey searched his bag for wearable clothes. He found his boots intact, along with some socks and a brown T-shirt, which he put on. There was nothing else left unscathed. He was about to check on his gear bag when another person entered the room. A supernatural with smooth metallic skin.

"Shit. We do not need curious bystanders right now." He thought.

Casey let Vic talk to her. Meanwhile, Casey opened his gear bag to find everything inside destroyed. All of his polymer equipped had melted. His FGC-9 was now a solid plastic brick. He sighed. It took alot of work to make that. He dug deeper and found his 1911. The full-metal hand-cannon was perfectly fine. Casey's spirits were lifted. He lifted the shined metal object to his face and lovingly kissed his beloved sidearm.

Suddenly, he felt a another spike of heat. This one crawled up his spine like a snake. "Again!?" Casey thought, alarmed. Then, the front wall exploded inwards.

Casey didn't even have time to duck. Drywall, chunks of concrete and plaster were thrown across the room. Casey was thrown backwards into the opposite wall. Once again, he found himself knocked on his ass. "What's that? Three times today? This is getting old." He thought.

A female voice filled the air following the blast. This one was new. It didn't belong to the vampire from the diner attack, but Casey could tell from her words that they must be working together. "-Or maybe the vampire was an illusion too and this one is the real puppetmaster?" This was getting confusing. He got up and wiped dried plaster dust from his face. He didn't know what to think of her declaration. She was calling him out, and entirely on her terms. He'd like to ask her: "Why him?" "Why here?" But those were questions that he would ask on his terms And he would make her answer him.

The entire town was effectively being held hostage just to sideline the Athenians. Casey looked to Farron and Vic. He didn't know what to tell them. Teamwork wasn't exactly his strongsuit. Athena was a massive organization, but these agents would have to operate discreetly in this hostage situation. He nodded to them, assuming that they understood that. He had no idea what he was about to walk into, but he hoped they would find a way to help him.

Casey marched to the blown in wall and stood amongst the rubble. He saw the red creature outside. Pistol in hand, he responded with his usual indignation and extreme anger. "PARASITIC DEMON!" He shouted. "I'LL SLAY YOU'RE DRAGON AND SERVE IT UP ON A GRILL!" He raised the pistol one handedly and opened fire, rapidly sending the very powerful .45 rounds down range at the dragon. All rounds were deadly accurate and impacted right where the dragons head would be, only for them to bounce off of the dragons red forcefield. He fired until the magazine was empty and the slide locked to the rear. $7.18 of .45 ACP fell to the ground at the dragons feet. Casey stood in awe.

Neo Alice Silver- Zat Stricken Steel