The Good Boy, Bad Girl, Evil Mom and a Little Heart (WOOF)

Music filled the large ballroom esque dance floor of the Armory nightclub. A fiery red head sat up in the shadowy VIP area, her glowing amber eyes seemed fixated on the carefree souls as they danced below. The ignorant bliss of youth, it was something that Madeline saw on a daily basis with the troves of individuals that flooded to her club to escape the hardships of their lives. The demon queen of Arcadia had managed to turn a dull and undervalued building into a lavish and popular night club. Of course it helped that she could literally tell people to do whatever she wanted, but once the club had been set up, everything just seemed to fall into place.

She laughed at the irony of her thoughts. Here she was judging the people below for abandoning their issues in a vain attempt at having some semblance of freedom from their every day drag. But here she was, a queen of an entire otherworldly realm, sitting in the shadows silently judging others and dodging the responsibilities she owed to the denizens of her kingdom. It was at times like these, when Madeline was alone with her thoughts, that she wished her sister Shanalotte was there to ease her mind.

This of course lead to Madeline to think about her beloved sister and the endless search to find her. The demon queen of Arcadia, goddess of war, Madeline, needed something to do to take her mind off these thoughts and in a bizarre twist of events, an opportunity was laid out before her. As Madeline watched the mass of gyrating bodies below her, a thin raven haired woman approached the queen from behind. She cleared her throat to try and pry the demons gaze away from the crowd, but the music proved to be far louder.

Eventually the thin woman let out a loud cough which finally got Madeline’s attention. The fiery redhead spun around, her amber eyes giving the thin woman a sinister glare. “There a reason why you’re bothering me Minerva? Can’t you see I’m brooding?”

Minerva, the raven haired assistant and often fill in manager of the Armory, straightened out her shirt and skirt before holding out a tablet for Madeline to look at. “It would seem you’ve got an admirer queen.”

Madeline’s metal hand reached out and grabbed the tablet. The screen it was open to, displayed a news article about a museum exhibit that had been robbed. What stood out was the exhibit. Madeline instantly recognized some of the items that had not been stolen. They were hers. Or rather they were of her. Idols that ancient civilizations had made in her honor. The demon queen stared at the page not sure how to feel about the news. One one had she was furious that someone would desecrate her relics in this day and age, but on the other, she had a strange suspicion that this was tied to another one of her ignored responsibilities.

Madeline quickly thrust the tablet back into Minerva’s arms and turned back around to stare at the crowd below again. It was clear by Madeline’s restlessness and constant fidgety that something was bugging her. She spun back around and quickly brushed past Minerva. “Clubs yours tonight.”

“Like every other night you mean? Where you going?”

Madeline didn’t even acknowledge Minerva enough to turn around and tell her, instead the demon queen waved her metal hand in the air and vanished into thin air.

Moments later Madeline would appear on the streets of New York to the host of several gasps of surprise. The look on her face said she was focused on something. She dipped into a near by alleyway and whispered one word. “Heart”

A burning ring appeared a few feet away from Madeline and soon a small girl with extremely long red hair stepped out and bowed to the queen. “My queen.” the small human looking demon said.

“I’ve already told you plenty of times Thalia that you need not address me as queen. I have a name after all.” Madeline crossed her arms and stared at the little version of herself. The other demons may have seen Thalia as an affront to Madeline, but the queen herself thought the little beast was interesting. “I need you to drop what ever job Spade gave you. I have more pressing matters that could use your skill set.”

“Of course my qe- I mean yeah sure thing Madeline.” Thalia stared into Madeline amber eyes, with her own mismatched eyes, something seemed slightly off about her queen. She had never seen Madeline this focused outside of combat or training.

“You’re going to go to Chicago and find out all you can about the recent museum robbery. I want you to find out who was behind it. I have my own sneaking suspicion, but I need you to investigate first before I draw any conclusions.”

Thalia nodded her head at the new orders she received and without saying anything else, disappeared back through the portal she had appeared from.


______________CHICAGO________________

Thalia had taken what little information Madeline had given her and decided the first place she should check out was the museum. When she arrived there she found the place to be bustling with life. Granted it was still early in the afternoon so the museum was in full swing and many roamed it’s halls. Thalia much like Madeline didn’t really have much of an inclination to use doors. To the sound of several alarmed individuals, Thalia stepped out of a portal near the ransacked exhibit.

The entire hall was lined off with caution tape. Thalia’s brow furrowed in confusion and disappointment. As she stared at the dark wing of the museum she noticed some uncomfortable nagging on the back of her head. She turned around to notice several people walking over her hair almost as if she wasn’t even there or they didn’t care. “Could you like not step on my hair? Please?” she said forcibly tugging her hair out from under the rude people feet. Thalia then proceeded to cradle the bundle of hair in her arms as though it were like a teddy bear. “Oh what am I going to do now? I can’t let Madeline down. She seemed super serious and stuff. She’d hate me forever if I didn’t figure this out.” She buried her head in her hair and let out a small sob.

Maybe it was the silence... Well, somewhat silence of the open air, but Jake found himself sitting atop rooftops more then he found himself on the ground these days. The echoing sounds of traffic, voices below him. It was calming, it was... Peaceful.

Of course, it was also boring. Peace and boring came to mind when it was just sitting on a rooftop, letting the day drawl by like he had nothing to do. Jake had lots of things to do.. Well, he once did, and he still did, but it wasn't as needed to be done as it was before. Not yet anyway. No, now all Jake had to do was... sit, "Why does life have to be so damn annoying," His voice roared out into the open air, ignored by all. Letting out a sigh, Jake stood up and patted his pockets, feeling the outline of the little statue he had been given.

He stood there, his hand resting on the curve of it, thinking... Thinking, thinking. He could call Johanna. It would be something else, something new. Maybe they could finish that fight? It was a prospect he liked the idea of. Just a little fight.. No other reason for seeing her. None at all. "But.. She could be busy.. Or she might not even want to talk to me. I mean, who am I? Right? Just... Another stupid hero." He didn't mean the words, he knew that she was the one that said they should finish what they started, more out of to see who really was better or... Just to hang out, Jake could never tell.

Rapping his fist along his head, Jake kept thinking about it, what he would do... But. Then it came to him. If he couldn't bring himself to call the girl, he would simply go to where they first met.. While the chance she would return to that place was very minimal at best.. Well, it was a nice place anyway, and it beat sitting on a rooftop, wallowing.

With his mind set, Jake began his routine of jumping, the location of the museum was faint on his mind but Jake knew the general area, and eventually, after some wrong turned jumps and a stop at a Deli shop to buy a sandwich, Jake found the place. It had been some time since his and Johanna's little... Adventure in this place, but it seemed open, maybe the fact something was stolen from the place made it more open to public knowledge, or maybe people liked old stuff. Whatever the reason for the good business, Jake couldn't be sure nor care, it just meant more noise to him.

Paying double the amount for his ticket, a way to apologize for when he entered without money, Jake explored the halls of the exhibits, but he really only had one place in mind, the exhibit of the war goddess. Eventually, he made it, only to see it was still taped off. "Well. I guess you can't blame them... Whoa." Jake was stopped by the sight before him, a being, youngish looking from what he could tell, which wasn't much with them hidden behind so much hair. Her skin a strange mix of brown and crimson, her overly excessive hair a bright red and two horns crowning her head.

Jake found his hand reaching inside his pocket as he stared at this being, his hand left with the statue and Jake stared at it and back at her. Somehow, this girl looked like the statue, if it were not for the horns and hair, they could have been twins... Or the exact same person. Blinking in astonishment, Jake wondered over to her, the statue in his grip, open to any eye to see, something his brain registered as bad if security recognized it, yet he could not care. Stopping short of her, hearing a sob, Jake stared at the woman before taking a breath and letting it out. She was really small.

"Umm. Hi there.." Jake offered the words, more to catch her attention more then anything, he rose the statue in his hand to show to her, his eyes staring at her horns, "You look a lot like this war goddess statue... Got to say. Were it not for the horns. Be a perfect match," He had began hoping that maybe it was just a fan of the exhibit, an overly enthusiastic fan. But the length to get the hair, the horns and how real they looked... The skin. He had hoped the Lucius he met wasn't the real one, he had been proven wrong, he wouldn't make that mistake this time, this was ether the real being from the statues... Or a seriously enthusiastic fan. Couldn't be any other.

_________NEW YORK_________

The sound of metal forks scraping against porcelain plates filled the air of the Sharpe household as both of Johanna’s parents sat in the dining room eating diner without their daughter. This wasn’t odd for the family, as of late, their daughter had become very distant and spent less and less time with her mother and father. She was growing up and they figured she just wanted her space, but deep down they knew something was wrong. As the two continued to eat in silence a warm breeze swept through their home. Both of Johanna’s parents had felt this sensation before and knew it brought ill tidings.

Before they were able to rise from their seats, Madeline appeared before the two of them. Her body language showed she wasn’t in a mood for small talk, but the look on her face seemed distant, like her mind was on something other than the matter at hand. The demon queen shook her head and looked at Johanna’s parents. “By all means don’t stop on my beh-” before the goddess could finish speaking, Johanna’s mother cut her off.

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing here? I think your timing is a few years off!”

Johanna’s father tried to reach out to calm his wife, but the look he gave Madeline shared her feelings. Madeline was an uninvited and unexpected guest, one both of them thought they’d never have to see again.

“I’m here to see my daughter. Where is she?”

Johanna’s parent exchanged a glance with one another not sure what to tell the demon queen.

“Why are you really here Madeline? You’ve never shown interest in Johanna before. You can’t honestly expect us to just hand over our daughter do you?”

Madeline’s glowing amber eyes shifted over to the girls father. “Last time I checked Alexander, I am that girl’s mother, and you still owe me! I’m not here to take Johanna away from you two. I just want to see her. It’s time she knew what she really is.”

Alexander looked back to his wife. The two knew that this request by Madeline was something they couldn’t agree to. There had already been a rift growing between the three of them. This revelation would only prove to drive their daughter away for good. Despite this, their hands were tied. They couldn’t decline the queens request. She wasn’t known for taking being turned down all that well. The look in her eyes also spoke of how serious she was about seeing her daughter.

“Shes….She’s not here. She left a while ago. There’s a boutique down the street that she works at occasionally, that’s where she’ll most likely be.” Alexander said.

Madeline looked down to the floor and then brought her gaze back up. There was something here in their home that was calling to her, something that hummed with familiar power. Ignoring Alexander and his wife, Madeline moved from the dining room and made her way towards where the familiar feeling was. Madeline brushed the door to Johanna’s room open and walked over to a bookcase where she found the ancient idols that Johanna had stolen. She quickly turned from the bookcase and over to her daughters bed. Lifting the mattress, Madeline found what was calling to her. Resting on the box spring was a very old sword with a familiar craftsmanship. As Madeline examined the sword, Johanna’s parents stood in the doorway, seeing the way the demon was reacting to the artifact, they immediately knew their lovely daughter was up to no good behind their backs.

Madeline moved her gaze from the sword, back to the bookcase where she grabbed the idols in her metal hand and crushed them, which freed the precious jewels lodged in their bases. Pocketing the gems, Madeline waved her arm and the ancient sword vanished. She then turned to Alexander and Jessica. “I’m going to see my daughter. She has a right to know. At least we know she takes after the two of you. Probably explains why she’s been so distant.”

“how did y-”

“Take a look around you. She’s not here. The stolen items. She’s obviously rebelling.” Madeline then eyed a picture frame that sat on Johanna’s desk next to her computer. The photo was of her and her parents when she was younger, everyone was all smiles. Before Jessica or Alexander could say anything, Madeline vanished from sight. The two were left there to wonder just what was going to happen now. They couldn’t leave Johanna alone with Madeline and so they suited up and rushed out the door.

______CHICAGO______

As Thalia sobbed into her hair at her short comings a voice that called out behind her managed to cease her cries. Something the kind voice said about her looking like a statue was enough for the little demon to turn her mismatched gaze in the direction the voice game from. She did everything in her power to avoid looking at the person clutching the statue. As her green and purple eyes fell upon the statue her eyes lit up. She went to raise her eyes to meet the boy holding the statue but managed to catch herself mid way.

Tufts of red hair moved in front of the girl’s eyes to hide them from the boy. “Oh I don’t think an imitation copy would do the real thing any justice. I only look a little like the statue.” she said in a modest tone. She shared many of Madeline’s features, but as the boy pointed out, Thalia’s hair and horns didn’t match. It took a moment for Thalia to realize that the statue the boy was holding belonged to the museum and when it finally clicked she let out a loud gasp. A few more stands of her hair reached out to grab the boys head in an attempt to pull him closer to her face. “It was youuuuuuuuu. You stole Madeline’s stuff!” she said to the boy in a hushed tone. Quickly turning her head away from the boys direction she began mumbling to herself. “Oh she’s gonna be ecstatic! I mean what are the odds that my target would just land in my lap like this.”

Jake raised an eyebrow to the woman as she attempted several times to not look at him exactly, he did however, catch the color of her eyes, that were mismatched. But.. Not in a bad way, they were pretty cool actually. When she finally made a commit on the statue, it was one of confusing information to the boy. Did she mean herself or the statue was an imitation. He could understand if the people who made these all those years ago made a mistake, but it wasn't likely, they almost all had the same look, aside from the clothing of the time era.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt strands of hair wrap around his head and dragged him close to the woman's head as she called him out on stealing... Madeline's? "The war goddess is named Madeline?" Jake whispered to himself as his head was contained close to the girls, she herself was mumbling about something, Jake could only garner bits of it.

Besides gathering information, Jake rose his right hand and gripped onto the woman's hair. Trying to tug it off him so he could free up some distance from the woman, this closeness was slightly uncomfortable for the boy. Mostly because of the fact she was a stranger, and a possible war goddess or at least... Something close to one. "Look, lady, I don't know what you want, but let me go, or I'll attempt to get you off me with more force then I'd like." He didn't want to have to punch the woman if he didn't have too. Someone like this was most likely dangerous to punch, but he would do it if he had too... Wait. Her target was someone who stole this stuff? But he didn't- Ann. This Madeline was looking for Johanna.

As Thalia began to feel the boy tug at her hair, she tightened her grip. “Oooooh no you don’t. M-Madeline gave me this mission and I aim to complete it!” Just then, almost as if on queue, Thalia heard her name called out to her from across time and space. Thalia smiled with glee, Madeline was going to be so impressed with her. “Hope you don’t get motion sickness.” and with that a flaming ring appeared behind the boy, and Thalia pushed him through.

Back in New York, Madeline found herself sitting across the street from the clothing shop that Johanna supposedly worked at. At first Madeline had an idea of how she wanted the first meeting with her daughter to go, and what she was going to say, but the long she stared at the shop the more she realized she wasn’t so sure about what to say or do. One thing was for certain, Johanna wasn’t going to believe her, not at first. It was going to take a lot of convincing for the young white haired teen to come to the realization that she was not the product of two metahuman lovers.

Madeline stared at the boutique and continued to question her judgement. Perhaps she didn’t need to see her daughter, perhaps it was better that Johanna didn’t know the truth. After all, from what Madeline had seen, the young teen didn’t exactly take to kindly to being lied to as was evident by her recent behavior toward her parents. As Madeline sat there lost in though, a ring of fire appeared next to her and out tripped Thalia and the boy she still had tangled in her hair. Madeline stared at Thalia for a moment then looked to the boy. “And who might this be, Thalia?”

If Jake managed to look across the street he’d notice that the boutique was the same one he and Johanna had broken into the night their genders had been swapped.  

The tiny demon scrambled to her feet and did her best to look presentible in the presence of her queen. “My queen…I mean Madeline look! I found him. I found the one who stole your stuff…..” Thalia’s voice began to trail as she took in the expression on Madeline’s face.

“He’s not the thief. I already know who it is.”

“W-w-What? But I was so sure it was him. Oh noooooooo. I messed up! Oh noooo Madeline’ll never forgive me. I failed. I w-w-was so sure it was him too. He even has a statue!” Thalia released the boy from her hair’s grasp and buried her face in it again, like she had at the museum. She began to sob heavily at her apparent failure. A hand rested softly on her shoulder, caused the little demon hunter to look up. Madeline was staring down at her, a smile on her face.

“You did just fine little one. You did what I asked you to, and somehow managed to produce results I was not expecting.” She brushed a tear from Thalia’s cheek before moving past her and over to the boy Thalia had brought along with her. The goddesses glowing amber eyes studied the boy up and down, she sensed there was more to him that what showed on the surface, the aura he put off was quite enticing. Still, Madeline found the strength to look past the boy and down to his hand where he clutched an old figure of her tightly. “Where did you get that figure child?”

While the demon queen wanted desperately to meet her daughter, this recent development was something she had not expected, Thalia never ceased to amaze her.

Jake stared at the woman, too confused to try and tug his way out of her hair. "What do you mean by-" As if on cue, Jake steadied his mind right before he was pushed though a ring of fire. Once on the other side, everything changed in a way he had not expected. Instead of some demonic, fiery plain. There was noise of traffic, some talking, resounded all around him. He was in a city, a quick glance around told him he was somewhere he knew... Somehow. Of course, that glance around, while restricted by hair, also showed him the real Madeline.

The statue did her no service, she was much more elegant looking now then before, hair, eyes, skin and more. That which the statuettes could not give to his sight. Jake stared up at the demonic woman, wide eyed. Holy crap. Just what did Johanna steal? Jake could almost, almost feel the danger that oozed from this woman. Maybe it was just instinct that gave him this feeling, but he was part afraid... Part excited and part tingly.

Of course, he attempted to push these emotions down so he could... Could gather. There was so much to gather. The lookalike was named Thalia. Madeline seemed to already know who actually stole all those artifacts, which meant she already knew about Johanna. At that thought, Jake used the fact he was free from the grip of Thalia's hair now to prime his feet and tense his muscles for action. Even with the... Almost motherly care before him, Jake never took his eyes off Madeline, not giving away to concern or fear. He needed to be smart... Except he didn't keep his smarts He looked away to the shop that was in sight for a moment. He recognized that shop... Where- He was in New York. And he knew exactly why they were here.

Hearing Madeline's voice, Jake snapped his head back to her, glaring up at her while hiding the statue protectively behind his back. "Like... Like I got the rest. From the Museum. Found your thief... Sorry to say, but there was no one else." He said his words, based on the hope that she simply thought Johanna to be the one, that the evidence hidden behind his back was enough to draw the imposing woman off Johanna's scent. If the demonic war goddess sent Thalia, then she might not have been sure, so if she wasn't sure... Drawing the scent should be easy... Hopefully.

As Madeline loomed over the boy she noticed how tense he was. It was a natural reaction one should have when meeting someone of her caliber, but she wasn’t here to start conflict….yet. She hoped today would go well, and for it to do so, she’d have to refrain from being her normal bloodthirsty self. Her metal hand clenched tightly as she used every fiber of her being to prevent herself from summoning a blade and holding it to the boy’s throat. The short tempered goddess took in a deep breath and let it out, relaxing her body at the same time.

Her amber eyes remained focused on the boy the whole time, his glance at the shop across the street was all Madeline needed to see, to confirm her suspicions. Her daughter, Johanna, was the one responsible for the break in at the museum and the theft of the artifacts. Still, it was a curious situation indeed. Madeline began to ponder the reasons for why Johanna would have bothered with the artifacts in the first place, the only idea coming to mind was that it was the Arcadian blood flowing through her veins.

The elegant goddess flashed the boy a kind smile as she took a more relaxed pose and folded her arms across her body. “Unless you’re in the business of just giving away goods you’ve stolen, we both know that’s a lie.” Madeline then extended her metal hand. In her palm rested the jewels she had pried out of the other idols that Johanna had stolen. “Either you really fancy her, or the more plausible theory is that she fancies you.”

At this point Thalia crept in between Madeline and the boy. She used her hair again to cover her eyes as she looked in the boy’s general direction. “You really don’t want to lie to Madeline. She can usually tell when someone’s lying.”

“A little to the left sweetie.” Madeline said to Thalia.

Thalia paused for a moment confused as to what Madeline was trying to tell her before it finally clicked and she turned her head a few degrees to the left so that she was pretty much staring the boy in the face.

Madeline shook her head a bit. How it was she managed to find herself constantly surrounded by ‘unique’ individuals such as Thalia, Bliss, and Penny was beyond her. “You can relax child. I’m not going to hurt you. If I wanted to, you’d be dead already. Just answer my question. How did you happen by that little idol of mine?” Madeline basically already had her answer, but she wanted the boy to confirm it before she decided to march across the street and meet her daughter. She was still uncertain what she was going to say or do.

Jake winced at being called out on his lie. Seems the war goddess wouldn't be so easily persuaded out of it. And then any idea of getting the demonic woman away from Johanna ended when she held out her metal hand, the many jewels that were contained within the statues. The only way she would have gotten them, is if she retrieved them from the statues herself.

"Fa-fancy!?" Jake let out a boyish yelp at that. This lady had her facts really, really confused. There... No way, no way Ann had any interest in him. Sure he might... Like her in some ways, but her? Nah. Not plausible. Letting maybe a moment of red shade cover his cheeks, Jake pocketed his statue before looking to Thalia, who was now staring at him fully. He found that she still had her hair covering her eyes completely, and that was strange. This entire time she had been avoiding his eyes with her own. Ether she was completely shy about staring someone in the eye... Or she had something of a power, an eye power like his own, well, not like his, but an eye power none the less.

Not looking away from Thalia, Jake heard the question. Where did he get the statue, this time, it was more of a power move. She knew where he got it, she just wanted to hear it from his own mouth. Letting out a sigh, and knowing that fighting this lady might as well prove useless without risking his body.. Something that had been becoming a more dangerous task as of late. His red energy was getting more volatile with each usage, sometimes appearing without his own thoughts.

Taking in a deep breath, Jake looked at Thalia once more before looking to Madeline, his eyes narrowed. She was close enough, and with Thalia not able to see thanks to her hair, this might work. "Well. Lovely meeting you, but I got a spider to warn." Cursing his own stupidity at what he was going to do. But this war goddess was looking for a thief, and that spelt nothing but trouble for the girl in question. With that resolve in mind, Jake leaned closer to Madeline and turned his red vision on, hoping the surprise of a bright flashing red light in the woman's faces would be distracting enough for him to make an escape.

Right after, Jake would attempt to turn towards the shop he assumed Johanna was now in, before making a forward lunge, attempting to use his strength to shoot towards it, where he knew if he made it and ether of the two didn't stop him, he'd be smashing head first into the shop, which was damage he'd risk if it meant he could warn Johanna before those two got there.

Madeline was not impressed with the boys glowing red eyes, not in the slightest. She knew he was going to try to run, he even said so. *Did he just refer to my daughter as a spider?* she though partially confused by the quaint nickname. The demon goddess could have easily reached out to stop the boy, hell Thalia could have even snatched him up by the legs with her hair, but Madeline wanted to see where this would go. It was her forte to mess with people. Not only that, but she saw it as an ice breaker so to speak. If she chased the boy across the street, Johanna would be forced into a situation where she’d have to come face to face with her mother.

In that sense, there was no way Madeline could back out. Besides who ever heard of a demon goddess of war getting cold feet? With Astonishing strength the boy leapt clear across the street. Madeline and Thalia appeared near the small shops entrance just as the boy crashed through the large window.

Inside the shop, the few costumers that were lost in thought either browsing through articles of clothing, or busy burying their noses in their phones, suddenly jumped with surprise and terror as a body crashed through the large window at the front of the store. Johanna’s eyes moved from the customer she was tending to at the cash register, to the front of the store where she had taken notice of two very unique looking individuals both sporting the same hue of hair color.

As soon as the ashen haired girl had set her sight on the taller of the two redheads, her heart began to pound in her chest. The feeling came out of nowhere. Amid all the throbbing of her heart and the deep breaths she now found herself taking, she felt a familiar feeling rush over to her. She…She was attracted to the strange looking woman. The more her turquoise eyes remained locked on the figure, the more she began to realize she had seen them somewhere before.

The being Johanna found herself entranced by was the one that the museum exhibit she robbed in Chicago had been made for. She could see it now, the resemblance the stone idols had to this incredible individual. Despite her odd attraction towards the woman, Johanna tightened her hands into fists and tried her best to resist the urge. She finally managed to snap out of her fixation when she pried her eyes away from the woman long enough to take notice of the body laying in the front of the store covered in glass. “JAKE?!” she shouted with confusion before rushing over to his side and attempting to help him to his feet. She took note of how the two red heads seemed to have their focus on him. “Geez. Is there anyone in this city that isn’t trying to kill you?”

Just as Johanna had gotten Jake to his feet, her parents came bursting through the door.

“Get away from here Madeline!” they both shouted in unison.

The demon’s metal hand clenched tightly into a fist. She was ready to turn around and obliterate the two foolish metas for interrupting her first meeting with Johanna. She took one look at her daughter and her entire attitude changed. She could feel her own energy radiating back at her. This small white haired girl was her daughter. Madeline had spent the whole day trying to decide what her first words to Johanna were going to be, she thought about how the conversation would go, but when the moment finally came, Madeline found herself shouting instead. “FOR THE LOVE OF ME! IS IT TO MUCH TO ASK FOR A GODDESS OF WAR TO MEET HER OWN DAUGHTER! YOU WILL NOT RUIN THIS FOR ME ALEXANDER!”

"Oh.. That was a bad plan," Jake idly laid in glass, picking fragments from his hair and clothing, his red eyes shut off as he looked to the roof, before remembering he was meant to be telling Ann about a problem. Luckily, the voice yelling his name seemed to tell him she was here, and Jake turned his head to see an approaching Ann. "Oh, hey Ann." Jake responded, sitting himself up with the girls help.

Rising to his feet, Jake looked to the entrance and saw the two were already there. How in the... They could teleport. Jake's mind registered the fact he was here was because of teleportation. Crap baskets. "Funny thing is, they are here for you." Jake told Ann when she assumed this was because of him, which was partly true, but he wouldn't be here to do this if it wasn't for the fact Thalia went looking for Ann in Chicago.

And then, two figures busted though the door, telling the demonic being to get out of here. What came next, left Jake gawking at Madeline. He found his hand resting on Johanna's shoulder. But his eyes never left Madeline. Was... Was this being claiming to be Johanna's mother? That... That was why she was looking for her. Johanna stealing those idols caught the attention of this being, not just because someone stole her things, but because she must have thought her own daughter stole them. And... And that... Made Johanna a cambion.

"Ann... You say the word. I'll get you out of here. As best I fucking can." Jake didn't swear much, he didn't really like too. But this... This just left his politeness out, cause he could understand just how Johanna might feel. Not just because he went though this in a way, but also because he knew Johanna, and she was a angry person, a angry person who was about to be confused, shocked... He could only guess how she'd react. "Just... Let me know what you need me for.." He whispered those words, waiting for the girl to act, for whatever she did, he was there to be by her side for it.

A wave of conflicting emotions rushed over the young girl as her’s and Madeline’s eyes met. Most of all she was confused as all hell. Just what was this person on about? Her parents were standing right there in the doorway, they were even the ones to tell the strange woman to get away from Johanna. The ashen haired thief could feel her body begin to shake. Her throbbing heart began to beat heavier and faster, it became harder to breath, which muddied her thought process. Her turquoise eyes stared at the demon queen and then shifted to her parents. The look on all three of their faces told the teen all she needed to know.

“Mom. Dad. W-w-what’s she talking about? Who is she?” there were more questions Johanna wanted to answer, but her body was preventing her from doing anything more than stand there like a deer caught in headlights.

The bronze skinned demon stepped forward, her gaze shifting between Johanna, and her parents. This was not how she saw things going. Johanna’s reaction was something she had expected, but at least in her mind she saw it happening in a more controlled situation. Her maternal instinct was telling her to approach her child and to comfort her. To sit there and to look into Johanna’s eyes and kindly explain things to her. But her other prevailing personality traits decided to take the wheel, like they already had.

Madeline’s gaze shifted to Alexander, a devilish smile on her face. “Yeah Alex. What AM I talking about?” she took a step back so that Johanna could see her parents more clearly. Alexander and Jessica shot a glance to the goddess. Both of them knew they were no match of Madeline not even if they somehow had their daughter and her friend to combat the demon. Johanna’s parents exchanged look with one another and both let out deep sighs. They opened their mouths to speak but were cut off.

“No! I…I can’t believe this. I knew the two of you were liars, but this….this takes the prize. I mean I should have known you two had more secrets. And you! You knew and were ok with this?!” she said looking to the woman she thought was her mother. Johanna felt utterly betrayed right now. “And you! You think you can just show up out of nowhere and drop a bomb like this? What gives you the right to take zero responsibility for raising a child and then one day think its ok to just waltz right into their life?” While she felt pain at the betrayal of her parents, her anger was more focused on the being that claimed to be her real mother.

Thalia attempted to step forward and put in her own two cents, but Madeline extended an arm to hold her back, almost instinctively. This whole situation was a very complex and confusing one for the little demon and she was beginning to wonder if she was really needed her.

After halting Thalia’s advance, Madeline stepped forward. Her eyes locked with Johanna’s. She could see the anger welling up behind them. A volcano ready to burst. “Things aren’t as black and white as you might think. Your parents have a very good reason for lying to you.”

“Are you seriously fucking defending them right now? You of all the people here, whoever the fuck you are.”

Johanna’s defensiveness was beginning to get on Madeline’s nerves. She had hoped that Johanna would have accepted the truth by now, but she could tell this was probably going to require a bit of tough love. Within the blink of an eye, Madeline had closed the gap between her and Johanna. Instinctively she wanted to reach out and grab the teen by her throat but she managed to somehow refrain from doing so. “You are being very unreasonable right now. If you’d just let us explain everything, then maybe you’d see we had a good reason for keeping this from you.”

At the sight of Madeline rushing their child, Johanna’s parents attempted to rush forward but were cut off by Thalia, who stepped between them and her queen.

Jake stood by Johanna, his hand firm on her shoulder, hoping it offered some grounded reality to this whole situation. Cause whatever he went though, he was told by crows he was a half angel, in the middle of a type of hell. This... This was so much more personal, so personal Jake never could understand what was going though Johanna right now, because he never had the chance to ask his own mother... No she went mad before he even had a chance.

It was an argument he wasn't even apart of. In fact, with all the emotions going on right now, he was pretty sure they had all forgotten about him. Not that it mattered, he just stayed quiet and in place beside the girl who was being affected the most by all this, with Madeline and her parents arguing, with Johanna lashing out at all of them. He did, however, keep his eyes on the biggest danger in the room, the mother herself, who seemed to be in a moment of trying to convince a child that everything is alright, but she wasn't exactly going about it the best way...

Not when you suddenly appear very close to the girl you're trying to be convincing too. Well, not exactly suddenly, Jake had seen it, and she was nowhere near as fast as some of the people he has faced.. But she was still extremely fast. Once the goddess was finished talking, Jake acted, mostly out of a protective sense. He pulled Johanna back and a bit to the side and put himself between the girl and the goddess, before letting his wings rip out of his back and past his shirt, the one on Johanna's side catching itself and folding to his back, the one to Madeline however, shot out at the demon goddess.

The large bulk of the grey feathered wing suddenly appearing as fast as the goddess moved at such a close range to Madeline was merely a way to push the demoness back. While the wings were not as strong as Jake was, nor were they anywhere near the strength the goddess of war might have, they were well past her height and size, and Jake hoped that would be enough to smack Madeline back a couple feet, maybe even off her feat, just to give Johanna some distance. "Y'all need to give Ann some space." But he wouldn't see if the wing did what it was meant to, as he'd look back to Johanna, offering a smile. "Whatever you need, just say the word."

As Johanna was about to reply to Madeline, she felt a light tug on her shoulder as Jake pulled her back and stepped in between the Ashen haired girl and the demon queen. “Hey what gives!” she said as she tried to move past him only to halt in her tracks as his gray wings ripped through his shirt. Johanna’s anger temporarily aimed itself in Jake’s direction, but shifted back to Madeline. For some reason she had a feeling she knew how the redhead was going to react. Jake’s action was stupid and he was going to get himself hurt.

As the gray wing extended in the goddesses direction, she merely sidestepped it. Her glowing amber eyes fell upon the boy, her look was one of sheer annoyance. She was doing everything in her power to not lash out at the boy. It was more for her daughter than anything. In the short time she had seen the two together, she knew they liked one another. In an attempt to not infuriate Johanna any further, Madeline took a step back, but her eyes did not shift from Jake. “Shanalotte grant me patience because if you grant me strength I’ll kill them all.” she mumbled to herself. “I’ll let that little outburst slide this one time. See to it, that it doesn’t happen again. Now stand aside child I want to speak with my daughter.”

Almost as if on cue, Johanna brushed past Jake and put a hand on his chest, slightly pushing him out of the way. She then shot him a glance, one that showed her temper was ready to pop off. “I appreciate the gesture, I really do. But if you go and get yourself hurt, I will kill you.” her eyes then shifted back to Madeline her supposed mother. “You want to talk, lets talk. Explain to me why you, and them lied to me for so many years. Tell me why it was so important that my whole life up to this point be one giant charade!”

While this was going on, Thalia had moved on from shielding Madeline and had rushed over to Jake as Johanna pushed him back. A tendril of her hair reached up and tapped the boy on the shoulder. She was furious that someone would attack her queen like that, especially right in front of her, but knew that if she did anything out of line Madeline would have her head. For some reason Heart could tell how important this was to her queen and so she wanted to make things go as smooth as possible. After getting the boy’s attention she looked at him. She covered her eyes so he wouldn’t be affected by her power. Keeping a smile on her face she tried to pull Jake out of Madeline and Johanna’s path. “I would like to ask you not to attack my queen like that again, please. Give them their space. You have my word, Madeline doesn’t want to hurt her own child. By the way I think your wings are pretty.”

With Thalia trying to converse with Jake on the side, Madeline turned her full attention to her daughter. She wanted an explanation as to why Madeline abandoned her. The truth was Madeline had no answer to give her. Back then she just kind of wanted to see what would happen if she had a child with a metahuman. Madeline knew the truth was not what she needed to say in this moment. Telling Johanna she was just some sort of experiment would certainly send the young girl into a frenzy, and most importantly it was a surefire way for Madeline to lose her child. The demon queen had to be cunning, she had to be sly, it was what she was best at. Using these nasty traits of hers to her advantage, Madeline quickly spun a masterfully crafted tale. “The truth is, me and your father were in love once. He was one of the first people I met after nearly dying. He managed to sweep me off my feet with his charm and charisma as he helped me get acclimated to this new age. One thing led to another and well, you were born. Back then I still feared that the person who nearly killed me and tried to take my kingdom would come after you. Especially if they knew you were my child. They did it before, only back then it was my sister who was taken from me.” Madeline paused for a moment. The story she was spinning was partially built on truth and as she recalled her ‘youth’ she began to feel.

She looked at her daughter. “I didn’t want to experience that pain again, and I couldn’t put a child through that kind of situation. So me and your father made a deal and I went back to my realm and he went on to raise you.”

Johanna stared at Madeline and then to her father. The shared a similar expression, one that was of guilt. She couldn’t tell who felt worse, her father for lying to her, or Madeline for having abandoned her. There was something deep down within her that wanted to believe this deity, this strange looking woman and her otherworldly vibe. But at the same time, Johanna couldn’t bring herself to believe what she was hearing. She had been lied to before, that much was evident. It was going to take a lot more than a sob story to convince Johanna she was some sort of demigod.

“That’s a great story and all, but I’m not falling for those crocodile tears of yours! Just what the hell do you want from me!”

Madeline’s eye began to twitch a bit, Johanna’s resilience to the truth was something she’d expect from a child of hers, but the teen was being a pain and it was beginning to make it extremely hard for Madeline to remain civilized in this moment. She was a goddess for crying out loud. People worshiped her. She ruled a realm of beings that would lay down their lives for here, and yet here she was at the mercy of a moody teen.

Jake lowered his smile into a smirk at Johanna's words. However, his eyes narrowed at the distinct feeling of open air, no resistance had touched his wing, which meant, no Madeline had been pushed back. Moreover, Madeline's threat had also told him such. Turning back to face the demonic woman, Jake allowed himself to be pushed back easily, eyes never leaving Madeline, fist now tightly clenched in case she did something dangerous again.

He would have kept his focus on the two if not for the hair that tapped his shoulder, causing the boy to turn to Thalia. She was still covering her eyes. But she had a smile, something Jake wasn't sure was faked or not. The girl seemed to follow her 'Queens' orders to a fault, and that meant she might not have been happy with his... Intrusion. Letting out a sigh, Jake allowed himself to be moved away from the two, something he wasn't exactly happy with, the discomfort could be seen on his face, despite Thalia's words of comfort. Or her compliment.

Folding the open wing to his back, Jake tugged at his shirt, the back now in tatters, it barely clung to his figure, wonderful. Another one. "Want is not the same as what she might do... Fine. While I hope not to have to act.. Why do you keep hiding your eyes?" Jake needed something to distract himself while he waited, and while the conversation between Madeline and Johanna was interesting enough... He might as well garner all the information he can. Helped he was generally curious as to what the answer is.

While he waited for his answer, his eyes turned to the two who were Johanna's parents, the father was named Alexander, the mother... Foster mother he didn't know, but he was sure they were just as upset over this whole thing as parents that could raise a child could be. Worse with the fact the real mother was a demonic lord that called herself a goddess... Had the ego and right too anyway. She lived long enough to convince people she was a god, and calling yourself a war goddess to a bunch of humans? Well, that was easy mode to gaining a cult following.

Thalia almost seemed to light up with glee as Jake questioned why she was covering her eyes. No one had ever bothered to ask that question before. Heart looked at the boy, or rather the general direction she heard his voice come from. “Oh well you see, the thing is, my eyes are very strange. If I stare at someone they get all stiff and paralyzed and stuff. I cover my eyes so no one gets hurt unintentionally.” she said with a little to much pride and enthusiasm. As Thalia finished explaining why she was hiding her eyes she soon realized she didn’t need to hide them at all. “Wait a minute! You have wings! I don’t need to cover my eyes!” she shouted with glee.

The tufts of hair slowly sank to the floor and she finally gave the boy a good look over. “Oh! Hello there! I can see why she likes you!” Thalia said, referring to Johanna’s invisible affection for the boy. “If you couldn’t tell shes a lot like mom. Really bad at showing emotion.” Thalia’s mismatched eyes then shifted over to the arguing mother and daughter. They shared a very similar expression as they glared at the tiny demon.

Madeline and Johanna then locked eyes once more. “What I want is to have an opportunity to get to know my own child. Teach you about who and what you really are. Showing you your real home.”

Johanna stared at Madeline. The demon was making a genuine case but the ashen haired teen still didn’t want to believe her. Looking past Madeline, Johanna looked at her parents. “What about you? Have neither of you got anything to say?!”

Alexander and Jessica stared at their confused and angry child. They didn’t know what to say. They had already pushed her away by hiding their past form her. But now that it was out of the bag, that they had been hiding Johanna’s past from her as well….Well there really wasn’t much to say. “We…We never intended for you to find out this way. We wanted to tell you. We rea-”

“Oh go to hell! I can’t believe you two!” Johanna took a few steps back and grabbed her head. She felt ill. She needed fresh air and she needed to think. The beating of her heart, the swirling mass of confusion running through her mind, and the headache it was all bringing on, Johanna knew she couldn’t stay here any more, at least for the moment. She looked over to Jake, then to the tiny demon at his side, then to her traitorous parents, and then finally to her real mother. With a shake of the head, the girl leapt through the open window and quickly began to swing away from the small clothing shop.

As Johanna made her escape, Madeline had taken a step in the teens direction. Her hand reached out as if she wanted to stop the girl from fleeing, but she let her go anyway. She slowly turned around to face the girls parents. If she hadn’t formed a contract with them long ago, she’d reduce them to ash right where they stood. “You couldn’t just let me do this could you? What have I done to either of you that warrants this kind of treatment? I gave you both the all the power and success you ever wanted. All I asked in return was for you to watch over our daughter. And now you sabotage the first chance I get to meet her.” The demon let out a sigh and then proceeded to step out of the shop. She was going to chase her daughter, this meeting wasn’t over. She could still get through to the girl, but Madeline knew all to well not to push things. She’d allow Johanna a moment to collect herself before giving pursuit.

Thalia stood inside the shop not sure what to do. Too many emotions had been displayed and mixed up in these brief few moments and everyone needed a chance to collect themselves. She gave the boy a small pat on the back with her hair. “You should go to her. She’ll need someone to talk to.” And with that Thalia moved past the boy and exited the shop to be at her queens side.