Never one, without the other. (MSG for Inv.)

A brisk air swept through the city. The sound of engines rumbling through the streets and the pollution of light kept the celestial stars above from shining brightly. There was that chilled December nip in the air as people began to see their breath while they walked. Many warmed their hearts and others their homes. The masses hurried on the streets to escape the wind, an almost sudden violent torrent sending snow across the roads from their piled up banks. They ran, and screamed and laughed as they noted the chill that kissed their skin. Chicago was the windy city after all, what did they expect?

The Suburban areas of Chicago were the more desirable locations for those that wanted a more quiet existence. For the sake of safety, family, peace of mind or just the simple charm of suburban life. There were many appeals to this area. Some were more plain, others not so much. In Las Vegas, few months ago, there was a ritual that failed involving the sacrificing of those with angel blood and those of demon blood. The ritual failed, but due to the powers of a realm-walker The Herald of destruction arrived upon the world. This woman, like a veiled in a dark chaos began to do the work of a higher power.

The Black Beast…

Asmodeus, The Prince of Hell disguised as a mere cambion began to amass his allies, and pulled their allies. Humanity, The undefeated vigilante and his group of allies. Samhain, The Eldritch God and his powerful minions assembled including Blood Tithe and Azrael. Ares arrived with his allies; The man whom had brought the Good Sister here had come, hiding his own fault in the events as they played out. Asmodeus reached out and sent message to Samael and Adam, asking them to assemble every force they had. This was going to be a fight that the Black Beast would never forget. The Archon was reached, though began immediately fortifying defenses on the lands they would eventually trap The Good Sister within. Humanity reached deep into Thrones and summoned forth his family of Religious Heroes to fight. Humanity also pulled weigh and tug to reach out an alert The Gravitas Gang, and by extension all of Rise, of the war that would be waged against this being.

The groups would attempt to convene in these Suburbs, the large gathering would not be unnoticed, as three houses were occupied, courtesy of Zell Atterrius’ funding. He wouldn’t impress these problems upon The Hales or his “brother”, especially to ask them to host a gathering of such sketchy individuals. Zell even reached out to Niall, Rozmer and he even attempted to contact his allied realm-walker Elena Marie. He couldn’t find Elena Vexus, he tried. Despite what he may have held against that woman she was truly one of the most remarkable minds he’d ever encountered. He was honestly hoping to see what he and the Elena^Squared could accomplish. Alas, he was uncertain if any would show. He was thankful to see all of his family at this event.

Jordan was meditating next to Humanity, peeking at him every now and again to see if his father was genuinely entransed. Zell smiled softly as he looked to the next child in line. Shael stood with Shara, laughing over some silly story about Zell when he and Shara were together. Shael then seemed to rope Sean into it, slinging an arm around his second father. Michael and Silus were there too, sitting there and talking to his extra-universal offspring, one that looked like someone smashed the two brothers together, and formed a missing link between them. He looked to the younger Jordan, not sure if he had seen him there yet.

“You-You look rough.” A hoarse voice came, Zell turned to see an old friend smiling at him. Zell’s softened heart broke as he laughed, arms wrapping around the stranger. “Honestly surprised you reached out.”

”No you’re not. You knew I’d drop the ball one way or another.” Zell said with a chuckle. He’d exchange pleasantries and discussion with the blonde haired voidling as Silus ran away to hug his uncle tightly, then disappear away for a moment before returning to Michael and the others. Blood Tithe immediately began to set up some of the most advanced technology he’d ever invented. He hated to confess that his genius was rivaled by Lucius, and surpassed by The Archon, but he had no shame in knowing his limitations. He worked without halt, from sunrise to the late hour of this night.

Azrael’s “Agents” patrolled the houses from the shadows and kept watch, while Azrael himself was inside, doing situps and keeping himself limber, it almost looked as though Overdose was working alongside him. Gravitas was working alongside one of the Master’s children, the blonde haired spastic one...That was all of them. The Meth-baby that wasn’t Zeta. That’s more specific. Their mission was apparently working upon a large ring of sorts that would allow them to generate a pulse which would prevent celestial or divine interference. If done correctly it would make it impossible for any outside help to assist them. Humanity’s brother, Archangel was watching the news, their father sitting in a chair and reading the Bible to himself. The mother walked about, trying to fetch drinks and make sure that there were enough snacks set out for the working forces.

“Is this a highly qualified group of protectors, or a damn open house?” Humanity asked, just loud enough for his family to hear. Silus giggled at that before wincing a little, seeing The Minister’s curious glare upon him. Humanity spoke, never once opening his eyes. ”If you’d like to keep those eyes I suggest you return them to your scripture, Minister.” He warned. The Minister continued his glare a little longer, looking to Humanity and giving a soft sigh. He was used to his expressions being misinterpreted from behind his mask.

“Oh, uh...I’m gonna go help Samhain prepare the summoning circle. Apparently he wanted to talk to me anyway. See you guys at the showdown.” Silus said as he hugged onto Pup and then his older brother. He’d turn and walk out, rubbing his head as he looked about, trying to find Samahin.

”I’m pretty sure we should be doing something to help. I wonder what Hound found...” Pup mused to himself as he took out his cellphone, looking over the twelve text messages he saw on it. He murmured out the items before sighing. ”He’s having issued reaching The Agency to evacuate the area. We might have to do it manually. What’s the best way to do that? Blow up a 16-wheeler?” He asked, looking to Mike for a moment before feeling a hand on his shoulder, Asmodeus glaring at the child, causing him to nervously chuckle.

”Careful. He might corrupt you.” Asmodeus said as he walked past, he smiled to mike and nodded.

”He’s not THAT bad” The pup spoke honestly, almost a whine but more of a matter of fact.

”I know, I was warning him.” Asmodeus chuckled as he walked past, eyes searching and scanning for any of the allies he summoned. He just visited with Proarden in the basement, his heart throbbing as he tried to smell for Rochelle. He saw Matthew, and knew he’d never allow Rochelle to come and fight by his side. He had already seen Citizen Zero doing target practice and Khaos dueling it out with some of Azrael’s Agents. Ink and Inferno were talking with Xerox as they were running through how they would best allocate their abilities to neutralize the incoming Divine, should the Technomagi protection circle fail. He searched far and wide, only to find himself disappointed for a moment.

So far they were running behind their schedule. True enough The Black Beast wasn’t going to show up soon, but the timeframe was one they desperately wanted to achieve. Zell had taken every possible precaution, traced every known piece of information on this being. For others it seemed as if he had known it instantly, and in a way..he had always known it. But it was centuries, lifetimes. Realities ended for this information, to observe its habits. A painful requirement to the multiverse. Asmodeus was contemplating calling upon his siblings, not certain if he should truly surrender himself so easily. It wasn’t long before the clicking of bones could be heard, a black smoke came from the fireplace, a skeletal figure formed as it looked about, small glowing eyes sweeping left to right. The figure radiated an unholy aura, Archangel’s wings began to glow and The Minister looked from his book calmly.

These were some powerful people, and it didn’t take long before they were taken note of. Ares was standing there, his normal carefree personna down and he had his own powerful bodyguard with him. Axel the Demon, another alongside him and the Nephilim child. He seemed to scrutinize the entire area, the middle of the road having magical runic markings upon the pavement and sidewalk. Axel continued to stand, his red suit pulled perfectly, his purple skin and sharp canines working together to drive home the post yet vicious appearance.  Austyn and Cale were working together as they began to work on a few exosuits, the skeletons left from Zell’s creation station.

”Backs into it boys...We don’t want to muck it up yet.” Sin said as he smiled, then glaring at the house. He had his own stake in this, the world was such a wonderfully sinful place afterall. He was standing over a large cauldron, throwing his blood into the mixture as he seemed to access the Inferno, the vault of Hell designed specifically to contain him. He had a plan of his own, channeling himself as best as he could into the fire. The Hound walked past, his own body morphing as he passed Sin, a distasteful glare as he continued to look through the premises, searching for someone else.

There was a cyan blur as Guilty Spark stopped his running, looking back for a moment as another blur ran up beside him, stopping abruptly and panting. The Machine looked the meatsack over and then nodded, a form of silent encouragement as the machine's shadow began to manifest into another human form, the pale man rolling out and heaving for air as he had the wind knocked out of him. The “man” blurred off again a bright cyan color as he swept the far outer areas. Upon the roof there was a man with glowing purple eyes as he looked up unto the sky. His hands were holding a particular posture, the world around them still. A thin, firm lip emotionless and fixed. The Void Watcher continued to look as it pushed it’s black hair out of the way and fixed it’s hood, returning his hands to the correct position, the universe standing still once more, save for the marked ones that would save this universe.

“Yamm!” A voice shouted as a black sphere exploded, the element of water pouring forwards like a contained hurricane. Cultists poured through, armed to the teeth in metal and magical blades. Between the powers that be, one might safely say there was enough power here to destroy the known multiverse. Of course that’s under the absolutely most off the scale, low level way possible. There were ninjas and even Fear was there, his mask off as he walked freely, keeping his Bloodmoon defectors in line. Raja Annihia was here, ready to serve as he watched around, his collar broken off as he folded his legs, sitting in the air meditating. Of all the forces they’ve had though the most surprising to many was the assistance of Prometheus and a few of the Ti’tians he had befriended, especially the one that was a young child, saved by Silus and Yancey.

A strange being in a Plague doctor’s uniform also arrived, walking slowly as it scanned the area. He was soon joined by a man with a metal arm over his shoulder and a crystal on his staff. The metallic voice growled, Doctor Death had arrived with a small cat on his back, the clever kitty bolting into the house and jumping up into the Pup’s arms. ”Hey little Pup. Hello Rough n’ Tough~” The cat’s voice purred as it nuzzled into the boy then leaning up and licking Mike. The cat, Sibuna was followed in by Jack as he looked around, uneasy as he cleared his throat and tried to hide himself with Pup, cursing the fact it was so cold out.

Outside there was an encampment, Wic-Kid stood with his hat off, for the first time dressed appropriately for his gender as he smiled and looked around and laughed. A small sphere floated around him, chirping happily before it flew off. A red-headed alien girl stood with her toasted and laughed as they chased the sphere down. It was a jovial time actually, it was peaceful...mostly. Even enemies worked together. So why did it have to be when the goddamn universe was going to die?

“So, Orpheus. Are you absolutely sure you wanna be here for this? I hear that Lucius is gonna be here. Speak of the Devil on Earth...” The Author said as the flash of existence appeared.  Daniel’s teleportation had brought them all right to him, and likely an army outside no doubt. “Lucius! Good to see ya!” The Author said with a wide smile. The fact he looked older than Silus and the fact he didn’t immediately run and Hug Silus was a pretty clear indication that this was not the Silus he was familiar with. It didn’t take long before Silus arrived however, doing exactly what was predicted of him.

”Lucius!” He shouted as he wrapped his arms around his friend, looking up and smiling brightly, his eyes widening for a moment as he recalled he had something to say. ”Oh! Lucas is here too...I figured you might wanna talk to him.” He explained, trying to do his best to respect both of his friends but at the same time provide a form of peace, of solidarity between them. This would be the first time the three of them were around. Silus didn’t want to mediate, but he also didn’t want to see any hard feeling linger.

”I’ve called upon the magical influences and powers that be. Per the request of my son, The Hales are to be kept safe out of range form the conflict. Sean was left to reach out to the Ti’tians. The Etherium is channeled into Yggdrasil, my grandson shall call it forth when the time is ready. War leaders, we assemble!” The Lych growled in his raspy, whispering throat, though the volume was loud enough to project. In that moment, The Minister stood up to close his bible as his wife came from the kitchen. The Lych seemed to walk away, Zell and Rozmer leading them to their convergence point. Silus looked at Lucius, expecting him to go as the leader of Belarus.

”We’re still far from ready...Author. Would you kindly fetch me the Ionic hyperspanner from the second pouch?” Blood Tithe said, The Author eagerly obliging as he studied the instruments before selecting one at random. It must have been the correct one, because Blood Tithe didn’t say anything to the contrary.

”The war council convenes, Scribe, begin. Alistair Marlowe, Host of Souls. The Lych.” The Lych said as he turned his head to the left. Apparently it was an acknowledgement of whomever was in the room at the time. Zell was next, a sigh.

”Zell Atterrius, Creation’s Soul. The Archon.” He said, looking to Rozmer whom said nothing. Everyone seemed to look at him he just shrugged. He wasn’t a war leader, he was quite literally nothing. Zell saw what he was doing and smiled, shaking his head. He looked to see if Sean or Elena had joined the meeting, hoping that they would as they were the leaders of their own perspective faction.

”Stephen May, The Minister.” The next said, his wife smiling quietly as she stood, listening in on the introductions. Humanity growled a little when he didn’t hear his father boast of any particular title or feat beyond that of his miserable heroic moniker.

”Proarden, Stand in for Gravitas...” Proarden said, knowing full well that Gravitas wasn’t coming to the meeting. Lucius would be here and he was their leader, ans Alpha would be here too most likely to help keep things in perspective. Proarden was just there to vote on anything if needed.

”Humanity, King of Thrones, Voice of The Vigilantes and...ugh...Team Bolt. The Villain.” He said, looking to the paper and glaring at Cypher behind him, she blushed and shrugged. He had any friend who wished to accompany him as well. He saw Drifted, smirking behind his mask. ”Except this one. No one speaks for him, but him.”

”Sam-” The scottish accent began, immediately his tongue was caught as The Lych looked at him, he was having a difficult time lying.

”Your true name.” Archon was quick to remind him. The Eldritch scoffed, a rather bitter chuckle as he cleared his throat. A small cloud of black and red sparks seemed to permeate from his body, the form of the tall pale man replaced with the tanned skin boy, looking worse for wear as the Black Eldritch essence seemed to corrode his physical form around his wrists, neck and eyes.

”Yancey Zazel, The Eldritch One; The Dying Light. Castiel or Samhain.” He said with a cough, immediately seeming to be much weaker than the Eldritch being he used to be. For some this was a shock, to others there was no reaction or care in the world. Humanity was among one of the wones staring, an audible gasp before his fists clenched, like he was about to haul off. He felt someone grip his wrist, he wasn’t sure who, but he was glad they did.

”Asmodeus, Lord of Lust. Crown Prince of Hell and a coward who doesn’t want that knowledge getting out to his sister who now sits on the throne. Please and Thank you.” He said, airing it all out there as he nodded his head and fixing his bone battle armor a little as a nervous tick.

There were other introductions to be had, of the most noted was an old “friend” of the Lych, Nicholas Flamel. Zell was expecting Lucius and Elena Marie to be there, possibly Mike’s right-hand bitch to help coordinate Ti’tian tactics. Whomever else arrived would be a welcomed addition to the forces, even when Ares came in late with his demon and a kid at his side. Ares gave his introduction, stating he was a friendly repairman.

”Is there any preliminaries that are to be offered for those before we handle the business at hand?”
”Anyone who would like, please bow your head in prayer. If you choose to abstain I understand, but ask you respect those of us who do.” Humanity groaned as he rolled his head back. Archon, Asmodeus, The Minister and a few others bowed their head, even little Azrael whom came in late to stand by Samhain did as well. The prayer was surprisingly quick-winded for The Minister as he backed away.

”Motion to get this started before he remembers something else to pray for.” Humanity said, quite agitated as he looked for the votes of affirmation. Many voted in favor of this, though he could feel the glares upon him. ”Call to arms. We need a strategist. I nominate Lucius Alba and Myself.”

”I second Lucius Alba”
”I second Lucius Alba” Zell and Rozmer said in unison, looking to each other and shaking their head.

”I second The Villain. Other nominations?” The lych asked as he scanned the area.

”I nominate Sheiara.” Samhain, or Yancey, offered with a cough.

A crimson blade.

Perfectly polished armor.

Glowing red optics.

A longcoat and belt.

Old gadgets, bombs, and toys.

All these things were laid out in front of Red. They were his past, present, and future. Sure, he'd tried to leave them behind. He'd tried to be the voice--the intellect--behind his movement, but he'd always been drawn into being it's might instead. As much as he had tried to remain behind the scenes, he was an Alexander at heart. He'd risk everything he'd built just to prove he wasn't just talk, but that he could also get his hands dirty. He'd tried to deny that fact to himself, but it proved true time and time again.

Looking over these opjects on his desk, Lucius realized he wasn't just a leader. He wasn't only an intellectual, a scientist, and an innovator; he was a warrior. He even had the wonderfully maintained, yet obviously worn armor and sword to prove it. He hadn't just been preaching all this time, but fighting.

Lucius smirked. Perhaps that's what separated him from all the other idealists: He had the will to see his vision through to the end.

Today, that meant putting on his war garb--his uniform--to go out to battle against a force he knew nothing about. Sure, they had explained it to him well enough, but that didn't mean it wasn't over his head. Cosmic beings, supernatural forces, and magic were still hard pills for Lucius to swallow. They threatened to fill him with the same existential, nihilistic dread that stomped out any and all ambition in so many others. These things called into question his plight, and whether it truly mattered in the grand scheme of things.

Red's mind drifted to these thoughts as he suited up, but each time he shook them off. Now was not the time to think about such things. Right now, he needed to act. He kept telling himself it didn't matter what was out there, because he would always face it with all his might. He believed, truly, that if he put his mind to overcoming something, he would. It didn't matter if it was death, love, the hatred of millions, or an army at the Earth's gate; Lucius Alba would always be there, and he'd always be ready to take a stand for what he believed.

Lucius' armor sealed. His repulsive field ignited, briefly causing his suit to glow faintly red before the shield adjusted into it's normal, translucent state. He sheathed Cora Zen, put on his flowing long coat, and clasped his belt around his waist.

This was his standard gear. They were, in truth, relics of an earlier time. Lucius could have at any point upgraded his equipment to some of the most deadly in existence, but he had been resisting his role as a fighter ever since he took Belarus. He didn't see it as his job, and as a consequence focused on other things. This is in part how his counterpart, Blood Tithe, overcame him in battle so many times. While Lucius was giving speeches and setting up an advanced society, Blood Tithe was, in a primal and relentless fashion, figuring out the best way to demolish his opponents.

But even now, knowing this fact, Lucius did nothing to augment his personal technology. He could have grabbed a suit of power armor. He could have went through all his ideas and forged something that would make him a paragon of the battlefield. But no, perhaps out of sentiment, the Prime Minister dug out his tried and true gear. He reasoned that he didn't need anything else to protect himself. These items had gotten him through everything to this point with little alteration, and they would serve him well today. Besides, it was his character, not his tools, that made him such a threat. Like a prideful warrior that went into battle with nothing but a stick, he intended to prove his prowess once again.

Of course, that didn't mean those he brought with him had to follow his example.

A flash of red lit up the sky. It was as if several dozen lightning bolts had struck the same spot all at once. For a brief moment, all that those in the suburban neighborhood that were outside would be able to see was crimson. Once the light faded, though, they would be greeted with a display of military power with few equals.

With Red and his generals at their head, hundreds of men in suits of power armor stood at attention in neat, unflinching square units. Between these units were small groups of unarmored crews manning massive, mobile railguns. These weapons emanated an emerald light, and could be fired in rapid succession despite their size. Their projectiles tripled the speed and power of anything on record from other governments, and yet Lucius had simply brought them as an after thought.

In the center of the army in the streets was a large metal platform. Soldiers hastily drilled it into the ground as soon as they arrived. Atop it was a large metal ring, like a portal, which contained a glowing green mass of energy. Given that the rail guns, infantry weapons, and power armor cores all glew with the same color, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume this was the power source for it all. After all, these things were highly advanced, and therefore needed something approximating a small sun to keep them going at full capacity. The unfortunate trade off was that the energy sphere in the center of the ring seemed to scream every now and then, but it was probably nothing.....

Despite the flashy entrance of Lucius and his ground troops, what was really impressive about his arrival was the sudden appearance of a giant airborne command center. It housed what seemed like an uncountable number of laser cannons and advanced weapons, and looked to be an excellent vantage point for anyone wanting to command forces from above. Not only that, but dozens of high tech jets swarmed the ship like hypersonic hornets, ready to deliver payloads at lightning speed. Lucius had come plain, and looked as he always did, but Belarus had pulled out all the stops.

The unarmored soldiers busied themselves with setting up and handing out small communication devices and what looked like high tech wrist watches to whoever they could. These gadgets glew with the same green light as everything else the soldiers had, so it seemed they were powered by the same core, which was now affixed in the middle of the suburban road.

While Hazmat, Broker, Captain Victus, and Daniel directed Red's troops, Lucius walked forward to meet with everyone. He only got a few steps before Author greeted him and the Silus he was much more fond of tried to hug him to death. Slightly startled, and seemingly a bit put off for a moment, Lucius' irritation quickly turned to laughter. He smiled at the boy, hugging him tightly in kind. He couldn't help but feel some kind of joy when Silus approached him in such an enthusiastic manner.

"It's....... It's good to see you, Silus. I'm sorry it couldn't be under better circumstances," Lucius said, lowering himself a bit as he spoke to the boy. Even for someone his age, Silus was short, and it could be a struggle to properly level with him unless you took a knee.

Silus mentioned that Lucas was there as well. Lucius' eyes went wide at this. He had no idea. He would have been furious, but then he realized he really had no right to be. Given the way he had treated his sons last he saw them, apologizing to them, not lecturing them, was what was most appropriate.

"He shouldn't-Why did he? ......Yeah, you're right. I'll have a word with him as soon as the meeting is done." Lucius gave Silus one last squeeze before standing. He would have liked to catch up for a little bit longer, but time was of the essence, and the battle leaders had been called.

As Lucius moved to follow Lych and the others, he spotted Blood Tithe. His first inclination was to cut him down, and after that to glare at him, but neither would promote cooperation on a day that really, really required it. Instead of being petty, Lucius swallowed his pride, and his grudge, and stopped in front of his counterpart. The Prime Minster then reached out a hand for a shake. Whether the monster chose to accept or not was irrelevant. Lucius was showing good will, or at least respect among rivals.

"Although my seething hatred for everything you are knows no bounds, I suppose we can put our differences aside for a common goal. For the time being, I won't try to kill you," Lucius said, bowing every so slightly before walking off. However, after about a dozen feet, he felt that was probably not all that should have been said between them. He turned around partially, adding a brief fairwell comment; "for what it's worth, thank you........ For helping him."

As the group of war leaders walked, Lucius spotted a few familiar faces. Some were from Rise, while others were old allies. Some, like Agent Michael Daniels, were old enemies. He had a thousand things to say to most of the people here, but he couldn't put this off to yack it up with friends or dig up old dirt with foes. The most he did was nod at Gamma, who seemed to be directing about a dozen of his kin. Regardless of their differences, he could respect the guy's stern nature when it came to ordering people around. Oliver got things done, that was for sure.

Once in the meeting area, everyone announced who they were, flashy titles and all. This room was almost everyone. Nearly all the major players. There were a few notable absences, but getting what powers that were there together was impressive nonetheless. Whatever was coming had a fight on it's hands.

"Lucius Alba, Dawnbringer, The Rebrum Redemptor, The Devil on Earth, The Rise Head, Prime Minister of Belarus, or simply..... Red," Lucius said, listing off a couple more titles than the others. It was in stark contrast to one of the other war leaders, who only gave the name 'The Minister.' Why a preacher Lucius had never heard of sat amongst them he didn't know, but perhaps that would become apparent at some point.

Last into the meeting was someone Lucius had a pretty decent relationship with, despite their differences. He was an old man, golden eyed and white bearded. He wore the clothing of a sage, or perhaps a seventeenth century Wiseman. Gold and silver embroidery swirled along his elegant garments, yet he still had the presence of a humble, genuine, and monastic man.

"Nicolas Flamel, Servent of Humanity, The Father of Alchemy," the old man said, bowing to Lych as he announced himself. When he stood up straight once again, he had a smile on his face. "Good to see you, old friend. If only it could have been sooner."

After Flamel spoke, he took his seat among the makeshift council. By that point, everyone was already there, and The Minster decided a bit of pre-carnage prayer would be appropriate. Lucius laughed to himself, wanting to say something, but he was feeling oddly generous towards people's stupidity lately. He had no problem with religious people, but there was a time and a place for espousing your beliefs. Even though many, including Archon, Flamel, and at least one of the vigilantes behind Humanity bowed their heads, Lucius was having none of it.

"Yes, please. I've had enough snake oil for the evening," Lucius said, unable to help himself, once Humanity raised the motion to get on with the meeting.

It was then on to more important things, like who would lead. Lucius didn't really care who was selected, because he intended to command his forces as he saw fit no matter who was chosen as high commander. That said, being voted in would make things easier. He wouldn't have to explain to people why it was in their best interest to listen to him on every damn point no matter how obvious. If he were in command, instead of having to get people to agree, he could simply bark the orders, and they'd be much less likely to question them. The arbitrary designation as leader was retard repellent, basically.

Luckily, a good amount of people had enough sense to give it to him.

"I nominate myself, and I suppose Humanity as well. He's proven himself to be an excellent tactician," Lucius said, hoping that would be the end of it. There were of course more people there that hadn't voted, but he wouldn't just take it if he was voted down without explaining why that was a terrible decision.

"I nominate Alba. As overbearing, and, well, frankly unhinged as he can be, I don't think anyone here doubts his competence as a strategist," Nick said, throwing in his two cents. He reasoned that everyone here had their expertise, and leading men happened to be Lucius'.

Whether he was chosen or not, Lucius would stand, making sure to get everyone's attention. He wanted to make sure everyone was aware of just what Rise was providing, besides simple numbers.

"My forces are handing out communicators and personal teleportation devices. Giving these tools to everyone that is without their own similar equipment will enhance both our mobility and our ability to cooperate. Please, take them. There is no trick to be done here. I'm sure Archon can verify," Lucius said, tossing Zell both a communicator and a teleportor to examine. He would see with a simple trained look that they were what Lucius said they were.

"Just don't, for the love of all that is holy, use them more then twice in the span of ten minutes. I won't take responsibility if you end up in a flagpole. But, moving on from that, I'm sure you all saw the command center in the sky. There you will find advanced medical facilities, equipment, and support from Belarusian military personnel. More importantly, however, it gives us an excellent view of the battlefield...... And has railguns. So, if anyone is of a more cowardly persuasion, they can just sit up there and shoot the whole time. No one would judge you." Once Lucius was done with his quick speech, he sat back down, waiting for the next motion, if there was one, to be put before the council.

_________

Lucas sat in one of the three houses, watching as his father's forces arrived. When he heard Lucius was coming, he almost left...... But then he remembered that it wasn't like him to hold grudges, no matter how badly someone hurt him.

Besides, this lull before the storm had taught him something: Enemies could put their differences aside for a common good. He saw so many people there during the course of the day that should have been fighting, yet they were all gathered around eating, joking, and working. It was like they were all..... Friends? A community, almost? It would have been almost beautiful had the circumstances been different, but apparently this type of thing was only possible when the world was about to end.

Lucas had remained withdrawn from everyone so far. He had come here trying to help, but at this point he was starting to believe he might just get in the way. So much was happening, and so many people were there to make a stand. His little voice and little ideas would be nothing new to people like the Archon, The Lych, and The Author.

Yeah, maybe he wasn't going to do any good, but that didn't mean he could leave. There were too many people there that he cared for to just up and abandon them. So, he resolved to sit on the sidelines, helping where he could. Even if all he could offer was the perspective of a genius thirteen year old, he would be happy.

Lucas eventually left the house he had stayed in for the majority of the time he was there, going out to see what Author and Blood Tithe were working on. He hadn't seen either of them since their encounter in that pocket dimension, but that didn't stop him from abruptly walking up like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Um, hey. What are you guys up to?"

A writhing ruin and it’s herald had set their sights upon this world. Fractured, frayed as it might have been but alive nonetheless. Malicious intent meaning to bring through the end of all of that possibility, as other worlds had suffered beforehand. For the sole purpose of stopping this many had been brought together, many of which might not alone have been brought together but they shared a mutual desire to see their world saved. A myriad of minds, powers that once fought against each other now seeing past temporary squabbles and the strength that came of it was monumental. Thanatos felt it as he sat upon his onyx throne, gazing into the pulsating jet heart of his world. With I the life of something that simply needed the life of other things to subsist, to survive but even he felt the danger that came. One that stood on the very precipice of his doorstep.

Sheiara paced along the  soft carpets that lined the area before the throne,  several of his generals all prostrate before him save for the self proclaimed goddess of war. Someone that bowed to no one, not even perhaps the only one that could claim to surpass her. Instead she seemed deep in thought. As if a quandary had captured her attention, though what that was he couldn’t actually tell. ”What’s on your mind?” He finally questioned, arcing a single brow as he leaned forward within the throne itself. Only managing to draw her attention for a moment before she continued to pace.

”This Black Beast. I feel like i’ve heard of the name before but I can’t recall from where. I know Hyperion had a strange fascination with it but cannot for the life of me guess why i’m so...interested myself.” She admitted, stroking her chin.

”Well I have heard we do something similar to it, if not for the destruction portion of the process.” He offered, fingers intertwined as he stepped to his feet. Feeling the breach within dimensional walls before anyway else. After-all, someone would feel it when their skin was cut.

”That is a possibility but there’s a certain wrongness when thinking of it.” The words seemed to be hard fought, as if she couldn’t really figure out what she was trying to say. ”Maybe it’s something I need to...look into more personally.” Something that sounded perfectly fine within her own mind.

”You needn’t do that dear. The answers have come to you.” Everyone in the room turned, seeing a woman in black. Mask inscribing an unspeakable horror with red hair flowing from the back, what looked to be a katana strapped to her side.  ”I didn’t understand it first. Why this world existed, one so touched by The Beast but it makes perfect sense.” Several of the guards rose, weapons drawn and with a twitch of the wrist the woman had moved. Dropping all who stood against her in an instant. Falling like dolls.

”You...” Sheiara growled, drawing her weapons in preparation to fight. Seeing the flicker of movement, until her limbs went slack.

”I didn’t come here to kill you dear Sheiara. No, we have a much greater purpose in mind for you. Oh goddess of The Abyss.” Her eyes widened at the mention of we, even Thanatos seemingly locked within place. Face taut with tension as he tried to command his limbs to move. ”Ever since I had been brought into this world, I had sensed it. Traces of the profane scattered throughout the world. Slowly depleting but with it something else. An essence that only I and the young goddess bore.” Stepping from the shadows was a pale woman, decked in leather with a shadowy blade in hand.

Metallic footsteps seemed to echo throughout the room as she approached the heart above them. Massive gem pulsating more and more as she drew closer, even defying gravity to do this. Eventually the clawed gauntlets scraped across its smooth surface. ”This was what I was supposed to find. A...divine truth from the beast itself.” Rearing back her mailed fist, she slammed it into the gem. Cracking, and shattering the surface as the fist buried itself into it. ”Now then, awaken as you were meant to.” She spoke, words resounding as the entire construct shattered and a darkness beyond darkness itself spilled from it.

–

”So what do you think all the hub bub is about?” Travis mused out loud, one arm slung around Omega who seemed less than pleased to be brought along. Rolling his grey eyes around three times a minute if he were lucky.

”I don’t know but I have a really bad feeling about this.” Was all he said, hands buried into his pockets as a few more of his family trailed behind them. Beta practically clinging to him with a little hand holding onto his own. Searching eyes looking around as they appeared onto the scene thanks to a certain member of Lucius’ lieutenants.

No one looked familiar to the young beta but he knew that he probably shouldn’t speak too much. Aside from helping his uncle who would likely need the hive mind support. ”You aaalways feel bad when Lucius is involved. He’s not that bad.” Was his response to that assertion, looking around until he caught a drifting fellow. Not literally drifting but he was a drifter.

It was Drifter.

”Hey, it’s the guy who shot me! Lets say hi to him.” That was greeted by a light swat to the back of his head.

”We are not saying hi to the person that shot you IN THE HEAD.” Omega snapped, garnering what looked to be a well meaning smirk from Alpha.

”I’m just kidding. Trying out this whole playful thing you know? Don’t think going back to calm, calculated and serious wins me any fans. Even if that’s your thing.” He smirked, walking up to keep a close eye on Lucius Alba. Certified for his number one best friend. ”Lucius! Are we all ready on the strategic front to wreck some dark wolf ass?”

”Black Beast.”

”That! I mean, with us involved it’s gonna get wrecked in like fifteen seconds flat. Honestly….acting like this is too much fun.” With hands buried into his stark white pants pockets, Travis looked for people he also recognized. There was Atterrius, that rich guy who was about as young as he looked. Plenty of other people that likely mattered  a lot and then  Atlas.

Atlas!

He saw that guy on the news and he totally punched Lucius really hard that one time. Now he was walking over to the super strong hero guy to talk. Because this was perhaps the only time he could without getting punched really hard and he didn’t want to pass up the opportunity.

–

Mike didn’t know what it felt like to be happy. Not really anyway. Sabotage yourself enough and that probably happens, seeing failure within even the most triumphant of moments but he had to admit he was pleased with this. Silus looked at him in a manner that he assumed a younger brother would, all smiles and not fearing for their life. Pup was there too, scraggly haired and not dead as he liked him to be. All of it felt too good but for once he was fine with it. Even if this had been a scene he lived before, forces being rallied to fight off a great threat. Every fiber within his being warning him that something could go wrong within this moment.

Probably because everyone is going to die. That small, not so hallucinatory voice spoke in the back of his head. As if he had enough issues without a botched attempt to help turning into an overly full headspace.

I’m sure dads have thought of a plan. Maybe even a good one. His mental response came, fingers intertwining and knuckles turning a pale white. Trying to let his mind wander off from whatever was setting in. Doubts so deeply ingrained that it took a deep mind bleach to make them go away. However he knew how much that would not work, so instead he tried to calm himself. Imagine the best possible reality. That they won and The Black beast was pushed back without anyone being lost.

Anyone that mattered to him.

Silus, Jordan, Zell, Sean, Shael, Shael again, Fera, Pup, Jordan also again. As repetitive as the list itself was, he couldn’t help thinking of these people now. Reminders that he had people worth fighting for, dying for even if that came down to it.

”I know how to blow up a few big trucks.  Getting enough together to blow up is the real trick.” He said with a smirk, feeling a flare like daggers bite into him. Turning he saw one of those Jordans...the one he didn’t have awkward sexual/romantic feelings for. No, that one belonged to someone else.

”Thought they might need a healer for this big ordeal….also Pat invited me. Well….more like I invited myself and he had no say in the matter.” He said with a grin, settling down beside his decidedly darker half. ”Besides, have to keep you on the straight and narrow’.

”Think you fail immediately on one of those fronts.” Was all he said in that regard, feeling the faint pulse of nether flowing through the air as a portal opened and Sheiara stepped through said rift. Decked out in an outfit meant for combat, jagged blades at her side and runic markings pulsing red before fading back to black.

”Right on time. Thought you would skip out on us.” His mood overall seemed jovial, more so than normal for Mike anyway.

”I just had a few preparations to make beforehand. Unfortunately The Abyss can’t help us in this matter as….well let’s just say Thanatos is otherwise occupied.” That seemed to hold much behind it, but he didn’t know what. Either way they had a powerful ally, someone that they could make use of within this conflict that they were going to craft.

”That’s because The Abyss got blown up.”A voice noted in a matter of fact way. Seemingly riding through the tear within worlds was a male figure dressed in a ripped, almost liquid black armor with a masquerade mask that covered almost all of their face save for their mouth. ”Followed our mutual something here and I find myself in a little pow wow. Awesome really.” He seemed to float through the air, upside down before reorienting himself to consider Mike and Jordan.

”Why do I have a feeling this guy is just going to cause more trouble?” Mike muttered under his breath, seemingly to draw a chuckle from him.

”Because you’re right short stop. Lucky for you i’m here to cause trouble for someone everyone here equally dislikes. That bitch The Good Sister I mean.” That was when something seemed to hit this mercurial figure like a ton of bricks, looking around before smirking. ”I also heard there were snacks. So if you’ll excuse me.” Like that he vanished in a puff of black smoke accompanied by a pop. Sheiara looked at him as if something strange and unknowable had happened before shaking her head.

”Now that he’s gone, we should do what tactics we can.” With that the two of them seemed to fall into a conversation. Which involved a bit of information about things blowing up.

–

The war leaders were talking by the time that she arrived. Not as flashy as many would have liked but Elena Marie had set aside much to make sure she could appear when needed. Dressed in what could be best called a battle dress, lined with multiple gems of varying size and type that didn’t seem to inhibit movement of any kind. ”Sorry if i’m a little late, unannounced old friend decided to drop by.” She stated with a sigh, looking to those around her and seemingly glaring at The Lych far longer than she should have. Why was that annoyance here of all places? That was when she remembered, and tempered the glare into something more tame.

They were all her for The Black Beast after all.

Looking to those gathered once again she crossed arms over her chest, seemingly thinking over something. ”Elena Marie Collin, Crimson Witch, Mistress of the Soul Stream and general pain in many asses.” Was what she said adding into the  procession of people in their names.

”Raziel, angel of secrets and someone who invited himself here anyway.” A male noted, dressed sharply in a suit with silver eyes that glowed brilliantly. Messing around with the sleeves of his jacket, and not someone that she had been expecting to see. Granted hearing someone claim the name of Asmodeus was also odd. Especially since he was flanked by a pale vampire and what looked to be a red haired cambion.

However what did catch her attention was the sound of someone speaking through a full mouth. Turning to see a dark haired male in eldritch leathers and a masquerade mask. Shoveling what looked to be a sandwich into his mouth. Swallowing, he proceeded t speak in more understandable terms. ”Dark Traveler, realm walker, wrecker of shit and various other things.” He said with a smile, wiping away a few crumbs from his lower lip. ”Oh yeah, Humanity. I vote Humanity. That guy gets shit done.” He agreed, nodding a couple of times and sucking at his fingers for crumbs.

”I vote for Alba. I’ve seen enough of his work to see he knows what he’s doing.” Elena Marie said in agreement with a few. Sheiara seemingly having appeared from nowhere the moment she had been voted for. She seemed to offer Yancey a pleased smirk, but nothing more for his vote.

”Alba.” Was all Raziel said, seemingly knowing something without saying it.

Well that got some of the things moving forward but then again she had to wonder what  their plan was. Looking to Atterrius who likely had something in mind.

Well, maybe she wanted the strange masked one to begone.

There had been few surprises in how the vote was cast. Lucious was getting a lot of votes. Humanity looked to Lucius as he heard him nominate him as a tactician. He gave a small grunt, a smirk behind his mask. Lucius was a smart man, he would operate his Vigilantes regardless of their plans. He knew his team best, and Alba wasn’t about to use the opportunity to gather intel on them. The entire tables went around until they got to Ares, he seemed to give a small laugh, an oddly innocent face to him as a sparkle of joy left his eyes.

”I’ll nominate President Trump.” He said, a few eyes looked to him and he grinned rather ominously. ”Kidding. I vote for The Villain.” He said, though at that moment Humanity seemed to growl. He slammed a hand on the table, leaning forward and his face darting between anyone that casted a vote for him.

”I voted for myself because regardless what’s done, I work autonomously. I’m not sure if you’re blind, or just absolutely retarded, but I suggest you take your decisions seriously.” He warned them, his last gaze turned to The Dark Traveler, in that moment Humanity’s eyes would seem to become hollow to the man. No one else would see the faint blue color to the eyes before blackness consumed them. He looked back to Lucius and then to The Minister, finally landing on Drifter.

”I’m always serious. The Villain’s perseverance is battle tested, his results unquestionable. Unfortunately his mortal coil confines that intellect of his.” Humanity scoffed at that, but he nodded in appreciation of the vote towards the rightful ruler of the title of Strategist.

”I can personally attest to The Villain’s competence as a strategist. He’s bested three of the seven princes of Hell, and that was prior to meeting me. I’ve been watching him for a long time and if there’s anyone who can get it done...it’s you.” Asmodeus began though he started talking about Humanity, he ended up talking directly to him. He shook his head, these people were absolutely crazy. He found his eyes scanning the room. There was opportunity here, in this event. Humanity took a deep breath in and looked to the last ones he knew hadn’t voted. There was Samhain’s throw-away which meant he’d need to vote again if it came to a tie. However The Lych still hadn’t given a definite answer, and The Minister seemed to hold things in suspense as well.  

”The Villain has my confidence.” The Lych said. Humanity growled, his eyes narrowing. It wasn’t the fact he “couldn’t” lead; it was the fact he didn’t want to. He had a particular skill set that made him invaluable elsewhere, just as Drifter had his ideas. He wasn’t meant to do this, Lucius was a natural born leader with a brilliant mind. He despised the man for what was happening to his beloved, but he couldn’t let the entire world die because of a dislike for a man. He looked to the last Vote that could matter. The Minister and his wife seemed to whisper and speak to each other in confidence a little, though eventually there was a decision made.

”...Prime Minister Alba” He said. Humanity felt his stomach sink as he bit his lip behind his mask. He had gotten what he wanted, and he was all too happy for it. But there was something about that vote that made him recall a time long past. Memories from a man who had died. He wouldn’t let his emotion show as he looked to Lucius and nodded, a silent respect for the man.

”Lucius, The floor is yours for the moment.” Archon said, everyone had their eyes on him, listening intently. In the meantime, Humanity stared down this Dark Traveler and his face, almost glaring, as if he recognized something about this man from somewhere. There had been a small silence of anticipation, everyone wondering what the Strategist would ask of them. Did he already have a plan? Would he even ask what these people brought ot the table? Would he need to know the assets they involved? There was pressure on his shoulders. He may not have been their leader, but he was most certainly their guiding light.

==========================

The Pup ended up clashing into The Hound, though they only exchanged small talk for a moment, then he would return to trying to find Mike, only to fail once the Ti’tian woman had showed herself. He began to smell the air a little, his mouth watering with a familiar taste in his mouth. His eyes went wide and he scurried off to find Jack. Once he had his best friend in tow, he’s take off to try and find Mike. It was a bit of a stretch, but he thought he just might have found something that would be useful.

The Doctor continued to walk, passing Dr.Death and Sin as they seemed to argue. Of course Sin was then interrupted from his argument by the approach of a “creature of average height, it had a skull over its face, the lower jaw was closed. It wore a fitted cultist coat with a large Storm-like emblem on the back, a slight burning blue and black glow to it while the blood red Eth character on his front burned brightly. The skull seemed to have no eyes, but in it’s right eye socket, there was an ancient runic marking that seemed to flow with power.

”Sin. You will serve our master….” The man said, their voice distorted in a combination of technology and magics. Their voice was low, bellowing and almost sickly distorted, as if they were struggling to speak. Zakaken smiled as tendrils began to form in his hand. ”Predictable.” There was a bright flash that took to many people’s attention, but when they looked there was nothing there. No man, no Sin. Just empty space. Being that Sin was one that none particularly cared for, his disappearance was not exactly noticed.

It wasn’t long before so many people had been completely busy. There wasn’t a person just standing around, unless it was a post for a guard. Each and every officer, no matter what faction they served under was a part of this new alliance. A universal force that would unite under the very unlikely events that transpired. They’d need a name at some point, but it was something that they all put off. No one really thought this would ever happen again. Especially what came next. A small glowing sphere arrived and compressed in, opening to reveal several armed individuals. At the head of them was a man with slightly spiked hair, glasses and a strong, stoic glare. With a snap of his fingers, the several suited men began to walk in multiple different directions. Beside him was an old friend to Zell, the first person he had ever “killed”, or so he believed. They had actually gotten along smashingly, once Dominus was dismantled, she was recruited by The Agency, sparring and almost defeating Nerovii, their highest field agent at the time.

”Agent Daniels, I want a full report. Have you seen any sign of Subject:Zero? Agent Reaper, you function as my word. Delegate tasks to the others, keep Agents 30 feet from Subject Gravitas at all times per the agreement. If at any point he can be neutralized however...” He said to her, a nod so she would be certain she knew what needed to be done. Agent Williams began to walk through the house, many looked at him with confusion as he seemed to be determined. Daniels followed alongside him, like a loyal dog, hopefully giving him a suitable update.

"I am so glad I suggested the teleporting space because if we built this where Alpha suggested then we’d have been spawning everyone into a wall." Prometheus said as he looked to the sigils on the ground, redirecting all the teleported in the area directly there. He smiled as he shook his head, then noticing another portal opening. In that instance there was a loud crash as a small body rolled through the dirt and groaned, trying to stand up. Brushing himself off he looked up and yelped as he tried to scurry out of the way, a hulking seven foot tall werewolf dressed in what looked to be a top hat and suit stepped through.

”Be more careful, Bel. It’s not within a Slayerbane’s nature to-” The werewolf began to laugh, though their sophisticated speech and annunciations made it clear that it wasn’t a run of the mill feral. It looked to the boy, they bore an odd resemblance to someone else there, save for the fact they were covered in an off white goop. The young boy pouted and folded his arms as he looked up to the sky. They could feel that something was going to happen.

Through all of the chaos, Blood Tithe only noticed Lucius’s comments with a nod of the head. Everyone was just nodding at Lucous today because everyone knew if they bothered talking to him it would just be a waste of breath. He continued to work, showing substantial patience with the Silus that was assisting him as he ended up making a few mistakes in the equipment he asked for. He was working to better prepare this place. Even if they should fail here, he would want there to be a chance. Something that could save this world. His childre-

    Lucius children…

Blood Tithe mourned the loss of Lucius’s daughter as if she were his own. His tears were plentiful, and his anger was almost unrivaled. He found himself wondering what he could possibly have done to stop this event. But the only thing he could think of was to have killed Ryan Lester when he had the chance. He would not make that mistake again. Even if Silus attempted to stop him. The cycle would end, and if he had to erase every one of those triplets to keep it so, he would do it. But part of him refused that idea. Part of him had a tug in his heart that threatened to make his eyes water all over again. After pulling his hyperspanner one too many times, he felt the device snap back and fly into his arm. With a roar, Blood Tithe pulled the wrench over his head, wanting nothing more than to unleash.

The broken hyperspanner was dropped and Blood Tithe sighed, a hand reaching to his chest, pulling off a golden locket from over the ribbed neck armor with a click he opened the locket, looking at the contents with an almost nostalgic sense. He still felt like a monster. He knew the whole philosophy Lucius had, and while much of it was based in his own perception of truth….Orpheus couldn’t bring himself to accept it. He jumped a little, the locket snapping shut as he turned his head upon hearing a little voice speak up. Turning his head he saw Lucas and instantly he was relieved, overjoyed to see hi-Lucius’ son again.

”Hey little guy. How’s our favorite kid? Uh, we as in the Siluses. Sili? I think Sili is better...” The Author asked, messing Lucas’ hair up before losing himself in thought. Orpheus turned at that point, looking to see Lucas there.

”Lucas...” He said, he may have sounded more excited than he meant to. He cleared his throat and turned to his knees, looking at the boy. ”I-I meant to come find you. To tell you Silus was okay but I-I won’t make excuses. I thought after what happened you’d rather not have me about.” Orpheus said as he seemed to take a measure of regret in not hunting Lucas down.

”This place is dangerous...I should have known you’d come. It’s the mature thing to do, help others.” Orpheus chuckled as he spoke, looking to Lucas with a nod. He wouldn’t judge him for coming, he wouldn’t scold him or send him away. He would encourage that little spark.

Lucius smirked. This was quite odd. Had it been on any other day, in any other situation, he'd have thought it to be a trick of some kind. The votes rolled in, and despite the fact he knew only a few in this room, most selected Lucius. The runner-up was of course Humanity, yet the vigilante leader quickly made it a point to rebuke everyone that had agreed with his own nomination.

Lucius cocked a brow. This Humanity was a peculiar fellow. Did he suggest himself as strategist simply as a stunt? Perhaps it was some declaration of his independence? It seemed as such, because it was quite clear now that he didn't want to lead this coalition. In fact, Humanity all but confirmed that with a little outburst and slamming of the table.

It didn't really matter to the Prime Minister. Red's own reason for selecting Humanity was simply to keep him and his group of crazies out of the way. Despite their differences, at the very least Lucius and Humanity found themselves on the same page often enough to make things less annoying than they could be. Humanity wanted to work autonomously, and Lucius wanted less potential flies in the ointment. It all worked out.

Archon gave Lucius the floor. He had of course said a few words already, but now that his position was confirmed, he could go a little bit more in depth. No, he couldn't fashion some kind of plan that would perfectly play to everyone's strengths and weaknesses, while also causing no conflict and leaving room for adaptation. However, he could use what information he had to increase their chances as much as he could. If these people were expecting a foolproof plan, they would be disappointed, but if they were expecting good leadership, perhaps not.

Lucius stepped to the middle of the room, longcoat swaying and boots tapping against the ground. His mask automatically concealed itself in his suit with a few mechanical movements, and then Lucius pulled his hood down. He wanted to look at everyone free of any barriers, physical or otherwise.

Grey eyes, occasionally sparking with red light, scanned the room. The dictator would make sure to make eye contact with everyone he could, speaking directly to each individual for a few moments during his speech. He wanted this to be personal. Sure, he could spin a nice battle cry, and combined with a decent plan, it might do, but that wouldn't even come close to reaching the gravitas of the situation.

"Today... Today, I don't see the best the world has to offer. I don't see freaks of nature, beings that don't exist, or Celestials. I don't see old feuds, and I don't see our mistakes, manifold as they are. No, I don't see heroes, villains, or renegades," Lucius started, circling the center of the meeting area. He walked methodically, as if in thought. He would lower his head briefly, before bringing it back up to connect with another who was listening. One would not be too far off if they said the man looked as if he were giving a lecture of the highest of importance.

"I see friends. I see fathers. I see sons, mothers, and daughters. I see all that we hold dear. I see my boys, my wife, and...... My little girl. We're all here, despite our differences, to save our families. We're not fighting for power, dominance, superiority, or utopia. We're fighting for hope..... For love. " Lucius said the last sentence at a barely audible level, his eyes briefly welling up. He paused a few moments, gathering himself, but then snapped right back into his calm and calculated demeanor.

"This is not just another battle. This is not New York, and it's not the reverse dimension that collided with our universe all those years ago. This is not something that can be solved by a group of powered kids, and this is not a game we can win without sacrifice of the highest order. This is war, and there will be casualties. One truth I have been forced to accept is that the greatest of causes cost the greatest of prices, and what is greater than what we fight for now?

"I wish I could be your savior. I wish I could be the man I claim so often to be. I wish I could end our suffering, and make the world into a paradise, but there are things even a man such as I cannot do." Lucius once again let his words set in with a pause. He breathed in deeply during the silence, looking at everyone's reaction. It was perhaps not the rousing speech they wanted, but it is what they were getting nonetheless.

"I will fail you today. The best of commanders cannot save everyone. We will lose many, and for that I am sorry, but if we are to protect what we have, than it must be done. I'd like to be your guiding light. I'd like to be the one to tell you it will be alright, but I'm not a liar. I may be the best among you for this position, but I am still flawed beyond comprehension, like anyone else. If we claim victory, it will be bitter. I know the odds, and they're in our favor..... But not in a manner that will leave us unscathed. This will be the end, if not of our lives than of who we are now." Lucius had a straight face as he gazed at everyone. He saw that some were on edge. This was certainly not what they wanted to hear going into this fight, but it was the truth. They had to understand what was going on.

"I tell you this not to place fear or despair in your hearts, but to motivate you. Too many times I have seen overconfidence--arrogance, kill young humans and metahumans alike. I fear that if you don't understand the consequences of defeat, you will not try your hardest for victory. So, as the greatest of all strategies in this battle, I ask first that you all give this everything you have, because that is exactly what is at stake." That was the only upswing this crowd was going to get. Lucius wasn't going to blind them with optimism. This would be hard, bloody, and terrible. The last thing he needed was a bunch of people breaking ranks at the first sign of trouble because they thought it would be easy.

Lucius raised his left hand, and a hologram of the area appeared for all to see. It was with this that he would explain his basic battle plan. It wasn't all-encompassing, and it wasn't a smoking gun, but hopefully it would prevent needless death.

"Those under my command will split into three groups. Let's call them assault, defense, and recovery. In the front, Assault Team will be made up of our strongest combatants, as well as those with high proficiency in the magical arts. Entrenched in cover, Defense Team will be mid-level combatants, those with utility specialities, and rank and file forces such as those from Belarus. In the airship or helping others on the ground, Recovery Team will be those possessing healing, repair, and support abilities as their main attributes.

"Assault Team will be doing the bulk of the fighting. We aren't going to waste lives, time, or resources letting our weaker allies be massacred in the front lines. We're going to show our might from the first second. Only when Assault Team becomes exhausted will Defense Team move forward, and even then it will only be to buy time while our actual fighting force is refreshed by Recovery Team. If we abide by this system, the only ones that will have to spend an extended period of time in harm's way are those that will be able to handle it. To summarize, we have our main fighters, our off-fighters, and our healers. Know your role, and stick to it." Lucius explained all this while showing each group's position on the map. Lucius was essentially putting all his offensive stock into the strongest that were there. There was no need to waste valuable support from mid-level combatants or healers by placing them in front. They could be of much greater use as auxiliary and support units.

Once he was done, Red turned his hologram off. It was at this point he would take any questions or concerns. He didn't really care what others had to say on the matter, but he would let them vent their frustrations regardless.

"Oh, and The Villain and his people are free agents. Do whatever you want. Just don't cry to me if you get your legs blown off," Lucius added coyly. You could hear a faint 'fuck you' from behind Humanity. It was most likely from the one that had so boldly shot Alpha in the head. Lucius just shrugged it off though. It was most definitely not the time or the place to pick a fight.

Now all that was left was to decide who would be with him as he lead the Assault Team. There wasn't much to think about, really. He needed people that knew what they were up against, and who had the will to see this through to the end.

"Archon and Elena Marie, I would be honored if you joined me at the front of this fight. You're our best chance at finding a weakness in what we face."
________________

"My Agents report no sign of Subject:Zero, but most of the other members of the Gravitas Gang are accounted for, including the man himself. We're keeping our distance as directed, waiting for your orders, or a significant opportunity. I must advise, however, that a coordinated assault is recommended rather than pragmatism. This place is crawling with them....." Agent Daniels said, directing a hooded boy behind him to follow. This individual's face was scarred, and his eyes sparked yellow. A dangerous metahuman, no doubt, but the Forensics Director had him firmly collared.

"And, Director, I hope you've considered my request. Subject:Horizon can be made vulnerable here. It would be my absolute pleasure to prove that," the former Detective continued, matching Williams' rapid walking speed as he spoke. Michael had a holographic device in his hand, swiping on it and seemingly keeping track of everything so he could keep the Director informed. He may have been an obsessive hardass, but he was certainly a good Agent.

________________

Lucas smiled and shook his head when Blood Tithe was hard on himself. The boy didn't blame him for any of it. All Lucas did was quickly walk forward and hug The Monster once he took a knee. He was sick of people feeling guilty for things, especially when they were out if their control. Lucas in the end didn't hold grudges, he just hoped that people would be better.

"Why wouldn't I want you around? You're part of this big ol' messed up family, too!" Lucas said, squeezing Orpheus tightly. He backed off after a few seconds, laughing a little when Author tossled his hair. He was happy to be here. It was weird, crazy, and should have been full of dread, but he was happy

He looked over at what Orpheus was building, wanting to get involved. Even though the boy was a quick skill when it came to this stuff, he couldn't quite tell what the device was supposed to do. It looked like something his Dad might make, only, well, crazier.

"What's that? Is it gonna help us?"

Here we were like he should have expected. If there was one thing Lucius Alba did, aside from justify murder it was giving speeches at length. Typically about murder. The Dark Traveler seemed to roll his eyes at the beginning of the speech, softly humming to himself with arms interlinked behind his back. There were probably dozens of other things that he could have been doing but looking after the defense of the world happened to be something that he cared about. Even if it meant having verbal diarrhea being spewed into his ear holes. Already he was thinking over the multiple fruits and vegetables that he could hurl at the dictators face.

Tomatoes, potatoes or maybe even a banana. All of them would have splattered pretty good but he kept those hands behind his back. Looking over the people arranged around him, offering friendly smiles to anyone that looked back at him. Seemingly trying to cultivate what many would call a friendly front. Save for perhaps when he looked to Humanity, who had been glaring at him. Eyes colorful now becoming hollow, like the void itself. Blackness that latched onto ones soul, threatening to consume life and anything else that looked into it. He wasn’t the most tan of people, but his skin seemed to pale even further.

Nervously rubbing his lips with a thumb and chewing on the lower one. Without warning after the second glare, he seemed to vanish in a puff of black smoke. Harmless vapor to anyone around him but those that he had teleported away from would hear the sound of crashing and wood breaking. ”Ow.” His voice resonated, though he found himself before the sharply dressed gentleman that were known as Agents as well as the pale woman in barely anything that was about to make here way elsewhere.  He coughed awkwardly,  standing to his feet and brushing his legs as if there were something  connected to them before smiling to them.

”Mentlegen,” He nodded to the agents with a salute and to the collared individual ”You too, good to see such skilled individuals willing to help protect the universe. It’s people like you that make this work..” He stepped around them, seemingly prodding him on the apparatus around his neck and muttering something before disappearing. Nothing happened, aside from seemingly confusing events from a strange person that spoke, poked and tapped people as if that were normal. Once again within that same smoke, though seemingly less distressed than before.

–

Of course sometimes people were late, for one reason or another. It just so happened that Cas was late because he had no idea where he was going. Giving addresses to someone not even native to this world tended to go about as well as one would expect. This had lead to him wandering for what would have been the equivalent of at least a side episode in a show, until he called Christian Hale and had him lead the way in that typical self assured manner. Even if that manner also included glaring at anyone that stared at him or looked his way, save for perhaps Cas who seemed to be smiling or half smiling all the way till they found the place.

They walked in on what sounded like a speech, something that caused his friend to roll his eyes as his godly friend leaned forward to listen in more to the words as a whole. None of them offered hope really, then again this was something that lacked hope. The Black Beast was coming and he had tried to contact his father to see if he would be able to help. If anyone could repel such a beast, he was sure it was a god as powerful as him. Even still, he could feel that the people here were not those that should be underestimated. That was his hope anyhow, because his own powers were still developing and this was not the time for him.

”This guy likes the sound of his own voice doesn’t he?” Christian muttered,  lips pressed into an agitated line. If this were any other time he would have put a silence spell up, but here he was standing and listening without any real intention of doing so.

”Tactics are important, especially considering what we are facing.” Cas added, seeming to understand the need for this despite his own boredom with the whole thing. He wanted to fight, chase this thing off or even destroy it should such a thing be possible. They had more divinely gifted people than he had originally expected, considering the people he could see with his own sight. Gold outlines standing stark against the room itself, though he had to remind himself not everyone could see this.

He was of course looking for familiar faces. People that were...well known to him and there weren’t too many of them. That was when he noticed a familiar face, though he had come to call himself some other name. Well he was the patron afterall, so Cas scooted up beside Humanity with hands intertwined behind his back. Trying to look as if he belonged there and failing as much as one would have expected from the not socially graceful young man. ”Am I late? Because I have the distinct impression that i’m a little late.” He inquired in a hushed tone, trying not to interrupt anything that might have been going on.

He probably was.

A red haired woman stepped forward when called out by Lucius, Elena Marie if he knew anything about the names of this world. ”Thank god, I thought he would never stop talking once we let him. Yes, i’ll work with you and Archon.” She agreed to the concept of them fighting alongside one another. Someone seemed to step forward, small in stature with startling silver eyes and a matrix of tattoos running along his arms.

”Volunteering myself too.” He piped up, seemingly already ignoring any arguments.

–

Finally getting the chance to break from hanging around with his uncle, Ryan scampered around looking for his brother. He expected Lucas to be around, hoped for it honestly but the male seemed to have gone off on his instead of staying close like he would have wanted. Currently they had no such mental connection to rely on, so he let his eyes do the work while feeling the same eyes on his back. Someone watching him from across his room while his dad listened to the other one talk at length about his plan. People were talking among each other, forming their own plans as if they knew better than the one given. Tension thick within the air and even he could feel it.

Eventually he found himself running into the legs of a man, rebounding from them and landing on his butt. He looked up to the person, brows furrowed in faint annoyance. He looked older, mid thirties with kind purple eyes ringed by faint wrinkles. Chopped sandy brow hair, and wearing the attire someone would expect from the love child of a male librarian and a hipster. Leaning on an oaken cane almost as if he needed it. ”I’m sorry, wasn’t watching where I was going.” He apologized, offering a hand as he leaned down. Pulling Ryan onto his feet before letting that hand rest on his hip ”Aren’t you a little young to be in a place like this? Your parents must be worried sick.”.

He continued to speak, arcing a brow and looking to him in an almost worried fashion. ”I’m fine...looking for my brother now actually.” He said, seeming to attempt to brush off the little kid stigma that instantly got pushed onto him. He  knew enough to know that he was expected more of from his siblings, they grew up fast afterall. ”Have you seen him? He’s this tall with black hair and grey eyes, kinda like mine.”

”Affinity for black and red?”

”Yeah!” He said with a nod as if this person might have been knowing what he was talking about.

”I believe I saw him a minute or so ago. Talking with someone from what I could tell.” A small casual motion, he invited the kid to follow and Ryan did without question.

Lucas would find himself soon enough having a shorter form running into him and wrapping small arms around him. A certain Ryan looking person. Tailed by a strange older man with a cane and whistling along to what sounded like some kind of showtune. ”I couldn’t find you.” Was all he said,  pulling away from the hug and digging his hands into the saggy pockets of his hoodie.

”Well, good to see family back together like this. Now I need to find mine.” Spinning on his heel, he walked away while leaving them be and whistling to himself.

His attention then turned towards Blood Tithe with a suspicious expression. ”Who is this guy?” He finally asked, more confused about who Blood Tithe was than anything else considering his lack of interaction with the evil copy of his father.

“Pause” Archon whispered almost completely inaudible. In that moment all of time had stopped, and even those that normally were not affected by such things would find themselves caught in delay. Zell looked to Lucius and sighed. He knew lucius would be angry if he found out about this, but it didn’t matter. He needed to address the matter at hand. Even those form beyond this realm were frozen, the only difference was that they would know they were frozen. Though the ones that were were not likely to care. Since for even them it would be as if no time had been missed at all.

“What are you and you vigilantes going to do with your Autonomy?” He asked, he looked over to “The Villain” before Rozmer looked to Archon.

“Zell you kinda paused everyo-” Roxmer began, only to be interrupted by the human.
“I’m going to divide them-” The words socked Rozmer, almost genuinely as he turned to Archon.
“H-he is not paused. Zell why doesn’t your power work on him?” He sounded panicked, but again it was a feigned type of veil, put on to react how he would seem to react. He was answered not by Zell, but by Humanity himself.

“Because he couldn’t help but make a promise to a broken boy sitting on top of a roof, wondering who would notice if the world went on without him. Because he had to promise a boy that just because he was without power he didn’t have to be without hope. He just had to promise him that his power would never be used against him...” Humanity recounted the events of what happened on the top of Gene-Tech right after he had felt Yamm’s presence within his soul. Knowing that the days of Azrael were finished and his life as he knew it was shattered.

“That sounds like the Zell I know...” Rozmer finished, Humanity picking up right where he left off.

“Zell just had to be the sacrificial lamb. Zell just had to be the hero...running along to save The Villain, before he was even the villain. We wonder where Silus gets it from.” He scoffed, though Rozmer seemed to be frustrated he didn’t want to argue with the situation at hand. Ultimately it was Zell’s power, and if he didn’t want to be the one to take hif “BFF” out then Rozmer would happily do it. Humanity sighed as he shook his head. “I plan to accompany the troops on the off-side lines. I’m positioning Khaos and X in the middle ground, secondary forces. Then Ancillary forced will be joined up by Charlatan, but right now Charlatan will be working in tandem with some of the geniuses in the area to get some of his own unique traps working. Likewise, Drifter is being linked into Rot’s artificial consciousness, allowing him to get a good fee on everything through Blood Tithe’s systems. He can help plan and make more traps. Those two are out of sight, but they won’t be out of mind. Fear will be joining me on the frontline, Orwell is in the computer systems now accessing from a remote location. Now...if you don’t mind? I want to hear what our fearless strategist has to say...” Humanity was not going to play nicely, he had a feeling. Archon sighed and returned his face to the appropriate place, as did Rozmer and Humanity, everything continuing on.

  Humanity listened as Lucius gave his speech. Honestly one might expect Humanity of all people to be hypercritical, however he was not. Oddly enough he seemed to empathize and respect what the Prime Minister had said. He knew that there was a layer of bullshit in there that was only designed to motivate others, but he could see and respect the parts that came from the heart. He actually had to stop himself for a moment and remind himself he was not to like this guy, under any circumstance. Not after what was happening to the love of his life. It didn’t matter that Chelle initiated it. It didn’t matter that she quite literally drank wrath upon herself. It was the corrupted fount that needed to pay, so that it could hurt no others.

The speech finished and Elena Marie agreed to help Zell and Lucius on the front Lines. Archon smiled endearingly as he looked to his realm-walking mother in law. He still despised the fact she was realm-walking, but she didn’t give a shit and she actually was just trying to help him….and amass untold amounts of power to do something that would eventually require Archon to shit bricks or slap her in the face. But it would be a loving slap and hopefully it could be put behind them. Suddenly Sam, Yancey actually, turned to look around. He grumbled a little as he rotated his neck and coughed.
“Does the Black Beast even have an army? I’m beginning to wonder if this is all a requirement...After all if it’s just one person, worshipping a destructive entity of nothingness how do we hit them? It’s like..hitting me...before you all knew who I was.” He asked as he looked ot Lucius, he wasn’t challenging him so much as posing a legitimate question. He knew that everyone here who knew him that he was trustworthy. Only because Silus’ safety was at risk. The Lych began to mumble to Flamel, speaking of a conjoined magical strike between the magi classes.

“Blood Tithe is working on a device that will make it possible to his things that do not exist. It’s a prototype schematic working on the reverse engineered ShyGuy’s Blade. In addition it is going to be powered by the energy of Dark Archon...or rather his Host. When she’s in the field even Rozmer and Yamm would be tangible against their will.” He said this and immediately Humanity and Rozmer slowly turned their heads at the exact same time, a deathly leer at him. The tension in the air was thick enough to suffocate everyone else in the room. It was at that time that the Dark Traveler poofed away. Humanity’s head turned to it’s position.

Oh no...what happened to you? He wondered. His concern was only slightly there, because he recognized that look in their eyes. They survived to see things no one else should see. Even if it were your worst enemy, you didn’t wish that upon anybody. He looked back to the circle, Cas walking in late as always. Humanity glared at him, a little growl in his throat as his pseudo-husbando approached. “Yes, you are very late. This is the exact reason Yamm didn’t want a wedding ceremony. He just told everyone you fucked and made it official.” He said, snapping a littler under his breath towards Cas.

“Once the device locks the Good sister in place it will also transfix her signature back to whatever she is tethered to, by faith, belief or harbinger or any such hogwash. We will unleash all of our powers at once to destroy the Black Beast. With the power of the most primal magics I will weave my curse and accumulated power into a single spell. Nicholas Flamel will  have to add to his own as he see’s fit. But between us there’s enough magical talent to wipe the world away. Elena Marie could also contribute, as well as any of the magical families whom rallied here.” The Lych explained the coordination, though when you did the science and gauged power, they had quite a bit on their side as far as loaded guns.

”I will add the force of my God’s will to the strike. I was able to drive the damned Beast into the oceans. This one should be no different.” The minister said, looking to Humanity for a moment before looking to Archon. Archon nodded, seemingly more relieved at the statement. Rozmer looked like he was trying to add two and two together but was getting 212.

“Okay, Charlatan should already be at work. I’ve gotten you access to two of the highest A.I’s ever even imagined by man, they’ll help you. Not that you need it. I know this seems like all the other times that i’ve tried to spurn you and Charlatan, but please. Stay with the Ancillary groups, commandeer a turret if you want...” The meeting seemed to adjourn, though Humanity wasn’t quite done with Lucius. Humanity looked to Lucas and cleared his throat. He placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “Drifter...I trust you...” He said, feeling incredibly guilty that it probably didn’t seem like he did. In fact he knew Drifter was a lot like him. He’d follow orders if it was what he would do anyway. Otherwise he was here to help the team, even if that means disobeying orders. But that’s why Humanity trusted him. Trusted him to do the RIGHT thing.

“Lucius Alba. The Devil on Earth. I’d be lying to say I was expecting us to meet like this.” Humanity said as he placed both his hands in front of him, one hand clasping onto the wrist of the other. His eyes scanned over Lucius a moment, he let out a slight sigh. “I’ve anticipated much of what you’ve done, your targets and retaliations. I’ve studied you, habits, quirks. But I suppose we could both say we’ve been studying each other...I’m glad I got to hear you speak. I’m glad to have gotten a glimpse into the real you. I just hope whatever happens here, you know that it was seen. Even if it was covered in a flowery speech or a web of lies. If you die, I’ll ensure the world remembers Lucius Alba. If come back alive, make sure it’s as Lucius Alba...I’ll kill the other guy.” He said before excusing himself and stepping out. Part of him wanted to say more. Part of him wanted to ask for help. He was desperate and his own mind wasn’t enough to handle it. Chelle’s cure, he needed to find it. His wife was dying and he had the man there. He would have pushed if off and saif there were bigger things to deal with. Humanity agreed, so he didn’t waste either of their times.

He looked to his hand, a small mask that covers the mouth and nose was attached to an inhaler with a sickly green liquid inside. His mind was going a thousand miles a minute. He couldn’t hesitate when the time came to use it. He needed to be ready, he needed to think faster and more thoroughly. No mistakes. He would find his way back to Charlatan, as best as he could. Odds are he was with X and Citizen Zero, likely trying to score one last ride before D-Day. He was thoroughly thankful to God that he thought that and didn’t say it out loud. There is literally nothing in that sentence Pat wouldn’t have made a dirty joke about.

======The Agency’s Agenda=====

“There’s too many power-players at work here. Even if it was well-coordinated we wouldn’t have enough personnel remaining in the entire Agency to keep them all contained. They may just have enough power to destroy whatever you and I would consider a god’s god.” Director Williams said as he walked. He was disappointed to hear that Subject:Zero had eluded them once again. Of course it was equally anticipated. He looked to the information that had been given to him by his trusted advisor. He looked to Daniels and then looked to the shackled being behind him. He gave an audible sigh as Daniels began to speak of Subject:Horizon. Agent Daniels insisted that when he was made vulnerable that they strike. Normally the Director would agree, however this was not a normal situation.

“Agent Daniels, send that thing away.” He ordered, looking to the hooded boy. He would await for his agent to do as he was instructed. Williams would motion for Agent Daniels to follow him. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a pen-like device. It opened a portal behind Williams and revealed a rather nice office, very different from the one used in The Agency, however. “Come with me...You’re about to be the third, and final member to know what this is all for.” He stepped into the office, and once Agent Daniels did as well, he would close the portal. Preliminary scans and total electropurge began, frying all foreign equipment not on gadget’s frequency.

“Agent Daniels. I want you to debrief me on everything you know about Subject:Tarot, Subject:Doctor and Subject:Horizon.” Williams stated as he began to inspect his gun, reaching into the desk and pulling out bullets. Williams wasn’t the kind to shoot his people in seclusion of the office, instead he began to place bullets on his deck for Daniels to take.

=========The Foreigners========

The Werewolf howled a little as it began to jump up and down, the muscular structure dropping to all fours as it began to search and smell, looking for an Ares. In a new moment, Zarachiel would arrive as well, Axel and Ares not far off as Belobog began to cheer, only to lay on the ground and rub his stomach. The werewolf looked and noticed a great deal of things evolving around them. The social tension was very low, despite the many polarizing forces at play. The small child with the slime covered hair and waist began to roll in the grad, none of the blades being ripped from the ground.

“Ah, Masteerrrr! We’ve come from the Lost Rrrrealm! I’ve rrrretrrrieved gggrrrrr little Lorrrd Belobog!” It said, losing it’s social fluidity in change for growling and rolling r’s. It was typical when the wolf was excited.

“Grrrreat! Oh wait, that’s Tony’s thing. Uh, well done Slayerbane.” Ares said with a cuckle, at first making fun of the growling, though quickly realizing the error of his ways. Ares wore his shades now, as he began to sniff and smell around, feeling Asmodeus approaching, apparently there was another cambion around, one that Ares knew too well. He smiled widely and looked to the small child rolling on the ground. “Belobog. I’ve got an assignment for you.”. The child sat up with a small cocky smirk on his face, looking and listening to Ares. It wasn’t much long after that Ares squatted down and looked to the newest addition to his army, the newly Black-mana tied nephilim.

“See Kid? I told you we were going to stop her. I just needed a little trust. Right?” He asked, genuinely happy and rubbing the kid’s hair. Ares didn’t show that affection often, but when he did Belobog, Axel and the new kid were the ones that got it. He had actually even hoped that the child knew that in the short time they’d been around each other, the whole nexus of realms he created was a better place. Ares, growled a little and turned around feeling an intense celestial presence battle with his own mana, an almost overwhelming flow of light mana lashing out at his darkness, even though the man did nothing malicious to him at all.

“Raziel right? Angel of secrets….here I thought that was Roziel’s job.” Ares said with a smile, referencing The Dark Archon by name.

==========Bargain-Shed Red==========

Orpheus smiled as Lucas hugged him, he returned it, trying to be gentle and not crush his phaux-child in his arms. He didn’t much feel like dealing with another loss, even if it wasn’t his own child truly. But was it? He didn’t know how that worked. He was created form Lucius’ evil and he ended up being someone else entirely. He smiled as he looked to The Author, whom requited with an almost adoring yet piteous smile. He released Lucas and he asked what Orpheus had been working on. He stammered for a moment before reaching up and pulling at the darkness under his hood. A small hissing noise was heard as he pulled his mask away. Looking up, Blood tithe took a deep breath in and cleared his throat. Smiling he pretended as if everything was normal.

“Yes this is something Silus’ father designed. I’m just refining it with an outsider's perspective. It will make the untouchable, like Samhain, able to be touched. Furthermore it is also capable of allowing you to damage the source of their power, or rather anything else they feel connected to. Silus actually helped me quite a bit for a while until you showed up. He felt you and immediately went up to try and find you I’d imagine.” He had his facts a little off base, it was Michael that he felt arrive and so he attempted to go be with his family for a time. That was all AFTER Silus had originally met up with Lucas. But hopefully they wouldn’t hold that against him since he was building a super weapon that he actually couldn’t even understand entirely. He smiled and nodded to Lucas. ”This is the Anti-Matter Attunement Transpacial Ultrafusion Redshift Eclipser….I thought I’d try something new with an odd little name.” He chuckled, suddenly he saw that Lucas was charged and bombarded as a smaller boy had wrapped him up into a hug. It wasn’t Silus and Orpheus was immediately on edge, his anxiety skyrocketing for but a moment until he processed who it was. He was suddenly glad he had taken off his mask.

“My name is Bl-eh. Ah. Excuse me Ayeyeyey.” Orpheus said as he caught himself from saying his alter ego. He then had a bit of a funny confused face as he took his hand to his throat and started to rub it, making odd noises. He figured trying to make the child laugh or even smile was a good way to break the ice. “My name is Orpheus Reinhardt. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He said, attempting to be friendly, but as he extended his hand he realized how much of metal claws they looked like.

==========Three-In-One==========
Austyn’s hair stood up on end, his eyes were completely consumed with pale yellow astral energy, the soul of the man he murdered would soon murder him. He noticed the boy in the hoodie farther away, and started to walk to him. As he got closer a barrier was fired out in front of him, Cale had one of his robots on his hand, looking to Austyn and eyeing up the person that gave him a bad vibe.

“At-ease Cale. This may be the last time I can see...or help my brother.” He said as he stepped through the barrier, causing it to shatter and send sparks everywhere. Austyn’s voice was even different there was an unholy rasping behind it, the soul of the murdering sociopath with a kind smile was lurking just beneath his own voice, waiting and ready to be released. ”You finally look on the outside how you acted on the inside. I’m finally decayed on the inside just as much as my soul was, and Ryan is now little better than both of us. Well I’m proud to say as a family we’ve really come together. As the oldest by five minutes I officially put the blame on literally everyone else.”

He said as he began to look at the collar. There was one very nice thing about being bound to a spirit trapped in an exosuit. Even though he was physically elsewhere, the Poltergeist had imbued pieces of Jeremy’s soul each time they crossed paths. It was only a matter of days now before Austyn was lost to them. He began to investigate the collar. He then looked to his brother, eyes filled with remorse, and sadness despite the oddly lifeless robotic expression that shined.

Words cannot begin to describe how furious Drifter was. His fists clinched, and his pupils dilated under his mask. He'd come here to save the world--to help his brothers, yet here he was, being pushed aside once again. The young man was about to light into Matt, but he stopped himself when his friend placed a hand on his shoulder. No, Drifter was no less pissed simply because Humanity said he trusted him, but the comment at the very least let him swallow his pride to a degree.

"Sure, whatever. I'll play Oracle. Though, I have to admit, feels more like I'm Lois Lane this time," Lukas said, snark heavy in his tone, even through his voice filter. He moved Matt's hand from his shoulder, gently pushing it away before he turned around to walk off.

"Do what ya have to do, Villain. Seems to be what you're best at." Luke couldn't help but choke on his last few words a bit. Even he felt they might have been a bit too strong, but alas, there was no taking them back now. He continued to march away from the council without another word. There was nothing for him there, anyway.

After some walking, Drifter eventually reached the outskirts of the Auxiliary perimeter that Lucius had pinpointed on the map. Coincidentally, this is where Drifter had parked his van. It was nothing special, really. Large, green and black, but otherwise plain and inconspicuous. However, once Lukas flung the back doors open, anyone could see that this vehicle was anything but ordinary.

The inside was decked out with the latest computer hardware and cybersecurity equipment. It took some doing, but the vigilante had managed to get his hands on stuff that the CIA still considered highly classified. Complete with a chair and a thermos full of coffee (and maybe a bottle of something else,) the back of the van was the ultimate Hacker's Hole.

Drifter climbed in, taking his helm. He slammed the doors shut and turned the lights on. This is potentially where he would spend the rest of his life. He felt like a soldier, trapped in an immobile tank and waiting to die. Hell, maybe he felt worse than that. At least then he'd be a warrior, dying for something he believed in. Here, he was just what he'd always been: A scared kid, with nothing but a keyboard to protect him.

Drifter unraveled a cloth wrapping, slowly and methodically. Once undone, it revealed a fifth of some 1886 vintage bourbon. He took his mask off, then opened the cap and took a swig, the burn making even him wince. This was it. He was going to say goodnight in the next twenty four hours, and he was going to do it alone, just like always. He'd sit here and watch it all unfold, unable to do anything of real significance, and then the lights would go out with him feeling that all too familiar guilt.

Why? Because his big brother told him to. Because for once in his life, he was going to listen. It's not like he'd be able to match the likes of The Archon or Lucius Alba; he'd just get in the way.

This was a day of geniuses, Gods, and heroes, and he was none of those things.

Drifter flipped on his computer's webcam, taking a long swig from his bottle before he spoke. He looked directly into the camera, his eyes welling up.

"I don't know if anyone will ever hear this, or if it will even matter if they do, but I don't really care. I need someone to talk to, and my brothers are out doing what they've done they're whole lives: One is doing whatever it takes to win, and the other is probably enjoying himself as best he can.

"Me? Well, I guess I'm doing what I normally do, too. This whole thing is just a fucking microcosm of our whole lives. Ironic, considering that's exactly what we're about to lose.

"Anyway, here's what I want to say: I'm sorry. I know I say that a lot, but I'm gonna do it just this one last time, just to be sure. I'm sorry I wasn't all I could be. I'm sorry I was resentful, uncaring, and hypocritical. I'm sorry I couldn't illuminate the world. Turns out, I'm not like them. I'm just a kid. I'm no Caesar, no Alexander, and certainly no Matthew May. This stuff is over my head, no matter how much I've tried to convince myself I can handle it.

"I love you Ma. I love you Malachi, Avery, and, well, even you, Dad. I hope you get out of this alive. You made some good kids, but I guess this one just wasn't good enough. Guess he was never really meant to be as great as he wanted to be.....

"So, cheers. Cheers to the losers, the fuck ups, and the good for nothing scoundrels. I finally admit my membership to your fine guild. Just do me a favor, guys: Make sure they don't remember me," Lukas ended his little vlog by switching off the camera. By the time he was done, he'd guzzled half the bottle of bourbon, and slow tears flowed down his cheeks.

He wiped his face with his sleeve, then pulled himself to his computer a bit more. He started typing rapidly, and put his headset on.

"Hey, Rot, can you get this video on the web for me? Even if it only sends after the time stop is removed, that's fine. And uh, I need you to get me into one of Lucius' teleporters, if you can. You're probably the only one good enough to crack them."

_____________


After Lucius finished his speech and basic plan outline, a few others chimed in with some key contributions. Thankfully these comments filled in some gaps in Lucius' knowledge of their enemy. Frankly, he had just made a basic battle plan. His goal was to minimize casualties as much as possible in the face of a threat they knew little about. They just needed time to figure out the best path of attack, and this structure would do that.

Apparently some of the kinks had already been worked out for him, which he imagined would be. It's why he wanted Archon and Elena Marie by his side. Whatever he didn't know or couldn't understand, surely they would be able to. With the three of them, and apparently Sean, at the head, they could better adapt to who they were fighting rather then just playing a guessing game.

"Wonderful, wonderful, it seems we have an idea about what we're doing. That's better than shooting in the dark. Either way, we're under a time constraint. All battle leaders should go and brief their fighters and get everyone into position. We have a lot of prep to do. And I..... I have to find my sons," Lucius said, walking from the gathering. He hoped everyone would go to do what he said, though they were obviously welcome to stick around talking all night if they wished to die.

Before Red made it out, he was briefly stopped by Humanity. What the vigilante said was interesting, though not entirely unsurprising. Lucius knew when someone respected, but simultaneously hated him. The comments the male made were pretty par for the course when it came to someone like that, though that didn't mean Lucius took them for granted. In fact, he welcomed them as warmly as a threat on his life could be.

"Understood. Although, I should counter with my own long overdue ultimatum: If any member of your little group ever hurts anyone that I remotely care about again, I'll find them, and I'll choke the life out of them with my bare hands. I promise," Lucius said with a smile, bowing slightly in typical fashion before continuing his leave. 

The dictator ordered his forces into position both out loud and over communicators as he searched for Lucas and Ryan. This area was now crawling with people, though, so it wasn't exactly easy. Still, he'd comb every inch if necessary.

_____________


The man had sent him away. He rarely did that. Even with such a powerful collar on, these agent people seemed weary of leaving him alone. They whispered things. They thought they couldn't be heard, but Eric knew what they were saying. He could sense it. They feared him. Even in this state, he was terrifying, though less like a God is and more in the way a caged lion is. The only one he'd seen that didn't feel that way in weeks was the odd man that just whispered in his ear. What he'd said should have made him happy, but he didn't get excited. In fact, Eric didn't react at all. This was his place now.

Eric sauntered away meekly, head lowered. He knew one with power such as his shouldn't act in such a way, but he couldn't help it. They had made him hurt. They'd done things that made what Lucius Alba did to him look like child's play. They called the man the Devil on Earth, but those people didn't know the half of what malevolence lurked in the depths of humanity.

Eric found his way outside, where he curled up against a wall, waiting to be ordered like a dog once again. He didn't cry, even though he wanted to. He couldn't cry. They'd gotten him past that. They'd even gotten him past anger. He just stared into space, lifeless. Sure, he had thoughts still, but they were controlled. They were only what The Agency allowed.

A shadow came over him. The boy looked up, glowing yellow eye peaking from under his hood. He saw a familiar face, though it was...... Well, he didn't really know. It was not the same, that was for sure. Sorta like how Eric's own scarred face was not the same.

"You...... You're here...... Are you here to hurt me? " Eric asked, hands trembling. His body felt fear, but you could tell by his eyes that he did not. It'd been beaten out of him.

"You can start. What I am deserves it." Eric looked back down after speaking, rocking back and forth gently. He started to sing some old song. It sounded like a nursery rhythm of some sort, but eventually it just turned to mumbles. It was clear it wasn't of any significance. The boy was just comforting himself in what way he could.

_____________


Agent Daniels had been pulled away through a portal into the Director's office. It seemed he was about to be let in on some sort of secret. It was an honor, of course, but Michael couldn't shake the feeling he wasn't going to like it. Still, he played along like a good soldier.

When asked what he knew of the three subjects, he flipped his holographic tablet over, presenting 3D images of various information he had on them, along with seemingly never ending walls of text. Summarizing what he knew would be a challenge. Daniels did his homework, perhaps better than any other Agent.

"I have complete files on each. They're all extremely dangerous and A-priority threats. I have detailed information on their powers, habits, relationships, hobbies, and pretty much any other aspect of their lives that I could get my hands on. I've left no stone unturned, as always, but as you know, I have a particular interest in Subject:Horizon. I'd catalog what he eats for breakfast if that information were made available," Daniels explained, making sure to fan through all the information to prove it. He wasn't the Forensics Director for no reason. He often had better files than the Agency as a whole had, mostly because of his habit of putting in even the most seemingly insignificant tidbits of intel. Time and time again, however, that obsession proved useful.

"Director, there is no one more prepared to terminate Horizon, and we may not get another chance. He's distracted, focused on leading this group, from what my sources tell me. We need to act now." Michael hadn't been as forward about his desire to remove Subject:Horizon from the equation until recently, but in truth he had spent his whole time at the Agency with it at least in the back of his mind. The man was dangerous, and was the antithesis of everything the Agency stood for. If he wasn't dealt with properly, he could be their unraveling.

_____________


Lucas was suddenly hugged by a smaller boy while Blood Tithe explained the device he and Author were working on. Lucas didn't recognize him at firsr, and only realized it was his brother once they pulled away from each other. When he saw that, though, he smiled. He was glad to see Ryan, even if he was worried about him being there. Though, considering he himself was doing this despite the fact everyone didn't want him to, he couldn't judge Ryan. If his brother wanted to help, then Lucas was in no place to tell him he couldn't.

"Yeah, I'm sorry.... Shouldn't have left you after what happened. We need to stick together," Lucas said, feeling a tinge of guilt when his brother said he couldn't find him. It wasn't his intent to make people feel worried. Seemed like he'd have to think about that more in the future.

Ryan had been brought there by a strange, unfamiliar man, though Lucas instantly recognized a key feature: His eyes. The man had left and Ryan had asked a question before Lucas could say anything, but he was certain that he had seen the man before. He didn't know where exactly, at least not yet, but he was working on it.

But, for the time being, the awkward introduction of Orpheus to Ryan was more important. Lucas nervously laughed, not knowing how to explain the whole thing. Luckily Blood Tithe managed to break the ice with a joke and his name. Hopefully that was good enough for now. Lucas could tell his brother more later.

"Yeah, that's Orpheus. So you got my friend's name, what's yours? Do you know that guy that brought you here?" Lucas asked quizzically, still trying to connect the dots

Lost in the beat of death
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cas kept his lopsided smile, it only wavering when the statement came out like a hiss. Like an incline that quickly dipped before correcting itself. ”Yeah...I'm sorry.” Cas spoke loud enough for the male to hear, nervously chewing on his lower lip, eyes darting towards anyone around with cheeks turning a faint sheen of gold. Thoughts that shouldn’t have been in doubt, even in his mind finding themselves spoken. Not out loud, just enough for him to catch and his friend catch what he assumed a few words. That lead to a sharp glance from Christian as he pats Cas on the shoulder, whispered something on his ear and walked off with hands buried into his pocket. Leaving the young god hands buried into his pockets, looking around before standing in what could be considered the most awkward position one could. Around people talking among each other, leaving him wondering what he should do.

This strange sensation that something familiar was close but then again he didn’t say anything else. Christian, on the other hand, had already stormed off, annoyance was drawn plainly on his face. Eyes flickering between dark brown and brilliant purple as he seemed to bump into someone. A male around his age, though far shorter than him who ended up being knocked over in the altercation. He looked up with an apologetic smile, quickly pushing himself pack in a standing position. ”Sorry about that, wasn’t watching where I was going.” He apologized before any proclamations could be made.

”I...wasnot either.” He ruefully admitted, realizing he normally didn’t make these concessions. It was always someone else being made to apologize. ”Where you off to in such a hurry anyway….”

”Jordan. Wanted to talk with my dads before I did a little strategizing of my own. Since that’s what everyone here is doing. Also looking for a woman, weird steampunk gear and red hair. She was supposed to be here earlier.” That was an odd description for someone but it sounded like the little guy knew what he was talking about. As if someone like that was actually supposed to be here.

”Never heard of someone like that.” he said with a shrug, looking around as if to make that point. ”Maybe she isn’t coming.” He stated, seeming to annoy the male a little as he crossed arms over his chest.

”Really? Guess I’ll have to keep looking.” Was all he said, walking past him with something on his mind. Whatever that was didn’t matter to Christian anymore as he continued walking. Stepping out through one of the side doors until he found himself an isolated place. When the eyes of men, gods and the like were turned away he ripped the pendant from around his neck. Feeling the magic pumping through it ignite. Words were spoken under his breath, dark words that weren’t meant to be spoken by human tongue. They resonated throughout the air, and then nothing. Only a breeze as the sound of something depressing grass could be heard.

”Who knew my apprentice would need me now of all times.” His eyes looked up to the male standing over him. Holding what looked to be a cane, using it as a casual leaning post, though the gem hanging around his neck was more interesting. Shaped like a heart, but large as a human head. Yet he knew that it was far lighter. No, it was as small as a diamond.

”Well, I was hoping that you could help Isaiah. The Black Beast is coming and we might need...well someone like you.”

He smiled at that.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It’s raining somewhere else
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To know someone is to understand them, in a profound way that isn’t common. To care for someone is to know when someone would do something detrimental to themselves and stop it. So he had once thought when times were simple and he was simple too. No such ignorance was afforded to him now. Only a mind broken, grasping at straws that all crumbled away when touched. Wearing a mask as he would have said and yet the irony was not lost in that instance. Gravity grasped for his form now floating through the air, looking down upon those that had been gathered to fight his ornery foe. Gods, men and monsters alike yet he wondered if they knew what they were dealing with. Even still he knew where he needed to be and so that was where he would go. Descending in a sharp dive until the last moment, slipping through the metal exterior of the van like a silent shadow.

Words filled with emotion were being spoken to a webcam, his dark clad form twisting until he was right side up with eyes narrowed behind the mask. Farewells and what he was not. Something that seemed to draw a chuckle from him, settling down onto a shadow molded into the shape of a seat. ”Always the dramatic one aren’t you Luke?” He sighed, reaching into what looked like his chest and drawing a large bottle of Tennessee honey from it. ”Can’t say I blame you though. Any sane person would have turned and run away from this fight with an eldritch god monster but not you. You’ve got too much gumption for that.” He twisted off the cap, downing a few gulps before wiping his lips, visible facial features twisting from the bitterness of alcohol.

He stretched out his legs, soles brushing alongside the opposing wall and considering the vigilante with what could only be called a somber turn of the lips. Taking quick sips from the booze, and then letting it rest against his chest. ”Even if you’re not Archon, Lucius Alba or any of those power players walking around like you own the place. You’ve still got someone in your corner. Not that I’ve ever been out of it.” Likely his expression was one of confusion, anger even considering that he was speaking as if he knew them. Anyone would have been annoyed by this vague bullshit being pulled here but then again that was just how he worked. How had he trained himself into thinking like that?

Not allowing questions to remain where they were, he removed the mask. The masquerade mask peeling away what looked to be more than just itself. An image of sorts that wavered once he did so, the smooth flesh around his neck up to the left portion of his jaw turning to burn marks, and revealing what looked to be a jagged cut mark around and over his left eye. Despite the fact that the optic tissue itself was all fine.  Still, the face looked familiar, painfully so if he had been paying any attention to one of his closest friends in the past ever.

Charlatan gazed back at him from behind the mask, as mangled as he looked.

”Though I have to wonder, will this brother do for talking with? Unfortunately, I and Matt are likely busy getting busy in very different ways.”


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Pulled in two
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Raziel arced a brow to Ares, lips kept in a smooth line. Almost unamused by the planeswalkers existence, though he made no move against him. His attention appeared to focus on the Nephilim for a few moments before returning back to Ares. ”Ares, correct? Here I thought to steal from the Greeks was a more roman thing to do.” He retort came back, almost scathing in delivery as he continued to watch the small gathering of people before him. ”Interesting to see you here. Seems almost out of character for someone like you.” He continued, feeling that dark presence lash against his own essence. Whatever empowered him was something that he couldn’t afford to take lightly, not that he was one to do so. Not since the last time he had clashed with Ouroboros on the Ethereal isles. His divinity then had proven more crutch than anything else, and he had learned not to rely on it.

”Odd to see Nathaniel, not with you. Though it seems you have a bad habit of drawing my children in.” His eyes lingered on Zachriel more than intended, though they quickly switched back to him.


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Lookin for a ride on D-day
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Traps.

Charlatan had no idea how to make those, well to make them in a way that would stop extra-dimensional god-monsters. Matt, Luke and everyone else seemed to have left him on that small part of things. So here he was working with CZ, someone he assumed was named X by the fact they had a large X on their person, Khaos and a few others whose names he didn’t really have down. Here he was in the back, obviously having been thrown in the back lines while all those jerks got to have all the action. It was not hard to frown even under his mask, putting together a small number of wires and the like for what could only be described as the highest grade bombs he knew how to put together. No nukes by any means, but they would at the very least agitate someone.

If they were dealing with the kind of thing that he thought they were dealing with anyway. Honestly, his mind had become a wreck at a certain point, thinking only about perhaps the inevitable end that was coming like a hammer. Death. Madness or even worse when it came to Lovecraft and his beasts. He lacked the technical ingenuity of his friends, Luke or Matt. Especially the latter if even half the things about Humanity could be believed. A metahuman in some rights, but then again he couldn’t really match up to that. Even feeling over his items, Pat knew that he was nothing more than a detriment and yet here he was fighting anyway. The logical center of his brain was roiling against this with all that it had, though he didn’t let that show on his face.

At the very least he wanted people to think that he was together in this one. ”Hopefully these end up giving that Black beast thing one wicked hangnail because this is all I got.” He admitted, turning to Cam with a smirk as he continued to work on these devices. ”So how bout after all the work, we have a few drinks. I know there’s some around here somewhere….because I saw their liquor cabinet.” He offered with a wink, glad his mask had eye holes as he thought about just drinking away whatever tension had had.

Among other ways to just remove that tension, he was feeling. Honestly, he would have rather been at home eating Taco Bell but here he was. Moving about as he worked on a few more mechanisms that likely only made sense to him and the rare madman that knew Pat.

Speaking of madmen that knew Pat, here was Humanity. He took immediate notice, smiling while rising from his crouching position.  ”So how did the talking going? Big boys blowing things up I imagine.” He queried, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer to that question without needing to be told. ”Been working on a few projects of my own here. Some successful, some still in progress it seems, but you know me. Always workin. Except when I’m not.” of course he also had to babble in that pseudo-nervous fashion that he did. Not wanting to let anything really show as he worked through things in his own way.

Patting one of the traps he sighed. ”Honestly I need a drink.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Living a constant contradiction
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With Jordan sent off to find dads and totally not meant to collide with Humanity, Mike had finished looking over the small plans that Sheiara had brought with her. Most of them were means to defeat The Good Sister should they be forced to fight her, though he had a feeling she should be able to deal with that by herself. He was more interested in looking after those that mattered to him. Those names that constantly found themselves within his head.

Silus, Jordan, Zell, Sean, Shael, Shael again, Fera, Pup, Jordan also again.

It was hard not to let these thoughts run through his mind like a mantra, Mike rubbing the bridge of his nose as he felt the beginnings of a headache. Darker thoughts bubbling to the surface, as well as the images, came with. Death was always an expected for his family, especially those that named themselves their allies. Many were ready to die, but no one was really ready to lose those they loved. Always willing to throw themselves in the way of bullets for those special someones. Even Jordan, that little good fragment of himself had the faint feeling that something was going to happen.

Maybe The Black Beast was more powerful than they thought, or the plan they came up with did not work. He had been told the thing was...too powerful. His thoughts were however dissolved when he caught the sight of pup and his friend moving about, approaching them until he felt something collide with his back. Followed by the all too familiar voice. ”Dad!” The young ethereal shouted in glee as he latched onto his back like a spider monkey. Not to say that he was actually a spider monkey, instead of being in the same human looking form he always took with a wide smile. All at once tense muscles loosened as he supported the legs now wrapped around, turning the surprised glomp into a piggyback ride.

”Took you long enough...though I don’t recall inviting you.” Mike said, feeling that sudden anxious tension.

”yeah, Fera brought me. We been training and I’m really good with my powers now.” His son explained as they walked along towards the two males more around Shael’s current Silus adjacent physical appearance.

”Of course she did. Well, I’m sure you’ll do fine little guy.” He popped up beside the two youths walking along, still carrying the tan pre-teen on his back as if it were nothing. ”So, do the worlds greatest thief and friend have a plan? I have one or two but I think I might need a little perspective here.” Shael offered a wave, seeming pleased to just meet new people that apparently were friends with Mike. Because at this point even he knew that was a rare sight.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A walking, talking anti-christ in kid-friendly form
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Ryan kept close to Lucas, keeping narrowed eyes on the strange figure before them. Composed of dark hues and clawed hands that looked more ready to rip him apart than anything else. His body trembled slightly thinking about it and the threat they posed to Lucas. Now of all times he had...well no abilities to speak of and that was no good in a battleground if his father had told him correctly.  Despite being perhaps the more protected one, he seemed to physically find safety within his brother despite the fact he was doing the opposite. Wrapping a faint, protective barrier of telekinetic energy around him all too ready to lash out at the appearance of a threat. No such threat came about, instead of taking the form of the man kneeling and taking off the mask. That was after explaining something about an object, starting off with what he assumed was a joke and then giving his name.

Even still the sputtering and faint laughter brought a small smile to his lips despite not fully breaking the hug he held on Lucas. Ever since Isalia he found himself developing a certain protectiveness over his sibling, siblings even. There was Zeke, the one that always fidgeted as if he were constantly uneasy and Ryan wanted to help. He knew that some looked down on him because of that but they were family, that shouldn’t have been the case. ”I’m Ryan.” he said, accepting the clawed hand and shaking it rather weakly before letting his hand retreat back into the loose sleeve of his hoodie. Something he had stolen from Alpha at some point and taken to wearing whenever he had to go out. It felt large enough, covering him in a way that gave false comfort.

That was when Lucas asked the important questions, about the unknown man and who he was. ”Not...really. We met, and he offered to help me find you, so here I am. Only thing I know about him is...he’s looking for his family and he was weird purple eyes. Think they’re called...lilac? No, maybe violet or indigo?” He seemed to cycle through color names as if he were searching for the right one before accepting one. ”He walks with that weird cane, so might have leg problems.” That was why people walked with canes right? Was the only reason why he thought that someone would.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tears fall like rain
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Ryan noticed them soon enough. Having hidden from the view of Silus as much as he could, thinking of what he could say to apologize and if the words would ever be enough. The few that seemed fine with him were...well self-professed murderers themselves, which meant that he wasn’t on the best terms. Something that Mike had noted, despite showing what could have been for him friendly concern. Those strange silver eyes even gleaming with something that wasn’t mocking amusement or mischief.  It made him wonder what was happening, though for now, he knew that he had to be here. Even if those that mattered most didn’t really want to see him now. Even if Lucius Alba was offered a place at the table, and even if he knew he had no place there.

His liquid form slid from lying within the sink, feeling the soap suds and grim fall away, leaving a puddle slinking along the ground until it could work through a crack and met with grass. Rapidly changing into Ryan, bundled up despite the fact it wasn’t cold. A dark red beanie keeping now shaggy light brown hair in check as he took note of Eric and Austyn. Words catching within his throat as he took note of Cale, though he said nothing and instead offered a smile. ”Never thought I would see all three of us together again...let alone with you too.” There was a certain wistfulness in his voice, looking at everyone with eyes that softened when they looked around.


Eric looked the worse for wear oddly enough, as if put through the wringer in so many senses and yet he couldn’t help wondering how he should feel about that. Matt’s friend had put him away, even still he didn’t know what to feel. These roiling emotions crashing about within his chest. Even the words and the nursery rhyme were...something that seemed to put the icing on the cake. A low sigh worked from him, feeling the culmination of everything as of late crashing back down on him. It could have been the loss, of innocence or those he loved. Even the life of someone that didn’t deserve it. Either way, he felt an indescribable something at this moment.

Regardless, instead of saying anything he wrapped his brother into a hug. Letting him feel the tightness of it before disengaging and settling back against the wall as well, slumping and keeping the same faint smile towards the others. Noting how strange his other sibling sounded now. ”Got a lot of questions myself but I guess the first is what kind of plan we got? I know we should have something for this whatever that’s coming.”

Matthew had found his way outside, he was hoping to find Charlatan or Drifter, though he was disappointed in the end. He sighed as he tried to take in the scent of the nice day, his mask completely inhibiting it from being effective. He found his way to Charlatan as his mind continued to wander back to Luke and what Luke had said to him. He was angry, infuriated to be honest. He wanted to punch Luke in his stupid forehead. The anger was horrifically misdirected, however. He didn’t wish harm on Luke, quite the opposite he wished to keep him safe. He wished to keep Pat safe. He sighed, hopelessly realizing the situation he’d gotten himself into.

Drifter’s words were like a bad break-up. Honestly if fucking felt that way too. All he had done to them was hide the truth and try to shelter them. But now there was a Black Beast outside and nowhere they could hide. No matter what he did he still had some motive to greed. It was all inside him, where his demons hide away. He froze for a moment and he realized that Charlatan was explaining to him about he was making some progress on the traps. Humanity was actually quite impressed at what the few vigilantes had accomplished together. He almost seemed to shrug when he was asked about how the talks went. He then heard Pat talking about drinks. Given the fact Citizen Zero rolled his eyes but continued working told him that Pat had brought his flirtatious A-game all day.

“I agree.” It probably wasn’t what anyone expected Humanity to say, though he gave his hefty sigh. That was perhaps the most social personality Humanity had shown other than ranting about Justice, Darkness Corruption of Mankind and Dead Lovers. He looked up to Pat and shook his head. Then he said four words that he had never said before. Four words that caused every person in the vicinity to stop what they were doing and turn their heads.

“I can’t do this...”


==========Family Affairs==========

Archon looked to Elena Marie and Sean as he seemed to feel a bit uncomfortable. He suddenly jolted as he felt the sudden surge of energy arriving within their boundaries. He growled a little, like a dog on whose territory had been tread upon. The Archon only settled himself when he identified exactly whom it belonged to. It was someone with that Christian Hale kid. He looked to Sean and sighed.

“You sure you wanna join us on the front line?” Zell asked, his voice was cautious but he actually sounded excited at the prospect of his husband being there to help him fight off the Black Beast. Granted, Zell had never actually fully explained to Sean that he was an Omniversal being, but Sean knew about the nature of him being able to travel through multiple universes like his mother. He wouldn’t even lie he was looking forward to showing off when the rubber met the road. He was honestly far more interested to see just how far his husband had come in his pursuit of magic. It was almost peaceful and fulfilling for Zell to see Sean achieve his life-long dream of becoming a magi.

“How’d I get so lucky? I mean, after the whole becoming an evil asshole that assaulted your boyfriend’s house...just to prove a point?” He asked himself, chuckling a little. He knew full well what Sean was going to point out next. They had quite a mess of a relationship. But it was one that had literally lasted through the most crap that the entire multiverse could throw at it. Even if somehow they lost here. Zell knew that The Black Beast wouldn’t destroy what he had here. He wouldn’t let it.

“I don’t tell you I love you enough. Even though I say it every day...it’s not enough.” He chuckled as he punched Sean in the arm, looking to Marie and rolling his eyes. “Alright mom, what are we looking at-!?” In that instant there was a rip in reality a flash and suddenly there was another Zell standing there. This one had two different sets of Tattoos across his body in intricate designs, unlike other seen. It had all the features of a Ti’tian. Humanity looked to Marie and then to Sean.

“They destroyed The Abyss...” He said as he looked to the Ti’tian version of himself, it seemed to bite it’s tongue while mirroring the same expression as the original. “Abyssal is free… and all the souls it’s devoured form the tribute…. God-fucking-damnit.” Zell hissed as the Ti’tian version of himself began to walk away, his eyes on swivel as he looked for another of “his kind”.

==========Forcing Fate==========

Agent Williams sighed as he shook his head. It was true, Agent Daniels was their top Agent when it came to Lucius Alba. If Alba and Albanisim were a college course then Daniels was the world’s leading expert. The director was more than happy to know that all of his Forensics Director’s talents were perfectly befitting of his position. He snapped his fingers and an A.I brought up a file in a hologram, allowing Tarot to be seen.

“This is Subject:Tarot. His metagene causes his Tarot deck to gain more cards, the cards change and allow him to interpret the future. The Will of a being he calls “Fate”. Though no such being has been confirmed, it is known that Tarot’s predictions almost always become reality unless these beings known as “Wild Cards”, as Subject:Horizen has come to call them, alters the plans.” Next on the screen was the wandering plague doctor that seemed to aimlessly walk around the battle and offer to heal the sick or wounded. Williams continued to explain the subject. “Tarot had an incident. You may reference Incident D-IE-Tarot:Doctor 01. I was called in because The Doctor had appeared as a Major Arcana Card. Reference the file if you desire. But how this related to Subject:Horizon...Authorize Agent Daniels to sensitive file. Subject:Event. Override Director Jamison Williams. Identification code: Null and Void.” In a moment the A.I would audibly confirm everything and Daniels would have a new file, confidential and kept entirely secret from The Agency as a whole, leaving Director Williams, Agent Master and now Agent Daniels as the only members to even hear of these files.

“File 7.1 is labeled ‘Tarot’s Cards’. It shows you the layout of the cards shown in this specific event in Tarots reading. Then 7.2 is a summary of Tarots verdict.” The first file opened and there had been several cards laid out. First there was “The Fool” and it appeared to be a youthful person with a book in his hand, half of his body was bleeding and wounded while the other side was not. Next was a few minor Arcana while the next major was a mosaic appearing Major Arcana of a black suit and red visor with a rose and sparks of red flying off. The card’s name was labeled “The Visionary”. There was a minor Arcana, the four of swords before another major arcana. This one was a person with a monstrous mouth, a dark trench coat and a heart behind him of red and dark teal, bleeding. The arcana was known as “The Symbol” There was another minor Arcana card, and then another before the last Major Arcana card. It was a card that was decorated much unlike the others, while it was still a mosaic type of art, there were two different hues taken to it. Furthermore it seemed to have the most “odd” of them all. All of the Major arcana were doing something, something that set up a picture, helping to tell the story. This card had it’s hands on the edge of the card, as if holding a camera in place. It had black and silver hair with a wide spiked toothy smile as it seemed to stare out of the card with a level of self-awareness. This card was labeled in a concerning way as the words upon it were “The King of Fools”.

“The King of Fools was named “Subject:Event.”. According to Tarots reading The Visionary, Lucius has something to do with the conversion of The Martyr’s actions into creating this King of Fools. We cannot rush the capture, or elimination of Lucius Alba so readily. If it were to alter this reading in anyway then it would be disastrous. We need to focus on damage mitigation for now.” The Director said, his words likely being misunderstood. It was a practical thought process, but the fact he didn’t explain it out was the kicker to it. He assumed daniels would simply read the file. He forgot that Daniels was just as the director himself was but a few years ago. It was odd how quickly time tempered you in The Agency.

==========Foxx and a Hound==========

Pup looked to Mike as he showed up carrying a Kid. One that waved. Pup looked to Shael curiously as if watching him for any sudden movements. Jack simply waved back before eyeing Pup’s odd behavior. Pup seemed to smile at the prospect of being called the world’s greatest thief. He had to admit he had some sticky fingers, and a light touch. He even boasted that those were some of his most charming qualities, though no one ever seemed to question why he thought those were charming. He brought his hands up and pulled out on his leather jacket, a smile on his face.

"Greatest thief in the world right here! Stealing hearts." Pup said with a smirk, doing his usual overly playful cocky attitude just to give Jack the chance to shut him down. Something that Jack would take the full opportunity to exploit.

“-And failing at it even worse than me.” Jack added burying his hands into his pockets a small smirk as he looked to Pup out the corner of his eyes. Pup growled a little as he threw his shoulder into Jack, sending him off balance and hopping onto one food as he laughed. The childish games came to an end as Sibuna seemed to walk beside Michael, silently swishing her tail as she stalked up, looking to the tan boy on Michael’s back.

“Michael, who's your little friend? They smell like wet dog...” The cat seemed to say, their voice echoing from their head as their telepathy tended to sound. Pup looked at the boy,

“Well the plan was to run around and find The Villain. We’re not exactly “Metahuman” so we would technically be under his division. So he’s got da plan. Besides...Jack wants to say Hi.” Pup said with a smirk, elbow jabbing into Jack’s side as he rolled his eyes and turned to walk away. He left Pup there chuckling.

==========Broken Wings: Shattered Souls==========

     Orpheus was glad to see he could make a good impression upon the young Ryan. He didn’t quite have a grand idea of who this boy was, or even his power set, but he knew that the boy was likely just as powerful as Lucas, perhaps even moreso.,. For now. Lucas would most certainly still grow and evolve. Orpheus had to believe that this child would do what so many others had done and peak early. His gaze was broken up from the introductions as he reached up and placed his mask back upon his face. He sensed Lucius was approaching, and he refused the let the man see his face. He placed a hand on Lucas’ shoulder and one in his hand, leaving something behind.

“We’ll talk later.” He said, though the monster’s mask growled it, one could imagine it being a more welcoming version. Blood Tithe returned to work. The Author whistled as he saw Lucius approach. He smiled and nodded politely with a wave of the hand.

“Welcome back.” He said as he then seemed to excuse himself to go and be quite literally anywhere else.

==========An Angel’s Secret, A Dark One’s Veil==========

Ares smirked when he heard the comment regarding the theft of a name being a greek concept. Joke was on this fool, Ares wasn’t even from here. He placed his hands to his side, though found his own curiosity piqued when he heard the Angel make mention of his children. First he was able to reason the most recent addition to his little sanctum was the child of this angel. That overpowering and self-righteous white mana proverbially scalding his eyes. His lips curved into an interested smile when he heard that Raziel found it to be out of character for him to be there.

“Well ya see, That might actually have some meaning, if ya know...you knew anything about me.” Ares said, pointing out the fact that the two didn’t know each other, and the only context one could gain from the other would be providing they did some extensive research. Ares had nothing to research due to his limited actions, whereas Raziel’s movement was strictly limited to terrorizing the Atterrius family and being an anime villain.

“I dunno about that. But what I do know is that they’re welcome with me as long as they’d like. Can’t help that a guy like you can be a bit overbearing. But I’ll let you in on a secret...from one secret-monger to the next.” Ares smiled widely, nodding from behind his sunglasses as he pulled upon a mana from deep within his very essence. It solidified him, reinforced his will as he was able to step forward. “The secret is pretty simple. Those two kids of yours, are free, you just don’t realize what that means. Not truly, anyway. Another secret, free of charge. I’m not your enemy. After all, there’s kinda a saying… Two can keep a secret, when one of them is Ares.” He said with a smirk, shrugging and turning to return to his group of people. He looked to the blonde boy, as if searching to read him over, to get a gauge of their relationship.

==========So Step Inside...See The Devil In I==========

Asmodeus was scouring the entire area looking for Samael and the Vampire friend. He was following scents, tracking smells but with so many people present it was a sensory overload to be sure. He looked about to smell the faint smell of a foe he had faced not so long ago. On high alert he began to move, his eyes fixated as his nose brought him closer to his target. He eventually bumped right smack into Cas, and began to grumble as he looked over the Demigod. He knew this to be Matthew’s friend, and Yamm’s mock-husband from when he used his cult of believers to temporarily worship him.

“What in the name of Max’s blue balls are you doing? Listen’ kid you’ve got a bad smell about ya. That’s the smell of a right wicked woman. So you’d better start explaining before I start gettin’ real loud.” Asmodeus said, though the threat was not empty, it wasn’t presented as challenging. It was more akin to someone stating facts rather than accusing them.  Truthfully it was a friendlier and more effective way to follow information.
 
==========Drifting Away==========

Talks were happening. The Dark Traveler had a reveal of his identity to Drifter, meanwhile Luke had his time to respond, ask his questions and build his own case within his mind. He was struggling in his life, with his sense of being, his belonging and his purpose. The very things that brought him to the point of being Drifter he was experiencing once more. Or so it would seem from an outsider’s perspective. Though that was the funny thing about perspective. You never knew when yours would change, or when a total strangers could help your own.

Drifter would be able to see The Dark Travelers mask. But there was another, someone whom went out to find people. To find answers. She didn’t see the identities of the parties concerned. She didn’t truly care to be honest. She had a good goal in her heart, a mission she wished to see through. Shoulder length dark brown hair, bleached brighter from her time in the sun, slightly tanned skin matching an off pink coat with jeans and a pair of sandals. She had been seen around, originally offering snacks and assisting with planning. She was seen again while as she stood beside The Minister, a voice in his ear. She was searching for someone, but whom and what she found was not what she intended. She turned the corner and caught sight of the lone black car. She began to walk up to it with a smile and began to wave at the window, even knocking if she had to. Originally she had mistaken The Dark Traveler for another, though she hadn’t truly focused on him quite yet.

“Oh! Excuse me. I’m sorry to interrupt sweetheart. I completely mistook your friend here for someone I need to find.” She said as she realized that these were not the individual she had been searching for. She seemed to read the atmosphere a bit, the strange tension sitting on her. “Would it be too much for me to ask...I saw you with Humanity earlier. I wanted to know if...” Her voice trailed off a little as she seemed to think about what she was going to say, her hands moving slightly as she spoke. Finally she sighed as the words seemed to come to her, though the words she offered were not the ones she intended to say.

“This could be the last night any of us are alive. I wanted to ask if either of you knew Humanity and could help me understand...” She was practically begging without begging, searching for the right thing to say. All of this to two total strangers whom she only assumed knew Humanity. Drifter she had seen, but this other?

==========Who I’m meant to be==========

Azrael whipped about in the air, his knee driving into one of his Agent’s cheeks, turning as he quickly landed with hands moving in opposite directions to knock incoming claws apart. Without hesitation, the small angel’s eyes began to glow as a shockwave pulsed, knocking everyone back. The Minister arrived, watching the smallest and newest member of “The God Squad” (as Humanity so charmingly dubbed them) train and prepare. He continued to rely on things other than his faith, pulling power from the damned beast within. He tried to exercise patience with his newest addition to his family. They were his own flesh and blood after all. But he couldn’t comprehend, he couldn’t understand the connection that his son felt to the very enemy of their God.

A vampire charged and Azrael turned, with a swift backhand he sent the vampire flying, almost impacting Alpha as they hit a wall. Azrael looked the man over for a moment and nodded his head, as if both greeting and broodingly apologizing. The Angel of Death turned his attention as he heard someone cheering for him, giving a thumbs up to the small twitching boy with his hair all spread apart.

“G-gyah! D-dang that’s cool! Your power is so neat Az!” Zeke said as he cheered the other child on. It warranted a small chuckle from the angel as he seemed to resume his raining, a few more vampires jumping in and giving their all, knowing full well they stood now chance.  

==========To make us whole...==========

“No. I’m not here to harm you. I’m here to free you.” Austyn said as he looked to the collar. He knew that this handiwork was within Jeremy’s area of expertise. Especially if it was the technology of Gadget. A small smile played on Austyn’s lips, though it quickly faded. “He’s going to take control soon Eric. I won’t be able to see it through...Listen quickly. I’ve allied myself with a being called “Samhain” whose been helping me keep this spirit from consuming my soul and possessing my body. Samhain and I have an arrangement. He located a magical artifact known as The Crystal Coffin. With it, he was going to rewrite our past. So that we were never separated. So that we could be there for each other...” Austyn took in a deep breath, knowing full well he couldn’t leave Ryan with such a heavy charge, or a heavy goal. He didn’t know if he could trust Eric but there was a very good chance that none of them would live to see tomorrow. Especially not him.

Time was up…

“I’m going to die here tomorrow. One way or another. Either I lose and die, or I win and He takes over. You’d never even know. But right here, right now...I can do this for you. I can give you the chance to change your fate. OUR fates. I can’t leave Ryan alone. I can’t leave you alone. I’m already haunted enough as it is. Heh.” Austyn said as his eyes began to glow and The Agency Machinery powered down, unlatching and falling off. Ryan had formed up next to them and begun speaking. If Eric wanted to go apeshit and seal his fate here that was fine. But Austyn wanted to life, and he wanted Ryan to live. If that was the case, he needed to trust Eric, and hope he wouldn’t throw all of their lives away. Not like this.

==========Sanctuary==========

Silus sat in the on of the several dozen small wooden benches, his head hanging low as his fists clenched. The person he saw in front of him was an Eldritch Nightmare, a horror that revealed in the misery of others. A tricky, and wicked creature if ever there was one. But he had never lied to Silus. That was something he could agree with. But why was meeting him here such a big thing? Why did he seem to freeze up here, why did he manage to make Silus feel so uncomfortable here in the little chapel?

“Silus, I know you’ve lost a friend. I know that by now those scars must be healing. I know they must seem so...old and healed by now, I-I suppose to say maybe even faded.” Samhain’s voice seemed to stumble as the scottish voice dimmed away into a timid nature. It was more unnerving to see the Eldritch being fumbling for words than it was devouring Gods and ripping out people’s hearts. Silus just looked at him a little lopsided with judgemental narrows eyes.

“No. Not at all. I still think about him every day. I still cry when I think about him too much. When a day goes by that I haven’t pestered my dad to searching an entire omniverse for him, or when I haven’t thought of broken every rule I can think of to find him, I cry myself to sleep. There is no scar. The cut is still bleeding.” Silus explained. Samhain seemed to smile, which only caused Silus’ eyebrow to raise as he scoffed and even began to laugh. Samhain pulled on his suit, straightening the jacket before leaning on his cane.

“Well, I found him and~” Samhain began but Silus jumped out of his seat, elated as he charged forward, looking Samhain in the eye.

“What!? Where is he!? Can you take me there!? I have to see him!” The questions and demands were of that of a child. Samhain sighed as he shook his head, repeating the word no under his breath as he knelt down onto his bum knee and looked Silus in the eyes.

No, no. Not yet. He said he can’t. Not yet. Samahin said, almost as if he were pleading with Silus to understand something, but the child had missed the point. Silus’ eyes narrowed as Samahin reached out, a hand touching the boy’s arm before the child jerked away while leering at him. “He says he’ll be ready soon. SO soon. But he just needs a little more time. He’s got a world he’s trying to save. When I asked him to come back he said he couldn’t. There was a world in danger and he had the power to stop it. If he left it to die then he’d never feel worthy to call himself your friend. After everything he’s seen you do. After everything you’d done for someone like him. He needed to save you. Just once.” Samhain’s words were true. Why? Because Silus had never known Samhain to lie to him. They shared an open honesty with each other, one neither of them had ever taken to breaching. Yet Silus felt himself doubting, finding it too good to be true. After a moment he looked to the being and asked.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Silus’ mind was racing as he tried to figure all the ways Samhain could try to manipulate or play an angle to this game. But much to his surprise, he saw Samhain smile.

“He sent something with me. To give you with a message.” He said as he reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a small teal crystal gauntlet with indigo colored knuckles and matching gemstones floating around it. Silus’ eyes widened as he saw his once-sacred weapon before his eyes. The weapon Yancey took with him before he vanished due to Shooting Star’s magic. His mouth curled as he began to beam a bright smile. “Remember who you are, Lightbringer, Joy Maker and Faithkeeper. I will find you, or my light will fade as I try.” Silus reached out and took the gauntlet, looking to Samhain. He seemed hesitant to take the gauntlet, but did as he pressed his lips together in a small nostalgic grin. He looked back to Samhain and seemed almost apologetic.

“Well can you go tell him a message from me?” Silus asked, looking for the favor to be granted. Samhain nodded and said that he would deliver it as soon as he could. Silus smiled. “Just tell him...to remember. Darkness doesn’t swallow light. It hides it. Light doesn’t fade. It’s always there. It doesn’t matter how far in darkness he goes...I’ll find him. He can’t hide his light from me. Not forever. No matter...how dim it fades. It’s still him, just like this is still me. Not just me either. Daddy, Matty, even Sean and Mike miss him. So once this black beast is dealt with...there’s no more darkness to hide him.” Silus’ little rant came to an end. His message was quite clear though Samhain was quite grateful to the fact he’d not actually need to remember any of this.

“Th-that’s quite a mouthful lad.” Samhain said as he smiled, shaking his head in appreciation of the words, though realizing that he’d never have remembered them if he hadn’t been touched by them. Silus smiled and nodded, rubbing the back of his head nervously and muttering an agreement. “You sure you can count on me to remember all that?” He jested, though the boy took him seriously. HE smiled and rolled his eyes in deep thought with a hum.

“Well if not...then maybe just… I love you. I think he’ll know the rest of that is just smaller parts of that.” He said, Samhain nodded his head, uncertain if he had actually been found or if he had somehow and some way been more lost than before. There was always a mystic wonder when dealing with existential eleven year olds. He felt Silus charge into him with a hug, Samhain almost losing his balance as he placed an arm around the boy with a tear forming in his eyes. He wanted this to be done. He wanted to be free, to unlike the fallen angel he had come to be.

Finding Lucas had proven itself to be more difficult than Lucius had anticipated. With all the power signatures and tech in the area, even Sven was having no luck. That, or the AI simply wanted to see his master work. Such a thing would have been off-putting, to say the least, but Red wasn't about to make such an accusation. The Dictator didn't have time to bicker with a computer program—he had a world to save, and the relationship with his remaining children to repair.

Lucius had commanded his mask to enclose once again so he could more readily observe the information his scanners were picking up. This proved useful, as within about a minute he finally saw the two people he was looking for. It couldn't have worked out better; they were together.

As Lucius approached, though, he began to think he became satisfied with the situation too quickly. Orpheus was there, standing next to the boys. Lucius' eyes flashed with anger under his mask, and his hand instinctively grasped Cora Zen's hilt. He wanted to go over there and plunge the blade in the monster's chest, ending him once and for all. He wanted to make sure this time—no more coming back.

But, Lucius paused a moment. He caught himself. That unbearable fury that erupted in him was difficult to control, but he had reason to try: His sons would never forgive him if he just went on another rampage. The monster would look less insane than he would, and that simply wouldn't do. He re-calibrated himself, taking a deep breath, and just like that, the sophisticated aristocratic scientist was back.

"Neither of you should be here. I know you're headstrong—you're my sons, after all—but there are those we cannot trust here," Lucius said, approaching the trio. Lucas looked alarmed, as if outraged.

"Orpheus has done nothing wrong! If there's anyone we can't trust, it's you!" the boy yelled, his eyes flashing crimson ever so briefly. The words stung. Lucius had been blindsided. He hadn't heard Lucas speak to anyone like that before, let alone his own father. Though, considering what had happened, maybe it wasn't so surprising.

".....Perhaps you're right. I'll take that. But all the same, I don't mean Orpheus. If there is one thing I can completely trust him with in this life, it's you two." Lucius spoke softly, understanding that he had no defense. The boys had reason to hate him. Lucius wasn't going to expect forgiveness from his children, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try to protect them.

The Dictator took a step forward, and Lucas recoiled instantly, prompting Red to stop. If Lucius' mask were off, they'd have seen the water in his eyes in that moment, but alas, in place of his face were emotionless optics and a metal visage.

"Please, just go..... I'm sorry, but just go!" Lucas said. He still loved his father, deep down, but he was frightened. He didn't know how to deal with this right now. He needed more time.

Thankfully, Lucius saw that.

The dictator paused, starring sorrowfully at his sobbing son. The elder of the two had switched places with his brother, hiding behind Ryan. There was nothing Red could do here that wouldn't make things worse. After a long pause, he turned to the monster, then spoke.

"Take care of them, Reinhardt." Lucius turned his back on the three of them. For once since Lucas was born, he saw his father walk with his head hung low. Gone was the pride of the Devil on Earth.

He'd lost today—lost in the worst way he could.

________________


After getting no immediate response from Rot, Drifter simply laid back in his chair, drinking. He'd tried to stop. Humanity had said now more than ever it was important that he keep his little habit in check, but in all honesty, Luke didn't see the point. The world was ending, and that meant things life his health didn't matter.

Maybe if everything worked out, he'd take the guy's advice.

Drifter chugged on his bottle. The taste was, well, bad, but he didn't care. Enjoyment of the flavor wasn't the point. In a matter of minutes, the fifth was gone, and he simply tossed it aside.

A few more moments went by. He thought about calling Matt. He thought about apologizing, like he always did after being a cunt, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It would just turn into a pity party for himself. It would be just another long conversation about his many issues, only this time there was a likelihood there would never be the time to fix them.

While Drifter zoned out, someone else had entered the van. The vigilante didn't noticed until they spoke, but when they did, he instantly stuck Fracture in their face. Inebriated or not, Luke was quick, and he didn't take too kindly to people sneaking up on him.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!? HOW THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW MY NAME!?" Drifter yelled, the barrel of his special gun inches from the guy's face. The vigilante was like a cornered viper, pupils dilated to their extreme. There was no question about whether or not he'd be willing to shoot in this state.

The man kept talking, vaguely. He was playing mysterious, and if there was one thing Luke hated, it was people who weren't upfront with him. Drifter kept the gun trained on the guy as he rattled on, not answering his questions—at least, not directly.

As the guy spoke, Lukas felt increasingly unsettled. He knew this man. He didn't know how, but he knew him. Sure, he'd seen the guy at the meeting briefly, but it was more than that. There was a pattern of speech there he recognized, but his drunken mind wasn't sharp enough to pinpoint it off the bat. Regardless, as he realized this, his gun lowered, though he was still quite jumpy.

Luke let the guy talk, not making anymore demands. He figured he was getting to the point. As perplexed and irritated as he was by the enigmatic nature of this person, he knew it couldn't last forever. You didn't just appear in someone's van to play twenty questions.

That hunch was confirmed when the man revealed his face. Luke dropped the gun, his brows furrowing in confusion. The face was familiar too, but it wasn't exact. It was burned—scarred. It was Pat, but it was not. Even a drunk Luke wasted no time connecting the dots.

"Will you do? I don't know, Patrick, you still haven't answered my questions. I appreciate the words of encouragement, but just because you've got his face doesn't mean I can trust you," Luke said, peering at the man. Alternate Reality? Future timeline? Clone? Hard to say. He needed more info. But, for the time being he supposed he could have a drink with the guy. He grabbed the bottle from him, taking a long swig. He was out, after all.

"And why are there so many people teleporting into my van lately? Seriously, that's the second time this week." Look sipped from the bottle in his hand, recalling the last incident where someone randomly appeared in his van. That wasn't a fun experience. Just another time where he was out of his element.

The doors to the van opened, and Luke just sighed. He imagined it was Matt. Boy, that would have required some explaining. This dude that looked like Charlatan would probably get another gun in his face. Thankfully, though, that awkward situation was avoided. It was just an older woman wearing pink. Looked like someone's mother. She asked about Humanity, so Luke just sort of assumed she was Matt's.

"Humanity? Sure, I know him," Luke said, spinning in his chair to start typing on his computer. He played some news feed of some of the more notorious things Matt had done while going about his vigilante business.

"Do I understand him? I thought I did. Can I help you understand him better? Maybe. All I can say is he's my friend—my brother. This stuff... this stuff he did doesn't reflect who he really is. He calls himself an Eldritch horror, a villain, and a monster, but the Humanity I know isn't like that when you get down to his core." Luke shut the monitor off just as things were getting more gruesome. Even though it didn't revoke his point, it would be hard to make the claims he was making while there was a screen playing with Humanity being terrible.

"He's a good man. Despite his flaws, his faults, and his sins, he's one of the best men I've ever known. He cares about people. He cares so much he's willing to sacrifice his own soul for them. I respect him. He was...... He was everything I wanted to be for a long time." Luke's eyes lowered as he spoke, as if he were thinking more than he was talking. He chugged from the bottle in his hand, not saying a another word for a solid thirty seconds. He was reflecting on what he said, analyzing the implications.

The boy's eyes welled up. A tear rolled down his cheek, then dripped off onto the floor after reaching his chin. It wasn't long before more followed. He began to sob, wiping his reddened face with his hand as best he could. He didn't even care that this woman was watching him. All those emotions he had built up were coming through, and he couldn't stop them.


________________


Eric didn't quite understand what Austyn was saying. Sure, he got the general idea, but it was a lot of information for someone who had been through all that he had. Plus, he hadn't seen either of his brothers in so long, and now they just both appeared. That was a jarring experience, and despite the fact he had questions, he couldn't bring himself to ask them. Instead, he nodded as his brothers spoke. He tried to listen. He wanted to be good to them. Even if he was not like before—if they were unlike before—they were still his siblings, and he wanted the best for them.

"Ok....... I can try," Eric said. He didn't want Austyn to die, and he didn't want Ryan to be a killer. A chance to alter time, no matter how much of a long shot, was worth trying in order to fix the damage that had been done.

With his acceptance, the collar unlocked, falling to the ground. Almost instantly, the clouds above darkened. Thunder roared, and golden lightning flashed in the sky. The same electric power surged from Eric's hands, moving up his body to his eyes.

A lightning bolt came down from the heavens, striking Eric and enveloping him in his power. He was filled with a new confidence, smirking in more typical Eric fashion, then rising into the air as energy poured into him.

Once he got a few dozen feet above, more bolts of lightning followed, connecting with the boy and bringing him back to full strength. His clothing even changed, with gems forming as adornments and the cloth color becoming lighter. By the time the lightning from the sky ceased, Eric looked like a paragon of power.

The boy descended slowly. It was tempting to use his newly unlocked power for selfish reasons. He could kill everyone that had wronged him, if he wanted, but like Lucius had said: The cycle had ended. He contained himself.

"So where do we start?"

________________


Agent Daniels tried to understand as best he could. This had something to do with the sort of Hard Determinism Lucius talked about when he was still doing lectures, along with the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principal. Boring stuff, to be sure. Michael was a brilliant man, but he left the physics to the physicists. He was much more grounded and pragmatic. He had been a cop, after all. A detective. If you went too far off what you could see with your own eyes in that line of work, you'd just end up chasing ghosts. So, understandably, everything about this seemed counter productive to the realist Agent.

"Sir, with all do respect, overcoming metahuman abilities is what we do. We can't just let Alba run rampant because some infected scum with precognition said he's important. Lives are at stake, Director," Daniels said. He was respectful in his speech, but direct and firm all the same. This was not like the Agency to do. They never played lapdog to infected. Destiny or not, If their powers posed a threat, they would be overcome.

"Besides, for all we know Subject:Tarot set it up that way to manipulate us. He could be working with Alba to keep us running scared. I say we take them both, fate be damned. I say we show them who the real Wildcards are." The Forensics Director did not question Williams' leadership or judgement, but this was against his values. In the end he would do what he was told, sure, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try to change orders he didn't like.

"We aren't here to roll over for the natural order, we're here to resist it. If Lucius is right about one thing, it's that they are the next stage. They're evolution..... But only if we don't change things." Daniels was going to go on further. He was adamant about this. However, his watch buzzed. He glanced at it briefly as he paused, and then his eyes went wide.

"....Thank you for showing me this, Director, but we have other issues. Subject:Jolt has broken his shackle."

________________


A portal ripped open in the streets, causing the atmosphere to crackle and spit. It looked like a tear in reality rather than any kind of neat, mystical tunnel. Inside it only swirling, dark energies could be seen. Many readied themselves around it, expecting the coming of the Black Beast. Fortunately, it was much better news than that: The Shroud had opened, and dozens of Wardens poured from it's depths.

"Master Amory, you must know that even if you can withstand it, the damage done in the conflict could itself be cataclysmic," Kakabel said, following The Warden of Power step for step at the front of the group. The feeble looking Warden of Knowledge grasped his book, feeling it's weight—it's burden—increase exponentially. He flipped through it's pages as Amory sized up the forces that had been brought here.

"Yes, brother, but we must still try. They are strong and wise, and may give us the power we need to repel the Beast. Have one of the others fetch Flamel. I have much to discuss with him," Amory said, purple eyes looking to his hooded friend. Kakabel nodded, motioning for Aurelius to do as Amory had commanded.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lost on the brink of annihilation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cas stood there, a low hum working from his throat as he watched Humanity walk away. More important things to worry about than him and his fragile feelings. Likely for the best. Even now he could feel it, a sharp sensation of pain lancing through his side as he retained the desire to groan. Facial features still twisting into a grimace as he felt over his side and walked away. Hours, they had hours until the fight itself and perhaps something he had been mentally preparing for far longer than the threat of The Black Beast. Not too long ago he had been proven the power gap that existe3d, how weak he still was and how powerful Nyx was compared to him. Their conflict had been… more than one sided, though he managed to injure her once or twice.

Lost to thoughts steadily growing darker and stumbling through his gait, he caught the sound of a face. Confrontational in tone, but not one that he recognized. A right wicked woman and getting loud. What was he talking about? A faint jolt of irritation ripped through him, though he didn’t respond immediately. Instead allowing his mind to center and actually come up with something that would leave the person really tempted to just start shouting about things that he knew nothing about. ”I’m sorry, I have no idea who you are or what you’re speaking about. You can shout if you want but that won’t get you anywhere.” The stitches Christian had put in place were far more haggard than he expected, as if they were being worn away. He could feel the flesh attempting to come apart.

”If you’ll excuse me, I have to prepare. I have a sister to kill.” He didn’t mean for it but he felt the shift within his own energy. As if more had come to fill his body, bringing with it a deep golden glow to his eyes and a subtle shift within the air. Not offering them a second glance, he felt the dark mood further begin to pollute him but he didn’t know if he would care soon.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just another day in the family
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Sean rolled his eyes at the question, almost insulted at the statement itself. Though the only sign of that was the scoff, accompanied by the faint smirk as he rested hands on his hips. ”Till death do us part, don’t think you can get out of this now.” He teased,  knowing full well that he partially just wanted to show off a little. That was the thought ever since he had managed to gain this magic to begin with, though he began to wonder what they were actually dealing with. If it was something that caused so many people to gather in one place, even have his mother emerge from her  secluded castle that just meant things were serious. Too serious to take things lightly.

”Well I assaulted your fiance so I think we’re even there.” Sean retorted with chuckle, remembering the strange times that had been their relationship. A mess by many measures but they were together anyway. Living he unconventional dream of family and...well marriage. Even their own house, despite what many would have called his notable lack of  adding anything to that. Tomorrow would be the day that he proved all of those personal issues wrong. Maybe even impress all these power players gathering around them, all too comfortable within themselves it seemed. His gaze darted to his mother, almost lost within her own thoughts until spoke to by Zell.

”Never hurts to hear it more.” He teased, rubbing his arm in a false sense of hurt as the head magical bitch I charge furrowed her brows and looked down.  What were they looking at? Whatever that was found itself cut off by a tear within reality, another Zell appearing save for the fact that he was marred by the myriad of markings that named him a ti’taen. Likely a Zell meant to look over The Abyss, something that he hadn’t known about until likely just now. Just like the destruction of The Abyss. His own expression was not as shocked as his mothers, who seemed to pale before falling back into thought.

”Destroyed it huh? That changes much,” She noted, seeming even more dire than before. Recognizing what they were dealing was beyond the scope she had thought they were dealing, and universal destruction had been on the table before. ”if we can’t rely on the full force of The Abyss, I might have to change our tactics somewhat.” That was statement enough, though Sean had to wonder what she would do instead of whatever it was she was doing before.

”I need to leave you two for a moment...important soul stream calculations. I trust my son and his beloved can...do the rest.” She smiled, that forced but supportive smile before walking off.


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It’s raining somewhere else
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He glanced at the gun shoved into his face, not even flinching as he continued to speak. Knowing no weapon now could do more than irritate him, especially nothing that Luke had on him. So he kept that calm demeanor, that being until he found it right to remove the mask and look into his friends eyes with his own. This ruined visage of someone that he called friend and brother. Even seeing that face brought with it emotions that threatened to rise to the surface but he ignored them for now.  Sociopathy on demand became a skill of his lately.

”Would be disappointed if you instantly believed me Luke. Really defeats the purpose of the skeptic thing you have going on. ” He shrugged, not even trying to keep the bottle within his hand as it was removed and drained.  Not that it left him without a supply of alcohol as he continued to produce more from his physical form, unscrewing the cap and drinking once again. ”I miss that about you or...missed that about you. Long story, not going to bore you with the details that might destroy the space time continuum.” A few casual dismissive waves as he grinned at the statement about teleporting. It was almost insulting to suggest that.

”Didn’t teleport, I phased. Through the walls, because I was doing my ghost impression.” Jokes, they were all he had now so he produced them without an issue. As if the moment he were serious the world would truly unravel around them. ”I doubt trying to convince you I am who I am would work. Well maybe it would but I don’t really need you to believe me. With luck The Black Beast won’t even get to touch down and you can return to whatever inane vigilante life you do.” A small shrug as he drank from the second bottle produced from his body, hearing the sound of a door opening and someone talking.

Oh, he remembered this voice but it brought with it memories.

”Funny,” He mused as she stated this could be the last night for them. If only she knew. ”if I told you half of what you wanted to know about him, I imagine you would probably make the sign of the cross, mutter something about Jesus and run off. Likely to the fool of God you call your husband.” A low hum, stroking his chin before he returned the mask to his face. ”This reminds me that I have to speak with Humanity. I’ll be sure to send the message along Ms. May. You’ll know where to call me Drifter, your phone has my number.”

Like that he was gone. Leaving a few bottles of whatever Drifter liked to drink around the van, coupled with bottles of water.
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Living a constant contradiction
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Mike couldn’t explain it but there was a certain peace he found with these two. Pup more than jack but he had come to appreciate even the little thiefs company, despite the time he was close to strangling the poor little guy. It seemed like his joke about the worlds greatest thief was thrown off onto pup, but all that did was garner a smirk from him as Shael seemed to be watching something else. A cat that was walking amongst them and...well he liked cats. Not as much as dogs or dog adjacent things, but he loved kitties. Petting them and occasionally even taking the form of one when the mood hit him. The envy of furries many would have said and he would have hit them with a chair.

”Stealing hearts huh? Well that is probably the most adorable thing i’ve heard all day.” Mike noted with a grin, ruffling up the males hair and watching the two get along in their little personal dynamics.

Let’s see how you mess this one up. The voice of doubt spoke, cynical in tone. Immediately brushed away by the sound of someone speaking to him personally. Telepathy from what he could tell.

”This is my son...I made him.” Mike answered the question outloud as Shael flopped from his back. Rapidly shifting into a fluffy tan cat as he landed on the ground. Letting out a meow before brushing up alongside the two of them in the typical Shael hello. ”He has the best nose around, so if you have anything with his scent Shael should be able to sniff them out.” Besides, he had the feeling he would want to find some friends his ge and...well the two seemed like they were around his age. If they were looking for the villain, at the very least he owed them the help. The cat meowed, looking up at him with that curious cat look.

”Guess I count as a metahuman but never really cared about what people told me to do, so going wherever I might be needed.” He added, resenting being compared to anything human but it was whatever they wanted, which meant following inane labels.  ”Though I think I have someone to talk to first...maybe talk at.” As if that explained everything, the Shael cat turned back into his human form despite being on all forms and sniffing the ground before hopping to his feet. Luckily  his clothes shifted with him.

Mike however had a dragon to find.

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Tears fall like rain
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Ryan had to admit he was confused by all of the things happening here beyond maybe the fact that someone was hurting Eric. Austyn was about to be taken over by someone, though his expression showed that same confusion as he tried to glean some information from what was being said. There had to be an answer within the pile of questions being formed between the three of them. The crystal coffin made sense, because it was supposedly the mans plan that was supposed to make everything okay. They would have their mother and the three of them would not be apart. The perfect world as he had come to call it, though he didn’t know how close they were to it.

What had left him more confused than before was the mention of death. That Austyn was dying, as soon as tomorrow but he didn’t know what to do with that. His expression looked as torn as he was, but he said nothing. What was there to say and what could he do? Still, there were together and the illusion was enough for now. Lightning struck Eric, burning away the decrepitude that had formed around him returning him to a form of glory. Almost as if he had been reborn somehow, though he didn’t know what that meant.

One dying and two expected to continue the plan. What was he supposed to do? Regardless of what he was supposed to do, Ryan rose to his feet and sighed. Feeling the cold work through him, and come out as a cloud of cooled air. ”That’s a good question.”

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A walking, talking anti-christ in kid-friendly form
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There was one person that Ryan should have expected to approach them and it was his father. Well, his and Lucas’ father. Looking as cold as ever in armor and that mask, the one that hid all facial expressions as if being able to hide emotions offered him power. Enough to protect them but he had the feeling it only protected himself. That was why people wore masks or so he learned from Omega once.  What conversation followed was him telling them that they shouldn’t be here but he didn’t really respond. Little eyes narrowing into a glare at him as if that was enough to make the devil on earth flee.

Lucas knew who Orpheus was but he did not. All he knew was that the guy was someone that his brother trusted, so he allowed that small discretion while watching what happened. A very short exchange which ended with his brother telling their father to leave while stepping behind him. A motion that told him enough, taking on a strong posture to show that no one would get through him, not to Lucas anyhow. He took the hint, turning and walking away as all he could do was try to comfort his brother the best he could. Which felt insubstantial, just a tight hug but it was the best that he could do.

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Lookin for a ride on D-day
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His a game had been brought alright, and he had a feeling CZ was beginning to grow sick of it. One could only ignore an obviously attractive person like himself so long before either denying or accepting. Unless he died. The thought sent a shudder through his body, as if the concept was alien enough to physically reject.  Despite his physical attraction, he also just like the guy as a person. He was smart, skilled and a damn good vigilante from what he could tell. Someone they would be all the poorer for if they lost, so he found himself thinking of ways to avoid that. Luke, Matt, maybe Khaos and maybe even CZ tacked onto the people he wanted to see come out of this.

Luke was nowhere to be seen at the moment but he knew he was likely somewhere, but Matt did eventually show up. Likely tired of the long talks that came with trying to form a united front. Because with all of the people around, he knew that was what they were trying to do. Honestly, he had to wonder what a few humans could do but they had their purposes here.   Whatever purpose that was he couldn’t tell until he heard the sound of his friend saying that he couldn’t do this anymore. That left a few looking at him as if he had said some kind of great blasphemy. Even he realized his mouth had hung ajar slightly, closing it when that realization came about. Not like he needed to make himself look more like a massive dork than he already was.

”You can’t do this?” He echoed the statement, looking more confused than a second ago. As if that were all he needed, he broke from work and pulled a chair out to settled behind Matt, motioning for him to take a sit down. Finding himself one, he also sat down, fingers interlaced and looking intently.  ”Alright then, rap with me.” Not his normal vernacular but his tone suggested he was purely serious with the statement.

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Hope rides alone
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Travis watched Azrael spar silently, fighting a few of what he assumed were vampires. Easily fighting them back and explaining why they needed multiple to even pose a slight challenge to him.  From what he could tell, they stuck to their fictional counterparts in not bearing any real power beyond that of a human. Inhuman perhaps, but not the superhumans that he saw running around the country and making people fear the metahuman race as a whole. Absently he swayed to the side, a vampire impacting the wall beside him and fell to the ground. ”Ouch, that looks like it hurt.” He noted, looking down to the vampire with faux sympathy. Lips curling into a smirk as he turned to back to the one fighting, as if he were suddenly more interested.

He was being watched over by a small group of heroes with Christian themes for their antics, but he wasn’t really interested in them. The Minister was not someone that he wanted to look into, leaving him with the potential of a spar that was very one sided.  Zeke cried out, impressed by the display of  skill in that same spastic manner. Honestly he couldn’t help feeling warmth towards that son of his, if only because he knew he had to protect them more than the others. ”Alrighty Chris, i’m tapping in.”

”Wait what?”

Travis casually flicked the air, sending the vampires mid fight with the young god squad member flying into a wall. He held back, enough not to kill them from how hard the kid had been hitting them. ”Hey short stop! My turn.” he called it, stepping into the middle of things, rolling his shoulders and looking them over.

”You have got to be kidding me.”

The air around Alpha began to ripple before coalescing into a more visible barrier around him. ”Aren’t you a little bored playing around with those small fries? It’s not proper training unless you actually push yourself.” The stance he took was...surprisingly one that suggested a level of training. ”Thought you might want to cut your teeth on something that can fight back.”
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Red like roses
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Amor stepped through with the rest of the wardens, dressed in usual décor of pink. Eyes scanning over those arrayed before them and eventually falling on perhaps the only warden that really caught his interest. Being ordered to fetch the alchemist, as if he were some kind of common pack animal.  His lips curled into a faint frown but he said nothing, taking in the..love radiating within the area. When death was coming, people tended to reflect on those that they cared for and that fear brought about the strongest emotional bonds.

They could not die. Not when they had someone they cared for so deeply. It was something that warmed his heart, and so he pushed aside the faint bitterness for now.  They had important tasks to do, such as saving their charge from a beast that sought to devour it.  ”I hear war is always that ugly.” Amor noted in response to the warden of knowledge’s concerns about destruction.

=====Blood of the Coven is thicker than the waters of the womb....test tube.=====
             Orpheus heard these things transpire. He had so many things to say. So much he needed to fix in such a short time. The world was ending, and he didn't have a choice anymore. He needed to fix this. Here and now. Lucas had spurned his father, sent him away with a mixture of fear and distrust. Orpheus felt empty. He knew that he should feel more fulfilled by this, like he had finally claimed his independence. But he also knew that he was no longer trying to do that. He had long past looked for that. He actually spoke up as Lucius turned, his head hanging low. Lucius instructed him to take care of them. To which the Monster snarled as he stood up. But Lucius had already taken off. Orpheus folded his arms and looked down to Lucas.

             "Lucas. Because I care for you I am obligated to guide you through this...but first. A question." He said, his voice seemed to hum lowly. Blood Tithe looked to him and sighed, shaking his head. "Do you think your mother would have been proud of you just there?" The question might not have been anticipated by one such as Blood Tithe, though some may have found the approach a bit of a "low-blow". Not that Orpheus really cared. Nothing was beyond his regiment to fix this mess.

             "Lucas, I know that more than anything else you're afraid. I know why you pushed him away. After all I was made..." He began to speak as he looked and remembered the youngest Ryan there. He sighed heavily and looked to Lucas. "I have no time for being gentle in this matter. If Lucius did not care about you, I wouldn't be so dead set on protecting you. Helping you. If I were truly "free" then I'd have been free of all things. Including my love for my sons. But I am not. I've seen the error in how we do things. I've burned so many bridges that only now I'm beginning to rebuild. I've isolated myself, and pushed everyone away. I cannot control everyone else. They can hurt me. They can be unpredictable. Even to a mind like ours. Your mother was the one who always forgave. She was practical, she never forgot and expected people to disappoint her. But somehow, she always had a...grace about her. Which is how I know you are not Lucius, and you are not me. That being said..." Orpheus went on this long rant of his own accord as he handed Lucas some tools and selected the most fitting ones. He continued to work on his device. His work was not compromised, in fact it was quite...fortified by his conversation.

             "You owe it...not to Lucius, but to yourself, to hear him out. You've spent so much time thinking and fearing the Synthesis that you're even willing to isolate yourself from others. You're trading one version of synthesis for another. If I can change...from trying to murder everyone and everything Lucius loved and cared for. If I was truly the incarnation of his sins...and I've loved you so much I lay down my life, I forsake all other alliance, and I think only of helping my precious sons, and my heart, the heart of the blackest part of Lucius Alba shattered when he hadn't been there to save his daughter. When I failed to save her. Look, you get what I'm saying Lucas. I did this, so your father obviously can do the same. Silus gave us hope. But you've given me purpose. Given HIM purpose. I look at you and all I can see is how proud of you I should be. How sorry I am and how much your mother would have wanted to be here. I suppose she is here though. She was the only one who was brave enough to stand up to the Devil on Earth, but the only one bold enough to forgive him and just crazy enough to love him. You need to talk with him, and you need to let go of this burden before it taints your heart. It will. I can promise you that." Orpheus had taken all of his tools away and dropped them to the floor. He turned and looked to Ryan and sighed, squatting down. He'd probably scared and confused the poor child. Though he did have Alpha and Lucius' minds. Maybe he put it together. It wasn't that far of a stretch really.

             "AND YOU! Little cinnamon roll-looking thing." Orpheus said as he pointed to Ryan. "Do not think for a moment that either of your parents don't wonder and worry about your safety. But I have a special job for you. I need you to be strong for Lucas. Okay? I see you there hiding behind him, but don't forget. That's part of being family. We hide behind each other, even if you're younger than him. I once hid behind an 11 year old because I was scared. Look at this ugly mug, there was something scarier than this and I hid behind someone just as small as you. Maybe smaller! So don't think for a second that you can't be strong, even if he doesn't hide. You can stand right next to him. A perilous journey shared is but a pleasant travel- or in our family it's simply called 'vacation'." He said as he stood up. Then he stretched his back out a little, twisting and turning a bit as he looked to Lucas and Ryan, a smile on his face behind the mask. He sighed, realizing it wasn't in his heart or soul to be child-friendly. He honestly had the desire to just verbally destroy them and dismantle them on a psychological level. He chuckled as he remembered what that eleven year old reminded him. A monster doesn't choose to be more than it is. That aspiration is man's and man's alone. He looked, wanting to hug his children.

But they were not his to hug.

"Lucas. Take care of that thing I gave you. So long as you have that..." He advised, recalling that when he "left something behind" the small locket that he placed in the boy's hand. You're never alone. The voice of Orpheus echoed inside Lucas' mind. Orpheus nodded and returned to his work. The connection worked both ways if needed, though it was a permissive thing, if one didn't desire an intrusion they could simply think of something else.

              He couldn't tell you for certain that Lucas would go find Lucius. He couldn't anticipare if he would stay here and argue or have a thousand questions to ask. Orpheus just wanted to have this fixed, because he was unfortunately aware of something about today that others were not so aware of. Time was running out for them. One way, or another. The Black Beast was coming, and if not him then someone else, and he was at risk of losing Lucas forever.

-She would be proud of you by the way. He would attempt to send the message regardless of how Lucas acted in response. He just hoped that Lucas didn't lose his way.

=====The Pagan Trinity=====
             Austyn smiled as he watched Eric break free. He half expected Eric to blow him away with a flash of lightning. he partially hoped that Eric would have. But now was not the time. He had much to do yet, anticipating Jeremy's return. He coughed a little, as he looked to Ryan. He had arrived and Austyn smiled widely, he went to hug his brothers but then froze up and recoiled, his eyes flickering a small bit.
"Ryan, Samhain will hold true to incorporating our desire with the Crystal Coffin alongside his own. He needs The Author to help him weave the story fluidly. He needs Orpheus or Lucius to erode the shackles around it. He needs Azrael's blade to ensure that the immortal they place in the coffin dies. Michael Atterrius is needed because he has ties to the abyss, and would be useful in summoning a being they need to secure their victory. Ryan, your happiness is what Samhain needs. If you're happy, Lucifer is happy. That's the whole reason for Samhain doing any of this. He needs something else though. He needs "A child born of shame" and a "spawn of chaos". he says that those will both be here tonight. He's going to abduct them before the battle happens. He's rushing The Crystal Coffin because it's powerful enough to completely repel the threat at hand, forever." Austyn's explanation was thorough and he was sure to incorporate everything he knew at the moment. THere were so many secrets Samhain kept, such as how and why Dante Amuri became Dante Alighieri, and why he suddenly utilized hellish magics. Or what the deal was with him and the human guy.

"I have no access to either of these things, nor do I know anyone remotely close to those descriptions." He said as he looked about, then seemed to scan the crowd, mumbling in a voice that was not his own, the eyes glittering as they identified people with curled lips. Suddenly he was brought back to his right mind. He had hoped that Ryan or Eric may have known people such as these, because truthfully none of them counted towards either of those.

=====A Calculated Risk=====
             "Tarot is the only metahuman we allow to remain unshackled because before he was a metahuman he was my predecessors son. He may manipulate us, this is true. But what I know isn't a manipulation was that the last time an Agent disregarded Tarots readings it cost us two thirds of our agents. Over ten thousand lives. In five seconds." The Director said as he sighed. He held a hand up and stopped Daniel from continuing on about the concept of evolution though his watch buzzing was what seemed to be more alarming here. Director Williams brushed off the fact Subject:Jolt had escaped confinement.

             "Agent Daniels. Subject:Jolt is not going anywhere. Besides his siblings are there. We can deploy Gizmo if he refuses to comply with a new shackle. It's far more important that you hear me. What I say here." He looked to his forensics director and contemplated his words. It was a rare sight to see Jamison mull over his words, but whenever he did it was a given that you were to examine them carefully. "If the opportunity arises to deal with Lucius Alba, you are allowed to go off chain. You will, however, also be responsible for ensuring the events that would come next are completed. If Lucius were to slaughter an orphanage of crippled children, you will be responsible for doing so. If he can be "dealt with" in a way that his interactions with Subject:Zero are already completed...then there will be no need to worry about following through, as his purpose has been fulfilled. I am not saying you should not use this opportunity. I'm saying be very discerning. If a man they call a Godslayer was responsible for the death of over ten thousand because he was too quick to pull the trigger...I would hate to see that happen again. All because you, like I, am too quick to challenge something we don't yet full understand."

             "Authorization Omega Magnum Gestalt. Agent Gizmo." Williams said as he cleared his throat. He turned and walked to his chair, reaching down and taking a small glass of water to his lips.

             "Yes Director?" A disembodied voice came, suddenly the cloaking mechanism shifted and the seven foot tall off-shot biomechanical clone phased into the office.

             "Forensics Director; Codename: Agent Psych; Michael Daniels is Authorized to issue commands, warrants and SCP orders. You will follow them as if they were my own. You will not fail him. If an order he gives contradicts any standing orders I have given you, follow them and consult me within ten seconds time." The orders were given and Gizmo turned to Daniels, it's eyes fixated behind it's shades as it analyzed all of it's features. Then it stood upright and looked to Agent Daniels.

             "On your orders, Director Psych."

=====A Dark One's Fate=====
             Ares smirked and allowed himself to fade from view, and before long his little assistants followed suit. Slayerbane, then a few others. All that was left was a small black puddle that faded, only for them all to appear on the other end of the camp, sectioned away. He would have taken them somewhere Raziel couldn't find them, but that was...problematic at the moment. He sighed and crossed his arms, a slightly wicked smirk flashing at Axel for a moment. He was going to ruin everything... and he was going to love doing it.

=====Hide and Seek=====
             Michael would watch Pup, Jack and Shael take off, searching for this Humanity figure. Granted they would all end up not too far away. Michael was just ending up outside and around a building where Jordan was meditating. His breathing was shallow, incredibly shallow in fact. One would have honestly thought he was dead, for the sheer fact it was a deep inhale and then a slow exhale spanning out for up to three minutes at a slow enough speed that you couldn't hear it. Jordan's eye popped open and he growled a little as he saw Michael standing there. He flashed a smile before closing his eye again, certain that Mike would speak whenever he was ready.

=====Built to Fall=====
             Every vigilante was enraptured by what they heard. The very thing that he used to beat them for in training for saying, and here he outright said it. They'd never heard it before and never thought they would hear it. Not from this source at least. He acted so calm, he had it all together all the time. Now he was suddenly wearing down at the seams, just when the world needed him most. Humanity chuckle as he heard Pat say "rap with me". That was actually a statement his father used quite a bit when Matthew struggled...the few times his father was around to see it.

             "I can't do this, Charlatan. His family is here. I can't even look at them. I pissed Drifter off, because I wanted someone I could trust in Ancillary. He apparently doesn't like that idea. Citizen Zero you're moving to Ancillary as well. Khaos and X are in Secondary. I need people I can trust watching my back. I'm surrounded by bastard's I've done nothing but hurt. I need people to keep me in the loop and keep me informed." Humanity said as he dished out orders. THis was a response everyone sort of expected. He wasn't going to deal with his feelings or his woes and worries, so he would dish out orders and explanations. Bury himself alive in his work.

             "We are NOT going to let you go onto the front line of a goddamn planet destroying monster. That's like DIck Grayson thinking he can take on Trigon. He can't. There is literally no reason at all for you to be there." Khaos said, obviously having pieced everything together just by the orders given. Humanity looked over his shoulder, giving a deathly glare to one of his oldest allies. Khaos didn't even bat an eye, folding his arms.

             "I mean, no one is expecting to-Ooohkay. Yeah. Getting back to work." X began but then when the glare hit him his heart raced as fear overtook him. He stammered and excused himself as Citizen Zero patted Humanity on the hood before going off with X. Khaos just scoffed and followed suit. He figured perhaps the new vigilante would have a better chance than he would.

             "I can't even stay two steps ahead of The Black King. People I care for are dying or pushing me away. My family is here, adding insult to injury. I'm down to relying on others that want me dead, like Orwell. Savior is nowhere to be found, I thought I could rely on him for that much. He went through all that trouble to recreate Azrael...not to mention now your and Luke's little buddy in there is all dressed up as Azrael too. God fuck my life." He said as he placed both his hands over his mask. This was oddly enough the most human Humanity has ever been, for just a hair of a second the line between the mask and the man was so thinly veiled. There were obviously things going on he wasn't mentioning. Like the fact he had three sons present, and no matter all his "friends" that he reached out to, no one came. He was half convinced that the only reason the vigilantes were there was because they were ordered, or didn't want to spend their last two days on earth stuck in stasis.

             "I'm undefeated. I'm unbreakable but somehow I'm so goddamn powerless. I can't keep the ones I love, no matter what I do. I tried to get out of this whole vigilante thing, to have time to be with them...turns out half of them were doing this anyway." He said as he looked off to the distance a bit. The minister was walking with a dark red haired young man, no older than fourteen or fifteen as they laughed with a much taller and thicker man with tanned skin and black hair. Thick glasses gave a more tan resemblance to Humanity when his mask was off. It didn't take a rocket scientist for Pat to figure out that his family was the God-Squad on campus.

  You already have everything you need. You’ll rise up on your own and you’ll make it alone. You’ve got everything you need to survive. Just the flesh and blood, You know what you’re made of. But this hunger keeps you alive. There is not a foe that can stand, not a mountain or man. There’s not a soul we won’t vanquish, if we aren’t given the chance.

  Matthew’s hair stood up on the back of his neck, his thoughts were so different than they normally were. He was having an emotional roller coaster. He seemed sad and almost broken externally, but the raging confliction inside was the true problem. Hot raging and violent then cold and helpless to crack through everything he once was. His thoughts went to Chelle, to Cas and to Asmodeus. He thought of his brothers and then he thought of his family, the brothers that were born to him. But that’s when it hit him. A stray thought.

  Hehe...you’re pathetic.

  It was true, he felt his hands grip his knees. He looked to Charlatan and his eyes seemed to grow fixed, determined almost. He wasn’t sure what Charlatan would say to make him feel better. But he’d at least give him the chance. If Charlatan offered him any words of wisdom, he would seem to nod and appreciate them. If Pat were willing to do this for him he would at least let him know it was appreciated and being listened to. But he knew the truth. He was pathetic. He was a loser. Humanity was a monster and the fragment of a man inside was dying. Starved and suffocated. The man that these people all became friends with. The one that loved to see them, and loved to be with them. It was all backwards. But they didn’t need to know that.

  “Charlatan...Can you go find Drifter for me? I’ll reach out to him soon but...I don’t want him to feel like he’s alone in this. I love him, I love you. I’m the shittiest friend. I know he’s suffering, I know he’s breaking and yet I’m sitting here and moping about my own issues. I’m trying to do it alone too...I need to be more honest. More transparent. I Will be...but for now, I need you to go be the friend I failed to be. I need you to go be the best version of yourself. I need you to go be Pat, and I need you to be that for Luke. I need to...I need to face my own demons.” He said. He didn’t really care what Pat had to say at that point. He seemed resolved, determined more now than ever. Khaos and X were watching, both flashed Charlatan thumbs up, as if he had just accomplished a great deal by firing Humanity up again.

  “Daaaamn hombre. You really are a Charlatan. We thought you were just a pretty face with some gag gifts. You’re an inspirational figure and a decent person too. Wouldn’t have thought that in this group.” Ashtyn said as he laughed. X shot a glare at the young man before looking back to Charlatan and chuckling. Citizen Zero popped back up for a moment as he seemed to pull out a laptop and clear his throat.

  “Uh, which one of you just tried to upload Humanity’s name through an A.I to the internet in the form of private messages? Then tried to get around the firewall by puncturing it with several smaller messages that contained similar trigger-words but had no actual meaning? Then tried to burrow through the dark web to deliver the exact same messages? Aaaand Guilty Spark Imma need help here. This person is a fuck ton better at pre-scripting hacking protocol. I’d swear it was Orwell, but Orwell doesn’t know Humanity’s name.” Citizen Zero asked as he began to continue working on spot-of-the-moment improvisions to the wall. But he wasn’t an Orwell or a Drifter. Hell he wasn’t even Vigilante level of proficient. Guilty Spark arrived, Bolt not very long after him. The machine began to take the computer in hand and typed. His status as a living machine wasn’t publicly known, and so it continued to give off the illusion of being a man in a suit. If not just to keep Bolt guessing.

  “-Ey! It’s a Bolt! Bolt, Charlatan. Charlatan, Bolt!” Khaos said as he introduced his two friends to one and other.

=====Accidental Reveal=====
  Humanity continued to walk on his way, it wasn’t long before he was bumped into by Shael, who seemed to be smelling around. He knew it was Shael because of how a small human boy was now sniffing his legs. Humanity stopped and pulled his leg back.

  “Yes, this entirely normal. You never truly know someone until you sniff their crotch. Get up, Shael.” Humanity sighed as he
reached down and pulled Shael up, brushing the front of him off. He sighed, though he honestly had missed his little friend, though he didn’t quite miss the obvious infatuation with him. That he could do without. It wasn’t long before Pup looked to Shael, Jack seemed to freeze up looking at Humanity and his eyes drifted towards his feet.

  “Dude, you know Humanity?” Pup asked, though as Humanity looked to Jack he sort of side stepped a little, as if trying to discreetly remove himself from the villain’s gaze. Humanity only chuckled, looking back to Pup.

  “He fought with his mother over which one of them was going to be my mate. Spoiler alert, it doesn’t matter who won.” He chuckled, but when he heard his own voice he looked to Shael and the color drained from his entire body. He had completely forgotten the fact Shael didn’t even know who he was. Shael was ditzy and a little slow, but there was really only one person he ever fought his mother over. Humanity cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. He was hoping that Shael maybe missed it.

  “Oh, speaking of. I hear Shael Atterrius has the best nose when it comes to hunting people down. You for hire, little buddy?” Humanity asked, squatting down and hoping to steer and command the conversation before it got out of hand.

=====The Dark Souls=====
  The Dark Traveler would find Humanity. Humanity was standing in a room with Ares, a new being had appeared, the one known as Samhain. He was giving instructions it would appear. Everyone seemed to be understanding the plan so far, though the being known as Axel seemed to be patting the youngest Nephilim on the shoulder, offering insight as needed. It was humorous how Ares had his second in command acting as a bodyguard. Humanity being there, however was not something The Dark Traveler had probably anticipated.
  Humanity’s head rose and he turned slowly as his mask revealed to be a horrific smile with jagged and broken off areas around the mouth, leaving a fragmented smile of teeth. The eye sockets were entirely black and his head turned to the side.

  “Oh? You can see me? I can see you too...” The man said as their body began to vibrate, the flesh and blood of the human skin blistered as black blood pooled out, the bones violently cracking as it’[s spine extended, a canine like skull appearing over and jutting outwards as it grew to be over seven foot tall. The skull fractured and shattered, leaving the fragments to float on the left side of its face, the entire area of the head removed from beneath the bone as well. Darkness wreathed itself around this being as the entire world seemed to turn black and white, like an old time photo. The the color drained from it as it turned the saturation and contrast up, turning it into harsh black lines that moved like a rorschach test. The being seemed to be wearing a lab coat, a wolf like skull as a face mask with another eerie mask beneath it, a smile and cracked face plate. It chuckled as it tented it’s fingers before itself, tapping the bony claws with animal heads protruding from the knuckles.

 

"Oh what have we here? Look at you. Such a shattered, blackened soul. You're broken...like HIM. You've taken the Darkness inside, like me. It makes me wonder, why have you come here? Are you HIS child, or are you MINE? Why are you here? I can see you are not meant to be. I see you for the charlatan you are. Taking the darkness, pretending to be part of it. Serving a broken mind. You came seeking for an answer. A way to change it all, and I have good news. I have the answer."

The voice came, but it echoed. As if the entire area around them were a room, hollow and empty. It’s voice changing between a variety of noises. Many different voices, all of them tied to the person that they pretended to be just moments ago. Different ages, different personas and different demons that lay within. The creature seemed to possess some greater knowledge of the entire situation at hand as it promised the answers to what The Dark Traveler wished. The wolf bones cracked and shattered small white pupils resonated, as they appeared in the darkness of the eye sockets. The smile cracking as the mask seemed to not withstand the reverberations of the creature cackling like.
  [blur]Though what the creature spoke of, whom they spoke of was undefined. It seemed to be a blanket statement with an overarching theme designed for multiple people. Perhaps it was just playing mind games, perhaps the lab-coated shattered smiling freak had a purpose here. It was not likely a good one, if there had ever been one. The creature just laughed and laughed as the world seemed to shift back into the setting of an old film. It seemed to drain all the color away from the world, the only beings of color were The Dark Traveler and the looming form of Doctor Hayse.

=====Stopping a God and a Devil=====
  A Rift opened before Cas, and a man in a black robe with a blood red, deep purple and an abyssal blue Eth sign appeared, the skull and the glowing mark of Yamm still in it’s eye as it looked to Cas. It stood in an unthreatening manner but pointed to Cas and to Asmodeus, whom had followed in pursuit. Cas had perhaps taken too much from what Asmodeus had said, as the Prince of Hell was now in hot pursuit with the intent to solve this problem. One way or another. The Disciple had his pinki trained on Asmodeus and his forefinger pointed to Cas.

  “Casmaudius, Asmodeus. You will serve our master.” That was all it said. It didn’t do anything else. It just stood there. Eventually it lowered it’s hand and placed it behind it’s back. Then it just stood there with a portal behind it, stepping off to the side and allowing them to enter of their own will. Granted it seemed to completely discount the fact that they could just...not enter.

=====Adventures of Alpha and Azrael=====
  Azrael watched as the barrier was formed and the stance of a half-competent combatant was offered up. The vampires may not have been as fast as the Twilight variants, but their strength was comparable to the elders of most other races. They were not to be underestimated. But this telekinetic eemed to desire a fight. Zeke sat with a gulp, the pressure of seeing his father figure and his friend go head to head was making his hands go to his head. His hands then grabbing at his hair and pulling as he started to hyperventilate a bit. He wasn’t adverse to Alpha at all, quite the contrary he enjoyed Alpha, Alpha even tried to help him when he had nothing to offer their entire family. When he was a nobody, Alpha tried to help him anyway. But Azrael was the same way, he saw Zeke as a person when others didn’t see him as anything other than a weird kid who spazzed out a lot. Now he was going to watch his insanely powerful father beat the shit out of his thirteen year old friend.

  “G’nyah! Jesus Christ man!” He whispered as he pulled out. Azrael nodded and focused his power. He was making a basic attack as he ran and started with a punch to the barrier and then backing up with a aerial kick twisting around. His mind perceiving every blow, the percussive kinetic force, all while seeing the vibration of any parts of the barrier. It was a simple tactic really, but one that none had ever truly thought to use. What do ya know? Being part of that evil asshole had its perks.

=====Forces Unknown=====
  It wasn’t long before a lone man descended from the air and landed. His body was glowing with what appeared to be a black-light kind of glow. His eyes glowing an off grey in color before he scanned the area. He looked upon the world with a new gaze, but he was not new. He was far from new. He turned his head to all directions as he felt the energy of darkness looming. So many here that would fuel his power. Power he called from within, power that he called from his master, and his master’s other.

He looked as a being stepped from the darkness, a shadow made man as the wrapped cloth around his face covered him. Espada, the son of the Shadow King and the Agent of Darkness. It hadn’t taken too long before they were joined by another. A person with blonde hair and street clothes, a young man with not a care in the world but the book he read. The final piece to the puzzle came together quite soon, but it was a puzzle that hadn’t even been seen yet. There was a young man and a teenager sitting by a group of vigilantes. One of them shared many features with their adoptive brother, save for off colored eyes. The brother of Citizen Zero arrived and took a seat by his brother, pestering him about why he was deciding to play dress up. In the meantime an older figure approached as he seemed to be looking for his mask, though the dopey grin told you enough as they put their baseball cap on and slid around the place with the roller blades in their shoes.

“Find the Wardens who would oppose us. Eliminate them. Devour them. Corrupt them. Keep them away from our Precious cargo. Secure our Precious Cargo and ensure he goes exactly where he was ordained to. Bring Kid Khaos to meet with his ancestors. Activate his Red-Energy signature with your power, Dio’Val. Eyes open for Solomon and his crew. Espada, ensure every person of interest dies here. I will ensure that vessel is prepared to fulfill his obligation. I will also prepare a sacrifice. Go. Hail Victory. Hail The Void. Hail Eros.”

=====Parallels that intersect=====
   The woman listened as Drifter recited what he knew about Humanity. She actually felt her heart ache as he described the kind of person that he was. It gave her a sense of dread, a sense of failure as she heard that her child was exactly who he was supposed to be, and that he was not part of their family anymore. He would always be her son, but he had no place in this family. Not because it was deemed that, but because of his rejection of their family and the values they held. She listened to how Drifter said that he once wanted to be like Matthew, and this made her feel almost proud of her son. But there was a very steep price to having words like that spoken of a child you've already mourned as gone. She reached out hesitantly and placed a hand on the young man's shoulder. She had no idea what she had done to invoke the wrath of the one teleporting being, but this person she was talking with now. They seemed more human.

     "You know. I’m going to tell you this. He would probably think of killing me but...Matty had these two friends he used to talk with. For hours upon hours on end. He eventually started calling these total strangers his brothers. His father and I were both...we’ll say shocked. Because we had never even met these two, and he was so adamant that these two were just as close to him as his own flesh and blood. He even started saving money out of his checks in a secret account hat we didn’t have access to. Just in case he needed to go get one of them from across the states. That happened because his friend went homeless for a while. He cried and cried as he couldn’t help them. I had never met these people before. But I knew that I could trust Matty. I could trust his judge of character. His father, on the other hand." She said with a sigh. She could acknowledge that it wasn’t simply his father that drove her son away. It wasn’t just her eldest son, or even the youngest. She had to come to terms with the fact that she had her hand in it as well. “So I ask him. I said ‘Matthew, why are you so set on helping these people? I know you say they’re your brothers...but if you put half as much time into your actual brothers as you do these kids on the internet, you’d be perfectly happy with the brothers you were given.’ Now I didn’t mean it to be a bitch, but I definitely came across as a bitch.”

“After a long moment he nods at me and he looks to me and he almost seemed so sad. He said ‘Yeah mom. That’s true. But you got one thing wrong. I’m not helping them. I can’t help them. Just like I can’t help Zack, or CJ. They’re helping me.’ I didn’t realize what an impact those kids had on him until he said that. I should have been more vocal. His father got angry the one day. They had an argument and we needed Matty to help us take down a human trafficking ring. He didn’t have any special powers, but he had the greatest gift of us all. His compassion, his Empathy. He was always my sweet boy. He watched out for us, he scanned every screen with anticipation, he watched every camera and analyzed every piece of footage to help give us any advantage. So naturally his older brother wanted to put him behind the cameras, where it was safest. Now Zack is a...dutiful son. He’s more like a soldier, but he prefers to give orders. His father encourages this. Zack and my husband were only thinking of his safety. They didn’t see how caged he felt. How useless he felt. They made him feel that way, but I failed him by not letting him know just how much he was loved. How much he was needed. Appreciated. I just wanted him safe. I promise this has a lesson in it for you. Keep with a woman while she rants. I’ll repay the favor. I’m good for it.” She assured Luke for a moment as she wiped her eyes and offered a small chuckle. She cleared her throat and looked down to her phone, her background was a picture of her three sons all together. They seemed like they were having fun. But Matthew looked so different. There was a lie in his smile. She could see it, but it was the only picture she had.

   “Zack told Matthew to get behind the desk and watch from the monitors and let the heroes do their job while Matthew did his job. Matthew did his job perfectly, he complained the whole 9 yards and then an extra 20. But I understood. But I was silent, I didn’t say anything because it was easier. I was a coward and a terrible mother who didn’t want to cost these young women their lives or freedom on a small choice of phrase. So Matthew saw something happening. He saw Zack was going to capture the leader of this scheme, but he also saw that women were being taken into a room. They were going to burn the alive, destroy the evidence and possibly even us with it. Matthew purposefully led Zack the wrong way so that he would encounter this, and put a stop to it. Afterwards instead of thanking Matthew, Zack began to yell at him, telling him that his place on the team was useless. That was the first time I ever slapped my son. My husband stated that Matthew did the right thing but should have had more faith. I was appalled. I yelled at my husband, but when I turned to look, Matthew had already run. We made it home and he was silent. He vowed to never work alongside us again. I can’t blame him. But you see, he eventually went on and did what he felt called to do. He did everything I dreamed for him and more. I kept my distance, hoping that with enough time he might miss us. But instead he faked his death and was taken from us. The next time I saw him, my sweet boy was gone. There was just...Humanity in his stead. I knew it was him because after he intercepted us from stopping a terrorist, he incapacitated his father and brothers. Then he proceeded to kill the terrorists and the preacher who was willing to shelter their operations. I asked him how he could kill in cold blood. He responded to me in a bible verse. Romans 9:3. ‘For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race’. Then he walked away. I lost my baby to this world. I know I’m at fault. But I suppose what this lesson is to prove to you...” She said, summarizing everything she had said into one thematic lesson. Mostly because it was as if she didn’t expect him to actually pay attention for as long as she ranted. She didn’t blame him, it wasn’t as if he were likely even invested in her story.

   “It doesn’t matter how far we go into darkness. There is a light inside of us. It’s when we cry, when we ache and when we feel pain that we realize that we are crying out because something is wrong. I trust my son. If Humanity is willing to have you by his side then there must truly be none other that he trusts greater than you. There must be none other that he values like you. Perhaps he believes that he could give his soul to save you, as part of his people. Or perhaps you’re still an attachment to the man inside the monster. Maybe he wants to save you, because he feels you’ve saved him. I’ve only known you long enough to rant at you with an old woman’s story, but I can tell you that you are a good boy. You’re not done. You’ve only just begun. You’re a caterpillar who roamed the world and woke to find yourself trapped in a cocoon. Once a wide open world not a trapped place without escape. But I promise you, what come next...it’s something God alone can see. But I can imagine that with wings you’ll soar.” She said, giving an end to her little rant. She cleared her throat and let out a sigh. She felt somewhat better. She hoped that somehow, some way she could have helped this stranger.

   There was no rhyme nor reason for these two meeting other than her desiring to know how her son had been. She wasn’t even able to see him before Victor was practically “forcibly adopted” by her husband. Had it not been for the love of Christ, she would have had serious issues dealing with her husband. In fact she did have serious issues. He was just very lucky she loved him through it.

   “Ok. Your turn. Throw the old lady through the ringer.” She said with a slight smile and a sniffle. She wasn’t actually that old, but the fact she referred to herself as old was more in how she felt, not how old she actually was.[/color]

Teardrops hit the metal floor of Drifter's van. The young man producing them in such a large quantity was inconsolable. Try as he might to get a hold of himself, his outpouring of emotion only got worse. He held his head in his hands, heaving quickly and heavily. His heart raced, and it was like all the world had condensed into the small space in front of him. His pupils dilated. He looked like he might bolt, or perhaps attack the woman in front of him. Anyone could see he was terrified, but the cause was not apparent. He'd seen actual supernatural beings—basically ghosts—yet it was now, in front of a harmless woman, that he felt panic consume him.

Combined with the copious amount of alcohol he had already consumed, the panic attack blurred his vision. It did not, however, inhibit his ability to hear what Matt's Mom was telling him. Drifter was listening intently, in fact. Even though his attacks were horrible, and usually made him want to die, they did allow a certain focus. It was some version of the fight or flight response, Drifter was sure, but it wasn't being used for action, but rather processing power. He was listening to every word the woman said, making as many connections as he could. He needed to figure this out.

See, Luke didn't even know why he was panicking. He was sure there was a reason—there always was—but it eluded him in the moment. It obviously had something to do with Humanity, with his own anxieties, and the situation he was in, but he couldn't quite pinpoint it. That's why he didn't interrupt the woman in any way. He just listened, panting to himself softly. He'd settled himself down from his attacks many times before, so this wouldn't be difficult.

After a few minutes, Drifter still looked both distraught and drunk, but at the very least he wasn't convulsing in terror in his chair. The woman had finished telling him a story about Matt. It was a bit confusing, considering Luke did not have much information on his brother's family, but he managed to fill in enough blanks to understand the lesson this woman was trying to get across.

She was kind. Luke could see that on her face, and in her demeanor. After crying for what seemed like an eternity, he finally cracked a smile once she finished her rant. This woman reminded him of his own mother. Ever-loving, and ever-forgiving, with a glowing optimism despite the world's hardships. It was almost funny with how naive it seemed, though Luke could tell it wasn't.

"He always said that..... Always said I helped him more than he helped me. I'm sure he was being honest, but I don't know how truthful that is. I couldn't even get my own shit straight enough to stop drinking. How could someone like that help anyone?" Luke said, sipping off his bottle again. The burn felt good. It warmed him—let him forget his troubles. Yeah, it was a vice, and it might one day kill him if the end of the world was avoided, but he didn't know if he could stop—at least not today.

"You seem like a nice lady.... And I know that you're right about us all having good inside us no matter what, but that doesn't mean you're right about me. I'm not good enough. Not good enough to be here, not good enough to be the man I want to be, not good enough to be a vigilante, and not good enough to stand by Matt's side. I'm not even sure I'm good enough to be his friend, let alone his brother. I'll always let him down. I don't have what it takes—I don't have the will!" Luke threw his bottle of alcohol at the van's wall, causing it to shatter and spill everywhere. He broke eye contact with the woman, not wanting to shame himself by letting her see inside while he was like this

"I see it in him everyday. His soul blackening. I see his faith fading. It might even be gone now. I stand by what I said—he's a good man—but we're losing him. I'm losing the guy that saved me from falling into the abyss to that very same darkness, and I can't save him. I can't do for him what he's done for me so many times, especially since he seems to not want me involved in any of it. So, I get to sit on the sidelines and watch the world burn, or worse, watch my friend turn into a monster." Luke turned in his chair, his back to the woman. He was trying to articulate this despite being inebriated, but he was having trouble.

"It's so tempting..... I've given into it myself plenty of times, which is why I know I can't help him. If I tried, I'd just be pulled in too. When you see the world as it truly is—corrupt, evil, and indifferent to the suffering of humanity—it seems so appropriate to do what Matt's doing. It seems right to try to force it to your whim no matter what, even if it means sacrificing your soul. It's so easy to be like Lucius Alba—to be a devil. Our rage at the world, and our very proper rage, constantly oversteps itself. We lose so much innocence to self righteousness. Hell, that's why I started this. I got sick of the way the world was, and I was willing to kill people, force my will upon them, and torture them, despite knowing it was all wrong. I proclaimed myself some God, trying to keep all the injustice of humanity in line...... And then I found I was even less happy than before, less fulfilled than before, and the world was no better." Luke was pausing quite a bit as he spoke. Maybe it was the drink slowing him down, or maybe it was the fact he didn't quite know what he was talking about, but he continued speaking nonetheless.

"See, corrupting yourself to purify humanity doesn't work. There's always going to be darkness, and it can't be done away with by using more darkness. You just end up snuffing out your light. I wish I could tell him that, but I know all too well that the lure of rage fueled vengeance—the lure of wanting to put things in perfect order, no matter how much chaos must be created in the process. I don't even think I can resist it myself, let alone help him out of it. Besides, he doesn't want my help, anyway," Luke said, picking up another bottle from the floor. The Dark Traveler had left enough alcohol to kill an elephant, so the vigilante was taking advantage. He pulled out a bottle of pills from a compartment in his van as well, giving them a shake before uncapping them.

"Anyway, thanks for the talk, but you're wrong about me. I can't illuminate the world without falling victim to temptation, and I can't save my friend. I can't do anything, really. Even if this whole Black Beast thing gets resolved, there is no forward from here. I'm losing one of the only beacons of hope I had—he's pushing me away, and going ever-deeper into blackness. So, Miss May, please excuse me while I give up." Luke poured a pile of pills into his hand. It seemed he was done talking.

__________________

Lucius wanted to go back with every step. He wanted to talk some sense into his sons, and he wanted to tell them he was sorry. The dictator was exposed. Sure, on the outside he still looked as normal as ever. He walked with that sophisticated galt, chin up and back straight, but in his head he wanted to run for the hills. For the first time in awhile, he felt vulnerable. There were very few that could make Lucius feel that way, and unfortunately Lucas was one of them.

The Prime Minister looked around at everyone. They were hustling, bustling, and getting ready. Whether they knew it or not, their urgency had picked up. They were more on edge now. Where everyone seemed to be enjoying each other's company when he had first arrived, now they seemed more like the militaristic fighting force they needed to be.

Lucius just hoped their determination wouldn't be in vain.

Not knowing what else to do, Red tended to his duties as Strategist. He walked about what would soon become the battlefield, giving orders and encouraging people. Some knew exactly what they were doing, but others seemed aimless or fearful. He set who he could at ease, and gave everyone who didn't seem to be doing anything jobs. It didn't matter if they were small, weak, powerful, or Godly, everyone had to be doing their part.

While Lucius did this, he saw a curious sight: A tall boy, about seventeen, dressed in black from head to toe. He had gothic vibes about him, and not in the way Data did. He looked like he stepped out of the Victorian era in many ways, and in others like he'd just left a Tarot card reading. Regardless, Lucius knew this particular style, just like he knew the person.

"So you decided not to stay dead, Ren?" Lucius asked, cocking a smile under his mask. He knew this was the same Proxy of Death as the one he met in that alternate universe. He'd done plenty of research on him, and learned from what sources he could that Mr. Morana seemed to have no doppelgangers in any realm. He was a singular being, with only one version of himself; he wasn't unlike Oblivion itself, which seemed to be a dimension that remained constant across all universes, being connected to none more than any other.

In other words, there was only one Oblivion, and only one Ren.

"I actually didn't have much of a choice in the matter...... Or the universe I spawned in, apparently," Ren said, bowing a little in his usual half-hearted manner. He had a smirk as wide as Lucius' own. Even though they didn't get to know each other THAT well, the two were nonetheless happy to see each other. They embraced briefly, but then it was back to business.

"What are you doing here, anyway? I understand that you just ended up in this universe, but why are you here, specifically? Didn't you hear, boy? The world is ending," Lucius questioned. As the two talked, the sky began to darken. It didn't take long with Ren around to make a place pitch black, and in mere moments the whole of the area would appear as if it were midnight.

"Call it a disturbance in the Death Force. I'm here because something has gone wrong. There's an..... Imbalance, I guess. It dwarfs what I've caused, and I have no clue what that means for this world...... Or any other, for that matter. I'm guessing it's bad, though," Ren said. Despite the seriousness of what he was talking about, he still maintained a half smile. Even though his appearance seemed to contradict it, the goth always seemed to be in a nonchalant, chipper mood.

"......Perfect. More convoluted existential nonsense to worry about. Let's get you to Archon..... We'll if he can make any sense of this," Lucius said. He then lead Ren off in the direction he assumed Archon was still in. Maybe bringing Ren to Zell would do no good, but it always paid to talk to an expert.

"Archon?" Ren asked as he followed the Dictator. Lucius realized in that moment the teen probably had no idea who that was. Red sighed, trying to summarize in the interest of time.

"Seventeen year old me mixed with omniversal Tony Stark, basically," Lucius said, oversimplifying of course, but speaking to Ren in his own nerdy terms was easier than actually explaining what the Archon was.

__________________

Lucas kept his head low as Blood Tithe spoke to him. The comment about his mother was particularly jarring. Lucas knew from what he had heard of his mother that she wouldn't have been proud of that. Like Orpheus said, she was always the better person, and not in the way Lucius was. She could forgive the worst evils, stand up to the most terrifying of devils, and tame the most overwhelming of monsters. She wouldn't have turned her back on Lucius like he just did. The kid that never held grudges was the only one here feeling resentful, even while all these people put their differences aside. The irony was too strong to ignore.

In truth, Lucas knew what he said was wrong; he wouldn't have apologized while sending Lucius away if he didn't. Had he been stronger, or perhaps older, maybe he could have dealt with the encounter, but he was too confused and too hurt in the moment. Despite his brains, Lucas was just a kid, and his behavior reflected that. You couldn't blame him for that.

Luckily, Orpheus wasn't. Despite the blunt start to his lecture, Blood Tithe was simply acting as a guide. He wasn't trying to put guilt on the boy or to force him to do anything, but was instead urging him to be true to himself, and that meant going to Lucius. That meant making things right no matter what.

".....I'm sorry, Orpheus....... You're right," Lucas said, holding his wrist and looking down nervously as he spoke. He felt shame, but knew what needed to be done to resolve it. Orpheus had given him a locket, which seemed to allow a telepathic connection, and then he was off. He'd urge his brother to follow him, but he didn't have to if he didn't want to.

Without another word, Lucas would turned away, looking for his father. He rehearsed a few opening lines in his head as he walked, but he didn't in truth know exactly what he would say. He just had to do this, and to see what happened.

Orpheus sent a telepathic message, making Lucas smile.

She'd be proud of you, too.

__________________


Austyn laid out the plan. It was confusing, to say the least, but Eric just nodded along like he understood. His brother seemed to know what he was doing, so he'd just follow on this one. It couldn't be THAT difficult, right?

Austyn asked about a 'Spawn of Chaos' and a 'Child Born of Shame.' Eric's mind flashed to a few people, but under deeper scrutiny each didn't quite fit the bill. He didn't exactly get a lot of time to get to know any of the people that were here, considering that jerk off vigilante sent him to super prison after about a week of being out of the orphanage. That said, he would offer what he could.

"Child born of shame? Could be the one of Lucius'.... Lucas? Kid seems to have about a million problems, and acts all ashamed to be alive. He could be it, but it's a stretch. Not to mention, Lucius said he'd kill any of us he saw near his kids. Not likely I know, but I'd rather not tango with him again," Eric said, looking off into the crowds as if he were looking for the two people they needed. It wasn't like he could tell just by looking, but he did so anyway out of reflex.

"And I have no Idea about the Spawn of Chaos. That could be anyone here," Eric admitted. He knew he wasn't of much help in this record, but he was trying his best. He earnestly wanted to assist his brothers. If it meant setting things right, he'd do almost anything.


__________________


"I understand, Director," Michael said. He knew why Willaims might want to be cautious here, and he certainly wasn't against that. His contention would have arisen only if the Director absolutely forbid him from making any move against Alba. Thankfully, though, The Godslayer was wiser than that, essentially telling Daniels to wait for the right time and to be careful. That was a given, sure, but it was a stipulation Agent Daniels was willing to accept as an absolute order, even if he would have already done so himself.

The Director muttered off some commands, authorizing Michael for the use of Gizmo. This was surprising, given the conversation they just had, but more so because Willaims barely ever allowed such a thing. It was a showing of a huge amount of trust, even if the Director could override anything Michael did that was deemed too rash. Daniels gave the Director a salute.

"Thank you for your trust, sir. I'll be tending to my unit and the directives you've given it, as well as any opportunities regarding Subject:Horizon," Daniels said, lowing his hand. He then turned to Gizmo, a small smirk on his usually neutral face.

"As for you, Agent Gizmo, follow me."


__________________


Aurelius was given his order, and he was about to carry it out when he saw a certain someone glancing his way. Strange. He hadn't seen Amor in many years before last week, yet now he seemed to be popping up wherever he went. Sure, this was a whole big Warden thing. Everyone was here. That, however, didn't make it seem any less unusual being around his former lover.

"Just going to stare longingly at me, or are you going to come with?" Aurelius said with a smile, walking off to go find Flamel. It would take some time, so there was opportunity to talk along the way, but If Amor opted to say nothing, that was fine too.

Eventually, after searching high and low, the two Wardens would find the elegantly dressed scholar speaking with Oliver Masters, who looked wholly disinterested as he smoked a cigarette.

"And that, my boy, is why it would be rather impractical of me to just give out gold to the poor. A kindness, no doubt, but the long term ramif—bordel de merde!" Flamel said, cutting himself off with a French slur when he saw Amor and Aurelius approaching. He attempted to looked for a place to hide, even reflexively moving behind Oliver in an effort to remain unseen by the two Wardens, but Aurelius had already saw him.

"Nick! My favorite alchemist! How are you doing?" Aurelius said, placing a hand on the old man's shoulder after moving around Gamma. Oliver quickly understood why Nicolas was trying to hide from these two just by seeing Aurelius' demeanor, and essentially slipped away. He had no interest in getting involved in any more uncomfortable conversations or reunions.

Flamel himself just sighed in slight irritation. He'd hoped the Warden's would stay away. He didn't want to have to deal with keeping them in the constant loop they always demanded. They always inserted themselves into things even if they were already under control or if their presence would make things worse. Basically, working with the Wardens was like having to report back to an annoyingly ignorant and rule abiding council, and Flamel had no taste for it.

"Aurelius...... And Amor? You two aren't.... Well, you know," Flamel asked, looking back and forth between the two. It wasn't long ago, at least in Nick's terms, that these two were rebellious lovers messing up the whole Warden system. They'd separated, thankfully, but now they stood next to each other. Flamel raised an eyebrow. That was concerning, to say the least.

"Uh, what? No, NO! We're just, you know, hanging out. Looking for you actually. Amory wants you," Aurelius said, taking his arm off Flamel and putting his arms up defensively at the suggestion him and Amor were seeing each other again. Flamel rolled his eyes, at both the obvious fact that if they weren't together now, they would be soon, and at The Warden of Power summoning him. That guy thought he was way more important than he actually was.

"I figured as much. Has he pulled the stick out yet, or is he still as uptight as last time? I figure thirty years should have loosened him up, but you never know." Flamel started walking in the direction the two Wardens came from as he spoke, assuming that was where Amory was.

"Yeah, no, still a douche." Aurelius said, laughing a little at the word he used. That was a newer one he'd picked up.

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The call of the void
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Teleportation.

No matter how many times he performed it, there was a certain level of discomfort that came with the action itself. Feeling reality slip by, that rush making his stomach feel as if it would flip. Darkness sweeping past him and eventually orienting himself in the space that he wanted to be. The faint brush of something greater, roiling and heaving on the outskirts of the universe. Then he came to where he wanted to be, a small group of people accompanied by Humanity. Why he was with these people was a factor that was beyond understanding but that didn’t matter. There was much he had to do, to say and enact if he wanted to...well stop what he came here to stop. The Black Beast wasn’t an easy thing to defeat, he knew that but then again there were always those that believed they knew better.  Gather up enough power-players and hopefully they would be able to knock back the monster roaring at their doorstep.

A woefully three dimensional school of thought.

Lost in thought, Humanity turned to him and seemed surprised by the fact that he could see him. Masked features contorting, and crackling as they changed.  All other thoughts seemed to fade from his mind, back to the dark corners that they belonged and he just looked to the one that was looking at him now. Shifting along to the world around them, revealing they were not who he had expected. Now begging the question of what was happening. The world itself oriented around this man, shadows leaping and flowing like a fluid. Even color fading away to some unknown whim, leaving the two of them as relative constants within this sensory chaos. Even now he felt the urge to escape, like that of a cornered rabbit despite a small thought that told him he was in no real danger. An impossibility he had come to accept so long ago when he changed beyond the confines of humanity.

In the end however, aside from the multitude of voices speaking, he was told that his journey was fruitless. He was already too late and things were failing. He felt the darkness swirl within him, pupils and sclera fading to black voids within his skull. No light reflected, simply as if nothing were there. He took a few steps back from the being, so many thoughts going through his mind but all of them likely fruitless. His life had become a cavalcade of being unable to stop anything after all.  ”I don’t know who you are or what you’re getting at but time is on my side. ” His form seemed to waver, like vapor in the mid-day sun. Shadows writhing. With it an oddly familiar presence, though there wasn’t many people to experience the sensation. The world around them reverberated along with him, and then all at once his form came back together. The shadows switched, forming something more casual looking, though the mask itself remained.

”So, did you trap me here? Feels that way from what I can tell.” There was a silent threat within his tone, as if he  weren’t inviting

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Living a constant contradiction
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It took Mike a minute or so to hunt down Jordan. Not that he was really having any deep difficulty in doing so, but his mind was a busy thing. Constantly working over the various thoughts that were assailing it and the voice that was a little too critical on him. No matter what he found himself being assailed with his doubts. One last talk with the lover before Armageddon? Not that I imagine he will have anything to say in return.

Do you ever just shut up. He frowned, looking around outside of the building and stepping around a corner to see Jordan meditating.

Don’t think I will. It’s funny when you get all angry i’m still here. Not false, though his displeasure was something that amused the voice even more. A futile, even  pointless gesture really but he didn’t overthink things. After all, he had more important things to worry about than the fact he had a voice in his head. A growl showed the male noticed him, followed by a smile and him closing his eyes again. He returned the smile, joining in the meditative sitting despite how he did not intend to actually join.

His fingers interlaced, inhaling a deep breath as he worked over what he could say. If there was anything that he could say that would somehow calm his own frantic mind. Use your words Casanova. It’s just your brother who is also your boyfriend. How could thoughts sound so condescending?

”Hope you don’t mind if I sit with you. Would say I wanted to talk with you but don’t think you do much talking these days,” He broke the silence, twiddling his fingers and looking around. Was he the only one feeling this awkwardness. ”I know, it’s pretty rich to hear me going to someone to talk to but plenty of firsts lately I guess. I swear i’m not just coming to you because you can’t respond.” He sounded almost nervous really, as if he were trying to convey a thought that weren’t the norm.

”This isn’t the first time we’ve had to deal with the fate of the world...or rather our family. I’m used to at least one of us dying per major conflict, but something tells me that this might be different. I don’t know what it is but it’s one of those...gut feeling things,” How could he convey what that meant? It wasn’t even a thought. Just feelings and sensations he normally didn’t give too much a thought towards. Still here he was trying to tell Jordan. ”I know, confusing but just something that’s been on my mind. Been looking into this Black Beast thing for the past few months, but now that it’s on the horizon it feels all the more...unstoppable. I know dad probably has some grand idea but...”

His words faded, as his expression became more contemplative. ”Don’t know what i’m talking about. Guess I just wanted to...spend time with the person I love, even if that’s just sitting here without any talking.”

Ugh, feel like i’m gonna throw up.


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Tears fall like rain
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He wished he paid more attention when people spoke to him. Ryan always found himself confounded by the dense terminology used around him. Eric and Austyn however seemed less confused, nodding along as if everything being said made perfect sense and he was supposed to as well. Samhain had a plan, however he assumed a lot of it was just metaphor for something else. That was how magic worked, right? The names being mentioned of people needed were there, some even making sense though he tried to hide his disdain for Lucius most of all. Not as if he had any room to judge the metahuman any longer. If anything he was on the opposite end of this spectrum.

What he did understand is that his happiness was needed? ”A child born of shame and a spawn of chaos?” Ryan mused outloud, seeming to fall into deep thought. What could both of those things mean? There had to be a rhyme and reason behind what was being said. He had been trying to...well shed the assumptions about him, working through puzzles fed to him by Mike from time to time. Something to strengthen his seductive reasoning...no deductive. ”A child of shame…maybe they could have been made by someone shameful or in a way that was...shameful.” A small guess from his side of things, but he didn’t know if it would help.

He couldn’t suggest Lucas, or any of Lucius’ remaining children. His mind replayed the last moments of that girl, a sudden sickness filling him. Though at most he would look marginally paler than normal. Nothing to really take note of compared to someone that was cold to begin with. ”Chaos one is a little confusing...don’t know anyone that would fit that.” He admitted, wracking his brain for information about someone that was associated with chaos. Only one person came to mind due to their chaos spouting nature but it couldn't be it.

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Lookin for a ride on D-day
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He was willing to listen, looking to his friend while waiting for some kind of answer to his invitation. Afterall, not like he expected to have his offer pushed off. Well their relationship had a bit of secrets but everyone’s friendships had a few secrets within them.  Not all of them involved being a secret terrorist vigilante that killed people. It came down to someones family being here, Drifter being pissed off and then orders being given to those around them. Well that was not something that he was hoping for, the whole his attempting to help his friend being interrupted by said orders. Not that  his surprisingly serious expression was something that changed despite that.  Except perhaps an annoyed expression, as if he should have expected that but was bothered by it anyway. From these orders barked however he could tell that Matt was planning to fight this monster alone, without any back up. Not that logic really said any more of their human bodies would stop it.

Even still he listened, nodding along as his friend let out what felt like was a deep representation of what he was going through. That Savior guy not being here, though he didn’t know too much about their relationship. Matt seemed to care about that weird villainous figure more than he could comprehend but then again that was his own thing. This was just him allowing himself to be...was vulnerable be the right word? It was hard to tell, especially if this was that or him just reading too deeply into something.

Even still the concept of being unbreakable and undefeated came. Though from where he was standing he had already defeated and broken himself.

Still he sat there, occasionally glancing to anyone else still around but his attention was primarily on the person talking. Little cogs and gears whirring within his head, as if trying to put together the information he would need to form words with. There had to be something that he could say that would somehow help in any small way. At the very least that was what the small portion of him capable of optimism spoke against the raging tide of darker thoughts. Following the others eyes, he noted the people one of which looked rather close to how his friend looked. From there his brain put the pieces together, which meant...well his friend was related to the God Squad somehow. That was what they were called right? He didn’t really know, considering he didn’t keep up with Christian themed metahumans….not even most metahumans in general save for the hot ones.

What could he say? There had to be words that he could produce that would somehow help. Not that existential crisis’ like this were so easily mended because he managed to say something that sounded vaguely wise. In a sense he felt powerless himself, but he couldn’t just let himself fall apart like he assumed everyone else was. ”A lot going on up there. Can’t really fault you there, it’s a trying time with Black beasts coming to destroy the literal universe and whatnot.” Of course, he had to bring up the monumental stakes as if that would help. There had to be a rebound from that, so his mind quickly added. ”Don’t know what’s going on really, not truly but I do know I believe in you. Only reason i’m here of all places instead of living it up. I’m sure that’s why everyone else is, even if they won’t admit it.” Okay now that sounded much better. Had inspirational written all over it.

More things were said that were inspiring but the writer couldn’t think of anything. Just assume this is a paragraph of just the most inspiring shit and we can move on.

Regardless his words seemed to have stuck as Humanity spoke a little more and walked off. Leaving him to...deal with Drifter who was likely drinking copious amounts of booze and likely truing to do whatever. Ash had something to say about that, though he looked a little confused by the whole thing. ”I’m both pretty and inspirational. Comes with being Charlatan.” He smirked, seemingly smiling at the small compliment given to him. He had to take it wherever he could, regardless of where it came from. Compliments were not the most common thing in his life.

”Nope. i’m not stupid enough to try and do that thing.“ He shrugged, now even more curious about the whole concept of someone trying to leak names like that. Joining them were two blurs, both he didn’t recognize but one he was introduced to. That was when the lights clicked. ”Oh wow, you’re that speedster hero from Chicago. I’ve been following you...because and have to admit I have a soft spot for the speedy types.” He seemed to go on a small tangent, stepping up to offer a hand that the other hesitantly took.

”I...nice to meet you too? What do you do...since you know a lot about me.” He seemed a little uncertain about the whole situation, looking around awkwardly.

”A lot of things. Might have show you sometime.” A small wink as he withdrew his hand and turned around, leaving the speedster to ponder that as he walked off. Luke’s van shouldn’t have been too far from here, though what he saw was a woman standing in the back doorway. Well that was odd, though he didn’t really say anything and instead just walked up. ”You in there L...Drifter? It’s me!” He called out, stepping around to see the scattered glass and puddles of booze pooling across the floor. Not good at all. ”Normally you’re wasting booze in different ways.” He stepped around the puddle and sat down on a seat that was...there for some reason, and looked his friend down. ”Why is there so much booze in here?” He asked, picking up a bottle and looking it over with a sigh.
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Hope rides alone
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He saw the action in motion. Each subtle movement, and Alpha reacted accordingly. An arm snapping up to meet the kick, the impact striking his personal barrier and sending vibrations through the thin membrane. There was more force behind it than he expected, something that surprised him as he felt the faintest of something beyond the defenses themselves. Ripples vibrated outwards from the visible barrier. No real signs of weakening, though likely it was thinner in that point if he were fast enough to react. Watching them back up, he mused to himself. This obviously couldn’t be everything they had. Testing the waters was something that he could respect. Make sure he didn’t get irreparably harmed or whatever. His sons friend seemed like a good kid….sorta. He didn’t really know them, and said son was less able to care for themselves in an obvious coke caused manner.

”Wow, okay that was pretty solid.” In an instant the barrier stabilized itself, and he shifted his stance.
He focused his power around himself and in a moment seemed to rush forward, too fast for the human eye but not for the inhuman one. His personal assault started with a kick towards the others their mid, followed by a spin kick as if to brush them aside. Each strike meant to knock them aside should he not defend himself properly.

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Red like roses
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He thought he was being a little stealthy but The Warden of Will had noted him looking in his direction anyhow. Sixth sense or just intuition he didn’t know but it was something. They hadn’t seen each other in years since the two had been brought back into line, yet since the last week they had been seeing more of one another. It was more than he had expected really, but not an unwanted phenomenon. He blinked, not realizing he might have been blushing though he nodded and broke away from the other wardens. As much as he considered himself one of the elders, it was much preferable not to spend too much time with them. There were others he would have preferred to spend time with. Even if Flamel was not someone that enjoyed their presence too much.

It took them a small while to find this alchemist. The perfect time to talk but what could he say that would really undo the damage he had done within his own corrupted state so long ago. ”We’ve got to stop meeting like this. First dealing with Asy and now...some kid of Black Beast.” It could have been the universe giving them a sign, or just a strange kind of luck happening. Regardless he didn’t mind the reasons behind it. Instead he kept his mind on finding their target, and the silence remained until the elderly human came into view. Not that he was always so frail looking, sometimes even looking far younger through whatever means were available. He was speaking with someone else, though they looked far less interested in whatever was being talked about.

He seemed to not like seeing them around, hiding behind the male he had been talking to only seconds ago. The amusing sight was enough to get a smirk out of him, though the will warden broke the metaphorical ice first. Causing his conversational partner to leave before he got dragged into any real awkward problems that could come of this. Amor offered them a small wave before turning back to Flamel. ”It’s been a while Flamel, when was the last time we met? I feel like it was France a few decades ago.” Free love was more of a thing then and people were more apt to take psychedelics. He loved it, though that was also just a time when he wasn’t one to enjoy the mortal world alone. Leave it to Flamel to point out their being together as something to question.

He coughed awkwardly, relying on one with more willpower to not react as adversely as him. ”Yeah, big guy wants you for whatever reason. Probably that alchemy you got goin on.” If there was one thing he was good at, it was keeping up with the modern lingo. Though he preferred to not taint his speech patterns with it alone. That tended to leave his fellow wardens left in the dark. Though their expressions were always so amusing. ”Still a douche, though I think that gets worse with time somehow.” Still he had to admit the warden of power didn’t really bother to chide him about what he had done. Leave that to the lesser wardens.

Burying hands into his pockets, he walked alongside the warden and immortal, wondering what they even wanted with this man.

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The nose knows
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If there was one person that did not care about social norms, it was Shael. Sniffing along on all fours until he found the scent they were supposed to be looking for. Rapidly sniffing against the leg he had pressed his face against until he looked up to see the form of one Humanity, lips curling into a wide smile. ”Found him!” He announced, overly pleased with himself while pointing at the male with an index finger. ”Know if someone cleans themselves.” He noted off handily, standing up to his full height and bu8rying hands into the pockets of his shorts. Sure, he should have questions why this person knew who he was but then again he had just assumed that everyone here knew each other to some degree. That was why they were all gathered to save the world like in this video games Jordan played with him.

There was the question of if he knew Humanity, and that made his brain...well think. Did he know Humanity? The scent was vaguely familiar, but not enough to where he could actually pick the person out. Someone he had fought with his mother over also gave an idea, though he was cut off from that train of thought by the compliment of his nose being the best around when it came to finding people. ”Yeah,” He nodded to the question about whether he were for hire or not. ”who do you need to find?” He waited for an answer to that, cocking his head to the side and waiting for some kind of answer or even example of a scent he was supposed to follow.

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Nothing weaves a good yarn like a savior
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As if to prove that the people joining the party wasn’t done, the air began to pulse before splitting apart like a seam being undone. Three people stepping through. A red haired woman decked out in what looked to be steampunk attire,  the man known as Savior and his own Frankenstein creation a few steps behind him. ”Didn’t think I would make it here on time.” He noted,  eyeing a watch attached to his wrist. ”No, definitely late. Matt’s going to let me here it later.” He sighed, looking to the strange woman stitching the portal close with a casual motion.

”It was hard enough to pinpoint this area. A lot of universal interference going on here.” She protested, a small frown forming on her lips and arms crossing almost petulantly. ”Hyperion was supposed to be meeting me here. I hope he’s not making me look for him.” She muttered looking around and then huffing under her breath.

”I know. Find who you’re looking for and i’ll do the same.” She didn’t waste anytime, wandering off and he did the same with tag-along in tow.

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Fires fade
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Cas suspected the man would chase after him. Not like he gave the impression of someone that would simply give up when told to leave someone alone. Part of him was wound up, all too prepared to fight but he didn’t want to waste energy that could have been spent elsewhere. When he had so much to prepare for.  It was someone else who had stopped the potential conflict, bearing the symbol of the void and someone he knew well enough. Why this person was stating he would need to serve his master rather than being contacted directly was something else. Perhaps he was worth not even being told directly, or perhaps the words spoken to him were more true than anyone would have admitted.  Thinking that way made his side burn like fire.  ”If your master wants my service he can tell me himself.” Was all he said, cradling his side with a hand and walking off.

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A walking, talking anti-christ in kid-friendly form
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He listened quietly despite being the one standing before Lucas as if to shield him from someone that set off as many danger alarms as their father Lucius Alba did. Perhaps even more despite how clam and quiet he talked. As if these words were nothing more than the pleasant lights of a predator waiting to strike. In the end however he had been told to protect his brother, to be strong and he...well he intended to. With Isalia gone he was the only one that could do it. Thinking about it made him feel sad but he didn’t want to. That was behind him, something he should have been aware of by now. A few of the fictional stories he read espoused the virtues of forgiveness and that put a few ideas into his head. After they talked to their father however. That looked like something that would be its own thing.

”I...um...need to talk to someone real quick.” He said with a small apologetic smile, stepping away from Lucas and walking off in a resolute fashion.

He had a self styled greek god to find.