Loa Blood

[PoliteSuccubus]

Faith

When the figure of the woman began to form Faith grabbed Price's face her her hands and forced him to look away.

"Don't look!" She shouted to him. "It's the Drowned Woman! Anyone who sees her face is doomed to die!"

But it didn't prevent them both from hearing the words: "People of Argo. Run for your lives. The first of the great beasts has escaped his island prison. It has begun."

"What..." Price began but the great rending of the Crusher's entrance prevented him from saying more.

"You will not get away! I will kill you all and burn this city about your unhearing ears! DIE!" It roared and began to lay waste to the people surrounding it.

Both Faith and Price looked for a way out while the crowd turned into a mindless mob around them.

Price grabs hold of Faith's hand tightly. "Don't let go!" He yells. "We can't go out the front, we'll get trampled." He pushes their way towards the stage, and the open door the band left through.

The concert hall is wracked by an explosion on the roof. People scream again, and small debris rains down on the crowd.

With her other hand Faith grabs the cam from her boottop and aimlessly takes pictures towards where the creature is undergoing some sort of metomorphus, hoping that some turn out. After leaping up on the stage she gets one good shot of it leaping through the newly made hole in the roof before Price practically jerks her off her feet pulling her towards the door.

Behind the stage is the prop room, and beyond that a long hall way leading to the dressing rooms. Already Anathur, from the band, is on the phone calmly explaining what is going on to the ES operator. The rest of the band has fled.

"Exit's that way." He points them down another hallway.

"What about you?" Price asks.

"Oh, I have a charmed life, I was sapossed to be dead a long time ago. I'm almost done on the phone anyway." He wears a Wheel pendent and like a true beleiver faces the possiablity of death without fear.

Faith snaps his photo also as Price pulls her towards the exit.

 

[PoliteSuccubus]

Meanwhile, away from all the madness...

Dan, the night mail room guy at the Bay City Times, gave Faith her next boost up the career ladder by assigning her her own mailbox.

Four armed he was an excellent mail handler and he was espeically proud to paste "Honai, F. Freelance" under her mailbox. You could tell, just from the two or three peices she'd written all ready she was willing to give the Gifted a fair shake.

He slipped in the mailbox rules and the mail she'd already received and a box of business cards with her name and her voice mail box number as well as the address of the Times.

Funny how that worked. They didn't want to pay her a weekly wage, but they wanted their logo on her press cards.

"Good luck, girl." He whispered before getting to the next stack of deilverables.

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Monolith

From my height, I could easily tell where the shooting was coming from, so with a leap I was up and over by the back perimeter fence. I immediately noticed the dead soldiers. Unfortunately, the ninja immediately noticed the ten foot tall walking statue landing next to them, and a flurry of sharp pointy things bounced off of me as they let me know I was most definitely not welcome here. Seeing that the thrown weapons were not working, they changed tactics and four rushed me, blades drawn.
Very unfortunate for them. I was not only incredibly strong, practically invulnerable, but I was also a black belt in Char-Noi, the Weaver martial combat style. The first ninja got in his killing blow on me neck, snapping his sword in two. My answering blow threw him back into one of his companions with a crunch of bones braking, and they both flew back to lay unmoving on the ground. Two others closed in, both striking my skin but doing no damage. The first one dodged my attack, but the second one didn’t, and my hand closed around his leg. I swung him like a human club, striking the more agile warrior down with his comrade’s body, and then throwing the now unconscious ninja down. I looked to the mansion. There had to be more out there. With a leap I was airborn again and at the walls of the house.
Party time!

 

[SwampThing]

Monolith crashes through the wall of the house, and into what used to be a plush salon. No sign of the Admiral, but it's a huge house. Ninja are climbing in through the windows, and a few of them throw weighted chains around Monolith's arms and neck. Individually, the giant could snap them like thread, but the Ninjas are weaving a net about him, pinning his arms in place in a tangled network of chains, while their companions run through into the other rooms of the house.

 

[Jacobo_Curious]

Kell

Damn, damn, damn!

The only fighting I've ever been in has been one-on-one, and nobody's ever tried to kill me before. What do they expect me to do?

Monolith... I need Monolith. He's the strong one. I've got to protect him.

I've got to protect my friends!

Rushing through the hole that Monolith had conveniently made, Kell gathered dark energy in his fist and dove forward before the Ninjas noticed him. He grabbed one man's arm, and as the man screamed and dropped the chain, Kell kicked him hard into another Ninja, knocking him down and freeing Monolith from another chain.

"Psshh! Surely you can do better..."

Kell turned to see about four or five Ninjas readily their traditional weapons in a traditionally violent manner at him. The Ninja that he had burned was huddled on the floor, but the damage was only slight, and the pain would fade soon. The other Ninja who Kell had knocked down was already back on his feet, but the chain was on the ground.

"...uh, maybe if you each dueled me instead of all attacking at once, perhaps...? And with no weapons? Ha ha?"

Kell began to back away as subtly as he could.

Well, you died courageously, Kell. Kills: Zero. Awesome.

...No... there will be time to give up hope after I'm actually dead. If Monolith can recover, I can get the fuck out of here....

...hope... will it save me this time?

<<--->>

Amy

Spending time with Mary had been more fun than anything she had done in quite a while. It rivalled the one time she had gone clothes shopping with Kell. Watching Mary try on outfits at the thrift store had been hilarious...

...and now all that seemed like a dream.

This, on the other hand, was a nightmare.

First, she was stumbling along, pulled by Mary, but then she lost, stumbling in a group of people, seeing nothing.

What... I remember now... Hotaru!.... I remember who took her! They... they looked like...

Her eyes fluttered, and the chaos finally snapped into place, her brain finally recognizing what was going on.

I've got to find a way out of here.

I've got to find Kell!

Her eyes determined and her posture noble, she strode through the crowd as if ignoring them, and somehow, beyond all imagining, managing not to knock anyone down.

She was just that kind of girl.

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Monolith

I should have remembered what the monks told me.
" Strength matters not agains skill and knowledge used wisely"
I closed my eyes and concentrated. Inside I could feel the energy coursing through my body, almost like blood rushing through my veins. Slowly, methodically, I flexed my arms, popping chains and freeing myself from the net of metal that had been woven around me. I then noticed that Kell had come to my rescue, so I thought I would return the favor. Grabbing the chains that had trapped me earlier, I swung them like a huge flail, scattering the Ninja.
"Kell, find the Admiral, but be careful!"
"ok kiddies, lets dance."
I moved into the ninja, ready to take out as many as I could reach.

 

[SwampThing]

Monolith's swining chains send the group of Ninja flying, but they are quickly joined by more from outside. They leap onto Monolith's back and shoulders, stabbing at his eyes, mouth and throat. The living statue's eyes are made of a softer stone, and the green Sejealan blades manage to chip them slightly. Monolith roars. He hadn't known he had a weak spot. He knocks the Ninja off against the wall, charging right through it into the spacious kitchen.

Outside he sees the soldiers being overwhelmed. The Ninja have employed smoke bombs, and the soldiers can't see to shoot. The Ninja are picking them off in the smoke cover.
____________________

Upstairs, Kell finds the bodies of several Ninja, and two soldiers. The Admiral, an older Argon man, still heavily muscled, stands behind his desk with a machine gun. He's staring at the remaining three Ninja, the ground around him littered with spent shells. He is out of bullets. The Ninja stand between him and Kell, blades drawn.

 

[Jacobo_Curious]

Kell

After Monolith seems to be handling himself, Kell rushes away and up the stairs to secure their mission objective -- the Admiral.

Finding the Admiral trapped, no longer with a weapon, Kell saunters in front of the three Ninja and stops, staring them down. Perhaps more curious than anything else, the three stare him down as well, and they spend a few seconds just looking at each other.

"Boy," remarks Kell casually, "you guys sure are unlucky, running into me like this."

I am fucked. I am SO fucked.

The three ninja ready their weapons, preparing to attack.

Kell closed his eyes.

All my life, I've tried so hard. I'd throw everything at myself at once, just to test my abilities, but I'd always break down in the end. It'd get to the point where just looking at a challenge, any challenge, would be terrifying, because I refused to break it down into easier pieces, and I was too afraid of failing to tackle the big challenge altogether.

I've never believed in myself. I have no right to!

Mother... Father... I know I could've saved you. But I was so weak and afraid. Because I depended on you, even when you depended on me -- so I failed you. And Uncle... maybe even Uncle... if I had just been minutes earlier...

Who, in this world, have I known, loved with all my heart, and not ever failed?

And then he knew.

Kell opened his eyes. The ninja were rushing at him -- but as they got close to him, they seemed to slow down.

A man with nothing to lose is the second most dangerous thing in the world.

Kell lunged forward, hurtling at a speed he didn't realize was possible, and lashed out with his foot at one ninja's stomach, blasting the man back with the force of three kicks instead of one.

That's who I thought I was...

A second ninja closed, and seemed to slow down again. Only then did Kell notice the black energy emanating from himself.

He remembered when he had entered the Church fire, and absorbed the fire around him.

But no... I am greater...

Was he... destroying energy, instead of matter?

Was he... destroying their speed?

And creating his own?

...the most dangerous thing in the world...

Kell curled his fist, pumped his left arm back, and punched forward with his right with all the force he could muster, and he saw what he had missed before -- a blaze of white light flashed from his arm and it shot forward at triple-speed, smashing into the ninja's face and sending him rocketing back, no doubt already unconscious even before he made an imprint on the wall.

...is a man with everything to lose.

"Amy..."

Kell charged forward with a blaze of light and slammed into the third ninja.

The third ninja burst through a window, and fell back in a halo of shattered glass.

As long as she believes in me... I have every reason to believe in myself.

Because I trust her... and she is honest...

And as long as I believe in myself, I will do the best I can... and trust it is my best.

I will try... to believe in myself...

Smiling victoriously, Kell leaned over and vomitted on the carpet.

"E-Excuse me, Sir," he gasped hoarsely at the Admiral, before collapsing on his knees and vomitting again, sputtering for breath, his eyes wide.

He could feel himself dying.

It was too much... it was far too much...

...but... I'm not passing out. It doesn't hurt as much as it did in the Church fire. And I did so much more this time...

I haven't really learned anything new. But I'm improving on what I know... and I'll take it one day at a time... and... and... ouch...

"Bllrrgggph..."

 

[poohlive]

An hour after they had left, Kriegan finally dared to venture into the house. He thought perhaps they would be gone for quite some time, their outfits suggested at least a party, if not a concert, or one of those orgy clubs.
Something. Whatever the reason, they would be out of the house for quite some time.
Kriegan sighed as he grabbed the key from under its hiding place and used it on the house. Perhaps they had known something? He tried not to think of it, but something didn't sit right in his stomach. They could have just not used the car for another reason, but still...
Inside, he noticed just how clean everything was. It looked quite amazing, nothing of what he had seen earlier.
"Bravo," He cheered her on, going to the first room on the right. A kitchen, nothing notable in the drawers. No papers, besides a few bills and other mail.
"Price..." He spoke the name aloud, "Officer Price."
He mentally flipped a coin to see whether the man would live or die. A police officer so close to someone he would be following and "asking" questions with soon enough didn't suit him very well. The man would need to be taken care of in order for him to finish his business.
His mental coind landed heads.
Kriegan smiled, flashing his deadly teeth.
The living room held more promise. Photos, and documents of certain things. He got to know about Price's past, nothing he really wanted to know, but helpful if he was going to go through with his plans.
In the living room was also a small pile of hastily packed things. Kriegan kneeled down, searching through this with great care.
Faith's stuff. What little she had, all here. He took out a shirt, brining it up to his nose and taking in her scent. She smelled delicious.
Some jewelry, stationary, letters. You could tell she was a girl, and a reporter.
Kriegan took a ring, putting it on his own gloved finger.
A gift, he thought, how kind of her. Kriegan wouldn't be such an evil gentleman in the deal, he dropped something small and insignificant in her belongings as well. A gift for a gift.
The rest of the house proved inefficient. Nothing of significant note that helped him in any way. He got a picture of Faith, but he already knew what she looked like. Still, the picture was very beautiful. Price really did like her.
Kriegan could use that.
He left, locking the house back up, and walking the few blocks back to his throaway bike.
"Not today," He rubbed the side of the engine, driving back to his motel to get some sleep. It had been a long day, and he thought he deserved a nice meal and some rest.
A ring on his finger gleamed with a renewed brightness.

 

[Lady_Siren]

Nikki and Mark had the entire thing planned out. Their fight was like a dance and quite fun to tell the truth. For the first time in a while Nikki had the urge to smiled as she deftly dodged grenades and Mark's punches. Finally the end came, a grenade was thrown, there was a bright explosion and anyone paying attention could see Nikki go flying, her cry heard on the night breeze. Mark had set silent smoke bombs around the perimeter to hide their activity as they switched their bodies with the corpses in the truck. They threw one last grenade for good measure then left through the back alleys where they would switch vehicles and head back to the Killer Bee hide out. She was confident that the death of such a greatly wanted criminal would hit the papers. Now all she had to do was come up with a new Alias and what exactly she wanted out of her new identity. She smiled at Mark "I'd say it was a job well done!"

 

[SwampThing]

When Nikki returns to the bar, the Killer Bees are in full on party mode. They cheer and raise their glasses to her when she enters. Chapel says "We watched the whole thing on the news. Along with the rest of the country. Everyone is very concerned about this Drowned Woman, and her "great beast". We must decide on our position here, whether this jeopardizes our plans for the Loa Blood shipment. But that we can discuss later. For now, drink!"

Although everyone's spirits are high, Nikki can tell that he bearded bartender is uneasy. She knows why. With James dead, the bartender is a Draconian spy cut off from his chain of command.

When Nikki finally returns to her room, she finds a suit of sleek black body armour, with gold accents. The face is a gleaming, featureless black slate. The body is designed to accentuate her curves, and the whole thing is surprisingly light. Belt pouches hold throwing knives, a net, and various colours of grenades. On the chair beside the armour is a hooded cloak, of a much more durable material than the one she ruined in the fire, and a note, saying "The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen".

"So, is the party over or what?" Mark is standing in the doorway to Nikki's room, with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

 

[SwampThing]

Concert

The crowd watches, stunned, as the pair fighting on the roof fall into the walled construction site next door, and there are yet more screams when the construction yard explodes. Downtown is a chaos of people running, the concert hall burning, people laying injured in the streets.

The immediate threat is passed, however, and the Emergencey Services people are on the scene quickly. The fire is put out, and the wounded are taken to hospitals. The crowd is calmed, and dispersed. People leaving the scene are still shaking at the memory of the ghostly apparition, and the terrible, murdering beast she had foretold.

Price stays to talk with the officers on scene for a while, and spends a long time on the radio to the Chief. Finally he disengages, and returns to Faith.

"Sorry. Nothing more we can do tonight. Airforce radar doesn't show that thing leaving the city, so we have to assume it's still here somewhere. Personally, I don't know why they're assuming it would show up on radar. Nothing else works according to the rules anymore. I wonder if it's a coincidence, Nikki Hall being here when those two appeared. I guess we'll never know, now she's dead.

"Come on, let's get you home. I mean, my home. That is, if you want . . ."

 

[SwampThing]

Admiral's Mansion

The yard of the mansion is thick with smoke. Guns blare ineffectually, as the Ninja move silently through the smoke, slaying soldiers with their green blades.

Monollith bursts through the glass wall of the kitchen, his impact shaking the ground, scattering the men, and parting the smoke. He lays about him with his huge stone fists, felling Ninja right and left. Many fall, crumpled, 20 ft from where they were struck, very clearly dead. A few will live, and the reinforcements arriving from the Navy base hold them at gunpoint. Overhead, helicopters probe the surrounding hills with their searchlights, but that appears to be the last of them.
________________

Upstairs, in the bullet-riddled study, the High Admiral reloads his machine gun, pointing it at he heaving Kell. Holed pages from the books lining the walls drift through the room, settling on the carpet covered in spent shells, bodies, and Kell's strawberry waffle.

"Who - who are you? What do you want with me?" the Admiral asks Kell.

 

[Jacobo_Curious]

Kell

"Oh... oh, man. You're -- ohhh, WHEEL -- you're not going to shoot me, right? Because, I mean, I just beat three ninjas by myself in hand-to-hand combat. I mean, it'd suck pretty bad if I got -- AAAAAGH -- got shot right after that by the person I was trying to protect."

Kell leaned up, looking beyond haggard, and managed a smile before slumping to his knees.

"I'm... Kell Claudas. I work... for CODA. Just hired. I'm... Gifted. Please... don't shoot me. I'm not even eighteen. I mean, you'd think I could at least first lose my virgi-- OOOHHH... okay, maybe that was karma. Ow."

He looked up from the pool of his own vomit and spittle.

"I'm sorry about the carpet. And... the window. And... the entire house. But most of that was Monolith. He's the big stone guy downstairs. But... hey! At least you're still alive, right? Can't take... it with you... huh?" He paused and leaned over. "BLURRGRGH! Oh, man! When did I eat THAT?"

Kell spat the remainder of the vomit out of his mouth and slowly rose to his feet, feeling like his muscles had turned to dust and his stomach was in a knot.

I can't help cracking jokes. I almost died, and I feel like shit. I really, really don't care what he thinks about me at this point.

"Uh, excuse my levity, sir. Inappropriate. I, uh, am a little new to this... and I'm overwhelmed. Overextension of my powers makes me, uh, sick. But... it seemed necessary, in order to protect you. And that... was my mission objective."

Ah, I lied, of course. I always care.

Standing on shaky legs, he waddled over to the window. "Hey, I didn't actually kill those guys, did I?" He peered out the window, noting the one that he can kicked out. "Oh... that one doesn't look good."

 

[PoliteSuccubus]

Faith

"Come on, let's get you home. I mean, my home. That is, if you want . . ." Price had the surprizing ablity to look in command one mintue and the all shy boy the next.

"Of course, I was assumeing a late night so I brought a few things over." She laughed shakily and gestured to the meyhem around them. "Nothing like this...but still. The hostel closes at midnight."

They begin to walk back to the bike, exchangeing information they'd gathered when a young woman approached them. Her coloring was distintly odd and hard to place: Clear blue eyes and hair the color of moonlit wheat.

"Excuse me." She said, nervously twisting what looked like a crushed and soot stained purple hat. "I can't find my friend, and someone said you were a cop and might be able to help."

Mary looked out among the throng of people. "She's such a little thing and I....I can't find her anywhere."

 

[SwampThing]

Eerie, Price thinks, she looks so much like that little girl from the asylum, the one that disappeared . . .. "I'm off duty, I'm affraid. There are a lot of people still missing, and the officers over there are taking down the necessary information." As he points, he notices that the officers in question are surrounded by a swarm of hysterical civilians. "Alright, give me your friend's name and description, and how I can get a hold of you. Your name is . . . ?"

 

[PoliteSuccubus]

Mary shreds the purple hat in her hands. You let one person into your life and the next thing you know you're totally exposed.

"Mary. Mary...Trimon. My friends name is Amy, she's a student nurse at the hospital. The Bayside one? But I forgot her last name. She's about my height, and really demure. I'm afraid she's going to be over looked somehow. She's got a queit soul. She wearing a rust colored fuzzy coat and a black and white mini." Mary smiled ruefully. "We went thrifting today, and it was a funny combo."

 

[SwampThing]

Admiral's Mansion

"Coda? Protecting me? Bull." The old Admiral laid his machine gun down on the oaken desk, still pointed at Kell. With his other hand he activated a speaker phone. "Sargent! What do you know about "Gifts" from Coda?"

The speaker phone crackles back "It checks out, sir. Coda confirms these are their boys. They're sending a chopper to collect them now. Sir? We need to relocate you to the base in case they attack again. Your escort is just arriving at the house."

Soldiers stream into the house, regarding Kell with open suspiscion. The Admiral turns to Kell as he's leaving. "Claudas, hmm. There's a name to watch out for. Don't worry about the carpet, kid. You ever really want to make a difference in this world, enlist in the army. We'll put your talents to good use. For now, you keep up the good work over there at Coda."

The sleek, black Coda helicopter lands in front of the mansion to take Kell and Monolith back to Bay City.

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Monolith

"Say again? You want me to get into what????"

Nope, I wasn't hearing things. CODA dispatch wanted me in the chopper. Nope, not gonna happen! I watched as the security team gathered the Admiral up, then Kell came down looking a little green. He made it in tho. I motioned to the pilot to take off, and stood there until he weighed my stubborness agains his safety, then he lifted off and headed out over the bay.
My ear started sqwaking again as the dispatched read me the riot act, then gave me new orders.
I would have to be careful once I got into city limits, but somewhere out there was a big winged beastie that was going down hard!

 

[Jacobo_Curious]

Amy

Amy tugged her coat around her tightly, glancing around with wide eyes.

She was starting to get worried.

I wish Kell had come... he'd shove these people out of the way. He's not scared to do things like that, and even if he's ashamed of it, I wish I was like that, sometimes...

"Excuse me! Please! I need to get through, I need to!"

Furrowing her brow, she continued her determined walk through the masses. People tried to get out of her way, so as not to hurt the delicate-looking girl, but the mass near the entrance was packed.

So much happened at once... I need to find the police! I need to tell them about Hotaru!

"Mary! Mary!!" she called.

Ohh... raising my voice is so embarassing...

 

[SwampThing]

Paige sits at the Coda dispatch desk, her fingers flying over the keyboard, holographic map displays dancing around her pretty head.

"Monolith, the chopper has been tested with an equivalent mass, it's safe within an allowable margin of . . . all right, all right, make your own way into the city.

"Thorne wants you to patrol for this monster that crashed the Twelve concert. I'll notify you if anything shows up on the police or military channels."

 

[Lady_Siren]

Nikki enjoyed the celebration getting to know the people with whom she would be working with for a long time. When she finally retired she found her new outfit laying on her bed and smiled appreciativly. She liked the cloak especially. She was putting it away when she sensed Mark's approach. "So, is the party over or what?" Mark is standing in the doorway to her room, with a bottle of wine and two glasses. She smiled accepting one of the glasses. "I feel so relieved to have it all done and over with. I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders." She took a healthy drink of the wine already feeling a little drunk from the early celebration. "and I couldn't have done it without you Mark" she impulsivly hugged Mark tightly. However she soon became aware of Mark's very masculine body pressed against hers. She frowned unsure about how to proceed. She had jumped into the relationship with Damien and look where it had gotten her. She was still hurting, she still missed him more then anything. Then again maybe this was what she needed. Maybe the best way to get over Damien was to have Mark help her forget him. She pulled away slightly her gaze meeting his. She stood there caught at an indecision. She waited for Mark to help her decide.

 

[SwampThing]

Mark grins wolfishly, and pulls Nikki tightly to him, kissing her fiercely. If he is aware at all of her hesitation and conflicted emotions, he isn't letting that slow him down. The Aralian technology of Nikki's bedroom detects the changes in their breathing, heart-rate, and body heat, and dims the lights.

 

[Jacobo_Curious]

Kell

Join the military? You've got to be kidding. Oh, man.

"I appreciate it, sir!" he called out to the Adrimal before he was escorted away. Kell was called to the helicopter and managed to drag himself in, grimacing.

Seating himself down, still holding his stomach and hoping to Wheel he didn't throw up in the helicopter, he leaned over to talk to the pilot before the helicopter took off.

"Hey, where's the big guy going? Where am I going, in fact?"

 

[SwampThing]

The pilot looks worried. "Big guy's doing a sweep of the city for some critter that crashed the Twelve concert and killed a bunch of people. You and me, we're going to the Bayside hospital. My daughter was at that concert, and I want to know if anyone's found her yet. And you're going to make Coda look good by healing the wounded that are flooding the hospital. Once we're finished at Bayside, I'm supposed to take you to Sunnyview and Jackson hospitals too. Every emergency ward in the city is overflowing, and I guess that last Gifted Healer is on the missing list.

"I dunno how you do your stuff, kid, but I hope you've got a lot of juice in you. It looks like a long night."